Girl, Have Several Seats

Less is more.

This is applicable to a lot of things, and it’s especially true as it relates to your extracurricular activities while in undergrad.

I don’t mean this in the sense of “you’re stretching yourself too thin” but rather “quality over quantity”.

When it comes to our activities, we want to show medical schools the best of us whilst simultaneously letting them know we are capable of balancing a lot.

But what did you gain from it? Yes, you joined 10 organizations, were the president of two, did several different community service projects, but can you sit and talk about each of these activities in a way that depicts your passion for medicine?

I am no expert in medical school admissions, but I have sat in plenty of group interviews with doctors, admissions counselors, students, and community members. Paying attention to nonverbal communication, it was clear that those who had the interest of the interviewer were those who were passionate, authentic, and genuine. These were the ones who got active feedback from the interviewer and engaged in an actual conversation. Those who rattled off their resume were simply asked the standard interview questions.

So how do you get from being asked questions to having an engaging conversation? Intention.

I chose to major in Psychology because I wanted to know more about patients than their anatomy. I wanted to understand how they might react to a diagnosis and how to best support them in that moment. I wanted to learn how to break down hesitancy to receive medical care in communities that have been historically disadvantaged in medicine.

Thus, when I joined the Melton Foundation- an international organization that promotes global citizenship and sustainability- it was because I wanted to learn to interact with individuals from various cultures to address major issues. When I started studying how deficits in temperature regulation relate to cognitive defects in mice, it was to bridge my understanding of how psychology and medicine coexist. When I volunteered with a mental health professional in a local prison, it was to learn to connect with and treat people without my judgment being clouded by bias.

At first I was worried that my extracurriculars would not compete with people who had multiple publications or research experience, but that was far from the truth. After all, comparison is the thief of joy.

When all of your endeavors connect with one another to tell a story about your commitment and the type of doctor you will be, you won.

Take a seat, be intentional about your moves, and I promise you’ll be just fine.