What actions did the applicant take to strengthen the medical school application this year?

• A. Rewrote the personal statement and sought recommendations from the LSU premedical review committee
• B. Rewrote the personal statement.
• C. Submitted more letters of recommendation.
• D. Increased volunteering hours.

Answer: (D)

Increasing volunteering hours shows concrete, measurable growth in a domain medical schools value: service and community engagement. It demonstrates sustained commitment and the ability to balance responsibilities over time, which are strong indicators of readiness for the demands of medical training. While rewriting the personal statement can refine your narrative and additional recommendations might help, these don’t necessarily add new, verifiable evidence of activity within the year. More volunteering hours provide direct proof of ongoing involvement, impact, and potential clinical exposure, making the application more competitive.