Volunteering DURING application year

[student113]

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I will probably still be volunteering by the time I turn in my app in June, so I'll fill it out as start date - present.
However, during my application year after the summer ends, I will have a full time job. One of the places I volunteer at is only open during weekday working hours so I probably can't continue there after the summer ends. At the other places, I technically could keep volunteering on weekends.

- Is it important to keep volunteering during the application year?

- If I do stop, do I have to notify them since I'll be putting start date - present on the primary app?

Thanks

 

[Catalystik]

It IS important to keep volunteering during the application year:
1) To have pertinent information to include in future update letters,
2) To have more experiences to discuss during interviews, and
3) So you will have an improved application if worse comes to worst and you end up reapplying.

"Present" on the application's time line means, 'up to the submission date.' There is no need to notify anyone at the time you terminate your current volunteer situation. You can mention the additional hours after the submission date in the update letter referred to above, when you'll also mention ongoing and new activities that enhance your application status.

 

[ThaliaNox]

It's very important to continue your extra-curricular activities, or to find equivalent ones, into your application year, especially until you have an acceptance you're satisfied with. I interview applicants, and I always ask what they're up to during their application year. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth to hear that an applicant has dropped their ECs, especially if they're not in school anymore.

I know and you know that nobody likes fetching water and bedpans, and that volunteering is often done simply for an application's sake, but don't make it CLEAR to an interviewer that you only volunteered to get into medical school. After all, we're supposed to be judging your altuism and a number of other fluffy categories based on a 30-60 minute interview, and dropping your ECs when someone else didn't is one way to decide between two applicants.