Volunteering Mess...how bad is it?

[EarnestlyWilde]

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So volunteering, especially clinical, is apparently extremely important but I'm in my third year and I've failed at all my attempts to volunteer so my question is: did I significantly worsen my app by waiting this long?

Don't get me wrong, I like volunteering for its own sake but I'm not ignoring the fact that it is obligated as well.

I basically did a few random things and then found one that I really liked and decided to stop the rest to focus on it but then the organization basically started falling apart and I didn't get to do anything...so I didn't join other groups becaus this one kept making it seem like they would make it work next weel, next week.

Ques 2: I spent a year volunteering in my lab before I did work-study, can that count as non-clinical?

Question 3: I applied for 2 clinical positions (competitive, don't know if I'll get in this semester) and was accepted to BigBrothers but have been waiting over a month to get a match...now most organizations have finished their training so I've missed out on this semester. Should I wait to find more opps next semester or try to get involved in anything available right now?

 

[Flashfan]

If you can't get something organized, try something that doesn't take a lot of planning. Food banks, soup kitchens fundraising walks often just need short-term volunteers. From there you might be able to make it a regular thing or find additional opportunities to volunteer from the people around you. The food bank and soup kitchen often have weekend hours available so it won't interfere with lab work.

 

[Jennyfishy]

So volunteering, especially clinical, is apparently extremely important but I'm in my third year and I've failed at all my attempts to volunteer so my question is: did I significantly worsen my app by waiting this long?

Don't get me wrong, I like volunteering for its own sake but I'm not ignoring the fact that it is obligated as well.

I basically did a few random things and then found one that I really liked and decided to stop the rest to focus on it but then the organization basically started falling apart and I didn't get to do anything...so I didn't join other groups becaus this one kept making it seem like they would make it work next weel, next week.

Ques 2: I spent a year volunteering in my lab before I did work-study, can that count as non-clinical?

Question 3: I applied for 2 clinical positions (competitive, don't know if I'll get in this semester) and was accepted to BigBrothers but have been waiting over a month to get a match...now most organizations have finished their training so I've missed out on this semester. Should I wait to find more opps next semester or try to get involved in anything available right now?

Non-Clinical volunteer work usually means working with people or providing some kind of service. Doing stuff in your lab (cleaning, experiments, etc.) without pay is kind of stretching the definition of "non clinical volunteer" lol.

Sounds like you need to be more proactive about your ECs and non academic opportunities. There's plenty of places to look into to start (many people tend to go the soup kitchen, etc. type of route), and most universities have a lot of philanthropy orgs that often include a mentorship + volunteering component. Look around, consult advisers, ask your friends, and see if you can find some other things you're interested in 🙂

It doesn't matter how late you start, as long as you commit to it and do something with your time. There's technically an hour "requirement"/expectation (100+) you should have by the time you apply, but if you were focusing on other stuff your first few years, there's nothing you can do about that other than make up for "lost" time.

 

[PreMedRookie]

You still have plenty of time to get started.

I came across this same issue but not until the summer I was applying. I got about 100 hours in but it looks pretty bad that I did it all in one summer.

I would find some things now that go on during the holiday season. I was a bell ringer, which was fun because you can do it with a group of friends. There are also tons of things that are a little more unique such as making blankets for the homeless or something.

 

[Starry]

It is sketchy that you don't have any volunteering thus far, but it won't break your application.

If in an interview they ask you to talk about your volunteering experiences, I would recommend addressing this issue. Example:

1) Talk about what volunteering you HAVE done.
2) Talk about how you didn't volunteer previously and explain objectively what happened.
3) Talk about what you learned about being more proactive. DON'T BLAME ANYONE ELSE BUT YOURSELF.
4) Talk some more about how much you have learned from volunteering and how much you now appreciate a chance to give back to the community.

And yes, you need to go out and volunteer somewhere. I personally recommend the soup kitchen thing, it's actually really fun imo. Being a professional egg breaker/scrambler with over 9000 eggs broken and cooked looks good on a resume. And doing it with an elderly Southern gentleman as your egg-cooking partner is just a bonus. 👍

 

[BlueLabel]

i personally recommend the soup kitchen thing, it's actually really fun imo. Being a professional egg breaker/scrambler with over 9000 eggs broken and cooked looks good on a resume. And doing it with an elderly southern gentleman as your egg-cooking partner is just a bonus. 👍

+1

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

Thanks for the input! I'm glad I'm not doomed, though I'm still kicking myself. I contacted a local soup kitchen that runs on Sundays (except for the coming one) so I'll start doing that ASAP and continue until graduation. I'll apply for more clinical position when apps open later this semester and get involved with more student groups when they restart in the spring semester.

 

[Mavs88]

Any hospitals in the area? Almost all of them allow student volunteers and it'd count as clinical volunteering.

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

I talked to a premed advisor and she said what I did over the summer counts as volunteering--I basically taught little kids science in Hong Kong. It wasn't paid but I wasn't sure because I received a stipend to cover the expensive international flight. She said it still counts as volunteering. Does that help my volunteering deficit?

Of course I'm still excited about the soup kitchen thing and will continue that and everything else.

Any hospitals in the area? Almost all of them allow student volunteers and it'd count as clinical volunteering.

I applied to one (submitted app about 2 weeks ago) but haven't heard back about an interview. I know they're swamped with apps and interviews (ridic amount of premeds here) so I don't know if I haven't heard back because background check hasn't been processed or if there isn't even any room for me.

Don't want to be annoying and call about it...on the other hand, I applied to another hospital last semester and even though the interview was awesome they randomly lost my app completely and by the time I called, their selection process was over 😡 ...and the same thing happened with a tutoring job I applied to this semester (except this time I called and fixed it). So now I'm basically paranoid about app submissions.

What do you usually do?

 

[Flashfan]

Calling is a much better way to get information. Be polite, be enthusiastic and be flexible with what you will do. Once you get in the door you can often move around to different departments.

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

I called and actually had a pleasant exchange, probably because I started with "I know you're really busy..." They said I should have gotten a confirmation one week after submitting (didn't) but since my app wasn't in the pile next to him, he said I should get an interview invitation in about two weeks. Hopefully that does come through.

Right now I'm looking at volunteering at the soup kitchen on sundays, at a healthcare center for chronically ill elders in West Philly and in a school for kids with cerebral palsy (btw, would either count as clinical even if I'm having non-clinical interactions with them? Since I'm obviously not a nurse or anything but they are patients).

I'm excited to get started, yay 😀

 

[Planes2Doc]

It doesn't matter how late you start, as long as you commit to it and do something with your time. There's technically an hour "requirement"/expectation (100+) you should have by the time you apply, but if you were focusing on other stuff your first few years, there's nothing you can do about that other than make up for "lost" time.

Not exactly. If you only started volunteering the summer before applying and treated it like a fulltime job, thus volunteering at 40+ hours per week, despite racking up a lot of hours, an ADCOM will view you as a "box checker" only wanting to fulfill an unwritten requirement.

Even if you have a hundred or more hours as a result versus the guy who started volunteering as a freshman or sophomore, they can at least pass off as looking more genuine. Length makes you look more real, while short volunteer commitments make you either look fake or like a selfish bastard.

So be careful, a sudden explosion of volunteering close to applying won't look as good as you might think, and can actually hurt you. 👎

It's a facade you need to time carefully to get the most out of it... Play the game wisely.

 

[Jennyfishy]

Not exactly. If you only started volunteering the summer before applying and treated it like a fulltime job, thus volunteering at 40+ hours per week, despite racking up a lot of hours, an ADCOM will view you as a "box checker" only wanting to fulfill an unwritten requirement.

Even if you have a hundred or more hours as a result versus the guy who started volunteering as a freshman or sophomore, they can at least pass off as looking more genuine. Length makes you look more real, while short volunteer commitments make you either look fake or like a selfish bastard.

So be careful, a sudden explosion of volunteering close to applying won't look as good as you might think, and can actually hurt you. 👎

It's a facade you need to time carefully to get the most out of it... Play the game wisely.

Yeah, that's a valid point, especially with specific things like those volunteer abroad type stuff. But that's two extremes at the oppositr spectrum of each other 😛. Someone who did it for 2 hrs/week for 2 years vs someone who did 6/week for six months would probably look similar. Someone who's in school most likely would be unable to fulfill the 40 hrs/week for 2-3 weeks though 😀. Finding a nice balance is good, but not being able to find one until your third year bc of other commitments is not necessarily a "huge" disadvantage depending on how you go about it!

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

So be careful, a sudden explosion of volunteering close to applying won't look as good as you might think, and can actually hurt you. 👎

I'm applying after graduation so I technically have 1.5ish years left...does it still look bad if I do 4hrs/wk with bonus time over summer?

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

Yeah, that's a valid point, especially with specific things like those volunteer abroad type stuff. But that's two extremes at the oppositr spectrum of each other 😛. Someone who did it for 2 hrs/week for 2 years vs someone who did 6/week for six months would probably look similar. Someone who's in school most likely would be unable to fulfill the 40 hrs/week for 2-3 weeks though 😀. Finding a nice balance is good, but not being able to find one until your third year bc of other commitments is not necessarily a "huge" disadvantage depending on how you go about it!

Yeah one of the reasons I didn't do it earlier is that I was trying to fix a bad first semester gpa and didn't want to add more commitments to those I already had. I mean, if I still had a bad gpa I don't think med schools would care if I had 500 hrs (not that now my gpa is incredible or anything)
Now that I've acquired time management skillz I can level up to more commitments. I think I can provide better volunteer work as a confident, balanced individual than as a

 

[Planes2Doc]

I'm applying after graduation so I technically have 1.5ish years left...does it still look bad if I do 4hrs/wk with bonus time over summer?

That should be okay. By bonus time do you mean more hours at the same place, or a different one? I would maybe add another volunteer gig. That should look better. 👍

 

[flynndsx]

The food bank and soup kitchen often have weekend hours available so it won't interfere with lab work

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