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

[HopelessGal]

You are the best @Catalystik

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[Catalystik]

Okay, the most recent was some tutoring through a huge organization, Jersey Cares, though I could probably find and contact the project manager and ask to use her email. Prior to that, two major hurricanes hit my area in 2011 and my hometown hard in 2012, and I spent most weekends collecting food and supplies and helping flood victims clean up their homes. This wasn't organized; it was all word of mouth and local Facebook pages set up to recruit volunteers, but it was a significant amount of time and work. I also mentioned peer mentoring through my college counseling center nearly a decade ago and the fact that I started volunteering in childhood through Girl Scouts, church, and a high school club that built and "staffed" a community center with volunteers. ETA: just a thought- could I list this as "hobbies," since that doesn't seem to require a contact name?

I understand the problem you face. And, for Hobbies, it's common to list oneself as the contact.

 

[njtrimed]

I understand the problem you face. And, for Hobbies, it's common to list oneself as the contact.

Thank you, Catalystik! And am I missing something? I entered triathlon as a hobby and didn't have to enter a contact.

While I'm overthinking things, would most people only enter time actually spent at actual triathlon events, racing and volunteering? Or would I include training time, which is generally 10-15 hours a week?

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you, Catalystik! And am I missing something? I entered triathlon as a hobby and didn't have to enter a contact.

While I'm overthinking things, would most people only enter time actually spent at actual triathlon events, racing and volunteering? Or would I include training time, which is generally 10-15 hours a week?

Nope, you're right. Hobbies no longer requires a Contact in the header.

Training time should be included.

 

[njtrimed]

And one last question:

Nope, you're right. Hobbies no longer requires a Contact in the header.

Training time should be included.

Great, thank you!

 

[Pastamahn]

Another approach to an activity with multiple subcomponents would be to use the category of "Other." Then title the activity something that evokes the most important of them, maybe Fraternity-Related Experiences, Community Service, and Leadership. Or, take out the words "Fraternity-Related," substitute with "Collegiate," and then include the other organization's activities in the same space.

Thank you for the advice! I actually like that way of categorizing it because both orgs are going to end up being most meaningful and will be helpful keeping them under one header.

 

[drhy]

Question guys, would you include an honors undergraduate thesis project in the ECs? It's a 8 month research project which culminates in a written thesis and a oral defense.

 

[Catalystik]

Question guys, would you include an honors undergraduate thesis project in the ECs? It's a 8 month research project which culminates in a written thesis and a oral defense.

Has the project already begun? Then you can include it in its own space.

 

[byron108]

Question - I did a significant amount of dual enrollment courses while enrolled in high school. Although this reflects in my Course Work section, I wanted to also include it in Work/Activities since I graduated community college with an Associate's Degree, with several other honors/accolades including an honor society and other things which do not reflect elsewhere on my application. Would it be reasonable to include this in Work/Activities, even though I technically completed it in high school (although I was a full time community college student)? Would it go under Honors/Award/Recognition?

 

[sunshine02]

A friendly bump to other applicants for this question:

Does anyone happen to have a good (generic) example of a summary/description for an activity?
I've been trying to write my but I keep using "I" too much. I'm freaking out.

Is there something wrong with that? If you don't use "I" it will sound weird.

 

[sunshine02]

If I've worked in 3-4 research labs but don't have room to talk about each, what do I do? Combine them into one? What if some resulted in publications (scientific journals)--how do I combine these things?

 

[Catalystik]

Question - I did a significant amount of dual enrollment courses while enrolled in high school. Although this reflects in my Course Work section, I wanted to also include it in Work/Activities since I graduated community college with an Associate's Degree, with several other honors/accolades including an honor society and other things which do not reflect elsewhere on my application. Would it be reasonable to include this in Work/Activities, even though I technically completed it in high school (although I was a full time community college student)? Would it go under Honors/Award/Recognition?

Yes and yes.

 

[Catalystik]

If I've worked in 3-4 research labs but don't have room to talk about each, what do I do? Combine them into one? What if some resulted in publications (scientific journals)--how do I combine these things?

Your choices might be driven by whether you're applying primarily to research-oriented schools, or not.

You might strategically use a Research MM space to get more room for description. And put all pubs in one Publication space.

Or skimp on long-ago projects to have more space for the recent ones.

Or group other experiences to have more Research spots.

Or cut some out.

 

[ttt92]

By "commercial message" I meant that I was giving unsought advice, something I try to stay away from on this thread. Fortunately, my concern was unfounded, as you appear to have sufficient clinical experience from the past.

Now that I'm better informed, I think it would be fine to put those recent Experiences together, ideally giving it a catch-all name, like Gap-Year Clinical Activities. Alternatively, you could add the shadowing to your other Shadowing entry (maybe excluding the dental item) and mention the clinical volunteering as an addendum to another Community Service Volunteer - Medical/Clinical description.

Hi Catalystik,

Thank you so much for your advice! I do have one more question for you: I've been working on starting a non-profit (a mentorship program for disadvantaged students) with a few medical student & business friends for the past 8 months. We haven't submitted to get our 501c3 status yet and everything's a work in progress. Would this be okay to list as an activity on my AMCAS or would it be too early to state this as it hasn't been done yet in the case that adcoms ask me about it? If we don't make progress on it by the time of interviews as the work we've made on it has been slow, I don't want adcoms to think that I was too overambitious and wrote it in my application (because it sounds really good, but we haven't gotten our status or things done yet). Thanks so much!

 

[Vivalarevolution]

Question guys, would you include an honors undergraduate thesis project in the ECs? It's a 8 month research project which culminates in a written thesis and a oral defense.

I definitely included mine

 

[Yusuke777]

Is it imperative to mention hours/week in the description on each particular activity? I feel like the total hours and date ranges I give should reflect that to enough of an extent and free up some characters in the description to provide more insightful information about the experience.

 

[Catalystik]

Hi Catalystik,

Thank you so much for your advice! I do have one more question for you: I've been working on starting a non-profit (a mentorship program for disadvantaged students) with a few medical student & business friends for the past 8 months. We haven't submitted to get our 501c3 status yet and everything's a work in progress. Would this be okay to list as an activity on my AMCAS or would it be too early to state this as it hasn't been done yet in the case that adcoms ask me about it? If we don't make progress on it by the time of interviews as the work we've made on it has been slow, I don't want adcoms to think that I was too overambitious and wrote it in my application (because it sounds really good, but we haven't gotten our status or things done yet). Thanks so much!

I agree that it sounds like a really good idea, but it would be premature to list it since much progress needs to be made the plan is actuated. Secondaries would be a reasonable place to lay out the plan though.

 

[Catalystik]

Is it imperative to mention hours/week in the description on each particular activity? I feel like the total hours and date ranges I give should reflect that to enough of an extent and free up some characters in the description to provide more insightful information about the experience.

It is no longer required to provide hours per week. There might be a rare instance where including it makes sense, if you'd like to.

 

[mmcoffee]

Is it unwise to mention that I was working a retail job (obv not in my field) because I needed something flexible while studying for the MCAT and working on research?

Of course I will also mention the life experience I gained etc etc. but I can't tell if it's a faux pas to mention the last bit.

 

[mmcoffee]

Extra info: This is all during my gap year so it looks a bit unproductive to just put the part time retail job. But like I mentioned it had great hours/flexibility while I studied

 

[Catalystik]

Is it unwise to mention that I was working a retail job (obv not in my field) because I needed something flexible while studying for the MCAT and working on research?

Of course I will also mention the life experience I gained etc etc. but I can't tell if it's a faux pas to mention the last bit.

Extra info: This is all during my gap year so it looks a bit unproductive to just put the part time retail job. But like I mentioned it had great hours/flexibility while I studied

It is appropriate to mention the retail job. Adcomms like to know how busy you are. A job requiring people skills and problem-solving abilities works to your benefit. Just don't get too poetic about relating it all back to medicine, as this can be overdone.

 

[MrBen14]

Hey @Catalystik

So I listed myself as a contact for a volunteer experience I did awhile ago. I didn't say in the description why I put myself. Is this bad?
It wasn't many hours and the only coordinator I worked with is no longer around.
Oh I submitted already, so I know I cannot simply add a sentence.

 

[IbrKU]

When grouping activities together, whose contact info should I give?

 

[Catalystik]

Hey @Catalystik

So I listed myself as a contact for a volunteer experience I did awhile ago. I didn't say in the description why I put myself. Is this bad?
It wasn't many hours and the only coordinator I worked with is no longer around.
Oh I submitted already, so I know I cannot simply add a sentence.

If you have more objective contacts for your more recent and more substantive community service, I expect you'll be fine.

 

[Catalystik]

When grouping activities together, whose contact info should I give?

Ideally, you'll list all of them. The contact of the first on your list should goes in the header. The rest would be mentioned after each subsequent description.

 

[Pastamahn]

What if we really have no good guess as to how many hours we have put into a leadership position? I have held a certain chair for almost 2 years, but its hard to guess how many hours because most of the time spent for the chair is outside of meetings and sporadic.

 

[Catalystik]

What if we really have no good guess as to how many hours we have put into a leadership position? I have held a certain chair for almost 2 years, but its hard to guess how many hours because most of the time spent for the chair is outside of meetings and sporadic.

You could enter a 99 or a 999 and explain in the narrative that you didn't keep track of hours. Your explanation of your role and what you accomplished is the more important component, anyway.

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

@Catalystik under what category should I list the multiple honors projects I did while in undergrad...they involved research that wasn't lab based, but weren't standard thesis projects either...."Other"?

Or can we place research that was not strictly lab based under the research category still?

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik under what category should I list the multiple honors projects I did while in undergrad...they involved research that wasn't lab based, but weren't standard thesis projects either...."Other"?

Or can we place research that was not strictly lab based under the research category still?

Other is a good category for describing the experience of a thesis project.

Research as a tag is meant for hypothesis driven scholarly work that results in new generalizable knowledge that is potentially publishable, regardless of whether it is science based, or not.

 

[allanMED15]

Could it be worthwhile to list miscellaneous experiences such as training for and running a marathon? I think it could just continue to show my devotion to things that I care about.

 

[Pastamahn]

Could it be worthwhile to list miscellaneous experiences such as training for and running a marathon? I think it could just continue to show my devotion to things that I care about.

Not that I am an authority (and am curious to hear what Catalystik has to say) but I personally made training for a specific running competition as one of my most meaningful due to the huge time commitment, having to work it into an already busy school schedule, and it gave a good example of dedication to something I care about.

 

[allanMED15]

Not that I am an authority (and am curious to hear what Catalystik has to say) but I personally made training for a specific running competition as one of my most meaningful due to the huge time commitment, having to work it into an already busy school schedule, and it gave a good example of dedication to something I care about.

Yea! I don't think I have enough there to make it most meaningful, but that is exactly what I am going for.

 

[Pastamahn]

Yea! I don't think I have enough there to make it most meaningful, but that is exactly what I am going for.

Even if not most meaningful, I would definitely still list it if you have room. But for me, it wasn't just the training, it was the effect the whole process had on me that I focused on.

 

[allanMED15]

Even if not most meaningful, I would definitely still list it if you have room. But for me, it wasn't just the training, it was the effect the whole process had on me that I focused on.

I definitely have the space. I have 10 activities sections already and don't want to make it seem as if I am just using it for filler. Should I include it in its own entry?

 

[Pastamahn]

I definitely have the space. I have 10 activities sections already and don't want to make it seem as if I am just using it for filler. Should I include it in its own entry?

I personally would said it is definitely worth its own entry. I'm not sure if there are any alternate opinions on it, but I think it shows hard work and commitment. Thus would make it very fitting to include.

 

[Catalystik]

Could it be worthwhile to list miscellaneous experiences such as training for and running a marathon? I think it could just continue to show my devotion to things that I care about.

Yes.

I definitely have the space. I have 10 activities sections already and don't want to make it seem as if I am just using it for filler. Should I include it in its own entry?

If you have enough to say, then yes. There are a number of positive qualities this can demonstrate that translate to desirable traits in a future physician.

. . . Well, maybe not the toenails falling off due to repetitive trauma part.

 

[Catalystik]

Not that I am an authority (and am curious to hear what Catalystik has to say) but I personally made training for a specific running competition as one of my most meaningful due to the huge time commitment, having to work it into an already busy school schedule, and it gave a good example of dedication to something I care about.

The cat approves.

 

[allanMED15]

Yes.
If you have enough to say, then yes. There are a number of positive qualities this can demonstrate that translate to desirable traits in a future physician.

. . . Well, maybe not the toenails falling off due to repetitive trauma part.

So nothing about how the chafing of my nipples from the rubbing of my shirt helped influence my decision to go into medicine?

 

[Catalystik]

So nothing about how the chafing of my nipples from the rubbing of my shirt helped influence my decision to go into medicine?

No. Nor should you mention how the sunburn pain gave you empathy for the suffering of the world masses. But, if you give it a try anyway, be sure to report back on whether you got any Interview Invitations so I can adjust my advice accordingly.

 

[allanMED15]

No. Nor should you mention how the sunburn pain gave you empathy for the suffering of the world masses. But, if you give it a try anyway, be sure to report back on whether you got any Interview Invitations so I can adjust my advice accordingly.

Yea, I saw that the other day. Yikes. I wish that would be real. Decreasing the competition always helps. That being said, as far as hours for that section go, should I approximate the total number of hours of training or just put the time it took me to run?

Also, should I list myself as the contact?

 

[Catalystik]

Y as far as hours for that section go, should I approximate the total number of hours of training or just put the time it took me to run?

Also, should I list myself as the contact?

Include training time. For Hobbies, you don't need a Contact.

 

[maroonspinstress]

I've volunteered at two hospitals. My title at one was "Patient Floor Aide" (300 hrs) and my title at another was "Elder Horizons Volunteer" (75 hrs). I did much of the same work at both places: visited patients, brought food/blankets, basically kept them company.

A simple question: What have others used as a catch-all Experience Name for these kinds of things? I'm thinking something like "Hospital Volunteering" but curious to hear other opinions--I have a feeling there's something better/more standard, but my brain is all burned out from writing my PS.

Thanks!

 

[jih]

Should the activity descriptions be in a concise resume format, taking up as little space as necessary and leaving the flowery language to the most meaningfuls, or should they be complete thoughts/sentences and expand to all 700 characters? I have searched and cannot find a straightforward answer to this. Posts dating to 06-07 mention adcoms getting annoyed because the descriptions were wordy (AMCAS had changed descriptions from 3 lines to what we have currently in that year I think), but the general attitude may have changed by now. Which one is better to put on my application?

 

[Catalystik]

I've volunteered at two hospitals. My title at one was "Patient Floor Aide" (300 hrs) and my title at another was "Elder Horizons Volunteer" (75 hrs). I did much of the same work at both places: visited patients, brought food/blankets, basically kept them company.

A simple question: What have others used as a catch-all Experience Name for these kinds of things? I'm thinking something like "Hospital Volunteering" but curious to hear other opinions--I have a feeling there's something better/more standard, but my brain is all burned out from writing my PS.

Hospital Volunteering is standard, but non-specific. Since the jobs were the same despite the difference in official title, you might choose a more descriptive term that fits both, like maybe Hospital Patient Companion & General Aide.

 

[Catalystik]

Should the activity descriptions be in a concise resume format, taking up as little space as necessary and leaving the flowery language to the most meaningfuls, or should they be complete thoughts/sentences and expand to all 700 characters? I have searched and cannot find a straightforward answer to this. Posts dating to 06-07 mention adcoms getting annoyed because the descriptions were wordy (AMCAS had changed descriptions from 3 lines to what we have currently in that year I think), but the general attitude may have changed by now. Which one is better to put on my application?

It sounds like you're asking whether bullet points can be used. And they can. Most find that a mix and match of bullet vs narrative style, or even both within one free-text space, better communicates their thoughts, rather than rigid adherence to one format. Sometimes you'll need all the space and other times you won't. Express yourself naturally, then strip out the -ly words, some adjectives, and any hyperbole. Some activities lend themselves to requiring description, role, and anecdotes, impact, and others, only one to two of them.

 

[maroonspinstress]

Since the jobs were the same despite the difference in official title, you might choose a more descriptive term that fits both, like maybe Hospital Patient Companion & General Aide.

That's a good one to start with. Thanks very much!

 

[byron108]

few quick questions, and thank you as always for all the help Catalystik!

1. I founded and Presided over a religious group at my college. Does this go under Leadership?

2. What distinguishes a hobby from an artistic endeavor? For example, I play piano and a few other instruments, and I sometimes release music videos with friends, but I am not using it for competitions or anything of the sort. Is this still an artistic endeavor? And would it be helpful to include a link to a video?

3. I established a mentorship program at my school for over 400 students, would that go under Teaching/Tutoring or Leadership?

4. Would Music Director of an a cappella group be considered Leadership or Artistic Endeavor?

I have a lot of leadership on my app so I'm trying to figure out if my leadership goes elsewhere! Thanks

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

It is okay to abbreviate the month (Sep. 2012-Nov. 2013) when grouping all of our work experience under on category to save character space?

 

[maroonspinstress]

It is okay to abbreviate the month (Sep. 2012-Nov. 2013) when grouping all of our work experience under on category to save character space?

Why wouldn't it be?

If you're in need of characters, 09/2012 - 11/2012 is perfectly fine too.

 

[Catalystik]

1. I founded and Presided over a religious group at my college. Does this go under Leadership?

2. What distinguishes a hobby from an artistic endeavor? For example, I play piano and a few other instruments, and I sometimes release music videos with friends, but I am not using it for competitions or anything of the sort. Is this still an artistic endeavor? And would it be helpful to include a link to a video?

3. I established a mentorship program at my school for over 400 students, would that go under Teaching/Tutoring or Leadership?

4. Would Music Director of an a cappella group be considered Leadership or Artistic Endeavor?

I have a lot of leadership on my app so I'm trying to figure out if my leadership goes elsewhere! Thanks

1) Yes.
2) A hobby might be shared with a small number of people, like family and close friends. Once you reach a wider audience, is can be considered an Artistic Endeavor. Say you release your music video on You Tube and it gets a thousand hits, or you perform for a wedding or in a coffee house for pay, then it is an artistic endeavor. You may include a link.
3) If you are the only one doing the mentoring, tag it as Teaching. If you recruited others to help do the mentoring, and maybe trained and monitored them, taking responsibility for their efforts, then call it Leadership.
4) Leadership, but rather than using a separate entry for it, you have the option of saving space by including it with another musical interest entry, if you like, especially if you were a general member of the a capella group for awhile first.