Just for fun...most interesting ECs, etc?

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
scrubsaresexy

scrubsaresexy

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
251
Reaction score
0
First of all, I'm not trying to steal anyone's ECs because I want to out-shine everyone and get into every single top tier med school, and I know someone will immediately jump to that conclusion so chill out...this is just for fun.

What kind of interesting ECs, hobbies, life experiences, etc do you have? It seems like theres such a broad range of people posting on SDN and its kind of interesting to think about the diversity of people who are future doctors.

This all kind of stemmed from a conversation with my boyfriend that if people want someone with an interesting background and list of ECs to talk to during interviews, I'm their girl. Still, I'm sure there are tons of people who are much more fascinating than me...I'm just eccentric and all over the place :)

So do share...what makes you special?
Members don't see this ad.
 
ill show you mine if you show me yours
 
I'm not even putting this on my ECs list, so eh, doesn't matter.

-Boston Pride Parade 2007 Volunteer
-Beijing 2008 Olympics volunteer (hopefully)
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Green Pirate said:
ill show you mine if you show me yours
Click to expand...

Fair enough...

I used to be really huge into musical theatre performance so I've trained in all that stuff (dance, acting, singing). I'm also a musician, so when I'm not in lab, I'm either singing or playing cello.

I'm in the process of learning how to sail (soo much fun!!!) and I just got voted into my local fire department on Monday. I'm fortunate enough to go to a school where, when I needed to take a study break earlier today, I went kayaking.

I'm also thinking about doing a semester at sea because I think that would be amazing and very, very fun.

In any case, my intentions really are pure on this one, I'm just curious, and sorry if it comes across as bragging. I just find it fascinating how many different types of people are drawn to medicine.
 
Involved in Amateur Radio ("ham radio") involvement in the community, mainly in emergency communications types of situations. When hurricanes come through I'll man a local shelter and provide communications if/when the phones/cell phones go out.
 
I teach dance to little kids in the community surrounding my school...They're so cute and it's so much fun! They have the smallest attention span though, so it can get trying sometimes, but I'm not complaining :)
 
scrubsaresexy said:
Fair enough...

I used to be really huge into musical theatre performance so I've trained in all that stuff (dance, acting, singing). I'm also a musician, so when I'm not in lab, I'm either singing or playing cello.

I'm in the process of learning how to sail (soo much fun!!!) and I just got voted into my local fire department on Monday. I'm fortunate enough to go to a school where, when I needed to take a study break earlier today, I went kayaking.

I'm also thinking about doing a semester at sea because I think that would be amazing and very, very fun.

In any case, my intentions really are pure on this one, I'm just curious, and sorry if it comes across as bragging. I just find it fascinating how many different types of people are drawn to medicine.
Click to expand...

Jeez, how do you have time for all of this? Between train time to and back from school, volunteering once a week, playing in a band, studying and seeing the gf, I have no free time. You really must have some ridiculous study skills!
 
Southern California family reunion committee treasurer...responsible for creating and maintaining a budget for our large, multi-day, multi-event, large family reunion (for approx. 350 people).

I am currently the activities coordinator for our reunion in DC this coming summer
 
I collect hot sauces from around the world (I tend to buy them from wherever I go). I also make my own hot sauces from peppers I grow at my house, and have entered them into competitions/ give them out to friends etc.

I also love to BBQ in general, as in, cooking outdoors on a grill. As soon as I get enough, I'm gonna buy myself a big ass pit grill.
 
Ask the couple of students at my undergrad who work with the bears. Real live flesh-eating bears.

That would be an interesting EC to put on your resume.
 
Won Beauty Peagent, it that count as EC's.
 
twohearted said:
Jeez, how do you have time for all of this? Between train time to and back from school, volunteering once a week, playing in a band, studying and seeing the gf, I have no free time. You really must have some ridiculous study skills!
Click to expand...

'No life' might be a better way of describing it :D
 
Members don't see this ad :)
deleted
 
Last edited:
Improvisational comedy troupe both on and off campus. Performed all over the Tri-state area and in several local competitions.

What this has to do with medicine? Not much, except doing charity shows.
 
I snowboard competetively in the winter and windsurf in the summer... does that count?
 
By no means is it a unique EC, but the one that proved most interesting for me was being an EMT in a very urban area (we responded to the 911 calls for a region of our city). I saw some crazy stuff - hilarious, sad, infuriating, and downright weird. Met some cool people, saw cool things, and I actually miss it enough that the summer between my first and second year of med school (I'm finishing M1 now), I'm going back. :D
 
Surf Rx said:
I can solve a rubik's cube in 2.5 minutes.
Click to expand...
I actually know a guy online who can do it in less than 12 seconds. ;) he was (is?) a world record holder for a while. He can do it one-handed in a ridiculous amount of time as well.

TheGreatHunt said:
I doubt many people on SDN will have this... But:
I volunteer with the developmentally disabled.
I volunteer in a soup kitchen.
Biology Club
honor society...(Of which I am or was active in all)
Click to expand...
Hmmm, not many people do these?
 
TheProwler said:
I actually know a guy online who can do it in less than 12 seconds. ;) he was (is?) a world record holder for a while. He can do it one-handed in a ridiculous amount of time as well.
Click to expand...


We are still talking about solving the Rubik's cube, aren't we?
 
riceman04 said:
Southern California family reunion committee treasurer...responsible for creating and maintaining a budget for our large, multi-day, multi-event, large family reunion (for approx. 350 people).

I am currently the activities coordinator for our reunion in DC this coming summer
Click to expand...

That's an intensely organized family! :p Sounds like it would be a blast to attend though (as long as you don't have 350 person family drama).

My coolest EC:

I once walked across 20 feet of hot coals for a charity event. :thumbup:
 
I obsessively watch almost all reality tv shows in ABC, NBC, and CBS. I'm applying to various reality tv shows (apprentice, survivor, big brother, amazing race) and I figured this is an excellent way for me to train myself as I backstab, lie, and cheat. Perhaps, it will be useful for med school too, who knows, the possibilities are endless! As for EC, did I mention I was an extra at the CSI show. I played the character of a young man brutally murdered by a psycho killer. It was tough to play dead, but I managed. . . really enhanced my skills in acting!
 
49IMEuroSticker.jpg


Anyone else?
 
Aside from the common EC's, here are a few that are a tad "different":

- Elected as the diversity representative for my residence hall (freshman year of college)

- I am a certified mediator for the justice court small claims division (do it on a volunteer basis), and also mediate juvenile victim and offenders and business disputes.

- I will have worked as a registered nurse for a year when I apply to med school (could hurt me or hinder me.. depending on the schools view on this).
 
ItOnlyTakesOne said:
That's an intensely organized family! :p Sounds like it would be a blast to attend though (as long as you don't have 350 person family drama).

My coolest EC:

I once walked across 20 feet of hot coals for a charity event. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Oh crap...I see people do that on TV all the time and I just cant imagine trying to do that. So did you burn your feet? Explain how you prepare to do that.

Yeah...our family reunions are alot of fun...they just take lots of time and effort to plan
 
EC's i know of, but have not necessarily done myself:

-Organized first annual trip to New Orleans to help rebuild (and raised $30,000 in 5 months for the same cause).

-Honor society chapter president/Served on the National Executive Board of the same Honor Society as Student Vice President (1 of only 2 student positions...the other obviously being Student Pres.)

-Suicide hotline counselor - talk people out of suicide.
 
I play the piano on the side though not as much anymore. I currently learn Bharatanatyam a form of Indian classical dance founded in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu in India.

Although that isn't particularly severely unique because there was a former SDNer from the class of 2010 at HMS who did that for several years since a young age and also learned Carnatic music. I know this cuz she used to post here but i think she deleted her account and old posts.

Some unique things I've seen from premeds:

There was a girl who did research in the lab where I used to do research in the chem department. Anyways this girl had played soccer professionally in Europe one summer, come to USF on full athletic scholarship to play soccer. Got a similar offer from Columbia though she thought USF's package was better at the time. She also coached soccer with her old highschool and was a lifeguard in the summers as well. Other then that she knew how to play drums, guitar, and piano. Very multitalented person and also had great numbers MCAT and GPA. But she ended up deciding not to do medicine. Her other talents were being a good writer of short stories and poetry. Very well rounded but not able to focus on one thing for too long. Her little half brother is an actor in California now which is where she moved to. Whether she decided to apply to med school afterall or do something else is beyond my knowledge.

Amongst other interesting premeds who didn't do typical things, I'd say there's one girl who did a music/bio double major. She plays the cello and often performs at various volunteer and community events. There's another friend of mine who is the church music director. She's their pianist and also one of their lead singers.

These are just a few things that I found interesting from other premeds. I can't think of others right now.

I know that a lot of people I know either have a talent in music, art, writing, dance, or a sport, or more then one of the above. For one of my friends right now her biggest thing is learning art and modern dance but she's best known for her ability as a writer. I used to review her essays for her and I swear they sounded like a professional wrote them they were that awesome.
 
P.S. The other interesting thing in my life is traveling. I've been to India, Mexico, Europe, and more recently the Bahamas. I'm going to India again this year and we are traveling to Udaipur which is know to have a rich history with lots of sites and what not. When we went last time we went to Agra and dehli and went to Taj Mahal and all these sorts of famous sites.

I've not done much traveling in the country but out of the country I've gone lots of places.
 
Been teaching since 2003 (Philosophy, Chemistry, Technical Writing), and will start teaching comparitive religion this fall.
PI for two studies (Visiting Research Associate)
Writing medical textbooks and reference books
Photographer
Curling (Men with brooms on ice)
Clinical ethics consult service for two years
Starting to paint
Some other stuff, but it's less interesting
 
geogil...that's cool. my good friend is the coxswain for our men's crew. dedication waking up so early everyday.

I ball boy for the US Open lol...that's probably the coolest thing for me. It's fun.

...i like to surf atleast 4 times a week and train for tennis.

Other than researching in the OR/hospital for 15 hours a week, I'm really in to the fraternity and socialize. It's a crazy life having class all day...then going with a sorority to a club in the night...then waking up at 6 am to go in to the OR...but its college so might as well live it up.
 
I've played Carnegie Hall before. Not something too many people have done, so I think it's pretty cool. I also graduated high school from Madison Square Garden. Although that's not really an EC is it?

I travel quite a bit, but I only like to travel if I can go for a long time and forget about the "real world". Time, current events, who's sick back home, it has no bearing on me when I'm crisscrossing the world for a month or 2. Going away for a week only doesn't do it for me.

I also teach special ed high school as a full time sub. I taught career exploration and current events for a couple months, now I'm teaching math. The kids can be tough. When I explained what the students were like to my interviewers, nobody could believe that my students are gang bangers, in and out of prison, 6'5 and 250 pounds. Yet they do all like me, so it's fine. I think it's just funny when I went on interviews, especially in small towns. They all stared at me like i was nuts. I'm 5'6, whitest girl around, and I look like I'm about 16. But believe me, the things that happened at this school, it's too unbelievable to make up.
 
TheProwler said:
I actually know a guy online who can do it in less than 12 seconds. ;) he was (is?) a world record holder for a while. He can do it one-handed in a ridiculous amount of time as well.


Hmmm, not many people do these?
Click to expand...

I meant the first two

I guess I thought I hit the enter button in between... But yeah, the other ones everyone does, but accounting and construction? lol, a little odd... at least for most.
 
these are my REAL EC's, as in, not in any way related to medicine :)

- played jazz drums for many years
- in a rock band that has played shows in my city.
- play guitar
- teach drum lessons when time allows
- been to Europe (all over)
- worked in an art gallery in Wyoming for 2 summers
- avid fly-fisher
 
i'm an expert at watching tv. i think i'm going to put it down as 30 hours/week on my amcas. this is a truly amazing time commitment, as i have been doing this for over 15 years.
 
I did testing at IBM on the Xbox and Xbox360 (mostly the processor)
 
I volunteered at a hospital and worked in a lab.


what do i win?
 
riceman04 said:
Oh crap...I see people do that on TV all the time and I just cant imagine trying to do that. So did you burn your feet? Explain how you prepare to do that.
Click to expand...

well if I told you how I did it, that would take all of the mystery out of it, wouldn't it??;)

But if you really want to know....you do it in your bare feet so you don't burn your socks/shoes off. There's a lot of moisture on your skin and it happened at night when the air was cold and we were (relatively) warm to create even more moisture. So anyway, the liquid acts kind of like a protective layer between your actual skin and the hot coals. So when you step down onto the coals the moisture evaporates, but they make you walk pretty quickly so that your foot is already off the coals before it can get burnt. And b/c the air is cold your feet get all 'remoisturized' while your taking the next step.

So it's definately hot, but no one got burnt. It was totally cool though, because everyone was so amped up to walk across hot coals! The majority of the time was spent before the actual event, mentally preparing everyone to do it so no one would freeze half way across or fall over into the coals or anything, that part was amazing. There was a motivational speaker-type guy who talked us through it and got everyone ready.

I highly recommend it to everyone. :D
 
ItOnlyTakesOne said:
well if I told you how I did it, that would take all of the mystery out of it, wouldn't it??;)

But if you really want to know....you do it in your bare feet so you don't burn your socks/shoes off. There's a lot of moisture on your skin and it happened at night when the air was cold and we were (relatively) warm to create even more moisture. So anyway, the liquid acts kind of like a protective layer between your actual skin and the hot coals. So when you step down onto the coals the moisture evaporates, but they make you walk pretty quickly so that your foot is already off the coals before it can get burnt. And b/c the air is cold your feet get all 'remoisturized' while your taking the next step.

So it's definately hot, but no one got burnt. It was totally cool though, because everyone was so amped up to walk across hot coals! The majority of the time was spent before the actual event, mentally preparing everyone to do it so no one would freeze half way across or fall over into the coals or anything, that part was amazing. There was a motivational speaker-type guy who talked us through it and got everyone ready.

I highly recommend it to everyone. :D
Click to expand...


No thanks, I'll be glad to be in the audience. ;)

It goes on the same level as lying on a bed of nails or swords. I was watching this show where they were talking about all sorts of martial arts a long time back when my brother and I were home for the break. Anyways, there was one kind of martial arts where part of the ceremony was a bunch of swords lined up in a row to like this......

------

-----

-----

-----

You get the idea. The sharp part was sticking up and the kids had to lay across it with a bare back. Looks scary but there must be some trick to it because no one was scathed or wounded from doing it.

Again, one of those things I'd never do.

Another cool thing I've done is go indoor rock climbing but never been in real mountains doing that though it would be neat.
 
I love to memorize stories, especially poetry. I've been this way since I was a little kid, when I'd memorize whole movies. I've won awards for oral recitation in three different languages.
 
I am rapidly trying to accumulate the traditional pre-med ECs, but most interesting....

It was sort've like semester at sea, but minus the cruise boat. My senior year I completed a thesis while taking classes in India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Japan, Thailand, China and Cambodia. I speak some Chinese to do this, and not being Chinese myself, I feel a little good about the experience.

I also hope to teach English in asia the summer before I'm matriculate. I really hope this coincides with Beijing 2008. My only hope is Beijing 2008 doesn't mirror Tiananmen 1991.


PS Semester at sea, I've heard, can be a good or bad experience. It tends to attract the people who like cruise ships more so than those who want genuine study abroad.
 
I crawl into burning buildings and have been doing it for the majority of the past decade. :smuggrin:
 
Amateur radio operator
Amateur Radio Emergency Services assistant Emergency Coordinator
NWS Skywarn storm spotter
Boy Scout assistant scoutmaster
Girl Scout co-leader (they don't like men in troop leadership positions for some reason)
Community Emergency Response Team member
Red Cross volunteer instructor (FA, CPR, CPR-Pro, BBP, AED O2 Admin)
Red Cross Disaster Action Team member
Medical Reserve Corps (EMT)
Medieval recreation (Society for Creative Anachronism)
Civil War reenactor (1st US Sharpshooters, Co C)
research and "do" 15th century book-binding
Zen Buddhist
Married father of 3
Full-time career

Small business owner (ASHI basic training center)

I think that's it, off hand.
 
gujuDoc said:
No thanks, I'll be glad to be in the audience. ;)

It goes on the same level as lying on a bed of nails or swords. I was watching this show where they were talking about all sorts of martial arts a long time back when my brother and I were home for the break. Anyways, there was one kind of martial arts where part of the ceremony was a bunch of swords lined up in a row to like this......

------

-----

-----

-----

You get the idea. The sharp part was sticking up and the kids had to lay across it with a bare back. Looks scary but there must be some trick to it because no one was scathed or wounded from doing it.

Again, one of those things I'd never do.

Another cool thing I've done is go indoor rock climbing but never been in real mountains doing that though it would be neat.
Click to expand...

It's actually an easy trick (the sword/ nail thingy), just make sure you put enough of the sword/nail to get the pressure (P=F/A) as low as possible, so that it's not enough to cut your skin.

My EC: Infantry combat medic for 2 years. It's definitely a good interview topic :thumbup:
 
im a shopaholic. does that count? put me anywhere in the country and i'll find u a mall
 
I just thought of a few that some people I know did a few years back.

One old friend of mine now at Miami med did the following:

He was a dj at parties and various different school functions.
He wrote a chapter in a book for the university experience class


I believe there was one person who was part of the radio station too.
 
I played rugby for awhile.
 
blargh said:
i'm an expert at watching tv. i think i'm going to put it down as 30 hours/week on my amcas. this is a truly amazing time commitment, as i have been doing this for over 15 years.
Click to expand...

Hahaha. I wonder if I should put down "TiVo expert" in that case.
 
My ECs are somewhat run-of-the-mill.

Hospital volunteer for approximately one year now.
Active member in Alpha Phi Omega (comm. service frat) for a year, which included extended hours volunteering for a blood drive, among other random activities such as Meals on Wheels, cleaning up Detroit for the Super Bowl, planting flowers/bushes in a local arboretum to prevent runoff into the river, etc.
Shadowed 3 doctors.
Worked 2.5 years in an orthopedic office.
Volunteered for a psych class as a mentor to an at-risk adolescent in the community for a semester.
Volunteered for another psych class where a group of students helped prepare juvenile delinquents to leave the facilities they were being held in and to live on their own in the future.
University honors.
Worked at Victoria's Secret for a summer (so very applicable to medicine ;) ).
Worked at an ice cream shop for 8 months.
Can say alphabet backwards really fast. Hahaha just kidding on that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

chickenloverr5
Should I add anything for my ECs?
Replies
4
Views
222
chickenloverr5
chickenloverr5
GoSpursGo
Accepted student Group Me/Facebook/etc
Replies
0
Views
542
GoSpursGo
GoSpursGo
fishs
Thoughts on ECs for this semester?
Replies
4
Views
484
fishs
fishs
F
Long-term and short-term ECs
Replies
7
Views
339
burneracc
B
P
advice on ECs so far
Replies
5
Views
580
cj_cregg
cj_cregg
Top