Volunteering Question (not the usual)

[Kurt83]

Hello,
I'm an older (non-traditional I guess) student, but I'm posting in this forum because this could apply to anyone who is applying at some point.

Scenario:
Mid 20s year-old human.
Self-employed in an allied health field (think M.S. in physical therapy/speech pathology/audiology) about 20ish hours a week - worked in the field for about 2 years now.
Taking pre-reqs - still have phys and orgo to do fall/spring 2010/11 + MCAT
Doing chem research with last semester's prof (just started).
Should be applying summer 2011.
Planning on doing hospital/clinical volunteering (hoping for b/w 100 and 200 hours) + continuing chem research in the summer.

Situation:
Don't think I have anything that qualifies as as "leadership" (unless the work stuff counts) and afraid that volunteering will be way too little.
So to do something about that, recently I got involved in a non-profit community health-related organization (can't go into specifics). Should be a good thing to cover some volunteering hours and show some community work.

Problem:
Due to the very strict time commitment that this organization asks for, it takes away a pretty significant chunk of my study time due to the amount of hours they need new recruits to put in; also the travel time is a factor. This plus my working makes me realize that I am potentially sacrificing a high GPA for volunteering hours as I will not be able to devote as much time to school work as I feel I need to in order to get the grades I want/need.
One might ask why did I choose this organization vs something else - It is not your usual clinical environment and something that might stand out; and I'm actually interested in being a part of it.
I realize that in med school time constraints are a part of life and they have to be managed while maintaining the ability to do scholastic activity at an "impressive" level - but I'm being realistic about 'right now' as a high GPA in undergrad work seems to be quite crucial.

Question:
Will volunteering @ this organization have a significant effect (affect?) on my application?
It's probably impossible to answer yes or no, but I'm just trying to get a feeling for whether or not it's worth continuing. I just feel like I'm really sacrificing school time for something that might have very little play in my application.
Any thoughts/ideas/gifts?

Thanks.

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[Catalystik]

Will volunteering @ this organization have a significant effect (affect?) on my application?
It's probably impossible to answer yes or no, but I'm just trying to get a feeling for whether or not it's worth continuing. I just feel like I'm really sacrificing school time for something that might have very little play in my application.

You do need community service. Considering that you are working directly with patients every day, you really don't need as much clinical environment volunteering as most people, but that type of experience is also a community service (a double dipper). I'd suggest you get in just enough to give you a feel for a hospital environment. The type of time commitment I'd want to see for community service would be on the order of 4 hours per week for at least a year. You could gain that at a hospital or for the health-related community service group, or for Humane Society, soup kitchen, homeless shelter, etc.

Whatever you do, absolutely do not sacrifice your GPA. You can always gain ECs later, but a GPA is very hard to fix.

 

[bravofleet4]

It's going to be up in the air for a while. You still have a few years to go including lots of pre-req's and the MCAT. Those two will be the biggest deciding factor for acceptance. You don't have to give up on your EC's as long as you can think you can handle the coursework (GPA > 3.7 IMO). But that could change over time if you find yourself struggling in physics or orgo (which are commonly areas pre-med's have a hard time in). Also your research might pick up and it's not uncommon for undergrads seeking publications to dedicate 15+ hour/week in the lab. If you do have to give up working for the allied health program, I think it won't be frowned on at all since you've been doing it for 2 years. Generally 1 year is the minimum requirement to establish an ability to commit.

 

[LizzyM]

Run as fast as you can from anything that could have a negative impact on gpa.

Find something you can do that is medical/clinical and volunteerism. If you work in a health care setting, this is less essential than if you work in a school setting (I think with your MS it could go either way)....

Alternately, find a volunteer position that involves service to the poor. That could be adult literacy, tutoring poor kids, soup kitchen, homeless shelter. Whatever you do, look for something that is "get in, get out" with specified hours. You do your 2-3 hours per week and you're done until next week. If you do that for one year you may be in a position by this time next year (still 5 mos before you submit) to work yourself into a position of leadership over other volunteers (training, orientation, scheduling, skill building) so that you have that to add to your application. On the other hand, something labeled "leadership" is not essential to getting an interview.