question abt volunteering hrs!!

[passionMD]

Hi
I've been volunteering at MSKCC for abt 2 yrs but i have only about a 100hrs. Its b/c i skipped all winters, summers and the month of finals during semesters. Are they going to look down upon the low amt of hours that i made in those 2 HUGE years? I'm also gonna volunteer at NY Presbyterian which requires you to volunteer 4 hrs each week. I think this will force me to show up more regularly and not slack off. will be applying to med skools next yr. So what do u guys think? will it really look bad?

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[ti89]

2 years and about 4 total day of volunteering...not exactly great when I see it.

 

[passionMD]

2 years and about 4 total day of volunteering...not exactly great when I see it.

yes, it's not great! but is it too bad? i mean until next yr i'll hopefully have made 200+ in total (considering that i won't slack off in NYP)

 

[gujuDoc]

2 years and about 4 total day of volunteering...not exactly great when I see it.

Are you an adcom member?? I don't think so.

There is no set amount of hours that makes a good amount. It is more the quality of what you got out of it, and the committment that you showed to the said activity.

 

[christinejane19]

It's called "volunteering" b/c you do it on your own time, when you are available. 100 hours of volunteering is 100 more than alot of people have done. I wouldnt dwell on it. I did about 150 hours of volunteering over 2 years. But I did it only during the summers, one 8 hour day a week (b/c i was working full time). I'm still putting it down.

 

[radioh3ad]

were you supposed to state your hours? i only stated the schedule and the hours per week that i volunteered. but honestly i think they care more about what you experienced and learned than how much you did. i dont even think they verify your hours most of the time... but if you're lying it's very easy for them to tell.

 

[gujuDoc]

were you supposed to state your hours? i only stated the schedule and the hours per week that i volunteered. but honestly i think they care more about what you experienced and learned than how much you did. i dont even think they verify your hours most of the time... but if you're lying it's very easy for them to tell.

The only times when they seem to care how much you did is when they catch you in a lie or when it is like 2 days of volunteering vs. someone with at least a semester of volunteering.

However, I don't think 100 hours is bad at all, and honestly doubt they care if it is 100 or 200 hours. They just wanted to see that you did something which allowed you to learn a bit about what medicine involves and showed some decent committment too. Good commitment could be 1 year or 2 years, or more. It could be at least a minimum of a semester.

 

[passionMD]

The only times when they seem to care how much you did is when they catch you in a lie or when it is like 2 days of volunteering vs. someone with at least a semester of volunteering.

However, I don't think 100 hours is bad at all, and honestly doubt they care if it is 100 or 200 hours. They just wanted to see that you did something which allowed you to learn a bit about what medicine involves and showed some decent committment too. Good commitment could be 1 year or 2 years, or more. It could be at least a minimum of a semester.

Okay sounds good to me. Thanx guys!

 

[rossiniane1]

Okay sounds good to me. Thanx guys!

just another opinon....
but i took my volunteering opportunity as a chance to show my dedication and commitment to showing up twice a week during tests, finals, and now summer. I am sure the docs notice. My clinic is a lot of fun and of course i have learned a lot (which makes it easy to want to be there). Will it help me in any way with LOR or ?? That I don't know. But I agree that the experience there is more valuable than the documented hours. I think 100 or 200 is plenty of experience.

 

[ti89]

Are you an adcom member?? I don't think so.

There is no set amount of hours that makes a good amount. It is more the quality of what you got out of it, and the committment that you showed to the said activity.

Ok but on the amcas it asks hours per weeks (2 years) 52+52 weeks- 104 weeks

100 hours/104 weeks = less then one hour a week. Not really affecting ones schedule so yes adcom will notice it was not too much.

I am not saying the person did not get something out of it but that is not what was asked. I looked at the numbers and saying what I saw.

That said as more hours get put on next year it will look better in terms of just numbers.