Medical How do I address overestimated future EC hours?

[Mr.Smile12]

Hello,

I applied very late to DO schools last year, didn't get in. I am applying this year again, and for one of my major activities, I estimated around 320 hours last year, when I recently found out I have only done 270 hours so far (fewer than I put last year), so in the re-application, how many hours do I put? I definitely do not want to be dishonest, and it is one of my major activities so it is important. I have done even fewer hours than I put last year, so I am so confused and nervous about putting in my hours this year. Thank you for your answer!

Since hours are not validated or audited, I don't think this is a big deal. The quality of your insight about medicine will reveal all that an interviewer needs to know.

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[Catalystik]

For one of my clinical volunteering ECs, I projected my volunteering hours out through to the end of the summer on my AMCAS--but due to an unexpected illness in the middle of the summer, as well as my underestimation of how long I'd need to spend writing my secondaries, I was only able to complete about half as many hours as I originally anticipated. If a medical school were to call the hospital to verify my hours, would this be grounds for an immediate disqualification, or are schools more lenient with projected hours? Also, how likely is it that this would happen?

-A Neurotic Premed

-Did you separate out the completed hours vs the future hours on your application?

-How many hours did you complete that are verifiable through a contact to the volunteer site?

-Do you have other active clinical experience in addition to this activity?

 

[Catalystik]

Just be honest and enter the 270 hours that will be validated by your Contact in the unlikely even that they are asked. While the PS might be compared head-to-head with one from a reapplicant's last application cycle, individual activities are unlikely to be given that level of scrutiny.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Adding to above: Estimates would help but I also don't think it's a big deal in the end.

 

[Catalystik]

I did not separate the hours, no; I only started volunteering there this summer so I only had a small amount of completed hours when I submitted my primary in early June. Though I wasn't able to get as many summer hours as I liked, I do plan to continue volunteering there over my winter break (which I also mentioned on AMCAS). It is not my only clinical experience, no. I was just wondering if this was something I needed to inform schools about/make sure to bring up in interviews.

Future hours aren't much regarded, but as you didn't indicate the completed hours, adcomms won't know how much to discount. Fortunately for you, there's an opportunity to make up for the lacking hours when you return over winter break. Activity audits are unlikely to be performed before that time. Hopefully you can complete a number of hours that will give you a total closer to what you predicted. Also fortunately for your application, you have other clinical experience that has been completed, and if substantial enough on its own, your candidacy won't be imperiled.

Fall update letters (where allowed) and interview conversations may give you an opportunity to mention the change in plans for those schools that didn't give you a chance on Secondaries to add the information.