What ECs should be done in undergrad for admission to top schools?
This thread and forum should help.
Rochester might not be “top” enough for you, but they are helpful at publishing their annual class profile. Here’s the latest:
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/MediaLibraries/URMCMedia/education/md/documents/2022-profile.pdf
Change the year in the url and you’ll see it’s a template and one can get several years of reading. Pay attention to the “expected,” etc, to see what they expect to see and read about the highlights of some others to get ideas of other things they like that not everyone does.
I suspect most med schools are quite similar in what they expect and find attractive for a class. Do something to get yourself highlighted along with the expected things.
You need all the ECs to be considered, but the research will differentiate a candidate for TOP schools. You need to have your independent subject matter and complete the project all by yourself, not to be a part of a “large” project directed by professors and you just work under him.
Here’s a whole thread by a poster who was an app reader for his top medical school–