Non-Cookie Cutter Activities and If They Matter

[HCHopeful]

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This is a purely speculative thread, but I'd like to get a feel on just how much weight non-cookie cutter activities carry. I think these are activities that can really show an admissions committee that the person they are evaluating is a "person" and not a drone. Some examples are:

• Independently owning a business
• Performing musician/actor/comedian (outside of school, as those are much more cookie cutter)
• EDIT: Will post activities others list from here on out
• Outstanding research
• Military Service
• Peace Corps

Annnnnnddd..... My mind is drawing a complete blank, but activities along those lines. Do you all have any? To me, most anything that can be done on a college campus through an organization is cookie cutter simply because it's not hard to become involved in.

I realize that life experiences can be the difference between an acceptance or rejection, but I've always wondered if activities outside of the "norm" can give an applicant that extra oomph he or she needs.

This thread is not meant to imply that these activities can take the place of the "required" cookie cutter stuff every pre-medical student must do (shadowing, clinical volunteering, non-clinical volunteering, etc.). Assuming an applicant has all of those taken care of, or is perhaps just a bit short in one area, would having non-cookie cutter activities help his or her case significantly? Or would it simply be a, "That's nice" type of thinking?

To be clear, I've already submitted my medical school application. This thread is simply me thinking out loud.

 

[MaxPlancker]

Basically anything that makes you go "Hmm...I want to meet that person" or "Wow!" You can have outstanding research and be non cookie cutter...

 

[Leg]

Hey there.

Depending on the number of programs you've applied to, your experiences will be subjectively analyzed by dozens of individuals with opinions ranging from complete indifference to absolute fascination.

You could've founded Apple or won a Grammy though, but unless a school first witnesses objective proof that you can handle their curriculum, it won't matter.

However, if your numbers substantiate your ability, and your experiences corroborate your stated to desire to pursue this field, then someone, somewhere will want to meet you.

 

[HarryH00d]

I started a business that manufactures custom cookie cutters and other baking necessities. Would this count as non-cookie cutter?

 

[LizzyM]

All of the following have been interviewed at my school with one exception:

Professional athlete
Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Ballpark vendor
Game show contestant
Reality show contestant (haven't actually interviewed one of these but it would be cool)
Cooking school attendee abroad
English language museum docent abroad
Active duty service member in the military
Peace Corps volunteer

 

[HCHopeful]

I started a business that manufactures custom cookie cutters and other baking necessities. Would this count as non-cookie cutter?

Those sentences have so much win.

 

[HCHopeful]

All of the following have been interviewed at my school with one exception:

Professional athlete
Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Ballpark vendor
Game show contestant
Reality show contestant (haven't actually interviewed one of these but it would be cool)
Cooking school attendee abroad
English language museum docent abroad
Active duty service member in the military
Peace Corps volunteer

Wow. There certainly is a bit of variety there. In your experience, do any of these activities have a major impact on the committee? Such that if there is perhaps a weak area, those activities would help to overshadow this deficit?

 

[LizzyM]

Wow. There certainly is a bit of variety there. In your experience, do any of these activities have a major impact on the committee? Such that if there is perhaps a weak area, those activities would help to overshadow this deficit?

For the most part, it just sets the person apart and makes them seem more interesting than an academically identical applicant who did the usual activities.

It also helps adcom members remember an applicant, as "the hot dog man" or "the hockey player". It is not enough to be "the guy from Princeton" or "the woman from Smith" as that is not enough to distinguish an applicant from others who share that attribute.

Another thing that can distinguish applicants is being from a state with a small population that is very far away from your target med school. We might say we don't see many applicants born and educated in Wyoming and so that is something of a novelty and be considered to add diversity.

 

[HCHopeful]

For the most part, it just sets the person apart and makes them seem more interesting than an academically identical applicant who did the usual activities.

It also helps adcom members remember an applicant, as "the hot dog man" or "the hockey player". It is not enough to be "the guy from Princeton" or "the woman from Smith" as that is not enough to distinguish an applicant from others who share that attribute.

Another thing that can distinguish applicants is being from a state with a small population that is very far away from your target med school. We might say we don't see many applicants born and educated in Wyoming and so that is something of a novelty and be considered to add diversity.

The geography bit is an interesting note to make. I've never considered that.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[Goro]

Maybe

Independently owning a business

Maybe. This definitely would make for interesting interviews

• Performing musician/actor/comedian (outside of school, as those are much more cookie cutter)

Yes

• Outstanding research

I agree.

To me, most anything that can be done on a college campus through an organization is cookie cutter simply because it's not hard to become involved in.


To your list, let's add military service, being in the Peace Corp, or a Big Brother/Sister. Habitat for Humanity is another of my faves.

LizzyM speaks often of a candidate who was a contestant on Jeopardy.

 

[Goro]

You too, colleague!!?

My memorable interviewees overlapped yours, but also included:

Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Game show contestant
Cooking school graduate
museum docent
Big rig driver
Veterinarian
newscaster
Sports writer
War refugee (several)
Active duty service member in the military (one was a USN helicopter pilot)
Peace Corps volunteer
Professional firefighter
Police officer

 

[Lawpy]

All of the following have been interviewed at my school with one exception:

Professional athlete
Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Ballpark vendor
Game show contestant
Reality show contestant (haven't actually interviewed one of these but it would be cool)
Cooking school attendee abroad
English language museum docent abroad
Active duty service member in the military
Peace Corps volunteer

You too, colleague!!?

My memorable interviewees overlapped yours, but also included:

Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Game show contestant
Cooking school graduate
museum docent
Big rig driver
Veterinarian
newscaster
Sports writer
War refugee (several)
Active duty service member in the military (one was a USN helicopter pilot)
Peace Corps volunteer
Professional firefighter
Police officer

Did you interview (or at least encountered) an avid arcade player (like the old school games)? What about professional card players (not necessarily poker)?

Just goes to show that adcoms saw everything and anything, and being unique isn't important compared to how you present these experiences.

 

[22031 Alum]

Did you interview (or at least encountered) an avid arcade player (like the old school games)? What about professional card players (not necessarily poker)?

I once heard tell of a resident who was (or maybe still is) a nationally ranked cribbage player. Or possibly canasta?? I forget, but it was definitely a card game that I didn't know had national rankings.

 

[Goro]

These don't ring a bell.

Did you interview (or at least encountered) an avid arcade player (like the old school games)? What about professional card players (not necessarily poker)?

Just goes to show that adcoms saw everything and anything, and being unique isn't important compared to how you present these experiences.

 

[LizzyM]

Did you interview (or at least encountered) an avid arcade player (like the old school games)? What about professional card players (not necessarily poker)?

Just goes to show that adcoms saw everything and anything, and being unique isn't important compared to how you present these experiences.

I know we interviewed a professional poker player some years ago.
I don't remember any arcade players.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Honestly, many premed activities are going to overlap significantly.. I think it's in the hobbies/talents where you tend to stand out (as has been mentioned, musicians, athletes, avid extreme sports enthusiasts, etc.)

I think you can also stand out by having a wide range of unrelated experiences as well. You tend to stand out when you have more non-medical activities that you're involved with, since the vast majority of what adcoms are seeing is medical-related. I think one thing that adcoms do enjoy (correct me if I'm wrong here) is an ability to think your way through the connections between some of your activities and your future career, such as skills learned and attributes developed. If you can learn to take unrelated lessons into multiple facets in your life, it speaks well of your ability to adapt to new information.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

@Goro, you've gone blue?! No more red?!
This is @efle's fault!R]'s fault!

 

[Lawpy]

I once heard tell of a resident who was (or maybe still is) a nationally ranked cribbage player. Or possibly canasta?? I forget, but it was definitely a card game that I didn't know had national rankings.

These don't ring a bell.

I know we interviewed a professional poker player some years ago.
I don't remember any arcade players.

Now all the premeds and lurkers reading this thread will dash towards these suggestions in desperate attempts to be unique

 

[NeuResurgens]

Now all the premeds and lurkers reading this thread will dash towards these suggestions in desperate attempts to be unique

Premeds adapt quickly, the little buggers.

Luckily (or unluckily) I suck at cards, so I couldn't even pretend to pass these as a unique activity.

 

[efle]

@Goro, you've gone blue?! No more red?!
This is @efle's fault!R]'s fault!

It's much prettier

 

[deleted393595]

All of the following have been interviewed at my school with one exception:

Professional athlete
Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Ballpark vendor
Game show contestant
Reality show contestant (haven't actually interviewed one of these but it would be cool)
Cooking school attendee abroad
English language museum docent abroad
Active duty service member in the military
Peace Corps volunteer

Never underestimate how much Pre-Meds adapt. Soon being in the Marine Corps will be a cookie cutter activity.

You too, colleague!!?

My memorable interviewees overlapped yours, but also included:

Olympic level athlete
Beauty pageant contestant at national or international level
Game show contestant
Cooking school graduate
museum docent
Big rig driver
Veterinarian
newscaster
Sports writer
War refugee (several)
Active duty service member in the military (one was a USN helicopter pilot)
Peace Corps volunteer
Professional firefighter
Police officer

Interview me and you can add mob boss to that list 😀

 

[familyaerospace]

I in one swoop for unusual extracurriculars

* Small business owner
* Former Thespian (20 years including as a child actor, obviously outside of school)
* extensive researcher (one of my models is being used at NASA if what my former colleagues say is true)
* Unusual hobbies.

I wonder what my former interviewers will say of me down the road.