Undergrad looking for advice/help please!

[sportsmedguy]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello everyone,

First off I would just like to thank anyone who replies with helpful information as it is greatly appreciated!

Now, I am a first semester sophomore (Biomedical Engineering), and freshman year I had a 3.5 sGPA/3.6 cGPA. I know I can get that up and have time to, so that's not a worry, and I have plenty of time to prepare for the MCAT and get LORs.

But what I am looking for help with is extra curricular stuff. I have done about 40 hours of shadowing, and will be starting volunteering at the Children's hospital of WI soon (I am a WI resident if that matters). What else can I do to boost this? I have read previous forums where students had these very long lists of EC's and still considered them to be average. I know I need to do research, but I am having a hard time getting into a lab...

If anyone has advice and would be willing to share it that would be very helpful! Thanks again!

 

[Scott Montgomery]

Don't just volunteer in the medical area either, show some diversity. Soup houses, children, the elderly, also HIV/AIDS and drug dependency are other options.

Research you need to just find a good professor, show them you can do the work, make it half way through a course if you still are holding an A then approach them about any openings or if any of their colleagues have research openings that they may know of. Email them separately. Don't talk anything about wanting to do this for medical school or mention anything about being published, undergrad pubs are hard and take time. Just let them know you're willing to do the work and help in anyway you can.

Get your GPA up, its not horrible by any means, but your just starting your second year and its going to get harder and harder. So stay focused and keep working hard, no doubts you can put your mind to it and accomplish anything you want to.

Good luck, hope my thoughts helped a bit...

 

[natti101]

1. Do non-medical community service and commit to it. Make sure you are picking something that you are learning/growing as a person from - make sure you can talk about it extensively.
2. Do research…Email a ton of labs and professors who are doing research that you are interested in. Even better if you can stop by in person and ask them. A lot will say now, but I'm guessing you will have a yes somewhere. Remember that they do not need to be in biology only. Engineering, chemistry, or even psychology would work.
3. 50 hours (ish) of shadowing is the average. I would do 10-20 hours more. Do them in a different speciality that you have previously shadowed (and make sure you get in a primary care physician if you can).

 

[Catalystik]

But what I am looking for help with is extra curricular stuff. I have done about 40 hours of shadowing, and will be starting volunteering at the Children's hospital of WI soon (I am a WI resident if that matters). What else can I do to boost this? I have read previous forums where students had these very long lists of EC's and still considered them to be average. I know I need to do research, but I am having a hard time getting into a lab...

If anyone has advice and would be willing to share it that would be very helpful!

Add some nonmedical community service to those in need (an hour or two a week at least), and strategize to add teaching (coaching, mentoring, TA, tutor) and leadership. These could all be components of the same experience if you are short on time.

To find a lab, first ask teachers/TAs where you took a lab component if they are aware of any openings, ask friends affiliated with a lab if they recommend their PI to work with, discuss your interest with a premed advisor who may have connections, or randomly email your CV and a request for an appointment to discuss a position to professors whose research you think looks interesting (expect maybe 1 in 7 to even reply). Consider Psych, Bio, Chem, Ag, Plant Sciences, etc. or even clinical research if your local hospital has a Research Coordinator you can call for availablity of projects.