Which EC to discuss in detail?

stockguru92
Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:56:37 +0000

I’m filling out the common application right now for Stanford SCEA, Northwestern, Boston U, Rice, UChicago, WUSTL, and Duke. I’d really love to get in as a Biology/BiologicalScience/Premed Major for most of these schools. When we get to the 150 words to describe a single extracurricular that we are doing, I hit a small problem. I have two extracurricalars which really pop for me. Which one should I use?

Volunteer work at local Sikh Temple (2500 Hours) - I have been doing this EC for almost 4 years on a regular basis and I absolutely love it. I’m extremely involved at the local temple and have strong feelings and dedication for this EC - I put in almost 20 hours a week for the extracurricular and I feel that my dedication goes a long way in this EC.
UCSF Biomedical Health Science Internship (450 Hours) - I’m doing an internship this summer at UCSF doing research on CT scans of patients who have stroke related symptoms. My attending doctor/mentor is the best in this branch and publishes the most papers at this university. I really love this branch of study and am really fascinated by this type of research. By the end of this internship, I should have co-authored a paper which should show up in a major neuroradiological journal. This paper could, however, take some time to actually be published.


My question to you is, which should I go for if I can write about both experiences equally, given the time for the first EC given and the result for the second (publishing)?

ALSO, I’m applying for a series of Ba/MD programs (NU, Rice, UCSD). It would easily be the best decision to go with the internship for that description, right?