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- May 10, 2019
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I just started volunteering at Meals on Wheels and I plan on submitting my primary application by the end of June or beginning of July. I only have 4 hours so far since I started last week, and plan on doing 4 hrs/week until I start scribing in late July/early August and then doing 2 hrs/week for a year. If I include my nonclinical volunteering before submitting my primary, I would only be able to include like 12ish hours, although I will be able to indicate that I am still doing this activity. So it looks like I have these 2 options:
1) List my Meals on Wheels volunteering on my AACOMAS list of extracurriculars before submitting my primary with only 12ish hours and indicate that it is a current activity. Hopefully this lets adcoms know that I'm not just doing this volunteering for like a month just to add it to my list, but that I am committing myself. I will also be able to bring it up in my interviews that I am still doing it. I won't be able to edit my description or # of hours on this activity after submitting my primary though.
2) Wait until I submit my first secondary so that I will have more hours completed (maybe 20-30ish) and I will have more to put on the description (we are in yellow phase so what I am doing is limited. I am a lousy at parallel parking and the drivers go to the city, so I would rather accompany a driver and deliver the meals to the clients than drive myself. Once we are in green phase I will be able to do that so I will be able to include direct interactions with clients in my description. Right now I am just packing the food and doing cleaning/sanitation). I will still indicate that it is a current activity if I do option 2.
I think if I wait to submit my first secondary to include my nonclinical volunteering I will have more hours completed and a better description of what I do. It's just that I'm not sure if I will get denied pre-secondary for not having any nonclinical volunteering experience listed, or if they are only screening based on GPA and MCAT and not extracurriculars. My MCAT and GPA are above the minimums for secondaries for the schools I am applying to, I have clinical volunteering and research as well as some other ECs, and I don't have a criminal record.
Can you guys let me know which I should do? Thank you!
1) List my Meals on Wheels volunteering on my AACOMAS list of extracurriculars before submitting my primary with only 12ish hours and indicate that it is a current activity. Hopefully this lets adcoms know that I'm not just doing this volunteering for like a month just to add it to my list, but that I am committing myself. I will also be able to bring it up in my interviews that I am still doing it. I won't be able to edit my description or # of hours on this activity after submitting my primary though.
2) Wait until I submit my first secondary so that I will have more hours completed (maybe 20-30ish) and I will have more to put on the description (we are in yellow phase so what I am doing is limited. I am a lousy at parallel parking and the drivers go to the city, so I would rather accompany a driver and deliver the meals to the clients than drive myself. Once we are in green phase I will be able to do that so I will be able to include direct interactions with clients in my description. Right now I am just packing the food and doing cleaning/sanitation). I will still indicate that it is a current activity if I do option 2.
I think if I wait to submit my first secondary to include my nonclinical volunteering I will have more hours completed and a better description of what I do. It's just that I'm not sure if I will get denied pre-secondary for not having any nonclinical volunteering experience listed, or if they are only screening based on GPA and MCAT and not extracurriculars. My MCAT and GPA are above the minimums for secondaries for the schools I am applying to, I have clinical volunteering and research as well as some other ECs, and I don't have a criminal record.
Can you guys let me know which I should do? Thank you!
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