Question about extracurricular activity

[giantham]

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Hello,

I have a few questions and I would love some advice/input.

Some background: I'm a 4th year at a large research university. My cGPA is 3.20 and my sGPA is 3.11. My MCAT is 26.

I have some volunteer hours already. For a few months I have been working at an uninsured clinic. However, it's a large time commitment and I don't know if I should do that OR if I should do another EC activity (one that doesn't keep me quite as busy) and focus on getting great grades this semester to show an upward grade trend my last year.

Are there any extracurriculars that are particularly good for DO schools in particular?

Very torn on this issue, so I greatly appreciate any help!

 

[Total180]

Hello,

I have a few questions and I would love some advice/input. If this should be in the WAMC forum, please feel free to move it. Thanks.

Some background: I'm a 4th year at a large research university. My cGPA is 3.20 and my sGPA is 3.11. My MCAT is 26.

I have some volunteer hours already. For a few months I have been working at an uninsured clinic. However, it's a large time commitment and I don't know if I should do that OR if I should do another EC activity (one that doesn't keep me quite as busy) and focus on getting great grades this semester to show an upward grade trend my last year.

Are there any extracurriculars that are particularly good for DO schools in particular?

Very torn on this issue, so I greatly appreciate any help!

Schools like to see commitment to the things you are doing. That being said, if you are thinking it might jeopardize your grades I would find something else. Your MCAT is about average, but your gpa's are a bit below so that should be your main concern. What other EC's do you have? I do think DO schools do tend to look a little more at EC's in general than MD schools do, or at least look at them with a little more weight. I don't think there is really an EC that DO schools like to see particularly, but I think my work in underserved areas was a pretty big plus at all the schools I interviewed at MD and DO.

 

[giantham]

Schools like to see commitment to the things you are doing. That being said, if you are thinking it might jeopardize your grades I would find something else. Your MCAT is about average, but your gpa's are a bit below so that should be your main concern. What other EC's do you have? I do think DO schools do tend to look a little more at EC's in general than MD schools do, or at least look at them with a little more weight. I don't think there is really an EC that DO schools like to see particularly, but I think my work in underserved areas was a pretty big plus at all the schools I interviewed at MD and DO.

I would say in total I have ~175 hours split between two clinics and a hospital. I've also done some other random volunteer work. How long did you work in undeserved areas? Is that what you recommend I focus on? Thank you for the help!

 

[paperclips]

Medical schools are very liberal minded, so any ECs that address underserved communities are always a big plus to their eyes. Volunteer in a clinic, tutor at an elementary school, stop by the food bank to show your true conviction in helping others in need. It makes for a great personal statement and stories to tell during interviews.

Also, there is no set time. What's more important is your commitment to the project. You can't say you helped a bunch of poor kids with math homework for a couple of weeks and call it a day.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using SDN Mobile

 

[giantham]

Medical schools are very liberal minded, so any ECs that address underserved communities are always a big plus to their eyes. Volunteer in a clinic, tutor at an elementary school, stop by the food bank to show your true conviction in helping others in need. It makes for a great personal statement and stories to tell during interviews.

Also, there is no set time. What's more important is your commitment to the project. You can't say you helped a bunch of poor kids with math homework for a couple of weeks and call it a day.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using SDN Mobile

Do you think in my case more time at the clinic would be a deal breaker, then, or would it be OK as long as I substitute it with something else. (Like tutoring, foodbank, etc?) Thanks!

 

[Goro]

You need to concentrate on your grades. You're at the low end of acceptable, and even if you wrangle an interview, I can see AdCom memebrs wait-listing you because of that low sGPA. I've seen it happen plenty of times here.

Hello,

I have a few questions and I would love some advice/input.

Some background: I'm a 4th year at a large research university. My cGPA is 3.20 and my sGPA is 3.11. My MCAT is 26.

I have some volunteer hours already. For a few months I have been working at an uninsured clinic. However, it's a large time commitment and I don't know if I should do that OR if I should do another EC activity (one that doesn't keep me quite as busy) and focus on getting great grades this semester to show an upward grade trend my last year.

Are there any extracurriculars that are particularly good for DO schools in particular?

Very torn on this issue, so I greatly appreciate any help!

 

[giantham]

You need to concentrate on your grades. You're at the low end of acceptable, and even if you wrangle an interview, I can see AdCom memebrs wait-listing you because of that low sGPA. I've seen it happen plenty of times here.

Thank you for the reply. Do you think it's unlikely that I'll make it to the interview stage? Would ditching the clinic EC and focusing on grades this last semester be the best way to improve my chances? (I'll still have some other EC's on the side)

Anything else you'd recommend? Thanks you!

 

[Iliketoytles]

Medical schools are very liberal minded, so any ECs that address underserved communities are always a big plus to their eyes. Volunteer in a clinic, tutor at an elementary school, stop by the food bank to show your true conviction in helping others in need. It makes for a great personal statement and stories to tell during interviews.

👍

Thank you for the reply. Do you think it's unlikely that I'll make it to the interview stage? Would ditching the clinic EC and focusing on grades this last semester be the best way to improve my chances? (I'll still have some other EC's on the side)

Anything else you'd recommend? Thanks you!

First, people have indeed gotten accepted with your stats (perhaps off the waitlist, but accepted nonetheless). However, they either most likely had unique ECs/life experiences or applied early/broadly and got a little lucky. 😛 So while the odds are not in your favor, you aren't buried completely.

Ask yourself... if you were to quit your ECs, would you REALLY spend that time studying/working on your grades? If so, then perhaps you should do this and mention briefly in your PS that you wanted to dedicate your last semester to your grades and finish off strong (because quitting ECs does seem like it would be a red flag, so you want to explain why you did it).

 

[touchpause13]

Thank you for the reply. Do you think it's unlikely that I'll make it to the interview stage? Would ditching the clinic EC and focusing on grades this last semester be the best way to improve my chances? (I'll still have some other EC's on the side)

Anything else you'd recommend? Thanks you!

my stats are fairly simliar to yours and I have gotten 2 interviews so far. I would suggest checking out the underdog thread.

 

[giantham]

👍
First, people have indeed gotten accepted with your stats (perhaps off the waitlist, but accepted nonetheless). However, they either most likely had unique ECs/life experiences or applied early/broadly and got a little lucky. 😛 So while the odds are not in your favor, you aren't buried completely.

Ask yourself... if you were to quit your ECs, would you REALLY spend that time studying/working on your grades? If so, then perhaps you should do this and mention briefly in your PS that you wanted to dedicate your last semester to your grades and finish off strong (because quitting ECs does seem like it would be a red flag, so you want to explain why you did it).

Thank you for the reply. Would you say it is still worth applying with my current statistics? I'm curious about why it'd be a red flag. Do most students not stop an EC once they started? Would it be OK if I replaced the clinic activity with a slightly less-demanding activity or would that have the same negative effect? Thanks again!

my stats are fairly simliar to yours and I have gotten 2 interviews so far. I would suggest checking out the underdog thread.

Will do, thanks!

 

[Iliketoytles]

Thank you for the reply. Would you say it is still worth applying with my current statistics? I'm curious about why it'd be a red flag. Do most students not stop an EC once they started? Would it be OK if I replaced the clinic activity with a slightly less-demanding activity or would that have the same negative effect? Thanks again!


Will do, thanks!

I think you're over-thinking this (which, I understand, is very easy to do as a premed! 😉 )

If you feel like your current EC is too demanding and is affecting your grades, then perhaps switch to a less demanding one. I want to say that it's important to be involved in an EC during the semester, because it just seems weird to be EC-less as a premed. You seem quite worried about the toll that continuing your current EC will have on your grade, though.

So my advice would be to just switch to a less demanding EC, and work very hard and do the best you can in your classes. And yes, since your MCAT is decent, you should apply EARLY and BROADLY and you may grab some interviews! 🙂

 

[giantham]

I think you're over-thinking this (which, I understand, is very easy to do as a premed! 😉 )

If you feel like your current EC is too demanding and is affecting your grades, then perhaps switch to a less demanding one. I want to say that it's important to be involved in an EC during the semester, because it just seems weird to be EC-less as a premed. You seem quite worried about the toll that continuing your current EC will have on your grade, though.

So my advice would be to just switch to a less demanding EC, and work very hard and do the best you can in your classes. And yes, since your MCAT is decent, you should apply EARLY and BROADLY and you may grab some interviews! 🙂

Haha, yeah, over-thinking tends to be my specialty 😀 So you think it's OK to drop the more-demanding EC as long as I keep involved with the other one, and then it wouldn't come off as a red flag? Thanks very much for the help, I really appreciate it!

Great username/avatar reference, btw

 

[Goro]

As of right now, you're below the 3.25/3.25 bar we've set for our interview candidates. Other schools may still be more lenient. But my inclination is to advise you to concentrate on your grades and present the best possible package.

Thank you for the reply. Do you think it's unlikely that I'll make it to the interview stage? Would ditching the clinic EC and focusing on grades this last semester be the best way to improve my chances? (I'll still have some other EC's on the side)

Anything else you'd recommend? Thanks you!

 

[giantham]

As of right now, you're below the 3.25/3.25 bar we've set for our interview candidates. Other schools may still be more lenient. But my inclination is to advise you to concentrate on your grades and present the best possible package.

I think I will do exactly that, thank you!

 

[BuddyTheElf]

Thank you for the reply. Do you think it's unlikely that I'll make it to the interview stage? Would ditching the clinic EC and focusing on grades this last semester be the best way to improve my chances? (I'll still have some other EC's on the side)

Anything else you'd recommend? Thanks you!

I think it you apply right away next cycle you definitely have a shot at interviewing with your stats (if you have good ECs). Your question here is if you have good ECs. In my opinion, sticking at your current volunteer position and just cutting back on hours seems ideal. Focus on your grades above all-- your GPA needs a boost. Work on acing all your classes this last year, that will definitely help you. But, personally, I think it looks better to have a longer volunteer EC commitment somewhere rather than multiple shorter commitments at various institutions.
Good Luck! 👍