Do adcoms really verify extracurriculars?

Started by vectorman
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vectorman

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Do u guys think adcoms actually call up some/all people that u list as contact ppl for ur extracurriculars? Also, what kind of people can we put as contact ppl? Would another officer do? For example, if I were a vice-president of an org, can I put in the president of the org as the contact person?

Thanks in advance for replying!
 
vectorman said:
Do u guys think adcoms actually call up some/all people that u list as contact ppl for ur extracurriculars? Also, what kind of people can we put as contact ppl? Would another officer do? For example, if I were a vice-president of an org, can I put in the president of the org as the contact person?

Thanks in advance for replying!
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They don't really contact any of the people you put down. If you put down something totally bogus it will for sure show through when you interview and they can contact that person maybe for doing a google search or something for them.

You can put down anyone you want for a contact. For clubs or whatever just put the officer or advisor... it really doesn't matter. Just find someone to put down that can verify that you participated. I don't even think it's required that you put anyone down.
 
vectorman said:
Do u guys think adcoms actually call up some/all people that u list as contact ppl for ur extracurriculars? Also, what kind of people can we put as contact ppl? Would another officer do? For example, if I were a vice-president of an org, can I put in the president of the org as the contact person?

Thanks in advance for replying!
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no/anyone/yes/yes
 
I've heard stories of some schools calling and verifying things like volunteer positions. You probably don't need to worry about who you put down as a contact as long as they're involved with the activity, but I would certainly steer clear of making your EC list a work of fiction (not that I'm accusing you of that). Lying on your application because you don't think the schools will find out is a great way to get blacklisted in this game.
 
DoctorFunk said:
I've heard stories of some schools calling and verifying things like volunteer positions. You probably don't need to worry about who you put down as a contact as long as they're involved with the activity, but I would certainly steer clear of making your EC list a work of fiction (not that I'm accusing you of that). Lying on your application because you don't think the schools will find out is a great way to get blacklisted in this game.
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Agree. They probably won't check, but they can. For example, I've heard of an instance where someone listed that they did research for XYZ, and the interviewer happened to be someone who knew XYZ and had given him a call before the interview. Ended up working out well for the applicant in this case, but could have burned someone who was faking/exaggerating the EC. It's a smaller world than you think.
 
I know for a fact that the Canadian schools call and verify. (Not sure if they call everyone on the EC list.)
 
If anyone is thinking of making anything up, don't do it b/c schools *might* find out.

But if you're just worried since you did something but do not have a good contact name for it, don't worry. I did a lot with Habitat for Humanity in college. At first I did the whole sign up thing and went out to job sites, but then I discovered that there was a warehouse where they worked most saturdays prefab-ing stuff for the job sites. This was WAAY cooler to me since I grew up working construction for my dad. They had all the power tools, etc., in the warehouse and it was basically like a gigantic woodshop. So I spent a fair amount of time there, and it was my most enjoyable volunteer experience of college. But, like I said, I never signed up to go there, so Habitat had no record of me ever being there. As for the people running the warehouse, they were often different people. The only one I ever got to know what this old man who was always there. He sort of ran it more than the others. Well, he saw like 100 new people a week and never remembered my name. He got it right like half the time. I did not even have his contact info, and there was no way he could verify anything for AMCAS. So I listed my Habitat work and said right in my application that I had no contact information that was of any value. I gave the number of the Habitat central office for the city I was in.
 
I would avoid making **** up. You wouldn't want to waste hundreds of dollars applying only to get rejected based on some minor detail.
 
my premed adviser told us this story of an applicant, w/good stats, who lied and claimed he played the piano proficiently in the extraccuricular activities section of an app.; hwvr, when he went for an interview, they brought him to a piano and asked him to play them smthg...i could imagine his face:😱 😱 😱 ; yea, he def. didnt get in
 
lina123321 said:
my premed adviser told us this story of an applicant, w/good stats, who lied and claimed he played the piano proficiently in the extraccuricular activities section of an app.; hwvr, when he went for an interview, they brought him to a piano and asked him to play them smthg...i could imagine his face:😱 😱 😱 ; yea, he def. didnt get in
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Anecdotally, schools have been known to test applicants who profess language proficiencies by pairing the applicant with an interviewer with similar skills. I doubt many med schools have a piano handy, but if something is on your application, you may be called on it.
 
Law2Doc said:
Agree. If you are going to risk it, might as well make sure it is a big enough of a fabrication that it would get you into a better med school. A nobel prize, perhaps?:laugh:
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lol.

or in your spare time you like to adopt african babies from malawi and use madonna as your reference. I heard it was a mandatory requirement if you want to get into Wayne State - madonnna is from Michigan afterall...
 
There was only one interview where I was tested on my abilities. I speak five languages and the interviewer asked for a few phrases. I provided them but he just seemed confused. The interviewer was a white dude, so I'm not really sure why he asked to begin with. But I was prepared to speak in any of the five, just as long as I didn't have to explain my research in them. ><
 
Law2Doc said:
Agree. They probably won't check, but they can. For example, I've heard of an instance where someone listed that they did research for XYZ, and the interviewer happened to be someone who knew XYZ and had given him a call before the interview. Ended up working out well for the applicant in this case, but could have burned someone who was faking/exaggerating the EC. It's a smaller world than you think.
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haha, you'd have to be pretty brazen to lie about doing research.
 
Law2Doc said:
Anecdotally, schools have been known to test applicants who profess language proficiencies by pairing the applicant with an interviewer with similar skills. I doubt many med schools have a piano handy, but if something is on your application, you may be called on it.
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In case anyone applying to UWisc is wondering, THERE'S A GRAND PIANO IN THE LOBBY, if I remember correctly. Play it safe. 😛 if you can't play, don't say you can.
 
etf said:
hehe, if it was me i'd just start randomly playing the piano, and act like i truly beleived that i was producing beautiful music.
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:laugh: WHAT??? YOU DON'T THINK THAT'S BEAUTIFUL MUSIC?? YOU WOULD'VE REJECTED MOZART TOO, I BET! SCREW YOU AND YOUR LITTLE MED SCHOOL TOO.
 
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