Medical school admissions committees strive to enroll the most diverse class possible. Diversity goes beyond race, gender, class and sexual orientation. It includes interests, hobbies and experiences that make up the whole individual, not merely a student.
And the skills gained from these hobbies can cultivate coping skills and make a student more resilient in medical school and during a career as a physician.
I ask students to consider the following questions when they tell me of plans to apply to medical school. How you spend your free time reflects what you enjoy. Answers can guide volunteer and extracurricular activities that will round out your medical school application and prepare you to fully answer the infamous interview question, “Tell me about yourself.”
1. What am I good at? This question becomes a launching pad to an impromptu brainstorming session in which the student identifies potential summer activities like summer programs, lab research, volunteer activities or internships.
Whether it’s gaming, cooking, rock climbing or playing the drums, find a way to turn what you like to do into a noteworthy experience. For instance, consider transforming gaming into an internship at a gaming company, creating code for your own game or organizing gamers for a volunteer project.
[See how extracurricular activities may improve medical school applications.]
2. How can I contribute? Students should really mine personal interests to find meaningful volunteer experiences that make them stand out, using what they love or are good at as a starting point — creating organic possibilities for volunteer work.
The point is not to approach volunteer activities as a necessity for admission to medical school, but as a way to arrive to school with a commitment to service.
Service can look like many different things depending upon your interests. Maybe it’s playing music at a nursing home, cooking food at a homeless shelter or volunteering as a summer camp counselor. A healthy commitment to service is an integral part of a career in medicine through committee work, advisory boards and medical missions. And having a sustained relationship with a volunteer organization can create an opportunity for a letter of recommendation.
[Learn to bolster a medical school application with volunteer work.]
3. How do I stand out in the crowded field of applicants? Be able to identify what you enjoy about an activity and how it translates into necessary life skills for a successful applicant and future physician.
For example, skiing, drama or chess are seemingly disparate activities for a medical school application. But each activity has a skill that is helpful for a medical career. Drama cultivates the ability to work with groups, a skill most needed in medicine due to the multidisciplinary approach.
Chess players don’t look just at the next move, but they develop acumen to look down the road to identify the next three moves to take the queen. This ability to look ahead and critically assess all options quickly occurs many times throughout the day for a busy physician.
[Find out the importance of commitment in medical school applications.]
Skiing requires balance and the ability to strike out into the unknown. The exhilaration of skiing is replicated when entering a patient’s room as you don’t know what to expect and can’t foresee the immediate path ahead, yet you must respond in such a way that does not endanger self or others. This is analogous to medicine, as physicians must make the best decision for each patient in the context of a myriad of data points.
Your goal in considering these questions is not to simply answer the interview or secondary essay question but to make the connection to medicine while highlighting what makes you a unique candidate. Take what you love and use it to spotlight the interesting applicant you are.
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3 Questions to Help Premed Students Develop an Undergraduate Niche originally appeared on usnews.com
