How to Build a Competitive Premed Resume: Experiences That Stand Out

Crafting the best premed resume possible isn’t just about listing your accomplishments — it’s about telling the story of your journey toward medicine. With countless applicants each year, standing out requires more than good grades and test scores. Admissions committees want to see that you’ve explored the field, challenged yourself, and grown personally and professionally. Premed advising, college advising, and premed essay help, can all help, and premed resume guidance is another piece of the puzzle. Check out my blog post: How to Write a Strong College Essay About Becoming a Doctor.

As a doctor and college advisor, I tell clients that it's not about creating a list of every single extracurricular you've ever done. It's about being purposeful with the space you have.

Here are the key components of a competitive premed resume — and what makes each one meaningful:

1. Clinical Experience

Direct patient exposure is ideal, if possible. As a doctor and college advisor, I have seen how experiences really shape a student's desire to enter health care. Shadowing physicians, working as a medical scribe, or volunteering in hospitals shows that you’ve seen medicine up close. Quality matters more than quantity — reflect on what you learned and how it influenced your desire to become a physician. Also, don't be scared to ask upperclassmen for emails or connections to doctors who might be willing to have you shadow. As a doctor and college advisor, I have seen many students obtain opportunties just through networking and through asking friends for contact information they themselves used for their own shadowing. Don't underestimate this!

2. Research

While not mandatory, research experience can be an asset. It shows intellectual curiosity and a willingness to contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge. Bonus points if you’ve presented your findings or co-authored a paper. When I personally applied to medical school, I definitely had not published any formal research but I did have research projects ongoing I had been delving into, and I did talk about this in my application.

3. Community Service

Medicine is a service profession. Long-term volunteer work, especially with underserved populations, demonstrates empathy, commitment, and an understanding of the social factors that impact health. If your student isn't sure what extracurriculars to consider, this is a good post on the topic: Summer Extracurriculars for High school students: How This Fits into the College Application Process

4. Leadership & Teamwork

Whether you led a campus organization, coached a team, or took initiative on a group project, leadership roles highlight responsibility and interpersonal skills — traits every good physician needs. It can be helpful to write down some anecdotes from these experiences (not for the resume, but for interviews so you remember if asked!)

5. Personal Interests & Foreign Languages

Don’t overlook this! These skills can showcase your personality, resilience, and ability to maintain balance. Music, athletics, art, or travel can also make you memorable — and human.

Final Tip:

Tailor your resume to highlight impact, not just involvement. Use action verbs and measurable outcomes where possible. For example: “Led a team of 10 volunteers to organize a free health fair serving 200+ community members.”

Your resume is a snapshot of your path to medicine. Make sure it reflects both your achievements and your authenticity.

Have questions? Leave them in the comments!

Sincerely, Dr. Khan