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

[LizzyM]

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I have numerous presentations at various national and international conferences. I am planning to lump all the presentations together but would it be better to put some in the "Conference attended" category and put others in the "Presentation" category? I currently have 13 activities and I am somewhat worried that I can't make it to the 15 mark. I don't want to spread my activities too thin because that is probably very obvious to adcoms. Thanks for any help.

Don't worry about getting to 15. Better you should have 12 than slice the salami to get to 15.

Presentation is more prestigious than "conference attended". Far more prestigious. Only list something as "conference attended" if you did not present at that conference.

 

[LizzyM]

Lizzy M.. Once again thanks for all the great advice!

Do you know how titles of abstracts should be listed? Since we can not use italics or underlining should the title be in quotes?

I don't think that it is necessary. It is not customary in the Vancouver style which is used for biomedical pubilcations.

 

[LizzyM]

LizzyM,

Is it ok to enter an activity that you have been accepted into however the activity itself will not start until the fall? Specifically I have been accepted to be a Freshman Peer Advisor this upcoming academic year and feel it would be helpful to include this for it helps demonstrate, among other things, a growth in maturity since an institutional action 3 years ago for alcohol violations. Thanks in advance.

Violations plural? Ouch! Generally it's not done but maybe you can get away with it... most of your interviews will be after the start date and you'll be able to talk about that activity. I guess I'd say the same for a new hire who would not start until Sept.

 

[LizzyM]

I don't know if someone's asked this already, but is it okay to condense all my scholarships/awards into one section? If so, how did you title the experience? ("Scholarships/Awards?)

-Also, how many non-medical volunteer activities did people include (in proportion to the medically-related ones?)
-I attended SMDEP (Summer Medical Dental Education Program) an AAMC-administered program aimed at educating underrepresented students about medical careers, and it incorporated a lot of different experiences..I'm not sure how to classify it
-Do we need to have one totally unrelated artsy/non academic hobby listed? I was mainly a political activist during my undergrad and I'm not sure I want to list all my political activities on the app 🙂
-Also about scholarships etc...do we need to include dates/amounts?

thanks for the help!

This can be interesting. One of the applicants I best remember from last season was a labor organizer who, IIRC, ended up with more than one offer of admission. You needn't list all but listing something that shows you as multidimentional is good. You do run the risk of running into adcom members who don't agree with you politically but you may have the opposite experience where an adcom member may see you as the most sensible applicant they've seen this week. 😉

 

[LizzyM]

Along the same lines, if we are to lump scholarships together as one activity should we explain more about the respective scholarships--i.e. criteria, money, etc?

Do you think this would need to be done in several paragraphs or just individual sections for each scholarship separated by a return key?

Thanx

If these are small (<$1,000) scholarships, they can be lumped together & need not have paragraphs worth of text.

If you have individual scholarships >$10,000 then a little more explanation may be in order.

 

[LizzyM]

I couldn't find an answer to this in the thread, although I probably just missed it.

How do we calculate hours/week for activities that are more seasonal things? For example, I worked for Habitat for Humanity in the summer following freshman year and during this summer (after junior year). So I'm assuming that the start date = 06/05 and the end date = current, even with a long break in between?

I worked 10 hours/week, so am I expected to average out the time I spent over the two years between start and end date? Or can I just put down 10 hours/week in the time field, and explain in the description when I actually worked?

List it twice or list it once but dont' make it look like you've been doing 10 hrs/wk for 2 years as that is misleading. Don't leave the explanation in the commentary, either.

 

[LizzyM]

Much thanks to those who have contributed thusfar; this thread has been invaluable to me (and, surely, others) in muddling through this AMCAS business.

For about a year and a half I worked at UCLA Medical Center doing clinical research in the Child Psychiatry department. Because the study I worked on required frequent blood draws, I enrolled in a phlebotomy training course through UCLA's Center for Prehospital Care. The course consisted of 40 hours of classroom work and 80 hours of supervised clinical experience and was a significant influence in my subsequent decision to pursue medical school. My question is whether or not it would be appropriate to list this activity separately from the full-time research job. Because of the effect this experience had on me and because I discuss it at great length in my personal statement, I would strongly prefer to list it as a separate activity so that it does not get overlooked. Obviously though, I wish to avoid the perception that I am merely trying to "pad" my Work/Activities section.

Thoughts/opinions? Thanks so much for your input! 🙂

120 hours of instruction and supervision that seems to be the equivalent of a 4 credit nursing course with "clinical". If you've discussed this in your personal statement, it may be redundant to include it in the Experience section.

 

[voirlesetoiles]

Is it okay to leave the hours/wk field blank for some activities?

I'm in a program at my school for which you can't really put down an hr/week thing...

Also I shadowed a doc on and off over about 4 years, although I have a total # of hrs - it will be tough to average it out to like 0.5 hrs/wk over 4 years...

And there are many more for which I feel AMCAS isn't flexible enough to allow me to give an accurate representation of timeframes. Is it okay to leave out many hrs/wk blanks? I'd like to avoid trying to estimate as much as possible... or should I try my best to estimate these things so that the file is uniform/complete with all other applicants?

 

[benzene21]

I teach a chemistry lab at my university...should i list this as teaching/tutoring or research/lab?

thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

I teach a chemistry lab at my university...should i list this as teaching/tutoring or research/lab?

thanks!

teaching is teaching regardless of the setting.

Research is research regardless of the setting.

You are teaching.

 

[LizzyM]

Is it okay to leave the hours/wk field blank for some activities? I'm in a program at my school for which you can't really put down an hr/week thing...

Also I shadowed a doc on and off over about 4 years, although I have a total # of hrs - it will be tough to average it out to like 0.5 hrs/wk over 4 years...

And there are many more for which I feel AMCAS isn't flexible enough to allow me to give an accurate representation of timeframes. Is it okay to leave out many hrs/wk blanks? I'd like to avoid trying to estimate as much as possible... or should I try my best to estimate these things so that the file is uniform/complete with all other applicants?

Yes, many people leave off hours per week or make some explanation in the commentary section.

 

[voirlesetoiles]

Yes, many people leave off hours per week or make some explanation in the commentary section.

Thanks! 🙂

 

[aedelste]

I had a quick question about the high school activity point. If you continued playing a sport from high school into college, and received an award for that sport senior year of high school, should you mention that award in your AMCAS activity description?

Thanks!

 

[voirlesetoiles]

LizzyM,
I'd appreciate your help deciding how to fill two remaining spots.

I have the following activities to consider:

- student organization 1 (secretary for two years)

- student organization 2 (positions held: publicity coordinator, club council representative)

- student organization 3 (positions held: club council representative, community service chair)

- scholars program at my university (requires 3 semester-long courses, which are listed on my transript, and 15 hours of honors classes)

- Leadershape Institute (weeklong leadership development workshop)

My GPA is borderline so I'm wondering if the Scholars Program particpation could show that I have excelled in the honors courses. I also have extensive leadership experience (in clubs which I have already included) after attending the Leadershape Institute during the summer after my Freshman year.

With student organization 1, I typed up notes and kept track of club membership... generic secretarial duties.

With student organization 2, I organized a blood drive and registered the club for service events on my university's campus throughout the year.

With student organization 3, I helped increase club membership from 10 to 25 active members through mass emails, flyers, and posters.

Due to increasing commitments, it has been two years since I withdrew from participating in all three of those organizations. I have four recent leadership activities already listed in AMCAS.

Please advise me on which two of these activities to include. Thanks.

 

[jrshady2]

Hi,
I am currently filling out my AMCAS app and was wondering if it's necessary to provide a description for phi beta kappa. Also, i am confused whether i should include the semesters where i have been on the dean's list since my unofficial transcript shows each semester when i have been on the dean's list...If i should list dean's list, then would this be better as a separate entry or should i just put both PBK and Dean's lists under one awards category. Again, is it necessary to provide a description for dean's list. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi,
I am currently filling out my AMCAS app and was wondering if it's necessary to provide a description for phi beta kappa. Also, i am confused whether i should include the semesters where i have been on the dean's list since my unofficial transcript shows each semester when i have been on the dean's list...If i should list dean's list, then would this be better as a separate entry or should i just put both PBK and Dean's lists under one awards category. Again, is it necessary to provide a description for dean's list. Thanks in advance for your help.

See the original post in this thread, but it explains how to handle Dean's List. Dean's List is one thing that if you don't have room you don't necessarily need to mention and can have that mentioned in an essay as one line. If you have room to mention it, then go ahead and do so. It is explained above in Sail Crazy's original post.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi,
I am currently filling out my AMCAS app and was wondering if it's necessary to provide a description for phi beta kappa. Also, i am confused whether i should include the semesters where i have been on the dean's list since my unofficial transcript shows each semester when i have been on the dean's list...If i should list dean's list, then would this be better as a separate entry or should i just put both PBK and Dean's lists under one awards category. Again, is it necessary to provide a description for dean's list. Thanks in advance for your help.

Here this is taken directly from the original post by Sail crazy:

If you made Dean's list (or any type of honor like that) for more than one semester, use the description area to list the other semesters.
If you received any scholarship, fellowship or other honor that is not nationally recognizable, describe it briefly. Don't waste paper on scholarships that are awarded to half the population at the school.

 

[gujuDoc]

LizzyM,
I'd appreciate your help deciding how to fill two remaining spots.

I have the following activities to consider:

- student organization 1 (secretary for two years)

- student organization 2 (positions held: publicity coordinator, club council representative)

- student organization 3 (positions held: club council representative, community service chair)

- scholars program at my university (requires 3 semester-long courses, which are listed on my transript, and 15 hours of honors classes)

- Leadershape Institute (weeklong leadership development workshop)

My GPA is borderline so I'm wondering if the Scholars Program particpation could show that I have excelled in the honors courses. I also have extensive leadership experience (in clubs which I have already included) after attending the Leadershape Institute during the summer after my Freshman year.

With student organization 1, I typed up notes and kept track of club membership... generic secretarial duties.

With student organization 2, I organized a blood drive and registered the club for service events on my university's campus throughout the year.

With student organization 3, I helped increase club membership from 10 to 25 active members through mass emails, flyers, and posters.

Due to increasing commitments, it has been two years since I withdrew from participating in all three of those organizations. I have four recent leadership activities already listed in AMCAS.

Please advise me on which two of these activities to include. Thanks.

I'd personally say that it is up to you to pick which ones you to put in there. Remember that you can always include other things in your resume by making note of them in your personal statement and/or trying to put them in secondaries if there is room to do so.

My personal advice is to pick the positions that have most impacted you and which you learned the most from. Think about which one you could talk about if it came up in an interview and go with that one.

 

[se2131]

List it twice or list it once but dont' make it look like you've been doing 10 hrs/wk for 2 years as that is misleading. Don't leave the explanation in the commentary, either.

Wish I had waited a day to turn in my AMCAS, now it's too late to change it...

Here's what I put down for the activity, is it acceptable or will med schools be thrown off by why I put 10 hrs/week for 2 years and then show that it's not been continuous?


Habitat for Humanity
Hrs/week: 10
Start date: 06/05
End date: current

I volunteered for the [some college] Habitat for Humanity chapter in the summer following my freshman year, and worked each week on a build in [city]. I was part of the construction crew, and helped with projects such as laying down flooring, installing staircases, and even demolishing a chimney. I am also on a construction crew this summer in the same community, but on a different house.

 

[sultana]

Anyone else participate in the AAMC SMDEP (Summer Medical Dental Education Program) in previous years?? If so, how did you list/describe it?

 

[Tribeca]

I was an early childhood teacher (preschool age: 3-5 years old) by profession. I listed it as "Paid Employment" but am wondering if I should list is under "Teaching/Tutoring" - is this only for teaching older (college/elementary/HS) students?

Also, I am the secretary of the youth organization of our church and have been involved in it for many years. Does my position as a secretary fall under "Leadership-Other" or do I have to be president or vice-president of the organization to be able to list it under leadership? I understand the implications of mentioning "church" but we organize actvities that help the community such as clean-up drives and blood drives and I believe that my involvement has enhanced my leadership skills.

Thanks in advance! 🙂

 

[LizzyM]

I was an early childhood teacher (preschool age: 3-5 years old) by profession. I listed it as "Paid Employment" but am wondering if I should list is under "Teaching/Tutoring" - is this only for teaching older (college/elementary/HS) students?

Also, I am the secretary of the youth organization of our church and have been involved in it for many years. Does my position as a secretary fall under "Leadership-Other" or do I have to be president or vice-president of the organization to be able to list it under leadership? I understand the implications of mentioning "church" but we organize actvities that help the community such as clean-up drives and blood drives and I believe that my involvement has enhanced my leadership skills.

Thanks in advance! 🙂

Being in a leadership position (even if it isn't president or VP) could be listed as leadership. I'd call teaching preschool, "paid employment" because it highlights what it really was which was a full-time job while you were out of school. It could go either way but if an adcom is looking quickly to try to find out what you did in your year off then it is right there & easy to spot.

 

[LizzyM]

Wish I had waited a day to turn in my AMCAS, now it's too late to change it...

Here's what I put down for the activity, is it acceptable or will med schools be thrown off by why I put 10 hrs/week for 2 years and then show that it's not been continuous?


Habitat for Humanity
Hrs/week: 10
Start date: 06/05
End date: current

I volunteered for the [some college] Habitat for Humanity chapter in the summer following my freshman year, and worked each week on a build in [city]. I was part of the construction crew, and helped with projects such as laying down flooring, installing staircases, and even demolishing a chimney. I am also on a construction crew this summer in the same community, but on a different house.

Don't worry. It might have been better to say end date 8/05 and then in the description to say that you'll be there again this year, but someone will figure it out.

 

[Tribeca]

Being in a leadership position (even if it isn't president or VP) could be listed as leadership. I'd call teaching preschool, "paid employment" because it highlights what it really was which was a full-time job while you were out of school. It could go either way but if an adcom is looking quickly to try to find out what you did in your year off then it is right there & easy to spot.

Thank you for your help. 🙂

 

[zoraster]

LizzyM,

I have a volunteer activity that began with me shadowing a physician in a private practice. I soon began going through the old charts, compiling data and calculating statistics for a research paper - all in the private practice. Should I list this as "Community Service/Volunteer" or "Research/Lab"?

Thanks!

 

[gujuDoc]

No need for the pronoun. Keep it short and sweet

"tutored fifth grade student in reading, math and spelling."

"prepared and executed science demonstrations in middle school classrooms. Taught concepts related to physics, chemistry and earth science."

LizzyM,

The following post of yours brings up a question my roommate had some time ago. Should they put the descriptions as above, or should they also mention what they learned from it in the 15 ECs section????

I'm asking because the advice a friend gave last year when I was applying to SMP programs was to say what you did and then what you learned.

However, the above post demonstrates what my roommate's other friend told her, which is to just list the duties.

 

[LizzyM]

LizzyM,

The following post of yours brings up a question my roommate had some time ago. Should they put the descriptions as above, or should they also mention what they learned from it in the 15 ECs section????

I'm asking because the advice a friend gave last year when I was applying to SMP programs was to say what you did and then what you learned.

However, the above post demonstrates what my roommate's other friend told her, which is to just list the duties.

I think that in most cases, just listing the duties is sufficient. In some cases, when the activity seems very far from medicine yet was many, many hours and one that you want to highlight, you might want to say a little bit about how it could relate to medicine. One example, an applicant had worked as a waitress in a busy restaurant in a resort area. She described it as helping her to practice teamwork in a high pressure environment with tight deadlines, and helping her develop communications skills in stressful situtations with demanding members of the public. We know what waitresses do so it usually is unnecessary to describe it too much but this applicant really showed that she had developed transferrable skills and how she saw serving crab cakes as a means of developing skills she would use throughout her life.

 

[LizzyM]

LizzyM,

I have a volunteer activity that began with me shadowing a physician in a private practice. I soon began going through the old charts, compiling data and calculating statistics for a research paper - all in the private practice. Should I list this as "Community Service/Volunteer" or "Research/Lab"?

Thanks!

From the point where you started doing a chart review study, you could call that "research". Figure the number of hours, etc. In the description, mention that you also had the opportunity to shadow Dr. __ and observe his clinical activities and this led to your research question.

 

[zoraster]

From the point where you started doing a chart review study, you could call that "research". Figure the number of hours, etc. In the description, mention that you also had the opportunity to shadow Dr. __ and observe his clinical activities and this led to your research question.

Thanks Lizzy!

 

[gujuDoc]

I think that in most cases, just listing the duties is sufficient. In some cases, when the activity seems very far from medicine yet was many, many hours and one that you want to highlight, you might want to say a little bit about how it could relate to medicine. One example, an applicant had worked as a waitress in a busy restaurant in a resort area. She described it as helping her to practice teamwork in a high pressure environment with tight deadlines, and helping her develop communications skills in stressful situtations with demanding members of the public. We know what waitresses do so it usually is unnecessary to describe it too much but this applicant really showed that she had developed transferrable skills and how she saw serving crab cakes as a means of developing skills she would use throughout her life.

Thank you sooooo much. What to do where that was concerned has been confusing me for a while.

 

[Jolie South]

I know it's too late to do anything but .. .

On my AMCAS, I talked about being a health educator with the Peace Corps and put it as community/non-medical volunteering. After reading LizzyM's post above about the guy with HIV advising or whatever in Tanzania, I'm concerned bc she told him to label it as clinical. Will it make a big difference that I labeled it the way that I did?

In the description section, I talked about my 3 biggest accomplishments which were health related. I just didn't want to put clinical/medical cause none of it took place at a hospital and it didn't involve medical procedures.

 

[chunkybruin]

hi liz,

I just had a question about the contact, where do we put the title? Like John Doe, Ph.D.
Where do we put the Ph.D.? Do we put it in the first name or the last name? Thanks.

 

[Chungta]

For LizzyM,

I've read all the posts and your input has been very helpful.

I know you've said several times, no high school activities. However, that would leave me with only 2 years of activities to talk about. (I received one year of college from high school exams). So now, I feel like I'm a year behind on volunteering/clinical experiences. Should I just list what I've done since high school? Thanks!

 

[endofevangelion]

Another high school related question:

after my senior year in high school, I volunteered all summer with a program that was geared toward serving senior citizens. I spent about 5-6 hours a week doing it and I think it is rather significant. However, this is the summer after high school and before college. So should I put this on the app?

 

[eriddy]

I have a couple of quick questions 🙂:

1) I cotranslated a book from English to Turkish via email with a doctor in Turkey. I contributed significantly, but I am not cited in the book. I was wondering if I would be able to list this as a publication I worked on, even though there's no 'proof' that I actually did it.

2) I have also been working on writing a children's book for the past few months and I would like to list it under artistic endeavors but I am not sure if that is a legitimate activity/hobby to have listed. I would also add that I write quite frequently as a hobby and I wanted to know if this would be alright.

3) Finally, should the descriptions be verb phrases or complete sentences? In other words, should it read, "Taught summer school classes," or "I taught summer school classes"?

Thanks for all the help in this thread, this is my first post!

 

[gujuDoc]

Another high school related question:

after my senior year in high school, I volunteered all summer with a program that was geared toward serving senior citizens. I spent about 5-6 hours a week doing it and I think it is rather significant. However, this is the summer after high school and before college. So should I put this on the app?

Two options:

1. You could probably mention it as it was post highschool and right before entering.

or

2. You could put it in your PS. However, seeing as you already have a lot in your PS I'd just list it. It happened after you graduated so it could technically be counted as post secondary.

 

[fero]

Thank you to all that have been helping. Here is my situation:

I have been volunteering at a hospital for the past year and a half. Most of the work i did there was over the summers and about once or twice a month during the school year (for about 3 hours a week). I have about 80 hrs of work there.

I put in my description that i volunteered there most weeks of the summers and continued it through the school year but not as frequently. I put 3 for the average #of hours a week because that is what I average when I do go there. Does that sound okay?

 

[custard]

LizzyM,

I have several questions that I hope you can help me with.

1. During my first year of college I spent each quarter volunteering in different areas of the hospital (psych, morgue, lab). Should I talk about these separately or should I combine them?

2. In my PS I mentioned shadowing that I did full-time during my last month of high school. Since I already mentioned it, and since HS stuff isn't encouraged in this, I shouldn't include it, right?

3. One summer I started shadowing three different doctors; one of them I continued to shadow but the other two I shadowed just for the summer. Should I talk about each of them separately?

4. Is travel okay to include under hobbies? Should I list the countries I have visited (18)? I'm also currently learning how to ride a bike...is this worth mentioning since it is sorta unique?

5. I recently signed up for Medical Reserve Corps where I am listed as a volunteer if there is some kind of disaster or epidemic. I plan on being in the leadership tier but I haven't been invited to the trainings for this yet. Is this worth mentioning or does it sound like fluff?

Thank you thank you thank you

 

[custard]

bump (sorry)

 

[gujuDoc]

Thank you to all that have been helping. Here is my situation:

I have been volunteering at a hospital for the past year and a half. Most of the work i did there was over the summers and about once or twice a month during the school year (for about 3 hours a week). I have about 80 hrs of work there.

I put in my description that i volunteered there most weeks of the summers and continued it through the school year but not as frequently. I put 3 for the average #of hours a week because that is what I average when I do go there. Does that sound okay?

Yeah as long as you explain in the description it is ok.

 

[gujuDoc]

LizzyM,

I have several questions that I hope you can help me with.

1. During my first year of college I spent each quarter volunteering in different areas of the hospital (psych, morgue, lab). Should I talk about these separately or should I combine them?

combine them. Describe what you did in the different depts concisely in the description area down below.

2. In my PS I mentioned shadowing that I did full-time during my last month of high school. Since I already mentioned it, and since HS stuff isn't encouraged in this, I shouldn't include it, right?

You could list it but I don't see the point of listing it if it is talked about in the PS already. No sense in repeating yourself.

3. One summer I started shadowing three different doctors; one of them I continued to shadow but the other two I shadowed just for the summer. Should I talk about each of them separately?

Make note in the description area of the different doctors you shadowed and depts they belonged to as well as duration of when you ended each of them.

4. Is travel okay to include under hobbies? Should I list the countries I have visited (18)? I'm also currently learning how to ride a bike...is this worth mentioning since it is sorta unique?

You can list the traveling if you want or incorporate it into secondaries or the personal statement. The bike riding thing isn't all that unique as many people know how to ride a bike so I'd leave that off.

5. I recently signed up for Medical Reserve Corps where I am listed as a volunteer if there is some kind of disaster or epidemic. I plan on being in the leadership tier but I haven't been invited to the trainings for this yet. Is this worth mentioning or does it sound like fluff?

You can make a brief note of it at the end of your PS. Otherwise, I'd not really put it on there unless you've already started it. If after you've hit submit you do get invited, then you can always update schools individually through email or other means of things you are currently participating in. Most schools will look at those things pre-interview that you update them with, some will allow you to update them even after an interview has been offered.

 

[gujuDoc]

bump (sorry)

I know I'm not LizzyM, but I hope my advice is useful to you.

 

[custard]

I know I'm not LizzyM, but I hope my advice is useful to you.

Yes, thank you. May I just ask why you think I should combine the different volunteering experiences and the different doc shadowing? This will really cut down the number of total activities I'm listing to about 6.

(I meant that learning to ride a bike at age 21 is kinda unique, not the bike riding itself)

 

[Loon]

Hi Lizzy (and any and everyone else with experience and expertise)

I've got a fair number of questions (more than I anticipated, actually)...

I'm a postbacc, having graduated 10 years ago. My undergrad included a year of research and several summers of volunteering at a summer camp for inner city kids. Both experiences were important to my undergrad but have little bearing on my desire to be a doctor. They are also exactly the types of things that I am told adcoms like to see. Since that time, despite some nifty things to go in the EC, I don't have any research and no community service on the scale of overnight supervision of children.

I have two items, one volunteer work and one TAing, that both are on hiatus over the summer and will resume in the fall. Should these be listed as "to present" or as having ended with the spring semester in May, then updating it when interviews come around?

I've been TAing for two classes which are administered entirely separately and have very different responsibilities. Would it look like salami-slicing
to list them separately?

I have had several jobs doing translations and translation checking. Each had separate responsibilities and involved different fields. Should they be listed separately or together?

Additionally, I had one job that bracketed a different job, starting first and ending later. My responsibilities at the first job were greatly diminished while I had the other job. Should I list the first job twice?

For speaking a 2nd language, should I say something in the EC, or is it simply enough to list it in the languages section and mention it in with the translation jobs?

There was one service organization that I was involved with in both undergrad and postbacc, with no involvement in between (keep in mind that there was 8 years between the end of undergrad and the beginning of my postbacc). How should I report this?

I volunteer on the steering committee for the student health service. We are the student voice in health center operations. The question is whether this is "Medical/Clinical Experience" or whether I should play it conservatively and just list it as non-medical.

Does it look bad to leave contact information off of one or more jobs?

As far as hobbies go, I've been a gamer for a significant portion of my life. Should I list this as the campus club I've been involved with and date it for the past two years, or just list it as gaming starting back in junior high school?

Thanks in advance for any advice/counsel.

 

[Loon]

bump.

'Cause there are people with a much better grasp on this than me.

 

[gujuDoc]

Yes, thank you. May I just ask why you think I should combine the different volunteering experiences and the different doc shadowing? This will really cut down the number of total activities I'm listing to about 6.

(I meant that learning to ride a bike at age 21 is kinda unique, not the bike riding itself)

Shadowing is always encouraged to be grouped together in one setting unless say it was part of an internship or something like that.

As per the hospital stuff, well that's because you did it all in the same hospital so I think its more useful to say you volunteered at ABC hospital in xy and z departments doing such and such then to try to fill space up. Quality over quantity.

Oh and learning to ride a bike, swim, etc. is not unique at all.

It is unique when you perform in a race or a competition, but everyday things that are common to a majority does not make it that unique. Now, however, if you told me you were learning something like a particular type of performance dance or proper sport that would be different.. Somehow, I don't think adcoms really care whether you are learning how to ride a bike or not. That's up there with saying you got to level 1000 on a nintendo game. Another thing adcoms could care less for.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi Lizzy (and any and everyone else with experience and expertise)

I've got a fair number of questions (more than I anticipated, actually)...

I'm a postbacc, having graduated 10 years ago. My undergrad included a year of research and several summers of volunteering at a summer camp for inner city kids. Both experiences were important to my undergrad but have little bearing on my desire to be a doctor. They are also exactly the types of things that I am told adcoms like to see. Since that time, despite some nifty things to go in the EC, I don't have any research and no community service on the scale of overnight supervision of children.

I have two items, one volunteer work and one TAing, that both are on hiatus over the summer and will resume in the fall. Should these be listed as "to present" or as having ended with the spring semester in May, then updating it when interviews come around?

You can list it as to present and then explain down below that you have taken a short hiatus in the summer but will resume in the fall.

I've been TAing for two classes which are administered entirely separately and have very different responsibilities. Would it look like salami-slicing
to list them separately?

I'd list them both under one heading and then use the description area to expand on it by saying what your duties was and what classes they were. I'm an advocate of combining things together and not salami slicing as you put it.

I have had several jobs doing translations and translation checking. Each had separate responsibilities and involved different fields. Should they be listed separately or together?
Were these paid jobs with different companies and what not?? If so you can list it separately but if it takes up space in the EC section that you need for another kind of experience you can combine it and use the description area to describe your responsibilities and where you did such jobs.

Additionally, I had one job that bracketed a different job, starting first and ending later. My responsibilities at the first job were greatly diminished while I had the other job. Should I list the first job twice?

Reword this question because I'm confused what you are asking.

For speaking a 2nd language, should I say something in the EC, or is it simply enough to list it in the languages section and mention it in with the translation jobs?

Leave it on the language section of AMCAS. Believe me they will see it without it needing to be emphasized. Some people have even had interviewers test them by speaking in the given second language to see if the were telling the truth. Those people didn't list it as an EC so you see they do pay attn to details of an app. 😛

There was one service organization that I was involved with in both undergrad and postbacc, with no involvement in between (keep in mind that there was 8 years between the end of undergrad and the beginning of my postbacc). How should I report this?

Since there is an 8 year gap you could either list it separately or list it together using the more current dates of involvement and contact info and then explain down below that you did work with this even 8 years ago.

I volunteer on the steering committee for the student health service. We are the student voice in health center operations. The question is whether this is "Medical/Clinical Experience" or whether I should play it conservatively and just list it as non-medical.

What kind of duties did you have? I would think that if you were working with health services it would be rendered medical but please expand more.

Does it look bad to leave contact information off of one or more jobs?

Put in contact info to the best of your ability. Don't purposely leave it off there because it could come off as suspicious.

As far as hobbies go, I've been a gamer for a significant portion of my life. Should I list this as the campus club I've been involved with and date it for the past two years, or just list it as gaming starting back in junior high school?

NO DO NOT LIST THIS!!! I'm sorry but adcoms could care less about gaming.

 

[gujuDoc]

Yes, thank you. May I just ask why you think I should combine the different volunteering experiences and the different doc shadowing? This will really cut down the number of total activities I'm listing to about 6.

(I meant that learning to ride a bike at age 21 is kinda unique, not the bike riding itself)

If you do want to separate out anything, I'd separate out the doctors if you really want to list each contact info and the kind of things you saw. However, if all the volunteering was the same hospital different depts it is redundant to list it separately

 

[custard]

Thanks!

 

[Loon]

Thanks gujuDoc!

Additionally, I had one job that bracketed a different job, starting first and ending later. My responsibilities at the first job were greatly diminished while I had the other job. Should I list the first job twice?

Reword this question because I'm confused what you are asking.

Sorry for the lack of clarity. I started job A, then took a yearlong hiatus to work at job B, then went right back to work at job A. I did a little bit of work for the job A people while at job B, it was mostly taking time off from A to work at B.

I volunteer on the steering committee for the student health service. We are the student voice in health center operations. The question is whether this is "Medical/Clinical Experience" or whether I should play it conservatively and just list it as non-medical.

What kind of duties did you have? I would think that if you were working with health services it would be rendered medical but please expand more.

It is a committee that meets and discusses/decides health center policy such as fees, appointment structures, service policies and other assorted stuff. We also sponsor community health events (stress management, blood drives, CPR classes etc.). As VP, I ran meetings, mediated disputes and provided (sometimes unpopular) points of view, as well as assisted in running our events.

Does it look bad to leave contact information off of one or more jobs?

Put in contact info to the best of your ability. Don't purposely leave it off there because it could come off as suspicious.

What if I don't know the name of anyone who might be a contact? I've had two jobs at very large companies and while I remember the names of my supervisors and coworkers, but not HR people or even people you could reach by calling the company. Is just the name of a supervisor acceptable?

As far as hobbies go, I've been a gamer for a significant portion of my life. Should I list this as the campus club I've been involved with and date it for the past two years, or just list it as gaming starting back in junior high school?

NO DO NOT LIST THIS!!! I'm sorry but adcoms could care less about gaming.

Does it matter that job B above was for a large video game company and that my name appears on the product I worked on?

Thanks again!