Detalied Sketch Question

[Guest swimmer]

I realize that quality is important than quantity, but to what degree?

 

For example, I volunteer 3 hrs/ week at the hospital...I could volunteer more, but then I wouldnt be able to do other activities that I like

 

I know that Ottawa likes to see the number of hrs, but do they go on the premise "Oh, this applicant only spent 2 hrs this week on this activity" ?

 

 

Obviously, spending 15 hrs a week at the hospital may seem commiteed, but at the expense of not joining other clubs/volunteer work...any thoughtS?

[Guest MayFlower1]

Swimmer,

 

Your logic, I believe, is completely correct...balance and breadth seems to be important.

 

Peter

[Guest Tanya24]

My opinion is that balance, above all, is a very good thing to express on your application. There are only so many hours in a week, and I think it pays to show that you can balance several activities/school/job and still keep your head on straight. They probably want to see well-roundedness. I sure hope they don't use the premise, "oh, only 2 h/week." I've judged scholarship applications for my hospital auxilary, and I was the most impressed by the ones who had done a good stretch of volunteering (ie - not 2 months just to say they did it) and who described their duties as though they enjoyed it and got something out of it. In the end, the number of hours was not as important. Just my 2 cents. What is your opinion? Anyone else?

Tanya.

[Guest James Wong]

Hi Guys,

Though I agree balance does look good, I think above all, what most matters is what you gained from your experience there. Here's a rather extreme example. Suppose your volunteer 15 hours a week in a hospital for 3 years. The committee will definitely ask you about your experience. If all you can say is that you really enjoyed working in a hospital cause you got to be in a medical setting, it is evident that you volunteered there because you wanted to get into med school. The same goes for volunteering at 15 different places for 1 hour each for 3 years. What hopefully sets you apart from every other applicant is what you gained from volunteering. The committee doesn't really care WHAT you do per se, as opposed to how it affected you, or how it has influenced you. Swimmer, you mentioned that there are other things that you WANT to do. What are the reasons you want to volunteer THERE? Is it because you can learn more about a certain aspect of life? Is it because you want to help those less fortunate? What I am trying to illustrate is that you should be volunteering for intrinsic reasons, if you aren't, it may otherwise become apparent during the interview. Enjoy whatever it is you do, and WHEN you get into medical school, never forget about the experience and try to keep it up. Best of luck....hope this advice helps!

 

James

[Guest Tanya24]

Hi James, thanks for a great, encouraging response. Do you really think the adcom doesn't care per se about what you do as much as what you got out of it? The reason I ask is that they ask for specifics: when you did it, how many years, and how many hours per week. That's pretty specific information, and it makes me wonder if they are using a "checklist" approach. They don't even ask us about "what we got out of it" or "how it made us better people" anymore. So, it seems as though ALL they are evaluating are NUMBERS. How much and for how long? Maybe I'm overanalyzing here. What do you think? By the way, are you an incoming U of O? If so, congrats!!! Tanya.

[Guest Sil]

I agree with James. I was asked about activities that I did for only 1-2 hours a week. What they wanted to know was why I was involved and what did I get out of them. But then again I had a really surreal interview so I don't know if that was just my experience.

[Guest MayFlower1]

James,

 

As usual, you have finely separated the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. This is actually the best advice I've heard on the board for a long time. Like Tanya has posted...I hope the adcoms are looking for this as well...it is really what they should be looking for.

 

Peter

[Guest Tanya24]

Hi again, Sil! I'm curious about something -- "surreal"?

[Guest James Wong]

Tanya, I can agree that Sil's interview was "surreal" but I'll let her tell you about her interview! heheh

 

Mayflower and Tanya, I'm glad I could help...this is something that many people over look. Allow me to explain. Although they do ask about hours and where and what you did, it is very easy to make this part of your application look good...this IS important to get an offer for your interview. However, what sets YOU apart from the other 2200 applications they get? About half of these people (if not more) will have done more volunteering than the average person....after all, they all want to go to med school. So what's so special about you? Why, what you LEARNED from this experience of course.

It is necessary to ask for all the info that you have noted, but TIME and VARIETY isn't as heavily weighed as much as what you can show for it. Give this aspect a lot of thought between now and your interview, this will set you apart from the other hundreds of people who volunteered at a hospital for several hours a week. I'm sure that your intrinsic reason for volunteering is much more impressive than the amount of time you put into it!

 

Good luck

James

[Guest U of O med]

I agree with James Wong on this one. Especially the bit about "what you learn". One should always be prepared to explain what one learned from a particular experience, from an interviewing point of view. Then again you should be doing volunteer work to actually learn something anyway!!

 

God luck!

[Guest Sil]

Hi Tanya24:

 

I had a very interesting interview. My interviewer was very big on foreign movies of which I have watched a few. We spent a good chunk of my interview talking about a particular movie (mind you my interview was shorter than average only about 1/2 hour as supposed to the 45 minutes). This movies was strange because the storyline has to do with a nun who has a kid with a transvetite who has aids. The director of the movie is also well known for his sexually explicit movies. So I was taken aback that we spent 20 minutes talking about the movie and its ethical dilemmas... There were a couple of questions regarding activities that I had been involved in for not very long. Like the model UN, I was asked the usual why did you do it, what did you learn, and weirdly what was the last country that had joined the UN. The worse was when they asked me about my qualities (what do your friends think about you) the first word that popped out of my mouth was that they though I was nice (I actually said that! For which I kicked myself over and over). On top of it all at one point while we were discussing the books that I liked to read I mentioned one that I read last and all 3 interviewers said oh good book and there was no further discussion on the subject. Finally to complete things while I was talking to one of the interviewers about the movie, the other said can we just change topics now. But overall they were really nice to me, I just though the whole experience was so weird that I had made some very alternate plans... Just goes to prove that you never really know the outcome of your interview Glad is over though because I was a nervous wreck,

 

Sil

[Guest MayFlower1]

Sil,

 

That does sound like a very surreal interview. In many ways I would have preferred that interview over the way mine unfolded. I really enjoy thinking on my feet under pressure and my interview seemed much more methodical and linear. I also felt really good leaving my interview...perhaps that's not a good sign?

 

Peter

[Guest UOMeds06]

Ah, Mayflower, you're opening up a can of worms with that comment (re: "I also felt really good leaving my interview...perhaps that's not a good sign?").

 

UOMeds06

[Guest UOMeds06]

I should probably mention that I am now using this user name as opposed to my "James Wong" user name.

 

"Same great guy, same great advice...with a new name!" heheheh....my attempt to make a catch slogan.

 

UOMeds06

[Guest Sil]

Hi Peter:

 

I really don't know, I think that there is a large luck factor involved in interviews. Sometimes people think that you are great while others don't (people at U of O liked me while those at Western did not like me as much). I just personally tend to be so negative about interviews because I get so nervous (red, inarticulate!). But I wish that next year you get to interview with a person that is much nicer to you than the one you had this past March.

 

sil

[Guest MayFlower1]

James,

 

Ha, ha, ha, the can of worms WAS undoubtedly opened...and you just took a bite...perhaps a better login name for you would be "walleye" or "bass"

 

Sil,

 

I also hope I get interviewers who like and appreciate what I could bring to medicine. As James and others here who have met me would attest, I'm not the "typical" med school applicant. Is this good? Is this not so good? I personally believe it is good, however, I also believe that some interviewers may see my life experiences and motivations as being refreshing while others might see them as a "bad fit". I would like to think that if I get interviewers with open minds about what makes a "good" physician I will have a good chance. Who really knows? I do know one thing though...I'm happy you don't have the same interviewers two years in a row I think what I'm most uncomfortable with is whether the untoward interaction I had will affect my ability to even get an interview this year. I guess, again, only a few more months will tell!

 

Peter

[Guest Tanya24]

Hey everyone,

How are you guys treating the awards/accomplishments section? Are you including ONLY academic achievements? What about other extra-curricular awards, music awards, etc. Any thoughts?

That would be appreciated! Tanya.

[Guest UOMeds06]

Sounds like a lot of people are working on this section as we speak (or write). I got an email about this today. This is what can recommend. I'd put all of those awards down for a couple of reasons. First, is to make your awards section look busy...it'll look like you're this super special person with tons of accomplishments. Secondly, and more importantly, as I mentioned before about the volunteering, everybody has done some of this in the health community (i.e. hospitals). Likewise, most applicants will have some sort of academic achievement in this section (it's almost expected)....such as entrance scholarships etc. The lucky few will have exceptional academic awards such as top in the program/faculty etc. They're extremely fortunate and are also rare (though this isn't a guaranteed admission as I know someone who graduated top in the faculty and his university and has not yet been admitted to any med school). For the REST of us, what can set you apart from the average applicant are the awards such as music awards and sports awards that other bright students may not have. These also show how rounded you are. If you excel in academia AND the arts...you're quite the accomplished person....they'll want to know this.

 

Good luck!

UOMeds06

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi guys,

 

...and don't forget sports!

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest UOMeds06]

Naturally!

[Guest Tanya24]

Hi everyone,

 

Like the rest of you, I have been immersed in my detailed Ottawa sketch for the past 3 days straight. I just keep finding little things I could "tweak" and it's rapidly becoming a compulsion. Anyway, I had a dream last night that I got an interview at Ottawa! I was standing by the doorway awaiting my turn, and I suddenly realized that I had no idea as to the content of my sketch. I though "oh, no! What if they ask me about my activities, I can't remember what they are!!" "And what are my strengths and weaknesses, anyways?!!" Panic, panic, panic!!!! This is definitely not a good sign. My application isn't even IN yet, and I'm already having disturbing dreams about it. This year is going to be a test of character, I can tell that right NOW.

 

Good luck with your applications, everyone! Sweet dreams, too.

Tanya

[Guest astraia77]

Hi!

I was wondering what Ottawa U meant by the benefits we got from our employment experience? Do they want the fluff stuff? Ie organisation skills, time management?

[Guest doctorfunk]

Where does it ask us to describe the benefits obtained from our experiences? I thought it only asked us to describe our responsibilities...

[Guest SoHo]

They don't ask us to describe our benefits anywhere (if I recall correctly). In fact, if you read the OMSAS booklet under Ottawa's section, they explicity say that they don't want us to make any personal statements in describing our activities.