weak extracurriculars and bad interview skills, but good gpa

[premed2013]

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I have a 3.68 GPA and a 3.83 TMDSAS GPA. I go to a top liberal arts college in the northeast but I am a Texas resident. I have not taken the MCAT but will take it next spring semester, I will be a junior in the upcoming fall. However, i hardly have any extracurriculars. I have research experience, tutoring, volunteering, and shadowing. I am a member of two clubs but I plan to turn in the paperwork to start a new club next semester for a leadership position to bolster my application. I have a concern with my ECs and how could I bolster it with only 1 year left before I start applying for medical school?

In addition, over the summer, i will be volunteering at a hopsital, shadowing, and hopefully will have an internship or a job at a hospital. If not I will just shadow and volunteer. On top of this will be studying for the MCAT even though i have not taken physics to prepare for the MCAT in the spring. Should I also be concerned with writing my personal statement over the summer?

Please help, I really want to get into any texas medical school. Are there medical schools that almost entirely look at just the MCAT/GPA for interview/acceptance?

 

[apumic]

Weak ECs + poor interview = No Acceptance.

That being said, with good LORs and an excellent PS and assuming your MCAT turns out well, they'll probably still offer you the opportunity to waste a few grant on travel expenses for some interviews!

The stuff you listed isn't really detailed enough to know if your ECs are really that weak, though, or just sort of the same as everyone else. Nobody is going to ignore your ECs, just like nobody is going to ignore a weak GPA/MCAT. You need the package. Nevertheless, you've still got a year to fix things up. Get a good long-term clinical gig and a strong long-term research gig and you'll be in good shape a yr from now. I'd strongly recommend not starting some new club just for the leadership experience. That's usually just a road headed for disaster, not to mention the simple fact that "clubs" are usually not a good source of leadership. Get a decent leadership experience elsewhere.

 

[premed2013]

what is a good leadership experience? I do have a long term research gig... I have been doing chemistry research since the summer after my freshman year. Also, what is PS?

 

[NickNaylor]

what is a good leadership experience? I do have a long term research gig... I have been doing chemistry research since the summer after my freshman year.

Research isn't leadership.

 

[premed2013]

No, I am asking for what good leadership experiences are, since the poster said that being president of a club is not good leadership. As for the research statement, I was just saying that I have been doing research for some time. I wasn't implying that research was a leadership position.

what is PS?

 

[alwaysaangel]

No, I am asking for what good leadership experiences are, since the poster said that being president of a club is not good leadership. As for the research statement, I was just saying that I have been doing research for some time. I wasn't implying that research was a leadership position.

what is PS?

PS is personal statement. And you need to be able to explain VERY COMPLETELY "why medicine?"

Good leadership is something that actually involves leading other students/colleages/other people and making a difference in your school/community. Having a job where you are promoted to a supervisor is a leadership position; starting a tutoring organization and organizing multiple volunteers to teach anatomy to local elementary schools is a leadership position; running a large club that contributes to the community/school and you can discuss what you learned from the experience/got out of it is a good leadership position.

Starting a club that does nothing so you can have a title on your application = crap.

 

[toff4l]

I had a post on phony leadership positions. You want something that someone can vouch for. Run a support group or start an organization. That will show leadership. Just be sure it is something you can verify. And most importantly do it because you really want to.

 

[NoMatterWhat]

If being president of a club is not good leadership, then what is?

 

[Catalystik]

If being president of a club is not good leadership, then what is?

Shift boss, training people, organizing committees, student senate leader, coordinating groups, member of a board, starting a business with employees.

 

[apumic]

No, I am asking for what good leadership experiences are, since the poster said that being president of a club is not good leadership. As for the research statement, I was just saying that I have been doing research for some time. I wasn't implying that research was a leadership position.

what is PS?

The PS is your personal statement.

Good leadership experiences usually are more structured and require more of you than a "club" (which tend to be a joke unless you can truly prove that yours was different and that's not going to be easy in <1 yr with a club from scratch).

The best leadership experiences would be ones that you develop on your own over the course of a few years and aren't really going to be things I can tell you "how" to do (simply b/c what makes them special is the originality and ingenuity of the project). The next "tier" though, IMO, would be established campus leadership positions (e.g., RA, research team coordinator/lead RA, XYZ Intern, orientation leader) and volunteer/work leadership positions (lead volunteer in the ED, asst manager at Starbucks, head lifeguard, etc.). This middle tier provides someone else to write you an LOR (work LORs are sometimes seen as positive, esp. if it was a clinical setting or leadership and other important traits can be attested to; one med school states in its admissions materials that "an LOR from the student's place of employment during the application year is a crucial element of the application"). Additionally, it provides structured leadership opportunities and opportunities for growth. In other words, someone else is relying on you to be a good leader and is there to help you learn from your mistakes. Leading a club alone typically limits your opportunities for growth and clubs are known for their flakiness (every adcom knows many club leaders don't put more than a few hrs into the club over the entire course of the semester).

 

[premed2013]

how do i start an organization and make it big enough in just 1 year?

 

[premed2013]

is it better to have a high gpa and weak ECs or a lower gpa but better ECs?

 

[apumic]

how do i start an organization and make it big enough in just 1 year?

You don't.

Starting something and only putting 1 yr into it is just plain a bad idea. If this were your freshmen yr and/or if you had an actual passion for something, I'd be all for it but it's unbearably evident that you have no such passion for something. It's obvious the only reason you want to do this is for your application to med school. Get some passion for something and some people together and start something. When you run into a wall 6 months down the line, by all means ask for advice (here or elsewhere) but when you're asking broad questions like this, there's really no good answer for a few reasons:

1. That question really depends upon what you want to start
2. We aren't where you are, so we can't point you to any resources or even begin to advise you
3. You seem to only want to do it for your app and, at least in my opinion, that is never a good reason to start something (maybe I have stronger feelings than many on this, but working w/ pre-health students, I see the flakiness that this fosters and it's one of the most despised attributes common to most pre-meds because they're all in it "only for the LOR" or "only for the application")

If you want to get something done, you need to develop a heart for it and put in the blood, sweat, and tears to make things happen. Most projects fail to get off the ground. Unless you really have the passion for it, it's unlikely you're going to make something work. This is why I've suggested going for an established position on campus or a management/leadership position at work.

 

[apumic]

is it better to have a high gpa and weak ECs or a lower gpa but better ECs?

Both/neither. You need a high GPA AND excellent ECs to be competitive. W/o the high GPA, you're never getting an interview. W/o the great ECs, you're probably not getting accepted (and possibly no interviews either).

 

[BiopsychStudent]

However, i hardly have any extracurriculars. I have research experience, tutoring, volunteering, and shadowing. I am a member of two clubs...

It sounds like you've got some. Do you have a lower depth of involvement in the activities you've already listed?

 

[mastermix]

If you are doing things you actually care about, then leadership should come naturally. Do you want to be good at being pre-med, or do you want to be good at discovering and representing the values you care about? If you are going to go about it in such a cynical and formulaic way, you will only be making yourself miserable - don't. Honestly, if I were on an adcom, I would have more respect for someone who managed a photography club for three years than someone who spent 1 year volunteering, 1 year shadowing, and 1 year tutoring.

 

[ceasefire]

I am a member of two clubs but I plan to turn in the paperwork to start a new club next semester for a leadership position to bolster my application.

You're doing this for the wrong reasons. Why can't you say that you're passionate about this club, and as a bonus you'll be able to include a leadership position on your app?

 

[RokKidA]

In regards to boosting your interview skills, does your school offer any services to practice medical school interviews?

I know at the career center at my school, they offer video recorded mock interviews so that you can watch yourself and practice to become a better speaker. Maybe you can utilize similar resources at your school.

 

[CurrySpice]

You can 100% fix your interview skills before application season if you are dedicated.

I just attended a brutal, videotaped practice interview at our career center. I was super nervous, forgot what I wanted to say, and hate the way I look/sound on tape. BUT I got some fantastic feedback and it was worth it. I am working on practicing my responses to common interview questions and will go back for a second practice interview next month. Interviewing is not a natural talent, it's a carefully honed skill. Reflect on yourself, your motivations, your strengths, and your weaknesses. Think carefully about your audience. Combine those ideas and you have your answers!

 

[LizzyM]

One often overlooked opportunity for leadership is with your school's alumni office. Yeah, you aren't an alumnus (or alumnae) yet but the office often needs current students to organize activities for the old grads when they come back for alumni weekend. Get involved as an underclassman and you'll be runing the show (or at least the beer tent) by your senior year. Great leadership (as you lead other undergrad volunteers) and fun, too.

 

[apumic]

One often overlooked opportunity for leadership is with your school's alumni office. Yeah, you aren't an alumnus (or alumnae) yet but the office often needs current students to organize activities for the old grads when they come back for alumni weekend. Get involved as an underclassman and you'll be runing the show (or at least the beer tent) by your senior year. Great leadership (as you lead other undergrad volunteers) and fun, too.

This is a great idea!

I think much of the problem for the OP here is that s/he is seeking a quick fix and not something requiring a long-term commitment but s/he also seems to want all the bang possible (w/o the buck!)

 

[NoMatterWhat]

starting a club at your college isn't easy though, you have to submit the idea to the office of student life and wait for approval. If a similar club already exists, it won't be approved.

 

[aperture]

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I'm a first-year pre-medical student who is also lacking leadership. I do some volunteer tutoring on weekends and am a member of an on-campus student club but that's really it.

I was thinking of starting an NBA/Basketball/Advanced Stats Club, but that was only because I like the NBA, not because I think it will look good on a resume (frankly, I think it would look bad). I have tried applying for jobs on campus but have had no luck thus far, and there are many existing community outreach organizations so just starting one up seems disingenuous.

 

[LizzyM]

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I'm a first-year pre-medical student who is also lacking leadership. I do some volunteer tutoring on weekends and am a member of an on-campus student club but that's really it.

I was thinking of starting an NBA/Basketball/Advanced Stats Club, but that was only because I like the NBA, not because I think it will look good on a resume (frankly, I think it would look bad). I have tried applying for jobs on campus but have had no luck thus far, and there are many existing community outreach organizations so just starting one up seems disingenuous.

You are a freshman! Join a group that is doing good work and/or having fun and participate. Work your way up to being a leader within the group.