religious activities

[michjen23]

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Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if it is a bad idea to mention things like the Catholic club I was in at school for all four years...I was really very involved in it organized weekly dinners and retreats etc. But, I am not conservative AT ALL (shocking I know considering it was Catholic) and didn't want to give off that vibe or offend anyone who is anti religion or any particular religion. I would never mention it in my personal statement but what about activities?

Thanks everyone and lots of luck with your apps🙂

 

[DaBeav]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if it is a bad idea to mention things like the Catholic club I was in at school for all four years...I was really very involved in it organized weekly dinners and retreats etc. But, I am not conservative AT ALL (shocking I know considering it was Catholic) and didn't want to give off that vibe or offend anyone who is anti religion or any particular religion. I would never mention it in my personal statement but what about activities?

Thanks everyone and lots of luck with your apps🙂

Well it sounds like you had some leadership experience doing it and you committed a significant amount of time to it...so I guess if you have room then throw it in...it can help show well-roundedness as a person I suppose in that its a non-science/academic activity

 

[Depakote]

Surprising fact: Doctors are allowed to believe in God, attend church and socialize with others who do the same thing.

It is ok to mention you do this, some devil-worshiping adcom member won't sacrifice a goat on your application because you said so...

 

[LizzyM]

It was a significant period of time (years) and required some leadership/organizational skills. List it. No one expects all Catholics to be conservative (we've got a whole flock of liberal Democrats in Congress who prove that point 😉 ).

 

[TCIrish03]

The Catholic Church isn't a political dichotomy. Pope John Paul II proved that point.

Also, one must actually believe what the Church teaches if they want to be called "Catholic".

It was a significant period of time (years) and required some leadership/organizational skills. List it. No one expects all Catholics to be conservative (we've got a whole flock of liberal Democrats in Congress who prove that point 😉 ).

 

[michjen23]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if it is a bad idea to mention things like the Catholic club I was in at school for all four years...I was really very involved in it organized weekly dinners and retreats etc. But, I am not conservative AT ALL (shocking I know considering it was Catholic) and didn't want to give off that vibe or offend anyone who is anti religion or any particular religion. I would never mention it in my personal statement but what about activities?

Thanks everyone and lots of luck with your apps🙂

Thanks!

 

[jbrice1639]

keep in mind that schools deeply rooted in the ancient roman teachings may choose to feed you to the lions if you're catholic...other than that, you're good to go. 😉

 

[LizzyM]

The Catholic Church isn't a political dichotomy. Pope John Paul II proved that point.

Also, one must actually believe what the Church teaches if they want to be called "Catholic".

To be called Catholic, one must be baptized. If baptized in another Christian church, one must make a profession of faith, as well.

 

[TCIrish03]

To be called Catholic, one must be baptized. If baptized in another Christian church, one must make a profession of faith, as well.

By that definition, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Henry VIII were all Catholic as well. The opposite of a doctrine is a heresy.

As much as I love a good-natured theological debate, I also don't want this to devolve like the Gay/Liberal thread did. Feel free to PM or email me

 

[stargirl50]

keep in mind that schools deeply rooted in the ancient roman teachings may choose to feed you to the lions if you're catholic...other than that, you're good to go. 😉

I went to a pretty conservative Catholic college and listed involvement in faith-based stuff on my application. I wasn't asked about the church/my beliefs at a single interview (but one interviewer made a positive comment about my involvement in my church).

 

[TCIrish03]

Mind if I ask where? ND myself

I went to a pretty conservative Catholic college and listed involvement in faith-based stuff on my application. I wasn't asked about the church/my beliefs at a single interview (but one interviewer made a positive comment about my involvement in my church).

 

[jbrice1639]

I went to a pretty conservative Catholic college and listed involvement in faith-based stuff on my application. I wasn't asked about the church/my beliefs at a single interview (but one interviewer made a positive comment about my involvement in my church).

not sure if you meant to actually quote my particular statement or were just responding in general, but needless to say my comments about being fed to lions was a joke...not sure if there are any ancient roman medical schools in the US or not, but i'm guessing there aren't many arenas where us catholics are fed to lions anymore...

 

[MossPoh]

By that definition, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Henry VIII were all Catholic as well. The opposite of a doctrine is a heresy.

As much as I love a good-natured theological debate, I also don't want this to devolve like the Gay/Liberal thread did. Feel free to PM or email me

Heh. Well Martin Luther WAS catholic till they got uppity with the selling of indulgences and the like.lol He was declared as a herectic and was kind of concerned about being burned for it like a counterpart that pretty much said the same stuff some years before...thus the reason for the fake kidnapping where he chilled out and translated a bible for ****s and giggles.

ANYWAY Yea put it on there... It shows leadership and honestly if it were an issue and they tried to pin you with questions at an interview I'd be more than outraged if I were you......

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if it is a bad idea to mention things like the Catholic club I was in at school for all four years...I was really very involved in it organized weekly dinners and retreats etc. But, I am not conservative AT ALL (shocking I know considering it was Catholic) and didn't want to give off that vibe or offend anyone who is anti religion or any particular religion. I would never mention it in my personal statement but what about activities?

Thanks everyone and lots of luck with your apps🙂

For the very reasons we have started a debate on this thread, I decided not to mention anything about my involvement in our Catholic Club (organizing retreats, community service, etc). Unless you feel it is a very important part of your application, I would leave it off...in a perfect world, the individuals that look at your application will not hold any biases or prejudices...unfortunately, they are human beings with faults just like the rest of us. If your application happens to be reviewed (or you are so lucky to be interviewed) by someone who feels very strongly about the issue...it could work against you.

My advice...see if your application stands out without the extra activity.

 

[stargirl50]

Mind if I ask where? ND myself

I went to ND too. How'd you guess?! 😉

 

[TCIrish03]

I went to ND too. How'd you guess?! 😉

Because aside from Thomas Aquinas and Ave Maria, Notre Dame is considered the most "conservative" of the "Catholic" universities, compared to Boston College, Georgetown, etc. I don't like ascribing political terms to the Catholic faith (look at John Paul II), so I'd guess "non-secular" vs. "secular" would be a better term.

Go Irish! (finally having a good football team again makes me want to do it all over).

 

[DoctaJay]

I would mention it. I mention in my personal statment of us baptiziing people on a mission trip. If it defines you and makes you unique, dont' be afraid to put it.

 

[TCIrish03]

So yeah, I would mention it. It's an activity that helped shape you as a person, right? At the secondary/interview stage, that's what med schools are looking for to separate the wheat from the chaffe.

Here's an article posted on here a while ago. If one of your concerns is that somebody will be turned off as you being overzealous, alot of doctors believe in God still. There's a risk either way: some might be biased against you, some might be biased for, and alot will remain objective. Interestingly, I heard physicists/astronomers are more likely to believe, while biologically-oriented are less likely. I wonder why? (serious question) Working with stem cells and molecular biology stuff the last few years has only made me believe more.


http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/050714/doctorsfaith.shtml

 

[ZacharyMD]

Add it if you have 10 Extra Curriculars or less. Bottom line.