quiting something to do something else

[korndoctor]

i tried something new in college...taekwondo for 3 semesters, but next semester i will become an RA, resident hall director of a dorm and it will conflict with taekwondo schedule so i would have to quit taekwondo since RA will require us to be on duty for certain time periods as well as being more time demanding. Is it okay to quit an activity to pursue leadership activities like RA? Do you recommend i still put taekwondo as one of my 15 EC eventho i only did it for 3 semesters and quit? any auggestions/advice please. thxs

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[nskittles57]

Life brings choices...some options look better than others (RA > taekwondo)...but both on if you have room because Taekwondo shows you are a real person who enjoys a recreational activity!

 

[maestro1625]

i tried something new in college...taekwondo for 3 semesters, but next semester i will become an RA, resident hall director of a dorm and it will conflict with taekwondo schedule so i would have to quit taekwondo since RA will require us to be on duty for certain time periods as well as being more time demanding. Is it okay to quit an activity to pursue leadership activities like RA? Do you recommend i still put taekwondo as one of my 15 EC eventho i only did it for 3 semesters and quit? any auggestions/advice please. thxs

no, it's not a good idea if your priorities are so screwed up that you would choose your college activities based on your applications.

do what you do in college because you enjoyed it... and put it down.

 

[DocOB]

adcoms like to see that you also have things going on in your life that you enjoy and that aren't necessarily just for the sake of helping you get into medical school. Taekwando is one of those things and I would definetely put it on there. I put on my app my hockey experiences and they came up in all of my interviews. Continuity is ideal for most of your EC's, but some things end up taking priority. Being an RA is one of those, but I would still put the Taekwando on the app. Good luck.

BTW, I doubt I spelled tiekwondough correctly

 

[korndoctor]

yeah thats the thing. i think RA will be a huge time commitment and some things like other EC coincide with RA and i want to do RA since its something i havent tried yet in college.

my question if i put down taekwondo on list of 15 EC and admissions ask why i quit, would RA be a reasonable excuse? i also have to start volunteering and deal with all the engineering requirements next year.

 

[DocOB]

I doubt if they're going to look at it and ask why you gave it up. Especially if they look at the timelines of your activities that you put down on your AMCAS. Continuity is desireable, but it's not always the best thing. They can see when you have other things going on and I think many adcoms would agree that giving up Taekwando to take on RA responsibilties is not a bad decision.

 

[LizzyM]

yeah thats the thing. i think RA will be a huge time commitment and some things like other EC coincide with RA and i want to do RA since its something i havent tried yet in college.

my question if i put down taekwondo on list of 15 EC and admissions ask why i quit, would RA be a reasonable excuse? i also have to start volunteering and deal with all the engineering requirements next year.

Showing that you can prioritize and are willing to give up something you enjoy for something that is more important to you may be something that an adcom is happy to see. It also shows that you are willing to try new things.

 

[korndoctor]

okay that makes sense, thanks.

 

[The Doctor]

Can you find a way to make both work? If TKD is something you should enjoy, keep it up! You might could find another dojo to go practice TKD at or a different student group where your schedule wouldn't conflict. Perhaps you could cut back on your hours or trade duty nights with a fellow RA so that you can go every other week. I was an RA and later hall director for > 2 years; you can find ways to make your time work out without having to drop activities or academic commitments. I played around with our duty schedule and combined buildings so that we could cut back to only being on duty once every 8 nights. The time requirement for being an RA is variable, it really takes as much time as you put into it; so, while it is a great opportunity to make a difference in other student's lives, make sure to take care of yourself first.

Good luck!

 

[ChristianJames1]

I don't think anyone should let their life be dictated by what "looks good". If you want to be an RA be an RA. If you want to do Taekwondo, do it. I hate how everyone does things they think will look good instead of what they really want. I don't think Adcoms want to see people jump through a hoop just so they know they are obedient.