Do Schools Verify your EC's?

[HopefulDoc190131]

Hello! So the reason I am wondering this is because I am taking two years off between undergrad at medical school. I am not lying about any of my hours at all, but I am not really sure if half my volunteer supervisors are still there at the places I shadowed/volunteered at because some of it is from like freshman/sophomore year of college. I suppose I could provide the email address but i'm not sure the people I volunteered for would respond since its been so long. This is kind of worrying me because if they don't respond then all that work I put in for them would be for nothing. Do they usually verify/discount your activities if the person doesn't respond? I can easily talk about all the stuff I did in interviews to prove i'm not lying.

Thanks!

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[Shjanzey]

I just read the title of this thread and thought, "Another premed planning to lie on their app. Cool story"

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

I just read the title of this thread and thought, "Another premed planning to lie on their app. Cool story"

No i'm really not planning to lie. Like I want people to answer this assuming I wrote about my activities in my essay and can talk extensively about them in my interview, because I can.

 

[Shjanzey]

No i'm really not planning to lie. Like I want people to answer this assuming I wrote about my activities in my essay and can talk extensively about them in my interview, because I can.

Its cool dude I'm a good liar too. Once I made up a whole world and had people believing it for months. It feels good to be the dungeon master sometimes.

 

[Imperius]

Provide the information you have for the activities - if that's just an email, so be it. If the contact never responds - oh well. And yes, committees can and do contact for ECs. Not for all of them, but if they see something important, they certainly can.

Hello! So the reason I am wondering this is because I am taking two years off between undergrad at medical school. I am not lying about any of my hours at all, but I am not really sure if half my volunteer supervisors are still there at the places I shadowed/volunteered at because some of it is from like freshman/sophomore year of college. I suppose I could provide the email address but i'm not sure the people I volunteered for would respond since its been so long. This is kind of worrying me because if they don't respond then all that work I put in for them would be for nothing. Do they usually verify/discount your activities if the person doesn't respond? I can easily talk about all the stuff I did in interviews to prove i'm not lying.

Thanks!

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

Its cool dude I'm a good liar too. Once I made up a whole world and had people believing it for months. It feels good to be the dungeon master sometimes.

Haha im seriously not lying! stahp

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

Provide the information you have for the activities - if that's just an email, so be it. If the contact never responds - oh well. And yes, committees can and do contact for ECs. Not for all of them, but if they see something important, they certainly can.

Is it better to leave the older activities out? I was thinking of emailing the people beforehand and seeing if they would respond to me and only listing those that responded. Also for shadowing I have a letter of rec from fresh year so is it ok to include that one even if idk if the doctor is still at that hospital anymore.

 

[El-Rami]

Is it better to leave the older activities out? I was thinking of emailing the people beforehand and seeing if they would respond to me and only listing those that responded. Also for shadowing I have a letter of rec from fresh year so is it ok to include that one even if idk if the doctor is still at that hospital anymore.

Just list it. If they don't respond, it's not like it will be used against you.

 

[Imperius]

Many people don't include things from before college unless they continue them during college, but it depends. For example: I have been swimming since I was 7 years old, I stopped when I was 18, but still swam as a hobby during college. I included it because it was a huge part of my life, and I still swim every day. However, most of your ECs should come from college onward.

As for your letter of rec...sure. If it was a meaningful experience and you have a good letter, add it.

Is it better to leave the older activities out? I was thinking of emailing the people beforehand and seeing if they would respond to me and only listing those that responded. Also for shadowing I have a letter of rec from fresh year so is it ok to include that one even if idk if the doctor is still at that hospital anymore.

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

Many people don't include things from before college unless they continue them during college, but it depends. For example: I have been swimming since I was 7 years old, I stopped when I was 18, but still swam as a hobby during college. I included it because it was a huge part of my life, and I still swim every day. However, most of your ECs should come from college onward.

As for your letter of rec...sure. If it was a meaningful experience and you have a good letter, add it.

What about something like black belt in karate or things from fresh year of college?

 

[Jinxapotato]

Realistically, I think few ppl actually bother to do it...UNLESS they find something in your CV that's astonishingly good or unbelievable.

 

[El-Rami]

Realistically, I think few ppl actually bother to do it...UNLESS they find something in your CV that's astonishingly good or unbelievable.

I agree. There are usually thousands of applicants per medical school every year, and many applicants list at least several contacts on their AMCAS applications. There is no way that admissions offices can contact every single individual for every single activity... However, the fear of the possibility of verification should deter at least some applicants from falsifying information.

 

[adfalcon]

Hello! So the reason I am wondering this is because I am taking two years off between undergrad at medical school. I am not lying about any of my hours at all, but I am not really sure if half my volunteer supervisors are still there at the places I shadowed/volunteered at because some of it is from like freshman/sophomore year of college. I suppose I could provide the email address but i'm not sure the people I volunteered for would respond since its been so long. This is kind of worrying me because if they don't respond then all that work I put in for them would be for nothing. Do they usually verify/discount your activities if the person doesn't respond? I can easily talk about all the stuff I did in interviews to prove i'm not lying.

Thanks!

They checked mine, but then again I went to a smaller med school that didnt have to comb through as many applicants.

I know you aren't lying, but I wouldn't bother listing stuff pre-college, anything done during bachelor years is preferable. If they for some reason cant get in contact via email or phone to the person who monitored the extra-curricular stuff then there's not much you can do. But I don't think it will necessarily hurt you too much.

 

[Imperius]

Do you still do Karate? I have to believe that if you went through the process of getting a black-belt, that you did it for more than a term. I mean, that sounds like a fine EC to me, but I want to make sure that it's something you actually do, and not just a class you took in karate.

What about something like black belt in karate or things from fresh year of college?

 

[ChemYoda]

Many people don't include things from before college unless they continue them during college, but it depends. For example: I have been swimming since I was 7 years old, I stopped when I was 18, but still swam as a hobby during college. I included it because it was a huge part of my life, and I still swim every day. However, most of your ECs should come from college onward.

As for your letter of rec...sure. If it was a meaningful experience and you have a good letter, add it.

Fellow swimmer here. It's the best sport lol. What'd you swim back in high school? I swam 200, 500, and a couple relays.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Activities are rarely checked unless there is some red flag that makes them stick out. There can also be random checks as well. But odds are nothing will happen.

Also, I don't think it matters who the volunteer coordinator is. If the school decides to call the office, they might ask for Nancy Smith, be told that she no longer works here, and instead it's Jane Blackbean. Whether it's Nancy or Jane, your logs haven't changed and they will get pulled up without difficulty.

This is kind of worrying me because if they don't respond then all that work I put in for them would be for nothing.

I'm just going to leave this here... I love pre-meds and their intentions for volunteering. 🙄

 

[Imperius]

I'm just going to leave this here... I love pre-meds and their intentions for volunteering. 🙄

Wait...people volunteer for reasons other than building an better AMCAS app?...whoa.. /sarcasm 😱

Fellow swimmer here. It's the best sport lol. What'd you swim back in high school? I swam 200, 500, and a couple relays.

50m, 100m, 200m free, and 200m back - more of a sprinter. It is an awesome sport. 👍

 

[Dr. Death]

There was a thread on this a few months ago. Some idiot lied on their app. School tried to verify his EC and busted him on it. Seems like a dumb way to end your career. Go out in a blaze of glory in an embezzlement scheme or doing coke off a hooker in your bosses office, not lying on a simple application

 

[studentdocftw]

"Blackbelt in Karate"

Interviewer ends up having a black belt in karate, too.

 

[baratheonfire]

There was a thread on this a few months ago. Some idiot lied on their app. School tried to verify his EC and busted him on it. Seems like a dumb way to end your career. Go out in a blaze of glory in an embezzlement scheme or doing coke off a hooker in your bosses office, not lying on a simple application

They checked because he didn't provide any contact info..

 

[Turkishking]

There was a thread on this a few months ago. Some idiot lied on their app. School tried to verify his EC and busted him on it. Seems like a dumb way to end your career. Go out in a blaze of glory in an embezzlement scheme or doing coke off a hooker in your bosses office, not lying on a simple application

I'd assume if they were suspicious

 

[NuclearWhammy]

I want to believe that if you pose as a cancer research wonderkid they might want to look into that. It's just common sense. There are plenty of people with outstanding E.C. because that's what they want, and if there is something that smells fishy they might look into it.

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

"Blackbelt in Karate"

Interviewer ends up having a black belt in karate, too.

Well then, we would have a lot in common since I spent 12 years of my life in karate.

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

Activities are rarely checked unless there is some red flag that makes them stick out. There can also be random checks as well. But odds are nothing will happen.

Also, I don't think it matters who the volunteer coordinator is. If the school decides to call the office, they might ask for Nancy Smith, be told that she no longer works here, and instead it's Jane Blackbean. Whether it's Nancy or Jane, your logs haven't changed and they will get pulled up without difficulty.



I'm just going to leave this here... I love pre-meds and their intentions for volunteering. 🙄

The hospital kept logs but some of my other activities didn't keep logs of people like some of the smaller clubs I was in and stuff. And to be fair I don't mean all volunteering felt like work -- I meant clinical volunteering. With no training there is no way hospitals will allow you to touch or interact with patients, not that I blame them of course its a huge liability, but that means you end up restocking and giving directions if you are lucky to get into a department, and if you are unlucky it means you get to work at the gift shop. And at least the hospital I volunteered at there were so many pre med volunteers it felt like they were doing you a favor letting you volunteer there and not the other way around.

 

[HopefulDoc190131]

I want to believe that if you pose as a cancer research wonderkid they might want to look into that. It's just common sense. There are plenty of people with outstanding E.C. because that's what they want, and if there is something that smells fishy they might look into it.

All of my outstanding stuff like research and shadowing I have a letter of rec for so i'm not worried about that. Im more worried about the random clubs I was in that don't keep records and whose exec board all graduated ages ago.

 

[AlfonsTheGuru]

I just read the title of this thread and thought, "Another premed planning to lie on their app. Cool story"

Your type of posts is why I don't visit SDN as much as I used to.

 

[NuclearWhammy]

All of my outstanding stuff like research and shadowing I have a letter of rec for so i'm not worried about that. Im more worried about the random clubs I was in that don't keep records and whose exec board all graduated ages ago.

They'll definitely consider the important stuff like research over club activities imho