Can I list certified online Ivy-league courses on my AMCAS?

[peudamour]

MIT or ivy league Harvardx/Edx style online courses.

I know they don't count for credit or towards my GPA, but could I list them to show dedication, personal growth, self-motivation and hard work? I have taken one for certification and plan to take two other courses that in the next few months. Taken a on Clinical Trials and the FDA. Plan to take Intro to Pharmacology and a Human Anatomy case study course .

They also help me with my current job, so not just for med school prep.

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[nwts]

They don't count for credit (I don't mean just not for credit for your degree, but not for academic credit anywhere), do they? You can probably list them if you want, but I would put them in the work and activities section as a hobby or something like that instead of in the coursework section. Generally, courses that don't appear anywhere on any transcripts probably don't belong in the coursework section, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, if you do end up listing them in the work and activities section, be careful about how you talk about them. Don't emphasize that they are Ivy League or MIT or anything. People by and large take a VERY different view of Harvardx courses than courses that were actually taken at Harvard College for credit. Since anyone can take Harvardx courses, they don't have any of the cache that courses for credit at Harvard College have.

 

[NorthOfBroad]

Maybe better in a personal statement, or a secondary? They show intellectual curiosity but its no different than reading about this stuff on your free time. And like nwts said, please do not emphasize the Harvard or MIT name, it is just not going to come off well.

 

[peudamour]

They don't count for credit (I don't mean just not for credit for your degree, but not for academic credit anywhere), do they? You can probably list them if you want, but I would put them in the work and activities section as a hobby or something like that instead of in the coursework section. Generally, courses that don't appear anywhere on any transcripts probably don't belong in the coursework section, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, if you do end up listing them in the work and activities section, be careful about how you talk about them. Don't emphasize that they are Ivy League or MIT or anything. People by and large take a VERY different view of Harvardx courses than courses that were actually taken at Harvard College for credit. Since anyone can take Harvardx courses, they don't have any of the cache that courses for credit at Harvard College have.

Thanks for the reply. I don't plan to make a big deal about the Harvard/MIT thing, but I will list the certificate and the resource so it can be verified if needed. I know its not at all the same as Harvard main campus courses.

 

[peudamour]

Maybe better in a personal statement, or a secondary?

That's a good thought!

They show intellectual curiosity but its no different than reading about this stuff on your free time. And like nwts said, please do not emphasize the Harvard or MIT name, it is just not going to come off well.

Just FYI, not taking them to show off any credentials, because there wouldn't be any to show off. Taking them for personal growth and to aide in my job, but if they can help make my application more appealing, I'd love to list them.

 

[NorthOfBroad]

Just FYI, not taking them to show off any credentials, because there wouldn't be any to show off. Taking them for personal growth and to aide in my job, but if they can help make my application more appealing, I'd love to list them.

This is good PS/secondary material. It is about showing adcoms who you are as a person, and this would definitely help.

 

[peudamour]

This is good PS/secondary material. It is about showing adcoms who you are as a person, and this would definitely help.

I really do like that idea. I am not applying this cycle, so I haven't yet looked at the AMCAS format, but I do think it may fit better in secondaries. I already have too much material for my Personal Statement, but I'm enjoying these courses a lot, so I may try to find a way to work them in there.

 

[Banco]

I think you should just put it down in the activities section.

 

[snowflakes]

I agree with Banco. I think this would be best suited for an AMCAS activity entry. You could also discuss it in certain secondary prompts.

 

[peudamour]

I think you should just put it down in the activities section.

I agree with Banco. I think this would be best suited for an AMCAS activity entry. You could also discuss it in certain secondary prompts.

I think that this also may be worth consideration.

I'm just puzzled by those who've voted that I should not waste my time listing them at all. Would anyone care to enlighten me as to why?