Guest T02 Posted January 3, 2002 Report Share Posted January 3, 2002 Hi, I'm currently a first year student and I wanted to know how much volunteering is reasonable for med school application? Many people have told me that it is the quality and not quantity that matters so much with volunteering. Although I understand this, I also know many students who have been volunteering for a very long time and I'm kind of worry as to my standing when compared to these students. This summer, I am in the process of volunteering at a hospital, old age home and elementary school. And in the coming year I am hoping to acquire a research position. However, I do feel that I might be rushing the process a bit and would like to know what type of volunteering seems more important and the time frame that some should be - I do want to get a real experience out of this and not just have something to write down on an application. In particular I would like to know the importance of the experience in research. I have yet to find any med school which require research as a prerequesite to enter med school, but at the same time been told that without it I would be less competitive. I would appreciate any advice you can give. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carolyn Posted January 3, 2002 Report Share Posted January 3, 2002 The most important thing about volunteering or doing other extra-curricular things is to show that you did something you loved, were able to make a small difference and that you also learned something from it that will help you to become a better physician. For example one of my volunteer activities was teaching karate. I loved it and learned alot about teaching and communicating with all types of people. I also think it helps to have some sort of clinical experience - whether it is volunteering at a hospital, clinic, nursing home etc. It will give you a realistic idea of what health care challenges there are and what the role of the doctor really is. Some people are very surprised how little time different types of physicians actually spend with the patient! I agree about quality over quantity - you have started early and if you stick with a couple of your volunteer positions (i.e. the ones you enjoy and are learning from) you'll probably grow and expand your role in that organization... You'll have a lot more depth of experience than many. I formerly in business - whenever we received resumes from people from my specific business school, I always laughed at some of the people who padded their resume with some dorky clubs that only I knew met 3 times a year or was really a drinking club! I also read applications for Mac last year and ran across a couple of them where people had hobbies and interests similar to my own - this really helped some and harmed others - as I was better able to judge whether what they were describing was embellished or well represented. Make sure whatever you do to be true in your application to your experiences. I didn't have any research experience getting into Mac - It can only add to your application; however, I believe it is more important for residency than Medical school. Some of my friends who did a bunch of research before will use that in their applications and haven't done a lot during medical school. There are others of us who are doing it while in medical school and many others who continued theirs throughout medical school and then there are some who are just not interested in research at all! I think the opportunity to gain some experience early is great - take it if you can get it! Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KatieKat Posted January 3, 2002 Report Share Posted January 3, 2002 Saying that quality is more important than quantity is absolutely logical. From what I gather, most schools evaluate applications with this idea in mind. But it seems that UBC doesn't! Someone in the UBC forum mentioned that UBC gives points for each different activity. International volunteering for 5 months would be given the same number of points as just belonging to some club your barely active in. This makes NO sense to me at all. I really hope I misunderstood the poster because this method seems crazy, doesn't it? Anyway, I guess before you determine what kind of experiences you're going to have in the next few years, research the schools you want to apply to and keep their evaluation systems in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest not rex morgan Posted January 3, 2002 Report Share Posted January 3, 2002 I think that's my post you're referring to. A couple of years ago, when I was applying, unfortunately, the one point, one activity thing seemed to be in effect. I got in this year, so I was ineligable to chat with them about how it worked this year. I really want to emphasise that I do not condone signing up for half-!@@ clubs to pad your resume. Like Carolyn, it amuses me beyond belief. The school did seem to be aware of this little loophole, and hopefully, they've worked it out. I did get in after the international volunteering, which I'm quite happy about. I had the time to do things that I sincerly wanted to do. Bear in mind, that whatever you chose to do with your time, you need to be happy and proud about how you are spending your time. You will also have to talk about your activities in your interviews. The first two years I applied, I didn't get interviews. This year, I did and I was asked about basically all of my volunteer experiences. This was fantastic. By breaking down what I did and explaining in detail what I learned, I was able to emphasise the quality of the volunteering. The interview is rated on a different scale from what I understand, but unfortunately, I don't know what this scale is. You ask four different people, you get four different answers. This brings me to my major point. There are alot of really great applicants. Combined with those applicants that aren't so great, but look great on paper, you're up against alot. Those who get in on the first try with a pretty good application (but are not MENSA members or olympic athletes) are pretty lucky. Many of them will tell you that. You will probably personally know more than a handful of people, who you think are the most fantastic super-people in the world, who will not get in...welcome to the lottery of med-school admission. Many people in the class applied more than once. SO the big point is, no matter what happens, be proud of yourself. I noticed some criticism on the site that us med students are very negative and want to keep you premmedders down, thus preserving the eliteness of our field. I don't think any of us would be giving advice if we believed that. I'm here to tell you that if you really want it, and don't get in the first time, not to get discouraged, do something really cool with your time, and apply again. In the meantime, I truly hope you get in. I hope that they open up more med school positions so the difference of 1% in overall averages is not a huge selective point, and we actually get some doctors around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tina Posted March 15, 2002 Report Share Posted March 15, 2002 I was wondering if med schools care about what type of extra curricular activity you do? I mean does it have to be health-care related... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dave Posted March 18, 2002 Report Share Posted March 18, 2002 It is nice to hear that students reading the essays do try to look out for padding! It is so frustrating to be working hard on many extracurriculars, and to have people who aren't willing to help out because they've only joined to have it on their resume. So it's gratifying to know that you look out for it. (At my school, a bunch of students started a club that operates out of the pre-med office, meets at the same time as the pre-med club, and does nothing! sigh.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest heyheyhey Posted March 19, 2002 Report Share Posted March 19, 2002 ya i know what your talking about I think the club is the good citizens of **** university right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bad hombre Posted March 20, 2002 Report Share Posted March 20, 2002 Are we talking about QSIMS here? those guys really blow i heard from a friend that goes to queen's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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