Clarification of "non-academic?"

[swtiepie711]

This may be a stupid question, but one of my secondary q's asks about participation in a non-academic activity - I feel like this includes anything other than coursework, but others think this implies "non-educational" experiences (like no research, etc.). Does this include shadowing? Other activities of mine include volunteering (asked about elsewhere), jobs (asked about elsewhere), and sorority during college [did disclose on AMCAS, am proud of, but not sure if I want to write about it here...]
Thoughts?

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[Tori's dad]

You're being given a chance to show that your life does not revolve around getting into med school (ie would step on your fallen grandmother to get that O-Chem A). Use this part to tell about some of the cool things you do that have nothing to do with medicine or school. To this day I am convinced that fishing is what got me accepted to my school!

 

[swtiepie711]

You're being given a chance to show that your life does not revolve around getting into med school (ie would step on your fallen grandmother to get that O-Chem A). Use this part to tell about some of the cool things you do that have nothing to do with medicine or school. To this day I am convinced that fishing is what got me accepted to my school!

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[ADeadLois]

This may be a stupid question, but one of my secondary q's asks about participation in a non-academic activity - I feel like this includes anything other than coursework, but others think this implies "non-educational" experiences (like no research, etc.). Does this include shadowing? Other activities of mine include volunteering (asked about elsewhere), jobs (asked about elsewhere), and sorority during college [did disclose on AMCAS, am proud of, but not sure if I want to write about it here...]
Thoughts?

I would concur that you should write about something unrelated to medicine. Adcoms want to see you're a well-rounded person.

 

[dantt]

Well, for example, UCLA doesn't specify so I would go with what the above answers say. However, University of Michigan classifies non-academic as "(such as research, clinical experiences, community service, employment)" so I would not necessarily discount things that have to do with medicine or school as academic.