Mistakenly put down wrong hours in my primary!

[derrick rose]

So I am in the process of contacting verifiers right now and I submitted in the beginning of June (already verified). I know that I should have contacted my verifiers prior to now, but that is something in the past that cannot be fixed.

Problem: I somehow added 10 hours to my one volunteer activity with a non-profit organization. (lets say I put down 130 hours and it was actually 120 hours). The organization tracks the hours in a log sheet and I need to make sure that there are no discrepancies.

Option 1: Should I contact AMCAS/medical schools and tell them that I mistakenly added 10 extra hours?

OR

Option 2: Should I contact the verifier and acknowledge my mistake, letting them know that they can deduct that 10 hours if they are contacted?

I am assuming that the 2nd option will not reflect well on my character, possibly depicting some dishonesty on my part. What do you guys think?

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[Psai]

No one cares if you did 120 or 130 hours jesus christ

 

[derrick rose]

No one cares if you did 120 or 130 hours jesus christ

Its a principle of integrity is it not? I am aware that 10 hours does not make a difference in the adcom's evaluation. I am wondering if this sort of dishonesty can become a deal breaker and how should I work my way around it?

 

[nwts]

Its a principle of integrity is it not? I am aware that 10 hours does not make a difference in the adcom's evaluation. I am wondering if this sort of dishonesty can become a deal breaker and how should I work my way around it?

First of all, most of your activities will never be verified with the contact person you listed, so it's very possible that this won't even be an issue. Second, the purpose of having a contact person is to ensure that you are being honest about your work and activities. They are looking to make sure you didn't exaggerate experiences in order to look better. The only time your character will be called into question is when it is very clear that you intentionally lied about your involvement. Examples: claiming to have been the president of an organization when all you did was show up at one meeting and sit in the back, claiming to have volunteered for 600 hours when you actually only volunteered for 80, claiming to have been a store manager at your place of employment when you were actually only a cashier, etc. In your case, it is clearly an honest mistake. It is very plausible that somebody miscalculated his/her hours by 10, and it is unlikely that a person trying to exaggerate his/her involvement would have merely added 10 hours.

The point: don't worry. This won't be an issue. If they find out, they'll know it was an honest mistake.

 

[ThinkReallyFast]

Its a principle of integrity is it not? I am aware that 10 hours does not make a difference in the adcom's evaluation. I am wondering if this sort of dishonesty can become a deal breaker and how should I work my way around it?

It is hassle for an admissions staff to correct/note it and is not significant enough to influence your application, ergo do everyone a favor and leave it be. If it comes up be honest, no one will fault your for not creating a mountain out of a mole hill.

Alternatively, if you *really* want to create Mount Insignificant from Mole Hill No Body Cares ... you can:
1. Create a video proselytizing yourself while explaining the error in detail. Also wear colorful 1980's spandex to catch everyones attention.
2. Distribute it through national and local (within 100 miles of every school you applied) television advertisements until you receive your rejections.

 

[Catalystik]

So I am in the process of contacting verifiers right now and I submitted in the beginning of June (already verified). I know that I should have contacted my verifiers prior to now, but that is something in the past that cannot be fixed.

Problem: I somehow added 10 hours to my one volunteer activity with a non-profit organization. (lets say I put down 130 hours and it was actually 120 hours). The organization tracks the hours in a log sheet and I need to make sure that there are no discrepancies.

Option 1: Should I contact AMCAS/medical schools and tell them that I mistakenly added 10 extra hours?

OR

Option 2: Should I contact the verifier and acknowledge my mistake, letting them know that they can deduct that 10 hours if they are contacted?

I am assuming that the 2nd option will not reflect well on my character, possibly depicting some dishonesty on my part. What do you guys think?

Option 3: Don't contact anyone. Give ten more hours to that volunteer activity, now or when you're back on campus. If that's impossible, provide another community service for 10 hours to pay back your "karmic" debt.

 

[derrick rose]

It is hassle for an admissions staff to correct/note it and is not significant to influence your application, ergo do everyone a favor and leave it be. If it comes up be honest, no one will fault your for not creating a mountain out of a mole hill.

Alternatively, if you *really* want to create Mount Insignificant from Mole Hill No Body Cares ... you can:
1. Create a video proselytizing yourself while explaining the error in detail. Also wear colorful 1980's spandex to catch everyones attention.
2. Distribute it through national and local (within 100 miles of every school you applied) television advertisements until you receive your rejections.

I probably could only manage to get it distributed through a few local advertisements. Will this be sufficient?

 

[Psai]

People barely have time to read your application. My guess is that they will see it, say oh they did some volunteering just like the 50 other applications I looked at, that's nice. No one is going to call up your people and interrogate them if you actually did 130 vs 120 hours of volunteering. It doesn't matter. Now if you didn't do the volunteering and got caught, that would be bad. Just relax and don't sweat the small stuff dude

 

[emraldragon]

I probably could only manage to get it distributed through a few local advertisements. Will this be sufficient?

I can't tell if you are serious or not . . .

 

[derrick rose]

I can't tell if you are serious or not . . .

Not serious. Much sarcasm.