what are 90th percentile ECs?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
B

bluestrawberries

Membership Revoked
Removed
7+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
21
Reaction score
3
Members do not see this ad.
I've been a lurker for awhile and saw that term thrown around recently.

I am not looking to add anything else to my list of activities. I have the typical hospital volunteering, food pantry volunteering, shadowing, etc.

Is there a way to stand out via what I've already done? If I do a lot of hours (400+ hours for each for community service) is that a way to stand out? It's not easy to take on a leadership role at established community service sites and create new initiatives since that's too much of a headache for volunteer coordinators.
 
Yes, 400+ hours are definitely an eye grabber among the many 100-200 hour applicants.
 
You have plenty of hours... What will really make you stand out is terrific grades and MCAT. So focus on that instead of adding other activities that may take away from academics and only have diminishing returns for your application.

If you still want to make your ECs more killer, I'd suggest starting a non-profit. They still look good. Avoid mission trips, they have already been ruined and don't look good anymore.
 
Why stop at 90th? Not going for 99th is a sign you don't want it enough.

Try checking off this list if you are really serious:

-4.1+ GPA
-101st percentile MCAT
-Rhodes Scholar
-Green Beret
-URM
-Concert violinist
-Fluent in 7 languages
-First author pubs in Nature, Science, AND Aeronautic Engineering Magazine
-Volunteer coordinator at ebola hospital in Liberia
-Challenger in solo queue in League of Legends
-President of Mensa
-Foundress of the missionaries of charity
-Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
-Olympic gold medalist
-Found Osama Bin Laden
-Made millions in stock market with software written from scratch
-Co-authored a paper on medical morality with Pope Francis
-Astronaut
-Batman


That should be a good start.
 
Spinach Dip said:
Why stop at 90th? Not going for 99th is a sign you don't want it enough.

Try checking off this list if you are really serious:

-4.1+ GPA
-101st percentile MCAT
-Rhodes Scholar
-Green Beret
-URM
-Concert violinist
-Fluent in 7 languages
-First author pubs in Nature, Science, AND Aeronautic Engineering Magazine
-Volunteer coordinator at ebola hospital in Liberia
-Challenger in solo queue in League of Legends
-President of Mensa
-Foundress of the missionaries of charity
-Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
-Olympic gold medalist
-Found Osama Bin Laden
-Made millions in stock market with software written from scratch
-Co-authored a paper on medical morality with Pope Francis
-Astronaut
-Batman


That should be a good start.
Click to expand...
Aww damn looks like Ironman didn't make the cut.
 
These seem to be the big ones that get thrown around on this site alot.

1)Peace Corps/Americorps
2) TFA
3) Substantial research experience and production---competitive research fellowships, awards, high end publications, really strong PI letters.
4) Not just volunteering but an active participant and a leadership role---the type of stuff that you can really help show you are making a difference in others lives which is what volunteering is about(not just I volunteered in a hospital for 150 hour and talked to some patients and made their day better). Something along the lines of I had a leadership role in a non profit org I was in and helped create and organize events that provided more resources and raised $50k for those in need
5) Serious athletic commitment. D1 athlete, Olympic athlete, something like that.
6) Significant clinical employment that shows willingness to serve the less fortuante; ie something like a nursing assistant.
7) Military service; The holy grail of EC's.

Obviously not an exhaustive list.
 
Last edited:
Volunteer in hospice, nursing homes, or camps for sick kids.


bluestrawberries said:
I've been a lurker for awhile and saw that term thrown around recently.

I am not looking to add anything else to my list of activities. I have the typical hospital volunteering, food pantry volunteering, shadowing, etc.

Is there a way to stand out via what I've already done? If I do a lot of hours (400+ hours for each for community service) is that a way to stand out? It's not easy to take on a leadership role at established community service sites and create new initiatives since that's too much of a headache for volunteer coordinators.
Click to expand...
 
Spinach Dip said:
Why stop at 90th? Not going for 99th is a sign you don't want it enough.

Try checking off this list if you are really serious:

-4.1+ GPA
-101st percentile MCAT
-Rhodes Scholar
-Green Beret
-URM
-Concert violinist
-Fluent in 7 languages
-First author pubs in Nature, Science, AND Aeronautic Engineering Magazine
-Volunteer coordinator at ebola hospital in Liberia
-Challenger in solo queue in League of Legends
-President of Mensa
-Foundress of the missionaries of charity
-Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
-Olympic gold medalist
-Found Osama Bin Laden
-Made millions in stock market with software written from scratch
-Co-authored a paper on medical morality with Pope Francis
-Astronaut
-Batman


That should be a good start.
Click to expand...
I was diamond 3 is that good enough
 
GrapesofRath said:
4) Not just volunteering but an active participant and a leadership role---the type of stuff that you can really help show you are making a difference in others lives which is what volunteering is about(not just I volunteered in a hospital for 150 hour and talked to some patients and made their day better).
6) Significant clinical employment that shows willingness to serve the less fortuante; ie something like a nursing assistant.
Click to expand...

4 and 6 can be done at the same time, and you don't necessarily need to have been employed. It depends on where your hospital is located. In other words, if it's a public hospital they're guaranteed to serve the less fortunate. And usually if they're a public hospital, they'll let their volunteers do more because they'll likely be understaffed and need more help.
 
I think having relatable ECs can make the mundane really stand out too. The better it all fits together to tell your "story", the more impressive a middle of the road EC sounds. eg. I worked at a camp for kids with developmental delays and majored in neuro + Psych because the camp sparked my interest in the brain.

Another good example is volunteering with a charity that focuses on a disease one of your loved ones or close friends has been afflicted with
 
I think that the narrative behind your EC's is perhaps the most important thing. A good strategy (one that has worked well for me, at least) is to do significant activity in a few "interesting" EC's in addition to the required ones so that you aren't as easy to directly compare to other pre-meds. Then, you can weave an interesting story that gives you a really unique application.

For example, if you have a nice-sounding EC "X" that adcoms don't know too much about, the adcoms will have no idea how competitive you actually were in "X." And you can spin it in an interesting way, because so few pre-meds participate in it.

When it comes to the cookie-cutter stuff, there's always going to be someone who's better than you. The nice thing is that you don't necessarily have to directly engage them in competition.
 
Last edited:
This ought to do it

^^^ probably more like 99.999th percentile ECs

In all seriousness, just find something you enjoy and excel at, take more responsibility, and produce something of value (whatever that may be) and you're already beating out at least 95% of applicants.
 
Honestly, if you log in a lot of hours that's one thing, but if you actually got something out of it/contributing something meaningful and are able to convey that in the interview, that's another thing and can go farther towards getting into med school.

If you have a couple semi-unique things (Teaching assistant, volunteering for a refugee organization/disease that hit your family, etc etc), they will make excellent topic points. I'm sure each school has something they are looking for.
 
hurricane07 said:
If you have a couple semi-unique things (Teaching assistant, volunteering for a refugee organization/disease that hit your family, etc etc), they will make excellent topic points. I'm sure each school has something they are looking for.
Click to expand...

Those things aren't that unique. A lot of people do them. What would be unique is if you could make some tangible impact within a department you TA for or on an organization you volunteer for. They give the opportunity to do unique things, but onw needn't fall in the trap of just doing thei minimum those roles require.
 
IlDestriero said:
Just so y'all know, NASA is accepting applications for it's next generation of astronauts starting on Dec 14th.
Who's with me?!
(Real overachiever gunners never quit shooting for the stars!)
Click to expand...

Sorry but the nearest star is 93 million miles away and you'll burn up if you get too close
 
This is beyond depressing, especially when you live in a smaller town and go to a budding state college. Hopefully I can explain that I did what I could to the ad-coms.
 
IlDestriero said:
Just so y'all know, NASA is accepting applications for it's next generation of astronauts starting on Dec 14th.
Who's with me?!
(Real overachiever gunners never quit shooting for the stars!)
Click to expand...

In all seriousness, at least two of our residents are submitting applications (including myself). My wife isn't particularly happy about it, but ya...
 
Here's another idea... Pick up any old volunteering gig, and treat it like it's a truly special thing that not many people do, because in reality, that's what volunteering actually is.

When I was in the business world, I met two people that volunteered extensively because they genuinely wanted to help others. When you talked to them about it, you would see their eyes light up. The way they described it made it sound so special, because that's really how it should be.

It's a far cry from the typical pre-meds who describe their laundry-lists of activities as somethin mundane, and as something typical that ADCOMs should expect. So instead, try to describe your activities as if the ADCOMs aren't expecting it. Outside the pre-med world, very few people partake in these activities. So when you meet someone who does these activities and is NOT pre-med, you're pleasantly surprised. So be like that person. Make it sound special. Then you'll make these ECs into something that's 90th percentile, because outside of medical school admissions, that's exactly what they are.
 
Lannister said:
Quality over quantity. Stop worrying about how many hours you have and start thinking about how meaningful your community service is and what you're getting out of it.
Click to expand...
To rephrase this... a 90th percentile EC can literally be anything - but it is something that you have extreme passion for and dedicate a large amount of time towards. TBH I don't care for the concept that some ECs are "better" than others, and as Lanny says, what is most important is what you get out of it. You stand out when people can feel your passion for something, in the way you write and speak about it.
 
DrHart said:
TBH I don't care for the concept that some ECs are "better" than others, and as Lanny says, what is most important is what you get out of it.
Click to expand...

Yes! Exactly! Think about this practically. Would you go up to someone who volunteered in the ED and tell them that your "helping people" was superior to theirs because you did it in a free clinic or something like that? Or would you call someone a selfish bastard if they only have 80 or so hours of volunteering? The things that people do on SDN and throughout the pre-med process is very strange and frustrating when you actually take a step back to look at it.
 
Planes2Doc said:
Yes! Exactly! Think about this practically. Would you go up to someone who volunteered in the ED and tell them that your "helping people" was superior to theirs because you did it in a free clinic or something like that? Or would you call someone a selfish bastard if they only have 80 or so hours of volunteering? The things that people do on SDN and throughout the pre-med process is very strange and frustrating when you actually take a step back to look at it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and don't forget: doing something super-wow is actually not very relatable. My super-wow activity might have got me in the door, but in the actual interviews almost everyone just wanted to hear about volunteering in hospice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Is it worth applying to a school if you are above the 90th percentile?
Replies
12
Views
3K
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight
E
how are my ECs? current sophomore
Replies
5
Views
1K
deleted1208015
D
deanbluntfan
Canadian Sophomore how are my ECs?
Replies
7
Views
561
chilly_md
chilly_md
S
HELP! what are my chances and need advice
Replies
3
Views
265
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
AsclepiusAdvisingLLC
mscott.115
Improvements/tips for ECs
Replies
5
Views
553
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Top