In the same way that volunteering for many years isn't impressive just because of the length of time you have committed to it, maintaining a long term relationship isn't anything to showcase on the sole basis of it being long term. In addition to the length of time you have volunteered, you need to speak to what your responsibilities were, what you achieved, what you learned, how you have been influenced, how you contributed, etc. It is the substance in addition to the length that makes for the most meaningful story.
If AMCAS adds a section for relationships, it should look something like this:
1) current relationship status select one: 3-6 months/6-12 months/12-18 months/18-24 months/24 months-holy **** I can't believe its been this long, holy **** I can't believe its been this long- moving away for medical school is the only exit strategy I have left
2) past relationship status select one: with the same temporal categories. * You will be obligated to explain why your relationship has ceased to be in an extended explanation section.
* And of course, we will need his/her side of the story for verification on both current and past relationships so make sure to include contact information.
for both the current and past relationship categories you will be asked to demonstrate the significance of the experience by speaking to what you have learned/contributed/were responsible for etc. by on elaborating on many of the following:
A) Did you ever cook for your partner (include hours per week, the degree of difficulty and type of dish, what measurements you used to gauge the recipients' satisfaction)
B) How did you demonstrate your love for and commitment to your partner? - make sure to touch on both short term and long term expressions of love and compassion- (ie. you listened to his/her bitchin because you knew he/she had a bad day, you pretended not to notice when he/she started packing the pounds but secretly began modifying his/her diet in the meals you prepared, or -a steal from Robin Williams- you took the blame when you both were woken by the same starling sound/smell).
C) What were some of the most significant challenges you faced together or that you endured on behalf of your partner/relationship (ie. were there times when bitches were messin' with your mans' easy and you marked your territory?)
D) Did you participate in joint physical activities that contributed to your overall physical fitness and healthy living (make sure to detail how many hours per week and for extra measure the length of each time to show perseverance, how much variety existed-to demonstrate your versatility, how you were able to gauge your partners satisfaction-to determine the extent of your altruism, and what you have learned that might contribute to your career as a doctor- or at a minimum, your popularity as a med student)
- remember, if you indicate once or less than once a week for a limited duration you will raise the concern amongst med school authorities that you 1) lack the endurance necessary to sustain behaviors that contribute to your fitness and health 2) you are disinterested in fitness/health 3) you are disinterested in the alluded to physical activity- if you can't mull up the interest for what ought to be intrinsically stimulating exchanges, why would anyone believe that you are motivated by medicine? I am not sure which of 1-3 is worse.
E) Have you ever sacrificed for your partner- please described the sacrifice, how you have grown as a result, and how it has enabled you to advance in your pursuit of medicine? (ie. if you so coulda scored the hot brod on second street who was totally digging you that one time but you kept it real for your golden girl/guy).
F) Did you ever fight/disagree with your partner? (please comment on what trigged the fights/disagreements, how often you fought, how long it lasted, how you resolved it, what you learned, and who won).
G) How will your partner fit into your decision to pursue medicine?
- remember, if you indicated that you spend many hours with your partner every week, you might want to reconsider the possibility that ad comm might consider your relationship to be a potentially threatening time consuming feature in your medical school career.
- remember, if you fight/fought often or take/took long to resolve your disputes you might also cause ad comm to question the disruptive impact of your relationship on your studying. However, if you never fight/fought, you will raise the red alarm that you are unattractively submissive and overly agreeable- neither of which make for a good doctor.
- if you were always on the losing end of your disagreements (prematurely conceded defeat, you might cause those evaluating you to question your competitive edge and dedicated spirit)
H) other. be honest, open, critical of yourself and your experiences,and descriptive in your provision of information that allows ad comm to get a better sense of who you are as an individual and as a lover.
A few things to note:
* if ad comm are concerned that a current relationship might interfere with your success as a medical student, it is reasonable to expect that they will ask you to prioritize their importance and to provide evidence for your prioritization (there is strict criteria for what counts as evidence. for ex. a tear stained kleenex will need to be confirmed to belong to your partner and you will need to provide visual aids for that act that sparked the emotion). there is no right answer- tread lightly.
*if ad comm suspect that the demons haunting you from a past relationship will interfere with their ability to get jiggy with you, you might be asked to prove your devotion to them.
Also, you will be required to include a minimum of 6 separate pictures of your partner alone and you and your partner together so that ad comm can assess 1) the connection that exists between the two of you 2) whether or not your extended devotion to building and sustaining your connection appears to be worth it (ie. do you settle for less than what you deserve and is this indicative of a more pervasive character trait). 3) what their competition is
If the ad comm determines, despite what you have described as a long and rewarding relationship, that your partner is below the standards that they very reasonably set and uphold for their students (they of course, only want the best) then you might be asked to accept and prove your devotion to a relationship reassignment prior to being granted admission. Because they will be reluctant to offer you the reassigment due to the fact that you have demonstrated that you do not aim for the top, you should develop a strategy to avoid this situation entirely or to topple their reluctance once it has surfaced ie.
avoidance: 1) find a superior stand in to pose for your pics 2) submit before and after pictures of your partner that show how far she has come in order to prove how committed you have been from the beginning to your partners potential (the final product better be an impressive upgrade) 3) make yourself much less attractive relative to your partner in both pics and in your interview
toppling tips: I'll leave up to you as I have already indulged myself far beyond my initial intentions!
got a good laugh 
