extracurriculars?

[humble frigate]

this is old but also for research, do something you’ll enjoy, not just what you think would sound good on an app. doesn’t even have to be science-related, just show you were passionate and put in the work

[raven dagger]

Ideally, you want to have a good breadth of activities on your primary application. Among them, research and clinical experience should most definitely be included. In addition, the 15 activities isn't by chance - that is to say, you need to attempt to demonstrate 15 of the core competencies, at least once, that the AAMC lists throughout your 15 activities.

1. Research

Given that many entering classes have upward of 95-99% research experience, it may as well be considered a soft requirement. For research, knock on doors or send emails out to professors. Have a candid discussion with the professor of your desire to be a more competitive medical school applicant by having research. Ask what you need to do to get your name a as a co-author on a paper. If a professor tells you in defined terms on what you need to do and a time table, pursue it. If a professor tells you that "it depends on how hard you work," you should move on to the next door. This typically signals there isn't anything concrete in the works.

There are other programs, like the Honors Program, State programs, or the McNair Scholars program, that may be available to you on your campus that support undergraduates with paid research and/or additional scholarship opportunities. If you are very high speed, consider a Fulbright and/or Rhodes.

Clinical Experience

You should have multiple clinical experiences, whether paid or unpaid. For it to count as clinical experience, you must be directly interacting with patients. You are claiming to want to enter a medical profession - as such, you better have clinical experiences that back that up. In addition, getting clinical experiences helps you possibly acquire a letter of recommendation from a physician, which in my opinion, is like having an unofficial member on the admissions committee in your corner (remember, you should at baseline have 2 science professors and 1 non-science professor or equivalent for recommendation letters).

Hope this helps!

I'm a Harvard medical student, feel free to reach out if you need additional help.

[half pelican]

For clinical experience voluneer what is a good hour you should have. 70 hours good?

[raven dagger]

I think good general advise is to have 100+ hours in any of your mentioned activities.

[oak lake]

hi, i joined an independent research study with my professor, I don't know if i'll get any pubs out of it, how important would you say getting published is?
isn't joining research just for the experience? Or should I really strive to get published?

[nimble wolf]

hi! i'm going into my 2nd year as premed. I was wondering which extracurriculars are the most important or impressive? (e.g. research in a lab, vs scribing, vs others)

[junior seal]

as cliche as it may sound, the most impressive experiences will be those that you enjoy doing and stuff you can talk/ reflect a lot on in future essays/ interviews. however, there are still standard experiences every premed will have to do. as for clinical, either volunteering or paid are ideal and for research, tbh i would say pick a lab/pi that you like and (optional but recommended) where there's somewhat of a high research productivity rate (i.e. labs known for ugrads to get pubs). don't worry abt stacking ECs in ur 2nd year as grades should be ur #1 priority. good luck!

[viscid coral]

Hii imo leadership positions, as well as related extracurriculars (labs,etc) are very impressive on resumes. Also, clubs that involve service, whether it be direct, indirect, or advocacy they all sound very good. But as mentioned above, do what you’re most interested in, that’s what makes it all count.