Excelling at both extracurricular activities and exams in medical school is critical to determining which residency you want to pursue and, ultimately, getting into that residency. Most medical students are well-versed in successfully juggling multiple endeavors and demanding schedules. However, the juggling act in medical school is more difficult because more material is covered more rapidly, exams are more frequent, and expectations in extracurriculars are higher.
Realistically, you will only have time to seriously commit to three to four extracurriculars in the preclinical years of medical school. Thus, you must carefully base the extracurriculars you pursue on the residency you are aiming for.
In this post, we cover eight steps and factors you should consider when choosing your medical school extracurriculars. But don’t worry, premeds—most of these factors will apply to your extracurricular decisions as well.
When it comes to extracurriculars, quality matters more than quantity. Sure, you may have lots of spaces available to list activities on your medical school or residency application, but that doesn’t mean you have to fill all of them in.
You should only include quality experiences in your applications, as this is what admissions committees and residency programs are looking for.
Aim to show longitudinal commitment to your extracurriculars to illustrate commitment and passion towards your endeavors. It may take you a bit of time to find extracurriculars that excite you, but once you do, stick to them for the long haul.
And keep in mind that quality experiences don’t necessarily mean prestige. Pursue activities you are passionate about rather than choosing them based on what you think will look good on your application.
Choose exciting activities that align with your interests in medicine. Choose things you actually really like! Your passionate enthusiasm will shine through as you write about these activities and answer questions about them later during interviews.
In an ideal world, the types of activities you pursue will show variety. For example, admissions committees often look for extracurriculars that emphasize clinical experience, research, volunteering, and leadership.
But don’t fall into a checkbox mentality. This is a red flag admissions committees watch out for. They want to see that you’ve gone beyond minimal requirements to figure out which aspects of medicine you’re most passionate about. Simply checking off boxes will make you look like every other candidate.
You do not need to spend an equal amount of time in each of the core extracurriculars. Aim for variety and fill in any gaps. If you’re missing research entirely, that’s something you should take time to focus on, but if you’re missing volunteer or leadership experience, don’t neglect your research commitments in favor of a different activity just to add variety.
Passion is a vital factor in choosing your extracurriculars. Take time early on—ideally, as a premed—to determine which aspects of medicine you’re passionate about.
Do you absolutely love working in a lab, or do you prefer activities that allow you to work directly with patients? Are you passionate about donating time to help others in need, or are you more driven to succeed at paid placements? In pursuing your passions, remember to also consider the mentors you are working with. Who do you get along with? Who inspires you? Who do you want to guide you in your medical career?
Your passion for the extracurriculars you pursue will shine through as you write about them throughout your applications and get to speak about them further during interviews. Admissions committees are looking for students who show genuine enthusiasm for their work.
Earlier, we discussed the importance of longitudinal commitment to your activities. This is one of the most important considerations to keep in mind when prioritizing what you do outside of medical school. Length of commitment applies to the length of time you’ve spent invested in an activity as well as the number of hours you put into it.
But with that said, there’s a point in which you’ll get diminishing returns. If you spent two years committed to an activity, such as being an EMT, with 1000 hours to show for it, another 50 to 100 hours won’t make much of a difference.
What else could you do with that time to establish a more well-rounded application? What are the weaker areas of your application? How can you use your time wisely to continue the personal narrative you are trying to establish? This applies to both medical school and residency applications.
Here’s another big point: don’t overcommit and underperform.
Yes, you absolutely want to show you are a committed, hard-working student, but at the same time, being a strong student means understanding your limits. There are only so many hours in a day, and although you may want to pursue several different extracurriculars at once, it simply isn’t realistic to try and balance these with your studies.
Students often overcommit to extracurriculars because they want to go above and beyond and stand out amongst their peers. But overextending yourself can have the opposite effect. When you overcommit to your activities, you won’t be able to fulfill them to the best of your ability. You’ll either run into scheduling conflicts or begin to perform less than your best because you are overextended and burnt out.
Carefully examine your availability so that you have a clear understanding of what you’re able to commit to as well as what opportunities you may have to pass up.
Who you work with is often just as important as the type of work you’re doing. When choosing which extracurriculars to pursue, look for quality mentors who can help guide you in your journey.
These mentors are often the connections who will write you a strong letter of recommendation. It is critical that you build strong relationships with the people you are working with so that those strong connections shine through as they write about you. Even one generic or lukewarm letter of recommendation can have drastic negative impacts on a medical school or residency application.
We can give you all the advice in the world but, ultimately, your decisions must be made based on your unique set of circumstances.
For example, if you attend a pass/fail school that doesn’t directly assign grades to students, you’ll have more time and freedom to dedicate to extracurriculars.
Another factor to consider when choosing your activities is whether or not you will be paid for your time. On the one hand, volunteering shows altruistism, which is a trait that’s definitely sought-after in doctors. On the other hand, you have to be realistic about your finances and how much time you can afford to donate.
Volunteering looks great on an application but getting paid for a position can have benefits as well. It can elevate the activity by showing people are willing to pay you for your time and expertise. It also shows you were selected above others for the position. Consider the pluses and minuses of both.
When choosing your extracurriculars, assess your personal situation and adapt to your needs. Pursuing what makes the most sense for you will ultimately contribute to your own unique story, helping you stand out from the rest of the pack.
Lastly, consider how your extracurriculars contribute to your overall story. Any application is ultimately a story about who you are, what you’re passionate about, what you’ve accomplished.
Each piece of your larger application should flow into a larger narrative while not being repetitive or redundant.
Which types of extracurricular activities will contribute to the narrative you are trying to build? What is your own specific medical school and doctor journey, and what makes your story different from other candidates?
Now that we’ve covered how to choose the best extracurriculars for your medical path, let’s briefly discuss some of the most common types of activities.
Doing research in medical school is arguably the most beneficial extracurricular activity, especially if you are interested in a competitive specialty and/or training at a top-ranked residency program. There are numerous benefits to completing research in medical school.
These include forging relationships with mentors in your field(s) of interest, garnering publications, and actively addressing current issues in medicine. Research mentors can be instrumental in not only writing strong letters of recommendation for residency applications, but also for calling residency directors to help get your foot in the door and/or push you across the finish line to an acceptance.
Publications (e.g., conference abstracts and articles in peer-reviewed journals) are essential for getting into top residency programs. Finally, making meaningful contributions to your field(s) of interest through research can lend extra depth to your personal statement and be highlighted during residency interviews.
Realistically, you will only have time to meaningfully contribute to research during the preclinical years of medical school. In particular, the summer between your first and second year is a solid window to do full-time research.
Learn more in our comprehensive Premed and Medical Student Summer Research Guide.
Prioritize and identify a productive research assistantship in the first few months of your first year, so you can maximize the time you have to do research.
Pursuing extracurricular clinical activities as a medical student is important for exploring the many facets of medicine. The main goals of extracurricular clinical activities are to sharpen your clinical skills and sample different aspects of medicine outside the classroom to define your chosen specialty.
Some common extracurricular clinical activities include shadowing physicians in different specialties, participating in student-run clinics, or going abroad to do clinical work along with language immersion.
Shadowing physicians is a great way to expose yourself to different medical specialties that may not be covered in your classes or rotations. Participating in free clinics and other service-oriented clinical activities will highlight your dedication to working with the domestic underserved. Going abroad to do clinical work will demonstrate your interest in global health. Ultimately, your passions and curiosities will guide you towards the appropriate clinical activities to pursue.
Volunteering your time to people and organizations in need demonstrates your commitment to helping others. If you can afford to donate your time, consider volunteering to illustrate your altruistic tendencies.
Be sure to find placements where you feel passionate about the work. If you enjoy what you’re doing, it won’t feel as much like work, which means you won’t mind so much that you’re not being paid, and you’ll be able to speak about the activity with passion and enthusiasm.
Demonstrating your leadership skills in medical school is important for getting into residency. Some common examples that demonstrate leadership include participating in student government, joining or founding a club, and mentoring other students.
In some cases, you can combine leadership roles with a clinical activity. For instance, if you are interested in joining your medical school’s student-run free clinic, you can likely take on more of a leadership role by helping to run the clinic.
It is important for your mental health to pursue hobbies that are unrelated to medicine or directly connected to getting into residency. These can include sports, music, art, reading, writing, etc.
It is incredibly important for your quality of life to carve out time and continue pursuing these hobbies through medical school and beyond. Plus, having hobbies outside of medicine that you are passionate about can add to your application.
Learn more: AMCAS Hobbies—What Schools Look For and How to Stand Out.
The extracurricular activities described above are general enough to apply to every medical student. Medical students in the early parts of medical school (i.e., the first two preclinical years) who have some idea of the specialty in which they are interested are in a better position to secure extracurriculars and continue building their CVs. However, it is completely okay to be undecided about your desired specialty early on.
It could be you are keeping an open mind until you start clinical rotations or that you are interested in multiple unrelated residencies.
Bottom line: it is important to invest your limited resources wisely and curate your CV with relevant experiences. Take time early on to experiment with the types of extracurricular activities you’re passionate about, but know that, at some point, you’ll need to commit.
Med School Insiders offers one-on-one advising that pairs you with a physician advisor who can answer your questions about medical school and residency applications, what to do with the time between your studies, how to transition into residency, and much more. It’s our goal to help you create a future that aligns with your vision, which includes your hobbies, studies, career goals, lifestyle, and habits.
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