7.2 The Work & Activities Section That Tells Your Story

The Work & Activities section is where your application comes to life. Your GPA and MCAT are numbers. Your activities reveal who you are, what you care about, and what you've actually done with your time.

You get 15 entries, each with 700 characters. Three of those entries can be designated "Most Meaningful" and receive an additional 1,325 characters.

Almost anything:

• Clinical experiences (shadowing, volunteering, employment)
• Research
• Community service
• Leadership positions
• Extracurricular organizations
• Hobbies and interests
• Employment (clinical or non-clinical)
• Teaching or tutoring
• Artistic pursuits
• Athletic participation
• Family responsibilities
• Military service

The key question isn't whether something "counts." It's whether including it reveals something meaningful about you.

Selection criteria:

• Duration and commitment. Sustained over years generally trumps brief involvements.
• Impact and accomplishment.
• Relevance to medicine. Don't only include medical activities.
• Uniqueness.
• Story contribution.

What to cut:

• Brief or superficial involvements
• Redundant entries
• High school activities (usually)

• Lead with strength. First few should be most impressive.
• Create narrative flow.
• Most Meaningful activities stand out — get special visual treatment.
• Don't overthink it.

The formula:

• What you did (specific actions and responsibilities) — Not your title.
• What resulted (impact, outcomes, accomplishments) — Use specifics and numbers.
• What you gained (if space permits) — What did you learn?

Weak description:

"I volunteered at the hospital helping patients and families. I worked in various departments and assisted with different tasks. This experience taught me about healthcare and confirmed my desire to become a physician. I enjoyed interacting with patients and learning about the hospital environment."

Generic. No specific actions, no concrete outcomes.

Strong description:

"Provided direct support to 200+ patients across oncology and cardiology units over 2 years. Facilitated communication between non-English speaking patients and care teams using Spanish fluency. Created patient comfort kit program adopted by volunteer services, distributing 500+ kits in first year. Trained 12 new volunteers on unit protocols and family interaction. Spent substantial time with terminally ill patients and their families during difficult transitions."

Specific actions, quantified impact, initiative, leadership, meaningful patient contact.

Your three Most Meaningful entries get 1,325 additional characters.

What to include:

• Specific stories or moments
• Personal growth and learning
• Connection to your path

Structure:

• Brief recap (1-2 sentences)
• Specific moment or story (4-6 sentences)
• Reflection and growth (3-5 sentences)
• Connection to medicine (2-3 sentences)

• Diversity of experience types. One clinical, one research, one service/leadership if possible.
• Genuine meaning. Authentic > performative.
• Story potential. Rich material to draw from.

Common categories: long-term clinical with patient interaction, research with real contributions, leadership with change, service shaping understanding, personal experience.

You can choose unexpected activities. Non-medical experiences that shaped you can be powerful.

• Listing duties instead of accomplishments.
• Being too vague.
• Repeating the same point across entries.
• Overusing superlatives. "Amazing," "incredible," "life-changing" are empty.
• Neglecting non-medical activities.
• Treating research as checkbox.

• Does this describe what I actually did?
• Are there specific details, numbers, concrete examples?
• Would this make sense to someone unfamiliar with the organization?
• Does this show impact or growth?
• Is every word necessary?
• Does this add something unique?

Your activities show what you did. Your personal statement explains why it matters. The next lesson covers personal statements and secondary essays.