By: Savvy Pre-Med Staff
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing. Pre-meds do not like being idle, which is the difficult reality for many of them during the pandemic.
Whether you’ve already applied and are looking for gap-year activities, or you’re a younger pre-med who’s trying to meet requirements, you’re facing an unprecedented challenge in finding meaningful volunteer experiences.
Several months ago, we published our list of virtual and pandemic volunteering experiences, and we know there are many similar lists on the internet.
But admittedly, these lists are only so helpful. Are these organizations open to students in your area? Maybe. Are they still taking on new volunteers? Maybe. Will they match with your schedule and other responsibilities? Maybe.
These lists are a good place to start, but ultimately, you’ll have to do some legwork on your own to make sure the choices are right for you.
Beggars can’t be choosers, but you shouldn’t just sign up for the first available thing you find. Why not? Because your choices will be measured against all the other pre-meds who are in your same position.
So, what defines a “quality” volunteer experience during the pandemic, and which ones will make you stand out to admissions committees?
During non-COVID times, when pre-meds ask us what kind of volunteering they should do, we often bring up a needle exchange.
Why? Because it’s always meaningful, it’s always interesting, and it gives you excellent stories for your essays.
We have similar criteria for choosing a pandemic volunteering experience.
Essentially, this informal rubric for meaningful pandemic volunteering can be captured in the Venn diagram below:
Hopefully, there’s an endeavor that fits somewhere in the middle of these three areas (like the top three circles of the Venn diagram).
Even though you’ll have to find a volunteer opportunity that’s right for YOU, we wanted to provide some inspiration by giving you five examples that fit our criteria:
Mission:
A free wellness program targeting individuals who are 65 and over that provides telehealth and web-based services; offers a vulnerable population much-needed social interaction while also familiarizing them with Zoom so that they feel more comfortable during future telehealth consultations.
Pre-med Student’s Responsibilities:
Why It Stands Out:
Mission:
A free mentorship and academic support resource run by volunteer college mentors from MIT, Harvard, UT Austin, and Princeton during the pandemic. Their goal is to assist students from kindergarten through high school with coursework, college preparation, and standardized testing (SAT, ACT, etc). Student mentees connect with their mentors through video chat platforms Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Skype.
Pre-med Student’s Responsibilities:
Why It Stands Out:
Mission:
A non-profit student organization that provides online emotional support for the underserved, elderly, and LGBTQ communities; fundraises for increased mental health awareness and provides free therapy sessions with therapists.
Pre-med Student’s Responsibilities:
Why It Stands Out:
Mission:
The CalFresh Program, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), issues monthly electronic benefits that can be used to buy most foods at many markets and food stores. The CalFresh Program helps to improve the health and well-being of qualified households and individuals by providing them a means to meet their nutritional needs.
Pre-med Student’s Responsibilities:
Why It Stands Out:
Mission:
Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 support to those in crisis, covering all 295 zip codes across the United States; currently has over 4,000 Crisis Counselor volunteers and has fielded over 70 million messages.
Pre-med Student’s Responsibilities:
Why It Stands Out:
Have any questions about pre-med pandemic volunteering? Want to know if your volunteering activities meet our criteria for standing out? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll respond to you personally!
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