What type of extracurriculars should I be looking for?
Hi, I am a sophomore just starting out my year and I have been slowly realizing I don't have any extracurriculars. At most I have 1 or 2, so I was wondering what I should really be looking for. I want to be a doctor I know that much, but I keep hearing opposing advice, oh do activities that show or have to do with what your goal is aka medicine. Or other people say be well rounded. I am not really sure what to do, but I do have a decent amount of free time and I wanted some suggestions and tips on what to do. I am aiming for some really hard-to-reach schools and I won't be satisfied with just a mediocre application. I want to give it my best shot since this is my future.
Thank you so much.
Earn karma by helping others:
2 answers
I would say to be in between being "well-rounded" and only doing activities relating to what you want to do in the future. You do not want to have little to no activities relating to goal of being a doctor. Some science-related extracurriculars are the Science Honor Society, science fairs, or any science clubs that your school might offer. You can even volunteer to help those in need at a hospital like my classmate did which will count for community service. As long as colleges can see that you're devoted in that field, you're good to go. But, you shouldn't limit yourself to just that. If there are any other hobbies you like, show colleges how devoted you are to those hobbies as well. For example, if you are into music as well, if you shouldn't limit yourself to just medicine.
Extracurriculars have to be within your interest; as long as you have a clear goal within your extracurriculars you should be fine. Don’t take a ton of random ones that don’t match up with your goals, I would recommend some hospital work or groups ( in school or online) that show interest in medicine, online groups are easy to find, check instagram or even tiktok. If you don’t have one at your school consider starting one :)
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!
Extracurriculars that are good for medical work include being a volunteer (anywhere is fine) but I recommend reaching out to a hospital; hospitals often have programs for prospecting nursing students. Otherwise you would have to be well rounded (play sports, start a club or join one, get a job, list any hobbies you may have).