Volunteering as a Medical School Applicant

You'll most likely hear differing opinions on the importance of volunteering vis-à-vis medical school applications, I sure did.  However, it doesn't hurt your application at all, so go ahead and do it.  By volunteering you will not only have some experiences that change the way you see people and the medical field (though it doesn't have to be strictly medical volunteering), you'll end up with a good story for your personal statement and CV.

Volunteering is something that ad coms can use to verify how committed you are to one particular cause, like the environment, or children with disabilities.  So the longer you're in it and the more you do, you're perceived as more committed, which is great since medicine requires a lot of discipline and commitment to your studies and your patients.

So how much should you volunteer?  As much as you can, but I think it's better to find around 2-3 causes you can volunteer in and be committed to for 2+ years.  If you volunteer doing 2 things, 1 should be medical, and if you're doing 3 things, probably 2 should be medically-related, but that's just a rough guide.

When I look back on it, college was a vacation despite working at the same time, so you shouldn't be pressed for time.  Find something you really enjoy, and it'll all fall into place.  ER volunteers always seem to be needed, and it's a great way to give back to your community and help people out while learning more about some aspects about the medical field.


I hate to discuss this next part, but don't lie on your CV.  I've heard of people doing that and it's just deplorable.  No honest person with a conscience would want their acceptance to med school be on false grounds, but I do understand many people aren't honest.  Admissions committees will do their best to verify and check your story out, and your interviewers will ask very specific questions.  In addition, you can be dismissed from your medical school, and/or have your medical degree invalidated.

So be honest this early on in your career, it's a great habit that will prove very useful to you, especially when you're entrusted with the health and lives of others.