Work instead of EC's...

[sistermike]

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I've always wondered how admissions committees view working compared to taking part in EC's? I have always had to work at least 2 jobs since my senior year in high school. Due to my work, my EC's are probably far below par compared to others. Anyone have any ideas how admission committees would view a situation like that?

 

[Falco2525]

I've always wondered how admissions committees view working compared to taking part in EC's? I have always had to work at least 2 jobs since my senior year in high school. Due to my work, my EC's are probably far below par compared to others. Anyone have any ideas how admission committees would view a situation like that?

isn't work an EC??? I mean sure your not slaving away for free...but you are doing it in addition to school right? Sounds like something you may want to explain in supplemental apps or maybe even the amcas

 

[kerplunk112]

as long as you are working for a substantial reason..ie paying bills tuition..generally supporting yourself. They cant possibly hold that against you and they wont. Generally schools simply want to see that you keep busy. At the same time make sure you have at least some clinical experience, maybe some reason and volunteering. They also want to see you know what you are getting yourself into.
Like falco said its something that might not be overtly obvious so you may want to mention it in your apps along with how many hours you worked a week. i would prob put it in the amcas EC section.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Work is an EC...especially if you did something you can tie back into how it will help you be a doctor.

I mean make sure you get a little bit of clinical experience in somewhere but other than that if you're working 20+ hrs a week that will be more than sufficient ECs.

I worked all through college too, I mentioned it briefly in my Personal Statement, and I listed all 3 jobs on my AMCAS application. They were all customer service so I was able to tie them back into experience that will be useful for being a doctor.

 

[TPROrgoTutor2]

A couple admissions folks have told me that they want to see that volunteering, etc... regardless of work. That they understand its difficult but it is something that you have to do.

 

[bbabul01]

I'm in a similar position. I worked a lot through college. The best option is always to work a job where you get paid and get experience. I worked as an EMT and for the police for a while, both great jobs, paid me well and I got great experience.

As far as how admissions feels, I have seen a generally positive response from everyone. I noticed that a lot of secondaries actually wanted to know how much you worked during college. I think Columbia was one of them, but I can't remember at this point. I don't think the AMCAS stresses enough about paid employment, so a lot of schools really want to know about it because it's a large part of some people's college experience.

My personal opinion is that working can be more impressive than just volunteering. It's pretty easy to convince someone to let you work for free, because they have nothing to lose. Whereas, if they are paying you, you better be doing a good job and showing up on time.

Try to get some health related experience, whether paid or not. But realize that nobody can really challenge the money card, because it's not something you control. Good luck.

 

[8744]

A couple admissions folks have told me that they want to see that volunteering, etc... regardless of work. That they understand its difficult but it is something that you have to do.

I don't disagree with you but it just shows you how idiotic the medical school application process has become. Working shows more character and self-discipline.

 

[baylormed]

Try finding a doctor who will let you shadow him one day a week for 2-3 hours at a time (if you find a nice one that lets you DO stuff, well, the better). That way, it doesn't suck up much time and you get some shadowing in medically related field.

As far as volunteering goes, I volunteered only 2hrs/week at a hospital for two semesters...and that was it. The rest of my EC's were work, work, work and a one-summer shadowing experience, and random community events during the semester that took up 5-8 hours, but only once or twice a semester.

 

[TPROrgoTutor2]

I don't disagree with you but it just shows you how idiotic the medical school application process has become. Working shows more character and self-discipline.

I agree that there is something flawed in it. Just reporting as I've been told.

 

[notdeadyet]

Generally schools simply want to see that you keep busy. At the same time make sure you have at least some clinical experience, maybe some reason and volunteering.

I don't think med schools give a $hit if you were busy or not. They want to see clinical and volunteer experience.

You can work a lot of jobs to save money in loans, but it's penny-wise/pound-foolish. Take out more loan money and get some volunteer activities that will fill in the checkboxes adcoms look at before offering you a seat.

We can all whine and cry about how it's unfair, but it is what it is. I still cringe when I look at the student loans I took out for my postbac. But I'd rather grumble as I write out fin aid checks as a physician than flip burgers and tell myself "Yeah, but I'm debt free!"

 

[Jennyollio]

So if work is an extracurricular should I really list my job as a waitress on my application? I wasn't planning to at all because I honestly don't see them caring one bit. But I need to support myself somehow so I've been waitressing for 2 yrs.

 

[MirrorTodd]

They'll never know unless you tell them.

 

[sistermike]

I have clinical experience, volunteering experience, clubs, etc., and I am pursuing my BSN (didn't realize I would rather pursue medicine until too into my nursing curriculum), so that adds clinical time. However, I know for a fact my volunteering and other EC activities are far below par compared to other applicants. I was just trying to point out that I have worked at least 40 hours a week since my first semester of school and was wondering if that should be listed when applying to med school. Thanks for everyones input so far.

 

[Jainraisig]

Of course, medically related work is a bonus but I don't think it matters why you work (e.g. for extra cash vs. paying down debt). You can put your struggles in your PS. I put all of my work experience on my app, including pub work as a barmaid in the UK, because #1 it explains how I spent my time, #2 I learned something from every job, #3 EC's like "being Fraternity secretary" are sort of silly, #4 I'm an "older" applicant so I don't have stuff like "intercollegiate rec rugby team captain" to put down #5 much of my clinical/volunteer experience was work (Peace Corps volunteer, medical assistant, etc) #6 I really enjoyed getting questions about my pub job during interviews because they were funny.

 

[notdeadyet]

However, I know for a fact my volunteering and other EC activities are far below par compared to other applicants. I was just trying to point out that I have worked at least 40 hours a week since my first semester of school and was wondering if that should be listed when applying to med school.

Go for it. Use a single experience to list the fact that you've worked you way full time through college and how that has benefited you. Show it to be a positive.

Do not use it as an excuse for not having time to better you application in other ways. The experiences are supposed to advertise your strengths, not explain your weaknesses.

 

[gujuDoc]

I don't disagree with you but it just shows you how idiotic the medical school application process has become. Working shows more character and self-discipline.

Agreed. It seems more like a game then that you are showing anything by telling them that volunteer means more then work.

I have known many a person that has had to work 2-3 jobs just to support themselves throughout school. These people came from very poor or bad family backgrounds and overcame a lot in their life to maintain their 3.5-3.9+ GPAs and good MCAT scores while working sometimes as much as 72 hours per week while taking 18 credits of science classes. One of my friends had to do that this past semester that went by and was working hours that were comparable to the hours a resident works (i.e. 5am one morning to like 5 am the next morning like 2-3 days a week for very little pay/hour).

They are by far some of the most mature people I've known because they have had to earn every penny to get them to where they are. If some of the more spoiled students I know heard what they've gone through they would cringe in horror.

The person I described above also still made time to do the volunteer work and other stuff necessary to get into med school, but I'd say that working to pay her way taught her more then spending some time reading to kids in the waiting room will ever have taught her because she's understood from her experiences what having to work long hours for little pay really means and value of the little things in life.

Sadly, a lot of admissions committees don't recognize this and put a lot more emphasis on the typical volunteer kind of things. Even more sadly, a lot of admissions committees place more value on volunteering in a clinical setting then working in one when paid jobs in a clinical setting often have more value in terms of understanding some of the medical system from the inside and knowing what you are getting yourself into.

 

[gujuDoc]

Go for it. Use a single experience to list the fact that you've worked you way full time through college and how that has benefited you. Show it to be a positive.

Do not use it as an excuse for not having time to better you application in other ways. The experiences are supposed to advertise your strengths, not explain your weaknesses.

This is good advice and I completely second this notion.

sistermike,

You should also focus in on discussing what made you change your mind halfway into the nursing curricula and then use your nursing degree to get some clinical experience and a job while applying. If you want to use your nursing degree for voluntary purposes you can do that by going overseas for a bit on a medical mission trip. Those are highly looked upon too.

 

[alwaysaangel]

So if work is an extracurricular should I really list my job as a waitress on my application? I wasn't planning to at all because I honestly don't see them caring one bit. But I need to support myself somehow so I've been waitressing for 2 yrs.

Yeah put it on there. Especially if it takes up a good chunk of your time.

It shows that you are responsible enough to support yourself, it shows that you don't just sit at home and study all the time, and with waitressing you can mention the multiple kinds of people you interacted with and how it helped you learn to deal with difficult people which will also help you defer strained situations as a physician.

 

[sistermike]

Agreed. It seems more like a game then that you are showing anything by telling them that volunteer means more then work.

I have known many a person that has had to work 2-3 jobs just to support themselves throughout school. These people came from very poor or bad family backgrounds and overcame a lot in their life to maintain their 3.5-3.9+ GPAs and good MCAT scores while working sometimes as much as 72 hours per week while taking 18 credits of science classes. One of my friends had to do that this past semester that went by and was working hours that were comparable to the hours a resident works (i.e. 5am one morning to like 5 am the next morning like 2-3 days a week for very little pay/hour).

They are by far some of the most mature people I've known because they have had to earn every penny to get them to where they are. If some of the more spoiled students I know heard what they've gone through they would cringe in horror.

The person I described above also still made time to do the volunteer work and other stuff necessary to get into med school, but I'd say that working to pay her way taught her more then spending some time reading to kids in the waiting room will ever have taught her because she's understood from her experiences what having to work long hours for little pay really means and value of the little things in life.

Sadly, a lot of admissions committees don't recognize this and put a lot more emphasis on the typical volunteer kind of things. Even more sadly, a lot of admissions committees place more value on volunteering in a clinical setting then working in one when paid jobs in a clinical setting often have more value in terms of understanding some of the medical system from the inside and knowing what you are getting yourself into.

I have always in that same situation -- I come from a good background, but a lower-middle class background and have had to work since the age of 15. I am not ashamed to admit that I've had to take on part-time jobs in gift wrap centers, working at KFC, selling ladies shoes, etc.. I look at it as I did what I had to do to support myself. However, like you said, admission committees don't always look at that way. I truly believe that my work history has definitely matured me and has taught me so much about life in general.

 

[gujuDoc]

Yeah put it on there. Especially if it takes up a good chunk of your time.

It shows that you are responsible enough to support yourself, it shows that you don't just sit at home and study all the time, and with waitressing you can mention the multiple kinds of people you interacted with and how it helped you learn to deal with difficult people which will also help you defer strained situations as a physician.

Agreed. For those of you who don't know what an AMCAS app. looks like, you have 15 slots to put ECs in. They have a scroll down menu in each of those things for which you list the type of EC it was.

Employment and paid work is one of those.

In fact I think they break it down to military work and non military work experience.

Then they have seperate categories for medical volunteer vs. non medical volunteerism.

They also have a scroll down menu for things like artistic capabilities, hobbies, clubs/organizations, research lab tech, research poster, conferences, etc.

You get the point. They have categories for all sorts of things to put in the ECs and employment is definitely in there. You pick the best 15 if you have more then 15 significant ones and put them on there. You decide which of those you think are important and which are not important to talk about.

If a job has affected your life a lot then you talk about it.


Also remember there's the essay and secondaries to talk a lot about these things too. So don't feel ashamed to write that stuff down if it is important and you learned valuable lessons from it.

 

[sunset823]

I don't think med schools give a $hit if you were busy or not. They want to see clinical and volunteer experience.

You can work a lot of jobs to save money in loans, but it's penny-wise/pound-foolish. Take out more loan money and get some volunteer activities that will fill in the checkboxes adcoms look at before offering you a seat.

We can all whine and cry about how it's unfair, but it is what it is. I still cringe when I look at the student loans I took out for my postbac. But I'd rather grumble as I write out fin aid checks as a physician than flip burgers and tell myself "Yeah, but I'm debt free!"

You make it sound like without doing medicine, there are no other reasonable options out there - I understand that everyone here really wants to go to med school, but there are plenty of other ways to make a decent living - you don't have to end up 'flipping burgers'

 

[sunset823]

I've had a similar position of working a lot, and therefore no volunteer time, but I differ from the previous posters in that my jobs were/are relatively cushy, because of my background in IT, I usually end up coding/web design - since this tucks me into a back room staring at a computer with the other white & nerdy people, does it not count as much as waitressing or something where you interact with people?

 

[alwaysaangel]

Agreed. For those of you who don't know what an AMCAS app. looks like, you have 15 slots to put ECs in. They have a scroll down menu in each of those things for which you list the type of EC it was.

Employment and paid work is one of those.

In fact I think they break it down to military work and non military work experience.

Then they have seperate categories for medical volunteer vs. non medical volunteerism.

They also have a scroll down menu for things like artistic capabilities, hobbies, clubs/organizations, research lab tech, research poster, conferences, etc.

You get the point. They have categories for all sorts of things to put in the ECs and employment is definitely in there. You pick the best 15 if you have more then 15 significant ones and put them on there. You decide which of those you think are important and which are not important to talk about.

If a job has affected your life a lot then you talk about it.


Also remember there's the essay and secondaries to talk a lot about these things too. So don't feel ashamed to write that stuff down if it is important and you learned valuable lessons from it.

Good thinking explaining that.

But yeah 15 is plenty. I think if you've got more than that you're padding too much and you need to think what's really important. I didn't run out of space, but for people who do, if its a choice between a waitressing job you worked at 20hrs a week or the pre-med club you were vice president for and met once a month....put down the waitress job.

 

[gujuDoc]

Good thinking explaining that.

But yeah 15 is plenty. I think if you've got more than that you're padding too much and you need to think what's really important. I didn't run out of space, but for people who do, if its a choice between a waitressing job you worked at 20hrs a week or the pre-med club you were vice president for and met once a month....put down the waitress job.

Again I find I am in agreement. 👍 👍

 

[twohearted]

You make it sound like without doing medicine, there are no other reasonable options out there - I understand that everyone here really wants to go to med school, but there are plenty of other ways to make a decent living - you don't have to end up 'flipping burgers'

I think you are missing the point. He is saying that instead of working to get through college, buck up and take out loans so that you dont have to work. Then use those 20+ hours /week to get significant EC's - clinical experience, research, helping the homeless to get off their feet, and of course, saving orphaned african babies. Plus you will have more time to get that 4.0. Sure you will have loads of debt, but you won't be complaining at application time about how you couldn't get the EC's you need because you had to work. You won't be complaining that your GPA suffered because you had to work to get by. Yeah, it will suck getting out of debt, but now you know why doctors are so "overpaid." Note sarcasm. So take out loans instead of working excessive amounts. You will do much better in the end.

 

[slb]

I think you are missing the point. He is saying that instead of working to get through college, buck up and take out loans so that you dont have to work. Then use those 20+ hours /week to get significant EC's - clinical experience, research, helping the homeless to get off their feet, and of course, saving orphaned african babies. Plus you will have more time to get that 4.0. Sure you will have loads of debt, but you won't be complaining at application time about how you couldn't get the EC's you need because you had to work. You won't be complaining that your GPA suffered because you had to work to get by. Yeah, it will suck getting out of debt, but now you know why doctors are so "overpaid." Note sarcasm. So take out loans instead of working excessive amounts. You will do much better in the end.

I took out the max amount of loans and still had to work to support myself...

 

[sunset823]

I took out the max amount of loans and still had to work to support myself...

Exactly, same here...I've never NOT held down a job since the beginning of freshman year of undergrad, and feel weird not being employed for even a few weeks...I think working gives you a (gee whiz) important work ethic that living off of loans does not...in the latter, it's no different than your rich surgeon mommy or daddy paying your way through school; only when you are a rich surgeon yourself, you have to pay it off yourself

and besides, nothing against waitresses, but even for part-time positions as a full-time student, there are plenty of other things you can do besides working in the food service area, and paid jobs in the medical sector can give you much more inroads into life as a doctor than glorified candy striping (now, working hands-on in a ER or something is a different story, but sitting reading books to old people, while a nice, caring gesture, doesn't stand out in my mind as what makes a successful physician)

 

[gujuDoc]

Exactly, same here...I've never NOT held down a job since the beginning of freshman year of undergrad, and feel weird not being employed for even a few weeks...I think working gives you a (gee whiz) important work ethic that living off of loans does not...in the latter, it's no different than your rich surgeon mommy or daddy paying your way through school; only when you are a rich surgeon yourself, you have to pay it off yourself

and besides, nothing against waitresses, but even for part-time positions as a full-time student, there are plenty of other things you can do besides working in the food service area, and paid jobs in the medical sector can give you much more inroads into life as a doctor than glorified candy striping (now, working hands-on in a ER or something is a different story, but sitting reading books to old people, while a nice, caring gesture, doesn't stand out in my mind as what makes a successful physician)

Your second paragraph highlights the point I was trying to make and that I think some were missing.

The sad thing about the admissions commitee is they don't always weigh working in a medical field such as doing a job like patient care tech as the same as volunteering when in fact the PCT job gives you much more reality of what working with patients is really like.

 

[notdeadyet]

Maybe I'm just way behind in the times, but why are folks working a crippling amount of hours instead of taking out financial aid?

I'm sure there are lots of valid reasons, but (with the exception of those of you with kids) I don't understand why anyone would potentially sabotage their chances of getting in to medical school for the sake of avoiding loans...

 

[BigRedPremed]

Maybe I'm just way behind in the times, but why are folks working a crippling amount of hours instead of taking out financial aid?

I'm sure there are lots of valid reasons, but (with the exception of those of you with kids) I don't understand why anyone would potentially sabotage their chances of getting in to medical school for the sake of avoiding loans...

I agree. If you don't want to graduate with any debt, that's perfectly reasonable. But you're going to have to face the opportunity cost of working all the time.

 

[notdeadyet]

These people came from very poor or bad family backgrounds and overcame a lot in their life to maintain their 3.5-3.9+ GPAs and good MCAT scores while working sometimes as much as 72 hours per week while taking 18 credits of science classes.

Wow. Assuming none of those classes were labs, s/he would have either be at work or in a classroom for 13 hours per day.

Again, why not take out loans? I'm really puzzled...

If some of the more spoiled students I know heard what they've gone through they would cringe in horror.

For every student who works crazy hours to put themselves through school, there is a rich kid who doesn't have to worry about a dime. For every one of each of them, there are probably 8 who take out loans and have to work for years later to pay them off.

 

[45408]

I've always wondered how admissions committees view working compared to taking part in EC's? I have always had to work at least 2 jobs since my senior year in high school. Due to my work, my EC's are probably far below par compared to others. Anyone have any ideas how admission committees would view a situation like that?

Take some time to do some EC work. It doesn't have to be volunteering in the hospital gift shop, but do SOMETHING you enjoy. I volunteered a lot of time doing some things I loved. As for a job, get a job that will count as one of your AMCAS activities (I was an EMT). And take out a few more loans if necessary. $5000 won't matter much in 20 years.

 

[notdeadyet]

I took out the max amount of loans and still had to work to support myself...

What do you mean by "max loans"? The most sub/unsub federal aid? There are private lenders out there as well.

I maxed out gov't loans and had to take out a private loan with a whopping 15% interest (no positive credit history and no cosigner). I hated doing it and will be paying it off for years, but it allowed me to focus on studies and volunteer activities to get me in to medical school. It's one of the better investments I could have made.

 

[notdeadyet]

I think working gives you a (gee whiz) important work ethic that living off of loans does not...in the latter, it's no different than your rich surgeon mommy or daddy paying your way through school;

Wow. That's going to have to be one hell of a part-time job you're planning on taking out to avoid taking out loans in medical school.

Seriously, hats off to you. I worked all through my undergrad my first go-round too. But I wasn't planning on medical school.

 

[Mr. McDuck]

Not everyone can just take out private loans. If your credit is not up to snuff or have no one that can cosign for you (as was my situation my freshman year), you're pretty much SOL.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Yeah this discussion is turning a bit into beating a dead horse. Yes, you could have taken out loans, but for a lot of people thats a very bad option.

So a lot of people work, and as long as you also have some clinical experience and MAYBE some volunteering it will turn out just fine. No school is going to look at your 30hrs/wk job and say "WHY SHE COULD HAVE GOTTEN A 3.9 IF SHE HAD JUST TAKEN LOANS INSTEAD OF WORKING - WHAT A *****! REJECT!"

Its just not going to happen. Either option is fine. The end.

 

[stockmanjr]

Exactly, same here...I've never NOT held down a job since the beginning of freshman year of undergrad, and feel weird not being employed for even a few weeks...I think working gives you a (gee whiz) important work ethic that living off of loans does not...in the latter, it's no different than your rich surgeon mommy or daddy paying your way through school; only when you are a rich surgeon yourself, you have to pay it off yourself

and besides, nothing against waitresses, but even for part-time positions as a full-time student, there are plenty of other things you can do besides working in the food service area, and paid jobs in the medical sector can give you much more inroads into life as a doctor than glorified candy striping (now, working hands-on in a ER or something is a different story, but sitting reading books to old people, while a nice, caring gesture, doesn't stand out in my mind as what makes a successful physician)

So I guess working your gluteus maximus off writting a thesis in history while taking organic chem I and taking 4 other classes isnt a work ethic to you? I understand why people work but I dont understand why some on this board cant see that college does create a work ethic in itself.
cheers
howie

 

[45408]

Exactly, same here...I've never NOT held down a job since the beginning of freshman year of undergrad, and feel weird not being employed for even a few weeks...I think working gives you a (gee whiz) important work ethic that living off of loans does not...in the latter, it's no different than your rich surgeon mommy or daddy paying your way through school; only when you are a rich surgeon yourself, you have to pay it off yourself

Could you give yourself a bigger pat on the back please? 🙄 I can't wait to see what you'll do when you get to medical school. Prostitution is about the only part-time job that pays well enough to cover med school. The difference between parents and loans is huge - it's not a "minor" fact that YOU HAVE TO PAY IT OFF YOURSELF.

So I guess working your gluteus maximus off writting a thesis in history while taking organic chem I and taking 4 other classes isnt a work ethic to you? I understand why people work but I dont understand why some on this board cant see that college does create a work ethic in itself.

16-18 credits of school without other obligations doesn't really take that much of your time. If you're balancing clinical experience, volunteering and research as well, then it becomes pretty decent.

 

[notdeadyet]

No school is going to look at your 30hrs/wk job and say "WHY SHE COULD HAVE GOTTEN A 3.9 IF SHE HAD JUST TAKEN LOANS INSTEAD OF WORKING - WHAT A *****! REJECT!"

No school is going to look at a 3.2 GPA or 24 MCAT and say, "That's okay, she obviously worked a lot of hours".

Again, to each their own:
* Some work full-time all through college.
* Some take a year off and live at home while working full time to pay for college.
* Some take out lots of loans
* Some attend a junior college to save money for their four year school

But do not expect work to be an excuse for poor grades, poor MCAT or a lack of volunteering or clinical experience. I'd be very careful about trying to structure your app in any way that points a finger at the fact that you worked too much for a stronger app. Concerns about time management in med school are huge.

 

[ParvatiP]

I have held multiple jobs consistently throughout college to pay for tuition AND I have taken out a lot of loans. My parents' credit history is not good enough for me to take out any more, which is why I have to work. Luckily, some of my jobs are related to science, so I think they will be looked on favorably.
But some people on here should realize that not everyone can take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans. Also, given the opportunity to spend extra time volunteering or taking an extra shift at work, I would take the extra shift because I need the $.

In response to stockmanjr's post about work ethic...working in undergrad has really taught me to be time efficient/work hard because I have had to juggle classes with writing research papers, etc AND work additional hours on top of that. And it'd be nice to have an extra 10-15 hours/week to devote to volunteering or studying, but it's just not feasible for me.

 

[notdeadyet]

My parents' credit history is not good enough for me to take out any more, which is why I have to work.

Interesting. I know lots of folks whose parents had bad credit history, so they had to take out high interest loans. This is what I did. Painfully high interest loans. But it was possible.

I guess it depends on the bank and how much tuition you're talking. Maybe times have changed.

If you can avoid taking out loans, by all means do it. Paying off interest is a mug's game. But do whatever you can to make sure you're devoting enough time to getting a proper application. It may be expensive, but it's cheaper than reapplying.

 

[Mr. McDuck]

Well, my mom didn't work, and her credit score was (is) like 6. My dad had everything on his credit (cars, house, boat, etc), so he couldn't exactly take out anything in his name, or even cosign really. My credit score was crap. So I worked really hard to build it up, and eventually the next year I could take out loans, albeit for a "painfully" high interest rate.

But, I definitely agree with you in that you have to balance how much you work with how much you devote to school. It's been said before, but it's true: subpar GPA/MCAT isn't going to be explained by a parttime or fulltime job.

 

[alwaysaangel]

No school is going to look at a 3.2 GPA or 24 MCAT and say, "That's okay, she obviously worked a lot of hours".

Again, to each their own:
* Some work full-time all through college.
* Some take a year off and live at home while working full time to pay for college.
* Some take out lots of loans
* Some attend a junior college to save money for their four year school

But do not expect work to be an excuse for poor grades, poor MCAT or a lack of volunteering or clinical experience. I'd be very careful about trying to structure your app in any way that points a finger at the fact that you worked too much for a stronger app. Concerns about time management in med school are huge.

No they're not. But those of us who can still get a 3.5 and 30+ on the MCAT while working, it does look good. No it doesn't mean that working 20+ hrs with a 3.0 and 24 MCAT looks as good as a no work 3.5 and 30. But if you have two people who both got 3.5 and 30 and are otherwise equal - telling the med schools that you did that while working 20+ hrs a week WILL help you beat out someone else if all other things are equal.

And no one encouraged people to use it as an excuse - but it does look just as good as other ECs and people should DEFINITELY put any job that took up a significant amount of time on their app.

I'm not really sure why the fact that some people want to put their jobs on their apps is freaking you out - but you need to let it go.

 

[notdeadyet]

No they're not. But those of us who can still get a 3.5 and 30+ on the MCAT while working, it does look good.

Absolutely. It not only looks good on paper, but your experiences will probably give you more to talk about on an interview.

But if you have two people who both got 3.5 and 30 and are otherwise equal - telling the med schools that you did that while working 20+ hrs a week WILL help you beat out someone else if all other things are equal.

I couldn't agree more. I'm just concerned that folks are saying that they're working so much that their app suffers. They are then no longer equal. At least not on paper and in the minds of lots of adcoms.

I'm not really sure why the fact that some people want to put their jobs on their apps is freaking you out - but you need to let it go.

I think people should put their jobs on their apps. Where I'm getting frustrated is by how many folks are talking about their jobs interfering with their chance to prepare properly for medical school. Whether it's grades, MCAT, or ECs, explaining that you were too busy working through college will not be viewed as much of an excuse.

Not hatin' on the working folks. I worked through school too. But if you find that work is interfering with your chances to get in to med school, you might rethink your strategy. No job you have during college is as important as getting in to med school. Not in the big scheme of things. So if it's hurting your chances, consider loans, less classes, jobs where you can study, etc. That's all.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Absolutely. It not only looks good on paper, but your experiences will probably give you more to talk about on an interview.


I couldn't agree more. I'm just concerned that folks are saying that they're working so much that their app suffers. They are then no longer equal. At least not on paper and in the minds of lots of adcoms.


I think people should put their jobs on their apps. Where I'm getting frustrated is by how many folks are talking about their jobs interfering with their chance to prepare properly for medical school. Whether it's grades, MCAT, or ECs, explaining that you were too busy working through college will not be viewed as much of an excuse.

Not hatin' on the working folks. I worked through school too. But if you find that work is interfering with your chances to get in to med school, you might rethink your strategy. No job you have during college is as important as getting in to med school. Not in the big scheme of things. So if it's hurting your chances, consider loans, less classes, jobs where you can study, etc. That's all.

Now that I can agree with.

 

[sunnyjohn]

I had to work through college too. By the time had enough sense to realise how important college was, my parents couldn't afford to pay any longer (dang younger brothers!)

Thanks to my stupidity and the credit card companies camped out in the student union with Slinkies, Hershey bars and T-shirts, my credit score was a -3. The only way I could get a loan was with a .45. I decided against that as I am far too beautiful for prison.

As my grandmama would say when I called her after an 18-hour work/school shift, "Ain't nuthin' wrong with workin' and payin your own way. That's what grown folks is 'spose to do."

For those of us that had to work, it sucks, but milk that bazzztad and put it in you PS. Shoot, you'd think I was Norma Rae if you read mine.

For those with a mommy/daddy wallet attachment, use that baby!

 

[alwaysaangel]

I had to work through college too. By the time had enough sense to realise how important college was, my parents couldn't afford to pay any longer (dang younger brothers!)

Thanks to my stupidity and the credit card companies camped out in the student union with Slinkies, Hershey bars and T-shirts, my credit score was a -3. The only way I could get a loan was with a .45. I decided against that as I am far too beautiful for prison.

Whats all his 6 and -3 stuff...don't credit scores run from 450-850?

For those of us that had to work, it sucks, but milk that bazzztad and put it in you PS. Shoot, you'd think I was Norma Rae if you read mine.

For those with a mommy/daddy wallet attachment, use that baby!

Yeah but in that respect notdeadyet is right. There is a very fine line between a legitimate point of how hard you worked in college and how well you did regardless versus making excuses for why poor little rich girl did so poorly.

You really have to watch that line.

 

[Mr. McDuck]

Whats all his 6 and -3 stuff...don't credit scores run from 450-850?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole 🙄

 

[alwaysaangel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole 🙄

*shrug* I thought maybe there was some secondary scale I didn't know about. I thought it was sarcasm when the first person said 6, but when another person said something similar I figured there may be something to it.

 

[Mr. McDuck]

Gotcha. I was the first person, and yes, it was an intentional exaggeration. As for secondary scales, they actually do exist. I know a few credit reporting companies use their own. Freecreditreport.com I think uses a scale that starts at 300 or something.