Volunteering at local high school.

[psharma02]

I am thinking of volunteering at the local elementary school doing anything possible. What do you guys think that will do for medical schol chances... im thinking nothing because its elementary but maybe a little because its volunteer...any input?

[swimchick]

If it's something you would enjoy...go for it! I'm doing two volunteer activities right now. I volunteer in an emergency room for the clinical exposure and at a local elementary school for the regular community service.

[psharma02]

Well I would somewhat enjoy the community service but it would have ANY affect for medical school since its not clinical?

[swimchick]

Absolutely.

Medicine is a profession that is a lifetime of service to others. Medical schools want to see their applicants have a record of community service, it doesn't have to be clinically oriented.

If this activity is the difference between community service and no community service, it will make a positive effect on your application.

[psharma02]

What about doing a Big Brother/ Big Sister thing. Would that have any affect? It would be simultaneous with hospital volunteering. Will the Big Brother have any affect on the application

[olek]

Any volunteering position where you can show that your not just a money hungry dirtbag, but actually care to change someone's life for the better such as volunteering at a local highschool or doing the big brother mentorship are all excellent ideas.

You should keep in mind though that volunteering (or even paid) experience in a position where your'e doing something clinically related and working with actual patients looks alot better on your medschool application than something that is not as related. These positions are harder to find, but I assure you they are out there you just gotta dig and keep digging.

GL

[slevit1]

Volunteering sometimes matters, and sometimes does not. No amount of volunteering will get you into med school if your stats are not there. If you have a 2.5 GPA and a 20 MCAT, med school is probably just not in the cards (at least not at any med school with 50 state approval). However, there are tons of people who are qualified for med school, but not always enough spots. That's usually where the volunteer or clinical experience comes in. However, keep in mind that most people seem to have some type of volunteer experience, so you're likely not doing anything much more fantastic than anyone else.

My advice would be to volunteer doing something you enjoy doing. Hopefully, if you're applying to med school, you'd enjoy volunteering in the medical field. Don't just volunteer for your med school application though. Admissions committee people aren't stupid, they'll figure it out if you did.