How to Write About Hobbies in Your W&A Section | 5 Insanely Helpful Tips

When I was drafting my Work and Activities section, I was a little torn as to whether or not I should include a hobby. I think that sometimes there’s pressure to leave this one out unless you’re a professional tennis player or world-renowned opera singer. I ended up deciding to include a hobby and even dropped off some more “serious activities” like volunteering, so that I had space for one. So you’re probably wondering, “How do I write about hobbies in my work and activities section?”

In my opinion, hobby entries really make an applicant seem more “human” in a sense. Admissions committees want to see not only how you will be a great medical student, but also who you will be in the community outside of academics. They also want to see that you have interests outside of your professional career and that you have avenues to release stress to avoid burnout. While there’s plenty of opportunities to demonstrate this, including a hobby entry is definitely one of them!

This post is all about how to write about hobbies. I think sometimes premeds overthink this one, but these 5 tips make the writing process super simple.

5 Insanely Helpful Tips | How to Write About Hobbies

1. Somehow relate your hobby back to medicine.

Whether it’s explaining how aspects of this hobby will carry over directly or indirectly to your future career as a physician or how this hobby will help you destress while in medical school, form at least one connection (this is your application to medical school after all). For example, I wrote about being a member of the Yelp Elite Squad in a secondary essay that asked about my hobbies. I explained to the reader how my love for trying new restaurants and experiences will translate well into how I handle the novelty of experiences in medical school.

2.Express your goals for your hobby.

I talk a lot about having a personal mission evident throughout your application. But it’s also important to show vision, also known as explaining your future goals. When you discuss your goals, you express passion and motivation to grow. These sentiments should definitely be present in your hobby section. For example, if your hobby is related to exercise or fitness, maybe you include your goals like running a marathon or competing in a crossfit competition.

3. Tell a story.

Y’all know I’m a big fan of incorporating anecdotes in different parts of your application to “show instead of tell.” A hobby entry is no different! While this is definitely not mandatory, if you have a short story to share, share it! See how I did this in my W&A entry below:

Hobby: Language Learning

A Thai patient came to our clinic for a tuberculosis clearance to enter a shelter. I felt terrible for the hour-plus delay in his care as we looked for an interpreter. After introductions, with the biggest smile, the man apologized for not speaking English. As my heart sank, my mind went straight to my mother, who immigrated here by herself without knowing any English. I grew passionate about increasing my skill set so I could care for patients with greater cultural perspective and language, which is why I love working with our Spanish-speaking patients. I enjoy bettering my mother’s native tongue, Indonesian, and hope to become a dual-language certified provider in Spanish.

4. Explain your why.

This may sound pretty self explanatory but you would be surprised how often this is left out. It’s easy to explain what you do in your hobby, what you’ve accomplished, or hope to achieve, but you need to explain why this hobby. What about it interests you? How does it challenge you? Why did you begin in the first place?

5. It should be a hobby that you have been involved in for at least a year.

Obviously this will vary on a case-by-case basis, but in general I recommend for things like hobbies that it is something you can demonstrate you have been committed to. Because applicants are always looking for a way to be more “unique,” you don’t want to come across as inauthentic by putting a hobby you just started getting into. Again, there’s always exceptions to this, but as a reader I would be looking for a really strong why or searching for more evidence that this is a true passion for anything less than a year of involvement for a hobby entry.