EC and Hobbies- Synonymous? + Working Out

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altitude

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On the AMCAS, are hobbies and ECs synonymous are is there a different area for each?

Also, if I've been going to the gym to work out 3x/week for the past couple of years (+ focus on my nutrition and occasionally do yoga)- should I list this? If yes, how would I title this activity? I know there was a thread posted on bodybuilding a week or so ago, and I'm not really trying to get huge or compete in competitions, but it is something I devote a lot of time to and it is one of my hobbies.
 
altitude said:
On the AMCAS, are hobbies and ECs synonymous are is there a different area for each?

Also, if I've been going to the gym to work out 3x/week for the past couple of years (+ focus on my nutrition and occasionally do yoga)- should I list this? If yes, how would I title this activity? I know there was a thread posted on bodybuilding a week or so ago, and I'm not really trying to get huge or compete in competitions, but it is something I devote a lot of time to and it is one of my hobbies.
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Everything other than coursework goes into EC's. Research, volunteering, shadowing, employment, etc. including hobbies.

You could include it if you really want to, but I don't know how much it would really add to your application. As long as it doesn't make it look like you are grasping for anything you possibly can to fill in slots in the EC section, list it if you want to. I would list just about anything else before that if you are tight on space, unless you were involved in competitions, worked training others, etc.
 
They have categories that you can label your ecs as. I don't think they have something for hobbies per se but there's one for artistic endeavors, and I believe there is an other category

I wouldn't put down working out. It's not as strong as others you may have and could detract from the rest of your app or make you sound like you're grasping at straws.
 
Don't list working out unless you did it professionally or if it's in the context of something more significant (you lost a bunch of weight, trained to run marathons, etc.). Everyone "works out" and it's not something that you can really talk all that much about other than small talk with interviewers.

As far as the distinction between ECs and hobbies, I take hobbies to be things that you're more likely to do by yourself and/or outside of the school setting. For example, playing a round of golf every weekend is a hobby while playing on your school's club team is more of an EC.
 
dmf2682 said:
They have categories that you can label your ecs as. I don't think they have something for hobbies per se but there's one for artistic endeavors, and I believe there is an other category

I wouldn't put down working out. It's not as strong as others you may have and could detract from the rest of your app or make you sound like you're grasping at straws.
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Any idea where I could find a list of these categories?
 
altitude said:
Any idea where I could find a list of these categories?
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Just sign up for the AMCAS app and look yourself. As long as you don't submit the application no one will know that you "started" an application. You could also look in the AMCAS manual - they might be listed there.
 
The section is called "experience" and I will try to remember the categories:

Advocation/Hobby
Artistic Endeavors
Athletics (this might be limited to varsity, I don't recall)
Employment, Military
Employment, non-military
Leadership
Meeting Attendance (lame, most people don't use this one -- might be good if you went to a really big international meeting)
Presentation/Poster
Publication
Research
Teaching/Tutoring
Volunteer, clinical
Volunteer, non-clincial
 
LizzyM said:
The section is called "experience" and I will try to remember the categories:

Advocation/Hobby
Artistic Endeavors
Athletics (this might be limited to varsity, I don't recall)
Employment, Military
Employment, non-military
Leadership
Meeting Attendance (lame, most people don't use this one -- might be good if you went to a really big international meeting)
Presentation/Poster
Publication
Research
Teaching/Tutoring
Volunteer, clinical
Volunteer, non-clincial
Click to expand...

OK LizzyM here's a question. If I've been employed in industry for seven years but have held leadership positions within that employment, and have done meaningful research there how do I list it? More than one entry with different descriptions, even though they occur in the same time span?
 
I didn't list it.... Most people go to the gym 3+ times a week. At least those who want to maintain a minimum of health...
 
Ok, I have a question also. I've attended 3 national conferences over the last two years for a non-profit organization that was a sort of brainstorming for ideas for this cause. The idea was to bring back information to our campus for better fundraising, better advocacy, etc. Is that considered a conference/meeting or is that category mainly for research conferences?
 
I don't see what's wrong with putting down working out. It's something important to me, that I'm passionate about, and that I spend a significant amount of time doing each week. If they really want to "get to know the applicant," I don't see why it should be left out. So I say if it's something that's important to you, put it down.
 
Procyon said:
I don't see what's wrong with putting down working out. It's something important to me, that I'm passionate about, and that I spend a significant amount of time doing each week. If they really want to "get to know the applicant," I don't see why it should be left out. So I say if it's something that's important to you, put it down.
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I agree. I gym regularly and don't see why someone would want to leave it out if it is something they do regularly. I did list weight lifting with all of my other hobbies (painting, music, cooking, travelling etc.) as one "experience" on my applications though. I don't think putting it down is going to hurt anyone ("how dare you work out X hours every week!?"), but it might look like you're trying to fill in space when you've got 6-7 'hobbies' listed separately.
 
dmf2682 said:
OK LizzyM here's a question. If I've been employed in industry for seven years but have held leadership positions within that employment, and have done meaningful research there how do I list it? More than one entry with different descriptions, even though they occur in the same time span?
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Full-time employment is usually listed under employment. If the employment were scholarly activity aimed at generating new knowledge (research), then it will be obvious in your job title and the job description and perhaps from the name of the organization that has employed you. The description of the activity will also indicate that you were a leader.

Research that is not full-time employment (working for a stipend for the summer or doing research for college credit) is usually listed as research.

Leadership usually ends up being stuff that isn't volunteerism and isn't covered within your employment. Typically, this is student government, frat leadership positions, club leader. Most people don't have an item tagged "leadership" and it is ok not to have such an item. That isn't to say that leadership is not needed but often it is folded into employment, volunteerism, or athletics (e.g. team captain).
 
jf1987 said:
I didn't list it.... Most people go to the gym 3+ times a week. At least those who want to maintain a minimum of health...
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Really?

I must be in the minority then....

D:
 
So if you were employed to do research over the summer fulltime (paid and hired, not just a stipend, 40 hours a week, etc.), would that then be employment? Would it be dishonest to list it as research and then clarify in the description that it was a job and not a summer program?

Also, if you were employed to do teaching / tutoring, could you pretty much choose which category to put it in (based on what you were lacking)? And if you were a leader in a volunteer position and it's just under volunteer, will that look like it wasn't initiative-taking? I founded and directed an organization that participated in community activities, performed, etc. to raise money for a medical center. It was definitely volunteer, but would I be better off putting it as leadership because it was such a highly directorial position?

Oh my goodness this is so confusing. I have so many crossover ECs. (Sorry to kind of hijack the thread.. I just thought this was a good opportunity, while we are on the topic)
 
sunflower18 said:
So if you were employed to do research over the summer fulltime (paid and hired, not just a stipend, 40 hours a week, etc.), would that then be employment? Would it be dishonest to list it as research and then clarify in the description that it was a job and not a summer program?

Also, if you were employed to do teaching / tutoring, could you pretty much choose which category to put it in (based on what you were lacking)? And if you were a leader in a volunteer position and it's just under volunteer, will that look like it wasn't initiative-taking? I founded and directed an organization that participated in community activities, performed, etc. to raise money for a medical center. It was definitely volunteer, but would I be better off putting it as leadership because it was such a highly directorial position?

Oh my goodness this is so confusing. I have so many crossover ECs. (Sorry to kind of hijack the thread.. I just thought this was a good opportunity, while we are on the topic)
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Research

If you can clearly explain the science behind the experiments, the specific aims of the project and the significance of the research, then call it research. If you can't, or if you are out of school and employed full time for the foreseeable future (not just for the summer), call in employment.

Teaching/Tutoring vs Employment vs Volunteer, nonclinical

Again, this is up to you. If you are employed f/t in a classroom, I'd say call it employment. If you are engaged in f/t volunteerism (City Year, etc), I'd call in volunteer, non-clinical but there is nothing wrong with calling it "teaching/tutoring". Most people use "teaching/tutoring" for short-term, part-time activities with college students. If you are working with younger students it might be volunteer or it might be paid employment and you could go either way with that. If you wanted to lump paid tutoring (Kaplan) with volunteer (inner city kids) then teaching/tutoring is a good "lump together" heading if you don't feel the need to highlight your volunteerism with the kids.

Leadership vs volunteer, nonclinical

Again, this is a toss up. I'd say if most of your time with the activity is spent leading organizational meetings rather than in direct provision of services, you might call it leadership. Raising money is, in my opinion, more "leadership" than volunteerism....

Keep in mind that you don't need one of each heading. I do think that it is wise to have research and volunteer-- clinical (or employment that is clinical in nature) on your application as well as some entries of one kind or another that show that you are engaged in activities with others (not a loner).
 
LizzyM said:
Research

If you can clearly explain the science behind the experiments, the specific aims of the project and the significance of the research, then call it research. If you can't, or if you are out of school and employed full time for the foreseeable future (not just for the summer), call in employment.

Teaching/Tutoring vs Employment vs Volunteer, nonclinical

Again, this is up to you. If you are employed f/t in a classroom, I'd say call it employment. If you are engaged in f/t volunteerism (City Year, etc), I'd call in volunteer, non-clinical but there is nothing wrong with calling it "teaching/tutoring". Most people use "teaching/tutoring" for short-term, part-time activities with college students. If you are working with younger students it might be volunteer or it might be paid employment and you could go either way with that. If you wanted to lump paid tutoring (Kaplan) with volunteer (inner city kids) then teaching/tutoring is a good "lump together" heading if you don't feel the need to highlight your volunteerism with the kids.

Leadership vs volunteer, nonclinical

Again, this is a toss up. I'd say if most of your time with the activity is spent leading organizational meetings rather than in direct provision of services, you might call it leadership. Raising money is, in my opinion, more "leadership" than volunteerism....

Keep in mind that you don't need one of each heading. I do think that it is wise to have research and volunteer-- clinical (or employment that is clinical in nature) on your application as well as some entries of one kind or another that show that you are engaged in activities with others (not a loner).
Click to expand...

THANK YOU! That was really helpful. I appreciate it very much!! 🙂
 
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