SI Leader or Tutor?

[Neutral]

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Hello, I'm coming into my senior year and I have two job opportunities. I can take only one and I was wondering what you guys think would be best to do, based on what would look best on a med school application (for the record I enjoy both jobs equally as they are quite similar).

My first option is being an S.I. Leader, where I attend a basic science class and lead two review sessions a week based on what they learned, and teach them the material. This also lets me get to know the professor for a possible recommendation.

My second option is being a basic tutor for the school, probably tutoring math, physics or chemistry.

The reason I have torn between the two is because getting a recommendation from this professor would be very nice, but I've also heard from quite a few people that med schools like to see tutoring. The S.I. Leader job is much like a tutoring job, only instead of one-on-one its more like one on 12-15.

The tutoring job is less stressful, and if tutoring is valuable to have on an application then I'll take it, but I also don't want to pass up the chance for a good recommendation if tutoring doesn't look any better than being an S.I. Leader.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Lya]

I would go with the S.I. Leader.

I don't think tutoring is any better than SI.

 

[Arkaine]

Unless you have formal office hours, you can always offer to help students on the side (for free or as a private tutor) and earn your tutoring experience that way. Strictly having a tutoring job is more limited in this sense.

 

[SN12357]

Hello, I'm coming into my senior year and I have two job opportunities. I can take only one and I was wondering what you guys think would be best to do, based on what would look best on a med school application (for the record I enjoy both jobs equally as they are quite similar).

My first option is being an S.I. Leader, where I attend a basic science class and lead two review sessions a week based on what they learned, and teach them the material. This also lets me get to know the professor for a possible recommendation.

My second option is being a basic tutor for the school, probably tutoring math, physics or chemistry.

The reason I have torn between the two is because getting a recommendation from this professor would be very nice, but I've also heard from quite a few people that med schools like to see tutoring. The S.I. Leader job is much like a tutoring job, only instead of one-on-one its more like one on 12-15.

The tutoring job is less stressful, and if tutoring is valuable to have on an application then I'll take it, but I also don't want to pass up the chance for a good recommendation if tutoring doesn't look any better than being an S.I. Leader.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The S. I. Leader job sounds more interesting and you could end up clasifying it as 'teaching/tutoring' in your AMCAS activities anyway.

 

[boboyahoo]

I would do the SI if you don't have a heavy course load. Otherwise, it can take up a lot of time and you have to meet on weekends with the professor and other SI people to prepare review items. I had this choice but ultimately I decided to become a tutor because hours are more flexible.
Another thing you could try for that pays much better is to become a lab TA. That job is lots of work but I think it's an amazing opportunity for upperclassmen with the credentials. Many schools with grad departments usually hire grad students but they are willing to recruit confident undergrads for lower level classes since grad students usually want to teach upper lvl.

 

[jmbusclas]

Hello, I'm coming into my senior year and I have two job opportunities. I can take only one and I was wondering what you guys think would be best to do, based on what would look best on a med school application (for the record I enjoy both jobs equally as they are quite similar).

My first option is being an S.I. Leader, where I attend a basic science class and lead two review sessions a week based on what they learned, and teach them the material. This also lets me get to know the professor for a possible recommendation.

My second option is being a basic tutor for the school, probably tutoring math, physics or chemistry.

The reason I have torn between the two is because getting a recommendation from this professor would be very nice, but I've also heard from quite a few people that med schools like to see tutoring. The S.I. Leader job is much like a tutoring job, only instead of one-on-one its more like one on 12-15.

The tutoring job is less stressful, and if tutoring is valuable to have on an application then I'll take it, but I also don't want to pass up the chance for a good recommendation if tutoring doesn't look any better than being an S.I. Leader.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Hi Neutral,

As someone who has done both, I would recommend going with the SI gig. I absolutely loved my time as an SI leader (did it for 2 years for Organic Chem). It gave me the opportunity to make some connections to do tutoring on the side as my own thing. The connections that I made with the professors were invaluable.

If you are going to doSI though, please do not take it lightly. The kids that you will have at your sessions look to you for guidance and reassurance. They will depend on you and you must dedicate a significant portion of your life to them. If you do not feel like you are up to the task, please pass.

 

[PreMedRookie]

Hi Neutral,

As someone who has done both, I would recommend going with the SI gig. I absolutely loved my time as an SI leader (did it for 2 years for Organic Chem). It gave me the opportunity to make some connections to do tutoring on the side as my own thing. The connections that I made with the professors were invaluable.

If you are going to doSI though, please do not take it lightly. The kids that you will have at your sessions look to you for guidance and reassurance. They will depend on you and you must dedicate a significant portion of your life to them. If you do not feel like you are up to the task, please pass.

I completely agree. I am an SI leader and if you are only doing this for your med school app, then pass. Your students and fellow SI leaders will hate you for it.

Also, I don't know where the other poster was a leader, but we never meet on weekends and we make our own review material.