Strategy99 Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 To get into med school you have to: - be famous - start your own charity - appear on Jeopardy - save a country in Africa Obviously this is a joke, but having that stuff can't hurt either I guess where I am going with this is that do most applicants have something on their application of this magnitude? Have most of them started an organization or similar, or have they travelled to a third world country to help out? I am just in high school right now, and I haven't done anything of this magnitude, so this is worrying me. If there is anyone here who was accepted into a med school, could you post a bit about your EC's just to give us an idea ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 I haven't gotten in yet, but I do know that different schools value different things. Some schools are more focussed on your GPA, some weight the MCAT heavily and others don't even use it, some weight non-academics highly others don't. I'm sure many students get in without anything really extraordinary, in terms of non-academics. A good idea is to research requirements of the various schools you are interested in and then focus your efforts from there. Many schools seem to like to see long term commitment in an area, since med school is a pretty long term commitment. In their undergrad many students find an activity that they enjoy and then become more and more involved in it. For example, I joined my student newspaper as a writer in my first year, in my second year I became the managing editor and then was editor-in-chief for the last three years of my degree. I really enjoyed it, and did it because I enjoyed it, but I also have something that shows commitment, leadership, volunteerism and many other qualities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Jeopardy for an American medical school.... For Canada... Price is Right.. and only if you played the Yodeler and won both showcase showdowns by getting within $250 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara21 Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Jeopardy for an American medical school.... For Canada... Price is Right.. and only if you played the Yodeler and won both showcase showdowns by getting within $250 dollars. Hahaha! Nice one! Just keep believing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 To get into med school you have to: - be famous - start your own charity - appear on Jeopardy - save a country in Africa I guess where I am going with this is that do most applicants have something on their application of this magnitude? Have most of them started an organization or similar, or have they travelled to a third world country to help out? I'd say no. Most med students are pretty boring. And starting an organization or club is not a hard thing to do in university. 3rd world volun-tourism is a waste of money imo, real charities pay to send their volunteers overseas. What you will find all med students have is top of their class GPA/MCATS, especially 4-5 years from now when you'll be applying, so concentrate on that, as for the EC business do what you like and will have fun doing, you'll have an easier time talking about to down the road that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC_Ma Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 To tell you the truth, GPA is the king. 4.0 GPA with reasonable volunteer activity will pretty much guerantee some offers. On the other hand, a sub par GPA + Great experience might still not get you anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O'Neill Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Don't forget about the MCAT. It's worth more in the US than in Canada, but a high MCAT can often compensate for lower GPA's. That is especially true at schools like U of Manitoba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 I'm pretty sure in 10 years that it'll be mandatory that you save a life as a pre-req for med school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategy99 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 So are you guys saying that even ordinary people can get in? (provided you have the good marks and MCAT) and @ Rayven: lol; the competition has to stop somewhere, I don't think it will get to that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 I think that some people may place too much weight into their EC's, and often report things that they had very minimal involvement in. I don't have anything extraordinary on my EC list. I worked all throughout university and none of that is technically "volunteer" experience, but I could have done a lot more volunteering if I didn't want to be making money. At the end of the day, I think it's good to have some EC's, but they are not going to make/break you ANYWHERE NEAR the extent that your GPA/MCAT/LoRs would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 So are you guys saying that even ordinary people can get in? (provided you have the good marks and MCAT) and @ Rayven: lol; the competition has to stop somewhere, I don't think it will get to that point. I don't think someone with a GPA of 4.00 could be considered ordinary, but yes people without crazy EC's can get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 So are you guys saying that even ordinary people can get in? (provided you have the good marks and MCAT) and @ Rayven: lol; the competition has to stop somewhere, I don't think it will get to that point. "ordinary people" get in all the time! I suppose a few hundred dollars will actually save a life if my math is right here (yeah global health classes). Not really a hard objective to meet actually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normand Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 To get into med school you have to: - be famous - start your own charity - appear on Jeopardy - save a country in Africa Pretty much PS: In all seriousness, you will be amazed at how many "ordinary" applicants make it every year. If you are smart, honest, caring, responsable, chances are you will be chosen by at least one med school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 NewfieMike, you got into John Hopkins?! =x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbjones Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 NewfieMike, you got into John Hopkins?! =x this and congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 this and congrats lol... Damn newf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara21 Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 I'm pretty sure in 10 years that it'll be mandatory that you save a life as a pre-req for med school. Been there, done that – it didn't help my admissions to med school last year. Haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara21 Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 "ordinary people" get in all the time! I suppose a few hundred dollars will actually save a life if my math is right here (yeah global health classes). Not really a hard objective to meet actually Those global health classes sound fun. You math is correct! Approximately $420 annually, with a charitable tax receipt to match, does wonders on the individual, family, and community levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshan Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 Those things may look good on your application, but at the end of the day, there are many other unique ways to show you're a good candidate for medical school. I think it's important to remember that those experiences don't necessarily make those individuals any better at being doctors either. In fact, these 'amazing' people you talk about, aren't any more impressive than the incredibly compassionate, thoughtful and hardworking individuals who didn't go overseas, or save a baby from a burning building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 Been there, done that – it didn't help my admissions to med school last year. Haha! lol who'd you save? =x Sigh.. i wish i could save someone. But there's never an opportunity. Sometimes when i'm alone.. i plot out creating elaborate scenarios that i could create and be the hero of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katsvo Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 lol who'd you save? =x Sigh.. i wish i could save someone. But there's never an opportunity. Sometimes when i'm alone.. i plot out creating elaborate scenarios that i could create and be the hero of. hahahahaha maybe try and hire someone to pretend to choke or something.. hmm.. i've never saved anyone.. hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara21 Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 lol who'd you save? =x Sigh.. i wish i could save someone. But there's never an opportunity. Sometimes when i'm alone.. i plot out creating elaborate scenarios that i could create and be the hero of. Easier than you may expect - pick any of the front-line, crisis-oriented careers as a back-up plan to medical school and you are set! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayven Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 hahahahahamaybe try and hire someone to pretend to choke or something.. hmm.. i've never saved anyone.. hmmm Lets help each other out then. Easier than you may expect - pick any of the front-line, crisis-oriented careers as a back-up plan to medical school and you are set! Good luck! Not according to Jochi... But maybe, maybe when that new Trauma show comes out then it'll peek my interest. :3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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