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Non academic Extra Curriculars and hobbies

I have a major problem with showing how "rounded" i am and this is really annoying me. For extracurriculars im doing young enterprise at school, was a school prefect, done a wek w.e in a hospital, volunteering for 6 months with mv, done first aid, done peer listening course, raising awareness for faritrade at school, organised variety show for charity, chair of social commitee, applyingfor house captain role or head girl. Is this enough because i dont play any sport or a musical instrument and the only hobbie i really have is cooking. Most of my spare time that i have goes into driving lessons and studying chemistry. Apart from tht i did rock climibing for 18months 5 years ago. Has anyone got any other suggestions as to what else i could od or any hobbie i could take up

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Reply 1

Prudy

Just remember that they are really only going to be interested in extra curriculars that are in some way related to your subject. So, extra work in a hospital would be good, shadowing someone, looking at the management side of the NHS, do some private healthcare w/e. Perhaps a morgue?

Reply 2

Renal

That's nice but what is your experience?

What have you learned? What do you know? What have you imrpoved? What have you thought about? What have you reflected on? (okay, ignore that last, it's just for the GMC's benefit :p:

Reply 3

biffyclyro27

Jurisprude

thats complete rubbish, universities are interested in any extra curricular activities because they want well rounded individuals that show a zest for life and enjoy taking part in societies etc. Your attitude will get you nowhere

Reply 4

ninaabbey

erm...maybe take up a sport, or do peer mentoring for the younger years - maybe for year 7s with the transition from primary to secondry school, or you could volunteer (without mv (because i hear this looks even better because you're not getting anything out of it). maybe paired reading at a primary school. what seems to be quite popular now is taking a "getting by" course that is designed for people to be able to speak the basics in several differents languages such as spanish, french and german. i know this seems a little academic, but apparently employers and unis like the fact that you're learning a language not for an academic reason, but for a social reason like going on holiday there.

Reply 5

Prudy

biffyclyro27

It's got me far enough. Uni's are not interested in any old thing that someones done. It's about what it has given them in relation to what they are applying for.

It doesn't matter a squat if I have team member of the area at Pizza Hut if I have more relevant work experience to talk about on a very small form.

(Don't tell me about my attitude)

Reply 6

Asclepius

Guys chill out a bit, you both made good points, obviously they want to see subject related extra curriculars, and they want to know what you got out of those experiences too. But they do also like to see someone who can manage their time well enough to have a social life alongside all of the work required for medicine, because these are the sort of people who will most likely handle the stresses of the course better. I can see where you are coming from biffyclyro27, but you could have phrased that quite a lot better to avoid pissing people off, and there was no need for the personal attack, especially seeing as you don't even know how far his attitude has got him

Reply 7

Prudy

Alex L

Cheers!

Reply 8

aminalia89

i did no sports whatsoever neither have i ever played an instrument and i did alot less than what's on the OP's list, debating and reading books was basically all i done with a week's worth of w/e in sept :eek:

and it turned out fine. it really isn't about listing a vast amount of activities but rather what you gained form it. Quality not quantity mmmkay :smile:

Reply 9

Asclepius

Jurisprude

Cheers!

No problem! Just out of curiosity, how far has "your attitude" got you so far? :biggrin:

Reply 10

fatal

please tell me again all the stuff you've done? how much more rounded do you want to be...

Reply 11

Custer

Who cares about musical instruments :/

Reply 12

Prudy

kastro9

Who cares about musical instruments :/

Admmissions tutors for music courses...(at a guess)

Reply 13

Asclepius

kastro9

Who cares about musical instruments :/

Most places, including UCAS, which is why you get tariff points for anything of grade 6 or above

Reply 14

gee_shakedown

I've recently realised that I'm very lacking in extra curricular activities.
At the moment I'm providing in class support for KS3 history pupils and I'm in the process of a bereavement counselling course.
I need some more things to add
Any help would be appreciated.

Reply 15

Custer

Alex L

Most places, including UCAS, which is why you get tariff points for anything of grade 6 or above

Truthfully, no-one really cares, they just pretend its an advantage but on the inside they secretly want to beat you with a shovel for being such an idiot to get a qualification in a musical instrument and then think it makes you a better candidate for medicine.

I speak the truth :wink:

Reply 16

Asclepius

kastro9

True, it doesn't necessarily make you a better candidate for medicine, but it can give you quite an advantage if you portray it in the right light. You can say that you use it as a way of relaxing when you get stressed, as ways of dealing with stress are a major focus of medical schools, so it depends on how you play it :wink:

Reply 17

username43584

Jurisprude

That's not true. From my UCL interview, it was fairly obvious that they were trying to find out if I was interested in things other than and not related to medicine. From my six months here, it's even more obvious - everyone has some interest, whether it be music, sport, cooking or whatever, that allows them to switch off for a bit. Be a person, not just a medic. Medicine takes over your life - you'd go mental if all you could do was related to medicine.

Reply 18

Saffie

becca2389

to be fair though, uni is the ideal time to take up sports/interests and just because she doesn't have time to do stuff now, doesnt mean she won't have time/make time at uni.

I didnt play a sport before uni because I was very busy too but now i play lots :smile:

I was asked at interview 'what do you think you'd contribute to the uni?'- so if asked a question like that you can always say that you want to take something up.