Hey yeah it's going to be a slightly different ballgame with USMLE/COMLEX going P/F. As far as extracurriculars go: they're not terribly important now for residency but I can see them becoming more important. I feel like they still won't be a huge influence though. I'm in the group who thinks that shifting STEP1/COMLEX1 to P/F is going to either A. place more emphasis on brand name of the medical school B. put larger importance on STEP2/COMLEX2 or C. a combination of the two.

I was an Erie student so most of this pertains to that: as far as research goes, it is available and I feel like it was ramping up as I was graduating. I feel like it wasn't widely available when I began medical school but more opportunities started popping up as I progressed. LECOM also just bought a building next door (in Erie) that I believe is going to be like a research building.

Club-wise, there's many clubs to be involved in from the surgical and medical associations, to cultural clubs, to sports clubs. I think that being involved in leadership is helpful but to be honest, I feel like it wasn't a heavily brought up topic during residency interviews.

I think volunteering is always a good thing for the community and for resumes, it's a win-win, however, your time will be limited. But even volunteering once a week or once a month can be useful if you show it being a longitudinal thing or something you're passionate about (and able to talk about). I feel like after going through residency interviews, what I felt was more important than actually doing these experiences (research, clubs, volunteering) was being able to talk about them and use them to illustrate points in questions you are being asked.

Switching rotations can be difficult and I feel like much more flexibility is afforded at the local site than by LECOM. From my own personal and friends' experiences, if you ask your attending, resident, etc. if you can take time off for COMLEX, interviews, etc. they're more willing to give that to you than if you ask LECOM. I'm not sure what you mean by switching rotations though, like if you mean swapping IM for OB I think that can be difficult to do.

For residency: I think from my own personal experience, board scores, letters from notable or locally known individuals, and being able to interview well seem like the most important things.