EC'sAnswered
Hi, I'm a junior rising senior with a 3.9GPA, and I have a wide variety of Ec's. I was told that I should only have Ec's related to what I want to major in. I want major in Pre-med. I do have Ec's related to what I want to major in. I also have Ec's not related to pre-med. I'm involved in several clubs at my school that is not associated with pre-med. But I'm also being told I should have a wide variety; this is confusing. Thoughts, opinions?
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2 answers
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it much because college students change their major 3 times on average before graduating. Plus as you know, these days, having a Bio, Chem major prior to applying to Med school isn't a requisite. There are many equally successful admits who have non-STEM majors but get a 520+ score.
Keep in mind that if you are from a over-represented minority like East Asians or White and apply to an Ivy or Stanford and write in you are a pre-med major, that makes your chances even more difficult since there are way too many Pre-Med and CS majors from over-represented demographic groups.
I would focus instead on having the best grades, test scores, intellectual vitality, course rigor. ECs, essays are very important but not as important as your academic narrative.
As far a ECs are concerned, the main thing is you strive to show evidence of leadership whether it's in varsity sports, competitions, student governments, community service organizations or your work experience. Leadership trumps over a plethora of ECs that you just are a member of.
Good luck.
Hi!
Don't worry about having extracurriculars that are not exactly pre-med-related because it is good to have a mixture of interests! Just make sure that your interests are not too scattered on paper. I recommend creating two "spheres of focus," one that is mainly centered around pre-med-related things, and another that groups together your other favorite activities.
When i was a rising junior, i was in the same situation, but i ended up grouping together my interests for biochem and languages somehow. i received a lot of help from a free mentor from learners empowered (let me know if you are interested!). They also helped me get a few of my projects up and running
Best of luck!!
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Thank you so much for this answer; it helps so much. Also, I'm not going to an Ivy, Stanford, or any prestigious school. I'm also not an over-represented minority