Where to fit information into AMCAS application?

[Gauss44]

I cannot find a place to put this info. and it won't fit in personal statement or disadvantage statement:

-Undergraduate Program NORMALLY takes 5 years (5 Years is Normal, not slow or indicative of a problem)
-Undergraduate Program was YEAR-ROUND, no summer breaks
-Retroactive graduation (Dean decided in December that student graduation date would be in Spring of same year)
-Due to retroactive graduation, student loans were due immediately (no grace period), student kicked out of dorms immediately, student's job through school internship was ceased immediately --> this is why student could not take MCAT in summer or just after graduation, and had to go to work full time.

WHERE ELSE COULD IT GO???

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[piii]

Weird program but I guarantee none of those details will have any bearing on whether or not you get admitted. They won't matter - no need to explain urgently. Just proceed as normal and if it comes up in interview or essay, explain.

 

[Gauss44]

Weird program but I guarantee none of those details will have any bearing on whether or not you get admitted. They won't matter - no need to explain urgently. Just proceed as normal and if it comes up in interview or essay, explain.

I think most programs at Northeastern University in Boston are 5 years and year round. The above info begins to explain why it took so long to take the MCAT and why the applicant took a job unrelated to medicine right out of college.

 

[sat0ri]

Yeah that's NBD. Everyone's path is different, and as long as you meet all the other important criteria (metrics, conviction to medicine, etc) you should be fine. I'm not sure what you're worried about really


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[Lost in Translation]

You can add this in the "anything else you'd like us to know" section of secondaries.

 

[LizzyM]

If you were doing work-study or rotations or whatever your school calls them, put those under experience. That will account for your time.
Plenty of people take the MCAT while in school; if you didn't, that's okay but you shouldn't make excuses about it.

 

[Gauss44]

Yeah that's NBD. Everyone's path is different, and as long as you meet all the other important criteria (metrics, conviction to medicine, etc) you should be fine. I'm not sure what you're worried about really


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I hope so. Concern is that ADCOMs could inaccurately assume that 5 years indicates an inability to finish a program in a timely manner, setting the applicant behind other similar candidates.

 

[Gauss44]

You can add this in the "anything else you'd like us to know" section of secondaries.

Thanks for this suggestion. Hopefully secondaries will be sent. And even if they don't ask that question, I'm guessing that it might be okay to include a note somewhere else in secondaries about this, unless secondaries are digital and have character limits just like AMCAS.

 

[Gauss44]

If you were doing work-study or rotations or whatever your school calls them, put those under experience. That will account for your time.
Plenty of people take the MCAT while in school; if you didn't, that's okay but you shouldn't make excuses about it.

Perhaps the following remedy would work: Grouping the jobs, internships, and community service, along with their dates and weekly number of hours in the experience category (or work category if there is one, I can't remember). That way the number of hours being spent on non-MCAT things would be apparent, and could be taken into consideration. The only thing is that all of this probably would NOT appear in the same list.

Of course, if someone else also worked 80 hours a week, took the MCAT during that time, and did a great job, then congratulations to them! To clarify, my intention is NOT to shift blame for anything, but to make sure that communication is clear.

It is just too easy for one to assume, "It was your choice to sit around during summer breaks and procrastinate after graduation... and slack off in your program so it took an extra year" - which is not what happened.

It would be sad if that were the assumption because it is incorrect. I think there's a big difference between working 80 hours a week to support oneself during a national financial crisis, and 80 hours a week in a combination of a school program and community service, and just being lazy and putting off the MCAT to say, play video games or something. That's the distinction I want to make.

 

[sat0ri]

I hope so. Concern is that ADCOMs could inaccurately assume that 5 years indicates an inability to finish a program in a timely manner, setting the applicant behind other similar candidates.

Haha I hear you. You might want to consider that the average age of matriculants is something like 24. You can even argue that there is a danger in that the see you too young and immature. Also many programs last 5 years, so they'll have seen a massive number of students just like you. Personally, I think this is the smallest nonissue to worry about.

While your concern (in my view) is as unfounded as they come, I do have a separate and practical suggestion. I understand having to pay back loans; you could have found a medical/research way to do that.


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