Co Curriculars

Medical schools and other health professional schools greatly value experience in a health care setting, volunteer experience, and research experience. While it is important to participate in meaningful experiences that have an impact on you and that add depth and interest to your application, remember that you do not have to do it all.  Your primary focus should be to ensure that your academic performance is not negatively impacted by extracurricular activities.  It is important to note that medical schools and other health professional schools value these experiences, it is not sufficient to have gained them while in high school.  These schools will look to see what you have done in these areas in your college years. 

By and large, medical schools and other health professional programs want to ensure that you do not have an idealized view of medicine.  It is also important for you to be familiar with the demands of the medical profession.  Many medical schools like to see both clinical shadowing and hospital shadowing. In the clinic, you will be able to see specialized cases in a particular area as well as gain insight into the doctor/patient relationship. In the hospital, you will be able to shadow rounds and see a diverse set of cases. Volunteer experience is important to medical schools because they like to see a commitment to helping others. Research experience is important because it demonstrates your ability to think critically and analytically about problems, which is a necessary skill for doctors to possess.  Your research need not be related to your medical aspirations, but it should be something you are interested in, whether it is anthropology or physics.

At Emory, you are uniquely positioned to pursue cutting edge research in the biosciences.  As an Emory undergraduate, it is possible for you to do research in the Medical School, undergraduate departments, the Centers for Disease Control or the Yerkes Primate Center. In all, this encompasses several hundred labs from which you can choose. When you are ready, sit down with an advisor and plan out your strategy. Also, keep in mind programs like the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) here at Emory that pay students to complete their research projects in the summer and can serve as a resource for you.

Beyond these extracurricular activities, take the time to participate in other activities that you enjoy, such as swing dancing or another club.  Most applicants will have clinical and volunteer experience (and sometimes research experience), but not every applicant will have a passion or interest that sets them apart.  List a few significant activities in your application.  Quality participation and leadership in a few areas is preferable to shallow participation in a large number of activities.