*~*~*~*Tips for Entering your "Work and Activities" in AMCAS*~*~*~*

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pfaction said:
I tutored Organic Chem between me and a few friends a few years ago. I think, 2008. But I have no proof of this. Everyone I tutored remembers, but there were no sign in sheets, no records, just me teaching a bunch of friends in the library.

If I put this down, how would I prove it? I know this is about honesty and I know I tutored at least 30 hours, especially with this one girl. I've already contacted my friends and they will vouch for me. I'm trying to see if a teacher will also vouch for me because he knows I did tutor.

How would I/ Would I be able to put this down?
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List it under Teaching and use a tutee contact that recalls you well, if you can't list the teacher.
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windsor4216 said:
I'm having a hard time deciding which 3 activities I should select as most meaningful--because I have had a lot. At this point I could write about 5 or 6 of them equally well. So I guess since my personal statement focused a lot on the volunteering I did abroad and shadowing, would it be okay to select 2 research activities as most meaningful? I don't want to come across as too research focused.

Also is it okay to select a non-medically related volunteering activity as my third most meaningful? I'm debating between my nursing home volunteer work or my role as philanthropy chair for an honors society--working with illiterate kids.
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If you don't want to seem too research-focused, then don't select two research activites as "Most Meaningful" if you also want your application to appeal to schools that emphasize humanism, service to others, and/or patient interaction, too. Think strategically. Balance your application.
 
JSU said:
I just finished my final Chemistry class where we had to come up with a research proposal and then present and defend it in front of all of the Chemistry faculty. Though this experience is a class, could I list it as a proposal or put it somewhere in my app?
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If it was meaningful to you, you can list it even though it appears on your transcript.
 
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yftyt2006 said:
I tried searching for this information but cannot seem to locate it. When filling out work/activities, one has to enter contact information. If I voluntarily tutored various age groups of my own accord (no association), how would I list contact information on the form? Same basic question for hobbies? Would you just list yourself as contact for things like that? Please help.
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For the tutoring, list a tutee or a parent. For a hobby, try to list someone who engaged in the hobby with you, but if all else fails, list yourself or a parent.
 
wsc2879 said:
I have some questions about the work and activity section:
1. From what I understand, I can group several activities together under the same category. For example, I have volunteered at two different hospitals, so I can write them down in one entry. Fill in one of the hospital’s contact info and then write down the other in the description section.
2. The contact section just bewilders me. a) I have a hobby of writing and won some minor rewards for that, and b) I also work out regularly, but what I should write down as the contact? c) Also what I should write down as contact for my honors and award? ( like the dean’s list and some research grants)
3.a) I shadowed my former family physician. I said she was my former physician because she just changed her job and moved to another hospital. I just have her previous office contact, so how I can list her? b) Also the same goes for another activity. I had been a campus tour guide, but the advisor has been changed, and I don’t have the contact with the club president. I can ask the new advisor if they keep the record of my participation though.
4. I put the research grants that I received under the honors and award section. Is that Ok?
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OrganicChemist7 said:
I also would like to find out the answers to these.

5. Additionally, how do I go about inputting a date range if it was 3 summers?
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1) Correct.

2) a) Whichever organization gave you the award would be a good contact. b) A gym, if you belong or a buddy you go with at times. c) The registrar of your college.

3) a) List the former office with the contact being the nurse manager or the office manager. b) Ask the new advisor and try to use that as a contact.

4) Yes, or alternatively in the same space as the associated research.

5) Preferred: List the most recent date range and in the narrative state the two previous date ranges and that hours/week, etc. and contact are the same. Alternate: List the entire date range. Name the activity Summer Employment. Make it clear again in the narrative that the employment was not year-round, as you don't want to appear misleading.
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vairules said:
1) Cat mentioned something about high school activities being more acceptable to list this year... This has me confused. I was thinking about listing an "Awards" section. Could I then, include that I was valedictorian of my HS class under here? Or does that not really matter? And I only have work experience from high school... Should that go on this app now that it has expanded? I'm confused about that.

2) Also, can I list something under two spaces, or just pick one? For example, my full ride scholarship puts me through a program that teaches principles of leadership... Should this go under leadership or awards? Or if I have a leadership position in a club?
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1) I didn't say it was more acceptable. Rather I said it wasn't explicitly forbidden by AMCAS. I suggested that you might list it if it was extremely significant to you, but this doesn't mean that adcomms will pay attention to it. Anything that happened that long ago is unlikely to have an impact on adcomm decision making. I would definitely not list being HS valadictorian. Personally, I would not list the HS employment unless it fills a hole in your application that nothing else covers, like Teaching, Clinical Experience, nonmedical community service, or remarkable Leadership.

2) Saying you participated in a leadership program is not helpful. Using the concepts you learned while actually demonstrating leadership is a better use of space on the application. Maybe mention the course in the same space as the actual leadership.
 
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karmayogi said:
1) I was planning on listing my participation in toastmasters, but am not sure whether I should put it under Hobbies or Leadership?

2) I am an active participant on my way towards the competent leader/competent communicator awards, but haven't yet completed them.
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1) Sounds like maybe a Hobby to me.

2) See my #2 response in the post above.
 
ICUatUCI said:
1. i have a question on most significant activies. i want to list 3: in home-supportive service, hospice and summer bridge program (it was a program to help high school students get ready for college, i was in that program for 5 weeks in 2007. even though it was only 5 weeks, i gained so much from it). My question is since those are my significant activities, would it be bad to not get LOR from them. I already have three from my sciences, and nonscience. i also have one from research. i have 2 more spots left. I want to get the last 2 from red cross and hospice. I know LOR doesn't have to be from significant activies but would it look better or the same?

2. If i get a LOR from summer bridge program, would adcom look at it as outdated since i was in that program in 2007?

3. I am doing volunteer research, but it is not my own project. I just help out my supervisor run gel, do PCR, make gels. I don't even analyze the data. Should i list this as research?

Thank you so much. really appreciated
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1) It would be understood that getting a meaningful LOR from a past activity so isn't always possible. And though the activity was meaninful to you, that doesn't mean you could necessarily get a strong letter from someone who'd know you well enough they could make helpful comments.

2) I think it would be more helpful to have a letter from a more recent activity. You are a completely different person than you were 4 years ago.

3) List it under Research/Lab, but name the activity 'Research Assistant' or 'Research Tech', to make it clear you weren't in charge.
 
tbone1234 said:
1) I'm a reapplicant, but I didn't apply thru AMCAS my first cycle (only TMDSAS). Therefore, would I be considered a reapplicant in AMCAS' eyes? I'm pretty sure yes, just want to make sure.

2) Also... when listing activities, you guys are talking about bullet points. How do you get these bullet points in the description box? Do you copy and paste them in?

3) Lastly... I've done a ton of tutoring at my school. I'm wondering how I should list it in the description box. I'm thinking about this:

TUTORING:

Cellular/Molecular Biology-3 semesters, 1hr/week;
Introduction to Chemistry-6 semesters, 2 hrs/week;
General Chemistry II-2 semesters, 2 hrs/week;
Organic II-1 semester, 1 hr/week;
Human Anatomy/Physiology I -- 1 semester, 1 hr/week

Is this good?

4) And should I give the contact information for each one of these classes? (there are about 4 more I need to add to the list). Or can I give the contact info for the one I did most of them with? Also, with TMDSAS it clumps everything into one paragraph. If I leave spaces in AMCAS to separate things (like the list above), will those spaces be kept?

5) LAST QUESTION... I've done some hospital volunteering at a local hospital. However, I never really met the person who keeps track of my hours (assuming they do keep track of it). Can I look online and put that person's email in my contact box?
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1) I think you are not a reapplicant in AMCAS eyes. For individual schools, you'd have to see what they ask on the Secondary.

2) This works half the time.

3) No, you need the date span, total hours for each. and a contact if it isn't the same as what you put in the header for the activity.

4) I think (but am not sure) that if you push enter twice at the end of a paragraph that the extra space will be apparent in the final print out. Perhaps someone with more recent experience will comment.

5) Yes.
 
XklusivGuy said:
I will graduate with a bachelor of science in Biology in December 2011. I started my undergrad in the Fall of 2009 and took only two years to complete my degree (Fall 2009 - Fall 2011). This was partly because I had a large number of CLEP credits (~40) that helped me get over the pre reqs and many 100 and 200 level classes.

I really want the adcom's to realize the fact that Im only 19 (turn 20 in October 2011) and have done this. Helps tie up some of the things I have written in my personal statement.

Well, my question is this. Should I just add a section in the work/activities section under other and mention that I will graduate with a BS in two years along with the whole 40 CLEP credit story? I haven't made it a part of my personal statement because I wrote my personal statement more as an indirect life story mixed with anecdotes etc and not as a list of my accomplishments. Plus, my PS is still 200 characters above the limit and I'm struggling to cut it down.

Any help??
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Your CLEP credit will be on your transcript and your age will be apparent from your birthdate. Personally, I don't think that emphasizing your youth is necessary, as adcomms value evidence of maturity over actual years on the planet anyway.
 
linusp said:
1. I am listing Social Fraternity involvement, but mostly to mention my comm service and philanthropy directing position and nothign else. I was wondering how I should list it: "leadership - not listed elsewhere", or "extracurricular/hobbies/avocations", or "comm serv - non medical".

I temporarily have it as extracurricular, but I'm leading toward "leadership - not listed elsewhere". My leadership role is not nearly as long as my entire involvement with the fraternity, but I did participate in service events each semester, from pledging until now.

The only reason I'm considering "comm serv - non medical" is because, unfortunately, this is my only direct source of it. I've done teaching/mentoring to other undergraduates through other activities, though, unpaid.

2. Since the Significant experience section is new, I'm curious how people plan on tackling it. I'm using resume style short fragments for my main description, but planning on using narrative style for the significant experience essay.

For example, for my main research gig in the 700 chars I give a quick overview of type of research, length, and project (all resume style). In the significant experience, I'm planning on describing the project in detail, almost like an abstract.

How are you guys approaching this?
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1) If one has plenty of Leadership, then use Community Service. If you have no Community Service otherwise, then use that, emphasizing how you moved into a leadership position (maybe using a name that includes the leadership role). Create as much balance as you can among the categories. You could also split the activity into two components, listing the Leadership separately.

2) It's your choice, whatever seems to make the information flow best is good.
 
capn jazz said:
Some quick Qs:

1. If my only award is Dean's List for all 4 years, should I just not list it? I'm not hurting for space (I have 10-11 entries without it).

2. If one of my experiences is abroad and has no English-speaking contacts, could I list a friend I did it with?

3. On top of those 10-11 entries, I also worked one summer as a hostess at a restaurant (because I was doing an unpaid internship and needed money). It was 6 years ago. Should I bother listing it? It adds nothing to my application as I mentioned in the unpaid internship description that I was working nights/weekends to save up for tuition.

4. I set up volunteer visits at a group home for mentally and physically disabled children. It's hard to tell what exactly it is - some of the kids live there permanently and have no families, some of them have families but live there most of the time... we just hang out with the kids and play with them. Would this be non-clinical volunteering? They're not *patients* but they are anywhere from mildly to SEVERELY disabled, and are in and out of the hospital.
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1) It won't help or hurt you to list it.

2) You could, but it would be better to list the international contact, with maybe a warning in the narrative about the language issue.

3) It's fine not to specifically list it, but mention that you waitressed (rather than just that you worked part-time) in the internship listing, as this is a good EC for gaining/expressing 'people skills.'

4) It sounds like Community Service-Not Medical/Clinical but is an important medically-related activity regardless, as you've gained a comfort level working with many types of people.
 
iloa10 said:
My PS focuses on two of my activities. These would obviously be my most meaningful activities. Should I mark other activities as most meaningful (since I already explained the two in depth in my PS and don't want to duplicate info)? Or would it be strange not to include those two as most important? Thanks!
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It would be better to mark two other activities, or only one total. You are not obliged to mark more than one as "Most Meaningful."
 
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Catalystik said:
1) If one has plenty of Leadership, then use Community Service. If you have no Community Service otherwise, then use that, emphasizing how you moved into a leadership position (maybe using a name that includes the leadership role). Create as much balance as you can among the categories. You could also split the activity into two components, listing the Leadership separately.

2) It's your choice, whatever seems to make the information flow best is good.
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1. Since my leadership role was heading Philanthropy/Service, I figure maybe I can make it flow better by mentioning participating in events every semester to eventually landing the leadership role. It would be acceptable to list it as "comm serv - non med" in this case, right? It's my only course of such events. I have a few other positions listed as "Leadership - not listed elsewhere", so I agree that this will help with some balance. I never really thought of that.

2. Awesome!

Thank you for the helpful advice, as always!
 
Cat, you're amazing. Thanks for all your help.

One more question. My tutoring/lab teacher assisting fills up more than 700 characters (and that's when I'm only listing the class and date range... I did A LOT of this in college). Would it be okay to split it up into two sections? It just doesn't seem right to have 2 entries for this... but I don't know what else to do.

Thanks in advance!
 
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i think my post have got lost....here it is again:

1) im an MA at a clinic and i often shadow the physician i work with (even though its not my job to shadow him).....should i list this as a separate shadowing activity? (i have other shadowing experiences so i would just group it with those in the same activity)

2) what category of activities should shadowing fall under?
 
tbone1234 said:
Cat, you're amazing. Thanks for all your help.

One more question. My tutoring/lab teacher assisting fills up more than 700 characters (and that's when I'm only listing the class and date range... I did A LOT of this in college). Would it be okay to split it up into two sections? It just doesn't seem right to have 2 entries for this... but I don't know what else to do.

Thanks in advance!
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Yes, you can split it into two entries.
 
sexycani said:
i think my post have got lost....here it is again:

im an MA at a clinic and i often shadow the physician i work with (even though its not my job to shadow him).....should i list this as a separate shadowing activity? (i have other shadowing experiences so i would just group it with those in the same activity)
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See post #579 below.
 
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Cinematographer said:
Anyone now how likely are adcoms to call international references? I have volunteered abroad and my references are from the countries I visited. It's been a few years and I'll will double check that the people who I worked with are still conducting said volunteering programs. The problem is that, at least my references in Latin America speak Spanish only and would probably have no clue of what they could be potentially asked over the phone.

It would be so much easier if AMCAS gave you an option to upload certificates of completion instead...
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There is another thread for LOR questions.
 
I've been debating on who to put as a contact for my involvement with a particular sport. I've practiced it for over 10 years and I've had multiple coaches/worked with multiple organizations. I was thinking of listing as my parents since they are the ones that are aware of everything I've done relating to this sport but I wasn't sure that would be looked down upon. I'm not listing it as one of my meaningful activities since I talk about it in my PS and I barely have enough space to list my accomplishments, much less everybody's contact info. Would it be ok to just list my dad as he is the one who introduced me to this sport and has seen me grown throughout it?
 
justgo said:
1) When listing the organization I have been attempting to list all the Organizations on the form if they fit in the space, but if not, can I just put "Various, please see description below"?

2) Also, for the contact I have been listing the information for the most long-term/significant activity supervisor in the boxes and plan to put additional contact info in the "Description" when it is available. Is this the consensus on best practices?

3) Also, will adcoms actually be contacting all these folks? All my contacts are real and I think I have found current contact info for everyone but I'd like to give them a heads up (ie email "Hi! AMCAS may contact you about X that I did between X and X dates! Thanks) if they really will be contacting everyone because to be frank some of the professors I have worked with are pretty gruff and will not enjoy these kinds of "disturbances" and may not reply if it is someone they do not know contacting them and another of my references has no professional phone number except a main phlebotomy lab line and I think it is better to give them his email addy (which he checks not so frequently) because he tends to not work office hours.
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1) maybe you need to expand into another space. Recall, the Experiences section is for the most significant activities, not everything you ever did.

2) It's my best advice to do as you describe.

3) Recall that contact info is not so folks can give you a reference, rather just so the activity can be confirmed for the dates and hours you provided. Most schools will not get in touch with most contacts. A few call a lot of them. A secretary can give the needed information for many activites.
 
acromonkey said:
1) Is it silly to list babysitting as a job?

2) Also, is it stupid to list some jobs separately (more science field based such as PT aide and research) and then have another section of all other "odd jobs" that I have worked? Or if I'm lumping jobs together, do they all have to be listed?

3) Also, I was a resident assistant in college, where would I list this job? Is wasn't necessarily paid as in money in my pocket, but I received tuition remission for this job so it paid for school. But it wasn't academic scholarship, it was work???

4) Where would you list being a TA?

5) And I would assume you would put honor societies under "honors/awards" but what if you were the president or founder of one? It would also be considered a leadership position. So could I make a section of "honors and awards" just list it as an honor and then also have a section of Leadership and add it here as the "president role" then go into detail about how it was leadership?

6) And if you group things together, how do you go about giving a contact?? If these jobs are not all related, how can you give just one contact?
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tbone1234 said:
4) For TA-ing, I put it under tutoring/teaching.

1) If you got paid for babysitting, then it would be employment, and if you spent a lot of time doing it then it's justified putting it in.

3) For Resident Assistant, I'd put it under employment as well. Although, perhaps someone else can put their opinion on this one.

7) I'm having a simlar problem with the President of honor society thing. I'm thinking about mentioning all my honors society induction dates under Academic Recognition, and then listing my presidential role in another section.
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1) Agreed.

2) recall, you are only listing the most significant activities, per AMCAS instruction, so you don't need to list them all. You get to decide the most logical way to group various similar activities. So creating an Employment listing names Short-Term Employment would be fine, with longer-term employment in its own space (with cntact infor for each).

3) Agreed that since you received compensation in some way, it was Employment.

4) Agreed.

5) You would not want to double list the same activity. If you founded an honors society, I would call it Leadership and add in the description of the experience what led up forming a new group. Or, if you became the president of an existing honor society, either split it into two different activities, time-wise or list it under Honors and mention the assumption of leadership in the description.

6) Give a contact in the header for the most important one. In the narrative give dates/contact/#hours/date span/etc info for others you list.

7) See #5.
 
Pari4 said:
So my last year of college I worked in a new york city glaucoma clinic. I put in about 300 hours and my title was Ophthalmology Clinical Research Assistant but I want to make sure that this is counted as clinical experience because its the core of my clinical experience on my application. The position included heavy patient interaction as I was the head assistant on the study, responsible for analyzing all the clinic charts and discussing the study will all patients and many times (b/c this was a nyc clinic) i had to coordinate with translators and such to have patients consent for the study. And because the diagnostic testing for the study was in a different part of the hospital, I was responsible for coordinating times when i can bring the patient up to the testing rooms where I worked directly with the principal physician on the study and a medical student. I observed all the diagnostic testing done on the patients and actually had the opportunity to perform several eye diagnostic tests myself while being observed. I mean I was basically shadowing the principal physician indirectly because I was there through every patient-physician interaction. I'm not sure how to exactly separate this or if I should. I mean the physician and medical student working on the study were all about me understanding what the results of the tests mean and I learned how to analyze them and our team wrote an abstract that was presented at a national ophthalmology conference.

Anyways, sorry for the long post. I'm just unsure on how to exactly word this. I just don't want to make the mistake of having my description sound to "researchy".
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Since you were paid, it was Employment. But because it was research, you have the choice of designating it as Research, or not. The name you choose, regardless, should include all the important elements you want to emphasize. Something like "Clinical Research Assistant and Ophthalmologist Shadowing" would do that.

In your description, you might include what percentage of the total time was spent in shadowing. The narrative would include what you basically explained to us above.

List the abstract sparately under Presentations/Posters, giving credit to whomever did the presenting.
 
sexycani said:
so im an MA at a clinic and i often shadow the physician i work with (even though its not my job to shadow him).....should i list this as as separate shadowing activity? (i have other shadowing experiences so i would just group it with those in the same activity)
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You have the choice of splitting it out into two separate categories, with the time for the shadowing subtracted from the time of the MA listing. Or, you can add 'and Physician Shadowing' to the name you gave the MA Employment, including in your description either the percent of time you spent shadowing while employed, or, estimating the total hours you shadowed and specifying this somewhere at the end of the narrative description.
 
akuarys said:
I've been debating on who to put as a contact for my involvement with a particular sport. I've practiced it for over 10 years and I've had multiple coaches/worked with multiple organizations. I was thinking of listing as my parents since they are the ones that are aware of everything I've done relating to this sport but I wasn't sure that would be looked down upon. I'm not listing it as one of my meaningful activities since I talk about it in my PS and I barely have enough space to list my accomplishments, much less everybody's contact info. Would it be ok to just list my dad as he is the one who introduced me to this sport and has seen me grown throughout it?
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Listing a parent wouldn't be the first choice, but can be done. Better would be the most recent coach/organization or mentor you've worked with. Your choice.
 
I volunteer at the local Project Cure once a month for a couple hours independently. It's a walk-in volunteer place, with new people there pretty much everytime I go there, so I don't have any of their contact info... I can put the program coordinators contact info, but he doesn't know who I am and wouldn't be able to confirm my hours since I never really see him there when I go. Would it still be okay to put his info? I'm just scared to death they are going to call and someone won't be able to confirm my volunteering there, so I'll end up being rejected EVERYWHERE.
 
Oh another question. For a couple of the clubs I founded, I spent countless hours setting it up in addition to my presidential role. It's really difficult to estimate the number of hours I spent working on the club since I really spent time on them every day for years... so it's difficult to quantify.

Would it be okay to leave the average hours blank? And would I need to give cumulative hours in this case? I'm afraid if I give an arbitrary number like 900 hours, it'll seem suspicious. (although... 900 hrs would be an underestimate for a couple clubs I started)
 
tbone1234 said:
Oh another question. For a couple of the clubs I founded, I spent countless hours setting it up in addition to my presidential role. It's really difficult to estimate the number of hours I spent working on the club since I really spent time on them every day for years... so it's difficult to quantify.

Would it be okay to leave the average hours blank? And would I need to give cumulative hours in this case? I'm afraid if I give an arbitrary number like 900 hours, it'll seem suspicious. (although... 900 hrs would be an underestimate for a couple clubs I started)
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The number requested is average hours per week over the time frame specified. So, if you spent 900 hours over 2 years then you'd say 9 hours/wk.
 
hey everyone,

so under my most meaningful activities, i have listed my research internship, various job shadowing of physicians i've done, and doing everything under the sun with my medical fraternity.

however, in my personal statement, i've written experiences with job shadowing, and my 2 international volunteer trips.

my question is would it look odd that i haven't included my medical fraternity and my research in my personal statement? i tried to include research in my ps, but it did not flow with how i wanted my ps to go. and i've just done too much odd-jobbing at the fraternity to write about it cohesively (my reasoning for significant experience will be that it helped me build my support group for classwork and extracurriculars).

thanks!
 
This is a poster/presentation question, and also a quick general question.

1. I have presented at two regional/national undergraduate conferences. I know these aren't as prestigious as the larger more professional ones, but I'm listing both under one spot. Same research.

I doubt one is any more prestigious than the other, so while I've been advised here to list the national one in the organization one, then the regional one, I have sort of a different situation.

At the regional one (which happens to be an "older" conference too), I won the award in my division. Also, there is a definite person who can be listed in the contact information box. I did not win an award at the national one (they didn't give any).

Would it be better to list the regional one first in this case?

I'm pretty confused on how to present it. I've perused through this thread, and was wondering if something like this would be appropriate
Experience Type - Poster/Presentation
Experience Name - Regional/National Undergraduate Research Presentations
Etc Etc
Organization - Regional Conference Name
Description
1. [Citation]
Presented by myself.
Won award for [Award]
2. Also presented at [National Conference Name]
Presented by myself.
Date, Location, Division.

1a. Should I at all mention what I presented on? I figured I'll already be covering that in the "Significant Experience" part of my main research.

2. It's clear that there are many ways of describing your experiences. The WashU webinar suggests reflections, while LizzyM and others suggest descriptions. I currently have all activities in paragraph form, but resume style (ie. Organized blah blah blah. Collaborated with blah blah.). Is this acceptable, to save space and also so that I can leave all anecdotes, reflections, and heavy details for secondaries and interviews?

Thank you very much! This thread is incredible.
 
Note to applicants. I kind of worried about formatting and these activities, but don't stress out.

Just list what you did, a brief explanation and why it was important or relevant.

Like the question above on listing one presentation in front of another, doesn't really matter. Just list it in chronological order.

To the poster above, I would just use descriptions and save reflections for later. But that is my personality, short and to the point. Resume style is perfect.

There is no "right way" there is only effective and ineffective. Be effective.
 
Hey quick follow up question...

If I TA-ed/tutored the same class multiple semesters, can I just put the semesters for the date range? Like:

"Molecular Biology - Fall 2009, Spring 2010. 1 hour/week."

...and I would just list them like the above format? Also, would it be okay to put hours/week like above, or would it be better to do cumulative hours?
 
If I am a peer advisor for freshmen (e.g. for finding research labs, for being a premed, for general academics), what category does that fall under?
 
so i was interviewed for this book about healthcare practices at my undergrad institution medical center and part of my interview was included in this book that was recently published. could i count that as something on my amcas application? if so, what would it be considered as?

EDIT: i was interviewed b/c i was the head of this volunteer organization that was very focused on improving patient physician relationships - so it wasn't just b/c i was randomly walking around and the author asked me
 
During undergrad (~10 yrs ago) I started my own business. I had a business plan, ect, but it was a sole proprietorship, so I was the owner/manager/chief worker/errand boy, ect. I am the contact person for that--how do I list the contact information?

For companies that have gone out of business, how do I list those. I have the last contact info prior to its downfall, but if it no longer exists, how do you deal with that?

These two experiences count for about 6 1/2 years of employment, so I can't just leave it out.
 
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citrusguy2010 said:
so i was interviewed for this book about healthcare practices at my undergrad institution medical center and part of my interview was included in this book that was recently published. could i count that as something on my amcas application? if so, what would it be considered as?

EDIT: i was interviewed b/c i was the head of this volunteer organization that was very focused on improving patient physician relationships - so it wasn't just b/c i was randomly walking around and the author asked me
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Why don't you just throw in a sentence into your description for being the head of the volunteer organization? I wouldn't spend waste a whole entry on this--it will look like you're just adding fluff
 
Thanks Cat for all the answers. So I have a couple more questions.

1) One of my clinical experiences involved me living in a palliative care centre (they had a volunteers room with a bed). I was pretty much "on call" 24 hours even though my usual day was around 14 hours. And its not like I was doing some medically related work all the 14 hours. I was still basically taking care of the patients there - hygiene, nutrition and shadowed the nurses and doctor while administering medication etc. I lived there for about a month. Should I list 8 hours per day (like a normal work day??) or 14-16 hours (the time I was awake) or the whole 24 hours per day (since I have been woken up late into the night on many nights to help with patients)??

2) I have been doing fulltime research for about a year and a half and have presented at a national conference and have about 3 posters and around 3 primary author publications (two are still under preparation but should be accepted in time for secondaries). Should I list the research separately and the posters and presentations separately??
 
If you have space, is it recommended to use high school research experiences in your AMCAS app under Work and Activities?
 
tbone1234 said:
I volunteer at the local Project Cure once a month for a couple hours independently. It's a walk-in volunteer place, with new people there pretty much everytime I go there, so I don't have any of their contact info... I can put the program coordinators contact info, but he doesn't know who I am and wouldn't be able to confirm my hours since I never really see him there when I go. Would it still be okay to put his info? I'm just scared to death they are going to call and someone won't be able to confirm my volunteering there, so I'll end up being rejected EVERYWHERE.
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Why not ask a program coordinator who to list as a contact. Maybe there is a secretary whom you could speak with and give a heads-up about a possible contact call. Every time you show up, make a point of saying hi to this person so they know you've been around. Strategize so you won't be "scared to death."
 
kittenmittens7 said:
so under my most meaningful activities, i have listed my research internship, various job shadowing of physicians i've done, and doing everything under the sun with my medical fraternity.

however, in my personal statement, i've written experiences with job shadowing, and my 2 international volunteer trips.

my question is would it look odd that i haven't included my medical fraternity and my research in my personal statement? i tried to include research in my ps, but it did not flow with how i wanted my ps to go. and i've just done too much odd-jobbing at the fraternity to write about it cohesively (my reasoning for significant experience will be that it helped me build my support group for classwork and extracurriculars).
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You don't want to duplicate information anyway, which would bore your reader. Creating an application is a work of strategy: you're trying to get all the puzzle pieces in good spots to create a composite picture of yourself, working within the limitations (or rules) that AMCAS sets.

So personally, I think it would look more odd to cram something in where it doesn't fit well than to design a harmonious whole as you have. Follow your instincts. It seems they are good.
 
linusp said:
This is a poster/presentation question, and also a quick general question.

1. I have presented at two regional/national undergraduate conferences. I know these aren't as prestigious as the larger more professional ones, but I'm listing both under one spot. Same research.

I doubt one is any more prestigious than the other, so while I've been advised here to list the national one in the organization one, then the regional one, I have sort of a different situation.

At the regional one (which happens to be an "older" conference too), I won the award in my division. Also, there is a definite person who can be listed in the contact information box. I did not win an award at the national one (they didn't give any).

Would it be better to list the regional one first in this case?

I'm pretty confused on how to present it. I've perused through this thread, and was wondering if something like this would be appropriate
Experience Type - Poster/Presentation
Experience Name - Regional/National Undergraduate Research Presentations
Etc Etc
Organization - Regional Conference Name
Description
1. [Citation]
Presented by myself.
Won award for [Award]
2. Also presented at [National Conference Name]
Presented by myself.
Date, Location, Division.

1a. Should I at all mention what I presented on? I figured I'll already be covering that in the "Significant Experience" part of my main research.

2. It's clear that there are many ways of describing your experiences. The WashU webinar suggests reflections, while LizzyM and others suggest descriptions. I currently have all activities in paragraph form, but resume style (ie. Organized blah blah blah. Collaborated with blah blah.). Is this acceptable, to save space and also so that I can leave all anecdotes, reflections, and heavy details for secondaries and interviews?

Thank you very much! This thread is incredible.
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1) I think its fine to list the one with the contact where you won an award first. It wouldn't be wrong to do it the other way, either. Do what flows best.

I'd probably name the experience something that makes it easier for a reader to connect it to the Research section where you discussed the work that led to the presentations, like 'Two Presentations of Smith lab data on Monkeyrat Enzymes that Aid Digestion' (or whatever).

Doesn't the citation tell a reader what you presented on?

2) I agree with MCAT Guy.
 
tbone1234 said:
If I TA-ed/tutored the same class multiple semesters, can I just put the semesters for the date range? Like:

"Molecular Biology - Fall 2009, Spring 2010. 1 hour/week."

...and I would just list them like the above format? Also, would it be okay to put hours/week like above, or would it be better to do cumulative hours?
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Assuming you have the date range for all the tutoring in the header, listing individual tutoring as you have would be fine, though I would put Fall Semester or Quarter 2009.

For this type of thing with a vaguer start and end point, hours/week and total hours is good to see, IMO.
 
chronicidal said:
If I am a peer advisor for freshmen (e.g. for finding research labs, for being a premed, for general academics), what category does that fall under?
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Sometimes an activity falls under multiple categories, so you get to pick, depending on what balances your application best. Employment or Volunteer-nonMedical, or Teaching (where many list a mentoring activity), or even Leadership are all possiblilities.
 
felixthekat said:
1) During undergrad (~10 yrs ago) I started my own business. I had a business plan, ect, but it was a sole proprietorship, so I was the owner/manager/chief worker/errand boy, ect. I am the contact person for that--how do I list the contact information?

2) For companies that have gone out of business, how do I list those. I have the last contact info prior to its downfall, but if it no longer exists, how do you deal with that?

These two experiences count for about 6 1/2 years of employment, so I can't just leave it out.
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1) Didn't you have a lawyer or accountant or a client/customer you could use as a contact? If not, what about a freind who could vouch that the business existed? If all else fails, list yourself and give your personal email address.

2) Was there a larger parent corporation you could list? If not, just put in the info you had from before the business discontinued and add to the narrative that the business closed. and you have no current contact info. It happens. Adcomms know this.
 
XklusivGuy said:
1) One of my clinical experiences involved me living in a palliative care centre (they had a volunteers room with a bed). I was pretty much "on call" 24 hours even though my usual day was around 14 hours. And its not like I was doing some medically related work all the 14 hours. I was still basically taking care of the patients there - hygiene, nutrition and shadowed the nurses and doctor while administering medication etc. I lived there for about a month. Should I list 8 hours per day (like a normal work day??) or 14-16 hours (the time I was awake) or the whole 24 hours per day (since I have been woken up late into the night on many nights to help with patients)??

2) I have been doing fulltime research for about a year and a half and have presented at a national conference and have about 3 posters and around 3 primary author publications (two are still under preparation but should be accepted in time for secondaries). Should I list the research separately and the posters and presentations separately??
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1) List the average number of hours per week that you actually were working. In the narrative mention the on-call, on-site aspect.

2) List separately the Research, the accepted Publication, and only the Posters that were not similar to the Pub (posters similar to the pub can be mentioned in the Publication space after the citation). In other words, you would list on its own only the most prestigious way of sharing your data with the world for each area of endeavor. If the posters are unrelated, each can be put in its own space, but most would group them if space is running short. Papers in progress have no place on the application. Papers submitted but not accepted really don't either, but some will mention them at the end of the Research space. When they are accepted, schools can be told via Secondaries, update letters, or interview conversations.
 
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