*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2016-2017*~*~*~*

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What is the point of the leadership tab? Seems like a useless title. No position exists just for the benefit of you "leading" people. You serve your role and you happen to lead others as a side effect.

Shouldnt leadership be inferred by the adcom or do I need to eliminate one of my activities so I can explicitly state I lead someone at some point?
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7331poas said:
What is the point of the leadership tab? Seems like a useless title. No position exists just for the benefit of you "leading" people. You serve your role and you happen to lead others as a side effect.

Shouldnt leadership be inferred by the adcom or do I need to eliminate one of my activities so I can explicitly state I lead someone at some point?
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Note that the tag is "Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere". In general, adcomms will take note of leadership no matter how it's labeled, if you describe it well. That said, I think it still makes sense to include that role in the title you give an activity to be sure skimmers won't miss it.

Some leadership roles don't arise from another activity. And sometimes one wants more space for description, so it makes sense to break an activity down into its components so this is possible.
 
Catalystik said:
Note that the tag is "Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere". In general, adcomms will take note of leadership no matter how it's labeled, if you describe it well. That said, I think it still makes sense to include that role in the title you give an activity to be sure skimmers won't miss it.

Some leadership roles don't arise from another activity. And sometimes one wants more space for description, so it makes sense to break an activity down into its components so this is possible.
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What I mean is that if I was in a position where I was providing a service to my consumer base, and it happened that I also helped others do so as well while I was in a position of authority, I wouldnt need to split that off and go on a diatribe about how I "leaded" them.

Leadership qualities are such a weird topic to talk about.
 
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Catalystik said:
It's not uncommon for one activity to fall under several of the pull-down tags. Making a choice that balances your application better is appropriate, especially if you are light on Clinical or have no other listed Employment. If all those are covered, then you might consider whether you want to appeal more to primary-care or research-oriented med schools to help make your choice.
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Do schools really screen that heavily based solely on the category without delving deeper into the content?

Looking at my activities, a lot of which sit at the intersection of clinic and research, I think I could apply with any of the following combinations:
  • 210 clinical + 9700 research
  • 1210 clinical + 8700 research
  • 7710 clinical + 2200 research
  • 4460 clinical + 5450 research
  • 5460 clinical + 4450 research
Either of the bottom 2 options would require splitting one of my clinical research jobs into 2 activities (I got a promotion halfway through). That is probably fine though, I have a part time job on their that can be removed without much impact.

So I guess my question is, what is more important - to really stand out in a category (research) or to have them relatively balanced? I am somewhat interested in research, but don't necessarily anticipate getting into a big name research powerhouse because of my stats. To be honest, the most important thing to me is getting into a medical school and becoming a doctor. In my view I will be able to do some level of research just about anywhere and that is enough for me.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
1) Do schools really screen that heavily based solely on the category without delving deeper into the content?

2) my question is, what is more important - to really stand out in a category (research) or to have them relatively balanced? I am somewhat interested in research, but don't necessarily anticipate getting into a big name research powerhouse because of my stats.
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1) Don't assume every school does things the same way. Some institutions have basic office-staff screeners (non-faculty, non-interviewers), who are looking to be sure you have the minimum necessary to be considered by a school. They aren't always looking for implied content or deeper meanings. So it's good to have these things spelled out for them.

2) I feel relative balance is most important, so as to appeal to the broadest number of schools, with particular strength in those areas that a given school emphasizes in their Mission Statement.
 
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Catalystik said:
1) Don't assume every school does things the same way. Some institutions have basic office-staff screeners (non-faculty, non-interviewers), who are looking to be sure you have the minimum necessary to be considered by a school. They aren't always looking for implied content or deeper meanings. So it's good to have these things spelled out for them.

2) I feel relative balance is most important, so as to appeal to the broadest number of schools, with particular strength in those areas that a given school emphasizes in their Mission Statement.
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So I would probably be best to go with one of these:
  • 4460 clinical + 5450 research
  • 5460 clinical + 4450 research
I can't imagine anyone would have a cutoff higher than 4500 hours for research or clinical experience, and then when schools look more deeply than that they'll find both in the descriptions. Does that seem reasonable?
 
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WedgeDawg said:
The AMCAS Application will be opening soon, and with it comes a ton of questions. The "Work and Activities" Section is probably the most talked about section. For reference, here are three older threads that contain lots of valuable information about this section:

Great tips for entering your "Work/Activities" for AMCAS (2005-2010 thread)
*~*~*~*Tips for Entering your "Work and Activities" in AMCAS*~*~*~* (2011-2012 thread)
*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2012-2013*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2013-2014*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2014-2015*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2015-2016*~*~*~*

(Even though these threads are all quite long, you can still search those threads to find useful answers to your question)

All new threads dealing with this topic in Pre-Allo will be merged into this thread.

In the first few posts, the Moderation staff will be compiling a FAQ. Any suggestions for the FAQ are appreciated.

REMINDER: Each thread has a search function. Please use it.

This thread is brought to you by the Pre-Allopathic Volunteer Staff. Ask away, and good luck!!

(Credit to @Ismet whom I stole this from)
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I may have some unique experiences, but I sincerely need help with advice on what to enter for 'contact' for the following:

- Work Exchange/Volunteer: I have spent maybe 6 months total over the last 2 years working abroad on farms in foreign countries. I have stayed with over 10 host families, most of whom don't speak English. What should I do here?

- Volunteering at hospital through my university's pre-health volunteer program for a year. This happened 4 years ago as an undergrad. My 'program manager' at the time was a fellow undergrad; I never had his phone number; and he most definitely does not know my name.

- Really, any other extracurricular in college. Should I post the club president's name/email address? For any of my clubs, even where I held leadership positions, should I post that club's president or something? For club sports if the team captain, for example, doesn't know me, does that mean the whole thing is invalid?
 
To be MD said:
I may have some unique experiences, but I sincerely need help with advice on what to enter for 'contact' for the following:

1) - Work Exchange/Volunteer: I have spent maybe 6 months total over the last 2 years working abroad on farms in foreign countries. I have stayed with over 10 host families, most of whom don't speak English. What should I do here?

2)- Volunteering at hospital through my university's pre-health volunteer program for a year. This happened 4 years ago as an undergrad. My 'program manager' at the time was a fellow undergrad; I never had his phone number; and he most definitely does not know my name.

3)- Really, any other extracurricular in college. Should I post the club president's name/email address? For any of my clubs, even where I held leadership positions, should I post that club's president or something? For club sports if the team captain, for example, doesn't know me, does that mean the whole thing is invalid?
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1) If you didn't do this through a program, you could name an advisor or faculty person aware of the activities, or yourself.

2) A nurse or secretary you got to know on site, another student involved, or the faculty advisor attached to the program.

3) Any club officer is fine. Team captain or co-player would work for sports.
 
Catalystik said:
1) If you didn't do this through a program, you could name an advisor or faculty person aware of the activities, or yourself.

2) A nurse or secretary you got to know on site, another student involved, or the faculty advisor attached to the program.

3) Any club officer is fine. Team captain or co-player would work for sports.
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Excellent advice. Thank you.
 
@Catalystik, do you think its fine to combine several bar/restaurant related jobs into 1 activity? Don't want to waste multiple lines on this, but I know some adcoms appreciate humble, blue-collar type work. Maybe I could do "Restaurant Service Jobs" or something as the title and in the narrative describe that I have worked in X, Y, Z places?
 
Do you list yourself as a contact for a hobby?
 
I have extensive work experience and am trying to figure out the best way to group everything. What should I put for the description at one place if I was promoted during my time there - do I put both job positions or only the most senior position? Also, if I earned a national certification that required extensive testing, would it make sense to put that as its own activity?
 
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libahli said:
I have extensive work experience and am trying to figure out the best way to group everything. What should I put for the description at one place if I was promoted during my time there - do I put both job positions or only the most senior position? Also, if I earned a national certification that required extensive testing, would it make sense to put that as its own activity?
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I think these are mostly your decision to make - however you want to use your 15 spaces.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
@Catalystik, do you think its fine to combine several bar/restaurant related jobs into 1 activity? Don't want to waste multiple lines on this, but I know some adcoms appreciate humble, blue-collar type work. Maybe I could do "Restaurant Service Jobs" or something as the title and in the narrative describe that I have worked in X, Y, Z places?
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Absolutely!
 
libahli said:
1) I have extensive work experience and am trying to figure out the best way to group everything. What should I put for the description at one place if I was promoted during my time there - do I put both job positions or only the most senior position?

2) Also, if I earned a national certification that required extensive testing, would it make sense to put that as its own activity?
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1) Your title can include the title of both positions you held. Your description can include the date of the transition.

2) No. Instead, mention the certification in the space for the position (or hobby, etc) where you used it.
 
7331poas said:
Why? If I may ask.

Seems pointless to split things just so you can fill all the slots.
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I never suggested splitting things or do anything just to fill slots. I said that there are no hard and fast rules and you can split or not split as you see fit.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
I never suggested splitting things or do anything just to fill slots. I said that there are no hard and fast rules and you can split or not split as you see fit.
Click to expand...

Maybe I was confusing. I meant why do you think we need to fill the 15 slots?
 
7331poas said:
Maybe I was confusing. I meant why do you think we need to fill the 15 slots?
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I do not think that. I said you are given 15 slots to do with whatever you seen fit, which may include leaving a few of them blank.
 
Catalystik said:
1) Your title can include the title of both positions you held. Your description can include the date of the transition.

2) No. Instead, mention the certification in the space for the position (or hobby, etc) where you used it.
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
@Catalystik I have a question in regards to volunteering. If a student were to volunteer at an organization during break, and then enroll in a class with a community service component sometime in the future, and continue to volunteer at the same organization to fulfill the service component for the course, would all hours still count as community service? I can rephrase that if it is confusing. Thanks for your time!
 
Chromium Surfer said:
@Catalystik I have a question in regards to volunteering. If a student were to volunteer at an organization during break, and then enroll in a class with a community service component sometime in the future, and continue to volunteer at the same organization to fulfill the service component for the course, would all hours still count as community service?
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Yes, all the hours still "count." It may no longer, strictly speaking, be a volunteer activity, but it is still a community service/helps others.
 
Catalystik said:
Yes, all the hours still "count." It may no longer, strictly speaking, be a volunteer activity, but it is still a community service/helps others.
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Is it a requirement to break up the times spent doing it for class versus on your own accord? Assuming 1/4 of the volunteering was done for class while the other 3/4 of time was personal would it be even necessary to make the distinction? Thank you!
 
Chromium Surfer said:
Is it a requirement to break up the times spent doing it for class versus on your own accord? Assuming 1/4 of the volunteering was done for class while the other 3/4 of time was personal would it be even necessary to make the distinction?
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You need not make a distinction.
 
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Who should I list as contact in situations where I can't track my contacts down?

How about in the situation that everyone I worked with has long left the company? My specific example is of Clinical Care Extender. For those who have volunteered with this program, you know there's usually a great turnover rate in leadership. Is it still appropriate to ask? And what if they say no?

I'm glad I took time off from college, but boy is filling out an amcas application two years out of college tricky!
 
soundslikefire said:
Who should I list as contact in situations where I can't track my contacts down?

How about in the situation that everyone I worked with has long left the company? My specific example is of Clinical Care Extender. For those who have volunteered with this program, you know there's usually a great turnover rate in leadership. Is it still appropriate to ask? And what if they say no?
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You only need list a contact that can attest to your dates and hours of involvement. They will not be asked for a reference. This person doesn't have to know you personally. At a "company" there should be a hiring office that keeps records of past employees.

As a fallback position, you can always list yourself, but ideally you'd use a more objective individual.
 
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Hello! So I have 3 slots left for my activities, and I am trying to decide whether to include anything I left off. On my list now I have lots of paid clinical hours, 1 non-clinical volunteer experience, 1 long term work study position, shadowing, a short term research position, an unusual non-clinical job, my college a cappella group, and some academic honors.

Other things I could include:
One summer working 30 hours a week in a restaurant as a server (while taking a class) that I haven't included because it was only for those 2 months and it was kinda terrible (also worked as server from 15 - 18 in family friend's restaurant, but haven't included that either because I stopped when I went to college)
1 semester of a sport (2011)
1 theater production (2014)
Participating in a large campus cultural show 3 years in a row (2012, 2013, 2014)
Poetry writing and performance
1 semester of a being a classroom helper (2011)
1 semester as the social media coordinator for a non health related club (2013)
1 hospital-wide (not national) poster presentation (2016)


I don't want to come across as flaky by putting too many 1 time things, but I didn't know if any of these experiences would be valuable to report and make me seem more interesting.

Thank you!!
 
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kiwifriend said:
Hello! So I have 3 slots left for my activities, and I am trying to decide whether to include anything I left off. On my list now I have lots of paid clinical hours, 1 non-clinical volunteer experience, 1 long term work study position, shadowing, a short term research position, an unusual non-clinical job, my college a cappella group, and some academic honors.

Other things I could include:
One summer working 30 hours a week in a restaurant as a server (while taking a class) that I haven't included because it was only for those 2 months and it was kinda terrible (also worked as server from 15 - 18 in family friend's restaurant, but haven't included that either because I stopped when I went to college)
1 semester of a sport (2011)
1 theater production (2014)
Participating in a large campus cultural show 3 years in a row (2012, 2013, 2014)
Poetry writing and performance
1 semester of a being a classroom helper (2011)
1 semester as the social media coordinator for a non health related club (2013)
1 hospital-wide (not national) poster presentation (2016)


I don't want to come across as flaky by putting too many 1 time things, but I didn't know if any of these experiences would be valuable to report and make me seem more interesting.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...
You might add an "Extracurricular" or "Hobbies" spot where you list the sport, theater. poetry, and cultural show involvement. Knowing your leisuretime activities makes you more interesting. If you had a lot to say about the cultural show, you might split it off into its own "Artistic Endeavors" spot, since it sounds pretty strong. Or you could group them two by two, as you wish and need space for description.

The poster presentation should be added into the Research space instead of standing alone.

If you have nothing else under Teaching, add classroom helper there.

You have the choice of using your Employment space for two Short-Term Jobs and including the server position there with the "unusual non-clinical job."

JMO, which you can take with a grain of salt, as only you know what you have to say.
 
Catalystik said:
You might add an "Extracurricular" or "Hobbies" spot where you list the sport, theater. poetry, and cultural show involvement. Knowing your leisuretime activities makes you more interesting. If you had a lot to say about the cultural show, you might split it off into its own "Artistic Endeavors" spot, since it sounds pretty strong. Or you could group them two by two, as you wish and need space for description.

The poster presentation should be added into the Research space instead of standing alone.

If you have nothing else under Teaching, add classroom helper there.

You have the choice of using your Employment space for two Short-Term Jobs and including the server position there with the "unusual non-clinical job."

JMO, which you can take with a grain of salt, as only you know what you have to say.
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Thanks for the feedback, super helpful! I forgot to add that I am also a children's music teacher which works for Teaching (and is one of my most meaningful), so it might be unnecessary to add the classroom helper position from 5 years ago under that category as well.

(Also now that I think about it, should a cappella be listed as an artistic endeavor or an extracurricular or does it not matter?)
 
kiwifriend said:
(Also now that I think about it, should a cappella be listed as an artistic endeavor or an extracurricular or does it not matter?)
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It depends on whether you performed publicly on a regular basis at any point, then Artistic Endeavor, but if you have that covered, either is fine, or Hobby.
 
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Catalystik said:
It depends on whether you performed publicly on a regular basis at any point, then Artistic Endeavor, but if you have that covered, either is fine, or Hobby.
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Should I be aiming to cover as many categories as possible? I have a few activities that could be marked as a number different things, so should I just aim for variety?
 
What's the general advice on listing things that you are during the summer of your application? Just describe what you anticipate you are doing (research, volunteering, etc)?
 
cantstopwontstopvu17 said:
What's the general advice on listing things that you are during the summer of your application? Just describe what you anticipate you are doing (research, volunteering, etc)?
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-If an activity hasn't yet started, the program won't allow you to enter a future month.

-If you want to include the hours of a future activity that you are already engaged in, but keeping in mind that you won't be judged by future plans that could fall through, you can consider these options:

1) Use the Repeated feature to separate the Completed vs Future hours. This works if May 2016 is both your End Date for the Completed Hours and your Start Date for the future hours (you won't be permitted to enter and save a future start date that hasn't happened yet). Put the appropriate total in each Total Hours box. If you are graduating, say, May 2017, that is a reasonable end date to enter if you are sure you will stay involved with the activity for another year. August 2017 is the latest month you'd be allowed to enter. Include a conservative, in-good-faith guess on future hours for the second Total Hours box.

**Note that on June 1 you'll be able to enter June 2016 as the End Date for date range #1 and Start Date for date range #2, if you prefer.

2) Or, only list the Completed Hours in the Total Hours box using the appropriate Start and End Dates, then in the narrative box state that you plan to continue this activity from June 2016-May 2017 (or whatever) with a probable additional ?00 hours.

3) Or, do the same as in #2, but don't state anticipated Future hours, especially if there is any possibility they might not be completed. Just make a statement that you intend to continue with the activity for another X months.
 
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When listing my shadowing experiences, should I list shadowing a (sort-of) relative? I have about 20 hours of shadowing my mom's stepbrother in the ER, should I list it and perhaps note the relation for full disclosure? Or is it best to just leave it off; I have 40 other hours
 
thehomiemoth said:
When listing my shadowing experiences, should I list shadowing a (sort-of) relative? I have about 20 hours of shadowing my mom's stepbrother in the ER, should I list it and perhaps note the relation for full disclosure? Or is it best to just leave it off; I have 40 other hours
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Go ahead and include your relative without disclosure. Just don't get an LOR from him.
 
The ED where I volunteer has an awesome program where once long-term volunteers gain enough hours, they can train to become a stabilization room recorder, where you keep record of all events as they happen in the stab room - monitoring vitals, medication, interventions, etc. This is a much more meaningful and engaging experience than the typical ED volunteering I did first, for 9 months, before getting "promoted" so to speak.

Do I keep these two experiences under one listing? Or give the stab room recording its own heading, and keep all of my traditional ED volunteering in one heading (one at a hospital in OR and the other at my current hospital in MN ?)
 
gribear said:
The ED where I volunteer has an awesome program where once long-term volunteers gain enough hours, they can train to become a stabilization room recorder, where you keep record of all events as they happen in the stab room - monitoring vitals, medication, interventions, etc. This is a much more meaningful and engaging experience than the typical ED volunteering I did first, for 9 months, before getting "promoted" so to speak.

Do I keep these two experiences under one listing? Or give the stab room recording its own heading, and keep all of my traditional ED volunteering in one heading (one at a hospital in OR and the other at my current hospital in MN ?)
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I suggest you divide the two experiences by location, then blend the mix of experiences from before and after the promotion in MN, emphasizing the more interesting stab experience.
 
Hi ,

I understand that if we have indicated one activity as one of the most meaningful activities, we should not really elaborate on it or have our personal statement theme based upon it, but would it be fine if we just make some point about one of the most meaningful activities in our PS since it is indeed related!

Also I was wondering if you could point out how specific we can get regarding the experience description part about our activities.

Thanks so much
 
My question is : Would it be ok, if we dont use full sentence for the work activity experience description?

For example if we had to renew our HCP/CPR plus our EMR training, is that ok if we write them as HCP/CPR , or we should write them down as Health Care Provider CPR , etc
 
I was wondering if we have received several travel awards for conference , would it be ok if we add them all under the same heading so we will have space for other activities we have had?
 
Vero Medico said:
1) I understand that if we have indicated one activity as one of the most meaningful activities, we should not really elaborate on it or have our personal statement theme based upon it, but would it be fine if we just make some point about one of the most meaningful activities in our PS since it is indeed related!

2) Also I was wondering if you could point out how specific we can get regarding the experience description part about our activities.
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1) Yes.

2) You can be very specific if the space allows you to fit in the most important components of what you want to say. If you'd like input on a particular aspect of a description, please provide more detail.
 
Vero Medico said:
My question is : Would it be ok, if we dont use full sentence for the work activity experience description?

For example if we had to renew our HCP/CPR plus our EMR training, is that ok if we write them as HCP/CPR , or we should write them down as Health Care Provider CPR , etc
Click to expand...
You can use bullet points instead of narrative description if you don't want to use full sentences. But don't use abbreviations that aren't universally understood. "CPR" is OK, but not HCP, for example.
 
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Catalystik said:
1) Yes.

2) You can be very specific if the space allows you to fit in the most important components of what you want to say. If you'd like input on a particular aspect of a description, please provide more detail.
Click to expand...

GREAT, THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES, MUCH APPRECIATED
 
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Catalystik said:
Most applicants would group them together.
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Thanks so much for your response.
In that case, if we want to group them together, the experience name should be travel award and we specify the few travel awards in the description, so what if the two awards are from two different countries, is that fine if we choose the one that we got from U.S. ?
 
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