What extracurricular activities did you guys do?

[etherealsolvent]

I'm starting college next year and I know you need to shadow doctors, research, and have some clinical experience. But, what else should I do? Also how did you get research opportunities?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[SSSMDt]

I'm starting college next year and I know you need to shadow doctors, research, and have some clinical experience. But, what else should I do? Also how did you get research opportunities?

Build relationships with the professors at your university who are doing interesting research projects, do well in their class, then approach them and ask. You could also look into research labs at other universities near you and send an email to the PI/apply. I'd say try to get a lot of clinical experience, not just some. Get on non-clinical volunteering and try to be consistent with this would be my other recommendation (your local YMCA, for example).

I also play the ukulele.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I have an extremely long list of ECs because I'm 33. So kind of apples to oranges.

I also play the ukulele (and a bunch of other instruments--one of my favorite ECs is that I was a pro musician for a few years in NY).

As for research, I have been involved in a few projects. Two of them were labs. I found the profs by looking at the faculty pages and their interests. I emailed them and set up a time to talk, and at the end they invited me to join their labs. Another project was an independent project, but since it involved some math I wasn't super familiar with, I asked one of my upper division profs to be my advisor of sorts. I asked him through email, and our whole relationship has been that way. Very convenient.

 

[tessellations]

Do something you enjoy!!! It can be a sport, an interest group, a musical group - as long as you're passionate about it, you should do it! I shopped around a bit and ended up joining a professional greek organization that I love and that has allowed me to gain leadership experience. I made a lot of friends through it with similar goals and passions as me and it got me out of the premed/science bubble I was in. I'm also joining a group that bakes challah to raise money for organizations that fight hunger. I'm super passionate about food insecurity and hunger, so this is right up my alley.

I also became a small group tutor my freshman year and have built amazing friendships and skills through that. For volunteering, I've worked at a soup kitchen and a community center. I'm a big baker, so getting to bake cakes for hungry people has been so rewarding.

I'm also finally joining a choir next semester. I did it for 7 years in middle and high school, but had to take a break because I couldn't fit it into my schedule. I'm a college junior now, but it's never too late to do something you love. In my free time, I like to sing on my own and play the ukulele. I also write terrible poetry and songs, lol.

As for research, I just cold emailed the professor I wanted to do research with and told him why I wanted to join his lab. I also knew someone in his lab and asked her if I could mention that she had told me about his lab. Networking helps a lot! Try to find research you're passionate about.

 

[Pseudofeds]

Campus size: Small (> 4000 total, >2000 dorming).
General Class Faculty to Student ratio: 1:30.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology intention.

Im going into my second semester at my university. The first day I went to every single science professor and introduced myself, asked them questions, and told them my plan to succeed and to go medical school. Sure it may seem a bit intrusive, however, I made sure that they were not preparing for a lecture within the next 20 minutes. Catch them at the right time and tell them-show them you're dedicated. You'll be surprised with what responses you will get just from being a first semester student automatically introducing yourself and having a plan. I managed to score not one, but two research projects just within my campus alone and just by consistently going to them 3 times a week for around 10 - 15 minutes giving them updates. Just make sure you're not intrusive (coming to them right as they are preparing for lectures), or a pest (coming to them every day, every single second of the day). Essentially the goal is to develop an unconditional relationship even though its slightly conditional. What I mean is have something genuine to ask. Don't consistently ask about research because that is just unprofessional.

Advice: Think about genuine questions before you talk to the professor. Research the professor. Your school should have a faculty page with the many projects your professors have worked on in the past or are currently working on. This knowledge will help spark interest in a particular professor's research and come up with genuine questions. Obviously, spend more time with the professor(s) you're more interested in working with. Another thing, the first week of school I assessed my competition. I talked to many students about their majors, what they want to research, or if they even plan to research. For pre-med students, or any students interested in the medical field I make sure to keep a close connection with them. Don't be afraid to ask other students many questions because it can really help you - like it did me. Especially juniors or seniors.

All things to consider:

• From my personal experience, most research professors ask for 2nd+ year students only. Thats obviously because you don't have any experience (or so they assume) to help out.
• What is your class size? Mine was only around 4,000 students so of course it will be easier for me to get research opportunities. However, that just gives you an even greater reason to be one of the first to make your introduction as a freshmen.
• Is there any free time where I can go volunteer either clinically at the local hospital/clinic/pharmacy/etc, or non-clinically (www.volunteermatch.org/)?
• Do I have any free time to get a basic certification to maybe spruce up the profile a little?
• Do I even have time at all for research with my class/study load? I actually know some students that have no time for anything. Thats mostly a combination of class/study load and just poor time management.
• Am I living, breathing, studying, maintaining a good GPA all while making friends, having some fun, living life, and not being a robot?

TL;DR - Besides GPA, the next important thing is developing a genuine first-day impression with the professors you want or intend to work with. Develop a genuine unconditional relationship and you will eventually get what you want. Research.

Clinical experience? Why not volunteer at your local hospital. That is what I am doing starting this semester in the ED. Maybe get a CPR/BLS certification if you have time while your at it. It does not hurt to get more certifications under your belt.

Non-clinical? Ive heard Habitat for humanity is popular. I myself haven't volunteered with them yet even though I intend to as I love construction (one of their volunteering options).

Im sure I left something out that I probably really wanted to include, but this post was longer than I thought.

 

[Gilakend]

I'm a sophomore going into my second semester, so I can't really tell you what you should do but I can tell you what I've done and what I wish I would have done differently.

So far I have essentially no clinical ECs, I'm an EMT but I get paid for it which I hear does not look as good as volunteering as an EMT. But hey, I gotta keep the lights on.

As far as non-clinical ECs on campus:
I was a (again, paid) tutor for a supplemental class for chemistry last semester, which was actually pretty cool because it was a required class where I was responsible for the grades of the students.
I worked as a lab assistant (pipette boy) although I did get to do some cool things as a freshman like cell culturing and western blots.
I have a few other random things I've done such as being in a pre-health professional community and helping move freshman in during welcome week.
Outside of school I practice and compete in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I train ~3 times a week.

What I will be starting next semester:
Continue working as EMT
Volunteering at the university hospital weekly
Shadow
Volunteering at local homeless shelter
Joining 3-4 clubs on campus and becoming more involved (1 service related, 1 pre-med, 1 mentoring freshman, not sure on 4th)

What I want to do third year:
Research
Leadership position in club
Continuation of everything from last semester

What I wish I would have done differently:
Started volunteering second semester freshman year after I had one semester of learning how to study under my belt.
Volunteered over the summer between freshman and sophomore year.
Get involved on campus freshman year.
Build stronger relationships with professors.

I was a lab assistant which got my foot in the door for research, the professor I was with said whenever I wanted to do research to come talk to him. So it was pretty cool that I got to sort of see what it was like and I was paid for it. I would like to start research this semester, but I am currently taking ochem 2, physics 2, and anatomy 2 so I don't want to spread myself to thin and at this point for me volunteering > research as far as my application goes.

I think it is so important to start the ball rolling your freshman year, I wish I would have more so. I still think I have time to find meaningful experiences in all these activities and put together a decent application but it would have been much less hectic if I had done it little by little. I'll be taking the MCAT this summer so I will have a good amount of free-time junior year for research and to volunteer more and get more involved on campus so I think my application won't suffer too much if any from my mistakes.

Good luck with college.

 

[Dandine]

I second what everyone else has said in terms of extracurriculars. Do something you enjoy or want to get more involved with. It can be anything from joining a cultural/cause organization or taking part in some activity like music or exercise and sports.

Several schools place emphasis on volunteering in the community so it would be good to do community service in some capacity; it can overlap with clubs you may be in or organizations (summer programs for kids, Habitat for Humanity as someone earlier described, many others).

As far as research goes, emailing profs are your best bet. Another thing that might help is while emailing faculty, even if they do not have an open spot in their labs, ask if there are opps in other labs they know of studying the topics you are interested in. That way you can get an idea of what labs have open positions available.

One more thing to note is that your school may have opportunities for research for undergraduates during the regular fall/spring or summer semesters, depending on faculty projects that need assistants, so it may be worth checking there.

As as side-point, for medical school it will help if you can demonstrate that you are familiar with scientific methodology (hypothesis-driven research), so make sure you go into whichever lab you choose ready to learn about (a) the topics studied, (b) how they are studied in that lab (techniques, procedures, methods), and (c) what you learned from your experiences.

Best of luck for your upcmong semester!

 

[Turkishking]

Big Brothers Sisters

 

[mwsapphire]

I have an interview lined up to volunteer at a hospital and be around patients, and hopefully participate in summer physician shadowing. I'm hoping that makes an impact. You don't need a lot of research experience unless you're planning on applying to a top ten or want an Md/PhD.

 

[Goro]

For research you'll need to seek out PIs and ask them about their research and find out if they can take on a student.


Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

I'm starting college next year and I know you need to shadow doctors, research, and have some clinical experience. But, what else should I do? Also how did you get research opportunities?