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What kinds of volunteering, internships, or extracurricular activities help students stand out when applying to medical school?

I am currently a student at Truckee Meadow Community college and I am planning to transfer to the University of Nevada, Reno. My majors are biology and public health, I am planning to go to medical school after graduation.

spring25
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Suzanne’s Answer

Maria, you are wise to be thinking about this since the application process for medical school is very competitive. In addition to an excellent GPA and MCAT scores medical schools will want to see that you have had meaningful patient care experience as well as some familiarity with research. Patient contact may come in the form of volunteering, such as through your local hospital, or in other clinical settings such as your local hospice. Or you may want to get some training in order to have a paid clinical job (such jobs as medical assistant, CNA -- certified nursing assistant--, EMT, phlebotomist, EKG technician, etc.). These kind of jobs are often done part-time in college, during summer vacations, or in a gap period between college and medical school. They will not only help you confirm your interest in health care, develop empathy and communication skills, but will also help you in completing your med school application questions, personal statement and interviews. Try to find ways to shadow physicians or other healthcare providers. For the research component of your application, since you are double-majoring in biology and public health, you could ask your professors in these areas for suggestions on how to get involved in research. As soon as you start at your four-year university, seek out the pre-med advisors and pre-med clubs and organizations for suggestions specific to your area.

Suzanne recommends the following next steps:

Contact the volunteer office at your local hospital. Let them know you are pre-med and see what options exist.
The AAMC.org website has lots of good suggestions. Start here: https://students-residents.aamc.org/getting-experience/get-experience-medical-field
Talk to your biology and/or public health professors about summer experiences in labs or public health settings.
Visit the career center at your college/university for job listings for public health or clinical opportunities.
Write back with more questions as you think of them.....best wishes!
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