Only have 10 of the 15 AMCAS EC's. Should I find another 5 before June?

[yeezuswest]

There's a general sentiment out there that to be a competitive applicant, you need to have at least all 15 of the AMCAS extracurricular spots filled out. Unfortunately, I did not technically become a pre-med until about halfway through college, at which point I had very limited extracurricular involvement. With next cycle less than a year away, would it look like resume padding at this point if I tried to fill in those last 5 spots?

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[WedgeDawg]

no, that sentiment (if it exists) is wrong, you're fine, quality>quantity, etc etc etc etc ad infinitum go have a beer

 

[obscurity111]

delete

 

[Catalystik]

There's a general sentiment out there that to be a competitive applicant, you need to have at least all 15 of the AMCAS extracurricular spots filled out. Unfortunately, I did not technically become a pre-med until about halfway through college, at which point I had very limited extracurricular involvement. With next cycle less than a year away, would it look like resume padding at this point if I tried to fill in those last 5 spots?

Listing ten decent activities will put you at right about average among applicants. If you add five more to pad it, it will look like . . . fluff. Don't do that.

 

[MrLogan13]

You don't need to fill all 15 slots. Where does this sentiment come from? It's about quality, not quantity.

 

[Doug Underhill]

The view of the premed advising office at one Top 20 national university is that you should fill up all 15 slots. This school has a pretty good track record of sending people to med school.

However, it is clear from this thread that others view this differently.

 

[Bones 2020]

no, that sentiment (if it exists) is wrong, you're fine, quality>quantity, etc etc etc etc ad infinitum go have a beer

Or go learn to brew beer. There's a good activity

 

[Ad2b]

Even with good GPA/MCAT, use padded applications to pad the "low probability" pile.

To OP: with a lengthier life than you, I still only filled out 12 of the 15. (with this, I'm also working on one of my many weaknesses!)

 

[moisne]

YES - go out and help a old lady cross the street, then a cripple, then an old man, then a kid, then pick up something in a hospital for someone.

There you have your 15

 

[Holmwood]

Try to do something significant with the 10 you already have. Leadership position, poster/publication, award, additional responsibilities, etc.

 

[Psai]

15 is the max, not the goal. I filled up like 7 spots. I am not a premed advising office from a top 20 school but I do have a good track record of being sent to medical school.

 

[nolookpass]

There is nothing I loath more then to read an application filled with insincere, fluffed, stretched, exaggerated, and otherwise silly information that has nothing to show a true pattern of motivation, commitment and achievement of an applicant. Even with good GPA/MCAT, use padded applications to pad the "low probability" pile.

What exactly is considered fluff? I volunteered at a soup kitchen for about 2 months during a semester. About 10 sessions 2 hours each (~20 hours). Would that be considered fluff, even though the experience was meaningful to me?

 

[shapley]

What exactly is considered fluff? I volunteered at a soup kitchen for about 2 months during a semester. About 10 sessions 2 hours each (~20 hours). Would that be considered fluff, even though the experience was meaningful to me?

That's good and is not considered fluff I would say. Just make sure you say why it was meaningful!

 

[DocMcMommy]

Woah, 15? What the heck are people doing...? I can count on one hand the extra activities I'm involved in right now and I thought I was doing pretty decently. If I added anything else things would start to overlap and I wouldn't have time to study.