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question about the volunteering
Started by ddsshin
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I'd start a new topic, but seemed a bit redundant. So I'll just ask in this one.
With volunteering, and ECs in general, I'm guessing you can list just about anything? I mean from running the New York City marathon, to planting trees in parks? I guess this is kind of an obvious, but hearing some reassurance on my assumptions would be nice.
I'm also curious how these schools view things like: working a real job as a clinician versus someone who volunteers in the same environment? Obviously if you work full time (say as an RT like I do), I can't simply stack on a bunch of volunteer hours in the same environment (planting trees one day a year is different!); so are these people ("adcoms" I think I keep hearing them be called) decent enough to understand these situations, or are they hardcore about it like: it must be volunteer work else it doesn't mean squat to us!
With volunteering, and ECs in general, I'm guessing you can list just about anything? I mean from running the New York City marathon, to planting trees in parks? I guess this is kind of an obvious, but hearing some reassurance on my assumptions would be nice.
I'm also curious how these schools view things like: working a real job as a clinician versus someone who volunteers in the same environment? Obviously if you work full time (say as an RT like I do), I can't simply stack on a bunch of volunteer hours in the same environment (planting trees one day a year is different!); so are these people ("adcoms" I think I keep hearing them be called) decent enough to understand these situations, or are they hardcore about it like: it must be volunteer work else it doesn't mean squat to us!
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Bump! I'm wondering the same thing...
I actually didn't have a whole lot of traditional volunteer (soup kitchens, shelters, etc.) work when I applied. Everything I did was in association with my academic institution. I did reading sessions with kids on MLK Day and a beach clean-up that was sponsored by my school. Stuff like that.
So yeah, you can list just about anything that you think it worth listing, but remember that there's a finite amount of space for ECs and volunteer experience on the AADSAS app. Planting trees is great. I probably wouldn't list something like a marathon, but that's just me. As far as working full time goes, I think they'll understand your situation, especially if you're in health care.
I think what they're looking for is someone who is socially aware and well-rounded. I think planting trees, peer tutoring, and even cleaning up garbage are all good examples. As someone who works full time, I have had to be creative with my volunteer experience, too. I used donating platelets at St. Jude children's research hospital (obviously, this isn't the same as selling plasma!) and some other service projects that were not at all dentistry-related. You can also use church activities! If you have a pre-dental club at your school, consider organizing a service project with all of your members. And if you don't have a pre-dental club, consider starting one (which is also a great thing to put on your application). I encouraged a girl in my pre-dental club who grows her hair for "Locks of Love" to use that as a service project. I think it's more important to rack up shadowing hours than a whole slew of volunteering hours, so if you only have a limited number of hours to spend, spend them shadowing.
