Top stats but no ECs

[ScamWow]

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This past summer, I decided to go pre-med; previously, I was thinking about going to work in nuclear energy, or maybe go to grad school. Academically, I'll be fine (see below), but I don't have the usual ECs--and I certainly don't have the exceptional ECs I have seen on several posts on this website. I took the MCAT in September then retook in January. What I need to know is if I should take a year to acquire the usual ECs (research, shadowing, clinical experience, etc., from what I've seen) and then apply, or if i should apply this cycle. Thanks.

School: HYP

Major: ChemE

GPA: 4.0

MCAT: 34R (12/10/12), 40S (14/12/14)

Shadowing/research/clinical/volunteering: none

Other: men's volleyball club

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Top stats with no ECs at all will not get you to the lowest ranked med school. DO schools won't bother with it either.
EC's are meant to show yourself as a person and how you can benefit to the name of the profession (clinical volunteering) and to show you have a dedication, drive, and passion for medicine.
Simple advice: Take a year off and do a good amount of clinical and nonclinical volunteering, shadowing, and health related EC's to see if you feel the medicine what you want to do as a career. Research would be icing on the cake.

 

[ScamWow]

Top stats with no ECs at all will not get you to the lowest ranked med school. DO schools won't bother with it either.
EC's are meant to show yourself as a person and how you can benefit to the name of the profession (clinical volunteering) and to show you have a dedication, drive, and passion for medicine.
Simple advice: Take a year off and do a good amount of clinical and nonclinical volunteering, shadowing, and health related EC's to see if you feel the medicine what you want to do as a career. Research would be icing on the cake.

Should I apply this year and try to catch a break? And I don't really understand the emphasis apparently placed on ECs. Maybe someone can illuminate this for me.

 

[Perspectives]

Should I apply this year and try to catch a break? And I don't really understand the emphasis apparently placed on ECs. Maybe someone can illuminate this for me.

The emphasis on EC's is to show that you have a passion for helping others and an interest in the healthcare field. Many pre-med students participate in EC's such as shadowing and volunteering solely for the purpose of getting into med school (which defeats the purpose of doing them, really), but it makes sense why medical schools would want an applicant to be involved in these types of activities.

Good luck with your future application!

 

[phaloz]

Although completion of required undergraduate courses, a high GPA and a decent MCAT score is necessary to get into medical school, these requirements are all accompanied with extracurricular activities, personality, social skills and much more. Why do medical schools look at extracurricular activities? Well, they need to see that you are able to handle yourself academically while still being socially involved around the school in a variety of useful activities/clubs. It doesn’t hurt to do extracurricular activities that reflect your interest in public health or health-related services and/or volunteer work (e.g., environmental club).


Why are social skills and personality important? You have a 4.0 GPA and a perfect score on your MCAT, but you didn’t know that most medical schools require an interview prior to admission. They use this interview to assess not only your academic capability but mostly your personality and social skills (because these are both important in being a doctor). Some people severely lack in this department no matter how high their GPA and will be denied entry based solely on a ad interview.


There are plenty of smart people out there with good grades who could get a 4.0gpa and 35+ MCAT if they studied all day and didn't interact with anything other than their textbooks. EC's show the humanity behind the applicant, what they have to offer to the school and eventually to the world as a MD and as a human. Grades, while they a very important part of an applicant, at the end of the day they are just numbers.

 

[OhioG]

Its only march. Start volunteering at a few places and apply in the summer (by then you should have at least 5 medically related things) and volunteer in the summer and through out the year next year. With your gpa and mcat your app wont be rejected and as the year progresses send update letters on what you are doing. By december you should have a solid list of things youve done and with a 40 on the mcat even if you get a late interview, you'll get a seat. Unless your applying top 20 schools, you shouldnt really have a problem.

I mean if you make a late change and decide to go pre-med, they cant expect you to have the kind of resume someone who know from day one and planned accordingly. Just make sure you have a solid reasoning, good personal statement and show that you are taking steps in having more ECs.

But again you have a 40 and 4.0, if you don't get in this cycle or next, you really really really are not meant to be a doctor

 

[ScamWow]

Although completion of required undergraduate courses, a high GPA and a decent MCAT score is necessary to get into medical school, these requirements are all accompanied with extracurricular activities, personality, social skills and much more. Why do medical schools look at extracurricular activities? Well, they need to see that you are able to handle yourself academically while still being socially involved around the school in a variety of useful activities/clubs. It doesn’t hurt to do extracurricular activities that reflect your interest in public health or health-related services and/or volunteer work (e.g., environmental club).


Why are social skills and personality important? You have a 4.0 GPA and a perfect score on your MCAT, but you didn’t know that most medical schools require an interview prior to admission. They use this interview to assess not only your academic capability but mostly your personality and social skills (because these are both important in being a doctor). Some people severely lack in this department no matter how high their GPA and will be denied entry based solely on a ad interview.


There are plenty of smart people out there with good grades who could get a 4.0gpa and 35+ MCAT if they studied all day and didn't interact with anything other than their textbooks. EC's show the humanity behind the applicant, what they have to offer to the school and eventually to the world as a MD and as a human. Grades, while they a very important part of an applicant, at the end of the day they are just numbers.

I wonder about this logic. How many medical students are heavily involved in ECs? I presume some do research, but most probably just hit the books. Therefore, it seems the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is irrelevant.

Actually, I did know about the interview. I am friendly and personable (especially by ChemE standards) and have interviewed successfully for a variety of academic, extracurricular, and professional positions (a DCI drum & bugle corps, multiple research gigs, an externships at a nuclear power plant, etc.). So I don't think the interview will be a problem.

Anyway, sounds like the consensus is to take a year to beef up the rest of my application and apply next cycle. Has anyone gotten in without the cookie-cutter ECs? Thanks for all the input, everyone.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I mean if you make a late change and decide to go pre-med, they cant expect you to have the kind of resume someone who know from day one and planned accordingly. Just make sure you have a solid reasoning, good personal statement and show that you are taking steps in having more ECs.

But you can't expect them to think you are acting on anything more than a whim either. And being that the process is a minimum 7 years, best case, they aren't going to risk anything for anyone who might be acting on a whim.

OP- take a year and hope that it is enough. you need a good amount of time to prove you aren't acting on a whim.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I wonder about this logic. How many medical students are heavily involved in ECs? I presume some do research, but most probably just hit the books. Therefore, it seems the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is irrelevant..

Everyone. It is basically a requirement. So every single med student was moderately to very active in ECs, most the entire time through college.

 

[ScamWow]

Everyone. It is basically a requirement. So every single med student was moderately to very active in ECs, most the entire time through college.

I meant, how many medical students are involved in ECs while in medical school. Presumably, the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is very important. The point I was making is that most medical students do schoolwork and very little else, meaning the aforementioned ability seems irrelevant.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I meant, how many medical students are involved in ECs while in medical school. Presumably, the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is very important. The point I was making is that most medical students do schoolwork and very little else, meaning the aforementioned ability seems irrelevant.

oh. yeah i agree. not many ECs in med school. I am sure there are some. and it may seem irrelevant. I have heard the first two years of med school seem irrelevant also. Doesn't change the fact that they are the hoops we all must jump through. I have heard numerous people say "getting in is the hardest part of the journey." Up until intern year that is.

 

[phaloz]

]I wonder about this logic. How many medical students are heavily involved in ECs? I presume some do research, but most probably just hit the books. Therefore, it seems the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is irrelevant.[/B]

Actually, I did know about the interview. I am friendly and personable (especially by ChemE standards) and have interviewed successfully for a variety of academic, extracurricular, and professional positions (a DCI drum & bugle corps, multiple research gigs, an externships at a nuclear power plant, etc.). So I don't think the interview will be a problem.

Anyway, sounds like the consensus is to take a year to beef up the rest of my application and apply next cycle. Has anyone gotten in without the cookie-cutter ECs? Thanks for all the input, everyone.

What is illogical about it? The point of EC's is that they make you unique among other candidates. Let's say you have 1 spot left at a medical school, and you have 2 stellar candidates both with 4.0s and 45MCATS. You want to accept both, but you can only accept one. One has 500 hours of EC's and the other one has none. Who will you pick? Personally I would pick the one with 500 hours, because that shows him/her to be a more rounded individual. Anyone can be a hardcore book worm and study all day and night to get good grades. What is impressive is someone who can make stellar grades and live a life outside of school at the same time.

Anyways, none "cookie-cutter" EC's, one's that still represent your humanity and drive to help others, would definitely boost the resume. Most applicants use the same old cliche EC's just to show they have something other than their boring study life. If I was a med-school interviewer looking over a resume, a major stand out would be an unique EC. If someone came in to my interview I would be very impressed if they told me stories about when they went to a third world country and volunteered with "Doctors Without Borders". Interviewers see same stuff over and over again, "Oh I shadowed a blah blah" and "I volunteered at blah blah too", they LOVE it when they get a something fresh and interesting to hear about.

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

I don't think just anybody can study all-day and get top grades and scores. Many have tried to do that and failed.

OP, I would look at your situation this way. People with your stats have have about a 90% acceptance rate. So, all you need to do to get in is beat about 10% of these applicants, whether it be in EC's, personal statements, RL's, interviews, etc. I'm willing to bet 95%+ of these applicants have at least some sort of community involvement, so you will need to have killer recommendation letters and personal statements to get accepted the way you are now. Keep in mind this may only mean getting accepted to your state school or safety school.

Either way, most people say at least some clinical experience is a requirement. So its kind of like applying with a 4.0 GPA and 40 MCAT but not having taken Orgo II or something, too risky for my tastes.

 

[Braves123]

I wonder about this logic. How many medical students are heavily involved in ECs? I presume some do research, but most probably just hit the books. Therefore, it seems the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is irrelevant.

Actually, I did know about the interview. I am friendly and personable (especially by ChemE standards) and have interviewed successfully for a variety of academic, extracurricular, and professional positions (a DCI drum & bugle corps, multiple research gigs, an externships at a nuclear power plant, etc.). So I don't think the interview will be a problem.

Anyway, sounds like the consensus is to take a year to beef up the rest of my application and apply next cycle. Has anyone gotten in without the cookie-cutter ECs? Thanks for all the input, everyone.

Depends on what type of school your looking for...you have a very good shot at a decent school I think, maybe not your harvards or UCSFs but many schools would want to take you I think.

Although given you did retake your MCAT, I figure you to be the perfectionist type, so it may be worth it to take a year off and shadow a doc, get a medical field related letter of rec, volunteer in the clinical setting, or do some clinical research...notice I keep using the word clinical...
but anyways, most people in your situation actually don't take a year off, and most people who take a year off is due to academic reasons. You need to state clearly why you want into medicine, what exposures you have in the field, and how medicine is important to you. If you can't do that, it'll be hard getting in, and to be honest you probably won't be happy being in it anyways. But if you can articulate that, I would totally apply this year if your ok with non-top tier acceptances. Oh and your ECs are fine, you just need something to say why your interested in medicine. Lots of hateraide in this thread btw....

 

[idonotcare]

This past summer, I decided to go pre-med; previously, I was thinking about going to work in nuclear energy, or maybe go to grad school. Academically, I'll be fine (see below), but I don't have the usual ECs--and I certainly don't have the exceptional ECs I have seen on several posts on this website. I took the MCAT in September then retook in January. What I need to know is if I should take a year to acquire the usual ECs (research, shadowing, clinical experience, etc., from what I've seen) and then apply, or if i should apply this cycle. Thanks.

School: HYP

Major: ChemE

GPA: 4.0

MCAT: 34R (12/10/12), 40S (14/12/14)

Shadowing/research/clinical/volunteering: none

Other: men's volleyball club

Hi, fellow ChemE here. SDN tend to be pessimistic when it comes to evaluate people's chances. I was in a similar situation as yours, switching to medicine without the typical pre-med experience. It worked for me.
As someone already said, I would suggest starting to acquire the volunteer/shadow experience ASAP, and apply this summer. Worst case scenario is you don't get in, then you get more experience during your gap yr to show commitment and apply again. If you don't apply you get 0 chance.

If you can convince yourself and your interviewer why you switched to medicine, and you understands the sacrifice/lifestyle/commitment that is required in medicine, and you demonstrate your ability to emphasize with and the desire to help people, I don't feel you have to have so many hours of volunteer/shadowing to get in somewhere.

If you do apply, be realistic about your shortcomings compared to people who spent their entire undergrad doing pre-med. When I applied, I had no expectation and would be happy to attend any school that accepted me. If your goal is to attend a top med school, then perhaps waiting out a year and then apply would make sense.

Good luck.

 

[gmcguitar4]

Think of it this way..there are some thousand other applicants with your numbers applying for the same spots except they have 2-3 years of clinical volunteering, research, leadership, etc. There is no reason to take you over them. Start building up your EC's and I would say skip this upcoming cycle b/c there is no way to justify your decision to pursue a career in medicine given your lack of experience with patients.

 

[gmcguitar4]

.

 

[ScamWow]

Hi, fellow ChemE here. SDN tend to be pessimistic when it comes to evaluate people's chances. I was in a similar situation as yours, switching to medicine without the typical pre-med experience. It worked for me.
As someone already said, I would suggest starting to acquire the volunteer/shadow experience ASAP, and apply this summer. Worst case scenario is you don't get in, then you get more experience during your gap yr to show commitment and apply again. If you don't apply you get 0 chance.

If you can convince yourself and your interviewer why you switched to medicine, and you understands the sacrifice/lifestyle/commitment that is required in medicine, and you demonstrate your ability to emphasize with and the desire to help people, I don't feel you have to have so many hours of volunteer/shadowing to get in somewhere.

If you do apply, be realistic about your shortcomings compared to people who spent their entire undergrad doing pre-med. When I applied, I had no expectation and would be happy to attend any school that accepted me. If your goal is to attend a top med school, then perhaps waiting out a year and then apply would make sense.

Good luck.

Thanks man. Good to know others in my position have been successful. This is all new to me so I don't have my heart set on Harvard or some such school. But that would be pretty cool, right? I'm going to take a year to work on shadowing and clinical stuff, then apply and see what happens.

Think of it this way..there are some thousand other applicants with your numbers applying for the same spots except they have 2-3 years of clinical volunteering, research, leadership, etc. There is no reason to take you over them. Start building up your EC's and I would say skip this upcoming cycle b/c there is no way to justify your decision to pursue a career in medicine given your lack of experience with patients.

The first part of your post is false. But the second half is spot-on. I have decided to take a year to round out my application. Thanks SDN.

 

[235788]

You'll get in somewhere, but not HYP (penn in this case 😀)

 

[FrkyBgStok]

have decided to take a year to round out my application. Thanks SDN.

good choice. Work hard getting good ECs and your app will be straight baller.

 

[235788]

I'd just send it in june. See what happens. How can it hurt you?

Why be a year behind? 1 year of EC's will not automatically catapult you into a top 20.

 

[sliceofbread136]

The way I see it, you can either get some clinical experience now, and go to a mid/low rank medical school, or you can wait a year, totally destroy some ECs and get into a top 20. Up to you.

 

[Perspectives]

Think of it this way..there are some thousand other applicants with your numbers applying for the same spots except they have 2-3 years of clinical volunteering, research, leadership, etc. There is no reason to take you over them. Start building up your EC's and I would say skip this upcoming cycle b/c there is no way to justify your decision to pursue a career in medicine given your lack of experience with patients.

There are not thousands of people with a 40 MCAT and 4.0 GPA. probably closer to a couple hundred...

 

[235788]

The way I see it, you can either get some clinical experience now, and go to a mid/low rank medical school, or you can wait a year, totally destroy some ECs and get into a top 20. Up to you.

How can you destroy EC's in 1 year?

 

[sliceofbread136]

How can you destroy EC's in 1 year?

Get all your bases covered (research, clinical, non-clinical, tutoring, leadership), then do something big and unique (start a non-profit, cure cancer, save the world etc). It would be difficult to do it in one year, but with the scores he managed to get I wouldn't say it's impossible.

 

[MiracleforMD]

I'd just send it in june. See what happens. How can it hurt you?

Why be a year behind? 1 year of EC's will not automatically catapult you into a top 20.

Not that your advice is wrong. In fact it is completely right in my opinion. However, your second point is ludacris. If he shadows 3 specialties with about 10 hours each, volunteers about 50 hours over the next year he will be fine. With a 4.0, 40, assuming research (because he is a ChemE?) and those things I just mentioned he will get into a plethora of schools possibly many in top 20.

 

[235788]

Get all your bases covered (research, clinical, non-clinical, tutoring, leadership), then do something big and unique (start a non-profit, cure cancer, save the world etc). It would be difficult to do it in one year, but with the scores he managed to get I wouldn't say it's impossible.

I don't know man, I find it difficult to think that 1 year of volunteering, 100+ hours of shadowing, and 1 year of research will be a game changer.

 

[45408]

I wonder about this logic. How many medical students are heavily involved in ECs? I presume some do research, but most probably just hit the books. Therefore, it seems the ability to balance schoolwork and ECs is irrelevant.

Uh, no. There is a ton more schoolwork in med school than in college, which is why you don't even have time/energy for ECs in med school. Besides, other than research, they're all irrelevant.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

It can be. If he is gunning for top 30-ish. You'd be surprised at how many matriculants do their EC's a year before the application. With his stats, he can def bank on an acceptance IF he does what was listed.

 

[45408]

The way I see it, you can either get some clinical experience now, and go to a mid/low rank medical school, or you can wait a year, totally destroy some ECs and get into a top 20. Up to you.

Miss Cleo has entered the thread.

 

[235788]

Not that your advice is wrong. In fact it is completely right in my opinion. However, your second point is ludacris. If he shadows 3 specialties with about 10 hours each, volunteers about 50 hours over the next year he will be fine. With a 4.0, 40, assuming research (because he is a ChemE?) and those things I just mentioned he will get into a plethora of schools possibly many in top 20.

Who knows man, the admission game is pretty weird these days. There is no simple formula for top 20 (but if there was, playing the cello would be variable)

 

[sliceofbread136]

There are not thousands of people with a 40 MCAT and 4.0 GPA. probably closer to a couple hundred...

https://www.aamc.org/download/270906/data/table24-mcatgpagridall0911.pdf

400 each year. That's 400 out of like 10,000. I know everyone here likes to think that medical schools care so much about ECs and demand applicants be made of sugar, spice and everything nice, but it's simply not the case. If OP gets some medical care exposure in the form of shadowing/volunteering before applying he will get in somewhere (probably not as highly ranked a school as he wants, but somewhere none the less).

 

[wololololololo]

With the ECs you already have (research, externships, DCI 👍), I think some basic exposure to the healthcare field (shadowing, volunteering, etc.) combined with your numbers would make you competitive. For the HYP-caliber schools, maybe.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I don't know man, I find it difficult to think that 1 year of volunteering, 100+ hours of shadowing, and 1 year of research will be a game changer.

In that one year he could do like 1000 volunteer hours, 200 shadowing, get published in research, work in a tutoring job, get like 200 non-medical volunteer hours, and do something else crazy/unique. Doing all this would definitely make a big difference. That's kind of like what I'm doing this year (not to this extent of course).

 

[Whatyousay]

Not that your advice is wrong. In fact it is completely right in my opinion. However, your second point is ludacris. If he shadows 3 specialties with about 10 hours each, volunteers about 50 hours over the next year he will be fine. With a 4.0, 40, assuming research (because he is a ChemE?) and those things I just mentioned he will get into a plethora of schools possibly many in top 20.

Some top 20 schools care about numbers more than others.

 

[MiracleforMD]

Some top 20 schools care about numbers more than others.

Was that a +.5?

 

[ScamWow]

There are not thousands of people with a 40 MCAT and 4.0 GPA. probably closer to a couple hundred...

I was waiting for someboy to mention this. 😉

Uh, no. There is a ton more schoolwork in med school than in college, which is why you don't even have time/energy for ECs in med school. Besides, other than research, they're all irrelevant.

I realize that, and that's the point. I haven't done much ECs-wise (yet) in college. My major takes up a fair amount of time. I'm also concentrating in physical chemistry and biochemistry which makes things tough. Anyway I think we're making the same point in two different ways.

 

[nabilesmail]

L

 

[dartmed]

I was waiting for someboy to mention this. 😉



I realize that, and that's the point. I haven't done much ECs-wise (yet) in college. My major takes up a fair amount of time. I'm also concentrating in physical chemistry and biochemistry which makes things tough. Anyway I think we're making the same point in two different ways.

ScamWow - I understand why you don't have EC, but they are also an integral component to the application.

EC are not just to show medical schools that you are human/interested in medicine, but to also help you explore your interests in medicine.

Medicine is such a BROAD field, and there are so many possibilities. Are you interested in health policy? Try it out. Are you interested in medical journalism? Try it! Public health research? Give it a shot. Human rights work, clinical research, bench research, bioethics, etc. The ultimate question is where do you fit-in?

Don't be pressured to do the standard stuff..find things that appeal to you and work on them (as long as they relate to medicine). It's a chance for you to see where you fit in this field.


Think about it this way - would you want a person with a 34/3.8 that started a nonprofit etc, and you can for sure bank on this person to make a valuable contribution to medicine or someone who has high stats and will prob work 8-5 PM and not contribute as much? I am NOT saying you don't have the drive to contribute tremendously to medicine, but from your application, I wouldn't grasp your motivation until you have proven yourself as worthy.

You can be smart, but that definitely doesn't mean that you will be changing the world. Use your "smartness" to change the world. That's the essence of medicine.

 

[Essee]

I agree with dartmed.

I was waiting for someboy to mention this. 😉

Yes but when it comes down to it, I think there is a marginal difference between someone with a 3.9/40 or 3.8/40 or anything really between 3.8-4.0 paired with a 36+ MCAT because at that point we're already hitting the high percentiles and a 3.8+ does demonstrate academic strength. And especially if these people had strong ECs to go with their academic performance, then we're almost at an equal playing field against someone with 4.0/40 and little ECs. So when you look at it that way, the pool of a few hundred widens quite a bit now to potentially a couple thousand applicants.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Way too many pre-meds in here spewing diarrhea for posts. I think you could get snag some interviews if you do 100 hours of shadowing before June 1st and write a compelling PS.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Way too many pre-meds in here spewing diarrhea for posts. I think you could get snag some interviews if you do 100 hours of shadowing before June 1st and write a compelling PS.

I think 100 hours of hospital volunteering and 30 hours of shadowing would be better.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

I think 100 hours of hospital volunteering and 30 hours of shadowing would be better.

Yeah, if he can do it...just get your feet wet so they know you know what you're getting yourself into. That's what they're going to ask you at the interview.

 

[ScamWow]

Yeah, if he can do it...just get your feet wet so they know you know what you're getting yourself into. That's what they're going to ask you at the interview.

Thanks. I changed my mind, I will apply this June and try to squeeze in some shadowing and hospital volunteering or whatever before then. Hopefully at least one school will understand the pre-med bug hit me later in college, and maybe they want to raise the average stats for the next incoming class. 😉 JK. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[dartmed]

Thanks. I changed my mind, I will apply this June and try to squeeze in some shadowing and hospital volunteering or whatever before then. Hopefully at least one school will understand the pre-med bug hit me later in college, and maybe they want to raise the average stats for the next incoming class. 😉 JK. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

So cocky. Jesus. Lol

 

[45408]

In that one year he could do like 1000 volunteer hours, 200 shadowing, get published in research, work in a tutoring job, get like 200 non-medical volunteer hours, and do something else crazy/unique. Doing all this would definitely make a big difference. That's kind of like what I'm doing this year (not to this extent of course).

1000 volunteer hours is probably the biggest waste of time I can think of.

I think 100 hours of hospital volunteering and 30 hours of shadowing would be better.

I think not. But at least 100 volunteer hours is only 10% as ridiculous as your prior suggestion.


You're trying to become a PHYSICIAN, not a linen stocker, juice go-getter, or a paper organizer, which is what "volunteering" often really entails. Nothing like seeing the pre-meds wearing the little volunteer vests sitting by the HUC with nothing to do except occasionally go get a sippy cup for the patient.

Go follow around a physician and shadow.

 

[sliceofbread136]

1000 volunteer hours is probably the biggest waste of time I can think of.


I think not. But at least 100 volunteer hours is only 10% as ridiculous as your prior suggestion.


You're trying to become a PHYSICIAN, not a linen stocker, juice go-getter, or a paper organizer, which is what "volunteering" often really entails. Nothing like seeing the pre-meds wearing the little volunteer vests sitting by the HUC with nothing to do except occasionally go get a sippy cup for the patient.

Go follow around a physician and shadow.

Don't know what got you so angry.... The first part was just an example of some out there ECs he could do in a year that would really help his application. The number of 1000 was purposely overboard.

Whether you think volunteering is productive or not, a combination of volunteering and shadowing will be a more positive clinical experience in the eyes of adcoms than just shadowing.

And with your logic pretty much any EC wouldn't be worth doing, most of them have very little to do with being a doctor.

 

[45408]

Don't know what got you so angry.... The first part was just an example of some out there ECs he could do in a year that would really help his application. The number of 1000 was purposely overboard.

Whether you think volunteering is productive or not, a combination of volunteering and shadowing will be a more positive clinical experience in the eyes of adcoms than just shadowing.

I'm not angry. I just know that most clinical volunteering is synonymous with useless volunteering.

And with your logic pretty much any EC wouldn't be worth doing, most of them have very little to do with being a doctor.

That would be a misapplication of my logic.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I'm not angry. I just know that most clinical volunteering is synonymous with useless volunteering.


That would be a misapplication of my logic.

I suggested clinical volunteering in combination with shadowing because in my opinion it would be viewed alot more positively than just shadowing. The volunteering gives you one on one patient interaction that shadowing does not, which is why I think adcoms value it and it is a pretty consistently done EC.

I dont see how it is a misapplication of your logic? I want to be a physician, not a soup kitchen worker. I want to be a physician, not a habitat for humanity worker. I want to be a physician, not a tutor. Please tell me where I'm off in this?

 

[scarshapedstar]

You need ECs and by EC I mean Enjoy Caribbean. Not even a DO school cares about a 4.0/40 when your Combined Shadowing Score is so low.

🙄