Activities List

[LadyLightning20]

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Hi Everyone -

I was wondering if anyone had ideas on entering the activities on the AMCAS (I just opened mine). First off, are you just supposed to put brief descriptions of what you did (interpreted Spanish for GP, GYN, and podiatrist) or are you supposed to use the entier 1325 characters to talk about how the experiences affected you and stuff?

Also - I have these activities and I am not 100% sure how to fit all of them into the 15 slots - if you had any advice on how to group them or which ones to take out, that would be awesome.

1. Academic honors (full scholarship, phi beta kappa, a few smaller scholarships)
2. Publication (in press)
3. Racquetball (secretary of club, played for 2 years)

4. Spanish interpretation at free clinic
5. Shadowing
6. Research with PI #1, unpaid
7. Research with PI #1, paid
8. State event leader for NC Science Olympiad, 3 years, heavy involvement
9. Coached Science Olympiad Camp (not too important but it was paid)
10. Gap analysis and service mentor for interfaith food shuttle (not as seriously involved, but had continuing contact with organization)
11. Teaching at sunday school (since high school, long-standing involvement)
12. taught at school for autistic kids in India (mentioned in PS, if that makes a difference)
13. Research with PI #2 (paid through a grant that I applied for - does that still count as paid if the PI wasn't paying me?)
14. Poster from lab # 1
15 Poster from Lab # 2
16. Started at NIH-IRTA (I graduated in 3 years so I think it's important that they know what I am doing)
17 Founded a science mentoring organization, am president, and funded it by applying for service grant money (lots of involvement and my only leadership)
18 Design jewelry, just opened a small online store

So I'm not sure what to do - most of the things on the list are really important to me and are not fluff. (The jewelry might be, but I feel like the rest of the list is so serious that I need something to say that I do know how to relax and have fun and I'm not just a lab robot - because I'm really not!).

Can I combine the two posters into one thing? (one was presented at an institutional poster session, the other at an undergrad research conference)

Also, #'s 6 and 7 - I volunteered for a PI for a while until he started paying me, is there any way to combine those two into one so that I can put on more activities?

Thanks for the help, and good luck to everyone applying!

 

[InNotOf]

I would combine 6 & 7 as well as 8 & 9. You could consider combining the posters as well (I'm in the same boat...).

 

[orrghead16]

Can I combine the two posters into one thing? (one was presented at an institutional poster session, the other at an undergrad research conference)

How overboard can we go combining posters & presentations into the same box?

What about combining publications?

They should seriously just let us attach a CV so we don't have to waste "activity" spots filling up presentations, etc. Especially when we have to fit in all the actual activities, clinical stuff, etc.

 

[witness23]

personally i would combine all pubs in one and presentations in one. they can look it up, and they have. cite properly

 

[LadyLightning20]

Well, that would definitely help if I could combine all my research into just one space for each lab.

I'm assuming I should categorize them under research and just put in the description that they were paid, so that if someone is just skimming down my activities list they won't see nothing categorized as "research"?

Thanks!

 

[itsallthesame]

I think that you should combine everything from a single lab (except 1st author pubs, cause that's baller).

It doesn't matter if things are important to you, it matters if they would help your application. AdComs don't care that you've done a million things, you need to tell a story. And really, a couple posters don't mean anything. Nor does the difference between volunteering in a lab, getting paid from a lab or working in a lab for class credit.

1. Bob Jone's Psychoceramics Lab

I began volunteering in Prof. Jone's lab in 1993, assisting Post Doc Jane on her project involved conceptualization of medium pottery in the hippocampus. After learning electromicroeating and studying the literature, I designed an experiment to study hunger in ants. At this point, Prof Jones slept with me and gave me a full time job. I presented my findings at the county fair in a poster title Hungy, Hungy Ants.


Wow. You just condensed 3 "activities" into 1, showed that you can function well in a lab.

Do you really need #10? You weren't seriously involved. Remember, anything that doesn't impress them or serves a specific purpose should be left out. By specific purpose I mean at least 1 of the following: shadowing or medical volunteering, lab, job for money (ideally not lab/medical), leadership role and an outside interest.

 

[scattun]

Hi Everyone -

I was wondering if anyone had ideas on entering the activities on the AMCAS (I just opened mine). First off, are you just supposed to put brief descriptions of what you did (interpreted Spanish for GP, GYN, and podiatrist) or are you supposed to use the entier 1325 characters to talk about how the experiences affected you and stuff?

Also - I have these activities and I am not 100% sure how to fit all of them into the 15 slots - if you had any advice on how to group them or which ones to take out, that would be awesome.

1. Academic honors (full scholarship, phi beta kappa, a few smaller scholarships)


Thanks for the help, and good luck to everyone applying!

Hey, you! I know you like to down play it, but the full scholarship should really be it's own activity, especially considering the fact that it was your reason for attending your abismal undegrad. Oh and thanks for the advice about the writing section; M, thank you very much. I'm begining to think our friendship has simply been a rouse for you to keep tabs on and mislead the competition. On the other hand, you did give me the book, that got me a 34, so really I probably owe you. I'm out of the country the next few days but I will give you a call when I am stateside again.

-scattun aka "only reliable interfaith food shuttle partner" (as if I hadn't given you enough clues already)

 

[LadyLightning20]

Hey, you! I know you like to down play it, but the full scholarship should really be it's own activity, especially considering the fact that it was your reason for attending your abismal undegrad. Oh and thanks for the advice about the writing section; M, thank you very much. I'm begining to think our friendship has simply been a rouse for you to keep tabs on and mislead the competition. On the other hand, you did give me the book, that got me a 34, so really I probably owe you. I'm out of the country the next few days but I will give you a call when I am stateside again.

-scattun aka "only reliable interfaith food shuttle partner" (as if I hadn't given you enough clues already)

No, I figured out who you were once you mentioned the book - though in all honesty I don't even remember what I said about the writing - Sorry!!!

And no, I don't think I can afford to give that its own slot on the list if I'm already having trouble fitting everything else in. I was just going to give that the primo slot and talk a lot about it and then mention all the others.

 

[alacast]

I could also use some recommendations on how to organize my activity list. This thread has already dramatically altered how I was going to organize my activities, so you've all already been very helpful ;-) Here's how I'm currently planning it out:

1. Research in Lab #1 (2.5 years), including an undergraduate thesis.
2. Lab #1: 1st author publication in Behavioural Brain Research
3. Research in Lab #2 (2 years)
4. Lab #2: 1st author publication in PLoS Computational Biology
5. Lab #1 and #2: Various posters and presentations at a few local conferences
6. Research grants: I have had about 7 smallish undergraduate research grants from various sources within my university, which funded my research
7. President, university Cognitive Science club (2 years)
8. Teaching Assistant for a freshman-level cognitive science course
9. Scholarships and Fellowships: I have had 8 scholarships, which range from comically small (literally $50) to pretty sizable.
10. One big scholarship, which is why I'm able to do the MBA program that I'm in.
11. Volunteering at a free clinic. I do about 10 hours a week, but I've only been doing this since the end of April :-\ It's my ONLY clinically related experience.
12. Various honors (university departmental awards, Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key, Eagle Scout)
13. Various jobs I've had (lifeguard/swim instructor, pizza delivery guy, student newspaper columnist)

Here are the issues I'm currently considering:
First, does order matter?
Second, a few of these touch on things from late high school (lifeguard/swim instructor and Eagle Scout). Is this inappropriate? The Eagle Scout is a big deal in some circles. Working during high school, maybe not so much.
Third, is there any better way to combine and/or separate out the elements that I have? I could see splitting apart 12 or 13, or putting my swim instructor experience in 8, labeling it "Teaching Experience".

Any thoughts about that? Cheers!

 

[alacast]

Another point:

How in depth should we go in describing our research activities? I wrote three paragraphs about my Lab #1, but then realized I could just say all of that in my Research Essay. Should I just say "I was here" and cite any posters/presentations?

 

[alacast]

I just went over to the regular MD section of the forums, to see what they were saying about managing activity lists. Wow! Now I'm starting to think I should be combining so many things in these three slots:

9. Scholarships and Fellowships: I have had 8 scholarships, which range from comically small (literally $50) to pretty sizable.
...
12. Various honors (university departmental awards, Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key, Eagle Scout)
13. Various jobs I've had (lifeguard/swim instructor, pizza delivery guy, student newspaper columnist)