So you’ve heard you need to volunteer for PA school. You’ve Googled “best volunteer experiences for PA school.” And now you’re frantically refreshing hospital websites, praying for a slot to open up for a position that honestly sounds… maybe a touch boring.
Let’s clear something up: volunteering doesn’t have to be in a hospital or clinic to “count.”
In fact, some of the most powerful volunteer experiences we’ve seen in successful CASPA applications?
They had nothing to do with healthcare.
Why Do PA Schools Care About Volunteering Anyway?
Because it shows who you are when no one’s paying you.
It gives schools a peek into your character, values, and what you do when it’s not for a paycheck or resume line.
Volunteering demonstrates:
- Compassion and commitment to service
- Ability to connect with and care for others
- Follow-through and consistency over time
- Leadership and communication (if you’ve taken on roles within organizations)
So yes—PA schools care about your hours.
But more than that? They care about what those hours say about you.
What Counts as Volunteering on CASPA?
Any unpaid experience where you’re helping others (and not just shadowing) can go here.
- Working at a food pantry
- Mentoring high school students
- Leading a youth group
- Volunteering with animal rescue (yes, even this!)
- Organizing events for a non-profit
- Helping out at a crisis center or homeless shelter
- Building homes with Habitat for Humanity
- Offering support at a domestic violence shelter
How to Choose the Right Volunteer Experience
Here’s the deal: there’s no one “perfect” volunteer experience for PA school.
What matters is that you:
- Choose something meaningful to you
- Stick with it long enough to grow
- Can reflect on what you learned from it
Some questions to help guide you:
- What communities or causes do I care deeply about?
- Where have I seen injustice, inequality, or need—and how can I help?
- Do I want to work with kids? The elderly? Marginalized communities?
- Is there an organization I already love that I could get more involved in?
Medical vs. Non-Medical Volunteering: What’s Better?
Both are valuable.
Here’s the difference:
- Medical volunteering (like helping at a blood drive or hospital info desk) can show early exposure and interest in the field.
- Non-medical volunteering often gives you more depth and leadership opportunities.
Our advice? Do both if you can.
But if you can only pick one, go where your heart is. That’s the experience you’ll write most passionately about in your application—and that’s what admissions committees will remember.
How to Talk About Volunteering in Your Application
Don’t just say:
“Volunteered at the food pantry for 200 hours.”
Instead, say:
“As a volunteer at the local food pantry, I organized donations, distributed meals, and supported families experiencing food insecurity. This experience deepened my understanding of social determinants of health and inspired me to pursue a career where I can advocate for underserved populations.”
See the difference?
Make sure your CASPA experience paragraph:
- Gives context
- Shows what you did
- Highlights what you learned
Need help making sure your experience paragraphs catch the attention of the schools you apply to? That’s literally what we do—keep reading.
Final Thoughts: Volunteering That Matters
Volunteering for PA school doesn’t have to be clinical.
It doesn’t have to be flashy.
It just needs to show who you are—your heart, your grit, your desire to help people.
So if you’re wondering whether helping with hurricane cleanup or tutoring kids in math is worth putting on your app?
Yes. A thousand times yes.
Need Help Writing About Your Volunteer Experience?
If you’ve volunteered but aren’t sure how to make it shine in your CASPA application, we’ve got you.
In VIP, we meet you on Zoom and write out every one of your experience paragraphs—volunteering included.
VIP also includes private sessions where we meet you on Zoom and:
- write your entire personal statement
- write all your CASPA paragraphs
- program match
- Also includes a mock interview, our PA School Directory, 6 program supplemental essay editing, access to Application to Acceptance Course, and weekly PA shadowing to add to your app!
Here’s the link to check it out
Keep up the amazing work – go get those volunteer hours and show PA schools just how awesome you are!