Unusual Extracurriculars

[Joat]

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I'm currently a Sophomore with a cumulative gpa of 3.2 and a pre-MCAT score of 494, I know I have some work to do on the grades and that I have the time to improve them but I have some questions about extracurriculars. I'm really having trouble finding any on campus that actually interest me but I'm wondering exactly how admissions officers look at extracuricculars.
For example, I was in a current events discussion club the first semester of my freshman year and did a few intramural sports but I spent the second semester working in a non-health related business.
Since then I haven't really done anything campus related, but I did run a small business buying things from flea markets and selling them on ebay and sold ~11,000$ of product in the past year. I also became a father and a CPhT and am trying to find work as a pharm tech. I have 240+ and counting hours of volunteering in healthcare settings. I plan on shadowing and working this summer. I don't have a lot of time or interest for clubs and activities on campus so I'm wondering if I should keep doing what I'm doing, or just suck it up and find something to join to make sure I have something. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Goro]

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

So, you're going to have to get the needed ECs in. Start thinking about shadowing and doing patient contact volunteer work. You have to do that at the same time as your coursework, to show us you can walk and chew gum at the same time.

I'm currently a Sophomore with a cumulative gpa of 3.2 and a pre-MCAT score of 494, I know I have some work to do on the grades and that I have the time to improve them but I have some questions about extracurriculars. I'm really having trouble finding any on campus that actually interest me but I'm wondering exactly how admissions officers look at extracuricculars.
For example, I was in a current events discussion club the first semester of my freshman year and did a few intramural sports but I spent the second semester working in a non-health related business.
Since then I haven't really done anything campus related, but I did run a small business buying things from flea markets and selling them on ebay and sold ~11,000$ of product in the past year. I also became a father and a CPhT and am trying to find work as a pharm tech. I have 240+ and counting hours of volunteering in healthcare settings. I plan on shadowing and working this summer. I don't have a lot of time or interest for clubs and activities on campus so I'm wondering if I should keep doing what I'm doing, or just suck it up and find something to join to make sure I have something. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!