Number of Leadership Roles/Experiences

[capybaracarbonara]

Is it true that strong applicants should have 3+ leadership activities or roles to be competitive? I saw this online somewhere, and I am not sure if it will make a big difference that I only have 2, and I would consider them to be relatively minor/average. I am super passionate about all of the activities I'm involved in, but I just haven't been able to become president/head/director of any of them. All I currently have are a past leadership experience in tutoring along with a minor leadership role in one organization I'm in (below the executive board). Is this sufficient? Since I plan to apply in a year, there's not much time for me to get involved in anything else and rise to a leadership position, so I hope what I have is sufficient. Would love some perspective here. Thank you in advance!

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[Mr.Smile12]

Quality over quantity. Show us where you saw this advice of having 3 or more...

 

[capybaracarbonara]

Quality over quantity. Show us where you saw this advice of having 3 or more...

Not sure how reputable this man is but...

So in your POV, would my leadership be sufficient to be competitive?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Usual disclaimer that my observations should not be construed as representative or typical.

I never counted "leadership positions" when I screened applications. I did value experiences that involved more than a semester (which would be 3 months) and especially those that took longer than a year. What mattered was more the quality: why you joined, how the activity helped define you or developed your "leadership" skills. What were the challenges you addressed as a member or leader? What was your impact on the organization if you were a leader. Holistic review allows us to balance number of positions with impact with others and transformation for yourself. Otherwise we would have a lot of "resume filler" applicants that would go through any "filter" set up for "3+ leadership activities".

I did care that applicants were involved with campus activities because they will likely have to balance their med school rigor with involvement in activities that will help balance their education and/or prepare them for residency. You have more motivated students in medical school who can be involved in clubs compared to undergraduate, but you also have so much at stake with learning in medical school.

 

[capybaracarbonara]

Usual disclaimer that my observations should not be construed as representative or typical.

I never counted "leadership positions" when I screened applications. I did value experiences that involved more than a semester (which would be 3 months) and especially those that took longer than a year. What mattered was more the quality: why you joined, how the activity helped define you or developed your "leadership" skills. What were the challenges you addressed as a member or leader? What was your impact on the organization if you were a leader. Holistic review allows us to balance number of positions with impact with others and transformation for yourself. Otherwise we would have a lot of "resume filler" applicants that would go through any "filter" set up for "3+ leadership activities".

I did care that applicants were involved with campus activities because they will likely have to balance their med school rigor with involvement in activities that will help balance their education and/or prepare them for residency. You have more motivated students in medical school who can be involved in clubs compared to undergraduate, but you also have so much at stake with learning in medical school.

Thank you for your insight. Also, do you consider scope of leadership? (i.e., leading 100 individuals versus leading 10)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for your insight. Also, do you consider scope of leadership? (i.e., leading 100 individuals versus leading 10)

It can be factored in. You would be very surprised how many applicants don't include this information.

 

[chilly_md]

I saw this online somewhere, and I am not sure if it will make a big difference that I only have 2, and I would consider them to be relatively minor/average.

If this is from the same source that talked about having 6 LOR, I advise you to ignore their suggestions.

 

[capybaracarbonara]

If this is from the same source that talked about having 6 LOR, I advise you to ignore their suggestions.

Will do, thank you. It's just been difficult to distinguish between the useful and not-so-useful information throughout this process, even on here at times!

 

[LizzyM]

I would not define leadership as "guiding or directing others" in the context of a med school application. I'd be much more interested in "guiding or directing peers". Being a leader to a group of third graders is not what we are going for here but it fits the definition above.

Also, I think that the number of "leadership" activities is complete B.S. Agree with @Mr.Smile12 on this.

 

[klever]

I'm wondering, many people get into medical school without any leadership experiences in the first place. This is because they have other quality activities right and applications are looked at holistically?

 

[Med Ed]

I'm wondering, many people get into medical school without any leadership experiences in the first place. This is because they have other quality activities right and applications are looked at holistically?

One can only get so much mileage out of being Vice President of Refreshments for the charity dance marathon.

A lot of the leadership experiences that get put in AMCAS each year simply aren't very compelling, so applications don't really suffer without them.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm wondering, many people get into medical school without any leadership experiences in the first place. This is because they have other quality activities right and applications are looked at holistically?

Didn't I just write this? Number of Leadership Roles/Experiences

 

[klever]

Didn't I just write this? Number of Leadership Roles/Experiences

Yes, my apologies