ECs

[Dentase]

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Hey
So I am a Sophomore and do not have any EC's. Im going to start volunteering at the hospital every week this summer to probably by the time I graduate since the University is near the medical hospital. Also they allow a person to volunteer 3-4 hours a week, so that should be good. Also I cant find research, it really is difficult. Most of the time they ask for letter of reference and I really do not have any, University is pretty big, and so far haven't had much contact with professors. Also research opportunities can become saturated with the amount of people looking to research. So is it okay to not have research? Also what are other good EC's I can do? I want to get started now, and have no clue about what else to do besides volunteer at the hospital.
Please help
Also I have been working at my dads grocery store for about 3-4 years, but seeing as it is a family owned store can I even include that in my application. It sucks because it probably loses all value due to the word family

 

[Catalystik]

Hey
So I am a Sophomore and do not have any EC's. Im going to start volunteering at the hospital every week this summer to probably by the time I graduate since the University is near the medical hospital. Also they allow a person to volunteer 3-4 hours a week, so that should be good. Also I cant find research, it really is difficult. Most of the time they ask for letter of reference and I really do not have any, University is pretty big, and so far haven't had much contact with professors. Also research opportunities can become saturated with the amount of people looking to research. So is it okay to not have research? Also what are other good EC's I can do? I want to get started now, and have no clue about what else to do besides volunteer at the hospital.
Please help
Also I have been working at my dads grocery store for about 3-4 years, but seeing as it is a family owned store can I even include that in my application. It sucks because it probably loses all value due to the word family

ECs to consider if interesting opportunities come along:

Peer Leadership
Teaching (coaching, TA, tutor, mentor)
Physician Shadowing
Nonmedical Community Service for a cause you care about off campus
Hobbies, sports, and artistic interests can add to an application.

Try to have research, at the least for a semester or a summer. Consider checking out Psychology and Sociology profs, and maybe Agriculture and Botany.

List helping at the family store as Paid Employment, as you've gotten other benefits than a paycheck. If there's no general manager, use a parent as the contact. If you had to use people skills, bookkeeping, problem solving, etc, it will have value on your application.

 

[Dentase]

Would you mind sharing what is on the application or give me a link of where to find the information. Basically the format of the application, what kind of categories there are like EC, hobbies, and how many things fall into that category. Im having a difficult time finding it.
I would appreciate it

 

[Catalystik]

Current Season Work/Activities Categories on AMCAS:

Artistic Endeavors
Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Community Service/Volunteer - Non Medical/Clinical
Conferences Attended
Extracurricular Activities
Hobbies
Honors/Award/Recognition
Intercollegiate Athletics
Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere
Military Service
Other
Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical
Paid Employment - Non Medical/Clinical
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Presentations/Posters
Publications
Research/Lab
Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant

More detailed information:
2015 AMCAS instruction manual (current season) for the entire application: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/182162/data/amcas_instruction_manual.pdf

 

[Dentase]

Thanks man

 

[Dentase]

Also do each of those categories allow 15 spots of that specific category.?

 

[hoihaie]

Also do each of those categories allow 15 spots of that specific category.?

you get 15 spots in total (all the categories combined).

However, you are able to group similar activities together (i.e. 5 different awards in to 1 award category for 1 of the 15 spots), if you have more than 15 things to include on your app

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

I think including your work in your family's grocery store shows both dedication to work, to your family, and gives context from where you came. Include it for sure.

 

[Dentase]

you get 15 spots in total (all the categories combined).

However, you are able to group similar activities together (i.e. 5 different awards in to 1 award category for 1 of the 15 spots), if you have more than 15 things to include on your app

Wait so even though he mentioned more than 10 thing like, hobbies,awards, volunteering, research, nonclinical volunteering,etc... you can only use 15 things in total. I thought there were 15 things for each sub category. If this is true this is great because that would have been way to difficult lol.Is this true though
What do you mean by 5 things going into one category? So you can still have 15 things in each category, sorry man I am confused lol

 

[Dentase]

I think including your work in your family's grocery store shows both dedication to work, to your family, and gives context from where you came. Include it for sure.

Hey thanks man, the only thing sucks is that you cant ask your dad for a LOR lol. But I need to help the old man, and I hope adcoms take value in that and hopefully not disregard a family job. Plus its in a rough part of town so I deal with a lot of BS and violence lol.

 

[hoihaie]

Wait so even though he mentioned more than 10 thing like, hobbies,awards, volunteering, research, nonclinical volunteering,etc... you can only use 15 things in total. I thought there were 15 things for each sub category. If this is true this is great because that would have been way to difficult lol.Is this true though
What do you mean by 5 things going into one category? So you can still have 15 things in each category, sorry man I am confused lol

Say if you did tutoring at 5 different places in 5 different time periods. You can group all 5 of those tutoring experiences together and list them as "Various Tutoring Experiences". That takes up 1 spot on your AMCAS app instead of 5 different spots, leaving you with 14 available spots for other things

 

[Dentase]

Say if you did tutoring at 5 different places in 5 different time periods. You can group all 5 of those tutoring experiences together and list them as "Various Tutoring Experiences". That takes up 1 spot on your AMCAS app instead of 5 different spots, leaving you with 14 available spots for other things

Ok I see, thanks for the help

 

[Catalystik]

Even though 15 spaces are available, the average filled is 9-10. Don't fill spaces with fluff. Also, keep in mind that you can designate up to three activities as "Most Meaningful" and get extra space to add more detail.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Current Season Work/Activities Categories on AMCAS:

Artistic Endeavors
Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Community Service/Volunteer - Non Medical/Clinical
Conferences Attended
Extracurricular Activities
Hobbies
Honors/Award/Recognition
Intercollegiate Athletics
Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere
Military Service
Other
Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical
Paid Employment - Non Medical/Clinical
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Presentations/Posters
Publications
Research/Lab
Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant

More detailed information:
2015 AMCAS instruction manual (current season) for the entire application: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/182162/data/amcas_instruction_manual.pdf

So the "extracurricular activities" section.. What goes in here that doesn't already fit into one of the other categories? I thought all of these categories were considered "extracurriculars" in themselves.

 

[Catalystik]

So the "extracurricular activities" section.. What goes in here that doesn't already fit into one of the other categories? I thought all of these categories were considered "extracurriculars" in themselves.

Perhaps something like intramural sports or a collegiate marching band. You get to pick. Obviously there are many activities that would fit into multiple categories.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Perhaps something like intramural sports or a collegiate marching band. You get to pick. Obviously there are many activities that would fit into multiple categories.

Oh, I see, so you can put your stuff in other categories if you think it would fit better in those. I would have thought something like marching band went under "artistic endeavors." So as long as you get it in there and they can see the depth of your involvement, you should be fine. Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

Oh, I see, so you can put your stuff in other categories if you think it would fit better in those. I would have thought something like marching band went under "artistic endeavors."

Possibly, unless one has other public (and more creative) musical involvement and wants to distinguish between the two. In Marching Band, one is more likely to follow a Director's instruction rather than have a role in artistic decision-making (or so it seems to me).

So as long as you get it in there and they can see the depth of your involvement, you should be fine.

Exactly.