In desperate need of help: Improving experiences.

[human instinct]

Hey...So I am planning to apply to med schools this summer.Apart from my mediocre GPA, I also have a feeling (by reading posts of accepted applicants to different schools) that I am considerably lacking in extracurricular/volunteer et.c experiences,not in quality, but in quantity. I am in desperate need of an evaluation as to where in terms of experiences I can improve.

 

I would really like it if any of the over achievers here (with multiple acceptances or for that matter with in depth knowledge of med school application) can guide me by having a look at my resume and advice me as to where I stand. I ask for this help as I feel that someone other than me/family/friends who hasnt seen me but just the resume can tell me of a realistic standing on the experiences.

 

If anyone can help, let me know so I can send in my resume.

 

Thanks alot.....I would really appreciate your time

[Madz25]

Hey...So I am planning to apply to med schools this summer.Apart from my mediocre GPA, I also have a feeling (by reading posts of accepted applicants to different schools) that I am considerably lacking in extracurricular/volunteer et.c experiences,not in quality, but in quantity. I am in desperate need of an evaluation as to where in terms of experiences I can improve.

 

I would really like it if any of the over achievers here (with multiple acceptances or for that matter with in depth knowledge of med school application) can guide me by having a look at my resume and advice me as to where I stand. I ask for this help as I feel that someone other than me/family/friends who hasnt seen me but just the resume can tell me of a realistic standing on the experiences.

 

If anyone can help, let me know so I can send in my resume.

 

Thanks alot.....I would really appreciate your time

 

That's where you're wrong. A mistake that many med applicants make is thinking that they need a thousand activities to make themselves look good on an application. Admissions committees can see right through that. They are getting thousands of applications and I'm sure many applicants do that. If you start doing things now, the committee will see that the majority of your activities are from the summer of 2008 - right before application time. Do you think that will reflect favourably on you? To me, it looks like you were trying to pump up your application.

 

Med schools want QUALITY, not quantity. They want to see that you have a well-balanced life and can commit to activities. They want to know why you've chosen those extracurriculars in particular and what you've gained from them. Volunteering for the sake of volunteering is not going to get you far.

 

I hope this helps.

[human instinct]

Hey thanks for the reply Madz...I knew that this would come up since Im asking for help just 2 months before application. However, my reason for taking up any activity is not to pump up my app this yr. Infact because, of my gpa, im not a strong applicant for this yr anyway. I plan to keep trying for the next yr if this yr does not work out so my main aim is to build up a stronger application by picking activities that I will enjoy. I just wanted to see if I was lacking in any way in terms of ecs for this yr. I do not plan to mention any activity i take up in the summer for this yrs app also.

Thanks for the advice though.

[Byrne]

Just find something you enjoy and run with it. If you've already found something you enjoy, continue running with it.

 

Padding your application won't work -- especially if you cannot talk about the experiences.

[Satsuma]

As long as you can show you are a well-rounded individual, who is involved in your community and not just always studying...your extra-curriculars should be ok (you didn`t list what you have been involved in though, so I'm assuming you actually do something outside of school). There is no set magic number of activities schools look for.

Your extra-curriculars give the committees a glimpse of what interests you and who you are relative to other applicants.

Strong extra-curriculars will also not make up for a poor GPA. So concentrate on making sure your GPA is competitive.

[kiwi]

I agree with the points that have already been made. Continue with the activities you have been doing, and think about everything you have learned and the skills you have developed from these experiences. Having something insightful to say about specific experiences is much more valuable than filling up all the items on your autobiographical sketch. Although my med school applications were not successful this cycle, the one thing I did get out of them was this lesson.

[Madz25]

Hey thanks for the reply Madz...I knew that this would come up since Im asking for help just 2 months before application. However, my reason for taking up any activity is not to pump up my app this yr. Infact because, of my gpa, im not a strong applicant for this yr anyway. I plan to keep trying for the next yr if this yr does not work out so my main aim is to build up a stronger application by picking activities that I will enjoy. I just wanted to see if I was lacking in any way in terms of ecs for this yr. I do not plan to mention any activity i take up in the summer for this yrs app also.

Thanks for the advice though.

 

Ahh, I see. I would suggest what others have already said - do what you enjoy. If you've been involved in a lot of school activities, try finding something community-based and v.v. It doesn't have to be something incredibly unique that no other applicant will have it on their application. It all depends on why you've chosen the activity and what you've learned from it. Your unique experience will set you apart from other applicants. It's all about putting your own spin on things...notice the extensive use of YOU and YOUR ...thats what admissions committees want to see. Not which particular activity it is, but how it has affected YOU. So bottom line, do what YOU like!

[Big Baller]

Hey...So I am planning to apply to med schools this summer.Apart from my mediocre GPA, I also have a feeling (by reading posts of accepted applicants to different schools) that I am considerably lacking in extracurricular/volunteer et.c experiences,not in quality, but in quantity. I am in desperate need of an evaluation as to where in terms of experiences I can improve.

 

I would really like it if any of the over achievers here (with multiple acceptances or for that matter with in depth knowledge of med school application) can guide me by having a look at my resume and advice me as to where I stand. I ask for this help as I feel that someone other than me/family/friends who hasnt seen me but just the resume can tell me of a realistic standing on the experiences.

 

If anyone can help, let me know so I can send in my resume.

 

Thanks alot.....I would really appreciate your time

 

 

Heres my story...during my early childhood and high school years i was very shy and i have a speech disability too, yes i stutter/stammer (I am pretty sure that no one would want a person as their doctor who stammers and i don't know if i would get into a medical school with this problem but deep down inside i believe that i have what it takes to be a good physician even though some of my closest friends and even my siblings mock me on my speech impairment). So i sat down one day and thought what i could do to improve this speech problem and i got the answer; interact with people. So as of now i have been working as a sales associate at a store for over 2.5 years and have been a volunteer for over 1.5 years which has intense amount of patient contact (i go into the room and spend with time with the patients, talk to them about their life, family and anything i feel like talking). This direct contact with people has certainly improved my speech and i am shy no more and now i landed a position of student mentor and i am still in the race for medical school starting my 3rd year in fall 08.

 

So you need to do something that has some personal connection to you and through which you can help other people too (Doing something really cool and not related to medicine or the field of health care can make you stand out like crazy). Last thing...they rather would want to see an applicant who has a prolonged volunteer experience rather than someone who just started it for the sake of medical school applications. According to successful medical school applicants its important that you have been doing that volunteer work for over a year on a continuous basis. Thats all that i could offer. Please feel free to add to my suggestions. Good day.

[Satsuma]

yes i stutter/stammer (I am pretty sure that no one would want a person as their doctor who stammers and i don't know if i would get into a medical school with this problem but deep down inside i believe that i have what it takes to be a good physician even though some of my closest friends and even my siblings mock me on my speech impairment). So i sat down one day and thought what i could do to improve this speech problem and i got the answer; interact with people.

 

 

Hey Big Baller!

 

First....congratulations with being so persistent and working hard to improve your situation!

 

Second...I honestly can`t believe you have friends that make fun of your stuttering...seriously, do you need them as friends! (you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends!)

 

Third...you did just what you needed to do...face your fear and interact with people! Hopefully your anxiety has decreased and you find you stutter less now.

 

I am sure that you've probably spent hours in speech therapy. And I am not sure what location you are in now. But if you are in the London area...Dr Yovetich (at UWO) is an AWESOME clinician. All he does is stuttering. So if you feel like you need a little extra help look him up!

 

I used to be an SLP...and I can say that who your clinician is makes a big difference in your success. Also, as you know, you will always stutter. But there are ways to make the stuttering easier and more intelligible for the listener. Just putting it out there in case it is still a problem for you. Could be that you figured these things out on your own and you are comfortable now.

 

I don`t think a doctor who stutters is the end of the world! Of course, you'd need to make sure that you can spit out those words you need under times of stress.

 

I had a prof who stuttered (he taught stuttering....and the first day we all laughed when he stuttered cause we thought he was doing it on purpose for the class! ). He said he stuttered particularly alot in our class cause we made him nervous. But anyway, if people can listen to a prof for hours on end, certainly they can tolerate that 10 minute doctor visit!

 

aside: an assignment in that class was to stutter on the phone to strangers and also in public in person to strangers...then write about the experience. omg, fake stuttering is subjectively so much worse that real stuttering. I swear people know that you are faking and think you are completely insane. I had totally forgotten that assignment til now! I still feel embarrassed!

 

So...my take home message.....go for it!

 

Good luck!

[Big Baller]

Hey Big Baller!

 

First....congratulations with being so persistent and working hard to improve your situation!

 

Second...I honestly can`t believe you have friends that make fun of your stuttering...seriously, do you need them as friends! (you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends!)

 

Third...you did just what you needed to do...face your fear and interact with people! Hopefully your anxiety has decreased and you find you stutter less now.

 

I am sure that you've probably spent hours in speech therapy. And I am not sure what location you are in now. But if you are in the London area...Dr Yovetich (at UWO) is an AWESOME clinician. All he does is stuttering. So if you feel like you need a little extra help look him up!

 

I used to be an SLP...and I can say that who your clinician is makes a big difference in your success. Also, as you know, you will always stutter. But there are ways to make the stuttering easier and more intelligible for the listener. Just putting it out there in case it is still a problem for you. Could be that you figured these things out on your own and you are comfortable now.

 

I don`t think a doctor who stutters is the end of the world! Of course, you'd need to make sure that you can spit out those words you need under times of stress.

 

I had a prof who stuttered (he taught stuttering....and the first day we all laughed when he stuttered cause we thought he was doing it on purpose for the class! ). He said he stuttered particularly alot in our class cause we made him nervous. But anyway, if people can listen to a prof for hours on end, certainly they can tolerate that 10 minute doctor visit!

 

aside: an assignment in that class was to stutter on the phone to strangers and also in public in person to strangers...then write about the experience. omg, fake stuttering is subjectively so much worse that real stuttering. I swear people know that you are faking and think you are completely insane. I had totally forgotten that assignment til now! I still feel embarrassed!

 

So...my take home message.....go for it!

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the advice satsuma. Yeah i don't think i can afford the to pay for speech therapy at this point of my life from my own money but after i am done school, that s the first thing on my to-do list. I also looked into the speech easy device on cnn and it seemed pretty cool too. I was also shocked to learn that speech therapy or other related services are not covered by OHIP. Well i guess i am doing what within my reach for now. Anyways thanks for the advice.

[Wolvenstar]

If you are shy or just not big on person to person or group interactions I would deffinetely suggest what others have done, and get a job forcing you to interact with others. I wasn't very good with old people or large groups, so first I worked at a casino (otherwise known as elderly land lol) and then got a job bouncing at a local bar. These kind of jobs force you to interact with people which will increase your skill and comfort levels.

[AndyDude]

Heres my story...during my early childhood and high school years i was very shy and i have a speech disability too, yes i stutter/stammer (

 

That reminds me of a book I recently finished, Black Swan Green. It's about the boy who stutters. The author himself stutters (in reality). It's a good read. Good post btw!

[fistofwater]

That's where you're wrong. A mistake that many med applicants make is thinking that they need a thousand activities to make themselves look good on an application. Admissions committees can see right through that. They are getting thousands of applications and I'm sure many applicants do that. If you start doing things now, the committee will see that the majority of your activities are from the summer of 2008 - right before application time. Do you think that will reflect favourably on you? To me, it looks like you were trying to pump up your application.

 

Med schools want QUALITY, not quantity. They want to see that you have a well-balanced life and can commit to activities. They want to know why you've chosen those extracurriculars in particular and what you've gained from them. Volunteering for the sake of volunteering is not going to get you far.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Actually having a bunch of extra curricular activities all of a sudden is a concern of mine too... I just finished first year, and I can truly say I didn't really do much in high school except for participate in a couple of clubs. Most of my time was spent in academics. But starting second term this year, I really made it a point to get involved (having been motivated by upper years, seeing my peers do so much, and learn from those experiences too!). I really think it's been a positive change for me.

 

But like I said, I'm scared grad schools will think that since I just suddenly started getting involved, I'm simply trying to pad my resume. Also, I'm trying to go for some new and different things each year (old things can get boring pretty quickly...) so I'm a little concerned about the commitment aspect too.

 

Just wondering, are my concern's well-founded? If so, any ideas about what could I do to address these couple of matters? Thanks!

[Madz25]

Actually having a bunch of extra curricular activities all of a sudden is a concern of mine too... I just finished first year, and I can truly say I didn't really do much in high school except for participate in a couple of clubs. Most of my time was spent in academics. But starting second term this year, I really made it a point to get involved (having been motivated by upper years, seeing my peers do so much, and learn from those experiences too!). I really think it's been a positive change for me.

 

But like I said, I'm scared grad schools will think that since I just suddenly started getting involved, I'm simply trying to pad my resume. Also, I'm trying to go for some new and different things each year (old things can get boring pretty quickly...) so I'm a little concerned about the commitment aspect too.

 

Just wondering, are my concern's well-founded? If so, any ideas about what could I do to address these couple of matters? Thanks!

 

I think if you start doing things in 2nd year, it's fine because by the time admissions committees see your application, you would've already been participating in that activity for 2 years. I think what looks bad is that when you have several activities that start in the summer/fall before applications are due.

 

If you've stuck with activities for the year that should be OK...it's nice to have a few activities that are long-term to show that you can commit to things. Just put yourself in the admissions committees' shoes...if you see an applicant with several different activities that are relatively short-term over the past few years - what impression does it give? It can either be that they are not interested in any of those activities and hence, jump around...or that they are trying to diversify their experiences. It all depends on how you spin it...and you'll usually have an opportunity to do that in your admissions essays.

 

Obviously, this is just my opinion. I've never been on an admissions committee so I don't know what they want.

 

Hope this helps.