Volunteering, researching, ECs, work, etc. how much of what?

[maximus0723]

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Here is what I have...

-100 hours in volunteering at public hospital. Helped Cardiologist. Created powerpoints presentations on diseases/disorders for patient education.
-100-present and on hours volunteering at public hospital in hand rehabilitation. Assist therpists (OTs, PTs). I learn alot here. Looking at how therapists treat patients and talking to patients on issues regarding injury.
-1.5-present years in CVS Pharmacy working as Pharmacy Tech.
-1 year in clam research.
-1 year-present in physiology research. Should get my name on publication.
-100 hours in non-profit social work clinic. The organization is no more.
-Planning to do DO shadowing...not sure how long I should spend...
-President of club in college for year.
-I can get LOR from my research professor, DO and a science professor.


Let's say my GPA is 3.2 overall and 3.0 for science and 30 in MCATs.

 

[fitz0809]

The EC's look good.

Obviously you need to get some DO shadowing done. I would try to get in about 40 hours... and get a letter.

Other than that, I would retake a class or two that kept your gpa down near a 3.0. You can probably raise it pretty substantially by bringing up a couple 2.0s to 3.5s or 4.0s.

 

[samuraiR]

clam research?😱

 

[maximus0723]

The EC's look good.

Obviously you need to get some DO shadowing done. I would try to get in about 40 hours... and get a letter.

Other than that, I would retake a class or two that kept your gpa down near a 3.0. You can probably raise it pretty substantially by bringing up a couple 2.0s to 3.5s or 4.0s.

Ty sir. I have taken few science classes again. That should help as well considering how they drop the lower grade. I am planning to do better on MCATs rather then my GPA.

Volunteering do I need more hours?

 

[175961]

hitting a set number of hours wont magically make other things (weaker things, for example) less significant. I highly doubt adcoms sit around and say things like:
adcom 1, "well, his/her gpa and MCAT are rather low, BUT he/she DID hit 150 hours of volunteering in a hospital"
adcom 2, "hot dang, 150 hours!!! well that fixes those low number"

given what you listed for ECs i really dont think you should worry, it looks like you've been out volunteering and doing a lot of different things. if you can improve you gpa and/or MCAT i would shoot for that though. and yes, i would shadow a doctor as well since that is something you should have on there. i think 40 hours is a little overkill though.

 

[maximus0723]

hitting a set number of hours wont magically make other things (weaker things, for example) less significant. I highly doubt adcoms sit around and say things like:
adcom 1, "well, his/her gpa and MCAT are rather low, BUT he/she DID hit 150 hours of volunteering in a hospital"
adcom 2, "hot dang, 150 hours!!! well that fixes those low number"

given what you listed for ECs i really dont think you should worry, it looks like you've been out volunteering and doing a lot of different things. if you can improve you gpa and/or MCAT i would shoot for that though

Thanks. THe thing is I have been intimated by people with like 1000 hours of volunteer experience and 5 years of research experience, etc.

I am shooting to get good score in my MCATs(in 30s).
I have already graduated and currently I am doing my Masters in Physiology. Though I didn't do well in my first semester but I am not planning to give up.

 

[175961]

Thanks. THe thing is I have been intimated by people with like 1000 hours of volunteer experience and 5 years of research experience, etc.

I am shooting to get good score in my MCATs(in 30s).
I have already graduated and currently I am doing my Masters in Physiology. Though I didn't do well in my first semester but I am not planning to give up.

let them have their 1000 hours and sit on em!!!! i can guarantee you a well rounded applicant will fare much better than someone boasting thousands of hours of volunteering. its not a number game (in sense of volunteer hours) but of course you dont want something like, 2 hours here and 2 hours somewhere else, etc. i think you get my point
rock the mcat, your ECs look good, if you can raise the gpa a little do it and you will be fine

 

[jjmad1201]

-your ec's are good
-need to shadow D.O.'s and show that your interested in becoming a DO for the right reasons
-mcat will not hurt you at DO schools
-gpa is kinda low, if you can try to raise it

 

[Everglide]

Your ECs look good, nothing great, pretty good research. A DO letter helps.

I think the more important thing is your GPA, MCAT you haven't taken yet (aim for 30+ don't sell yourself short at 27) and most importantly, what schools you plan on applying to.

 

[beckhunter116]

FYI, MSUCOM is a school that beyond stats looks very closely at the number of hours you have in volunteering, shadowing, etc. I know that people on here have mentioned that after discussing with the admin people that the school recommends at least 500hours. I believe they let you include activities from high school too though. Not sure if the OP planned on applying here or not.

 

[Segovia]

Yeah, volunteering and research are important....but don't underestimate the value of practical work experience. I was at one interview and we were all in a group and a bunch of people were bringing up all of this esoteric research they had done, studying abroad, setting up clinics in Africa etc., and then it came my turn and I mentioned that I was in the military for 5 years and spent much of that time cleaning toilets on a ship. I got accepted.

 

[GraceEuphoria]

I'll echo others and say that the key to everything in life really is balance...get a little bit of everything in and you will be fine. I also think the biggest thing is to realize that these things don't define you as an applicant quite as much as you might think (at least not at most schools IMO). I would focus less on your resume and more on your interview and mentality about the whole process of becoming a doctor. If you seem confident, calm, and mature, your application will stand out and then be only supplemented by your well-rounded activities, whereas if you don't present yourself well, all the extra-curriculars in the world can't save you.

 

[beckhunter116]

I'll echo others and say that the key to everything in life really is balance...get a little bit of everything in and you will be fine. I also think the biggest thing is to realize that these things don't define you as an applicant quite as much as you might think (at least not at most schools IMO). I would focus less on your resume and more on your interview and mentality about the whole process of becoming a doctor. If you seem confident, calm, and mature, your application will stand out and then be only supplemented by your well-rounded activities, whereas if you don't present yourself well, all the extra-curriculars in the world can't save you.

I agree with what you have said, but I think the reason we have so many of the do I have enough hours/volunteer type situations/shadowing/etc posts is because we really just want to get our foot in the door for the interview...where we can then show our confidence, passion for medicine, compassion, and maturity.

 

[GraceEuphoria]

I agree with what you have said, but I think the reason we have so many of the do I have enough hours/volunteer type situations/shadowing/etc posts is because we really just want to get our foot in the door for the interview...where we can then show our confidence, passion for medicine, compassion, and maturity.

Sure sure. Not trying to undermine the importance of all the extra good stuff for applications. Sometimes people get too caught up in the specifics of it, that's all (exact number of hours needed, which e.c. looks better, etc) 🙂

 

[beckhunter116]

Sure sure. Not trying to undermine the importance of all the extra good stuff for applications. Sometimes people get too caught up in the specifics of it, that's all (exact number of hours needed, which e.c. looks better, etc) 🙂

Yeah, I mean I have to say that it's hard to not get caught up into a numbers game. I'm glad that I found SDN and I have learned so much that I am a much more informed pre-med for it, but it's also nerve-racking. When you see the randomness of who gets interviews and who doesn't--of course that's if we can trust people self-reporting of their stats--you instantly think well do I have enough of this or that even when your background is very diverse.

 

[GraceEuphoria]

Yeah, I mean I have to say that it's hard to not get caught up into a numbers game. I'm glad that I found SDN and I have learned so much that I am a much more informed pre-med for it, but it's also nerve-racking. When you see the randomness of who gets interviews and who doesn't--of course that's if we can trust people self-reporting of their stats--you instantly think well do I have enough of this or that even when your background is very diverse.

It's definitely a frustrating process and it's hard not to play the numbers game for sure. It's such a premed thing to do- try to control the one thing we can! I think the very randomness you speak of is what should remind us that the paper facts just aren't everything in the DO application process. That is the very reason I try to encourage people not to focus as much on that aspect. Lord knows my numbers are not what got me in! 🙂