AMCAS 2014-2015 Application Research Entries

[SynBio]

So I bought a few resources for the upcoming 2014-2015 application cycle (For MD/PhD):

"The Medical School Admissions Guide" by Suzanne Miller, MD
"The MedEdits Guide to Medical School Admissions" by Jessica Freedman, MD
"Essays that will get you into Medical School" by Adrienne Dowhan, Christ Dowhan, and Dan Kaufman

I am trying to plan ahead and pre-write all of my 10-15 Work/Activities entries for the AMCAS application but I am having a little trouble with my entries for presentations, posters, publications, etc.

The first two books do a good job showing examples for entries that MD and MD/PhD share such as volunteering, shadowing, work experience, etc. However is seems the accomplishments of research entries are a little sparse. For example I found literally just a few entries for presentations, posters, publications, etc. This would be fine, but I have

• 5 posters
• 2 published abstracts
• 2 journal publications
• 3 National & International Conference oral presentations

and the entries are limited to 15. I am trying to condense certain things but this seems problematic as well. For example, if enter all my posters in one entry I am over the character cut-off already just listing formatting (author, poster title, conference/symposium, location). Not to mention I cannot put in a small narrative because I am already over the character limit.

Does anyone have advice for this?

I want to be able to show all of these items descriptively, but in the optimal way so it doesn't seem like I am listing things. I thought about mentioning I have done these things in a research assistant entry (or maybe the MD/PhD essay) but I have had 6 research projects and I figured I would be describing those projects more than just listing what I gained out of them.

I know that you to need to provide a full citation for journal publications, but I am not sure how this is viewed for posters and/or abstracts?

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[mTORC]

What I did is that I had a box (one of the 15) titled "Posters, Seminars and Abstracts: Lab A", each for the labs I worked in..one for Lab A and one for Lab B. I also have a separate box labelled "Publications" and put all my pubs including citations in it.

This is an example of what I wrote for the posters, seminars, abstracts box for Lab A on delectable mushrooms (excluding personal info):

Abstract, with accompanying plenary seminar by Dr. Smith:
Smith JK and Potter HK. "Title of le abstract". Conference on Tasty Mushrooms.: Vermont, November 1920.

Seminar:
Potter HK and Smith JK. “Title of le talk”. This seminar series on wild gourmet mushrooms: Alaska, February 1999.

Poster:
Potter HK et al., “Title of le international poster”. 15th Annual International Tasty Mushroom Observers Conference: Texas, August, 1992.

Then in a separate box, I did this for Lab B. Finally, in another box I did my first author papers...



My advice is to combine multiple activities that are related in each box in a way that makes logical sense.

EDIT: To actually answer your question, only put the important posters in there. I had ~15 posters, maybe 8 talks, and only ended up mentioning 2 posters and 3 talks. PM me if you want more specifics

 

[SynBio]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[SynBio]

I have read through threads in the the Pre-Medical Allopathic [ MD ] like the following:

*~*~*~*Tips for Entering your "Work and Activities" in AMCAS*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2013-2014*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2014-2015*~*~*~*

I was wondering how previous MD-PhD applicants in this forum (physician scientists) have split AMCAS entries as research assistants/techs/postbacs/students in the case that they did research in a single lab only (my case)?

For example, did you enter a separate entry per project if you had numerous entries left? Or did you combine into a single "research assistant" entry (still listing poster/presentation entries, publication entries, etc. elsewhere) and describe overall duties, skills/techniques learned, growth as a researcher, etc.?

I think in my situation it would be useful to list at least two separate research positions. The first year I worked was unpaid, and the folowing 2.5 years have been paid. The question that comes about is whether I should split the last 2.5 years into multiple entries (one per project; 4 in my case or by time period). I know I will have to explain each project in the MD-PhD research essay as well. Currently I have an entry for each year of research (i.e. research lab team member 2011, research assistant 2012, 2013, 2014; 4 entries)

 

[catzzz88]

Woa, just one entry per lab! In my opinion, it will just look like you are desperate if you split up work with the same PI into 2-4 different topics.

Unpaid + paid all into one, summarize the project(s) and what you learned.

Publications should go into a separate section, but mention them briefly if you have room in the lab heading.

 

[[insertname]]

A separate entry per lab seems to be the consensus, but what would you all suggest for cases where someone has worked in 5+ labs (due to semesters abroad, summer internships, etc.)? That only leaves 10 spots for shadowing, non-clinical volunteering, clinical volunteering, honors/awards, hobbies, and extracurriculars...

 

[SynBio]

To clarify I have been in a single lab for 3.5 years; 5 projects in the same lab.

Looking at this more, there seems to be a difference of opinions. In my case, listing everything in one entry would barely be enough for all the titles of each project and no more than a sentence per project (if that...). This is insufficient to describe a meaningful experience, but that's my opinion. Given the MD-PhD & significant research essay, the experience(s) can be shortened but I feel this is still pushing it. Over on the pre-allo, advice from a faculty member was to split research into time chunks (e.g. by year) or by topic; resulted in 4 research entries covering 5 projects.

The only reason I would split into 5 entries is because I have carried each project to a significant level (national/international oral presentation/poster and/or publication). It would not be fluff just to fill space.

 

[SynBio]

[insertname]

Is 10 remaining spaces insufficient for you? If so, maybe list research entries by time frame.

Example:

Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: 2013 Lab Research
Start Date: Jan 2013
End Date: May 2013
Repeated: Yes
2nd Start Date: May 2013
2nd End Date: August 2013
3rd Start Date: September 2013
3rd End Date: December 2013
Organization name: University X, Y, and Z

Lab A: I used bacterial cloning techniques to...

Lab B: I performed flow cytometry and mammalian culture to...

Lab C: Using optogenetics coupled with reverse engineering algorithms, I built...

If each lab experience was a separate year, maybe list a entry for all summer internships and then an entry for labs abroad if you feel that 10 spaces are not enough to capture your other experiences.

 

[[insertname]]

To clarify I have been in a single lab for 3.5 years; 5 projects in the same lab.

Looking at this more, there seems to be a difference of opinion. In my case, listing everything in one entry would barely be enough for all the titles of each project and no more than a sentence per project (if that...). This is insufficient to describe a meaningful experience, but that's my opinion. Given the MD-PhD & significant research essay, the experience(s) can be shortened but I feel this is still pushing it. Over on the pre-allo, advice from a faculty member was to split research into time chunks (e.g. by year) or by topic; resulted in 4 research entries covering 5 projects.

The only reason I would split into 5 entries is because I have carried each project to a significant level (national/international oral presentation/poster and/or publication). It would not be fluff just to fill space.

What would you explain in the Activities section that you could not address in the 10,000 character limit significant research essay? If you are choosing your research activity as your "most significant experience," you can focus on the subjective aspects of your experience in the activities section and list the objective information in the significant research essay--just my two cents.

 

[SynBio]

You bring up a good point catzzz88 & [insertname]. I initially thought about combining all projects into a single entry, making it a most significant experience, and talking about general aspects about my research, not specific details for the projects which I would do in the significant research essay.

Perhaps I will do this then.

 

[oxfordian]

I think it doesn't really matter how you do it. It just depends on what works best for you.

Here's what I did, for another example. I had a lot of other things I wanted to include in the activities sections, so I wanted to combine things.

- All research (4 labs over 5 years) combined into one box labeled "undergraduate research". I literally just put in the box where I worked, hours/week, and dates. I then marked it most significant because obviously I want to go into research (I think everyone should do this). I wouldn't bother explaining your research here because the space is so limited. You have a whole other essay to do that with ample space. (If you are going over that character limit, you are probably rambling or doing things like describing techniques.)

- All conferences/presentations in one box. I left out some insignificant ones. For projects I presented multiple times, I just put the title, then listed multiple conferences/abstracts/posters/whatever. I also in the research essay put the publications/presentations after describing that project (repetitive, I know, but I included some of the less important presentations, etc.). If you have several publications or a really significant one (first author, good journal), you might want to put that separate.

Everything just depends on how many activity boxes you need for other things. The space to describe is very limited, but don't fret. MD/PhD will read your whole application and find the info they are interested in. If you get pushed for space, write it in the research essay somewhere.

For some credibility, I was pretty successful this past cycle (multiple acceptances, toughest part was choosing my favorite).

 

[SynBio]

Thanks @oxfordian

I am curious, did you utilize all 15 AMCAS Work Experience/Activities slots?

 

[catzzz88]

Thanks @oxfordian

I am curious, did you utilize all 15 AMCAS Work Experience/Activities slots?

I did use all 15, and it was a bit cramped. Oxfordian is right. If you have 5 activities then, by all means, spread those labs out as much as possible. But if you, like many candidates, are cramped for space with only 15 activities, then group them together!

 

[SynBio]

Thanks @catzzz88 !

 

[oxfordian]

I don't think I ended up using ALL of them, but I'll have to double check. He's what I remember:

1. Research (4 experiences combined)
2. Conferences/presentations/abstracts
3. Scholarships/awards
4. Shadowing (combined 3 experiences)
5. Volunteer org/leadership
6. Volunteer org/leadership
7. Other leadership
8. TA/peer mentor
9. Long term study abroad
10. Volunteering abroad
11. Volunteer/shadow/public health abroad
12. Alternative spring breaks (combined 2, helped organize and participate)

I left out things I didn't find significant or didn't want to talk about. Think of it like this: ANYTHING you briefly mention is fair game for interviews. So don't pretend you're a theatre enthusiast because you saw 3 plays and want to impress people. Someone just might pry into that out mutual interest and then you look dumb/fake.

Almost everywhere does ask about hobbies at interview. I didn't feel the need to include them in the app bc I haven't won awards for them or anything. Mostly they just want small talk and to make sure you have a healthy stress relief outlet to get you through this long journey.

They really don't care about the NUMBER of boxes filled. More about the info/content they get from it. Remember that each individual school is working within AMCAS format just like you. Even with secondaries, the actual reviewers probably think there are better ways to organize the info. Just try to make your story as easy to follow as possible. Then they won't care or remember HOW you input it. You want them to remember YOU and your experiences/motivations/whatever.

 

[SynBio]

Thanks again for sharing @oxfordian , its nice to get information from successful applicants who went through this process!