summer after freshman year

[NP545]

I wanted to know if I'm doing too little during the summer after my freshman year.

No summer classes or job.
Volunteering at hospital 4 hours/week.


Is this above average, average, or below average compared to what's recommended for premeds after freshman year. If this is too little, could anyone recommend me some good things to do?

I pretty much spend my days playing sports and practicing, though this would not be included anywhere on my app, maybe except for hobbies (probably not though)

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[baxt1412]

if you have no commitments, then you should and could be doing more than 4 hours a week volunteering. what about non-clinical volunteering? summer course? tutoring for ACT through a company? shadowing?

work harder now to get your hours done and you'll be able to do less later. i would suggest applying for an REU for next summer.

 

[lmn]

Get your clinical and volunteer clinical started NOW, you likely won't have much time in future summers due to research/classes/internships/work/etc, get a lot of your hours done now when you have the time so you can do less when you get busy in the future. It is likely too late to get involved in any research or work opportunities now unless you are staying at school during the summer so do the things you can easily get involved in, there are tons of opportunities to volunteer at during the summer months.

 

[NP545]

@baxt1412 I'm shadowing towards the end of summer, maybe will have about 20 hours total as of this summer's end. I was told by others that there was no benefit in bumping up my hospital volunteering to 8 hours/week during summer because a longer period of commitment is better than max hours for a shorter period of time

@lmn I am doing volunteer clinical (hospital volunteering)! Is this 4 hours/week sufficient for one summer?

I will be taking MCAT prep next summer and will be doing research throughout the semesters, as well as non-clinical volunteering during the semesters. What else is there to do over this summer-- should I do EMS (no EMT certification) only during summer for about 100 hours?

 

[Time Table]

What else is there to do over this summer-- should I do EMS (no EMT certification) only during summer for about 100 hours?

I tried to get my EMS and EMT certification and more often then not, the ambulance corps will reject you for the lack of commitment. They want you to get your EMT certification and then commit with them for about a year or so. Unless you have a softer EMS near you, I would highly doubt it. Try to get ~100 hours of shadowing this summer. Contact local clinics and stuff and see if you can shadow doctors there. Also, get as many hours as you can this summer for volunteering. Then, throughout your college career, you can decrease the hours and still have a large amount of hours to spread throughout.

 

[baxt1412]

I wouldn't worry about an EMT. In my opinion, unless you're going to actively use it for a year, many people will look at it as just another general thing on your application without much meaning... everything you do should be building who you are and how you operate.


and even if you are doing research at school, i'd still suggest getting an REU for over the summer.