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No Extracurriculars
Started by newslang
1
117296
A pre-pharm issue, as it has to do with the app process?
To answer the question, probably not...but you did nothing outside of work and school at all? Even if you weren't a leader?
moved to pre-pharm. I don't think it'll be that big of an issue, but if it is, you'll know what to work on next year. My guess is between now and interviews, you'll think of something that will make them look beyond your lack of ec's though.
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who cares if it was paid, just put tutoring, research and any other thing that might qualify as an extra-curricular. I'm sure they can't access if it was paid or not, they don't have the time, all they want to know is what you took home/learned from the experience..blah blah blah...you should be fine
I have the exact same problem! I have to pay for my own school so I have lots of jobs--tutoring, research, pharm tech etc. So they all went under work and I have nothing under EC's. I'm hoping it's not a big deal, but who knows. One of my supplementals asks me to talk about how my EC's will help me be a pharmacist....ugh???
If ECs are defined as unpaid, and he has been paid for all of them, then he doesn't have any EC's. ECs are volunteering and community service, not something you earn the money to do.
Telling him to lie on his application is a brilliant advice.
Not having EC's does look bad, but defrauding the admissions committee is a whole another story. 
Don't you do ANYTHING other than work or school? Any sports, even if it's just with some friends and not on an official basis? Any clubs? Any church activities? Anything? Because if you were paid, you were paid. And generally research and tutoring and pharm tech work, while very valuable in an applicant, do not fit my definition of "extracurricular activities". Even a one-time activity would count. Did you do Race for the Cure? Or any such event? Even that would work.
My opinion is that you will be fine if you don't have ECs. The major part is that you did something outside of school. Not everyone is going to have ECs and not everyone is going to have work experiences.
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Why do you need to "bolster" you resume? It's usually very obvious when someone is just trying to pad it, so just leave it alone. It looks pretty good, actually. I would say, better than many applicants. Don't ruin the impression by puttind down every tangentially related thing just to make the list longer.
Not if you got academic credit for them.
Sheesh, people, what's up with trying to put ANYTHING down in the EC section? I have been on both sides of the table. When you are a young applicant (older ones tend not to succumb to the same degree), the temptation to put anything down, to make it seem longer, is hard to resist. And you don't even think how ridiculous and obvious it can seem to the person looking at it... Now I am a little embarassed about those things from 6-10 years ago... 🙂
I think a lot of people are confused with this. It's true to a certain degree (esp. a PE class) but there are exceptions. Research counts as an EC, even with credits. I know some people at UCLA who conduct research for credit during some quarters and some quarters without credit since the upper division research credit counts toward the unit cap/max.
Don't take the definition too literal.
EC's are used to show who you are as well, not just taking up time for the sake of professional school.
you will be royally screwed when they start asking about it during your interview IF you even get one.
Having no EC's doesn't mean your not dedicated. You just have to show adcom other ways that you are dedicated. You should mention in your essay why you don't have EC's, and show that the jobs you choose, the work you do, will benefit your future as a pharmacist.
I would rather strengthen my application by telling them good reasons why you don't have strong EC's, vs. posting random one time events as EC's. Last thing you want is a vibe that you are desperate (grasping for thin air by listing irrelevent things) and you are impulsive (random one time events).
and also, don't lie. If adcom even thinks you are lying, no matter how small. Say good bye to your chances.
Thanks for the advice Hels2007, I appreciate it much.
Research doesn't count as an extracurricular in my book (and I am certainly not alone in that). There are other places to put down research (if you have a CV, it goes as a separate section). Or as professional or academic experience. ECs are either about personal development or volunteering/community service.
