Extra-curricular activities form one of the most important aspects of your UCAS personal statement for medical school.
With the new personal statement structure changes in 2025 for the 2026 entry, showcasing your extracurricular activities is still essential to a strong application!
In this article, we break down how to talk about extracurricular activities in your personal statement both confidently and precisely.
Extracurricular Activities For Medical School Summary:
Extra-curricular activities are vital for a standout UCAS personal statement for medical school.
The 2025 structure changes for the 2026 entry still prioritise showcasing these activities.
Highlight how volunteering experiences developed your compassion, empathy, and commitment.
Demonstrate your ability to balance rigorous academics with meaningful hobbies to prevent burnout.
Use specific, impactful examples and deep reflections to illustrate personal growth and dedication.
Showcase leadership, resilience, and responsibility through activities like Young Enterprise or Youth Leadership programs.
👉🏻 Read more: Ultimate Medicine Personal Statement Writing Guide
Personal Statement Extra-Curricular Activities Examples: What Extra-Curricular Activities Should I Include In A Personal Statement?
Extra-curricular activities that you should include in your personal statement for medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine should provide you with relevant skills or experience for the course you are applying to. The best extracurricular activities for medicine will provide you with experiences to reflect on.
Extra-curricular activities which you should mention on your personal statement include:
Volunteering
Passions, Interests & Hobbies
Personal Growth and Skills Development
Medicine Personal Statement: How To Write About Volunteering In The Personal Statement
Volunteering experience is essential to write about in your medicine personal statement.
Volunteer work in hospitals, care homes, charity shops or hospices is an incredible way to show that you are developing important skills such as compassion, empathy, commitment and organisation.
It may have also provided you with clinical experience, which may help you get into medical school.
However, it is important to show how the experience of volunteering has shaped you into a compassionate, committed and empathetic individual, aligning with the values expected of a doctor.
To stand out among many medical school applications, reflecting on why volunteering has impacted you personally is crucial.
This begins with asking yourself questions about your experience and making a record of your answers, either typed or written down.
The best time to write these reflections is immediately after every volunteering shift so that you avoid forgetting valuable details.
Personal Statement: How To Write About Your Interests
Sports, music and drama are exceptional ways to broaden your interests, meet new people and become a more well-rounded person.
Medical and dental schools value applicants who can balance studying with their passion, such as playing the guitar or leading the school drama club.
These commitments show great qualities such as leadership, patience and importantly, a willingness to pursue activities outside the school curriculum!
Balancing work and hobbies is crucial for success at university and in your future career.
Medicine and dentistry are demanding courses with extensive content to learn.
However, maintaining hobbies and dedicating time to passions outside of your studies keeps your mind active and prevents burnout. Engaging in sports and music can enhance your study effectiveness.
University Application: How To Write About Your Skills and Personal Interests
When writing about your skills and personal interests in your personal statement, highlight relevant experiences like leadership programs such as Young Enterprise, which develop leadership, resilience, and responsibility.
Connect your interests to your chosen course, using concrete examples like leading a sports team to demonstrate leadership.
Reflect on how these interests have shaped you and how these relate to a medical career, such as playing the piano for discipline, and mention unique hobbies like martial arts for focus and determination.
New Personal Statement: How To Talk About Your Extracurricular Activities?
To write about your extra-curricular activities in your personal statement, it’s important to remember that reflection is key.
Reflecting on what you have gained from doing your extracurricular activity is key to writing your personal statement.
The way to reflect is by being honest with yourself and taking time to break down what you got out of an experience.
👉🏻 Read more: Personal Statement Advice & Guidance From Experts
Extracurriculars & Reflective Writing: How To Reflect In Your Personal Statement
To begin reflecting, ask yourself these 3 questions:
What skills or knowledge did I develop from this experience?
This allows you to link your experience volunteering, for example, to vital life skills that are important to showcase in your medical interview.
How did this experience influence my views on healthcare?
Understanding how an activity such as volunteering in a care home has changed your perspective of medicine is essential for a good reflection.
Consider whether you faced any challenges or ethical dilemmas. What did you learn about the way we interact with the healthcare system? Did anything surprise you?
In what ways did this experience contribute to my personal and professional growth?
This is an opportunity to consider how you have changed as a person. How has a particular extracurricular activity prepared you for a career in medicine? Reflect on your personal development and how this motivates you for your future development.
Honest and enthusiastic: Remember to stay true to yourself when talking about your extracurricular activities.
The best way to convey excitement and enthusiasm is to be honest about what the activity has taught you, and how you have grown because of it.
Remember that universities see multiple applicants a day, each talking about their own sports/musical instruments - so do not exaggerate how many extracurricular activities you do, or make some up.
You do not get points for how many activities you do - rather how you have developed due to your passion for them.
👉🏻 Read more: Writing A Personal Statement For Dentistry
Personal Statement Examples: How To Write About Your Extracurricular Activities
The following are example personal statement excerpts highlighting how to write about extra-curricular activities in your personal statement for medical school or dentistry.
Example Personal Statement For Medical School: Hospital Volunteering
Volunteering at a local hospital means that I see vulnerable patients and anxious relatives, giving me confidence in my ability to communicate well with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Med School Personal Statement Example: Hospice Work Experience
My time speaking to patients in a hospice highlighted the importance of compassionate care in incredibly difficult circumstances. Empathy was crucial to delivering a high standard of care, as was resilience during difficult conversations with patients and their families. It reinforced my belief that the doctor-patient relationship is a necessity, forming the basis of patient trust in our healthcare system.
University Personal Statement For Dentistry Admission: Hospital Volunteering
Volunteering at a dentist's surgery profoundly impacted my personal growth. It strengthened my commitment to serving underprivileged communities and solidified my decision to pursue a career in dentistry. I learned the value of adaptability in challenging situations, as patients can show frustration at increasing waiting times for an appointment and difficult access.
👉🏻 Read more: Writing A Personal Statement For Veterinary Medicine
Personal Statement Extra-Curricular Activities Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What extracurricular activities should I include in my medical school personal statement?
You should include activities that demonstrate skills such as resilience, organisation and compassion. These relate to the medical field you are pursuing, showing motivation for a future career and relevance to the course. Remember to reflect on why activities are beneficial to you, personally.
2. How do I write about volunteering experiences in my personal statement?
Volunteering is an incredible way to show commitment, whether it is in a medical setting or not. It exposes you to a wide variety of people and allows you to hone your communication skills. Make sure to include what skills you have developed due to volunteering and how you plan to potentially carry this on in the future.
3. Why are personal interests important in a medical school application?
Personal interests, such as playing an instrument or participating in sports, show that you are a well-rounded individual who can balance academics with hobbies. This balance is crucial for preventing burnout and improving overall well-being.
4. How can I stand out when discussing my extracurricular activities?
To stand out, reflect deeply on how each activity impacted you personally and professionally. Use specific anecdotes and insights to illustrate your experiences and growth.
5. What skills should I highlight from my extracurricular activities?
Highlight skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, empathy, and resilience. These are qualities that medical schools look for when assessing candidates - but remember not to list them, rather think about how specific experiences have allowed you to demonstrate these qualities.
6. How do extracurricular activities demonstrate my commitment to medicine?
Extracurricular activities, like volunteering in healthcare settings, show your dedication to medicine. They provide evidence of your proactive approach and genuine interest in the field. Activities such as music and drama also show the ability to balance academic subjects with other passions, something that you need to sustain a healthcare career.
7. Can sports and music activities improve my medical school application?
Yes, sports and music activities can enhance your application by showing your ability to manage stress, work in teams, and maintain a balanced life, which is all-important for a medical career.
8. How do I reflect on my extracurricular activities effectively?
Ask yourself questions like what skills or knowledge you gained, how the experience influenced your views on healthcare, and how it contributed to your personal and professional growth. Be honest and detailed in your reflections. Another important tip is to start reflecting immediately after an important experience so that you do not forget important details!
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