The importance of ECs

[Chankovsky]

How important is this in the overrall application process and what would you consider as EC(this is important).

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[Megalofyia]

It helps your application, but it probably isn't as important as you'd like it to be. It is far more important to have the numbers but good and interesting ECs and LORs can definitly make an application more likely to be given more consideration by adcoms. Volunteering, research activities, jobs, clubs your in, offices you've held are ECs.

 

[felipe5]

I definately agree with megalo's reply..........I'd like to add that you should shoot for quality and NOT quantity as far as EC's go. I have friends who put clubs in that they 'belong' to, but don't even go to the meetings etc....they just wanted to make it seem like a lot

EC's offer another opportunity to present to ADCOM's who you are by showing them what you've done. I chose to present to ADCOM's EC's that actually impacted me and helped add to my character as a whole.

 

[CalBeE]

For me, the EC's sorta convey the type of person someone is. If someone spends a lot of time in tutoring kids, volunteering on Pediatric floor, etc., that tells me the interest of the person.

 

[ek6]

I agree too - numbers are important to get you over the hurdle. However, since there are so many of us who ultimately pass the GPA/MCAT cutoff (in my mind, about a 3.5/30), THEN EC's start to kick in. I've been on 6 interviews thus far, and one of the first things we always talk about was my soccer and orchestra experiences at school for all four years. It always adds a little flair and a positive vibe to the app. Nonetheless, you still have to leap the numbers hurdle (which I barely did) to let your EC's tip you over the edge.