*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2015-2016*~*~*~*

[TwitchBeGone]

I write a humorous blog about being premed. It's run entirely by myself. Who would I list as a contact person for this activity?

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[Catalystik]

Should I list Phi Beta Kappa as a separate honors entry or lump it in with another entry where I have other things like cum laude, high honors, Psi Chi, etc?

It's worth including, but group it with your other honors.

 

[Catalystik]

I've been tutoring for the last 5 years, but its been pretty informal and I work for myself. Do I list myself as the contact for that or a student I worked with?

Using a long-term tutee or parent is a good choice. If you have an advisor aware of the activity, that would be better. Use yourself as a last resort.

 

[Catalystik]

I feel like the "Teaching" heading is most appropriate for my two years of RA experience. At my school, the overwhelming emphasis was on mentorship, developing individual relationships with our advisees, and providing support and guidance. Advisees were always students younger than myself as well. (Plus I have nothing else in the Teaching category, but plenty in Leadership).

RA as in residential adviser.

The best choice would be to use Employment (even if your compensation was room & board) and a title something like Residential Advisor, Freshman Mentor and Guide. The body of your narrative can make it very clear what the balance was between student support and administrative/policing/social/organizational duties.

If you actually held special teaching sessions/seminars on Adjusting to Life on Campus, Assault Awareness, STDs on Campus, Illegal Downloads and their Ramifications, Getting Medical Care When Needed, Greek Life, Alcohol & Other Drug Awareness, etc, you might break that out and list it on its own under Teaching, assuming sufficient hours. If this was a minor component, you could still mention it in your original entry, with perhaps adding to the activity title . . .and Teacher at Campus Survival Seminars.

 

[Catalystik]

1)The doctor I shadowed 2 years ago is now retired (I have recent shadowing from last year).. For the dr that retired, what number do I put? I doubt the hospital has any records, as it was more of a relaxed "okay come see what I do whenever you want" kinda thing (family practice). 2) I'm an enviro major and I got published but it's NOT medicine-related at all. it's about sustainability... worth mentioning at all in my activities?

1) I'd use whatever Contact information you kept, but make a note in the entry "Now Retired."

2) It's probably worth listing. If it's a scholarly article in an off-campus journal, and especially if it's based on an original research activity (not a lit review), use Publications. If it's more of an opinion piece, a review of a topic, or it's in a campus journal, rather than Publication, I suggest considering Teaching or Artistic Endeavors (referring to the writing) as a tag. If it's something altogether different, feel free to post more information for a better opinion.

 

[Catalystik]

Q1: Is it fair to have two experiences (one each year) that were with the same organization but you had totally different roles and gained different perspectives in each, as two separate entries with possibly making both MMs? Or at least one?

Q2: Since I've volunteered, then started a thesis (did not complete due to change of school), then worked at that research lab (handling data mostly and running that branch) all since 2009 (continuously), would I be able to break up this entry into more than 1 entry (same contact, experience type different (ie. leadership vs. research), title would be specific to the type selected, etc) one for the thesis portion (research), one for work portion (paid work), one under my short term volunteer portion. I'd be making the work portion an MM.

Q3: AMCAS stating up to 3 more occurrences of an experience, they mean just entering the extra date ranges right? Now actually having the same experience as separate entries (like my question 2)

1) Yes, it's fair. Using two MMs might be over much, but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.

2) Yes, you can break the activity up into its sub-components. I suggest not mentioning a not-completed thesis at all, but that doesn't invalidate the research you did. The short-term volunteer portion would better be incorporated into the Employment or Research entry, with a brief side note as it shows growth and that you were valued enough to be given a more responsible paid position.

3) See post #3 of this thread for how to use the Repeated feature.

 

[Catalystik]

I write a humorous blog about being premed. It's run entirely by myself. Who would I list as a contact person for this activity?

Unless your advisor knows about it, use yourself. Also, give a link. If you're going to mention it, some adcomms may want to check it out. Humor writing fits well under Artistic Endeavors.

 

[neoneurohocuspocus]

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions.

I have a couple of questions if we've been part of a sports team or a club every year in college.
1. Should we use the repeated option to separate out by year? What if each year the number of hours remains relatively constant, - should we just group it all into one start/end date?
2. If we should use the repeated function, should we list them in reverse chronological so that the first start/end date is the most recent year?

 

[Affiche]

What do you enter for an end date for an activity you're currently still involved in?

 

[Catalystik]

I have a couple of questions if we've been part of a sports team or a club every year in college.
1. Should we use the repeated option to separate out by year? What if each year the number of hours remains relatively constant, - should we just group it all into one start/end date?
2. If we should use the repeated function, should we list them in reverse chronological so that the first start/end date is the most recent year?

1) You can use the Repeated feature, or you could alternatively use an all inclusive date range, but title the activity to suggest intermittency, like, Academic-Year Club Soccer.

2) The program will give you an error message if you don't enter them in chronological order. And it won't save the information you enter until the problem is corrected.

 

[neoneurohocuspocus]

1) You can use the Repeated feature, or you could alternatively use an all inclusive date range, but title the activity to suggest intermittency, like, Academic-Year Club Soccer.

2) The program will give you an error message if you don't enter them in chronological order. And it won't save the information you enter until the problem is corrected.

Perfect, thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

What do you enter for an end date for an activity you're currently still involved in?

I suggest using the Repeated function to differentiate between completed hours and future planned hours. Enter the current month for End Date of the first date span. For the second, enter the same month as Start Date, then as the second End Date you can pick any month up until August 2016 when med school would start.

 

[Affiche]

I suggest using the Repeated function to differentiate between completed hours and future planned hours. Enter the current month for End Date of the first date span. For the second, enter the same month as Start Date, then as the second End Date you can pick any month up until August 2016 when med school would start.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question! I actually have two more:

1. I worked around 30 hours/week in college as a tutor for three different programs on campus. I would like to show that I balanced working almost full-time while being a full-time student, but "tutoring" is a separate category from "paid employment". As of now, I have everything listed as tutoring with total hours also listed, but I feel like this doesn't point out how many hours were worked each week. Should I leave it as it is, or is there a better way to lay this out?

2. Is listing University Honors (aka Dean's List) important? It's already listed on my transcript, so I wasn't planning to list it. I graduated with High Distinction, which is not listed on my transcript, but I wasn't sure if this should be listed anywhere? My gpa isn't particularly high compared with other pre-meds, but it was high enough within my major to quality for High Distinction (top 15% or something like that).

 

[Catalystik]

I worked around 30 hours/week in college as a tutor for three different programs on campus. I would like to show that I balanced working almost full-time while being a full-time student, but "tutoring" is a separate category from "paid employment". As of now, I have everything listed as tutoring with total hours also listed, but I feel like this doesn't point out how many hours were worked each week. Should I leave it as it is, or is there a better way to lay this out?

You can tag the activity as Teaching and then enter Paid XXX Tutor as a name, listing the Organization and Contact for the most substantial in the header and the other two in the narrative with comparable information. Assuming you've grouped these three activities, it would be fine to specifically state in your description that you tutored for 30 hours per week during the academic year.

 

[Affiche]

Thank you so much! You've been such a great help!

 

[ResidencyHopeful123]

I apologize if this has been addressed earlier (couldn't find it), but how in-depth do we discuss our research? I have listed my research as a most meaningful activity.

I plan on placing a somewhat technical (but still easily understandable) description in the description section (describing what I did), and the "softer" stuff (what I learned, it's meaningfulness) in the most meaningful section.

Is this a good way to approach this?

I don't want to get too technical, since the reader might not have any idea what I'm talking about.

 

[Catalystik]

I apologize if this has been addressed earlier (couldn't find it), but how in-depth do we discuss our research? I have listed my research as a most meaningful activity.

I plan on placing a somewhat technical (but still easily understandable) description in the description section (describing what I did), and the "softer" stuff (what I learned, it's meaningfulness) in the most meaningful section.

Is this a good way to approach this?

I don't want to get too technical, since the reader might not have any idea what I'm talking about.

This approach is perfect, as all staffers reading the entry may not have a science background. After an easy-to-understand introduction, you may add a technical, jargony blurb, if you have room, but if you have a cited publication, poster, or presentation, the latter is unnecessary, as the title would likely cover the same territory.

 

[slatewater]

See post #56. Note: this is a form of ultra extreme condensing. Ideally, you'd include more than this suggests. How much depends on the space you have to spare.

Thanks! Follow-up: one of the papers was accepted a few weeks ago and is currently in production, but consequently doesn't have a PMID or any other identifying information. Would it be all right to enter it like this: "4th author: "TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT" (Accepted to *name of journal*, date)"?

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks! Follow-up: one of the papers was accepted a few weeks ago and is currently in production, but consequently doesn't have a PMID or any other identifying information. Would it be all right to enter it like this: "4th author: "TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT" (Accepted to *name of journal*, date)"?

That's fine. Unless the journal is one that everyone recognizes, you might enter "PMID# pending", if you have room.

 

[slatewater]

That's fine. Unless the journal is one that everyone recognizes, you might enter "PMID# pending", if you have room.

Ok great, thanks. And then if there's more than 1 publication I'm listing (although all from the same research experience), could I put the experience start date the day I started the research position? And list the experience name as "XXXX Research - Accepted Manuscripts and Abstracts"?

Thanks so much for everything!

 

[Catalystik]

Ok great, thanks. And then if there's more than 1 publication I'm listing (although all from the same research experience), could I put the experience start date the day I started the research position? And list the experience name as "XXXX Research - Accepted Manuscripts and Abstracts"?

I assume you'll be entering your list of publications and accepted manuscripts under Publications, in which case there is no Start Date, just the Date of Publication (or the date of acceptance). The title might be Scholarly Journal Articles on [XXX Topic] or Accepted Manuscripts and Abstracts on [XXX Topic], or somesuch.

 

[Svenson]

I am clumping all my awards into three entries. I am listing the individual awards in temporal order within the entries, but the date I received them spans my academic career. For all three entries, should I put the date as the month of when I started college so that the three entries will be lumped together within the Work/Activities section?

 

[Catalystik]

I am clumping all my awards into three entries. I am listing the individual awards in temporal order within the entries, but the date I received them spans my academic career. For all three entries, should I put the date as the month of when I started college so that the three entries will be lumped together within the Work/Activities section?

I understand you're trying to get them all to print out next to each other on the PDF version of the Section, however listing the first month of college wouldn't accurately reflect their reception. I haven't seen it done, but I'd be more in favor of listing the last month of college (to date) as you will have been the recipient of all the honors and awards, as of that time.

 

[Svenson]

I understand you're trying to get them all to print out next to each other on the PDF version of the Section, however listing the first month of college wouldn't accurately reflect their reception. I haven't seen it done, but I'd be more in favor of listing the last month of college (to date) as you will have been the recipient of all the honors and awards, as of that time.

Makes sense - thanks!

 

[nRomaleos]

I suggest using the Repeated function to differentiate between completed hours and future planned hours. Enter the current month for End Date of the first date span. For the second, enter the same month as Start Date, then as the second End Date you can pick any month up until August 2016 when med school would start.

Would this look like the following?:

#1: Jan 2010 - Jan 2014: 100 hours
#2: Jan 2010 - Aug 2016: 50 hours

 

[Catalystik]

Would this look like the following?:

#1: Jan 2010 - Jan 2014: 100 hours
#2: Jan 2010 - Aug 2016: 50 hours

No, not even close. It would look like this:

#1 Jan 2010-May 2015 100 hours (meaning, these are completed)
#2 May 2015-Aug 2016 50 hours (meaning, hours predicted into the future)

Note that this won't work if you stopped your current involvement in Jan 2014 and plan to resume sometime after June 2015, as the program won't save a future start date.

 

[nRomaleos]

No, not even close. It would look like this:

#1 Jan 2010-May 2015 100 hours (meaning, these are completed)
#2 May 2015-Aug 2016 50 hours (meaning, hours predicted into the future)

Note that this won't work if you stopped your current involvement in Jan 2014 and plan to resume sometime after June 2015, as the program won't save a future start date.

Considering that schools probably won't see primaries until late June to early July, what are your thoughts about including completed hours for June as well? For example:

#1 Jan 2010 - June 2015 120 hours
#2 June 2015 - Aug 2016 30 hours

 

[Catalystik]

Hey @Catalystik, for hobbies I have exercising since I do it about 6x per week and it is a huge part of my life.
1) How would I estimate total hours and time period?
2) I've been doing this since my teenage years. I was in a sports club in college so I had a mandatory exercise program I had to follow. Would I not include this as time period in my exercise hobby since i have another section for it?

1) You may
a) list Start Date sometime in your teens and select multiple date ranges (maybe teens and post-college years) to specify Total Hours for each, or
b) you could enter just the college years, as you already plan to, and post-college involvement (both of which we're more interested in) and describe the back story of earlier involvement in the Hobbies narrative, in a vague, non-hours-based way.

Honestly, the hours will be so high as to be meaningless. You might enter a 999 to show you understand this, while describing an overview of past and recent involvement narratively.

2) Correct. Don't double list the hours. "You might refer to College Club Lifting Involvement is listed elsewhere," as you give the tale of ~decade-long involvement under Hobbies.

 

[Catalystik]

Considering that schools probably won't see primaries until late June to early July, what are your thoughts about including completed hours for June as well? For example:

#1 Jan 2010 - June 2015 120 hours
#2 June 2015 - Aug 2016 30 hours

I think that's fine, as of the date you submit (as I'm a purist about such things and see all too often that predicted involvement goes embarrassingly awry). But then you'll have to wait to fill it out in June. Until June 1, the program won't let you save a Start Date of June 2015.

 

[desertrat12]

Thanks for such an extremely helpful thread...I've searched the forum for my question and can't seem to find it (my searching abilities may be a bit weak as this is my first time posting on SDN)...

1) In order to use the "catchall" style of inputting work/activities that was mentioned on the first page of this post, how should we go about inputting hours/organization name/contact's name/etc if, for example, we are using the catchall experience of volunteer non medical and our experiences are from a variety of organization and include a variety of contacts and hours?
The first page approaches this question from the view point of physician shadowing and says to input the contact name/hours/etc from the first physician we want to list and then to proceed to put in other physician's contact information/hours/etc in the space provided for experience description. Is this also how other categories should be approached?

2) Also, AMCAS instruction manual states that while a maximum of 15 total experiences may be entered, you can enter up to 4 occurrences for each experience. Is this in regards to the catchall all approach? If, for example, we have more than just 4 volunteer experiences that we feel are valuable, should we then go on and use another one of the 15 spots and start another volunteer section?

Thanks!

 

[charlie517]

@Catalystik thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

1) In order to use the "catchall" style of inputting work/activities that was mentioned on the first page of this post, how should we go about inputting hours/organization name/contact's name/etc if, for example, we are using the catchall experience of volunteer non medical and our experiences are from a variety of organization and include a variety of contacts and hours?
The first page approaches this question from the view point of physician shadowing and says to input the contact name/hours/etc from the first physician we want to list and then to proceed to put in other physician's contact information/hours/etc in the space provided for experience description. Is this also how other categories should be approached?

2) Also, AMCAS instruction manual states that while a maximum of 15 total experiences may be entered, you can enter up to 4 occurrences for each experience. Is this in regards to the catchall all approach? If, for example, we have more than just 4 volunteer experiences that we feel are valuable, should we then go on and use another one of the 15 spots and start another volunteer section?

1) Yes. Just be sure the title you pick encompasses everything in the space. The Contact will apply to the first activity listed, only, so best if it's a recent, more substantive one. The date span should encompass all the activities and Total Hours should be the sum of the individual hours you enter next to each activity. The title should indicate intermittency, like including the words, Sporadic or Intermittent before Short-Term Community Service.

2) No. See post #3 for uses of the Repeated feature.

 

[desertrat12]

Much thanks!

 

[charlie517]

1. Would 66 hrs of clinical volunteer work be enough to have it's own entry or should I group it with my other Short-Term volunteer positions? I could have enough to say for 700 characters since it was my first medical/clinical exposure (was an patient escort, sent/picked up lab work, dispersed mail to hospitalized patients, and greeted incoming people at the door).

2. If grouped, can I make that one the main contact and entry and cite the other positions after its description? (timeline wise it's right smack in the middle of the volunteer work).

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

1. Would 66 hrs of clinical volunteer work be enough to have it's own entry or should I group it with my other Short-Term volunteer positions? I could have enough to say for 700 characters since it was my first medical/clinical exposure (was an patient escort, sent/picked up lab work, dispersed mail to hospitalized patients, and greeted incoming people at the door).

2. If grouped, can I make that one the main contact and entry and cite the other positions after its description? (timeline wise it's right smack in the middle of the volunteer work).

1) Yes, it could stand on its own.

2) Are all the experiences you want to group also short-term active clinical experiences?

 

[charlie517]

1) Yes, it could stand on its own.

2) Are all the experiences you want to group also short-term active clinical experiences?

2). Yes. All are under 70 hrs; some just 20 hrs.

 

[slatewater]

An abstract I wrote was nominated for a pretty prestigious award at the annual meeting of a conference, though the meeting takes place next month. Would it be appropriate to include this as an award/honor?

 

[jagster92]

As part of my curriculum I'm required to perform 1 year of clinical rotations which are occurring from now until spring 2016. I was planning on including my scheduled rotations as one of my 15 experiences as it will be a significant time commitment over the next year (almost 2000hrs) and is all in the healthcare field. However, my advisor recommended not using it as an experience as it's a required part of my curriculum and rather ungrouping one of my other activities to describe it in greater detail. I'm inclined to agree with him in some aspects because it's something anyone in my degree would have to do to graduate, but also would like it as an activity to show that I'll actually be doing something over the next year plus most places wouldn't see this until they get my final transcript which wouldn't be available for the consideration of whether to accept me or not. Any thoughts?

 

[Catalystik]

2). Yes. All are under 70 hrs; some just 20 hrs.

Then you are fine to group them together , using the most substantial experience as the first listed, as you described.

 

[Catalystik]

An abstract I wrote was nominated for a pretty prestigious award at the annual meeting of a conference, though the meeting takes place next month. Would it be appropriate to include this as an award/honor?

I suggest mentioning it after the citation of the abstract. Winning it would make for a sweet update.

 

[azzeh123]

.

 

[Catalystik]

For the PS is the PDF version the one that adcoms will read in regards to correct formatting?

Yes.

 

[rrubay]

1) Yes.

2) Assuming none of the abstracts was published in a known print journal, you could put all of them in one space under Posters/Presentations, giving credit to the presenter.

3) No.

4) Assuming it's a campus journal, you could mention the publication in the same space with the Research entry. See guidelines in post #700 above. You could safely omit this activity completely if you are as strong in research as your previously-mentioned productivity suggests. You can decide if the project is space-worthy.

5) No. Your transcript speaks for itself.

Thank you!

 

[RhinB]

Hello - I have a few different questions but will layout some brief background info.

Relevant Activities:

1. Alzheimer's Club - C0-Founded, participated in volunteer-esque activities, volunteer at local dementia center
2. School summer program - Lots of physician shadowing and a community service project that was worked on throughout the summer

For References I already have 15 total activities listed, but I'm asking to see whether some activities warrant their own spot. I tried to squeeze many together so I could fit in more things. One that I haven't mentioned I don't plan on changing.
1 - for the alzheimer's club, should I separate these activities or just explain that I did lots of volunteer and leadership work here? It will be one of my most meaningful experiences. Should I list it under "Leadership" or "Extracurriculars" or "Comm serv - medical"?
2 - for the school summer program should I list under "shadowing" or "comm serv"? Should I split it up?

I know I should try to keep the categories about even but what do you think are the most "important" categories? The ones adcomms will be looking at more rigorously? Is there some kind of order of importance you might have in mind?

Thank in advance for the advice and you're a lifesaver for donating your time to this forum!

 

[ResidencyHopeful123]

Another question (thanks for all the help!). One of the insights that I received from my research was the danger of confirmation bias (basically, I was inadvertently selecting for data points that support my hypothesis, leading to a complete revision of the experiment).

This is something that I feel is important, especially in the medical field (where one might be prone to mis-diagnoses).

Is this something that is OK on an application, or does it raise red-flags (i.e. I am not trustworthy, etc.)

 

[Catalystik]

Hello - I have a few different questions but will layout some brief background info.

Relevant Activities:

1. Alzheimer's Club - C0-Founded, participated in volunteer-esque activities, volunteer at local dementia center
2. School summer program - Lots of physician shadowing and a community service project that was worked on throughout the summer

For References I already have 15 total activities listed, but I'm asking to see whether some activities warrant their own spot. I tried to squeeze many together so I could fit in more things. One that I haven't mentioned I don't plan on changing.
1 - for the alzheimer's club, should I separate these activities or just explain that I did lots of volunteer and leadership work here? It will be one of my most meaningful experiences. Should I list it under "Leadership" or "Extracurriculars" or "Comm serv - medical"?
2 - for the school summer program should I list under "shadowing" or "comm serv"? Should I split it up?

3) I know I should try to keep the categories about even but what do you think are the most "important" categories? The ones adcomms will be looking at more rigorously? Is there some kind of order of importance you might have in mind?

1) You may separate them if each component is strong enough to stand on its own. Since you co-founded the club, it is reasonable to put the whole thing under Leadership, since you were a leader for the entire date span. UNLESS, you have nothing else in Volunteer - Medical (assuming you're sure it's medical), in which case that is the more important tag.

2) Split is up if you can, as both components are important.

3) IMO, Clinical experience (paid or volunteer), Shadowing, non-medical community service, research. In that order. Leadership, for "top schools."

 

[Catalystik]

One of the insights that I received from my research was the danger of confirmation bias (basically, I was inadvertently selecting for data points that support my hypothesis, leading to a complete revision of the experiment).

This is something that I feel is important, especially in the medical field (where one might be prone to mis-diagnoses).

Is this something that is OK on an application, or does it raise red-flags (i.e. I am not trustworthy, etc.)

I think it's a good insight to have. You don't necessarily have to state that the experience was personal.

 

[restlessdriven]

I was involved in a service learning organization on campus through most of my college years. I was only a member one year, but a leader the last two. Each year, I went on a different trip which involved service in a different location in support of a different issue. Extensive education and fundraising were required before the actual hands-on one week venture. Should I just list all three trips with different hours before all three and go into a little detail about the specific issue of each one? I could speak extensively about each but I'm already combining other activities as is. Two of the trips involved underprivileged groups and have influenced me toward working more with the disadvantaged. Thanks for any input!

 

[nRomaleos]

If a philanthropy I volunteered with has strong connections with my fraternity, do I have to explain the connection in the experience description? Or would it just make the whole thing more confusing than it has to be?

 

[Catalystik]

I was involved in a service learning organization on campus through most of my college years. I was only a member one year, but a leader the last two. Each year, I went on a different trip which involved service in a different location in support of a different issue. Extensive education and fundraising were required before the actual hands-on one week venture. Should I just list all three trips with different hours before all three and go into a little detail about the specific issue of each one? I could speak extensively about each but I'm already combining other activities as is. Two of the trips involved underprivileged groups and have influenced me toward working more with the disadvantaged.

Consider using the Repeated function for each date range, since the header information is likely to be similar. This will highlight your ongoing (but intermittent) relationship with a single organization, which reflects well. I agree with explaining the focus of each trip in your narrative and adding some of its impact on you.