AMmd Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 First bold: I disagree. Having travelled to a variety of countries (on vacation, not on humanitarian grounds), there are little nuances of culture you pick up, and keep with you, and do make you more aware of the diversity in cultures that exist. They do increase your respect and sensitivity to that culture imo. Interesting thought. I have been to other countries myself (on vacation) and it is true that you pick up certain things. however if you only stay at a resort than your perspective of that culture is very biased. I dont think you can pick up more by going to another country than by going to an immigrant association here in Canada. Canada is very diverse and it is easy to learn about new cultures! (if you really want to!!). I went to cuba last summer and I travelled the whole island from one side to the other by bus and even tho I didn't interact that much with people (my espanol is horrible) I still got to experience a huge cultural shock! so yeah, I believe you can learn alot by just going on vacation... but you have to make sure you are not isolated in a resort bubble! Mexico 2 weeks - best vacation ever!!! (1 week in the riviara maya and 1 week in cancun) awesome!!! However, the one week in cuba was very enriching and perhaps the more memorable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyleh Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Kind of off topic but since we are talking about travelling... Jamaica has very nice white beaches, beautiful water. Dominican Republic is very humid and hot, great beaches Aruba is very very hot. If it wasn't for that constant breeze you definately would get sun stroke:D Cancun is hoppin' day and night. Lots of things to do, bars, beaches, shopping, etc. Cool weather(23-25 degrees Celsius) Mayan Riviera has probably the best gardens and landscaping on the resort. The weather was kind of on the cool side for my liking, but several people don't like the weather smoking hot. (23-25 degrees celsius) Anyways, I would love to hear about other people's experiences with travelling:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vip_138 Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 just came back from cuba (22-30 Dec.) - i agree about the culture shock, and the whole communism thing's interesting, i loved old havana fiji: really hot, lots of vegetation, lots of indian food (i'm indian btw) new zealand: pretty cool, pretty good climate, lots of boat things. go All Blacks! australia: super hot and super cold at ayre's rock / uluru, sydney harbor side's sweet, melbourne city was designed really well, especially downtown Spain (seville) & Portugal: super sweet nightlife, siesta is a cool idea, lots of history, like flamenco dancing, not a fan of bull fights Turkey (istanbul): probably the sweetest place ever! cool culture, lots of mosques, really nice people, bazaars are cool, interesting history, really like apple tea Peurto Rico: Fairly humid, some nice beaches, fell asleep a lot when taking local busses Carribean islands: went on a cruise, 1 day an island but its been a while thus each island is becoming less distinguishable from each other Been to a couple places in mexico and all around america but so has a lot of people. that's about it, hope to see europe this summer. the best place by far was turkey just as a side note: i think if you really learned something rather than just staying at a resort, its beneficial and should be looked at by med schools but they probably shouldn't be giving EC points based on it, but be looked at during the interview (not that you need to travel to have a good interview but it is important to understand different cultures). I actually didn't say anything about traveling on any of my apps, mostly becuase i didn't think 'mom' was a good verifier. looking back, i probably should have. I guess i'll just have to hope that they ask about traveling in the interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
degoo_ Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 I didn't mean staying in a resort. It is true, you learn very little staying in an isolated culturally indistinct resort. I have never been on a vacation like that, and don't plan to. Above poster mentioned that Canada is very diverse. This is a very good thing, I think that we are all more sensitive to different cultures and even more knowledgeable about them because we promote diversity. Back to what spawned this debate: It is true that those who can afford to go overseas on health missions have something good to mention in their application. But if you can speak well of local experiences, I feel that's good too. The importance is what you take from the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneliz Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Ever thought that someone that has faced significant family challenges (ie like a dad that had a stroke) and has therefore had to work every summer to support themselves/their family might have some significant life experiences that might apply to medicine??? (vs someone that had parents to pay for every life experience/trip/volunteering activity/ec they ever chose?) I would bet that lots of admissions committees/interview panels would see working to support yourself rather than volunteering to move sea turtle eggs as a positive provided you can present it in the light of overcoming a challenge, dedication, responsibility, etc, etc and not as whining that your life sucks. Every applicant is different... it is the personal qualities that are reflected by the trips/activities/jobs and what you LEARNED from the experience that are important... not the number of 'cool' things that you have done. Someone that has worked at walmart for four summers may do better than someone that volunteered with save the children in africa.... it is all about how it is presented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Someone that has worked at walmart for four summers may do better than someone that volunteered with save the children in africa.... it is all about how it is presented. It's true that the person working at Walmart might be chosen as the better candidate if they had a stellar essay. But I think it's hardly far-fetched to say that it's much, much easier to present a trip to Africa saving children in a good light than the ever-so-sexy job at Walmart. Concerning high income backgrounds of med student families...I think that if med school admissions started placing more emphasis on hours of work experience rather than the quantity of different types of volunteering and extracurricular activities, they might start getting a more economically representative group of students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
degoo_ Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 that's true. employment may be underestimated on applications. I guess the best is if one can get paid to do something that strengthens the application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneliz Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 I think you guys are somewhat missing the point... there are plenty of things that are very, very applicable to medicine that can be learned by working in retail/service jobs. If you manage to present these things - hard work, team work, dealing with difficult members of the public, dealing with difficult supervisors, having to do things you dislike because it is expected of you, taking responsibility for your own goals (ie I want to go to university, therefore I need to pay tuition, therefore I need to work at walmart), working towards a goal even when the journey is unpleasant.. etc, etc, etc. This will be viewed VERY well in both essays and in interviews. At least as well, if not better than "I went to Africa and was touched by all the starving children that live in such poverty. It has made me a better person because now I have an appreciation of the privilege in canada and I want to continue to contribute to helping the disadvantaged through studying medicine and returning to village X in africa to help the children I met last summer... blah, blah, blah.... Having sat and listened to both stories in many interviews, I know that the hardworking, goal oriented person that can present that they worked hard and learned to get along with people in difficult situations in a retail job fare just as well, if not better in the scoring as those that have the really exotic volunteer stories. The issue is not so much that the walmart cashiers are penalized for their lack of exciting travel in the interview/essay process... it is that they don't apply in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 I think you guys are somewhat missing the point... there are plenty of things that are very, very applicable to medicine that can be learned by working in retail/service jobs. If you manage to present these things - hard work, team work, dealing with difficult members of the public, dealing with difficult supervisors, having to do things you dislike because it is expected of you, taking responsibility for your own goals (ie I want to go to university, therefore I need to pay tuition, therefore I need to work at walmart), working towards a goal even when the journey is unpleasant.. etc, etc, etc. This will be viewed VERY well in both essays and in interviews. At least as well, if not better than "I went to Africa and was touched by all the starving children that live in such poverty. It has made me a better person because now I have an appreciation of the privilege in canada and I want to continue to contribute to helping the disadvantaged through studying medicine and returning to village X in africa to help the children I met last summer... blah, blah, blah.... Having sat and listened to both stories in many interviews, I know that the hardworking, goal oriented person that can present that they worked hard and learned to get along with people in difficult situations in a retail job fare just as well, if not better in the scoring as those that have the really exotic volunteer stories. The issue is not so much that the walmart cashiers are penalized for their lack of exciting travel in the interview/essay process... it is that they don't apply in the first place. That's really encouraging to hear. I've been working in my dad's stores for so long, and last summer... I pretty much had to run one of his locations, and it was SO MUCH WORK, but I learned so much. I completely agree with what you are saying, although it may seem unrelated to medicine - I've learnt so much from working in retail. All the things you've mentioned, I've had to deal with throughout the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UoC-CCFP-07 Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 I think having more of a, for lack of a better term, "blue collar background" (ie worked at walmart while struggling to get through undergrad, never had the money or chance to volunteer overseas at your parent's expense, etc) WILL NOT HURT YOU at UWO's interviews. My previous comments reflected the composition of my class. . . which I feel was the result of selection bias due to high tuition fees and an inability to survive without a car, vs. any bias during the interview process. It's possible things have changed with the Schulich scholarships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackers Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 5 months to go, JJ --- how are things out West? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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