Counting Extra Hours put into Research Course as an EC

[GoodGuyGregory]

Hey,

I'm currently doing a lab course that required officially 10 hours a week of work, but I'm putting in closer to 30. Can I list the 20 hours difference as an EC?

Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[kyamh]

This depends...do you mean that you are a part of a research lab and you are getting credit for doing research during the school year? Then yes, I would definitely put down that you were a research assistant in a lab for x number of years/months and include all the hours - this experience goes under a special Research section on the AMCAS.

Do you mean that you are taking a lab course (like engineering/computer science) and are putting in more work into your project than is required? Then no, if this is just a class you are taking this semester it isn't an EC. You wouldn't put down the fact that you studied for chemistry for way more hours than you are expected to put into a course at your school...

 

[LizzyM]

You may list any "experience" you choose to list. If you are doing a research project, you should list it and you should list the number of hours (total) you devoted to the project. People list stuff that they got college credit for all the time including many who earn a credit for music performance or athletics.

 

[GoodGuyGregory]

@kyamh
Yes, it is the former.

Thank you for the responses!

 

[baconshrimps]

Hey,

I'm currently doing a lab course that required officially 10 hours a week of work, but I'm putting in closer to 30. Can I list the 20 hours difference as an EC?

Thanks

No.

For college courses, the professor/course director must report an estimate of hours needed to meet the curriculum objectives, for purposes of determining how many credits that course should award. As with any college course, it is expected that you will be spending time outside of class to adequately learn the material, complete assignments, or in the case of your lab course, complete experiments. It sounds like you're taking a challenging lab course, and the 20 hour difference should be reflected on your application as a high grade for that class. Studying for your classes does not count as an EC. Likewise, spending additional time in the laboratory to complete your tasks for a lab course does not count as an EC.