Non-medical related EC's

[Blondnuttyboy]

I have pretty solid med related ec's (international health care work, research, shadowing, blah blah) and my gpa sucks

A few people have told me that my way to shine and stand out will be to highlight my non medical related EC's...

I've been heavily involved in the acting and hip-hop community. Between breakdancing, singing, acting, stand up, etc...I have had some good experiences.

I hear that apps really benefit from talking about such experiences: dancing, martial arts, singing, traveling

Do adcoms really admire such uniqueness? what have you guys all heard?

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[Oceaner]

if I had a doctor responsible for my well-being, I would much rather they knew their academic stuff than they could breakdance (although that would be a nice bonus)... but that's just me.

 

[tmac11]

I've heard that displaying other interests is important and unique ones can make you stand out. Only to your benefit if an adcom rembembers you for your unique interests and ec's

 

[prmdbeach17]

I've heard that displaying other interests is important and unique ones can make you stand out. Only to your benefit if an adcom rembembers you for your unique interests and ec's

That's what I would say

 

[Green Pirate]

if I had a doctor responsible for my well-being, I would much rather they knew their academic stuff than they could breakdance (although that would be a nice bonus)... but that's just me.

I agree. I could personally care less if my doctor was "well-rounded" with my life on the line. But fortunately for the OP, I don't think many adcoms share my perspective

 

[jochi1543]

I agree. I could personally care less if my doctor was "well-rounded" with my life on the line. But fortunately for the OP, I don't think many adcoms share my perspective

I think the idea behind looking at those things involves judging how good the person is at their time management and how successful they will be in finding acceptable ways to relieve stress through arduous training and a demanding career. However, I would not be surprised the same people would discourage their graduating students and residents from participating in street dance-offs because they think it's not "befitting of a doctor."

This reminded me, a long time ago someone posted on another premed/med forum I frequent about how she intended on making her long-lasting career as an "exotic dancer" the focus of her application. Despite everyone's urging to do the exact opposite, she insisted that we were antifeminist and that it was nothing but a source of good income, and she was going to put it on her applications. I don't remember hearing from her ever again, but I think it'd be safe to assume that the adcoms went for a similarly competitive applicant who survived undergrad without exposing her breasts for money.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I agree. I could personally care less if my doctor was "well-rounded" with my life on the line. But fortunately for the OP, I don't think many adcoms share my perspective

Every activity a person participates in, tells us something about his/her personality. A person who is well-rounded is likely to have different facets to his/her personality than someone who is solely interested in academics or medicine. Someone who's a stand-up comic probably has a good sense of humor. Someone who's published a novel is probably creative and good at expressing him/herself. Someone who's coached little league is probably good at interacting with children and good at teaching.

You're crazy if you think these things don't matter to adcoms. Are they the be-all-end-all? Of course not. Numbers matter more than anything. But if all someone has is a list of medically-related successes and nothing else, I would think they'd have a much tougher time getting in than someone who has interesting hobbies/successes in addition to numbers.