General Comments
Excellent, consistent classroom performance and a solid performance on the entrance exams are essential for a successful application, but there are additional ways to strengthen your candidacy. Sufficient extracurricular activities (quality, not quantity) and evidence of service work (helping others in need) can significantly strengthen your candidacy. Given the competition for admission, experience in a hospital or health care environment (e.g. doctor's, dentist's or veterinarian's office) is critical. With the current emphasis on primary care and preventative medicine, "shadowing" a practicing physician in a local community may be very instructive -- and may provide you with an interesting contrast to how health care is delivered in some large city hospitals. Though not required, many of the top health professions graduate schools also like to see students who have some research experience. This becomes important at schools such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, etc.
Health professions schools are looking not only for outstanding students, but they also want to fill their classes with individuals who have something unique or unusual to offer their institutions. High grades and strong MCATs/DATs coupled with some service work and/or health related experience will not necessarily gain you acceptance. Try to think about what sets you apart from other top applicants and continue to refine and/or develop that aspect of your "portfolio." There is no "one" correct activity. We recommend that whatever you are involved in (e.g. significant research, service work with Native Americans, working with battered women or AIDS patients in a local community organization), just be certain to show a commitment to do it well. Again, quality, not quantity, is important.
Over and above simply participating in an already existing program, admissions committees are looking for evidence of creativity and innovation. Additionally, taking a leadership role that involves advocacy for some cause/program can greatly help your candidacy.
Specific Suggestions
Listed below are some suggestions which you might use to pursue various types of service work. This list is not exhaustive, but the suggestions below are a good place to start:
- Check local hospitals: Many hospitals have volunteer offices. (Call the main number and ask for the volunteer office.) To obtain a listing of hospitals in your area, we suggest your visit HospitalLink, which lists hospitals here in the states.
- Check Boston Area Opportunities: Locally, students have volunteered/worked at a number of institutions in the Boston area. To gain a better sense of what is available, we recommend you visit the following two websites: “Boston Area Volunteer Guide” and “Medical Research, Shadowing and Volunteer Opportunities for Pre-Health Students". To obtain a listing of hospitals, we recommend you visit HospitalLink
In terms of hospitals near BC, our students have volunteered at: Beth Israel, New England Medical Center, Brigham and Women's, Children's, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, New England Deaconess Hospital, Franciscan Children's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Mental Health Hospital, McLean Hospital (for psychiatric and chemical dependency problems), Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Also, check volunteer opportunities near your permanent residence. Talk to people who you or your parents know concerning possible positions helping in the clinical or research sections of a hospital. Students have also volunteered at rehabilitation centers (e.g. Boston's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital) and various nursing homes.
- Check Resources at Boston College: There are a number of bulletin boards on campus which list volunteer or internship opportunities in the sciences. Check the bulletin boards in all the science departments, as well as those outside the Premedical Office.
The Career Center: The Career Center is located at 38 Commonwealth Ave., and offers various programs. Check the Internship Exchange for links to internship programs available locally and nation wide. To access their web services for health and medical professions, visit their website at http://careercenter.bc.edu. Once there, from the drop-down menu on the right labeled “Career Fields”, select “Health & Medicine”.
The Chaplain's Office: This office (room 215, McElroy Commons; phone 2-3514) serves as a clearinghouse for an extensive variety of service activities which involve helping various types of people in need. Additionally, the Office of the Dean for Student Development (phone 2-8639) runs programs on alcohol awareness and periodically needs volunteers to serve as peer educators.
- Check the World Wide Web for Service/Research Opportunities: There is a wealth of information on the web, including a site for international volunteer positions, and information about summer/research opportunities. For example, the homepage for the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, has a listing of summer opportunities for high school, college, and graduate students. We encourage you to access their web page at www.nih.gov. Also, check out HospitalLink a growing online directory of hospitals (in the USA) to aid in your research.