Pre-med? need unique volunteer ideas.

[Pre-med MOM]

Hi every one,
I am a legal permenant resident in the U.S. A little background : age 27 , foreign Bachelor's degree in biotechnology & Master's degree in Nutrition from a known U.S. school, stay at home mom of 2 kids under 5, dont have any working experience or EC in the US. I am planning to apply for 2019 med school application cycle as my younger will be startig preschool. I guess my questions are
1- Where do I start? Mcat first or start volunteer. Any suggestions are more than welcome.
2- I am planing to give myself enough time for MCAT preparation to do it right in the first place? Let say I plan to write MCAT in 12 months. Will 3-4 hours daily cut it?
3- I cant go on foreign health care trips. I guess my question is What I can do to make my application stand out? What unique experiences should be on my application?


Thank you.

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[Goro]

You should be doing both. A good medical student (and applicant) can walk and chew gum at the same time.
1- Where do I start? Mcat first or start volunteer. Any suggestions are more than welcome.

Only you can answer this
2- I am planing to give myself enough time for MCAT preparation to do it right in the first place? Let say I plan to write MCAT in 12 months. Will 3-4 hours daily cut it?

That's good. These types of trips are considered medical tourism and discounted.
3- I cant go on foreign health care trips.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

I guess my question is What I can do to make my application stand out? What unique experiences should be on my application?


Thank you.[/QUOTE]

 

[eagles22]

You don't have to be unique to get into medical school, you just have to be good. Focus on having the right scores, classes, and basic volunteering and then apply.

 

[@Hazel-rah]

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[@Hazel-rah]

I would recommend you take a practice MCAT now so that you know what it is and what is on it. Then you can decide what and how much you need to study. If English is your second language, you should probably start preparing for CARS now.

You can work from home as a medical interpreter if you are fluent in another language, and if it is a popular language and you live in a metro area you can be employed by a hospital to be a live interpreter. You can easily get certified as a CNA or EMT and work at a clinic or nursing home or hospital and get hands on medical experience so that you are sure you want to go into healthcare.

You can shadow physicians just ask and network.

For volunteering, I bet your life as a SAHM is filled with activities or opportunities for activities, like with your kids preschool or your faith community. You probably already volunteer a lot and don't realize it is considered volunteering!

Welcome and best wishes!