Too few EC's?

[Wiesal]

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I'm worried I don't have enough extracurricular and believe the "quality" of my experiences will only go so far.

I'm finishing my freshmen year and so far I have:

• Worked at a dermatology clinic as a medical assistant for 1.5 years - this takes up most of my free time
• Volunteered at a pediatric hospital, playing board games/coloring/chatting with patients (150 hours)

And that's it so far. Next semester, I'm going to start undergraduate research and work part time (same job). These activities and my classes use up all of my available time. I'm thinking about possibly volunteering at a homeless shelter during the weekend, but this would be seriously pushing it. Am I doing enough?

 

[ObjectiveBoba]

You. Are. Fine.

Having a few meaningful experiences is far better than having a dozen involvements where you don't do much.

 

[MareNostrummm]

When you apply to MD schools through AMCAS you can slot in 15 ECs. I'd aim to have 9-10 by the time you apply, balanced between volunteering, research, and clinical experience. Also having a variety of experiences will give you material to talk about on your personal statement, secondary essays, and interviews. Too few looks bad and too many can come off as padding.

 

[Catalystik]

I'm worried I don't have enough extracurricular and believe the "quality" of my experiences will only go so far.

I'm finishing my freshmen year and so far I have:

• Worked at a dermatology clinic as a medical assistant for 1.5 years - this takes up most of my free time
• Volunteered at a pediatric hospital, playing board games/coloring/chatting with patients (150 hours)

And that's it so far. Next semester, I'm going to start undergraduate research and work part time (same job). These activities and my classes use up all of my available time. I'm thinking about possibly volunteering at a homeless shelter during the weekend, but this would be seriously pushing it. Am I doing enough?

Yes, you're doing enough.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Please do not start worrying this early in the process. That is how people burn out. You're a freshman. You're fine.

 

[Robin-jay]

Sounds like you're on track.

 

[LizzyM]

You will have your research experience.
If you make a presentation or get a publication from that research, you will have those entries.
As you get farther along in your studies, you may have the opportunity to tutor or teach and there is a category for that.
At some point you should do some shadowing of specialists other than dermatologists as well as primary care providers. Shadowing is a category of experience.
If you have a hobby and/or artistic activity or involvement in athletics, there is a category for that.

So, looking ahead, you may find it quite natural to fill at least 9 of the slots.

 

[Wiesal]

Thank you everyone!

 

[HomeSkool]

Pace yourself, Grasshopper. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Choose quality over quantity of experiences. @LizzyM is wise. You would do well to heed her advice.

And here's my advice: Don't forget to take appropriate amounts of time for yourself. What I mean is, take the long view with your training and form good habits now. Learning good study habits as an undergrad (instead of cramming and pulling all-nighters) will serve you well throughout your training and career. Learning to fit in time for your own physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment is no different, and it's crucial to avoiding burnout along the way. Failure to do that is a road straight to depression, and heaven knows we already have too much of that in the medical profession.

It may seem like I only give that advice because I have the benefit of being past the gauntlet of medical education, but I'm being sincere. You know what's harder than being a premed student? Being a med student. And you know what's harder than that? Being a resident. And you know what's harder than that?! Pretty much nothing. Being an attending rocks, actually.

So keep it up with the ECs, but don't fret and jam your schedule so full that you have no time to be a normal, healthy undergrad. You're only young once. Kicking ass and enjoying your youth are not mutually exclusive.

 

[•Syzygy•]

ecs that show your potential for leadership will also look good. things like e boards of clubs or organizing a huge event etc.

you already have way more than i did as a freshman and i had 12 quality activities on my application. as others have said don’t worry so much

 

[lol_new_user]

on AMCAS they have sections:
Research
Non-Clinical Volunteering/Experience
Clinical Volunteering/Experience
Leadership

I think as you carve out your THEME for medical school (that is, who you are and how you fit in medicine and what role you plan to play in medicine), it is important to have at least one activity for all of these that you could talk about substantially.

I think I did the mistake of not highlighting my Non-Clinical Volunteering/Experiences as Leadership as well, so make sure you highlight everything as best you can.

 

[LnSin]

You’re doing fine buddy 🙂 keep up in school and get a good GPA before committing to a bunch of EC’s.

A couple of those slots on AMCAS will Be stuff like ‘hobbies,’ ‘presentations,’ ’TA position,’ ‘Various awards in undergrad,’ ‘research,’ ’summer internships/job experience’

Yknow? It’s natural: as you go through undergrad you’ll organically build these activities at a slow pace that you integrate to your app. DONT try to do everything at once or you’ll burn out! Aside from a few core things (mine were sports and volunteering) the rest come as you go!

ECs you can always change, but GPA and MCAT haunt you forever !


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