Listing Motorcycles as a Passion for Med School?

[viciouz]

So I applied last year and had no luck. Got a few screened secondaries... and thats about it. Absolutely no interviews.

However, after I had applied, a few MDs/DOs told me that listing down Motorcycles and the Motorcycle Club on Campus as a Work/Activity gave my application a negative outlook. (All of them called them organ donors or death traps.)


So I am applying again this year, and wanted to know if I should still list it or not even mention a darn thing about motorcycles.

What would you do? Why?

Has anyone previously gotten into medical school while listing it as an activity?

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[Tygacil]

No harm in not including it. I wouldn't. I've got a bike, but I didn't put it down on my application..

 

[Jolie South]

if you think it affected your app negatively, leave it off.

when you interview and see a mini harley replica sitting on your interviewer's desk, then you can bring it up.

 

[n3opologist]

I've been racing motocross since 15 and am applying this cycle. I don't know if by motorcycles you mean dirt-bikes or street-bikes, but I'm definitely including mine (dirt-bikes) especially since I've received some top finishes in races. I've asked two admissions personal about listing it: Keck and Geffen, and they both said that it is extremely unique and worth listing. So, maybe people think street-bikes are dangerous (average time till first crash on crotch rocket is 2 yrs in LA), but if its dirt-bikes and you do it competitively, list it.

 

[viciouz]

Its street bikes, and I do some track racing just for fun.

 

[PreMD86]

The fact that you've had a few secondaries screened is probably more indicative of your application than listing 'motorcycles'. Most schools do not screen apps unless your GPA or a section in your MCAT is so low, that even the school wouldn't be able to look at you with a straight face while asking for your secondary fee. To be honest, I hightly doubt activities even get looked at when schools grant interviews, but certainly not when granting secondaries- They simply do not have the resources even if they wanted to. If you want candid feedback, tell us what the rest of your application looks like. Otherwise it's all just a shot in the dark.

 

[Cataract]

I say leave it off. What good can come from it? Unless you do it professionally or you've won awards, just leave it off. I'm totally against listing misc. hobbies as activities because it sounds so superficial in the greater scheme of things. Describe who you are in the PS and leave the the activity section for more notable achievements or leadership.

 

[da8s0859q]

Why not? I know on the TMDSAS, there's a section for mentioning hobbies that have consumed a significant portion of your time outside university & such. I used piano and even my ongoing skydiving interest there.

I would much rather put something like skydiving, sports cars, sportbikes, or what have you instead of playing it "safe" and making myself that much more like everyone else who also played it "safe" because they were too worried to include such a thing on a - gasp - medical school application.

Just my $.02.

 

[Cataract]

Why not? I know on the TMDSAS, there's a section for mentioning hobbies that have consumed a significant portion of your time outside university & such. I used piano and even my ongoing skydiving interest there.

I would much rather put something like skydiving, sports cars, sportbikes, or what have you instead of playing it "safe" and making myself that much more like everyone else who also played it "safe" because they were too worried to include such a thing on a - gasp - medical school application.

Just my $.02.

I just don't see why you would roll the dice on your career application just to express your love for motorcycles. There are other places to show you're not one-dimensional, like the secondaries. I could see putting that under a Hobbies section, like on the TMDSAS. Otherwise, I think your first priority is to prove you're worth a damn with some legitimate credentials. Second is to show you're different. lWhat are you writing in the description box that could help your application?

 

[da8s0859q]

I just don't see why you would roll the dice on your career application just to express your love for motorcycles. There are other places to show you're not one-dimensional, like the secondaries. I could see putting that under a Hobbies section, like on the TMDSAS. Otherwise, I think your first priority is to prove you're worth a damn with some legitimate credentials. Second is to show you're different. lWhat are you writing in the description box that could help your application?

That's kind of what I was going with. Being a TMDSAS-only applicant, I'm pretty unfamiliar with the AMCAS and other non-Texas secondaries, so I'm not entirely sure if the AAMC's application has a place for such things.

 

[viciouz]

I listed it under Work/Activities for AMCAS, specifically as UCI motorcycle club officer/mechanic.

I think i am 75% sure I am going to leave it off... unless I change it to just Volunteer Mechanic... and list that I do work both on cars and bikes in my garage, mostly Minor modifications to cosmetics.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

I listed it under Work/Activities for AMCAS, specifically as UCI motorcycle club officer/mechanic.

I think i am 75% sure I am going to leave it off... unless I change it to just Volunteer Mechanic... and list that I do work both on cars and bikes in my garage, mostly Minor modifications to cosmetics.

Do that, much better.

You might end up being interviewed by a Trauma Surgeon who might take a dim view of motorcycle enthusiats.

It's like listing controversial ECs -- it really probably doesn't help you that much but could torpedo you in the hands of the "wrong" person...

 

[SiR99]

Honestly if you dont ride a bike, motorcycles are really annoying and alot of people dont think of them as a good thing.

They are really loud, and hard to see on the streets so people are always worried about hitting one.

Its like those modified street cars, only the younger crowd thinks they are cool, everyone else has had enough of them.

Now imagine an old Adcom looking through your application and remembering a bunch of annoying bikes rolling by their house on a sunday morning going to the canyons to ride.

 

[searun]

It is kind of like frats. I was in a frat for awhile in college, but I figured it would be the kiss of death on my med school application. So I never mentioned that I was a former frat boy on my application. I had mutliple acceptances, so in retrospect, I am glad that I hid the fact that I was a frat boy, now reformed through a frat boy 12 step program.

 

[viciouz]

Yah so true... everyone has a valid point. I guess I will modify it and list more as a volunteer/job mechanic thing instead.

 

[bcat85]

I do tend to agree with the above posters who say that it is more likely your GPA/MCAT than your motorcycle hobby. Yeah, maybe don't include it and if it seems appropriate at interviews, bring it up. It's actually nice to have something to talk about you didn't already put down on paper too.

 

[da8s0859q]

Honestly if you dont ride a bike, motorcycles are really annoying and alot of people dont think of them as a good thing.

Speak for yourself.

 

[Law2Doc]

You might end up being interviewed by a Trauma Surgeon who might take a dim view of motorcycle enthusiats.

Yeah, every ED or trauma attending I have worked under has made some form of comment about how working in their fields will cure anyone of being foolish enough to get on a bike. They may well perceive you as yet another of the future road pancakes they try to salvage on a near daily basis. So if it's a big part of who you are, try to find a way to dress it up other than just being passionate about riding. If it's not a big part of who you are, lose it.

 

[da8s0859q]

Yeah, every ED or trauma attending I have worked under has made some form of comment about how working in their fields will cure anyone of being foolish enough to get on a bike. They may well perceive you as yet another of the future road pancakes they try to salvage on a near daily basis. So if it's a big part of who you are, try to find a way to dress it up other than just being passionate about riding. If it's not a big part of who you are, lose it.

With all this talk, I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have included skydiving as a hobby/interest on the TMDSAS.

 

[deleted158872]

How about Anime Club ?

Not just watching anime! It's where students come to learn about Asian cultures, and produce/publish their own artistic works.
Should I include it ?

 

[Law2Doc]

With all this talk, I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have included skydiving as a hobby/interest on the TMDSAS.

The difference is your interviewers won't be dealing with skydiving victims on a near daily basis. In fact, most victims of skydiving accidents never make it to the ED. Motorcycles are pervasive. And folks in collisions get hurt bad. And a large percentage of folks who think motorcycling is cool apparently also think riding without a helmet is cool. It tends to result in a lot of ugly hopeless scenes in your average ED or trauma ward, which shape people's perceptions.

 

[ACSurgeon]

So I applied last year and had no luck. Got a few screened secondaries... and thats about it. Absolutely no interviews.

However, after I had applied, a few MDs/DOs told me that listing down Motorcycles and the Motorcycle Club on Campus as a Work/Activity gave my application a negative outlook. (All of them called them organ donors or death traps.)


So I am applying again this year, and wanted to know if I should still list it or not even mention a darn thing about motorcycles.

What would you do? Why?

Has anyone previously gotten into medical school while listing it as an activity?

So you were told flat out NOT to list it, so why are you asking us?

 

[Ginzo]

To the OP, the physician bias against motorcycles extends further than the ED and OR. One of the radiologists I shadowed told me the term "donor cycles". And he did mostly diagnostic work and saw very few patients. Just consider the fact that it's quite possible that someone reading your application or interviewing you might have lost many a good night's sleep trying to save the lives of motor cycle wreck victims.

 

[viciouz]

How about Anime Club ?

Not just watching anime! It's where students come to learn about Asian cultures, and produce/publish their own artistic works.
Should I include it ?

I wouldn't... because they are looking for maturity and that there is a stigma that is attached to the word anime. (Although, I am hardcore anime fan myself, I didn't put it on my app)