Volunteering abroad question

[idemandeuphoria]

I’ve always heard that it’s looked down upon to do big service trips abroad for medical school. So my question relates to that rumor.

Basically, I just spent 6 months abroad in French Polynesia, learning French and a bit of Tahitian and serving the people there. I was living with other girls from France/Canada, so it was full immersion in French and I absolutely loved it.

I’m also considering taking another semester (4 months) off of school to teach English to kids in China. I’ve always wanted to go to China, and I love children, so it is an amazing opportunity that won’t cost me anything besides graduating another semester later. It would be volunteer technically since I’m not making money, but I’m not spending money either (except for weekend excursions) which is a huge plus

I just wanted to ask: Will these experiences add anything to my medical school application?

I’ll make my decision independent of its appeal to medical school because honestly I love having those once in a lifetime experiences. But I was just curious if it would help me or not in my medical career.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[p4m123]

I'm by no means the expert on this, but I also have a significant amount of experiences abroad and am well informed about the discussion on voluntourism. The experiences you're describing don't sound problematic to me considering they were/are long term, and in the first case at least you were learning the language which shows you were trying to integrate into the community and actually make an impact. I don't know what you were doing, but as long as it wasn't something you wouldn't be allowed to do in the US and it was actually helpful to the community/not taking local jobs away I think both experiences would be good ones to include on your application. I would just be careful how you talk about them and make sure it's clear you weren't having a negative impact in any way. Just my 2 cents.

 

[faerie62]

In the first experience did you just go study abroad and decide to volunteer in the community while you were there? If so I don’t think that is voluntourism at all — you are literally a part of their community whilst you are there. I think the second sounds alright too but you should be careful how you write about it.

 

[thegrind33]

It provides a nice talking point in interviews but it shouldn’t be a keystone in your app

 

[Catalystik]

I just wanted to ask: Will these experiences add anything to my medical school application?

They may or may not be of benefit, depending on how you frame them, but they will certainly be a negative if they keep you from engaging in community service activities back home, where there are local folks who need your help.

 

[idemandeuphoria]

In the first experience did you just go study abroad and decide to volunteer in the community while you were there? If so I don’t think that is voluntourism at all — you are literally a part of their community whilst you are there. I think the second sounds alright too but you should be careful how you write about it.

It wasn’t a study abroad! I wasn’t taking classes. Basically, i lived on a little island with some other girls. I just studied French for at most an hour per day and then I went out all day meeting people, talking to them about their life and we would offer to help them with things, which led to many crazy adventures haha. We were completely independent, but we had visas for service. All of the people there were really poor. Since I spent 6 months there, a lot of people knew who I was and considered me a part of the community for sure. And now I’m considered fluent in French (but not at an native level). I also got sick a lot, so my medical French isn’t too bad either haha.

 

[p4m123]

In that case I wouldn't necessarily phrase it as volunteering abroad. Maybe frame it like an experience abroad with a service component, since you weren't there to provide a particular service and your work sounds kind of directionless. I'm sure it was a great experience and you learned a lot about their culture and how to live in a different environment, which is valuable, but you don't want to inflate your impact.