Time management and extracurriculars? Am I on the right path?

[futuredoc95]

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So, I just completed my first semester and it was successful. I earned a leadership position, joined an honors program, and got some research experience. One problem I have is my lack of volunteering. I feel like I don't have the time to do it during school and spend summer breaks doing research/enrichment programs.

Sometimes I feel like the whole pre-med process is unreasonably difficult. Most importantly, pre meds need a great GPA and MCAT. (I got a 4.0 but who cares because it's from a community college since I can't afford university for four years). On top of that, you need research and leadership (which I have, even though it can be stressful to devote time to being a leader of a club while excelling in school) AND you need clinical volunteering, non clinical volunteering, and shadowing.

I am trying to do some non-clinical volunteering with my school but it's really hard to fit in time for volunteering in my schedule. I have 90 hours as an EMT but I quit that because they were having administrative issues and I wanted to focus on my studies. I also have 80 hours volunteering at a hospital but that is also from high school. It's really difficult to find time to do even more stuff. I am taking 18 credit workloads of all science and math and my community college is one of the more rigorous ones and holds high standards (although I have never taken a university one, so I don't really know but it is ranked in the top 10 out of US junior colleges). I am also taking Honors courses there and getting A's, have great relationships with my professors. My lack of time for volunteering may lead to my demise though. Any advice?

Maybe my problem is that I am trying to cram everything I need for med school into one year... I'm a paranoid pre-med, maybe more than most, because this has been my dream for my whole life and my anxiety disorder and personality type don't make the process easier. I wish someone could just reassure me that I won't end up as a washed-out premed Bio major with no job. I just want to get into one US MD school. I don't even care about which one it is. Just a chance for me to reach my dream and I am willing to work my ass off to make that happen. SDN, please help me through this stressful process. Please give me advice and help me stay on the right track. Thoughts about me doing pre-reqs at the community college? I plan on taking upper level science classes upon graduation.

 

[plumhill]

You don't have to do everything at once, and if you utilize your breaks well, you have more than enough time to accomplish everything. Shadow over winter or spring break, get volunteering in over the summer, and do ECs (and some volunteering, if you want) during the school year. You'll have more than enough time to do everything.

 

[futuredoc95]

You don't have to do everything at once, and if you utilize your breaks well, you have more than enough time to accomplish everything. Shadow over winter or spring break, get volunteering in over the summer, and do ECs (and some volunteering, if you want) during the school year. You'll have more than enough time to do everything.

Thank you so much! 🙂

 

[No Limits]

Its okay to work hard but don't forget to take some time to live. Don't overwork yourself because things only get more intense later down the line. However, I will say you are doing fine academically but remember your grades and MCAT are weighed more heavily than being president of some club. Leadership is nice but if your grades drop because you put too much on your plate, the leadership position may not be able to do much to help you.

Keep up the grades, beast the MCAT, get some meaningful clinical and non-clinical volunteer experiences, some shadowing, and strong LOR's and you will be golden. You are already doing research so keep that up and that's icing on the cake. I can't say much about the anxiety thing because we cannot give medical advice on here but if its that bad seek some medical attention. Good luck!

 

[futuredoc95]

Its okay to work hard but don't forget to take some time to live. Don't overwork yourself because things only get more intense later down the line. However, I will say you are doing fine academically but remember your grades and MCAT are weighed more heavily than being president of some club. Leadership is nice but if your grades drop because you put too much on your plate, the leadership position may not be able to do much to help you.

Keep up the grades, beast the MCAT, get some meaningful clinical and non-clinical volunteer experiences, some shadowing, and strong LOR's and you will be golden. You are already doing research so keep that up and that's icing on the cake. I can't say much about the anxiety thing because we cannot give medical advice on here but if its that bad seek some medical attention. Good luck!

Thank you, No Limits! Will the fact that I did pre-reqs at community college hurt my app a lot though?

 

[No Limits]

Thank you, No Limits! Will the fact that I did pre-reqs at community college hurt my app a lot though?

There are hundreds of threads on this but the consensus is doing pre reqs at community college is not that big of a deal. Be advised that some schools don't accept cc pre reqs but the majority do. Personally, I don't see the big deal taking a few pre reqs at a cc and taking the rest at a 4 year university (to save money). If you are getting A's at both institutions and beast the MCAT, how can anyone say anything about that? Besides, some cc's can be just as rigorous as some 4 year universities. If you haven't already, don't take them all at a cc and if you have, take some upper level science courses at a 4 year university and show med schools you can handle science courses at a "university" level.