Do Med Schools verify ECs?

[Mark Greene]

hey guys, got a question. posted this in a school forum, but also wanted to ask it in general.

does anyone know if medical schools verify extracurricular activities? I did not lie on my AMCAS or anything like that, but I did get put into a kind of strange situation.

when I submitted my AMCAS app back in June, it showed that I was involved in a volunteer project that was supposed to run through this winter, all of which was true. unfortunately, I had to stop participating in this organization in mid-Sept because I could not balance it with all the med school interviews I had going on plus my job. something had to give, so I dropped the volunteer thing partway. i didnt think much of it, and I didnt update any of the schools I applied to that I dropped this particular EC.

anyway, October comes along and lo and behold I get accepted to several schools. super pumped and all, but now I have a nagging fear that they might decide to start verifying all my ECs and discover that I didnt follow through on this one. so does anybody know if schools verify ECs for accepted candidates, and if they do, do you think that this might matter to them at all? might they decide to rescind their offers? that would be all kinds of awful. any advice, or am i being overly neurotic?

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[kpcrew]

no

 

[pfaction]

Literally the best use for this GIF:

 

[TexasPhysician]

Back away from the ledge. You are fine. Verifying EC's at this stage (acceptance) is a waste of time for schools.

 

[mimelim]

You are fine.

 

[occams_razor]

verifying is rare, I've heard of emails or phone calls being sent to the contact person listed to verify hours if something seems suspicious but this is unusual. it's on the honor system and schools just don't have the time to do this. you don't have to worry since you've already been accepted, if a school is going to verify it will be before accepting a student

 

[RagOptUz]

Literally the best use for this GIF:

Got me to lol brahh. Gj

 

[Planes2Doc]

If you quit volunteering AFTER submitting the application, that is technically not lying, since you were involved with the activity while you filled it out. On the other hand, if you told interviewers that you were actively involved with volunteering even though you had quit, you would be screwed if they found out (which would be ridiculously unlikely, as other posters have mentioned). I can only see ADCOMs verifying activities if something really doesn't add up.

Then again, why would they have to verify something that people enjoy doing anyway?

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

You'll be fine OP, they won't verify at this point. Just stop worrying about it at this point.

 

[rubisco88]

I doubt they verify them. As long as you can talk about them in your essays and interviews then the hours don't really matter as much. Mostly what you learned while you were doing them. Even in my interviews I only talked about my most meaningful and recent ecs.

 

[dsoz]

I was just at an interview and the person at the interview knew fairly closely how many hours that I had volunteered (as of about a month ago). He had a much more updated number than I put on my AMCAS or in the secondary.

He must have gotten that number somehow...

I agree, many schools don't have time to verify every single experience. As long as it was true when you wrote the activity, and were anticipating completing, you can't be expected to be responsible for every life change that occurs while applying.

dsoz

 

[rubisco88]

Wow. I guess because on amcas you have to list a contact for each activity it's more likely they will keep track of your hours. On tmdsas, they don't even ask for a contact... Just a description and how many hours per week.

 

[aranza]

Do they check your passport incases where you volunteered abroad?

 

[Planes2Doc]

He must have gotten that number somehow...

He could have extrapolated the hours if you had a consistent hours per week commitment, based on what you last put on your application. This doesn't mean that the ADCOMs necessarily called to verify them, but you never know!

you can't be expected to be responsible for every life change that occurs while applying.

But something usually happens with pre-med volunteers after they either submit their application or immediately after acceptance which causes them to quit. Coincidence?

 

[occams_razor]

He could have extrapolated the hours if you had a consistent hours per week commitment, based on what you last put on your application. This doesn't mean that the ADCOMs necessarily called to verify them, but you never know!



But something usually happens with pre-med volunteers after they either submit their application or immediately after acceptance which causes them to quit. Coincidence?

yeah, I think it's pretty unusual for them to call a contact

 

[Mark Greene]

thanks all. i mean, i figure that if someone did ask, I'd have a reasonable explanation for why I quit, but I'd rather just avoid that scenario entirely of course.