volunteering

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mabel

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Hi all, I am new to this board and have a quick question for you all. Any information would be great, thanks in advance. Just wondering.... Does volunteering at the hospital that is affiliated with the medical school that you want to go to help, hurt, of have no impact on your chances of getting in?

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It certainly can't hurt but it won't necessarily help either unless you end up getting to know physicians that are on the adcom. The degree of impact will vary depending on how well you can make connections. Perhaps a great LOR from a physician(any physician) in the hospital stating how you'd be a good candidate for their medical school may help. Then again...a great LOR from a physician may be contingent upon you having done something extraordinary at the medical center that would cause him/her to write a LOR of that nature. So it I think it depends on many factors.

Also what kind of "volunteering" will you be doing? Some volunteering lends itself to not being able to do much in the hospital(maybe something like candy striping or running the info booth after hours). But some "volunteering" (perhaps organizing a blood drive for the hospital or something) can help you make more connections and allows a proactive approach which will help you when writing personal statements, etc.

Bottom line...it can't hurt...but how much it helps depends on the nature of the "volunteering" and the connections you are able to make at the medical center.
 
Mabel it really depends on the type of work you're doing, and who you're doing it with.

Try to pick what you do based on your enjoyment of the field, or your desire to gain knowledge about a certain area.
 
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