General checklist of things to apply to Pod School

[Bob Debilder]

I know which classes you have to take, I know you have to take the MCAT, but what do you generally have to do as far as volunteering/shadowing are concerned? How many hours are considered average/par?

Also, is there anything besides what I listed?

I know there is no set "formula" to get into Pod school or Med school, but I'm looking for a general guideline of what most people have when they apply.

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[de Ribas]

I know which classes you have to take, I know you have to take the MCAT, but what do you generally have to do as far as volunteering/shadowing are concerned? How many hours are considered average/par?

Also, is there anything besides what I listed?

I know there is no set "formula" to get into Pod school or Med school, but I'm looking for a general guideline of what most people have when they apply.

like you said, there is no perfect scenario. It's not like MD/DO.

Pod schools don't require much of volunteering or shadowing, though for your own purposes it's best to shadow a podiatrist and have been exposed to medicine in some way.

I think 20+ hrs shadowing a pod is good. In terms of clinical or non-clinical volunteering aim at 100 or more for each.

otherwise stats are important.

 

[OnePodRanger]

I know which classes you have to take, I know you have to take the MCAT, but what do you generally have to do as far as volunteering/shadowing are concerned? How many hours are considered average/par?

Also, is there anything besides what I listed?

I know there is no set "formula" to get into Pod school or Med school, but I'm looking for a general guideline of what most people have when they apply.

Pasha said pretty much what every Pod schools needs.

Pod schools definitely want you to do some shadowing. Don't aim for a number but aim for the experience and realizing if podiatry is for you or not. Of course, don't shadow for 3 hours and say "I truly understand how a podiatrist works." For me, I only shadowed my podiatrist for 16-17 hours for a week. He told me before my last day that this was his usual week of podiatry and thought I have seen enough to know what a podiatrist is. However, I wanted to shadow him for another day because I loved the profession. The main point is that just shadow enough until you feel satisfied about the profession.

Honestly, you do not really need hospital experience to make you a competitive applicant, in my opinion, but however, you should have some clubs or activities in your application. It's just for the admissions committee to distinguish you from the others and to have the interviewers to ask about.

In conclusion, just shadow and have something that you do in your back pocket because the interview is truly the deciding factor of getting accepted into that institution. I went to 3 Podiatry school interviews and they all asked me "why podiatry?" because they want to make sure if you are capable to being a podiatrist and love the profession.