What was the most amazing EC you ever heard some pre-med do for med school?

[Raihan Mirza]

So far through all the research I have done I learned that getting accepted to a decent medical school is extremely tough. About two thirds of the applicats that apply to medical school get rejected. One of the ways you can obviously increase your chances of getting into medical school besides getting an above average GPA AND MCAT score is your EC. So I was wondering what was the most amazing EC activity you ever hear a pre-med do?

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[Retro Virus]

A friend of mine spent two months working as a nurse (no experience - trained on the job by staff) at an AIDS clinic in a war-torn African country. This guy essentially worked clinic for every waking moment (it was not safe to go past the clinic premises where he lived), and in two months delivered over two dozen babies. He told me that if he could do it again he'd bring a bottle of bleach, so that the staff could disinfect between deliveries, and some extra needles so that they wouldn't have to reuse the same ones when vaccinating all the newborns, which pretty much ensured any baby not born with an HIV infection got it immediately.

He is an amazing person and is already Doctors without Borders material, despite having not spent any time in medical school. As you can probably tell I have a good bit of hero worship.

 

[ssquared]

I have a friend who founded an orphanage and a school in Central America (not saying the country lest I give myself away completely).

I also know somebody who helped create and run a medical clinic (also in C. America).

Yeah, wow, what have I been doing with my life?

 

[Kfire326]

Raihan, that is messed up. You are a freshman in undergrad and are just looking for some ECs you can copy. Go find ECs yourself. pshh.

From another thread:

...I am currently a Undergrad freshmen

 

[ssquared]

Raihan, that is messed up. You are a freshman in undergrad and are just looking for some ECs you can copy. Go find ECs yourself. pshh.

Hahaha. Well, if Raihan steals mine and goes and founds a medical clinic for underserved people, even if it was only a resume boost at least it's helping people.

Always good if you can a get a two-fer.

 

[alok]

Raihan, that is messed up. You are a freshman in undergrad and are just looking for some ECs you can copy. Go find ECs yourself. pshh.

From another thread:

lol

 

[Wahoos]

Helped with the admission comittee as a 4th year student. Had a lady who received her MBA from Wharton (U Penn) was a vice Exec of a large company, made well into the 6 figures, who wanted to drop her job to come to medical school. We also interviewed an ex Navy Seal, a woman who worked on nuclear bombs and testing them, also some other very interesting previous non med career people who where "pre meds".

 

[calcox]

I was in an interview group at one school with a student who had written an entire fictional novel.

 

[ssquared]

I was in an interview group at one school with a student who had written an entire fictional novel.

Ah, but was it published? That's the hard part. My roommate is trying to publish her first novel, and it's been quite the process.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

He told me that if he could do it again he'd bring a bottle of bleach, so that the staff could disinfect between deliveries, and some extra needles so that they wouldn't have to reuse the same ones when vaccinating all the newborns, which pretty much ensured any baby not born with an HIV infection got it immediately.

I call bull****. You'd think if they could get vaccines, they could get needles. I think your friend was making it up, or at very least seriously embellishing it to make it more interesting.

 

[lsumedgirl]

I call bull****. You'd think if they could get vaccines, they could get needles. I think your friend was making it up, or at very least seriously embellishing it to make it more interesting.

I'm inclined to agree. Yeah, I know that medical supplies in African countries are very limited, but I've never heard of needles being re-used for vaccination purposes... particularly by a relief group coming in to assist the nation with medical care. I would think with the campaigns to combat the AIDS epidemic, re-using needles is the last thing they'd do.

 

[dude1344]

I interviewed with someone who once played in the NFL... now THAT is cool.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I interviewed with someone who once played in the NFL... now THAT is cool.

I used to work for someone who had played in the NFL. That's as close as I can come to matching that experience

 

[Bengalswillwin]

Special Forces in the Army. I think they go to recon to Iraq, Afghanistan and stuff. Is that good enough?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Special Forces in the Army. I think they go to recon to Iraq, Afghanistan and stuff. Is that good enough?

Depends on what SF unit.....Rangers (and no offense to them meant) are not exactly that uncommon. Now if he were an honest to god Green Beret or Delta operator then, yeah.......that's something worthy of awe. However (speaking as a veteran of OEF), anyone who serves our country is deserving of respect and gratitude regardless of the unit, branch or where they served. Likewise, anyone who serves honorably and faithfully as a firefighter, law enforcement officer or EMS provider (for a 911 service) should also be thanked for their service and dedication.

 

[Retro Virus]

I call bull****. You'd think if they could get vaccines, they could get needles. I think your friend was making it up, or at very least seriously embellishing it to make it more interesting.

I can see what you're saying and it's definitely possible, but it'd be very out of character for him to lie. I would not be surprised if either the local government, an international org, or a drug company looking for good PR had subsidized the drugs and not the delivery vehicle. I can also vouch for the absolute destitution of the area having seen pictures, for what it's worth. As for HIV I don't think they were even trying to control it - he didn't say anything about any serious control or education efforts and the idea they'd have meds that expensive out there seems kind of dubious. According to him a lot of them seemed like they were TB/HIV coinfected anyway (that's a really big problem there and HIV excacerbates TB like crazy) and they didn't have the means to isolate anybody in a meaningful way, so I got the impression resources were pretty limited.

But yeah, I guess he could have been leading me on.

 

[mikeinsd]

I interviewed with someone who once played in the NFL... now THAT is cool.

at the usc second look, one of the third year student speakers was about a foot taller than everyone else, and wearing what appeared to be a bowl ring


pretty entertaining speaker as well

 

[pennybridge]

at the usc second look, one of the third year student speakers was about a foot taller than everyone else, and wearing what appeared to be a bowl ring


pretty entertaining speaker as well

yeah i got to hold the ring

he played with brett favre in teh super bowl!

 

[olemissbabydoc]

yeah i got to hold the ring

he played with brett favre in teh super bowl!

I regularly eat at the same restaurants as brett favre, does that count?

He lives in my town.... we also belong to the same gym..

 

[ReachingTruth]

I regularly eat at the same restaurants as brett favre, does that count?

He lives in my town.... we also belong to the same gym..

So in an indirect way, you work out with Brett Favre? You're working out, he's working out...same place, same time....that's together isn't it?

 

[notdeadyet]

I call bull****. You'd think if they could get vaccines, they could get needles. I think your friend was making it up, or at very least seriously embellishing it to make it more interesting.

Agreed. And frankly, you could make a pretty good argument that he would probably be doing a better service to his patients by not vaccinating rather than reusing needles to vaccinate babies in a war-torn African AIDS clinic.

Also, I know premeds have a tendency to look for one or two month intense experiences abroad for bragging rights, but it's far more impressive to dedicate a longer period of your life to make lasting change. Doing a month in an African AIDS clinic is noble, but spending two years for an NGO building wells is much moreso. War zones are exciting because they're very telegenic, but the real and lasting work gets done between the fighting.

 

[braluk]

I always find individuals who were in the army, marines, etc.. to have fascinating experiences to talk about.

 

[sprinkibrio]

I would not be surprised if either the local government, an international org, or a drug company looking for good PR had subsidized the drugs and not the delivery vehicle.

That is exactly what happens everywhere. I very much doubt he was lying. The same thing is going on in Cuba... they have the crazy medicines available and brag about it but they really need basic antibiotics, gauze, etc.

 

[mdm2fly]

a silver and bronze medal in the sydney and athens olympics, respectively, for water polo

 

[Chris418]

I know some pretty crazy card magic... put that on one of my app's and got an interview . Definetly didnt put it on my AMCAS though, think its a bit too weird. And before someone asks, yea i can do the david blaine stuff... no i cant do kris angel that would pwn though.

 

[LizzyM]

Tie between: NFL Superbowl team member and Olympic medalist

I also recall an applicant born to missionary parents who had a long list of clinical service activities on three or four continents-- his nickname among the adcom members was "Mother Teresa".

I was intrigued by an engineering student who had a hobby of buying broken electrical/electronic items on E-bay, repairing them and selling them for fun & profit.

The first time I saw an applicant who had been a vendor in a major league baseball stadium I was intrigued but then I met a second one and it was no longer "unique".

 

[Pose]

Depends on what SF unit.....

There is only one SF. The Special Forces are an Army SOF unit. Rangers are their own, as are the 160th, the PJs, CCT, SEALs, and the newly minted Force Recon. The green beret is what an SF operator would wear.

If he was Army SF -- he wore the green beret. I'd love to go to medical school with him. Cool ****.

 

[notdeadyet]

a silver and bronze medal in the sydney and athens olympics, respectively, for water polo

Oooh... Downward trend.... that'll hurt the app....

 

[Institute]

Oooh... Downward trend.... that'll hurt the app....

i lol'd out loud on that.

 

[Nowaythisnameis]

So far through all the research I have done I learned that getting accepted to a decent medical school is extremely tough. About two thirds of the applicats that apply to medical school get rejected. One of the ways you can obviously increase your chances of getting into medical school besides getting an above average GPA AND MCAT score is your EC. So I was wondering what was the most amazing EC activity you ever hear a pre-med do?

i killed 40 terrorists in 1 day and stopped a nuclear bomb from going off in california... or maybe that was jack bauer

 

[dragonark]

i killed 40 terrorists in 1 day and stopped a nuclear bomb from going off in california... or maybe that was jack bauer

I don't think Jack Bauer could get into medical school...where's the patient contact or the research? Sure, he's helped out the community occasionally, but that's only 1/3...

 

[jochi1543]

Oooh... Downward trend.... that'll hurt the app....

Best post of the day.

 

[searun]

I know this guy who is an expert on astrology and he was checking out the stars, and he did his girlfriend's chart and realized that the stars and planets were aligned so that she would get into UCSF, and she did, and he knew that she would not get into Yale, and she didn't, and that is pretty damn cool.

 

[phantomx87]

i invented the dot at the bottom of the question mark... before me, people ended interogative sentences with an ear-looking symbol... but that changed when i came along.


oh yeah, i'm like a bajillion years old. that's another one of my ECs. seriously.

 

[Meatwad]

Knew a guy who was a garbage man. Got his GED --> BS --> MD. Call him Trashy MD.

 

[Ms MD]

There were some medics from the army in my interview group. They pretty much got to do everything from sutchuring to you name it. They went to IRAQ and saw some severely injured soldiers in critical shape and they were able to scrub into procedures. Talk about experience.

 

[halekulani]

Oooh... Downward trend.... that'll hurt the app....

 

[45408]

Tie between: NFL Superbowl team member and Olympic medalist

I sat next to an Olympic medalist in gen chem (we were in-class friends ) and physics. Cool guy. His twin brother was even better than he was too.

so did they both get admitted?

 

[Glorified]

Depends on what SF unit.....Rangers (and Likewise, anyone who serves honorably and faithfully as a firefighter, law enforcement officer or EMS provider (for a 911 service) should also be thanked for their service and dedication.

Oh so EMT's who do transports aren't dedicated and shouldn't be thanked for their service? Thanks like saying a nurse shouldn't be thanked for what she does even though she is dedicated.

 

[gsmithers68]

I call bull****. You'd think if they could get vaccines, they could get needles. I think your friend was making it up, or at very least seriously embellishing it to make it more interesting.

+1 Call me ignorant but I feel like we're past this stage ANYWHERE in the world.

 

[gary5]

"Developed the first vaccine for HIV during junior year, in between organic chem study sessions."

 

[Cirrus83]

I know some pretty crazy card magic... put that on one of my app's and got an interview . Definetly didnt put it on my AMCAS though, think its a bit too weird. And before someone asks, yea i can do the david blaine stuff... no i cant do kris angel that would pwn though.

Heh that's pretty funny...my brother used that as an EC for his undergrad app and it apparently helped get him into Dartmouth even though he's not an athlete (this is only a half-joke since most of the students at Dartmouth really are athletes and former athletes).

 

[8744]

So far through all the research I have done I learned that getting accepted to a decent medical school is extremely tough. About two thirds of the applicats that apply to medical school get rejected. One of the ways you can obviously increase your chances of getting into medical school besides getting an above average GPA AND MCAT score is your EC. So I was wondering what was the most amazing EC activity you ever hear a pre-med do?

I have a friend who is a first-year medical student who was a Marine Corps Scout-sniper. That beats the ****-all out of most other extra-curricular activities.

 

[Depakote]

I have a friend who is a first-year medical student who was a Marine Corps Scout-sniper. That beats the ****-all out of most other extra-curricular activities.

interesting career change.

 

[45408]

Oh so EMT's who do transports aren't dedicated and shouldn't be thanked for their service? Thanks like saying a nurse shouldn't be thanked for what she does even though she is dedicated.

Oooh, oooh, me too! I want credit and recognition!

 

[Glorified]

Oooh, oooh, me too! I want credit and recognition!

? yeah......

 

[soeagerun2or]

Eric Heiden set a world record and won 5 gold medals at the 1980 Winter Olympics for speedskating. In his spare time he competed in the 1986 Tour de France. Then went to Stanford for his MD.

 

[Yehosh]

+1 Call me ignorant but I feel like we're past this stage ANYWHERE in the world.

+2

There are ways to disinfencting a needle that needs to be reused although obviously it should be avoided if possible. "ensured any baby not born with an HIV infection got it immediately"? come on, give me a break, I doubt the guy actually admitted to such negligence.

Also, reusing needles on a high risk AIDS population is EXTREMLY hazardous to the medical staff.

Not sure how my EC equates with others, I'm sure there are some serious gunners out there with some crazy stuff, but I served as a field medic in the Israel Defense Forces for 3 years (yes, I'm a little bit older). Mostly primary care and trauma medicine.

 

[LizzyM]

I sat next to an Olympic medalist in gen chem (we were in-class friends ) and physics. Cool guy. His twin brother was even better than he was too.

so did they both get admitted?

Heck, you only sat next to him and you got admitted.


Halo effect.

Big time.

You were really lucky.

 

[45408]

Heck, you only sat next to him and you got admitted.


Halo effect.

Big time.

You were really lucky.

Yeah, they gave me my diploma just for mentioning his name in the registrar's office.