The AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service®) is the AAMC’s application system used to apply to most U.S. allopathic medical schools. The “Work and Activities” section of the AMCAS (often just called “AMCAS Activities”) is part of your med school application, where you’ll define the activities you’ve participated in outside of academics to prepare for a future medical career.
The Work & Activities section can include up to 15 job-related or extracurricular experiences that show you’re a desirable candidate for medical school. You’ll be able to define 3 “most meaningful experiences” that, to you, are the most representative of your extracurricular activities.
Not sure what to include or how to discuss it? We’ll walk you through the entire process in this in-depth AMCAS Work & Activities guide.
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The Work & Activities section of the AMCAS is where you’ll enter extracurricular activities (including job experience) relevant to your future career as a medical student and physician. Here are the details you need to know before getting started:
Just a note: After a significant overhaul to the Work & Activities categories in 2024, the AAMC has made no changes to this section of the AMCAS for 2025.
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There are 19 AMCAS Work & Activities section categories (called Experience Types). You can only use one category per experience, so choose wisely.
“Social Justice/Advocacy” was added to the AMCAS Experience Types in the 2024 application cycle because, according to the AAMC, “the medical community recognizes that social justice/advocacy is a core value for those working and learning in medicine and medical education.”
Social Justice/Advocacy experiences may include organizing rallies, fundraisers, community activism, and meetings with political leaders or working/volunteering with a relevant non-profit.
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There’s no ‘perfect’ breakdown of experiences for the AMCAS Work and Activities section. Still, you should aim for your efforts to reflect your potential as a future medical student and physician. Don’t waste time with irrelevant experiences just to fill in as many as possible.
Based on what admissions committees look for in applicants, we find that the mix below works well to show a wide range of desirable qualities.
With these categories, emphasize long-term commitments rather than short-term experiences. Work experience at an NGO for 2 years is more vital than tutoring for a month.
Again, prioritize depth, not breadth. Captaining the crew team should be given more importance than volunteering at a soup kitchen once.
You may combine up to 4 things under 1 activity, as long as they are related. For example, you can put 4 honors and awards under a single Honors/Awards/Recognitions experience.
These recommendations aren’t set in stone – it’s absolutely okay if you have more or fewer experiences in one category or another. (For instance, if you have two great Paid Employment experiences but only one strong Research/Lab experience, that probably isn’t going to affect your application too much.)
However, we do recommend that you try to include a balance of activities that span across the categories mentioned above.
While the suggestions above are good guidelines to follow, it’s important to note that everyone’s list will look a little different. You’ll want to focus on listing work and activities that align with your specific medical program of choice.
For instance, if you’re pursuing programs where research experience is vital, such as Ivy League medical schools or an MD/PhD program, it’s a good idea to list more research activities examples. If you’re pursuing programs that are more focused on primary care, perhaps add more community service or clinical items.
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What Not to Include
While there are elements you want to make sure you include in a balanced Work & Activities section, there are also certain things you should avoid including:
Do not repeat yourself across multiple experiences. Additionally, don’t repeat phrases and wording that will directly appear in your personal statement. However, you may discuss different aspects of the same experience in your Work & Activities section and your personal statement.
All 15 work and activity entries require an “Experience Description.” The majority of your word count should be used to provide the facts of what you did, closing with 1-2 sentences reflecting on that experience. If you’re combining more than one similar experience in this entry, describe all of them.
Your “most meaningful activities” allow additional writing space for you to share more of the abstract ways an experience impacted or shaped you. Be careful not to get too flowery or emotional in your experience descriptions. Your personal statement is the best place on your AMCAS to convey emotion and introspection.
Here are some tips to keep in mind as you write:
Reminder: Don’t use rich formatting, such as bullet points or italics.
If you have 15 solid activities that showcase your qualifications for medical school, definitely include all 15. In general, including more activities won’t hurt you unless they’re poor quality (i.e. have few hours and/or are irrelevant who you are as a med school applicant).
That said, don’t feel like you have to use all 15 spaces. Quality beats quantity.
If you spent years working as a nurse or EMT, or have hundreds of hours of lab experience, or are a military veteran, all of these might take up only a single space in the Activities section. Yet they are guaranteed to be more impressive than a bunch of entries for low-impact activities with few hours.
Rather than trying to use up all 15 spaces, just focus on showcasing your relevant clinical, volunteering, leadership, and (if you have it) research experience. If you use all 15 entries, great. If not, don’t worry about it. Trust that AdComs will evaluate your application holistically.
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You may further discuss 3 out of your 15 experiences with “Most Meaningful Experience Remarks.” More space is given for you to talk about your most meaningful experiences, so take advantage of this extra space:
How do you choose which experiences should be your most meaningful experiences? Answer these questions to help determine which 3 experiences to choose:
The Work & Activities section allows you to differentiate between your “completed hours” and “anticipated hours.” This means that if you have upcoming experiences that you haven’t begun but will complete before enrolling in medical school (e.g. volunteer work, social justice advocacy), you can identify those as you fill out your AMCAS.
You may include experiences with a start date before your application and an end date after your application.
To enter an anticipated experience, start an entry as normal with placeholder dates and zero (0) hours under the “Completed Hours” section. Then, select “Yes” to answer the question, “Do you anticipate completing any hours for this experience in the future?”
You’ll be able to enter an anticipated start and end date and the anticipated number of hours it will include. Keep in mind that the anticipated end date must be no later than August of the year you would matriculate into a medical program.
When describing an anticipated experience, write how you plan to contribute, what attractive qualities you expect to exhibit, and how you expect to grow as a person or medical professional.
Anticipated experiences cannot be 1 of your 3 most meaningful experiences. These experiences cannot fall under these categories:
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The process of getting into medical school takes a lot of thoughtful preparation. For the Work and Activities section, it means beginning your preparation by participating in meaningful activities years in advance. Working with experts in medical school admissions can greatly increase your chances of admission.
Need help preparing your AMCAS? Speak with a member of our enrollment team to find out why 92% of students who work with us get into medical school!