Service and volunteer experiences can help polish up your communication and leadership skills and develop empathy and compassion. It is important to be involved in meaningful volunteer and service opportunities unique to you. Involvement in student organizations and/or other extracurricular activities are a way to show your passions and interests. Leadership in extracurricular positions provides evidence of competency in leadership ability, team building, communication, and much more.

You can learn more about the benefits of participating in community service and leadership experiences on the AAMC’s website.

Use these questions to help guide the type of volunteer experience or leadership opportunities you choose:

• What causes are meaningful to me (i.e. diabetes research, feeding the poor, building homes)?
• What populations are meaningful to me (i.e. children, elderly, animals, low-income, etc.)
• What regions are meaningful to me (i.e. my hometown, United States, global, etc.)?
• How much time am I willing to commit (i.e. one weekend, a few hours a week, a whole week, etc.)?

Logging your volunteer and leadership experiences in an Experience Log and Experience Journal throughout your time as an undergraduate will make it much easier to recall your accomplishments when you are applying to professional or graduate programs.