Conflicted about which activity to include

[SunsFun]

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Answered! Thanks.

 

[aerodoc]

I'd recommend that you go with #1 and 2. Deans list information isn't going to mean much, most students will have been on the deans list, and they already have your grades for your classes. Scholarships could be important if they are really big scholarships maybe. In my opinion what you want to do is set yourself apart from the other candidates and I think showing you have real world work experience (waiter) is useful because it lets the reviewer know that you've been in the workforce and therefore will have a better understanding of how some of your patients make a living/problems that workers face regarding their healthcare. For the Rugby thing, I think that is something unique that you should definitely include, because probably not too many people are going to have that, so it is something interesting that reviewers can remember you by and talk about. Also it makes you memorable, you'll be the "rugby guy/girl", you know what I mean?

The real estate investment club thing...possible addition but I'm not sure how much it tells about you as a person or your life experiences, but that's just my opinion.

You must have filled up a lot of the other spaces with activities though to only have 2 slots left, or else it's just been too long since I've done the AMCAS...So if you have that many already, just go with the activities that you feel most define you and your interests.

Hope that helps!

 

[SunsFun]

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[aerodoc]

Yeah I understand. If you really want to include the real estate investment club activity then look at your clinical activities and see if there are any "redundant" experiences. For example, maybe you volunteered at two different hospitals doing similar tasks, you might drop the shorter-term experience. You know, you can volunteer at a million clinics/hospitals/nursing homes etc, but if you were doing the same thing at all of them then really what does it add to your application? Does that make sense?

As far as the clubs go, the important thing that people are emphasizing when they say "leader of xx club" is their leadership experience, not necessarily that they were in some club. However that can come from many things including tutoring, teaching, certain work experiences etc. You should have at least one activity (if possible) where you can demonstrate some sort of leadership qualities IMO.

 

[SunsFun]

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[whatbout2morrow]

You should take a look at the Work/Activities Tips thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=989635

Lump similar activities under a single generic heading. Here's sector9's suggestion on how to list shadowing:

Here's an example of how shadowing can be listed:
Experience Type: Physician shadowing
Title: Physician Shadowing
Total Hours: Total hours shadowed
Contact info, organization name, and dates: Use the info for the first physician you want to list
Description:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Activity Description
John Smith, D.O., Family Medicine resident
13 hours in June 2011

Also:
Jill Smith, M.D., Pediatrician
New York Pediatrics
800-000-0000
20 hours in June 2011

Jane Smith, M.D., General Surgeon
New York Surgical Associates
800-000-0000
13 hours in January and February 2011, during general and bariatric office hours

James Smith, M.D., Radiologist
New York Radiology Associates
800-000-0000
7 hours in May 2011, during image reading

The real estate investment thing could be interesting depending on how you spin it, like if it was about adding practical experience to stuff you learned in classes, or about sharing individual experiences and learning from them, mentoring students who were new in this field, etc. As much as possible, make it seem that it was not just about the $$$$$$.

I had space, so I listed all my awards, dean's lists, etc all under one heading.

 

[SunsFun]

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