What defines a good set of ECs?

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CaptainScience

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Hey, guys! I wanted to know what your view on ECs and how important they really are. I'm considering going overseas to volunteer for clinical experience. But I have been reading that it would be best to just gain that experience in state because medical school doesn't really care about whether you volunteer in another country or not. Is that true?
 
Why/where do you want to go overseas? How long would you be there?

Paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to volunteer in a clinic overseas for a week or two is not worth it. A long term commitment near home will be looked at much more favorably by medical schools and will teach you more about medicine. However, spending several months overseas is a completely different story, especially if you are able to immerse yourself in a new culture and/or become fluent in a language.

If you have the time, desire, and money to travel overseas for several months... then go for it. Otherwise, get your clinical experience in the US. You might be surprised at the need for medical volunteers in your own country.
 
Do it, but do it for the learning experience; global health and domestic health are so entirely different in many ways that it's naive to think you'd get the same experience by volunteering in the US or Canada. I participated in an eight week volunteer program abroad at the beginning of my university career, and that experience deeply influenced my interests and involvements throughout college. It's clear from the activities I pursued in later years how much I gained from my experience overseas.
 
A similar thread about overseas volunteering started 2 days ago: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=884016

You definitely do not want overseas medical volunteering to be your only clinical experience. Medical schools want you to have an understanding of the American medical system. You can't experience that in a different country.
 
Why/where do you want to go overseas? How long would you be there?

Paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to volunteer in a clinic overseas for a week or two is not worth it. A long term commitment near home will be looked at much more favorably by medical schools and will teach you more about medicine. However, spending several months overseas is a completely different story, especially if you are able to immerse yourself in a new culture and/or become fluent in a language.

If you have the time, desire, and money to travel overseas for several months... then go for it. Otherwise, get your clinical experience in the US. You might be surprised at the need for medical volunteers in your own country.
The place is Costa Rica. The duration of the trip will be 10 days and while there, we will be in a clinic helping doctors provide healthcare to the natives. So do you think it's worth it?
 
The place is Costa Rica. The duration of the trip will be 10 days and while there, we will be in a clinic helping doctors provide healthcare to the natives. So do you think it's worth it?
You didn't say what it would cost, but in general, no, you could actually help people a lot more stateside and for a much longer duration than you could with 10 days in Costa Rica, assuming you are not a trained medical professional already.
 
You didn't say what it would cost, but in general, no, you could actually help people a lot more stateside and for a much longer duration than you could with 10 days in Costa Rica, assuming you are not a trained medical professional already.

This. I'm estimating it will probably cost ~$1000-2000. If you're really interested in visiting Costa Rica in general (as in, you would be interested in going there on vacation or something) and you have money to burn, then do it. But if not, there is really no benefit to spending all of that money to volunteer 10 days--especially considering you have no training yet (as far as I know).

I know a group of people from my school who did a very similar program in Limon, Costa Rica. They had a really amazing time: saw a lot of intense clinical cases and the clinic was right near an amazing beach. Still, it was very expensive and I don't know how much it will help their applications to medical school.
 
You didn't say what it would cost, but in general, no, you could actually help people a lot more stateside and for a much longer duration than you could with 10 days in Costa Rica, assuming you are not a trained medical professional already.

The cost of the trip is $1720 excluding your plan tickets and certain meals.
 
If you ask me, a good set of ECs are ones that you are genuinely interested in combined with ones that are relevant for med school (especially if those interest you as well).

If volunteering overseas does this for you, then go for it. But as everyone said, it's a 10 day experience, and if it's another check mark, I'd be hard pressed to see how it helps you that much.
 
If you ask me, a good set of ECs are ones that you are genuinely interested in combined with ones that are relevant for med school (especially if those interest you as well).

If volunteering overseas does this for you, then go for it. But as everyone said, it's a 10 day experience, and if it's another check mark, I'd be hard pressed to see how it helps you that much.

Yeah and you will end up doing an activity that plenty of pre-meds do. The quest to stand apart only makes people conform more. Just find stuff you like so you can actually talk about them.
 
$1720 is a little pricey for a 10 day trip. I met a gap year MD applicant in India who was paying $2600 for 6 months to shadow in Indian hospitals and clinics. If you're genuinely interested in visiting Costa Rica AND gaining clinical experience AND are okay with spending $1720, then I say go for it. Otherwise, I would recommend other less expensive volunteer abroad options.

The cost of the trip is $1720 excluding your plan tickets and certain meals.
 
Yeah and you will end up doing an activity that plenty of pre-meds do. The quest to stand apart only makes people conform more. Just find stuff you like so you can actually talk about them.

This right here.

I think the most important thing, which might have been mentioned in the other thread, is that having attended a U.S. medical school, you will likely practice in the U.S., meaning that it's more important to understand the system here than it is to do a short stint of medical volunteering in another country. Going overseas doesn't provide you with that experience and that, along with the fact that it will likely only be short term clinical exposure, makes it a less ideal venture than simply volunteering where there's plenty of need: Right in your backyard.
 
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I wonder what would be more beneficial to the people of Costa Rica, a $1720 donation to a food bank/other charity or your help assisting doctors for 10 days.
 
This right here.

I think the most important thing, which might have been mentioned in the other thread, is that having attended a U.S. medical school, you will likely practice in the U.S., meaning that it's more important to understand the system here than it is. Going overseas doesn't provide you with that experience and that, along with the fact that it will likely only be short term clinical exposure, makes it a less ideal venture than simply volunteering where there's plenty of need: Right in your backyard.

I strongly disagree with this. International health is a huge clinical and research focus for many medical schools; international clinical experiences, even in the premed years, can be invaluable learning opportunities, and very different than anything you'd find in the US.

ETA: I wanted to add that, although I do think there is much to be gained from international health experiences, I too am skeptical of these short-term volunteering stints. OP, would you consider spending a more substantial amount of time overseas? It'd be a much more worthwhile experience.
 
Simply throwing money at a problem doesn't necessarily help solve the issue. Even if donating $1720 were more beneficial to the people of Costa Rica, what would the donor get out of it in terms of applying to med school? This isn't about true altruism- it's a balance between doing good and gaining something from the experience.

The cost of the trip is $1720 excluding your plan tickets and certain meals.

I wonder what would be more beneficial to the people of Costa Rica, a $1720 donation to a food bank/other charity or your help assisting doctors for 10 days.
 
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I strongly disagree with this. International health is a huge clinical and research focus for many medical schools; international clinical experiences, even in the premed years, can be invaluable learning opportunities, and very different than anything you'd find in the US.

ETA: I wanted to add that, although I do think there is much to be gained from international health experiences, I too am skeptical of these short-term volunteering stints. OP, would you consider spending a more substantial amount of time overseas? It'd be a much more worthwhile experience.

Sorry about that, I neglected to finish my post, which probably explains why we disagree. Feel free to read the completed sentence (notice the fragment in your quote . . . oops!

And I don't want to belittle the idea of studying medicine internationally; it's just that this specific experience, i.e. going to another country for a relatively short period of time to do medical volunteering despite the need and opportunity that already exists here that you can contribute to in the long term, is far more important.
 
I don't think volunteering abroad for a short period of time and contributing long-term to your local community are necessarily mutually exclusive.Also, as I alluded to in a previous post, it's okay to balance your self-interest with helping others. After all, are most people's motives for volunteering completely altruistic? And if you feel you have much to gain (in terms of world perspective, personal growth, competitiveness for med school) from volunteering abroad and can help some of the most impoverished people in the world (assuming you're volunteering in a third world country), then I say volunteering abroad could be beneficial.

Sorry about that, I neglected to finish my post, which probably explains why we disagree. Feel free to read the completed sentence (notice the fragment in your quote . . . oops!

And I don't want to belittle the idea of studying medicine internationally; it's just that this specific experience, i.e. going to another country for a relatively short period of time to do medical volunteering despite the need and opportunity that already exists here that you can contribute to in the long term, is far more important.
 
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