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EC advice for McGill CV


ceelbe

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Just looking for some advice on what you guys would do in my position, or if anyone has gotten into McGill (or an interview) with a CV that doesn't have a bunch of ECs on it.

I have work experience as a nurse, and work experience in a call centre (learnt conflict resolution, critical thinking, team work, professionalism, etc.) and recently started 2 volunteer positions, one of which is a volunteer research assistant that I commit 8h/week to. Otherwise I have no ECs except sports and hobbies - this is mostly because I don't have much time for others because I'm a parent. This summer I'm going to be completing 2 prerequisite courses over a 6 week period, and I anticipate having difficulty juggling all of the volunteering on top of my prereqs and other commitments. I need to obviously pass the courses in order to apply to McGill (which is my #1 I'm hoping for), so I'm worried I won't be able to pass them as a result of taking on too much/no time to study properly. Since my CV is not very impressive, I'm reluctant to stop volunteering in the lab because I'm worried I won't be competitive at all at that point. I know McGill counts CV for only 10%, so I'm wondering if I should stop stressing myself out and drop the research assistant volunteer position so I can focus on making sure I pass my prerequisite courses this summer. Is there anyone that has gotten an interview with McGill with a CV similar to mine (i.e. working in healthcare or similar career where you have gained great experience, but not so much volunteering or research)? Thanks in advance, feel free to PM me if you prefer. 

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2 hours ago, ceelbe said:

Just looking for some advice on what you guys would do in my position, or if anyone has gotten into McGill (or an interview) with a CV that doesn't have a bunch of ECs on it.

I have work experience as a nurse, and work experience in a call centre (learnt conflict resolution, critical thinking, team work, professionalism, etc.) and recently started 2 volunteer positions, one of which is a volunteer research assistant that I commit 8h/week to. Otherwise I have no ECs except sports and hobbies - this is mostly because I don't have much time for others because I'm a parent. This summer I'm going to be completing 2 prerequisite courses over a 6 week period, and I anticipate having difficulty juggling all of the volunteering on top of my prereqs and other commitments. I need to obviously pass the courses in order to apply to McGill (which is my #1 I'm hoping for), so I'm worried I won't be able to pass them as a result of taking on too much/no time to study properly. Since my CV is not very impressive, I'm reluctant to stop volunteering in the lab because I'm worried I won't be competitive at all at that point. I know McGill counts CV for only 10%, so I'm wondering if I should stop stressing myself out and drop the research assistant volunteer position so I can focus on making sure I pass my prerequisite courses this summer. Is there anyone that has gotten an interview with McGill with a CV similar to mine (i.e. working in healthcare or similar career where you have gained great experience, but not so much volunteering or research)? Thanks in advance, feel free to PM me if you prefer. 

Hi! I dont think i have that strong of a cv either. Therefore, I practised a ton when taking the Casper to try to make up for it. But everyone might be different! 

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4 minutes ago, hopefullyRD said:

Hi! I dont think i have that strong of a cv either. Therefore, I practised a ton when taking the Casper to try to make up for it. But everyone might be different! 

Thank you! What type of stuff did you have? Unless you prefer not say, then that’s fine :) What’s good is that I feel really good about taking the casper so I’m hoping that’ll help me too. Just saw you’re an international applicant, so that’s very impressive too that you got that close on the waitlist!! So you definitely must’ve impressed them :) 

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On 3/28/2021 at 8:14 PM, ceelbe said:

Thank you! What type of stuff did you have? Unless you prefer not say, then that’s fine :) What’s good is that I feel really good about taking the casper so I’m hoping that’ll help me too. Just saw you’re an international applicant, so that’s very impressive too that you got that close on the waitlist!! So you definitely must’ve impressed them :) 

Haha thank you :) I dm you

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I think if I were you, I would mention being a mother on the CV. Not many applicants have that, and I'm sure you learned and grew a lot from that experience. Maybe in the service to the community section? I know it doesn't sound like traditional EC experiences but I'm quoting this from the CV instructions for the community service section:

"A wide range of structured or unstructured activities can be included here. The Admissions committee is aware that not all applicants have the resources to access all types of activities, and applies a broad interpretation of service and community." 

They also mention they accept family caregiving as a work experience, so I think it's definitely worth it to put being a mother/raising a child in the community service section. Best of luck :) 

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3 hours ago, Leyan said:

They also mention they accept family caregiving as a work experience, so I think it's definitely worth it to put being a mother/raising a child in the community service section. Best of luck :) 

Thank you! That’s what I think also, after seeing the “family caregiver” that they included in the sample CV,  I think that I might as well put it and write briefly that it has helped me gain certain qualities like patience, time management, compassion and care or whatever. I don’t think it’ll make my CV any worse (or I hope not anyways) and it’s something that has taught me valuable life lessons. Since I have true extra space, I think it wouldn’t hurt to include it. I’m hoping it would help them better understand certain gaps in employment or education on my CV and why I may have less ECs than others. Over the summer I’m going to try to add some more volunteering and hope for the best this cycle. Thanks again :) 

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