myopic volunteering?

[CremasterFlash]

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ok...

- 12 years in investment banking
- lots of friends died on 9/11, started volunteering at NYU Emergency
- realized that being a physician is what I was built to do
- moved to Chicago in 2005, started taking bio classes at Northwestern to remember what school was like
- started volunteering at Cook County Trauma (1/06), many incredible experiences, some contributions too
- started volunteering at Northwestern Emergency (3/06), then became a paid researcher there (some posters/pubs, etc)
- started postbacc at Northwestern (summer 2006)


my question(s) - by the time i apply (6/08) i will have volunteered at Cook County and worked as a researcher in Emergency medicine for 2.5 years. am i setting myself up to get denied at any school that doesn't value emergency medicine and/or research before I get the chance to demonstrate how i haven't made up my mind yet and just focusing because it seems wise at this point? do I need to diversify my volunteerism? soup kitchen? animal shelter? &c, &c.

the 'do what you love' reply is certainly apt, but let's be frank that this is a beauty pageant. i am doing what i love and besides if we never did something we didn't exactly love doing, we'd all be 400lbs and illiterate.

the question is do i need to demonstrate a broader range of interest?

 

[Nasrudin]

Looks like you know what your doing. No. I don't think you need to demonstrate anything except for interest, aptitude, experience, and service--so long as your academics are good you look great so far.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Nah, you're good. Diversifying won't buy you much. Quality over quantity, and it sounds like you have had a wonderful volunteering experience. Instead of standing around in a soup kitchen, shadow a physician. That will do more for you app than another volunteer experience.

 

[zeff]

I agree with above, you're showing commitment and interest, don't change a thing unless you really want to. I'm a career-changer like you, one year farther along--did post-bacc 6/05-5/06 and am starting med school next month (Gulp!)--and nobody expected me to have shadowed 7 different types of docs like an undergrad pre-med might have done. Just stick with something you like and be able to talk about it in depth and intelligently; I like to think that interviewers enjoy talking to us since we're a little different than the typical applicant they see (their job has to get monotonous at some point). My interviewers didn't want to talk about my more typical pre-med stuff-shadowing, volunteer at a free clinic for the homeless--they all wanted to talk about my first career (health policy and politics).

P.S. you've got a great story to tell with why you are pursuing this change, you are going to do fine on the interview trail.

 

[CremasterFlash]

thanks folks, valuable and appreciated advice.

 

[PsychStudent]

Wow, that's great! Just wondering how you're liking NU postbacc. I'm doing postbacc here too.

 

[CremasterFlash]

I appreciate NU for its challenge. I realize that no one cares how hard the classes are wherever you do your postbacc and adcomms certainly won't give it a second thought. But I really feel that the sheer amount of time I've put in to my classes and the depth with which (I think) I understand the topics will help me down the road. I've been studying for the MCAT next year and I just feel like I understand the topics enough that I'm not afraid. Motivated to learn more, how to take the test, more in depth understanding, &c. But not afraid. Maybe just in denial.

That being said, the teaching quality is all over the place. I have had a few folks that I would consider to be great professors:

Brian Shea - advanced anatomy
John Becker - advanced physiology
Martina Bode - calculus
Art Schmidt - physics
Fred Northrup - chem

taking Bio/Orgo next year and have heard mixed reviews...

On an entirely unrelated note - I do worry a bit that if I really write my PS about what made me finally decide to start volunteering (9/11) they're going to laugh me off the application stack. How many thousands of people must have said that same thing. I'm not sure if I should even mention it.

 

[TypeA]

On an entirely unrelated note - I do worry a bit that if I really write my PS about what made me finally decide to start volunteering (9/11) they're going to laugh me off the application stack. How many thousands of people must have said that same thing. I'm not sure if I should even mention it.

I think you have a more compelling perspective than they do. Your OP was bones for a pretty great PS.

 

[TexasRose]

ok...

- 12 years in investment banking
- lots of friends died on 9/11, started volunteering at NYU Emergency
- realized that being a physician is what I was built to do
- moved to Chicago in 2005, started taking bio classes at Northwestern to remember what school was like
- started volunteering at Cook County Trauma (1/06), many incredible experiences, some contributions too
- started volunteering at Northwestern Emergency (3/06), then became a paid researcher there (some posters/pubs, etc)
- started postbacc at Northwestern (summer 2006)


my question(s) - by the time i apply (6/08) i will have volunteered at Cook County and worked as a researcher in Emergency medicine for 2.5 years. am i setting myself up to get denied at any school that doesn't value emergency medicine and/or research before I get the chance to demonstrate how i haven't made up my mind yet and just focusing because it seems wise at this point? do I need to diversify my volunteerism? soup kitchen? animal shelter? &c, &c.

the 'do what you love' reply is certainly apt, but let's be frank that this is a beauty pageant. i am doing what i love and besides if we never did something we didn't exactly love doing, we'd all be 400lbs and illiterate.

the question is do i need to demonstrate a broader range of interest?

This isn't myopic volunteering, this is volunteering for the right reasons. I think to try and diversify, as you say, for your application will be seen as doing it for the application. As far as the service to others, exposure to medicine, and personal essay go, you look to be in excellent shape. 🙂