Health profession programs have varying expectations and/or requirements for admission when it comes to your co-curricular engagement. The common thread is that it is essential to 1) gain experience related to the career field in which you are interested, and 2) serve others in ways that are meaningful to you. Health careers are inherently service-oriented, and most (but not all!) take place in a clinical setting, and so gaining experience in these two areas is considered essential.  Below, you’ll find a guide for the types of experiences that are helpful to be a competitive applicant, along with resources on how to find opportunities.

Co-curricular Activities

Generally, health professional schools look for co-curricular engagement in the following areas in ways that are meaningful to you.

Clinical Experience

Definition: direct patient facing care/exposure to the profession and clinical settings..  This can happen in a variety of jobs, so please look at job descriptions, rather than job titles.  It is not expected by admissions committees that you get additional training, certification, or licensing to do clinical work.

Goal/expectations: demonstrate the desire to work with people who are not well and a deep understanding of the profession.  If you are pre-PA, in general, the expectation for clinical hours is 1,500+ by matriculation.

Shadowing Experience

Definition: Observing/shadowing a variety of healthcare professionals enables you to learn more about the day to day of your chosen career path.  Admissions committees do not always consider shadowing to be clinical experience.  Shadowing and clinical work are distinct and a competitive candidate will have significant, appropriate experience (not strictly in a quantitative sense) in both.

Goal/expectations: If you are applying to allopathic schools, it is important to shadow a physician.  Accordingly, if you are applying to dental schools, a dentist, osteopathic schools, a DO, Physician Assistant programs, a PA, etc.  In general, the expectation is between 25-200 hours.

Service Experience

Definition: Activities and experiences that demonstrates a genuine commitment to being of service to your community (Cornell and beyond), demonstrate interest in helping vulnerable individuals.

Goal/expectations: Depth and consistent commitment over a set number of hours.

Research or other Scholarly Activities

Definition: Experience using the scientific method and building scientific inquiry skills

Goals/Expectations: Not always required by all health professional programs.  Be able to read a peer reviewed journal article, understand content, update best practices, and incorporate in your work as a healthcare professional.

Leadership and other personal characteristics

Definition: Leadership roles can be employment or volunteer based.  They are not tied solely to a job title, but rather the nature of the work.  Can include mentorship/coaching.

Goals/Expectations: Demonstrate teamwork, strategic initiative, maturity, empathy, interpersonal skills, and professionalism.

For reference and inspiration, there are 19 AMCAS Work and Activities categories from which to choose: Artistic Endeavors, Community Service/Volunteer – Medical/Clinical, Community Service/Volunteer – Not Medical/Clinical, Conferences Attended, Extracurricular Activities, Hobbies, Honors/Awards/Recognitions, Intercollegiate Athletics, Leadership – Not Listed Elsewhere, Military Service, Paid Employment – Medical/Clinical, Paid Employment, Not Medical/Clinical, Physician Shadowing/Clinical, Observation, Presentations/Posters, Publications, Research/Lab, Social Justice/Advocacy, Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant, Other. 

It is important to understand that admissions does not use a rubric/cut off standards to make decisions.  Therefore, we encourage you to think about the depth and meaning of the experiences, as well as what insight you have to provide, rather than treating each section as a “check box” item.  Each experience is an opportunity to show admissions that you are not only a competitive, but also unique candidate.  Health professional programs look for sustained excellence and critical skills in important areas and exploration outside of one’s comfort zone. To that effect, most health professions have instituted “core competencies” or skills that entering health professional students must demonstrate in order to be successful.  We encourage you to use a journal to document any poignant interactions or “aha” moments you’d like to remember for writing your personal statement or activities section.

Pre-Health Summer Opportunities

Summers can be a great time to gain additional experience outside the classroom to help you explore and prepare for a health profession. There is no one specific type of summer opportunity that you must engage in, but rather it is important to make the best of the time you will have to gain skills, learn about professions, and prepare for your chosen health career. Some common types of summer opportunities Pre-Health students/alumni pursue include research (either on or off-campus, clinical experience, work, volunteering, standardized entrance exam preparation, internships, or a combination of these activities.

Where can you look for summer opportunities?

• Pre-Health summer opportunities database from the National Association of Advisors of the Health Professions
• Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)
• Summer research opportunities from the Cornell Office of Undergraduate Research