Timing of volunteer activities

[jmugele]

I don't know if this has been asked before, so if it has, just shoot me down.

I'd like to get into a top-tier school -- my MCAT and GPA are great. My main concern is all of my volunteer and shadowing experience are from my college days (more than 10 years ago). How do schools look at timeliness of volunteer experience? Would it be worth it to volunteer for the next 3-4 months at a local clinic even if all I would be doing is clerical work?

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[efex101]

medical schools are looking for recent community involvement and clinical exposure. This does two things, it proves that you are an individual that is concerned about your community and it also proves that you know (kind of) what you may be getting into...(not just watching TLC/ER to get your info) and yes, this has happened at interviews...where someone had no clinical exposure and all their knowledge was from some show...so although you can certainly use your prior experience as a plus...you will more than likely need some recent exposure.