Tutoring vs service for the underserved

[Justapremed1]

Hello
I apologize for asking an oft asked question, but I am little confused as to what falls under tutoring and what falls under volunteering for the underserved communities. I had volunteered for a few months at an inner city preschool where we, as a team, prepared activities for pre-k kids and read them books to help improve their literacy and social skills. I was told this falls under tutoring, when I had through this was service to the underserved.
Now, I have an opportunity to with elementary school kids in shelters to help them with homework and other activities. Will this be considered tutoring or service to the underserved?
Thank you.

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[Catalystik]

Hello
I apologize for asking an oft asked question, but I am little confused as to what falls under tutoring and what falls under volunteering for the underserved communities. I had volunteered for a few months at an inner city preschool where we, as a team, prepared activities for pre-k kids and read them books to help improve their literacy and social skills. I was told this falls under tutoring, when I had through this was service to the underserved.
Now, I have an opportunity to with elementary school kids in shelters to help them with homework and other activities. Will this be considered tutoring or service to the underserved?
Thank you.

You can elect to use the label of Tutoring/Teaching or Volunteer/Community Service-not Medical/Clinical (your choice), when you categorize these activities for AMCAS. Both are true, though some might feel the former is a stretch for very-young kids. Your description is what adds the "underserved" element to the activity, when you mention "inner-city" or "shelter," as does the name of the Organization.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hello
I apologize for asking an oft asked question, but I am little confused as to what falls under tutoring and what falls under volunteering for the underserved communities. I had volunteered for a few months at an inner city preschool where we, as a team, prepared activities for pre-k kids and read them books to help improve their literacy and social skills. I was told this falls under tutoring, when I had through this was service to the underserved.
Now, I have an opportunity to with elementary school kids in shelters to help them with homework and other activities. Will this be considered tutoring or service to the underserved?
Thank you.

I agree with @Catalystik , and it would help getting more information. The category corresponds to your activity (what you are doing), not the beneficiaries are the recipients of your action (who benefits, who do you help). If you help the underserved, that's a different consideration.

If your question is on how you categorize this in your AMCAS application, being a teaching assistant in your described scenario falls under "teaching/tutoring." It is an outreach activity that encourages and supports (underserved/marginalized/economically constrained) students to persist and continue their education. It could be in science or not, but this is a "moral responsibility" among those who have benefitted from higher education.

On the question of your shelter work, you can categorize it, but I think the underlying question is how adcoms could reclassify it (because we have rubrics that tell us screeners for consistency and policy). I would likely count it as tutoring/teaching because of the activity you are doing, not because of where you are doing the activity. However, if it is one of many other duties where you are working at the shelter (sharing meals, cleaning rooms/clothes/blankets, assist with job placement), you can label your work under "community service."

 

[Justapremed1]

Thank you for your responses.
The pre-k kids in the first instance came from underserved families in the inner city. I loved working with the kids there, and I would really not call it tutoring per se. In addition to reading to them, we played games with them, broke up fights, explained biting the kid you don't agree with is not a done thing ... you get the picture.
I love working with kids and am interested in pediatrics. That's why I was looking at working with kids in the shelter, and the work is only helping with their school work, nothing else. Only thing that worries me is, I'm a rising junior and if this doesn't fall under community work, and neither does the earlier activity with the pre-K kids, I'll get weeded out if I apply next year for not having community service hours.

 

[Justapremed1]

The pre-k kids in the first instance came from underserved families in the inner city. I loved working with the kids there, and I would really not call it tutoring per se. In addition to reading to them, we played games with them, broke up fights, explained biting the kid you don't agree with is not a done thing ... you get the picture.

@Catalystik @Mr.Smile12 @Goro @LizzyM
Do you mind weighing in if this is community service or tutoring? Really appreciate it.

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik @Mr.Smile12 @Goro @LizzyM
Do you mind weighing in if this is community service or tutoring? Really appreciate it.

I’d prefer to see you call it Volunteer/ Community Service.

 

[LizzyM]

I feel as if it is more accurately described as "community service" than teaching/tutoring. The teaching/tutoring I see more often when one is paid by upper middle class parents to tutor their child or when providing tutoring to other college students. This would also be the category for those who teach in k-12 settings during a gap year.

 

[Justapremed1]

That is better for me, as it boosts my underserved/non-clinical volunteer hours.Thank you, @Catalystik @LizzyM @Goro

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Just letting all readers know, this type of discussion does and should be happening between screeners and adcoms throughout the cycle. Don't get to caught up with how you classify things on AMCAS as being permanent. We have to engage in these discussions to benefit you as an applicant. We don't want to exclude strong candidates unnecessarily, but you see how discussion on one point helps us get a better sense of your commitment.