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Volunteering Abroad?


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From another thread :

"Not that it is bad to volunteer abroad, but the impact of that in recent years on medical school applications has been subject to heavy criticism. Most people are now aware that it's basically a vacation or "voluntourism" and the impact of what you do while you are abroad isn't what most people think/say it is. There are many local opportunities for volunteering where you can get better, more valuable experience than in developing countries."- robclem21

 

http://forums.premed101.com/index.php?/topic/92905-back-up-options-for-spending-a-year/

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From another thread :

"Not that it is bad to volunteer abroad, but the impact of that in recent years on medical school applications has been subject to heavy criticism. Most people are now aware that it's basically a vacation or "voluntourism" and the impact of what you do while you are abroad isn't what most people think/say it is. There are many local opportunities for volunteering where you can get better, more valuable experience than in developing countries."- robclem21

 

http://forums.premed101.com/index.php?/topic/92905-back-up-options-for-spending-a-year/

 

This my favourite citation to date... :)

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I volunteered abroad twice (both places where I had prior connections though, such as family living there, and I'd been to both countries before) and it seemed to be received very positively in my interviews. Both volunteer programs were very reputable though and it was a significant time commitment. 

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It is controversial. It probably will have a positive impact on your application but you could just get that from volunteering locally and saving yourself a lot of time and money. I don't really see the point of volunteering abroad unless you have personal reasons for volunteering in a specific foreign community.

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As I said before, it won't be viewed negatively. Why would it? However, it just isn't the same impactful endeavour that it used to be. 5-10 years ago, volunteering abroad used to be this amazing extracurricular that would distinguish you from others because you care so much about all the orphans and healthcare in developing countries (ala doctors without borders). Over the years though its become better known the limited impact/opportunities you can have while there (especially since all these companies started marketing it to undergrads) and it doesn't really carry the same weight on an application.

 

I agree that learning about culture and sparking interest is huge, but I wouldn't do it solely on the basis of improving your application.

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