Acceptable format for the experiences section of AMCAS

[PotGoblinsales10]

Are bullet points acceptable to include? Does anyone take offense to them and should I just omit this:

My plan is to describe how scribing is my most meaningful experiences and I bullet-pointed several things I've learned in order to emphasize that this experience has been a ridiculously valuable educational/clinical experience.

Example (in this exact format x14 different things I've learned similar to below):
Some of the things I learned include:
- clinical reasoning
- history taking
- patient risk assessment
- medical decision-making
-X
-Y
-Z
-Etc.
(please don't quote this).

Is this acceptable format? Is this not desirable and unnecessary?

(2) Do ADCOMS see the application the same way it looks when you print your application on AMCAS?

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[Lucca]

You can print your application in PDF to get a better idea of how it’ll be seen on the other end.

I don’t know about “allowed” or “preferred”, the adcoms here can answer that, but personally I think it’s a better idea to write the descriptions in sentence format. The way someone describes something can provide a lot of insight, in my own opinion, and allows you to showcase your own perspective in your own words rather than “>learned about the healing power of friendship”. As @gyngyn has said, Adcoms do read this section carefully as “there is a fighting chance that it was actually written by the applicant”.

It’s the hardest section of the application for a reason.

 

[Catalystik]

1) Are bullet points acceptable to include? Is this not desirable and unnecessary?

(2) Do ADCOMS see the application the same way it looks when you print your application on AMCAS?

1) Either bullet point or narrative format is fine. Depending on what best communicates what you want to say, you can mix and match from entry to entry. Note that an actual bullet isn't possible, but a dash or a star will work.

2) Yes. It shows you what it looks like as a PDF. Note that the order of the activities may be changed depending on how a given school wants to sort them, though. The default is a chronological sequence.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Are bullet points acceptable to include? Does anyone take offense to them and should I just omit this:

My plan is to describe how scribing is my most meaningful experiences and I bullet-pointed several things I've learned in order to emphasize that this experience has been a ridiculously valuable educational/clinical experience.

Example (in this exact format x14 different things I've learned similar to below):
Some of the things I learned include:
- clinical reasoning
- history taking
- patient risk assessment
- medical decision-making
-X
-Y
-Z
-Etc.
(please don't quote this).

Is this acceptable format? Is this not desirable and unnecessary?

I am not an adcom member but I think you should just describe what you can in sentences. There really isn't anything that couldn't be written out in a cohesive paragraph or a few sentences at least.

 

[maplecookie]

Personally I would try to do sentence format if possible. It gives more of a narrative feel when you're using the description portion as a way to reflect back on your experience and what it meant to you/what you gained from it. When I did mine, I generally had a sentence or two of "my duties included: x, y, z" and then the rest of the space I would elaborate on what I learned and took away from the experience.

 

[Antiquity]

I agree with the posts above. IMO writing out a narrative comes off as more personable and allows you to talk about your experiences in a more in-depth manner. Using bullet points to jot down the main ideas of what you want to say is a good way to start off though, and then you can focus on putting it into a narrative. I followed a similar process when I was completing my application this past cycle.