Your Old Extracurriculars

[stifler]

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Aside from high GPA's and High MCAT's

what extracurriculars made you stand out or is making you stand out?

what extracurricular activities have you done in the summer that a first year college student should start doing?

what summer fellowship programs are especially prestigious...

basically what extracurricular activities can i do to seem special...

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

You should really search through some of the old threads, and you will find quite wealth of info on what people think of ECs. But, as a summation, you can say that for ECs, find somthing you really enjoy early on, and become very involved. Don't join 10 clubs and half participate in all of them. Instead, find a few, and then be very involved, and become a leader of said group. If you enjoy research, get into a research lab early and spend a good amount of your time doing that. Basically, there is no magic EC that will get you into med school (unless you have cured cancer, etc). What will set you apart, is being dedicated the activities you are involved in.

Also, try and pick a diverse group of activities. Don't just limit yourself to clinical experience/research. Instead, you should also do something like sports or music if thats what you like. Your ultimate goal is to show the adcoms that you are a dedicated, hardworking, and well rounded person.

One final note, don't think paying to go on some service trip to Africa for 2 months is going to look that phenomenal. That kind of experience is a dime a dozen. There was someone who posted about a girl who went and lived in Africa for 3 years helping people...now THAT is pretty amazing.

 

[stifler]

so far i do some surgery on rodents to study migraines and ive taken care of a disabled child since freshmen year of high school (plan on continuing next summer).

im going to attend a prominent small liberal arts school, but it will not have much opportunities to stand out because it is in the middle of nowhere.

it just seems as everythign i do someone has done it before, what sux even more is that a lot of ppl have done it.

i dont know of any other options other than:

volunteer emt
volunteer fireman
volunteer caretaker for disabled children around town
clinical investigation, interviewing mentally disabled children and helping them
continue with research im doing now
work at a camp for disabled children (next summer)

everything i do ppl are also doing. i feel so unspecial

 

[stifler]

also how hard is it to get a research technician position at NIH. i am a technician now

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

Don't think you are the only one in that position. How long has med school been around? No matter what anyone does, it is very likely that someone has done it before. Its not a problem that anything you do is similar to what others do, it only matters what you get out of the experience. If you go around looking for things that set you apart, you are going to miss out on great opportunities. Instead of worrying about what you are doing, worry about what you are getting out of it. Adcoms are not going to care what you did unless you can explain in a PS or interview what you got from the experience and how it affected you and your desire to be a doctor.

EDIT after the previous post: Jesus Christ, stop being a neurotic premed already. You sound like you are only going to be a freshman and you are thinking stuff like this. Calm down, enjoy college while you worry about med school. Who the hell cares how hard it is to get a research tech position at the NIH...if you are doing it and enjoy it, then thats all that matters.

 

[g3pro]

How about shadow a physician? Shadowing is perhaps the most important thing you can do besides MCAT and GPA. The whole point of volunteering is to get clinical experience, not to save the world.

 

[stifler]

How about shadow a physician? Shadowing is perhaps the most important thing you can do besides MCAT and GPA. The whole point of volunteering is to get clinical experience, not to save the world.

yea but like seriously though everything ive done everyone else has done. its not like only top 10% of med school applicants its like every med school applicant has done or will do

 

[stifler]

maybe im worrying too much. im not even in college yet :/ (will be this fall)

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

I really need to stop reading this thread, because it is irritating me, but I will say this one last time:
IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE HAS DONE.
And that fact does not matter, because adcoms know that many people will have the same experiences, hence they do not judge simply on what experiences you write down on the application.

And yes, you are to young to be worrying. You are not too young to be thinking ahead a bit, but worrying is just going to ruin college.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Start a chapter of Students for Organ Donation at your school. You have the opportunity to found an organization at your school that is dedicated to saving lives through promoting organ donation awareness and registration. Check out http://www.studentdonor.org for information on the organization, and email me at [email protected] if your interested.

 

[fullefect1]

Start a chapter of Students for Organ Donation at your school. You have the opportunity to found an organization at your school that is dedicated to saving lives through promoting organ donation awareness and registration. Check out http://www.studentdonor.org for information on the organization, and email me at [email protected] if your interested.

Wow, this sound very interesting. As soon as I get settled down in my new school next year, I think I might be interested in starting such a program.

 

[stifler]

Start a chapter of Students for Organ Donation at your school. You have the opportunity to found an organization at your school that is dedicated to saving lives through promoting organ donation awareness and registration. Check out http://www.studentdonor.org for information on the organization, and email me at [email protected] if your interested.

you know any other organizations similar to it for other causes?

 

[callendm]

Aside from high GPA's and High MCAT's

what extracurriculars made you stand out or is making you stand out?

what extracurricular activities have you done in the summer that a first year college student should start doing?

what summer fellowship programs are especially prestigious...

basically what extracurricular activities can i do to seem special...

It is all about quality not quantity...You have the mentailty that you will enhance your application my mearly checking of this accomplishment, that participation, and those oppurtunities. This approach will indeed "make you stand out" in that you have spread yourself too thin...spent all your time doing a whole lot of nothing and really getting nowhere. You are missing the point. "Prestigious" research internship will not do anything for you if you can't come away with something from it. Gaining pertinent knowledge that you can apply and insight from your experiences with patients, practitioners, and today's health care field is what matters. If you are genuine about your intent on becoming a physician these ideals will come naturally. You seem motivated; keep up the good spirit and relax a little.

 

[DrThom]

Dear god, do something NOT medically related too...

Medicine is going to be the rest of your life and you only have so much more time to do stuff like sports/music/etc other than keeping it as a side hobby. Not only that, but it makes you look like a REAL person (not those fake "gunner-esque" people...i think they might be robots).

 

[IndyZX]

I want to kick sand in the OPs face.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

you know any other organizations similar to it for other causes?

Sorry, I don't know of any organizations that are similar to Students for Organ Donation. But I say that if you cant find an organization that you would like to join, why not start one of your own? 👍

 

[principessa]

Don't worry about finding something that no one else has done. You will set yourself apart by dedicating yourself to EC's that are interesting to you, rather than doing something outrageous that you don't really care for. If you do this, the sum of your extracurricular involvement will reflect your interests and personality, and even though the activities themselves have been done before, the combination will be unique. And don't give up your hobbies to do more "serious" stuff. Often these set you apart more than anything else.

 

[Severus]

Woah... loosen up man. It sounds like you've got yourself going in the right direction. But, like the others said, try and mix things up a bit with some non-medical EC's.... demonstrate that you're passionate about things other than medicine.

Sev

 

[stifler]

i cant man. im like hooked.. im scared ill burn out. like now when i go to barnes and nobles all i do is go to the section for books on how to get into med school.

help me cure this addiction...

i need to get laid...

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

I smell troll.

 

[stifler]

lol... so what have ppl done in their free time not for their med school apps...

 

[Drakensoul]

Whatever comes up.

Life isn't always planned.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

To add to what the others have said, don't do something just because you think it will look good on your med school application. It's something you hear all the time: Will this look good on my med school appliation? Which organizations should I join to boost my resume? The answer to that is whichever organizations interest you the most, not the ones that have "pre-med" in their title. If you enjoy what your doing, you'll do much more with it and be better at it. Too many pre-meds waste too much time doing things that they think will look good on their resume - especially research. Everyone wants to do research, but most dont know why, other than they think they need to do it in order to get into medical school. Truth is, you dont have to do research to get into medical school, and would be better off getting heavily involved in a positive activity that you enjoy rather than getting an unpaid research position that you hate. Just my two cents.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

lol... so what have ppl done in their free time not for their med school apps...

Where can I start? Let's see:

Fraternity
IM Sports
Motorcycle club
Karate
Tutor junior high school kids (some might do this for their med school app, but thats not my reason)
Poker club
etc...

There are so many things that you can dedicate your time to that probably dont relate to or wont help your med school app that it blows your mind. Those are the types of things that help you become well-rounded and socially capable, which help to make a better doctor.

 

[45408]

everything i do ppl are also doing. i feel so unspecial

These "other" people you speak of are also the ones who are getting into medical school, so quit worrying.

 

[stifler]

when did you guys become sure that you wanna do medicine anyways?

 

[PennMed]

when did you guys become sure that you wanna do medicine anyways?

A lot of stuff... being a patient myself, volunteering, watching ER/Super Surgery on the Discovery Health Channel... you know, the normal stuff.

Just to kinda echo what others here have said, clinical exposure is a must. Anything other than that is gravy. Summer programs are crap, bc you can't really finish a project... all you can do is network. It's best to do a research project at your home insitution and finish something. Few pre-meds do this. Just make sure you have the numbers. If you don't, it'll be hard to keep your head above water

 

[stifler]

A lot of stuff... being a patient myself, volunteering, watching ER/Super Surgery on the Discovery Health Channel... you know, the normal stuff.

Just to kinda echo what others here have said, clinical exposure is a must. Anything other than that is gravy. Summer programs are crap, bc you can't really finish a project... all you can do is network. It's best to do a research project at your home insitution and finish something. Few pre-meds do this. Just make sure you have the numbers. If you don't, it'll be hard to keep your head above water

i hate how med school is a game of numbers. its not like other schools. its mostly you make it or yuo dont. other schools if you suck in grades you can make it up easily with something else... like in business

 

[g3pro]

Stfu.

 

[PennMed]

i hate how med school is a game of numbers. its not like other schools. its mostly you make it or yuo dont. other schools if you suck in grades you can make it up easily with something else... like in business

Yeah, I agree. At least it's not as bad as getting into law school. Their numbers weigh much more than ours. Ah well, at least once we're done, I think (hope) we're happy with the numbers we're making!

 

[stifler]

heh hopefully, but not likely with the rising insurance rates

 

[Severus]

I'm just the potions master, so I'm not sure whether or not this is a troll in our midst or not. Could just be an enthusiastic (sp?) pre-meder. In any case, I think more video games need to be incorporated into his EC routine.

Sev

 

[vtucci]

I started an international medical relief team at my school. We send medical supplies to clinics and hospitals in the third world. In high school, I started an Adopt-a-Veteran program at the local VA home.

My ECs vary from debate society to EMT to law (I was an attorney) to ER Clinical Research to karate. I would say that you should do something because you enjoy doing it not because it will look good on an application. If you are just doing something to check a box (like community service, research etc), it will likely come through in the process. I know we have all felt that we need to jump through certain hoops-- that we are somehow lacking in an area and most of us are-- but just do the best you can and enjoy each day!

 

[Severus]

Question: so what have ppl done in their free time not for their med school apps...

Answer: scowling at little children, avoiding the sun, writing books, playing video games, and generally being sarcastic... among other such things... 😉

Sev

 

[stifler]

I started an international medical relief team at my school. We send medical supplies to clinics and hospitals in the third world. In high school, I started an Adopt-a-Veteran program at the local VA home.

My ECs vary from debate society to EMT to law (I was an attorney) to ER Clinical Research to karate. I would say that you should do something because you enjoy doing it not because it will look good on an application. If you are just doing something to check a box (like community service, research etc), it will likely come through in the process. I know we have all felt that we need to jump through certain hoops-- that we are somehow lacking in an area and most of us are-- but just do the best you can and enjoy each day!

the international relief if pretty interesting!