Extra Curriculars

[Chunkle]

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[Catalystik]

I'm currently a freshman at a four year, planning to apply my third year. I'm doing well so far with my courses, but my extra curriculars are rather lacking.. pretty much none.

Besides shadowing/clinical experience (how much of each should I have before I apply?), what else should I be involved in?

Brief summary: The average applicant has about 1.5 years of clinical experience. Most gain this at the rate of 3-4 hours weekly by volunteering to help care for sick people somewhere (nursing home, hospital, clinic, hospice, etc.). Average shadowing is 50ish hours split among a few types of doc, including primary care. This does not need to be a regular activity and could be acquired over breaks. Nonmedical community service is another activity that gives strength to an application. I'd also get that going as soon as you can, even if only 2 hours weekly, ideally for a cause that you care about; something that serves the poor is a good idea, though other volunteerism is OK. A year of research is about average, but even a summer's worth helps you. Besides these, leadership (eg student govenment, board membership, club officer) and teaching (eg, TA, tutor, mentor, coach) activities benefit you, too.