<p>Little bit about me:</p>
<p>Junior in the fall
3.9 GPA
MCATS in spring
Bio Major</p>
<p>That being said, I need to drop one of the following ec’s as I finally put my EMT training to use and got a job</p>
<p>EMT-B – 10-15 hrs/week depending on company need</p>
<p>Undergraduate TA for molec bio and genetics (going to the classes, office hours, discussion section) – about 8 hours/week</p>
<p>Undergrad research fellowship for my own project in a bio lab --variable time</p>
<p>Volunteer at the local hospital – 3-6 hrs/week</p>
<p>Triathlete (dont worry not ironmans, only sprint and olympic lengths at this point) – never ends</p>
<p>Now, I enjoy all of these and at the same time they all seem to fit as part of a balanced app. However, I don’t think I can keep all these up without hurting my GPA and - just as importantly - my social life. </p>
<p>I’d appreciate any input because I have no idea what to do.</p>
<p>EDIT: If it makes a difference, my top choices for medical school are UCSF (far and away #1) and UCSD.</p>
<p>Drop the one you are least passionate about. Or the one you find least “defines” you. Alternatively which one have you gotten the most mileage out of so far? (ie had enough experiences to talk about if asked directly about activity X).</p>
<p>Also remember, even if you stop doing one thing, you still get to list it on your AMCAS application.</p>
<p>Maybe the triathlons? That’s the only one that isn’t related to science.</p>
<p>If you LOVE it, then I’m really not sure. But I’d drop the triathlons.</p>
<p>Or just take the hit to the GPA, honestly.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t jeopardize my GPA or my social life to run in triathlons…</p>
<p>I mean, obviously a huge blow to the GPA isn’t a good thing. But I don’t see the harm if it drops a tenth of a point or two.</p>
<p>im leaning towards dropping the triathlons but i feel like that’s the only ec that might stand out a little bit. i mean all the others are great, but they’re fairly standard premed ec’s. i doubt all that many applicants run triathlons. plus, i enjoy it (except the swimming hah). i don’t know maybe ill just run marathon because the run is my favorite part and save myself the biking and swimming training time.</p>
<p>on the other hand, the triathlon might be what defines me the most other than emt work (from my ride along and volunteer experience). i have never been the smartest or the most athletic at any level, but i have gotten where i have from working harder than probably about 95% of my peers. the triathlon is all about pushing yourself to do things that you didn’t know you could do regardless of where you finish in relations to others. and it is always the same whether you feel on top of the world or not. you gotta keep on goin</p>
<p>bdm - normally, i would take the gpa hit but i am worried because i haven’t taken the mcat yet. usually i test well, but if I don’t, a higher gpa could help me compensate slightly. i don’t know. guess i got some thinkin to do</p>
<p>Hm. Sound reasoning. How much do you like TA’ing?</p>
<p>i like it a lot because it keeps me grounded. im at a private school for the first time in my life and the competitiveness of all the students is incredible. the ta’ing is good because a lot of the students i am helping are the same ones who will be attempting to get into med school in the same year as me. so, it keeps me focused on competing with myself to do better, but not at the expense of others. plus, i had that same teacher and im working towards a great LOR.</p>
<p>im sorry if it seems like im being obstinate or not taking anyones advice. maybe im not ready to make this decision yet. i spose i could wait until the first set of midterms hit and reevaluate then.</p>
<p>the advising at my school is pretty terrible and my parents can’t help me either (my dad didn’t even know I had to take the “MCAR” to get into medical school haha).</p>
<p>how have all of you dealt with the balance between grades, ec’s, and social life?</p>
<p>What’s your courseload like next semester? How has it been in the past? Presumably you’ve just finished organic chemistry, which is a fairly significant time sink.</p>
<p>Biochemistry
Physics w/lab
Vertebrate cell biology
Intermediate German
Philosophy</p>
<p>Challenging but far from impossible. Physics is my last premed class. The biochemistry class is actually supposed to be harder than organic chem and I am a bit worried about physics because I have never taken it - though I managed to get through calc 3 (somehow) with good grades</p>