Importance of Extracurricular Involvement
Learn more about the types of extracurricular activities that can strengthen your application and prepare you for a career in medicine:
- Clinical experience and exposure to medicine - essential to your premed preparation
- Research - highly valued by all med schools
- Campus and community involvement - highly valued by all med schools
Clinical experience and exposure to medicine
What is clinical experience and why is it important?
Clinical experience:
- Involves the care and treatment of patients
- Ideally involves observing the patient/doctor relationship
- Can be obtained through volunteer service, shadowing and other life experiences
Clinical experience is important because medicals schools want to be confident that:
- You have a good understanding of the realities of medicine
- You are service-minded and people oriented
- You are committed to the practice of medicine
Medical schools evaluate your clinical experience by:
- Length/time of commitment (some schools expect minimum of six months)
- Depth of experience
- Lessons learned from the experience
Frequently asked questions
- I volunteered at a hospital during high school: is that enough experience?
- Should I just do shadowing or a combination of shadowing and volunteering?
- Is volunteering in a non-healthcare setting valued?
Clinical experience opportunities
Our Extracurricular Opportunities section has links to a range of different opportunities. Choose experiences that will help you test your decision to enter the field of medicine. Remember, it's better to have fewer experiences that show consistent involvement over time versus many short-term experiences.
Research Experiences
Why is research experience important?
Students participating in research:
- Contribute to the advancement of knowledge
- Engage in critical thinking
- Develop an appreciation for how research is done
- Gain skills in working in a team-environment
- Learn basic lab, survey and/or other research skills
- May have an opportunity to contribute to the publication of a paper
- May develop an interest in pursuing an MD-PhD
Support for students interested in research
Undergraduate Research Grants (URG) helps NU students:
- Fund their research projects
- Write research proposals
- Learn how to get involved in research
Information sessions are held every Wednesday from 4:00 - 5:00pm at 1940 Sheridan Road (same building as the University Academic Advising Center)
How to approach a professor to work in his/her lab
- Determine what areas of study are of interest to you; identify faculty in those areas by searching the Northwestern website. The URG Gateways section and department websites are a good place to start.
- Read faculty research profile on department or research center website.
- Evaluate your own skills - what do you have to offer? (Even non-research experience can show evidence of teamwork, maturity, dependability, and responsibility.)
- E-mail professors to inquire about volunteering in their lab/study. Express your interest in the research, the skills you can bring to the lab or study, and your availability. Attach your resume. (Don't have a resume yet? - the University Career Services office can help.)
- Don't take a "no" or a non-reply from a professor personally. Professors have grant deadlines, course responsibilities and other faculty obligations. You might have contacted them at a particularly busy time. You may have to contact several faculty before finding a lab/study that has research positions.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a research experience have to be in a lab?
- Could I get into medical school without research experience?
Research opportunities
Our Extracurricular Opportunities section has links to a range of research opportunities at NU and elsewhere. Summer research opportunities usually have winter deadlines, so make sure you give your letter of recommendation writers enough advance notice (6-8 weeks) to write a letter of support.
Campus and community involvement
Why is campus / community involvement important?
Medical schools are interested in applicants who have demonstrated that they can maintain a good work/life balance.
Campus / community involvement:
- Gives students a way to show medical schools that they're service-minded and can interact effectively with diverse groups of people
- Demonstrates qualities medical schools value in their accepted applicants (e.g. musicians and student-athletes can show discipline and teamwork through their respective activities).
- Allows students to step outside their comfort zones
- Helps students build a social network of friends interested in similar activities
- Gives students a way to release stress from academics
Campus and community involvement opportunities
Our Extracurricular Opportunities section has links to different ways to become involved here at NU and beyond. Choose activities you feel passionate about as medical schools are interested in understanding your motivation for pursuing your unique interests.
