Guest Total D Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 I'm currently a 2nd year student and I want to get into Meds. The only problem is that I haven't done a lot of volunteering. I've joined a lot of clubc, kept my grades high and played some intramural sports, but I really haven't had the time to get any volunteering done. I was wondering how much health-care related volunteering people do before they can get into med school. Also, do most people volunteering during high school or during their undergrad years? I'd really appreciate any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 There's a lot of previous threads regarding volunteering on this forum, and I'd look through some of the old messages as you'll probably turn up additional useful information. Most people get some health-care volunteering in during undergrad, and it's a good thing to have in order to know what you might be getting yourself into as far as a health-care career goes. Just like you wouldn't buy a car without first visiting some dealerships and test-driving a few, you probably shouldn't go for a health care career until you see if you like working around patients, sick people, etc. There really isn't an upper-limit to how much you can volunteer, nor is there really a lower limit that you MUST have. More important is that you actually get something of use from the experience itself; meeting people, working and talking with patients, etc. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Total D Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 I find it very hard to keep up with the workload in an honours program and do my extracurriculars. How do some people deal with the lack of time?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bad hombre Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 hey, i'm in second year as well. I find I've had to sacrifice a couple of hundredths of my GPA to get everything done, but I think it's worth it in the end. even if it lowers my chances somewhat to get into a school like toronto, i think it'll help my chances of getting in to schools like western, Mac and Queen's, where more emphasis is placed on extra currics. As long as you're not murdering your GPA (i.e. -.2) then go for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TotalD Posted April 12, 2002 Report Share Posted April 12, 2002 Well.... So far, my GPA is 3.90 and I've been in about 4 clubs in the last 2 years. I've also done some misc. volunteering that's not health-related If I do some health-care related volunteering, will I be in good shape for a spot in med school? Do med schools count each and every one of your pre-reqs? or is it just a free for all as soon as you get an interview? I don't quite understand the process in which extracurriculars become the determining factor when trying to enter meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bad hombre Posted April 12, 2002 Report Share Posted April 12, 2002 You're cool as far as GPA goes. I don't think prereqs count at all in ontario, except maybe at ottawa. i think alberta counts them for a lot, i don't know about the other schools. i think extra currics become a determining factor in admissions at certain schools because there are so many people with good stats (i.e. 3.85+, 30+ MCATs), and medicine is a profession where you can't be an antisocial super nerd. even if you're doing research you need to know how to work in a team. so by doing ec's you prove that you're a well rounded person with a good heart who has an idea of how the real world works. i don't necessarily think it has to be health oriented, just as long as it shows some kind of social concern. Also, i don't believe it makes as big a difference how many clubs you've joined but your actual level of involvement and the quality of your work. If you've spent fifteen hours a week folding papers in half, asking for canned foods and going to one-sided fundraising meetings, obviously you're going to bore the adcom to sleep with your essay and during the interview. however, even if you're involved with only one club, but you've personally organized a couple of fundraisers, are going overseas with them, AND you're the president, then you're bound to have something to talk about during your interview, and really allow the adcom to see your human/social side. i hope i'm right about this, since that's mostly what i've done. anyone, please let me know if you disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smiley Posted April 19, 2002 Report Share Posted April 19, 2002 Hey Ian, I just finished my first year at UBC and I was wondering what kind of extra curriculars you had on your CV when you were applying to meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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