Would this amount of EC's be enough?

[jwindsor1]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I graduated HS in 2009, and I didn't do any EC's this year. The work I did in HS placed me to be a sophomore. So I'm going into junior year now and don't have any EC's under my belt. Here's what I have lined up so far:

- 3 week research with a graduating student on synthesizing novel ligand (potential medical applications)

- Possible job shadow a neonatologist for a week (the hospital is really hesitant in letting me go in, since I live in an area with a med school & the hospital has a contract to let the med school students shadow, etc.)

- Job shadow pedi. for a week or two

- Volunteer between 50-100 hours at an all chidrens hospital (hopefully doing something with the patients, but still waiting on people to get back to me)

- I play the flute daily (not competitively or anything). I was thinking of maybe trying to do some playing for sick children at the hospital? I've been playing for almost 6 years, and it's a very meaningful activity in my life.

I'm definitely going to continue volunteering & research over the next year (I plan on doing some habitat for humanity and soup kitchen work over the year, and continuing with the hospital volunteering), but it is too late in the game? I moved when I started college as a sophomore and it's been difficult adjusting.

 

[mubaby]

I don't have any concept of what's "enough," but I just wanted to comment on some of those activities...

3 weeks of research? That's really not a lot, especially with research. For me, just one full experiment took a week. Why only 3 weeks? Could you extend that to a couple of months? Also, spending time with your pets doesn't count.

Do you actually want to graduate early? I came in with enough credits that I was "sophmore" my second semester of college. I added another major to keep me in college four years. You could always pick up another major to buy time.

 

[jwindsor1]

The student is graduating and is finishing up her work, which will last about three weeks. I might be able to continue with it during the school year, but there is no guarantee. (I figured on the pet thing, just mentioned it since it takes up a portion of my time).

Yes, I do want to graduate early.

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

Well you can apply early but your App will not look impressive.
As mentioned above, you need meaningful research experience, and most people do at least 1-2 years of research so that they can actually talk about it in an interview. Also the same goes for your volunteering. You want to COMMIT to volunteer position for more than a few months. This shows your commitment level, and that you are passionate about it and your not just doing it to slap something on your resume and app.

I would suggest going on mdapplicants and looking at some of the profiles of the people who have been accepted to some of the schools you wish to apply to. To put it bluntly, you have a very weak app. as far as applying for med school and the best thing you can do is postpone grad. and get a second major while getting involved in alot of shadowing,volunteering, and research or just graduate and do all the things mentioned above while taking Upper Div classes at your college. Good luck!

 

[jwindsor1]

I will be doing a undergrad thesis that will involve a year long research experience, but that research will occur during my senior year, so I can't really put it on my app. I will also continue all of these activities for the next year, not just a couple months.

 

[SweetRain]

I wouldn't put down 3 weeks of research unless you plan on staying in that lab. I have written lab protocols that take more than that.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

Have you considered taking a year off after college? If you apply the summer after you graduate, then you'll have a lot more time to work on your ECs. There's nothing wrong with taking a year off, and especially if you're going to be graduating in three years instead of four it might be good to have some time "off." There are a lot of jobs that you can get that would strengthen your application, like working as a scribe at the hospital or as a lab tech.

 

[roseglass6370]

So, I know you want to graduate early and all, but if you want my very honest opinion a good app is far, far more important than getting undergrad knocked out in 3 years. You really have to prioritize.

It seems like you're kind of looking at the whole pre-med experience as a check list, which admittedly is hard to avoid. But it's coming off as almost blatantly obvious (easier to avoid.) 3 weeks in a research lab isn't even worth putting down on an app. I'm not sure why you picked a grad student who only had 3 weeks left to go in the lab over a professor who might be working on a long-term project. However, whether intentional or not, this makes it appear as though you're just rushing to get in some lab time instead of picking a project to work on that you're genuinely interested in. That may not be the case, but it will look that way to ad-coms.

Med schools prefer quality over quantity. While it is possible to graduate in 3 years and get an acceptance, it's far easier, and probably preferable, to take your time and do it right.

My recommendation (if it were up to me) is to just stay in for four years and enjoy the college experience. Pick up a second major, or a minor or two, and enjoy this time in your life. Once you start med school you're not going to get a second chance to explore other areas that you really enjoy. Taking the full four years will also allow you a lot more time to crank up your number of ECs and really wow the ad-coms.

Also, as a side note, keep track of which med schools don't accept AP courses for pre-reqs. If you took AP chem, bio, physics, etc, you might be barred off from using them at certain schools. Just a reminder. 🙂

Best of luck! I hope my post didn't come off as harsh. Just trying to give some honest advice!

 

[jwindsor1]

I didn't have many options for the lab work. I asked all of the science professors I know (and some I don't) and only one professors had something going on in her lab. She has paired me up with the graduating student so that I can learn from someone who has been in my shoes (It's also an inorganic lab and I haven't taken advanced inorganic yet). Short experience is better than none.

My school is very small (about 800 students), focused on liberal arts, and the science faculty is definitely lacking (plus, half the science faculty is on leave during the summer and fall). This 3 week experience might be short, but I'm hoping it will open some doors and possibly allow me to continue with it during junior year. I'm more so doing it for the experience than for a "check."

I didn't mean to come off as if I was trying to check experiences off of a list; I just wanted to get to the point. The experiences I am trying to get are those that mean something to me. If I don't get accepted to med schools based on my EC's, then I guess I'll have no choice but to take a year off and work on them more. However, I still think I have a shot without taking a year off.

No worries about the AP credit thing. Didn't take science AP courses.

I appreciate the advice.

 

[jwindsor1]

Any other responses?

Overall, I'm hoping to have 60 hours of shadowing, 200+ voluteering at a hospital with children (possibly applying my musical skills), and probably 3-4 months of research (maybe more). My sGPA is about a 3.7 (cGPA 3.8). I can't raise it, since my transfer undergrad doesn't issue grades (I get narrative evaluations). I know it's not long-term, but can that be overlooked?

 

[Fiddlergirl]

Not having grades for your college classes is going to be a problem. I'm sorry, but it is. Is there any way you can ask for grades?

 

[jwindsor1]

The schools in my state (FL) are familiar with my schools grading procedure. There is no grade on record, so I can't really ask for a grade. There are several schools that are friendly with this grading style. I'm not really worried about that. It's the EC's that are worrying me.

 

[Total180]

Any other responses?

Overall, I'm hoping to have 60 hours of shadowing, 200+ voluteering at a hospital with children (possibly applying my musical skills), and probably 3-4 months of research (maybe more). My GPA is about a 3.7 (cGPA 3.8). I can't raise it, since my transfer undergrad doesn't issue grades (I get narrative evaluations). I know it's not long-term, but can that be overlooked?

Your transfer undergrad wasn't Sarah Lawrence was it? Just wondering...I went there for two years, and we got evaluations as well. Although, they did give actual grades in case people wanted to transfer or go to grad school...so I guess if you really didn't have grades then it couldn't be SLC. Haha this is kind've a pointless post. Just got excited when I saw the evaluations comment.

edit: obviously I didn't read the whole thread (again, as I was excited about the evaluations comment) and realize that your school is in Fl. I didn't realize there were so many schools that had that sort of grading system. cool!

 

[Fiddlergirl]

The last list of ECs you posted looked good. The only other suggestion I would make, which I think someone has already mentioned, is find something that's not clinical to do. The idea of playing music in the hospital is great (that was actually one of my volunteer activities, just with violin), but maybe you could also join an orchestra? The medical schools really like to see that you have some kind of a life outside of being pre-med.

 

[jwindsor1]

Okay, thanks! I appreciate all of the responses.

 

[roseglass6370]

I didn't have many options for the lab work. I asked all of the science professors I know (and some I don't) and only one professors had something going on in her lab. She has paired me up with the graduating student so that I can learn from someone who has been in my shoes (It's also an inorganic lab and I haven't taken advanced inorganic yet). Short experience is better than none.

My school is very small (about 800 students), focused on liberal arts, and the science faculty is definitely lacking (plus, half the science faculty is on leave during the summer and fall). This 3 week experience might be short, but I'm hoping it will open some doors and possibly allow me to continue with it during junior year. I'm more so doing it for the experience than for a "check."

I didn't mean to come off as if I was trying to check experiences off of a list; I just wanted to get to the point. The experiences I am trying to get are those that mean something to me. If I don't get accepted to med schools based on my EC's, then I guess I'll have no choice but to take a year off and work on them more. However, I still think I have a shot without taking a year off.

No worries about the AP credit thing. Didn't take science AP courses.

I appreciate the advice.

Okay. It sounds like you're really thinking things through which is great. I'm not saying that you are "check-listing," my main point is that to many ad-coms it may appear that way and you have to be careful to avoid that. One of the best ways to avoid coming off that way is to shoot for the "quality over quantity" ECs.

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

Okay. It sounds like you're really thinking things through which is great. I'm not saying that you are "check-listing," my main point is that to many ad-coms it may appear that way and you have to be careful to avoid that. One of the best ways to avoid coming off that way is to shoot for the "quality over quantity" ECs.

^^ Totally Agree. Not to crush your dreams but you really don' have a good chance, even though you think you do. You have great grades, but as mentioned above, not have the grades from your transfer school + lack of EC + only 3 weeks of research is DEFINITELY going to raise eyebrows. Plus, it doesn't help that your in a state which is very competitive, and there are not as many state schools as some other states, like say Texas. If I were you, I would def take the "year off". You are def rushing through this, and as someone mentioned, you will never get these years back. There are VERRY few ppl who have gotten accepted with just 3 years of college, and even those have their apps LOADED w EC. just me two cents to put things in perspective.

 

[jwindsor1]

Just to make this clear, I'm not going to take a year off unless I get rejected from every med school I apply to. I understand the reasoning behind it, but it is not the right option for me, personally.

I'm not planning on stopping the research at 3 weeks. I have a several options to continue during my entire junior year. As I said in my original post, the 3 week research is what I have lined up as of today.

As for the lack of grades, I get a very detailed narrative evaluation for every class, ISP and tutorial I take, and I feel that they speak for themselves. I am sending all of my evaluations to every med school. My EC's might not be stellar, but I know they aren't terrible.

Also, just to clear this up, I will not graduate with three years of college. I completed almost two years worth of college course work while in HS (44 credits not counting AP credit for three courses) and I will be at my transfer UG for three years.

I appreciate the advice. With 60+ hours of shadowing, 200+ hours of clinical experience in hospital, 100+ hours non-medical volunteer work, and 3-4 months of research over the next year, coupled with a 3.84 GPA, (3.81 sGPA), I feel that the lack of longevity in my experience can be explained through my age and my move from my previous residence.

Oh, and on the note of number of state schools in FL, I believe that UM is the only private med school in FL out of 6 (plus there are 2 DO programs as well). While FL schools may be competitive, they heavily favor in state students, which gives me the upper hand.

 

[justdoit31]

I would just say that you are going to fight an uphill battle. If you can get into a research project that takes more time and hopefully has a publication or at least a poster presentation it would help. I love how during the duration of this thread you have went from 50-100 hrs in a hospital to 200+ with 100+ non-clinical. Medical school admissions boards aren't stupid they can tell if you are just trying to make the checklist work (and you only have 1 year to prove that you aren't which is tough). Your lack of experience won't be easily explained- if you play it off as your age they will say "let me give you more time to mature since they only have 100+ people applying for every seat who quite possibly have more experience"

My advice- you need to to do the hospital stuff- preferably get in asap so you have 1 yr+ of weekly volunteering. Also find some campus organization or other groups to be involved in. Find things you are passionate about.

I know you don't want to extend your college time but why not consider something like a study abroad or a second major to make you look more interesting instead of a boring cookie cutter application? Those things will not only boost your application but they will buy you time to patch up the issues you have from trying to get through so fast and not becoming active your first year.

 

[jwindsor1]

I love how during the duration of this thread you have went from 50-100 hrs in a hospital to 200+ with 100+ non-clinical.

My first post said specifically "what I have lined up so far." I also continue in saying I will continue the volunteering in the hospital, and work with habitat for humanity & my local soup kitchen over the next year.

50-100 hours over the summer + weekly volunteering for a year + nonclinical work = 200+ hospital & 100+ nonclinical.

I think I've got all the info I need. Thanks for the responses.

Also, to add, since I am a transfer student, I have to spend the remaining three years at my institution = no off campus study at all