Great tips for entering your "Work/Activities" for AMCAS

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1) I had two shadowing experiences--one overnight with a pediatric hospitalist on the night shift and one full day at a leprosy clinic. As I read other people's activity lists, I'm starting to feel like it would be ridiculous to include these, since they were so short. I did really enjoy them and thought the leprosy clinic was fascinating...but maybe this is just totally irrelevant to adcoms?

2) I think this may have been addressed already, but just to make sure--I am starting a year long position next week in clinical research but plan to submit my app in a day or two. Should I include this position as an activity or just wait to discuss at the interview?

3) And just again about the lab experiences that also led to publications in my schools in house journal....would it be silly to make these publications their own entry since I have the space anyway, or does it look like padding?
1) Include them both, listed together under Other. Plan to augment your shadowing further and let schools know via update letter.

2) If you did not start the position by the day you submit, do not list it as an experience. Include it in update letters or on Secondaries.

3) The Publications designation is not meant for campus publications. It's intended for a national or regional paper journal publication. It is most correct to mention a house journal pub at the end of the Research section detailing the experience.
 
a) I worked with a particular organization over four years in college in various capacities... I first started off as a volunteer (freshman yr), then proceeded to run the program, then proceeded on to a broader (more important) leadership role in the organization. After graduation, I still volunteered for this organization in different capacities (for example, helping raise funds for them, etc).
What do you think about putting the volunteer year as one entry - under community service - medical/clinical and the rest of the experience as a second entry under leadership - other? (This organization is health related.. (i.e., involved serving children with chronic illnesses).. is it right to categorize the volunteer year as as medical/clinical?)

or should I enter all of the above under one entry?

b) In college, I worked several miscellaneous jobs to make ends meet.. I worked around 25-30 hours a week doing random jobs like babysitting, cleaning houses etc. I want to include this so that the adcoms are aware of how much time I was able to spend on ECs, work, schoolwork. Should I just lump all of this together under one entry?

c) I was the president of a student group in college (held large culture shows, sponsored panels, held conferences etc).. should I categorize this as "extracurricular" or put it as "leadership-other?"

d) What exactly is "experience name?" Should I put a relevant "title" in that section? For example, program director or secretary of x organization etc..

e) I spent the majority of my time doing activity a) in college and I definitely don't fill up 15 activity slots.. I think I have 10 meaningful entries. Is that OK? I hope adcoms don't frown upon the fact that I have less than 15..
a) It's fine to split the experience as described if you're not short on spaces. If you interacted with patients, then it was medical/clinical.

b) You might lump them together under an Employment space that you name Short-Term Jobs. Or if you have space and one job was more meaningful or you stayed with it longer, then expand to another space.

c) I'd list it under Leadership-not otherwise mentioned.

d) the "name" should give more information. Using a job or leadership title is fine.

e) Having 10 meaningful entries is more than enough.
 
i have 10 articles published spread across 3 research experiences. 1 research experience (my first, for a total of four positions) resulted in no publications, only a poster presentation. i'm thinking of listing each position, and including in the details the related publications. however, for my last position, i accumulated the majority (7) of my publications including a book chapter. will this be too dense of an entry?
Do what you have to do. Since you just need to list the citation for a publication (plus referring to the appropriate research entry for further explanation), you should be able to fit them all in one Publication space. Maybe consider listing the book chapter in its own spot, if you have the space, otherwise, cite that one along-side the others.
 
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I'm a little lacking in the research experience. I'm taking part in summer long full-time research internship, but other than than I haven't done any projects/research on my own. I did however, volunteer as a lab assistant on a project in order to learn techniques and gain experience on my own for when I start a project of my own (this summer). In this volunteer lab work, I basically followed along with the project, once a week, watched the techniques being performed, and eventually performed a few, but I never had a substantial individual role/my own project. Should I include this as research experience so my application isn't as lacking in that area.

Note: I'm not looking at a research career but some of the schools I'm looking at are known as "research" schools
I think it's fine to include under Research/Lab an experience of working/volunteering in a lab, even though you didn't have your own project or take substantive responsibility. I would name the activity something like, "Research Tech" or Volunteer Research Aide," describing in the narrative your actual role and techniques you've mastered.
 
I am listing web/graphic design as one of my activities, because it has been something I have enjoyed as a hobby since I was 13. I taught myself HTML/CSS, and later, frontpage/dreamweaver. I took several courses in HS to complement my home-taught learning. In college, I designed several professional websites (one for a company, and one for a huge project at my university). I want to list this, but:

It is almost impossible for me to decide/figure out how many hours each week. In high school, between making websites and learning on my own (plus the courses) I probably spent 5-10 hours a week. In college, I spent far less time teaching myself, and fiddling around on my own. Instead I:
--taught kids graphic design and web design at a summer camp (which is a separate EC)
--made a few small websites/forums for my friends (max 30 hours total)
--designed and maintained a website for a project I worked on during research/paid hours (listed under research/lab separately)
--designed a website for a company (60 hours approx)

1) What would you suggest doing for average hours? Then should I describe in more detail in the desc box?
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2) Also, for clubs that I was a member in, average hours a week over a 2 period time: do I assume they know that the club didn't meet during holidays/summer? IE if the club met 4 hours a week during the semester, should I put the average hours as 4, or should I count the total hours and divide by 52 to include summers (3 point something 😛)?
1) List your web-related activities under Other (it seems to cross many categories, don't enter the hours per week, then in the narrative be more specific about involvement at verious times in your life.

2) Either a) don't list hours per week and explain in the narrative, or b) name the activity Academic year involvement in XXXX Club and give hours per week, or c) average it out over the whole year including summers and holidays, which will dilute the hours/week a lot.
 
Is it really that important to explain things in narrative? I submitted my work/activities section and did it in bullet form, due to the fact I was worried that I would take up too much space.
 
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How detailed should shadowing experiences be in the narrative since they are grouped together?

I have 3 separate shadowing experiences that I am listing together under Other as advised.

In the narrative I will be including organization name, doctor's name, specialty, location, and hours. How much should I include about what I did/saw while shadowing?
 
make sure you say that you learned a lot about the daily life of a physician (give examples). thats exactly what they want to hear.
 
How detailed should shadowing experiences be in the narrative since they are grouped together?

I have 3 separate shadowing experiences that I am listing together under Other as advised.

In the narrative I will be including organization name, doctor's name, specialty, location, and hours. How much should I include about what I did/saw while shadowing?
I would include little additional detail unless something really stands out in your memory. Adcomms know what various specialists do all day.
 
Should I also list the number or address of these places where I have shadowed? I'm currently just listing city, state.
 
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Thanks for answering all my previous questions!

Got another one:

I volunteered at my dad's pediatrics clinic and will be listing under Medically related volunteer experience.

Was wondering if I should mention in the narrative that is is my dad's clinic?

Also, I volunteered in the clinic over the summer after my junior year in high school and also during winter break my junior year in college. Should I mention both or just list the college one?
 
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I am sure this must have already been asked somewhere in this ancient thread, but I hope no one will mind answering it again.

If I participated in an organization and attended only 3-4 events per semester that included general meetings, volunteer events, and socials, is it better to just leave the "average hours/week" blank?

In the description, I am just planning to write "Participated in several general meetings, social, and volunteer events," will this suffice or should I break it down even further by saying how many events per semester?
 
Augh... I just submitted my application and realized - two seconds after the point of no return of course - that I forgot to enter the contact info for one of my volunteer opportunities. Do I need to resubmit and pay all over again, or will no one even care?
 
Augh... I just submitted my application and realized - two seconds after the point of no return of course - that I forgot to enter the contact info for one of my volunteer opportunities. Do I need to resubmit and pay all over again, or will no one even care?

I highly doubt anyone will care. You can't resubmit anyways. Its done now so you won't be able to change it.
 
thanks so much! appreciate it.

a) It's fine to split the experience as described if you're not short on spaces. If you interacted with patients, then it was medical/clinical.

b) You might lump them together under an Employment space that you name Short-Term Jobs. Or if you have space and one job was more meaningful or you stayed with it longer, then expand to another space.

c) I'd list it under Leadership-not otherwise mentioned.

d) the "name" should give more information. Using a job or leadership title is fine.

e) Having 10 meaningful entries is more than enough.
 
Ok--a few more questions--thanks so much for all the help!

1) Does AMCAS automatically order the list of 15 Activities chronologically? So I don't decide what order they go in?

2) Would an interest in piano, as well as in dramatic arts, fall under "hobby" or "artistic endeavor," or is this kind of thing completely up to me? And if these are things I've been involved with since age five/six, do I just make up a start date?

3) I spoke at length about two of my activities in particular in my essay. I noticed when I summarized this activity for the list of 15, I used basically the exact same sentence or two as I did in the essay--is this not good? I felt they were good summary sentences that described what I gained from the activity...

4) Am I required to list "Paid Employment" as the category if I did in fact get paid? Or could I list it under "Teaching" (a TA position I had) even if I got paid? If I do, do I need to mention in the description that I got paid?

I feel like I'm being really nit-picky here, I'm just getting nervous! Thank you!!!
 
Ok--a few more questions--thanks so much for all the help!

1) Does AMCAS automatically order the list of 15 Activities chronologically? So I don't decide what order they go in?

2) Would an interest in piano, as well as in dramatic arts, fall under "hobby" or "artistic endeavor," or is this kind of thing completely up to me? And if these are things I've been involved with since age five/six, do I just make up a start date?

3) I spoke at length about two of my activities in particular in my essay. I noticed when I summarized this activity for the list of 15, I used basically the exact same sentence or two as I did in the essay--is this not good? I felt they were good summary sentences that described what I gained from the activity...

4) Am I required to list "Paid Employment" as the category if I did in fact get paid? Or could I list it under "Teaching" (a TA position I had) even if I got paid? If I do, do I need to mention in the description that I got paid?

I feel like I'm being really nit-picky here, I'm just getting nervous! Thank you!!!

1) Yes, they order it automatically according to the date. So you don't get to choose which one goes first.

2)Just be honest with yourself when you started really enjoying the hobby. You can always explain how long, how much effort you put into each hobby in the decription section. Piano and Dramatic arts, Depends on how much you were involved. If you performed at official concerts or anything, i would put in artistic. Again, it's up to you and i honestly don't think it'll make THAT much difference between Hobby and Artistic endeavor

3) If you explained in depth in the personal statement, do not "reuse" sentences in activitiy section. Be concise, simple in activities section. (Explain what the organization is, what position you held, what you did). One advise is to have about 8~12, i think 15 is too much. Did you REALLY spend much effort in all 15 activities prior to application date? Will you be able to 100% explain,share thoughts about each activity with passion at interviews? because they will want to hear such enthusiasm about those activities you wrote in primary section. In other words, don't put some pre-med club or groups you attended 10 times a year and say you were a part of it.

4) Both ways are fine. Again, always use description section to explain things. Trust me, everyone has their unique experience and it may never fit well in this AMCAS format. For the job you held, i'd put it under paid employment and explain your position as teaching/TA.
 
Questions (thank you so much in advance)

a) I know this kind of question has been asked before but even after reading many of the previous posts...can't quite determine what the right level of detail is for the experience description. My current draft is "resume" style - bullets with concise phrases of what I did for all the entries. Should I also add (in prose or bullet...what I learned (i.e, a more "insightful" description or is this section of the amcas not intended for "reflective/insightful/what i learned about myself and the activity" descriptions

b) I'm quite a few years out of college and so I do have a fair number of meaningful entries (when I posted earlier, I didn't realize I should have included all my work experiences here as well). I don't have any "hobbies" type entry as many other students because I chose to enter work experiences / significant volunteer expeirences... does this make me look like a less well-rounded person..? should I take out some of those volunteer experiences and include some of my favorite extracurriculars (personal ones)
 
I am sure this must have already been asked somewhere in this ancient thread, but I hope no one will mind answering it again.

If I participated in an organization and attended only 3-4 events per semester that included general meetings, volunteer events, and socials, is it better to just leave the "average hours/week" blank?

In the description, I am just planning to write "Participated in several general meetings, social, and volunteer events," will this suffice or should I break it down even further by saying how many events per semester?
Leaving the hours per week blank and listing the volunteer events by name would be fine.
 
1) Does AMCAS automatically order the list of 15 Activities chronologically? So I don't decide what order they go in?

2) Would an interest in piano, as well as in dramatic arts, fall under "hobby" or "artistic endeavor," or is this kind of thing completely up to me? And if these are things I've been involved with since age five/six, do I just make up a start date?

3) I spoke at length about two of my activities in particular in my essay. I noticed when I summarized this activity for the list of 15, I used basically the exact same sentence or two as I did in the essay--is this not good? I felt they were good summary sentences that described what I gained from the activity...

4) Am I required to list "Paid Employment" as the category if I did in fact get paid? Or could I list it under "Teaching" (a TA position I had) even if I got paid? If I do, do I need to mention in the description that I got paid?
1) Your experiences may be downloaded chronologically or alphabetically by the category depending on each school's preference.

2) It's a Hobby if you do it for yourself. It's an Artistic Endeavor if you share the results of your creativity. For a date, ask a mom or grandparent. They nearly always remember. Or guess.

3) Don't be repetitive. Either take one of them out, or rephrase.

4) You can pick employment or teaching, but DO state whether it was volunteer or paid. Or name it Paid Teaching Assistant.
 
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Questions (thank you so much in advance)

a) I know this kind of question has been asked before but even after reading many of the previous posts...can't quite determine what the right level of detail is for the experience description. My current draft is "resume" style - bullets with concise phrases of what I did for all the entries. Should I also add (in prose or bullet...what I learned (i.e, a more "insightful" description or is this section of the amcas not intended for "reflective/insightful/what i learned about myself and the activity" descriptions

b) I'm quite a few years out of college and so I do have a fair number of meaningful entries (when I posted earlier, I didn't realize I should have included all my work experiences here as well). I don't have any "hobbies" type entry as many other students because I chose to enter work experiences / significant volunteer expeirences... does this make me look like a less well-rounded person..? should I take out some of those volunteer experiences and include some of my favorite extracurriculars (personal ones)
a) Some med schools have specifically stated that they like insightful commentary, and others don't care for it, so it would not be correct for us to tell you what to do. This is an area you have to decide for yourself. If you choose to reflect on what you learned or gained, I'd keep it brief. And don't feel you need to do this for every activity.

b) I am among those who feel that giving adcomms a feel for your favored leisuretime activities is a positive for your application. All hobbies can be listed in one space, so you don't have to trim more than one other activity. Perhaps there are two volunteer activities or jobs that could be grouped together, because they are similiar in some way, like being of short-term duration.
 
I would like to list this but I am not sure whether I should...

I am working toward becoming state-certified as a medical interpreter, which entails passing a written and oral exam. I've passed the written test, and taken the oral test (but it won't be graded for another six weeks... ah, bureaucracy!).

Can I list this as something that's in progress? I don't want to seem like I'm padding my application, but it is really relevant to my career goals and other EC's (volunteer interpreter, community health...).
 
Is it unwise to not include the selection criteria for your scholarships?
I think it's a good idea to give the selection criteria, eg, merit scholarship, essay-based competition. I've read that you probably shouldn't include need-based scholarships on your list, as they are not a reflection of an attribute meaningful to the med school interviewee selection process.
 
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I would like to list this but I am not sure whether I should...

I am working toward becoming state-certified as a medical interpreter, which entails passing a written and oral exam. I've passed the written test, and taken the oral test (but it won't be graded for another six weeks... ah, bureaucracy!).

Can I list this as something that's in progress? I don't want to seem like I'm padding my application, but it is really relevant to my career goals and other EC's (volunteer interpreter, community health...).
What I'd suggest is that you mention where you are in the certification process in the same space where you list Volunteer Medical Interpreter. In the context of an activity in progress, it's OK to discuss a future plan directly related to it. It should not stand on its own.
 
What I'd suggest is that you mention where you are in the certification process in the same space where you list Volunteer Medical Interpreter. In the context of an activity in progress, it's OK to discuss a future plan directly related to it. It should not stand on its own.

Thanks for responding so quickly! I hadn't thought of doing it like that... sounds like a plan!
 
Thanks Catalystik. Is it sufficient to say that a scholarship is a merit scholarship, or should I also include the number of people receiving a given scholarship if I have that information? At first, I included how many people were awarded each scholarship, but it seemed as if I was bragging. I'd rather omit information than seem cocky. What do you think?
 
Thanks Catalystik. Is it sufficient to say that a scholarship is a merit scholarship, or should I also include the number of people receiving a given scholarship if I have that information? At first, I included how many people were awarded each scholarship, but it seemed as if I was bragging. I'd rather omit information than seem cocky. What do you think?
If the amount of the scholarship is significant, you might mention the dollar value. If it is only a few thousand dollars, it's best not to mention a number. Otherwise, I'd stick to the criteria for the award, rather than the number receiving it. That the number receiving the award is small may not reflect so much how terrific you are, but rather the limited endowment funds of a school or organization in these difficult economic times.
 
Alright, I know this topic has been beaten into the ground. I've read through all of the posts regarding honors, but this still isn't clear:

Since I will be lumping several honors into one slot...

1) Would you just title this as something like "honors"?

2) Should I just keep all of the contact info blank?

3) My school doesn't obviously disclose things like % inducted into PBK, etc. Do I need to email someone and figure this out, can I just list it, the date awarded, and leave it without any elaboration (I'm not including anything obscure)?
 
If the amount of the scholarship is significant, you might mention the dollar value. If it is only a few thousand dollars, it's best not to mention a number. Otherwise, I'd stick to the criteria for the award, rather than the number receiving it. That the number receiving the award is small may not reflect so much how terrific you are, but rather the limited endowment funds of a school or organization in these difficult economic times.

Hi Catalystik,

On the same scholarship vein as above, would you list all scholarships together? I've won 10-12 scholarships in a pretty wide range of $$ (as low as $200 to thousands of dollars (state, national, local, school-only, whatever). Do you recommend listing them all by the date received or alphabetically under the same "Scholarships" heading or giving the more prestigious ones their own slot?

Thanks a latte
 
Alright, I know this topic has been beaten into the ground. I've read through all of the posts regarding honors, but this still isn't clear:

Since I will be lumping several honors into one slot...

1) Would you just title this as something like "honors"?

2) Should I just keep all of the contact info blank?

3) My school doesn't obviously disclose things like % inducted into PBK, etc. Do I need to email someone and figure this out, can I just list it, the date awarded, and leave it without any elaboration (I'm not including anything obscure)?
1. College Honors? 2. The Bursars Office (or wherever you pay yor tuition) would have a record of most of them and could be your contact. 3. If it isn't on their website then don't worry about mentioning the % invited.
 
On the same scholarship vein as above, would you list all scholarships together? I've won 10-12 scholarships in a pretty wide range of $$ (as low as $200 to thousands of dollars (state, national, local, school-only, whatever). Do you recommend listing them all by the date received or alphabetically under the same "Scholarships" heading or giving the more prestigious ones their own slot?
I would put all the scholarships together in one space with your other honors and awards. I'd probably list them with the largest, most impressive amounts first. But if you prefer to go by dates, that's fine too.
 
1. College Honors? 2. The Bursars Office (or wherever you pay yor tuition) would have a record of most of them and could be your contact. 3. If it isn't on their website then don't worry about mentioning the % invited.

Thanks for the help.
 
Posting this question again since I didn’t get any love the 1st time.

I'm looking to see if a new, unrelated research position would trump a poster abstract for the AMCAS activities list.

I am thinking it might be a good idea to merge the poster abstract with the research position that contributed towards it. My rationale for merging them is 1) Although I was present at the conference, I did not present, 2) my name is in a sea of others in the 2 abstract citations, 3) honestly, since I was a lowly tech at the time, I would be much more comfortable discussing the general concepts of my research if asked in an interview. I feel like if you list a citation (publication or poster abstract), you should be prepared to answer more in depth questions.

Anyway, my opinion is that in this case, my new research job would trump the poster abstract entry. Any thoughts?? If it helps, I already have another entry with a journal publication (2nd author).
 
What should I put for contact's title for shadowing?

"Physician"? Specialty?...


Also, when entering the dates, if you started something in February, and stopped doing it the last week of June. Would you put June as the end date and assume most people read that as you did it THROUGH that month, or would you put July as the end date?
 
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If I've been elected as President of a club for this upcoming school year, but I've served on the Board before, should I put "Club President" in the title and then the times I am President, or can I start it from when I first joined the Executive Board (2 years ago)
 
For my hobbies I am going to use computers, skiing, and paintball. I am going to have computers separate because I have particular things I want to write about. However, I don't have a ton to write about skiing or paintball other than I have done them for a long time consistently. Is combining them appropriate or not? Not including either I have 8 work activities so fitting it should not be a problem.

Also, I have written about my research in 1 section and used the entire 1325 characters. I have done a lot in the lab. Is it reasonable to put departmental honors, which includes a thesis on my research and 1 class as a separate activity?
 
What should I put for contact's title for shadowing?

"Physician"? Specialty?...


Also, when entering the dates, if you started something in February, and stopped doing it the last week of June. Would you put June as the end date and assume most people read that as you did it THROUGH that month, or would you put July as the end date?

.
 
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Kinda already know the answer to this, but has anyone listed a local scholarship that he or she received senior yr of high school? Should we only be listing scholarships that were received while in college?
 
Looking at my list of work/activities, I see that I don't have any entry under the research/lab category. While I didn't participate in any actual research labs, two of my classes covered research-heavy content.

Research in Kinesiology taught the research process, including hypothesis development, ethical issues, study design, measurement and statistical concepts, and presentation of results.

Lab Techniques in Exercise Physiology taught me actual procedures used in lab research i.e. doppler ultrasound, western blots, etc.

I never participated in research because I wasn't very interested in it, and I didn't want to do it solely for my application. However, several of the schools I'm applying want to see that experience. So, can I use these two classes, or is that too much of a stretch?
 
1) What should I put for contact's title for shadowing? "Physician"? Specialty?...


2) Also, when entering the dates, if you started something in February, and stopped doing it the last week of June. Would you put June as the end date and assume most people read that as you did it THROUGH that month, or would you put July as the end date?
1) You could put Office Manager, Head Nurse, or Attending Physician, as is appropriate.

2) I would interpret a date span as meaning through the end of the month (or close). You could put precise dates in the narrative to avoid a misinterpretation.
 
I'm looking to see if a new, unrelated research position would trump a poster abstract for the AMCAS activities list.

I am thinking it might be a good idea to merge the poster abstract with the research position that contributed towards it. My rationale for merging them is 1) Although I was present at the conference, I did not present, 2) my name is in a sea of others in the 2 abstract citations, 3) honestly, since I was a lowly tech at the time, I would be much more comfortable discussing the general concepts of my research if asked in an interview. I feel like if you list a citation (publication or poster abstract), you should be prepared to answer more in depth questions.

Anyway, my opinion is that in this case, my new research job would trump the poster abstract entry. Any thoughts?? If it helps, I already have another entry with a journal publication (2nd author).
I completely agree that mentioning the presentation (giving credit to the actual presenter, Conference name, location, and date)at the end of the Research entry it pertains to is the most logical way to organize the entry. Setting the entry apart and downgrading the significance of your contribution so as to avoid detailed questions might also be in order, and can be done by the way you name the entry. For your new research job, you might name it something like "Researcher, XXXX Lab," or "Research Assistant" (depending on what you do). You might call the research tech job, "Laboratory Aide," Lab Technician," or "Lab Animal Caretaker," or something that makes the lesser responsibility evident.
 
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