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Wondering if anyone else here is a resident advisor...Any past resident adviors who think this position helped them get into med school?
Resident Advisors
- Thread starter HessExpress
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Hey,
I was an RA for an academic program for incoming freshmen this past summer. Although this may have been perceived differently than a regular RA position by admissions committees, I felt that the job only made a difference if I wrote about it in essays. Then interviewers tended to bring up the position, and ask about what I liked about the experience and what I learned.
Overall, I think being an RA is regarded similarly to any other EC with a hefty time commitment. I'm sure that admissions officers appreciate the ability of a good RA to be responsible and handle tough situations. However, it's only one factor in a complete application.
I was an RA for an academic program for incoming freshmen this past summer. Although this may have been perceived differently than a regular RA position by admissions committees, I felt that the job only made a difference if I wrote about it in essays. Then interviewers tended to bring up the position, and ask about what I liked about the experience and what I learned.
Overall, I think being an RA is regarded similarly to any other EC with a hefty time commitment. I'm sure that admissions officers appreciate the ability of a good RA to be responsible and handle tough situations. However, it's only one factor in a complete application.
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Yea, it definetly is a time commitment, but it definetly shows you have leadership skills. Volunteering in hospitals and doing research type stuff is definetly great, but I think the RA position can really provide you with a unique opportunity to show you got that something extra.
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Hess, definitely highlight your RA experience on your applications...
I was an RA for one year and then moved up to an HR (head resident) position for two years in which I supervised RAs in a building or series of buildings.
This type of job and committment is interesting because ANYONE who goes to college pretty much has interactions with their RA, but nobody seems to really understand the full scope of the job. Most people think an RA just patrols a hallway and puts up bulletin boards. If you can draw out the kinds of experiences and skills you've gained from the experience (leadership, crisis management, organization, facilitation of meetings, event planning, conflict resolution, team dynamics, diversity issues, etc) the interviewer will get a better idea of what it is you do as an RA... or at least he/she will ask you how your position impacted your skills as a leader etc.
To answer your first question, yes, I feel my RA experience helped me interview and/or be "sellable" to med schools. Yes, it is only one part of my experiences, and you definitely need clinical experience, grades, mcat etc. to make the whole package, but it also isn't something that you should just write down on your resume without giving some extra explanation. Otherwise the interviewer might fall into the trap of naively assuming that you just walked around the halls looking for underage drinkers.
Hope that makes sense...
Scott
I was an RA for one year and then moved up to an HR (head resident) position for two years in which I supervised RAs in a building or series of buildings.
This type of job and committment is interesting because ANYONE who goes to college pretty much has interactions with their RA, but nobody seems to really understand the full scope of the job. Most people think an RA just patrols a hallway and puts up bulletin boards. If you can draw out the kinds of experiences and skills you've gained from the experience (leadership, crisis management, organization, facilitation of meetings, event planning, conflict resolution, team dynamics, diversity issues, etc) the interviewer will get a better idea of what it is you do as an RA... or at least he/she will ask you how your position impacted your skills as a leader etc.
To answer your first question, yes, I feel my RA experience helped me interview and/or be "sellable" to med schools. Yes, it is only one part of my experiences, and you definitely need clinical experience, grades, mcat etc. to make the whole package, but it also isn't something that you should just write down on your resume without giving some extra explanation. Otherwise the interviewer might fall into the trap of naively assuming that you just walked around the halls looking for underage drinkers.
Hope that makes sense...Scott
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Being an RA was a huge part of my college experience. I was in res-life for 3 of my 4 years and a summer. I think it helped me enormously, and not just for getting into medical school. It truly does teach you a great deal about responsibility, leadership, creativity, people, etc.... When it became time to write those secondary essays I had a wealth of experiences to draw from (particularly the ethical situation essays). Not to mention it was just a jumpin jolly good time, righto!
I was also asked about it in several of my interviews, and I had a lot of good stories to tell.
I was also asked about it in several of my interviews, and I had a lot of good stories to tell.
M
moops
no offense- but.. i think it's pretty sad to do activities, ESPECIALLY being an RA for the fact that they will "help" you get into medical school-
do things you ENJOY. do things that bring you pleasure and happiness- if you are searching things to do that will make you look "good".. are you sure you aren't searching for a career that will make you look "good" as well?
be an RA if you want to be an RA.. not because you want to get into medical school
do things you ENJOY. do things that bring you pleasure and happiness- if you are searching things to do that will make you look "good".. are you sure you aren't searching for a career that will make you look "good" as well?
be an RA if you want to be an RA.. not because you want to get into medical school
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Hear hear. EVERY activity will help you get into med school if you are passionate about it and excel.
Bottom line: you need the numbers, community service, clinical experience. And it helps to have something else, something different too. Being an RA certainly qualifies, but so do zillions of other activities!
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In response to moots point that it is pretty sad to do an activity just for med school apps, I totally agree.
I don't think Hess or me or anyone else responding was inferring that. RAs who don't really love to do their job don't usually last very long at my school.
My point is that the job has definite SKILLS that med schools will look favorably upon provided you highlight them on your application/resume/essay whatever.
Nobody is suggesting that if you want to get into med school, you should become an RA.
Hope that clears things up!
I don't think Hess or me or anyone else responding was inferring that. RAs who don't really love to do their job don't usually last very long at my school.
My point is that the job has definite SKILLS that med schools will look favorably upon provided you highlight them on your application/resume/essay whatever.
Nobody is suggesting that if you want to get into med school, you should become an RA.
Hope that clears things up!
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Exactly...Thanks Horseradish, you cleared it up.
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It seems like people are bashing the notion of doing something to "get you into medical school." That isn't why anyone does anything is it? I mean why the hell do you think people join the premed club at their undergrad? Sure it makes you look more interested in Medical school but is it going to get you in? No way!
After having gone through this experience I do not think any of my extra curriculars "got me in" but they did add experiences to my young life that taught me something about myself and/or the people around me.
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So, you are saying that in no way do extra currics help one get into medical school? If this is so, as you are saying, then how come adcoms want to see ec's? Since this is the case, I do not see the problem with doing any ec just because you think it'll help you. You try your best to maintain your gpa, right? And why do you do this? If you are maintaining it "to get into med school" you are a hypocrite, according to your logic. This goes for anyone who says "oh, you do this ec or that ec just because you think it'll help your chances." **** yes, I'll do that ****ing ec if I think it'll help my chances, what the hell? Sorry, I got outta hand.
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This thread caught my eye since I'm in the last month of the excruciatingly long and oddly intense RA selection process at Ohio State. I'm so excited about being an RA. For any current/former RAs out there...I have to plan a program for a freshman floor as part of the selection stuff. Do any of you have any good ideas for programs you put on that really went over well? We get graded on how many people show up and what not so I really want to make it something appealing! Thanks!
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I think somewhere in all this hubbub of what ECs will help and whether to do them for med school or for fun, we are missing the big picture.
The reason med schools want to see extracurriculars are twofold from what I gather... 1) They want to see that you can juggle life in addition to the academics (ie EXTRA-curricular) 2) They want to see that you have interests that are diversified beyond simply medicine and becoming a doctor. Well-roundedness infers some sort of "fitness" in that you are able to relate to more life situations and can probably interact better with people.
There really is no ONE extracurricular that will get your foot into the med school door. That said, do the things you enjoy, join the clubs you will get the most out of, and most importantly, when it comes to application time, learn how to accurately highlight your extracurricular life on paper. If you are desperately joining things to try to improve your chances, chances are the ad coms will see right through your unidimensionality and choose someone who actually explored some interests instead of signing up for the chess club and never attending a meeting.
Hess, I am not sure what you were meaning in your last post entirely, but I don't think it's fair to compare GPA motivation with EC motivation. I also know plenty of people who choose to strive for good grades for reasons other than graduate education. ECs were not created for the purpose of evaluating a med school applicant's abilities. They exist because people have interests and like to do things other than study all the time.
Scott
The reason med schools want to see extracurriculars are twofold from what I gather... 1) They want to see that you can juggle life in addition to the academics (ie EXTRA-curricular) 2) They want to see that you have interests that are diversified beyond simply medicine and becoming a doctor. Well-roundedness infers some sort of "fitness" in that you are able to relate to more life situations and can probably interact better with people.
There really is no ONE extracurricular that will get your foot into the med school door. That said, do the things you enjoy, join the clubs you will get the most out of, and most importantly, when it comes to application time, learn how to accurately highlight your extracurricular life on paper. If you are desperately joining things to try to improve your chances, chances are the ad coms will see right through your unidimensionality and choose someone who actually explored some interests instead of signing up for the chess club and never attending a meeting.
Hess, I am not sure what you were meaning in your last post entirely, but I don't think it's fair to compare GPA motivation with EC motivation. I also know plenty of people who choose to strive for good grades for reasons other than graduate education. ECs were not created for the purpose of evaluating a med school applicant's abilities. They exist because people have interests and like to do things other than study all the time.
Scott
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Originally posted by crystal18mc
This thread caught my eye since I'm in the last month of the excruciatingly long and oddly intense RA selection process at Ohio State. I'm so excited about being an RA. For any current/former RAs out there...I have to plan a program for a freshman floor as part of the selection stuff. Do any of you have any good ideas for programs you put on that really went over well? We get graded on how many people show up and what not so I really want to make it something appealing! Thanks!
Good luck!!! I forgot how tough the RA selection process is. I hate to say this, but my well-attended programs all involved the two magic words - free food. As long as there was pizza or subs or ice cream people were there. Does it have to be a certain kind of program (social, educational)? I think this late in the year, it may be cool to do something that reacquaints residents who don't know each other as well - maybe pair off people for a scavenger hunt or some other kind of contest. You may want to check out http://www.residentassistant.com for ideas.
Again, good luck, and have fun!
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That is a FANTASTIC idea! Thanks! And thanks to everyone for the PM's too! What a help!
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Im an RA. I think its a fun experience but I would have a hard time explaining it to someone since there is so much involved. A lot of things you do as an RA are things you can't tell anybody about, like maybe the time you let some of the kids off the hook for drinking as long as they spilled it out.
You certainly get lots of funny stories. I was the RA of the honor's dorm and my residents were very creative. Two wings of my hall were warring for a year and a half when I inherited the floor. Some of the things they would do were pretty damn funny. One time one of the guys went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of expired corn and then shucked it and smashed it all over one of the other guys cars. It was a hilarious sight - cobs of corn were sticking out of the grill, exhaust pipe, winshield wipers and everything. No real damage was done but the resident did get kicked out of the dorms for it. Other times beastiality pictures would show up in the halls with other people's faces superimposed on them.
A lot of the programs I did were just off the wall. Like we had a Fresca chug-a-lug contest once. Other popular programs were going to a rock climbing facility and a racquetball tournement against another floor. Its very easy to be creative with programming but you need to find a niche with your residents otherwise you could have a lot of flop programs.
You certainly get lots of funny stories. I was the RA of the honor's dorm and my residents were very creative. Two wings of my hall were warring for a year and a half when I inherited the floor. Some of the things they would do were pretty damn funny. One time one of the guys went to the supermarket and bought a bunch of expired corn and then shucked it and smashed it all over one of the other guys cars. It was a hilarious sight - cobs of corn were sticking out of the grill, exhaust pipe, winshield wipers and everything. No real damage was done but the resident did get kicked out of the dorms for it. Other times beastiality pictures would show up in the halls with other people's faces superimposed on them.
A lot of the programs I did were just off the wall. Like we had a Fresca chug-a-lug contest once. Other popular programs were going to a rock climbing facility and a racquetball tournement against another floor. Its very easy to be creative with programming but you need to find a niche with your residents otherwise you could have a lot of flop programs.
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