Post By

Ryan Brownlee

– Founder of AspiringMD

Is being a TA helpful for medical school? Learn how teaching assistant work strengthens AMCAS, letters, MCAT knowledge, mentoring skills, and income.

Is Being a TA Helpful for Medical School?

Being a teaching assistant, commonly called a TA, can be an excellent experience for a premed student because it allows you to combine teaching, mentoring, leadership, academic involvement, and service to other students within one sustained role. Depending on your university, the position may also provide hourly pay, a semester stipend, or academic credit.

A TA position will not replace clinical experience, physician shadowing, community service, or other opportunities that help you understand patient care. However, it can strengthen a medical school application by showing that you are capable of mastering difficult material, explaining complicated ideas clearly, supporting younger students, working closely with faculty, and accepting responsibility within an academic environment.

I was not personally a TA during college, but I had multiple friends who were. Most of them taught chemistry or biology, although I also had a friend who became a physics TA. They felt that the experience was helpful because they worked directly with the professor leading the class, which was often a course they had already taken and performed very well in. In some cases, the professor was also one of their research mentors.

Several of these students were eventually invited to join the professor’s research laboratory or were offered strong letters of recommendation for medical school because the professor had gotten to know them beyond the grade they earned in one class. Many of my friends remained with the same professor for multiple semesters and continued teaching within the same subject, such as General Chemistry I, which gave the faculty member much more time to observe their reliability, communication, teaching ability, and growth.

My friends also felt that they were genuinely helping younger students. They remembered how difficult those classes had felt when they first took them, so being able to guide another student through the same material made the role feel meaningful rather than simply being another activity for a medical school application.

The continued review was helpful for them academically as well. Teaching chemistry, biology, or physics required them to revisit foundational concepts, answer questions they may not have considered before, and explain why an answer was correct rather than merely recognizing it. They felt that this contributed to stronger foundational knowledge and better starting points when they eventually began preparing for the MCAT.

For a broader explanation of how premed students can use academic resources effectively, read my guide to office hours, SI, and tutoring for premed students. I also have a companion guide explaining whether being an SI leader is helpful for medical school.

TA vs. Tutoring vs. SI vs. Research for Premeds

What Is a Teaching Assistant?

A teaching assistant is a student who helps a professor or academic department teach and manage a college course. The position may be filled by an undergraduate student, graduate student, or professional student, depending on the institution and type of course.

For a premed student, the relevant position is usually called an undergraduate teaching assistant, undergraduate TA, UTA, course assistant, instructional assistant, peer teaching assistant, or laboratory assistant. Universities do not always use these titles consistently, so two positions with different names may involve nearly identical responsibilities.

A TA may help lead laboratory sections, facilitate discussion groups, answer questions during class, hold office hours, prepare demonstrations, grade assignments, proctor examinations, review difficult concepts, provide feedback, and meet regularly with the professor or course coordinator. The specific duties depend heavily on the subject and university.

For example, the Georgia Tech chemistry undergraduate TA program includes laboratory facilitation, grading, office hours, weekly meetings, preparation assignments, and required safety training. Iowa State’s chemistry TAs may lead recitations and laboratories while also working in the help center, attending staff meetings, grading, proctoring, and preparing for class. The University of Alabama at Birmingham similarly describes undergraduate chemistry TAs as students who help teach and mentor within laboratory or recitation settings while working under the supervision of an instructor or laboratory coordinator.

This means that “I was a TA” can describe many different experiences. One student may spend most of the semester grading objective assignments, while another may independently lead a weekly laboratory section and hold office hours. Medical schools will care much more about what you actually did than the title printed on your employment paperwork.

Is Being a TA Helpful for Medical School?

Yes, being a TA can be very helpful for medical school because it provides repeated opportunities to demonstrate qualities that medical schools evaluate during holistic admissions.

The current AAMC premed competency model includes oral communication, reliability and dependability, service orientation, teamwork and collaboration, interpersonal skills, commitment to learning and growth, critical thinking, and scientific inquiry. A meaningful teaching assistant experience can help you develop and demonstrate many of these areas, particularly when you remain involved long enough to accept increasing responsibility.

As a TA, you may need to explain a chemistry problem several different ways before a student understands it. You may have to recognize that one student needs a diagram while another needs to work through an example aloud. You may need to manage a laboratory safely, provide feedback without discouraging the learner, and remain patient when a student asks about a concept you thought had already been explained clearly.

Those moments are directly relevant to medicine. Physicians do not simply collect information and make decisions. They must explain diagnoses, medications, procedures, risks, and treatment plans to people with different backgrounds and levels of scientific understanding. They also teach medical students, residents, colleagues, patients, and families throughout their careers.

A TA position does not prove that you will automatically become a good physician, but it gives you an opportunity to practice listening, teaching, adapting your communication, and taking responsibility for the learning of others.

Why Does Being a TA Look Good on AMCAS?

Being a TA can look good on AMCAS because the position gives you a structured way to demonstrate teaching, leadership, mentoring, communication, dependability, academic engagement, and service to other students.

The value does not come from adding the letters “TA” beside your name. It comes from the responsibilities you accepted, the relationships you developed, the students you helped, and the ways the experience changed how you communicate and learn.

A TA Position Shows That You Can Teach Difficult Material

Doing well in a course and teaching that course are different accomplishments.

A student may be able to solve a general chemistry calculation quickly because they recognize the necessary formula. A TA must be able to slow down, identify the learner’s misunderstanding, explain why the formula applies, and help the student complete the reasoning independently.

That process requires a deeper level of understanding. You cannot rely entirely on memorized steps when another student asks why those steps work or presents a problem that looks different from the examples you reviewed.

Research on undergraduate teaching assistants has found that the experience can improve subject knowledge, communication, confidence, and appreciation of teaching. Research on peer teaching in medical education has similarly found benefits for both the learners and the peer teachers, including evidence that teaching can reinforce the teacher’s own understanding of the content.

It Demonstrates Communication Skills

A good TA learns how to explain the same idea in more than one way. You may use an analogy, diagram, practice problem, physical model, or step-by-step explanation depending on what the student needs.

You also learn that communication involves listening. Before correcting someone, you have to determine what they currently understand and where their reasoning began moving in the wrong direction.

That ability to listen before explaining is important in medicine. Patients may use unfamiliar words, misunderstand part of a treatment plan, or have concerns they do not immediately state. A physician must be able to recognize those barriers and adjust the conversation accordingly.

It Provides Meaningful Mentoring Experience

Although a TA’s primary responsibility is academic, the role can gradually become a mentoring position.

Younger students may ask how you studied for the course, how you handled an unexpectedly low examination grade, which courses you took next, how you found research, or how you prepared for the premed process. You are not expected to become their personal advisor, but you can listen, encourage them, share what helped you, and direct them toward appropriate resources.

This is one reason many former TAs remember specific students long after the semester ends. They may have helped someone regain confidence, remain in a science major, understand a subject they had begun to fear, or realize that one difficult examination did not determine their entire future.

If you are still trying to develop mentoring relationships of your own, my guide on how to find a mentor as a premed explains how relationships with professors, physicians, research investigators, and older students often develop through repeated interactions rather than one formal request.

It Shows Leadership Without Requiring an Officer Position

Many premed students assume that leadership only counts when they become president of an organization. In reality, leadership can involve guiding a laboratory group, facilitating a discussion, creating a safe learning environment, accepting accountability, resolving confusion, and helping other people achieve a shared goal.

A TA may be responsible for a room full of students who need guidance, feedback, and reassurance. You may have to decide when to step in, when to let students work through a problem, and when a concern needs to be brought to the professor.

That is genuine leadership, even when you never hold an elected title.

It Demonstrates Reliability and Academic Responsibility

Students depend on their TA to arrive prepared, understand the material, answer messages professionally, return feedback on time, and follow the professor’s expectations.

Laboratory TAs may carry additional responsibilities involving safety procedures, equipment, chemicals, specimens, and accurate documentation. A poorly prepared TA can create confusion for an entire section, while a dependable TA can make a difficult course feel much more manageable.

The AAMC defines reliability and dependability in terms of accountability, timely completion of responsibilities, and understanding the consequences of failing to meet obligations. A sustained TA position can give a professor many opportunities to observe these behaviors directly.

It Shows Service to Other Students

Many TA positions are paid or completed for academic credit, so you should not automatically classify the position as volunteer service. However, the work can still reflect a service-oriented mindset because your central responsibility is helping other students learn.

You demonstrate service through the way you approach that responsibility. A TA who only wants the title may provide minimal answers and leave as soon as possible. A service-oriented TA pays attention to what students are struggling with, creates a welcoming environment, and tries to make the course more accessible without lowering its standards.

The strongest AMCAS description will show what helping students actually looked like rather than simply claiming that you served others.

What AMCAS Category Should You Use for a TA Position?

For most undergraduate teaching assistant positions, the best AMCAS category is Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant.

The 2027 AMCAS application specifically includes Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant as an experience type. Applicants may enter up to 15 Work and Activities experiences, receive 700 characters for each description, and designate up to three entries as most meaningful, which provides an additional 1,325 characters for reflection.

Even when the position is paid, you do not necessarily need to place it under Paid Employment – Not Medical/Clinical. AMCAS asks you to select the category that best describes the primary purpose of the experience, and teaching is usually the clearest description of what a TA does.

You might reasonably choose Paid Employment – Not Medical/Clinical when the employment aspect is central to the story you need to tell. For example, you may have worked as a TA for several semesters to support yourself financially while completing a demanding premed schedule. My Paid Employment – Not Medical/Clinical AMCAS guide explains how paid work can demonstrate maturity, responsibility, and resilience.

The Leadership – Not Listed Elsewhere category may become appropriate if you eventually supervise other TAs, train new instructors, coordinate several laboratory sections, create program-wide materials, or serve as the head undergraduate teaching assistant. However, a standard TA position usually fits more naturally under Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant.

For help writing the rest of your activities, read my complete AMCAS Work and Activities experience description guide.

Example TA AMCAS Description

Here is an example that could be adapted for an undergraduate chemistry TA:

After completing General Chemistry I with an A, I returned as an undergraduate teaching assistant for three semesters. I facilitated weekly laboratory sections, held office hours, graded assignments, and met with the professor to review upcoming material and common student misconceptions. Teaching students with different levels of preparation taught me to listen before explaining, adjust my communication, and create an environment where students felt comfortable admitting confusion. Several students later shared that the course felt more manageable because they had someone approachable to ask for help.

Your own description should be based on what you actually did. Do not claim that you improved grades unless the department collected information that supports that statement. You can still describe student feedback, responsibilities, improvements in participation, resources you created, or changes you made after noticing a common area of confusion.

A strong description should spend less space listing routine duties and more space showing how you approached those duties, how you affected students, and how you developed through the experience.

Is a Science TA Position Best for Premed Students?

When several equally meaningful opportunities are available, a science TA position is often the strongest fit for a premed student.

General chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology, mathematics, and statistics all connect with the scientific foundation used in medical school and on the MCAT. Teaching one of these courses can reinforce important material while helping you build a relationship with a science professor.

The MCAT draws content from year-long sequences in general chemistry, organic chemistry, introductory physics, and introductory biology, along with introductory biochemistry, psychology, and sociology. Serving as a TA in one of these courses will not replace dedicated MCAT preparation, but the continued exposure can help you retain foundational concepts before your formal study period begins.

My friends most commonly became TAs in chemistry or biology, although I also had a friend who taught physics. Each of those subjects can be useful for a premed student, but the best choice depends on your strengths, interests, and faculty relationships.

Chemistry TA

General chemistry and organic chemistry are common TA options because these courses frequently include laboratory sections, recitations, workshops, and large numbers of students.

Chemistry can be a particularly useful subject to continue reviewing because it involves quantitative reasoning, scientific principles, laboratory safety, and concepts that appear throughout the MCAT. A chemistry TA may also have substantial direct teaching responsibility through laboratories and office hours.

Biology TA

Biology TAs may help with introductory biology, genetics, cell biology, microbiology, anatomy, physiology, or laboratory courses. This can provide continued exposure to topics that later appear in biochemistry, medical school, and the Biological and Biochemical Foundations section of the MCAT.

Biology courses may also create opportunities to work with professors conducting research in molecular biology, ecology, neuroscience, genetics, physiology, cancer biology, or other areas that interest premed students.

Physics TA

Physics is sometimes overlooked, but it can be a valuable TA subject for a premed student. Teaching mechanics, electricity, fluids, waves, optics, and laboratory methods may help preserve concepts that students commonly need to review again before the MCAT.

My friend who worked as a physics TA felt that repeatedly explaining problems helped make the reasoning more natural. Rather than remembering one formula in isolation, they became better at identifying which principles applied and why.

Does the Subject Have to Be Science?

The subject does not have to be science for the experience to matter.

Teaching psychology, sociology, writing, mathematics, economics, a foreign language, or another subject can still demonstrate communication, mentoring, preparation, leadership, and service. A writing TA may develop exceptional feedback skills, while a psychology TA may become more comfortable discussing behavior, development, and social influences.

A meaningful position in a subject you genuinely enjoy may be more valuable than reluctantly teaching a science course only because you think it will impress admissions committees.

When all other factors are equal, I would lean toward a science course because it can reinforce medical school prerequisites and potentially produce a science faculty relationship. However, your interest in teaching and the quality of the mentorship should still matter more than choosing a subject solely for appearances.

Can Being a TA Help You Get a Better Letter of Recommendation?

One of the most valuable potential benefits of becoming a TA is the opportunity to build a deeper relationship with the professor leading the course.

A student may earn an A in a lecture with several hundred people without giving the professor enough information to write a detailed letter. The professor knows that the student performed well, but they may not know how the student communicates, responds to feedback, handles responsibility, supports peers, or behaves when something does not go according to plan.

A TA relationship can be very different. You may meet with the professor every week, discuss upcoming lessons, review common student mistakes, ask questions about teaching, provide feedback about the course, and remain involved for several semesters.

The AAMC’s guidelines for medical school evaluation letters encourage writers to explain how long they have known the applicant, in what capacity they interacted, whether their observations were direct, and which behaviors they personally witnessed. A TA position can give a professor the sustained direct observation needed to write a much more specific letter.

This does not mean that becoming a TA guarantees a strong recommendation. You still have to perform the role well, communicate professionally, remain dependable, and build a genuine relationship.

Some undergraduate TA programs are managed primarily by graduate students or laboratory coordinators, which may limit your direct interaction with the faculty member whose name appears on the course. Before assuming the position will lead to a letter, pay attention to who will actually supervise you and how often you will meet.

My friends who worked with the same professor for multiple semesters usually felt that this was especially valuable. The professor did not only remember that they earned a strong grade two years earlier. The professor had watched them teach, prepare, improve, and contribute to the course over an extended period.

Can a TA Professor Write a Science Letter for Medical School?

A professor who taught you in a science course and later supervised you as a TA may be able to write a strong science faculty recommendation.

This can be an excellent arrangement because the professor can discuss both your performance as a student and your later development as a teacher. They may be able to describe your mastery of the subject, intellectual curiosity, communication, dependability, and ability to work with younger students.

However, medical school letter requirements vary. Some schools require letters from professors who directly taught you and assigned you a grade, while others accept a broader range of science faculty evaluations.

If the professor only supervised your TA employment but never taught you in a graded course, you should verify whether individual medical schools will count the letter toward their science faculty requirement. The letter may still be valuable even when it is submitted as an additional recommendation rather than one of the required science letters.

The AAMC recommends approaching potential writers early and asking whether they feel comfortable writing a good recommendation rather than simply asking whether they are willing to submit any letter.

Can Being a TA Help You Join a Research Lab?

A TA position can sometimes lead to research opportunities because it allows a professor to become familiar with your interests, work ethic, and scientific abilities.

Several of my friends had this happen. They began by doing well in a class, became a TA for that professor, and were later invited into the professor’s research laboratory or learned about an opening through the relationship.

This progression makes sense because a professor selecting undergraduate researchers often wants students who are dependable, academically prepared, interested in the subject, and capable of communicating well. A TA may already have demonstrated those qualities through repeated work with the professor.

However, you should not accept a TA position while assuming that a research invitation will automatically follow. Not every professor conducts active research, not every laboratory has space, and some professors keep their teaching and research teams relatively separate.

A better approach is to become a strong TA because you value the teaching experience, then gradually learn more about the professor’s work. When appropriate, you can ask about their research, read some of their recent publications, and express your interest in becoming involved.

My guide on how to email a professor about research explains how to approach faculty members professionally, demonstrate genuine interest, and ask about potential laboratory opportunities without making the email feel transactional.

My Experience With Friends Who Became TAs

I was not personally a TA during college, so I do not want to present this as though I experienced the position myself. However, I had multiple close friends who did, and their experiences shaped how I view the opportunity for premed students.

Most of them became TAs in chemistry or biology, although one of my friends taught physics. They usually returned to a course they had already completed and performed well in, which meant that the professor already knew they were capable of handling the material.

Several stayed with the same professor for multiple semesters and continued teaching the same course, such as General Chemistry I. That consistency seemed to make the experience much more valuable than completing one isolated semester and immediately moving to something unrelated.

Over time, they developed a genuine working relationship with the professor. The faculty member saw whether they arrived prepared, treated students respectfully, responded to feedback, handled grading responsibly, and remained dependable during busy parts of the semester.

Some of these professors were also research mentors, while others eventually invited the student to become involved in their laboratory. Several of my friends were offered strong letters of recommendation because the professor knew them through both the original course and their continued teaching responsibilities.

My friends also appreciated the opportunity to work with younger students. They remembered what it felt like to enter a challenging science course and worry that everyone else understood the material more easily. Becoming a TA allowed them to reassure students, explain concepts in a more approachable way, and show that struggling with one topic did not mean someone was incapable of succeeding in science.

They felt that they were making a genuine impact rather than merely adding another position to their résumés. That is the part of the experience that I think medical school applicants should emphasize most.

Can Being a TA Help With the MCAT?

Being a TA can help reinforce foundational knowledge that later appears on the MCAT, especially when you teach chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, psychology, sociology, mathematics, or statistics.

My friends felt that continued teaching helped them remember material from courses they otherwise may not have reviewed again until beginning formal MCAT preparation. Each week, they returned to the concepts, solved problems, answered questions, and discussed the reasoning behind the answers.

That does not mean that becoming a TA guarantees a high MCAT score. You will still need to learn the structure of the exam, complete passage-based questions, review content outside the course you teach, and take full-length practice examinations.

The benefit is that you may begin your dedicated study period with a stronger base in one major subject area. Instead of relearning every general chemistry or physics concept from the beginning, you may already be comfortable with many of the underlying principles.

Teaching can also reveal gaps in your knowledge. A student may ask a question that forces you to realize that you memorized a rule without completely understanding why it works. Identifying and repairing those gaps before MCAT preparation can be valuable.

For more help planning your preparation, explore my MCAT guides and study resources.

What Is the Difference Between a TA, SI Leader, and Tutor?

Teaching assistants, Supplemental Instruction leaders, and tutors all help students learn, but their responsibilities and faculty relationships may be different.

A TA may have greater course authority than an SI leader or tutor because the TA may grade assignments, supervise laboratories, or formally teach part of the course. That additional authority can provide stronger leadership experience, but it also creates greater responsibility.

An SI leader usually focuses on collaborative learning without grading students, while a tutor may work more individually and have greater flexibility in how sessions are structured.

None of these positions is automatically best for medical school. The strongest opportunity is usually the one that gives you meaningful responsibilities, sustained involvement, direct interaction with students, and enough supervision for someone to observe your development.

How Do You Become a Teaching Assistant?

The process for becoming a TA varies by department, but most undergraduate programs look for students who performed well in the relevant course, maintain a solid GPA, communicate effectively, and can commit to the required weekly schedule.

Perform Well in the Course

Departments usually expect undergraduate TAs to have completed the course they hope to teach and earned a strong grade.

Iowa State’s chemistry program, for example, generally requires at least a B in general chemistry and an overall GPA of 3.0, while individual courses and universities may set higher expectations. Some departments give preference to students who earned an A or were especially engaged in the course.

A high grade is important because you need enough subject knowledge to guide other students accurately. However, the student with the highest examination average is not automatically the best teacher.

Professors also look for patience, communication skills, maturity, reliability, and a willingness to admit when you need to verify an answer.

Build a Genuine Relationship With the Professor

Many undergraduate TAs are recruited directly by course instructors. Georgia Tech’s biology program notes that undergraduate TAs may be recruited by instructors or selected through a departmental application process.

Participating in class, attending office hours, asking thoughtful questions, and showing genuine interest can help a professor recognize that you may be a strong candidate.

You do not need to spend the semester repeatedly asking for a future position. Concentrate on learning the material and being an engaged student. Near the end of the course, you can ask whether the department uses undergraduate TAs and how students apply.

Search Department and Academic-Support Websites

The position may not appear under the exact phrase “teaching assistant.” Search your university website for terms such as undergraduate TA, UTA, instructional assistant, course assistant, laboratory assistant, peer instructor, learning assistant, classroom assistant, or undergraduate teaching fellow.

Applications may be managed by an academic department, learning center, honors program, laboratory coordinator, or individual professor.

Some departments recruit several months before the semester begins, so do not wait until the first week of class to investigate the opportunity.

Prepare an Application

You may be asked to provide a résumé, unofficial transcript, course grades, faculty recommendation, short essay, availability schedule, or explanation of why you want to teach.

Your application should communicate more than the fact that you earned an A. Explain why you enjoyed the subject, how you have helped other students learn, and what qualities would make you patient and dependable in the role.

Prepare for an Interview or Teaching Demonstration

Some departments ask candidates to explain a concept, solve a sample problem, or respond to hypothetical situations.

You may be asked how you would handle a student who wants you to provide an answer, a student who is dominating a group, a laboratory safety concern, suspected academic dishonesty, or a question you cannot answer.

A strong TA does not invent an answer to avoid looking uncertain. It is better to say that you want to confirm the information and follow up than to confidently teach something incorrectly.

Complete Training

TA training may include teaching strategies, grading expectations, laboratory safety, academic integrity, accessibility, student privacy, active learning, and responding to distressed students.

Some institutions also require a pedagogy course or weekly development seminar. The University of Michigan’s biology UTA program, for example, may incorporate pedagogy coursework, while other programs use staff meetings and pre-semester training.

This training can be one of the most useful parts of the experience because it helps you move beyond explaining material in the same way it was originally explained to you.

How Much Do Undergraduate TAs Get Paid?

Undergraduate TA pay varies substantially by university, location, department, experience, and the responsibilities of the position. Some students receive academic credit instead of money, while others are given a choice between credit and hourly compensation.

Based on official university pages and job postings available in July 2026, the undergraduate teaching positions I found ranged from approximately $11 to $29 per hour.

These examples come from official university pages, but they should not be treated as a guaranteed national pay range. Compensation can change each academic year, and some institutions may offer course credit, a fixed semester stipend, or an unpaid position instead of hourly wages.

You should also determine which responsibilities are included in the paid hours. Some departments compensate TAs for class preparation, grading, training, meetings, office hours, and proctoring in addition to time spent directly teaching. Iowa State, for example, states that undergraduate chemistry TAs are paid for preparation, proctoring, and grading in addition to their scheduled instructional responsibilities.

This can make a TA position an appealing option for a premed student who needs income. You are earning money while developing teaching skills, building a faculty relationship, reviewing science material, and helping other students.

Do All TAs Get Paid?

No. Some undergraduate TAs receive academic credit, some receive hourly pay, some receive a semester stipend, and others may be volunteers.

The University of Michigan biology program allows eligible UTAs to choose between academic credit and hourly pay. Indiana University’s biology program requires new UTAs to begin with an instructional internship course, while returning UTAs may become eligible for pay or continue receiving credit.

Before accepting the position, ask how compensation works and whether you can choose between pay and credit.

Course credit may be useful when you need elective hours, want formal pedagogy training, or would benefit academically from having the experience appear on your transcript. Pay may be more valuable when you need help covering living expenses, transportation, tuition, MCAT preparation, or medical school application fees.

Neither option makes the experience more impressive to medical schools. The substance of your work matters more than the compensation structure.

Does Being Paid Make the TA Experience Less Meaningful?

Being paid does not make the experience less meaningful.

Medical schools understand that students have financial responsibilities and cannot devote every hour to unpaid activities. A paid teaching position still requires preparation, communication, reliability, and a genuine commitment to helping students.

You should never disguise paid employment as volunteer work, but you also do not need to apologize for receiving compensation.

The students you helped did not benefit less because you received a paycheck. The professor did not observe your work any less closely because the department paid you. The communication and teaching skills you developed remain meaningful.

YouTube Videos About Students’ TA Experiences

Reading a job description can tell you what a TA is technically responsible for, but hearing students discuss their experiences can give you a better sense of what the position feels like from week to week.

Week in the Life of an Undergraduate Chemistry TA

The video Week in the Life of an Undergraduate TA: How to Become a Teaching Assistant follows an undergraduate student working as a chemistry TA and discusses how the student entered the role. This is particularly relevant for premed students considering chemistry because it shows how teaching responsibilities fit into an undergraduate schedule.

Biology Students Describe Their TA Experience

In What’s It Like to Be a Teaching Assistant in Biology?, students at Plymouth State University discuss their experiences working as teaching assistants within the biology department. Hearing from several students is helpful because TA responsibilities and benefits can feel different depending on the course and individual.

Undergraduate TAs at the University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh video Undergraduate Teaching Assistants in the Dietrich School features three students describing their undergraduate TA experiences. This provides a broader look at how teaching can contribute to academic development across disciplines.

Kinesiology Undergraduate TA Experience

The UIC Kinesiology Experiential Learning Highlight follows an undergraduate kinesiology student discussing what it is like to work as a teaching assistant. This may be particularly useful for premed students whose universities offer TA positions in anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, or other health-related courses.

General Advice From an Undergraduate TA

The video Being an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant provides practical advice based on an undergraduate TA’s experience and discusses ways students can prepare for the position.

These videos should be treated as individual experiences rather than universal descriptions. Every department structures its teaching positions differently, so always compare what you hear with the responsibilities listed by your own university.

What Are the Downsides of Becoming a TA?

The most important potential drawback is the time commitment.

Teaching one laboratory section may sound like a three-hour weekly responsibility, but the actual position may also include preparation, grading, office hours, staff meetings, training, email communication, and examination proctoring.

Georgia Tech’s biology department estimates that undergraduate and graduate TAs may spend approximately 13 hours per week on their teaching responsibilities. Iowa State chemistry describes an average commitment of 10 to 15 hours per week, depending on the assignment.

That amount of time can become difficult when combined with upper-level science courses, MCAT preparation, research, clinical employment, volunteering, and other commitments.

A TA position should strengthen your academic development rather than causing your own grades to decline. Before accepting, ask for a realistic breakdown of the weekly workload rather than relying only on the number of hours spent physically inside the classroom.

Grading Can Be Time-Consuming

Grading may take longer than expected, especially when assignments require written feedback rather than simple completion checks.

You also have to follow the professor’s grading standards consistently. It can be uncomfortable when you know the students personally or when someone argues intensely about lost points.

Students May Expect Too Much From You

Some students may ask you to predict examination questions, provide answers, reconsider grades outside the proper process, or explain every part of an assignment immediately before it is due.

Learning to set professional boundaries is part of the position. You can be kind and supportive without completing the work for the student or ignoring course policies.

The Faculty Relationship May Be Less Direct Than Expected

A course may have one professor, several graduate TAs, a laboratory coordinator, and many undergraduate assistants. In that structure, you may interact more frequently with the graduate student or coordinator than with the professor.

That does not make the position unhelpful, but it may limit the likelihood of receiving a detailed faculty letter unless you intentionally participate in meetings and build the relationship over time.

Teaching Can Be Stressful

Standing in front of a class, answering unexpected questions, managing laboratory safety, and making grading decisions can feel intimidating.

You will occasionally be asked something you do not know. A good TA learns that admitting uncertainty and checking the answer is much more professional than pretending to know everything.

Academic Integrity and Student Privacy

Teaching assistants may have access to grades, answer keys, examination materials, student records, or information about academic accommodations. That access creates responsibilities that ordinary classmates do not have.

You should never share private grades, discuss one student’s performance with another, provide unauthorized hints about assessments, or give friends access to course materials that other students cannot see.

You should also avoid favoritism. Your friends may be enrolled in the course, but they should not receive additional information or more lenient grading.

These responsibilities can provide meaningful examples of ethical decision-making and professionalism, but only when you take them seriously.

When you are uncertain about privacy, grading, accommodations, or academic integrity, ask the professor or course coordinator rather than creating your own policy.

How to Make a TA Experience More Valuable for Medical School

A TA position becomes more meaningful when you remain involved long enough to grow beyond the basic responsibilities.

Teaching the same course for multiple semesters can help you improve your explanations, become more efficient with preparation, understand recurring student misconceptions, and build a much stronger relationship with the professor.

You may eventually train new TAs, develop review resources, improve a laboratory activity, lead additional sections, or become a head teaching assistant. Those responsibilities can add a clear progression to your AMCAS description.

You should also reflect on specific moments rather than waiting until application season and trying to remember everything at once.

Keep a private record of the semesters you taught, approximate hours, types of sections you led, training you completed, resources you created, and anonymized feedback you received. Never retain private student information or graded work without permission.

Pay attention to moments when your approach changed. Perhaps you originally explained too much and later learned to guide students with questions. Maybe you noticed that quieter students were being left out of laboratory discussions and changed how you assigned roles. You may have learned to provide constructive feedback without making a struggling student feel embarrassed.

Those stories will be more compelling during medical school interviews than a general statement that the position improved your leadership skills.

Should Being a TA Be One of Your Most Meaningful AMCAS Experiences?

A teaching assistant position can be one of your most meaningful AMCAS experiences when it had a substantial effect on your development, lasted for a meaningful amount of time, and gave you specific stories to discuss.

It may be especially appropriate when you taught for several semesters, developed close relationships with students or faculty, trained other TAs, discovered a genuine interest in education, or saw your efforts make a noticeable difference for other students.

You do not need to designate it as most meaningful simply because it sounds academically impressive. Your most meaningful experiences should reflect the activities that genuinely influenced your growth and decision to pursue medicine.

The AAMC recommends considering both the impact you made through an experience and the personal growth that resulted from your participation when choosing most meaningful entries.

Does Being a TA Count as Clinical Experience?

A traditional TA position does not count as clinical experience.

Teaching biology, anatomy, physiology, or another medically related subject does not involve caring for patients or observing how healthcare is delivered. The academic content may relate to medicine, but the setting remains educational rather than clinical.

You will still need patient-facing experiences that help you understand what physicians and healthcare teams actually do.

A TA position can complement your clinical work by strengthening communication, leadership, and teaching skills, but it should not replace clinical employment, volunteering, or other meaningful patient exposure.

Does Being a TA Count as Research?

Being a TA does not ordinarily count as research, even when the professor also runs a laboratory.

Teaching and research are separate activities and should usually be listed separately on AMCAS. If the TA relationship later leads to a laboratory position, you can create one entry for Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant and another for Research/Lab.

Keeping the experiences separate allows you to explain each role more clearly and enter the correct dates and hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is being a TA good for medical school applications?

Yes. A meaningful TA position can strengthen a medical school application by demonstrating teaching, communication, mentoring, leadership, reliability, academic engagement, and service to other students. Its value depends on your responsibilities and growth rather than the title alone.

Does being a TA count as leadership?

A TA position can demonstrate leadership because you guide students, manage learning activities, provide feedback, and accept responsibility for part of a course. However, Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant is usually the most accurate AMCAS category for a standard TA position.

Does being a TA count as volunteering?

Not when you receive pay or academic credit. You should report the compensation honestly. The experience can still demonstrate service orientation even when it is not formally classified as volunteer service.

Is being a TA considered employment?

A paid TA position is employment, although Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant may still be the best AMCAS experience category. You can explain within the description that the position was paid.

Does a TA position count as clinical experience?

No. Teaching science or a health-related course is not clinical experience unless the role includes genuine patient-facing responsibilities, which traditional undergraduate TA positions do not.

Which TA subject is best for premed students?

Chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology, mathematics, and statistics are all useful options. When several opportunities are otherwise equal, a science course may provide the strongest connection to prerequisite knowledge, the MCAT, and a potential science faculty recommendation.

Can a non-science TA position still help with medical school?

Yes. Teaching writing, psychology, sociology, economics, languages, or other subjects can still demonstrate communication, mentoring, preparation, leadership, and service. The quality of your experience matters more than forcing yourself into a science position you do not enjoy.

Can being a TA help you get into a research lab?

It can. Working closely with a professor may help them recognize your academic ability, dependability, and interest in the subject. Some TAs are later invited into laboratories, although this is never guaranteed.

Can a TA professor write a letter of recommendation?

Yes, particularly when the professor directly supervises your work and knows you over multiple semesters. A professor who both taught you in a course and supervised you as a TA may be able to write an especially detailed academic recommendation.

Can being a TA help with the MCAT?

It can reinforce foundational knowledge in the subject you teach and may improve your starting point when you begin formal MCAT preparation. However, it does not replace passage practice, content review across every tested subject, or full-length examinations.

How many hours per week do undergraduate TAs work?

The time commitment varies widely, but many university programs describe approximately 6 to 15 hours per week. The total may include teaching, preparation, grading, office hours, meetings, training, and proctoring.

How much do undergraduate TAs make?

Official university examples available in July 2026 ranged from approximately $11 to $29 per hour. Some institutions provide academic credit or semester stipends instead of hourly pay.

Is a TA position better than being an SI leader?

Neither is automatically better. TAs may have more formal course responsibilities, such as grading and leading laboratories, while SI leaders focus on optional collaborative sessions. Choose the position that offers meaningful teaching, strong supervision, sustained involvement, and a manageable schedule.

Should I become a TA for more than one semester?

Remaining for multiple semesters can make the experience more meaningful by allowing you to improve as a teacher, accept additional responsibilities, and build a deeper faculty relationship. However, you should not continue when the workload is harming your grades, MCAT preparation, health, or other important commitments.

Helpful Official Resources for Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

The AAMC Premed Competencies for Entering Medical Students explain the professional, reasoning, and science competencies medical schools consider during holistic review.

The AAMC Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Evaluation explain what medical schools encourage faculty recommenders to discuss, including the duration of the relationship and behaviors observed directly.

The Georgia Tech Chemistry Undergraduate TA Program provides an example of undergraduate TA responsibilities, compensation, training, laboratory facilitation, grading, and office hours.

The Iowa State Chemistry Undergraduate TA Program explains eligibility requirements, weekly responsibilities, training, compensation, and the value of building relationships with chemistry faculty.

The University of Michigan Biology UTA Program explains the duties, application process, academic credit, compensation, and pedagogy opportunities available to undergraduate teaching assistants.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Chemistry TA Program provides an example of laboratory and recitation TA responsibilities, faculty supervision, application timing, and workload.

The NIH-hosted article The Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Experience Offers Opportunities for Professional Development discusses how undergraduate teaching can contribute to learning, communication, confidence, and professional development.

The PubMed review A Review of Peer Teaching in Medical Student Education examines how peer teaching can benefit both learners and the students serving as teachers.

Final Thoughts: Is Being a TA Worth It for Premed Students?

For many premed students, becoming a teaching assistant is absolutely worth considering. It can help you strengthen your communication, deepen your understanding of difficult material, mentor younger students, earn money or academic credit, and develop a sustained relationship with a professor.

I was not personally a TA, but I had multiple friends who became TAs in chemistry, biology, and physics. They generally felt that the experience was valuable because it gave them direct contact with professors, allowed them to continue reviewing foundational science, and helped them make a real difference for younger students.

Several worked with the same professor for multiple semesters. Some were eventually invited into research laboratories, while others received strong medical school recommendations because the professor had watched them develop as students, teachers, and mentors.

They also felt more prepared when they began MCAT studying because they had continued revisiting concepts that many other students had not reviewed since completing the original course. They still needed a dedicated MCAT study period, but they often began with stronger foundational knowledge in the subject they had taught.

The most important reason to become a TA, however, is not that the title looks impressive. The best reason is that you enjoy helping other students and want to become better at teaching, communicating, and mentoring.

You may become the approachable older student who helps someone survive their first difficult chemistry course, regain confidence after a low examination score, or understand a concept that had seemed impossible earlier in the semester. When you approach the role with that purpose, the benefits to your medical school application become a natural reflection of the meaningful work you were already doing.