young_n_ambitious Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Hi, I have read several posts here on 'avg ECs' ie. volunteering, research, being an executive of some club ...etc.....however I was wondering where does something like painting, dancing, acting fit into ? ....bcoz to do these u have to be a participant (and therefore not necessarily an organizer) and doing something like this requires a lot more dedication and effort than just putting/organizing things. These activities are more individualistic but contribute greatly to ones personality. Or is it that ECs include only activities that demonstrate ur leadership. From wat i have seen in my first year at univ is that there r more executives than audience....there is a club but w/o any effective activity going on. That's just my opinion..... maybe some of u cud throw some light on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Umm yes, lots of stupid clubs... Personally, I don't join those. I join clubs where I can make a difference in the community, and just have fun in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie1234 Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Hell no ECs aren't all about leadership/organizing activities. Ofcourse having fun is and SHOULD be involved in your EC activities. Do something you LOVE and ofcourse also try to balance things out to do something for the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Yes, by all means paint and dance and act. The bias may be that many (not all!) pre-meds are science people and are not very artistic, so they may not be interested in (nor very good at) artistic endeavours. And these kinds of activities (especially dancing and acting) can take quite a bit of time committment, so perhaps many people don't have the motivation to spend significant amounts of time in them. As for clubs...you're right, there are a lot of clubs that seem to serve the purpose of giving a few of it's members executive positions and that's it. I never really joined any of them. Don't bother with it if it's not for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
young_n_ambitious Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Great ! .... this means I wasn't really wrong in analyzing the general ECs .... all I hope is that not being an executive (atleast somewhere) doesn't have an adverse effect on ur personality sketch . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avenir001 Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 i hope so too... they say tutoring is a kind of leadership...and apparently the only kind that interests me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffp Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 ECs like painting and dancing are great! They prove that you have dedication and that you are well-rounded. Also, if you are able to sustain such creative endeavours throughout med school/residency, it will help to keep you sane! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Great ! .... this means I wasn't really wrong in analyzing the general ECs .... all I hope is that not being an executive (atleast somewhere) doesn't have an adverse effect on ur personality sketch . Naa it won't, but see, if you can get an exec position with a club you're interested in... (and a club that works) it will give you quite a bit of opportunity to do things you want. Like, I'm an exec with a cancer awareness club on campus... and I plan so many events, and pretty much get to see my ideas come to fruition. I'm really excited for next year too. It's just cool because we have so many resources that the university makes available to us, and it's cool to get to make big decisions and stuff. I learned a lot over this past year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfette Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 I'm an exec with a cancer awareness club on campus... and I plan so many events, and pretty much get to see my ideas come to fruition. I'm really excited for next year too. It's just cool because we have so many resources that the university makes available to us, and it's cool to get to make big decisions and stuff. I learned a lot over this past year. Sounds great Law! I'm glad you're enjoying it. So many pre-meds get fixed on the idea that they need to: (a) volunteer at the hospital, ( be an executive for a club, © do summer research, and (d) play an intramural sport. I think this is a misconception. All of the above activities are great if you enjoy them, but they are not requirements for admissions and a number of diverse activities can certainly be done to your benefit in lieu of those activities. While it is important to do EC's and to volunteer, it doesn't matter exactly what those EC's are. Therefore, choose areas that you are truly interested in and what you are good at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Sounds great Law! I'm glad you're enjoying it. So many pre-meds get fixed on the idea that they need to: (a) volunteer at the hospital, ( be an executive for a club, © do summer research, and (d) play an intramural sport. I think this is a misconception. All of the above activities are great if you enjoy them, but they are not requirements for admissions and a number of diverse activities can certainly be done to your benefit in lieu of those activities. While it is important to do EC's and to volunteer, it doesn't matter exactly what those EC's are. Therefore, choose areas that you are truly interested in and what you are good at. Yeah, seriously... just find stuff that you like! Believe me, it is so worth it. Break out of the "study study study" bubble, you'll see how much fun it is to get involved! Do things you enjoy... there is always time for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Some ppl hit the nail on the head here, just do what you enjoy. If what you enjoy is joining a club where one dances and finger paints at the same time then go for it! I think the best test to see if an EC is "good" for med school is to ask yourself if you can talk about the activity with passion. If you can talk about your ECs with passion and show that you learned something about yourself or the world in the process than it is a good EC. I held some university student council related positions that in hindsight were not the greatest experiences for me. This year I held a VP position on a club that basically did nothing due to reasons beyond my control. It is not that I didn't enjoy these experiences but they were just really boring and bland... Some of my best experiences have been as club member without administrative responsibilities. Additionally, being a good doctor is more than just being a strong leader. In my personal opinion I good doctor is an active community member and individual who is well rounded beyond just medicine and academics. I also love drama and I love studying ancient history on my own spare time. Both have nadda to do about med, but they are an important part of who I am as a person. You can bet your good money that I will focus on those activities that define me as a person and not try to simply give the false impression that my ECs revolve around an ambition to study medicine. It is the non-traditional stuff that people will remember you for. I mean just think of how many pre-med club executives the adcom ppl sift through on a yearly basis... Additionally, if you love your EC activities then it will make blabbing on about them a hell of a lot easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffp Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Definitely agree with rogerroger. If you can talk about it passionately in your essays/interviews, it is something that will help your application. For example - anyone can read books, but if you have a few favorite novels/authors that you can talk about with insight and passion, that will carry you a long way. Anyone with enough $ can travel, but if you can talk about what you have learned from your travel experience and how it has made you grow as a person, that is very worthwhile. For my CaRMS interviews, I talked about writing for my med school's magazine, doing Tai Chi and cultivating Bonsai. I was an exec on my school's orientation committee, but aside from running pre-arranged orientation events, all it involved was attending a bunch of boring meetings. The faculty never let the students on the OC make any important decisions or changes to the process... therefore, even though being exec on the OC might have gained me a couple of "leadership" points, overall, I think my other ECs carried more weight because I was able to talk about them in a significant way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 cultivating Bonsai. My cats ate mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffp Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 My cats ate mine. Strangely the bonsai are among the few things my cats DON'T eat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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