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Dilemma


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Two questions:

  1. Are there any similar programs to McGill's STEP program? (I sadly just heard about it today and the deadline was March 31st. I would have adored going to it! :( )
  2. I'm in a dilemma. If I have the choice between a paid job (summer camp monitor for children with special needs) and volunteer at a hospital (patient visitor), what would be the best for my CV (for med application)? The hospital I'm currently signed up for has only available shifts during daytime on weekdays, which conflicts the schedule as a camp monitor. I would love to do both but I don't know if I should apply to another hospital that could help me make it possible (maybe afternoon shift at another hospital or on the weekends). I should also precise that I have over a month before possibly getting called for the job (due date of application is in may ) so I can always retire my application and just do volunteer at hospitals.

 

Thank you very much for your time and help!

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Absolutely do the camp - you get paid $$$ and will gain some great experiences for whatever you end up doing in life (medicine or otherwise). You do not need to volunteer at a hospital to apply to medical school, so you could find other volunteer opportunities that best fit your schedule.

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Absolutely do the camp - you get paid $$$ and will gain some great experiences for whatever you end up doing in life (medicine or otherwise). You do not need to volunteer at a hospital to apply to medical school, so you could find other volunteer opportunities that best fit your schedule.

 

If it's not too much to ask, what did the community involvement section of your cv look like when you were applying? But I understand if you prefer to keep it private.

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Absolutely do the camp - you get paid $$$ and will gain some great experiences for whatever you end up doing in life (medicine or otherwise). You do not need to volunteer at a hospital to apply to medical school, so you could find other volunteer opportunities that best fit your schedule.

I 100% agree. Also, this dude is pretty awesome.

Everyone gets in McGill med with completely different profiles. There is no one single winning combination. Obviously, if you can have top grades and be an Olympics medallist or a NFL player, that can can be quite a seller. Otherwise, most people are just regular human beings who did things they enjoyed. Some people did research. Some people did volunteering; some worked; hell there was a girl in my year who just mainly worked at McDonald's because she was poor and she got in without having done anything ''extraordinary'' as a med-p (and she's awesome).

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"Friendly visitor" at a hospital does not add any value to your CV and likely wont give you many meaningful experiences. It requires little to be selected as a friendly visitor and therefore many pre-meds do it because they think that it will help them get into med.. Waste of time IMO. Camp monitor sounds way better.

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I 100% agree. Also, this dude is pretty awesome.

Everyone gets in McGill med with completely different profiles. There is no one single winning combination. Obviously, if you can have top grades and be an Olympics medallist or a NFL player, that can can be quite a seller. Otherwise, most people are just regular human beings who did things they enjoyed. Some people did research. Some people did volunteering; some worked; hell there was a girl in my year who just mainly worked at McDonald's because she was poor and she got in without having done anything ''extraordinary'' as a med-p (and she's awesome).

 

Wow I thank you so much for sharing this with me. Some people in my school are very worried about building their cv and told me I should too.  It's true that it's around 30% though. My experience so far is not related to medical centers so I was wondering if that mattered. Personally I like volunteering for charity at my local church. I get close with many families facing difficulties. I also really love art, I post online and all but i'm not familiar on how to make it cv worthy. It's just laying at the hobbies section. I think there's going to be some counselors in cegep that can help me with cv though.

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Wow I thank you so much for sharing this with me. Some people in my school are very worried about building their cv and told me I should too.  It's true that it's around 30% though. My experience so far is not related to medical centers so I was wondering if that mattered. Personally I like volunteering for charity at my local church. I get close with many families facing difficulties. I also really love art, I post online and all but i'm not familiar on how to make it cv worthy. It's just laying at the hobbies section. I think there's going to be some counselors in cegep that can help me with cv though.

 

Do not compare yourself to others! Everyone has their own path. People around me were laughing at me for even applying to Mcgill Med with no research experience, nor hospital volunteering experience. I did a lot of volunteering with my Church and things I actually liked, and got an interview at Mcgill. Do what you love, not what others "think" you should be doing. Best of luck

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Two questions:

  1. Are there any similar programs to McGill's STEP program? (I sadly just heard about it today and the deadline was March 31st. I would have adored going to it! :( )
  2. I'm in a dilemma. If I have the choice between a paid job (summer camp monitor for children with special needs) and volunteer at a hospital (patient visitor), what would be the best for my CV (for med application)? The hospital I'm currently signed up for has only available shifts during daytime on weekdays, which conflicts the schedule as a camp monitor. I would love to do both but I don't know if I should apply to another hospital that could help me make it possible (maybe afternoon shift at another hospital or on the weekends). I should also precise that I have over a month before possibly getting called for the job (due date of application is in may ) so I can always retire my application and just do volunteer at hospitals.

 

Thank you very much for your time and help!

 

 

My GPA was farrrrrrrrrrr from stellar or even close to the cut off and I never did any hospital volunteering - only things that were meaningful to me. Don't do anything because you think it'll look great on your CV ... do it because you want to and if you get some valuable experience great. If not, at least you had a great time. Hopefully it'll all work out for you! Good luck :) 

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Do not compare yourself to others! Everyone has their own path. People around me were laughing at me for even applying to Mcgill Med with no research experience, nor hospital volunteering experience. I did a lot of volunteering with my Church and things I actually liked, and got an interview at Mcgill. Do what you love, not what others "think" you should be doing. Best of luck

 

Thank you so much, it's very reassuring for me. Not because I would aim for the minimum, but rather because I know I will be able to prioritize better my grades and activities.

 

I have 1 and a half year to aim for grades and a cv that supposedly guarantee admission at least for first round (even though it's not easily predictable). Although I haven't gotten the opportunity to volunteer at a hospital because of my schedule, I still went to a formation day and I immediately knew that it was something that I have been passionate about. It's just that the nearest hospitals are an hour 30 away by bus and train which makes it a bit harder to fit in the schedule. I'll try to make things work out. And honestly I don't know if it's just my school but anyone going into competitive programs here (med, law, etc..) goes crazy about volunteer or different activities. They spread themselves around a bunch of different places that they admit doing only for application purposes.  It's a small school but maybe other places are like that and I might compete with many similar people in the future. :( Another thing is that I don't have med practitioners in my family. So I might not have the med applicant guidance that others have. I rely a lot on research. My parents just say that I don't have to worry and even though it's very kind of them to think well of me, I still want to do as much as I can.

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