Will this EC look fake?

[SloppyBoy]

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so im trying to build up my application since it is pretty weak at the moment but I feel as if whatever I do my application might seem "fake"...

In order to pad up my app, I want to go to retiring homes and volunteer but honestly that is just not me and I think adcoms will see right through it and realize it was a last minute plan to build up my app...also i went on an international medical trip to boast my app. and I really didnt enjoy it..

how can i become more genuine with my activities? or what do you guys typically do?

 

[milkandcereal]

so im trying to build up my application since it is pretty weak at the moment but I feel as if whatever I do my application might seem "fake"...

In order to pad up my app, I want to go to retiring homes and volunteer but honestly that is just not me and I think adcoms will see right through it and realize it was a last minute plan to build up my app...also i went on an international medical trip to boast my app. and I really didnt enjoy it..

how can i become more genuine with my activities? or what do you guys typically do?

You have to change your mindset if you want to be/seem genuine. Truth is, a lot of people participate in activities so that they can put them on their apps; the trick is finding something that you enjoy enough to speak about passionately on personal statements, secondary essays, interviews, etc. You can participate in a million different things, but if you don't enjoy them, you're gonna have trouble explaining why they are important to you.

 

[ghboyd25]

Well why do you want to go into medicine if you aren't enjoying these experiences helping people? It will absolutely look fake if you can't talk/write about your EC's with enthusiasm and passion. There isn't really a way to become more genuine with your activities unless you're doing something you love so I'd suggest just looking around to see what kind of volunteer opportunities are out there.

 

[SloppyBoy]

well i do enjoy being in the hospital and volunteering but there are a lot of EC that I do not enjoy..

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

I like you because you're honest.

 

[Flow Rate]

I like you because you're honest.

Same 👍

 

[Planes2Doc]

I like you because you're honest.

You need to play the game. How many pre-meds do you actually think are genuine when they are racking up volunteer activities like they want to be the next Mother Teresa? I have met very few genuinely altruistic people in my lifetime, who volunteer extensively because they want to. Yet somehow I don't believe that 90% of pre-meds are just that altruistic.

You can do what I did. I found an activity I genuinely enjoyed and really cared about. Those tend to be sporadic in nature, where mine was every few months. I piggy backed it on top of a crappy hospital ED volunteer gig that took place once a week. I then emphasized the activity I enjoyed in my PS and interviews, while touching upon the required ED volunteering just once. It kind of sucks that you have to find a weekly commitment, since that's what ADCOMs emphasize. But that shouldn't stop you from finding something genuinely fun even if it's sporadic. As for the stuff that sucks, just grin and bear it like the rest of us.

Kudos for the honesty. 👍

 

[Katatonic]

I would probably avoid it then, if it's not something you could really connect with and talk about in an interview potentially. I get having to pad the app, but if you already have volunteering and shadowing is it really necessary?

 

[kyamh]

well i do enjoy being in the hospital and volunteering but there are a lot of EC that I do not enjoy..

There is your answer - quality over quantity. There is no reason to have a bunch of different EC's. If you like volunteering at the hospital, then volunteer there often! Volunteer in two departments and you can write about that in two activities slots if you would like to. Ask a primary care office if you can volunteer for them and shadow for a bit before/after you volunteer. Just do that. There is no reason that you have to do many volunteer things. Personally, I have 2 major volunteer entries on my application, and it's not many hours since I have worked for pay and do a lot of research, but I seem to be doing well enough this cycle so far. I don't know that having more things on my app wouldn't help, but it hasn't tanked me either.

 

[kanakari]

I would recommend doing activities you enjoy. Nothing wrong with padding though; not everyone enjoys every single EC. You gotta do what you gotta do. 😉

 

[Omppu27]

If you don't like it, don't do it. There are plenty of types of ECs that could be more enjoyable. I volunteered at a hospital for like 20 hours then stopped just because it was a complete waste of time since I wasn't gaining anything from it.

 

[SunsFun]

Just do anything that's tolerable and you can talk about without falling asleep. Or just pretend to be excited about it like most premeds.

 

[KnuxNole]

well i do enjoy being in the hospital and volunteering but there are a lot of EC that I do not enjoy..

Then don't do them.

Problem solved.

 

[mimelim]

so im trying to build up my application since it is pretty weak at the moment but I feel as if whatever I do my application might seem "fake"...

In order to pad up my app, I want to go to retiring homes and volunteer but honestly that is just not me and I think adcoms will see right through it and realize it was a last minute plan to build up my app...also i went on an international medical trip to boast my app. and I really didnt enjoy it..

how can i become more genuine with my activities? or what do you guys typically do?

You can you know, not go into medicine...

 

[UnicornDemon]

I'm kind of in the same boat as OP. I just decided to switch to pre-med in my Junior year. I have like nothing to put on my resume so far except for this one club I did for a semester called "Ethics Society"- no leadership roles, though. How fake will my resume be if I suddenly start doing a bunch of volunteer work and extra-curriculars in my last two years right when I start taking med school pre-reqs? Obviously they'll know I just did it when I realized I wanted to go into medicine...

 

[Mel Belle]

I'm applying MD/PhD. I'm a quiet person that enjoys reading and generally not very social things. So I'm not crazy involved in a lot of things. I want to become involved because I think it could be fun, but also that it might help my application. I heard research is pretty much all they care about when it comes to MD/PhD applications, though. So should I really bother? I was just offered a position as a health columnist for my college's newspaper. I'm an officer in my pre-health society, which I know most people consider BS. Right now I'm just a PR/email person, but I think the job is fun and it keeps me involved in the club. I want to have more responsibility. Of course I have research. But. Yeah.

 

[Katatonic]

I'm applying MD/PhD. I'm a quiet person that enjoys reading and generally not very social things. So I'm not crazy involved in a lot of things. I want to become involved because I think it could be fun, but also that it might help my application. I heard research is pretty much all they care about when it comes to MD/PhD applications, though. So should I really bother? I was just offered a position as a health columnist for my college's newspaper. I'm an officer in my pre-health society, which I know most people consider BS. Right now I'm just a PR/email person, but I think the job is fun and it keeps me involved in the club. I want to have more responsibility. Of course I have research. But. Yeah.

There's a lot of good info in the Physician Scientist sub-forum on this. You'll still need some shadowing and volunteering to show you've seen what the medical side is like, but from what I hear the major emphasis is on your research experience (preferably 4 years).

 

[Womb Raider]

how can i become more genuine with my activities? or what do you guys typically do?

Just be yourself - do what you love doing.

 

[274631]

If you don't like it, don't do it. There are plenty of types of ECs that could be more enjoyable. I volunteered at a hospital for like 20 hours then stopped just because it was a complete waste of time since I wasn't gaining anything from it.

👍 I think its a bout finding something you like then figuring out how that could relate to your interests and passions and your medical school application. The one EC I hated and barely did (and didn't mention in any of my secondaries) was the one I just did to check a box.

 

[freakingoutabit]

so im trying to build up my application since it is pretty weak at the moment but I feel as if whatever I do my application might seem "fake"...

In order to pad up my app, I want to go to retiring homes and volunteer but honestly that is just not me and I think adcoms will see right through it and realize it was a last minute plan to build up my app...also i went on an international medical trip to boast my app. and I really didnt enjoy it..

how can i become more genuine with my activities? or what do you guys typically do?

What do you enjoy? Do you like spending time with people? Teaching? Working by yourself? Working with your hands? There are SO many ways to volunteer, and I'm sure you could find one you liked if you think outside the box a little. I don't blame you for not wanting to volunteer in a nursing home.

When I was in undergrad, I was very social and looked for volunteering that involved working with a lot of people, especially other college students. I wasn't a pre-med back then, so I didn't do anything that didn't sound fun (and I'm very thankful for that, in hindsight).

Here are some ideas, off the top of my head:
-help plan a 5K/10K/marathon
-collect canned and dry food for a food pantry
-collect used clothing for a charity thrift shop/homeless shelter/battered women's shelter
-answer calls for crisis/suicide/rape hotline
-drive drunk people home (my college had an organization that did this on the weekends)
-volunteer at an animal shelter (beware: lots of poop shoveling involved in this one)
-tutor at-risk kids
-tutor illiterate adults
-help to build and paint a set for a community/school play
-serve food at a soup kitchen (can be done very frequently if you want to build up hours)
-volunteer 8 hours a week at a Red Cross office
-spend a Saturday painting/installing doorknobs/cleaning up at a Habitat for Humanity site
-organize a stream/wetlands/beach/park clean up

ETA: Check out volunteermatch.org and idealist.org for volunteer opportunities in your area.