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

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Where can I see examples of Work/Activities for the AMCAS application? Any tips/advice?
Also, to whom/where can I send my personal statement to be checked?
Thanks
 
Thanks. I already have seen the sticky. Is there anywhere I can see examples of activities and examples of descriptions?
Thank you
 
Also, if I completed 300 hours of volunteer work at a hospital over the course of two summers, where it says average hours/week, what should i put?
thanks
 
during the semester, i did research with a professor aprpx 5 hr a week.

this summer i am working with the same prof. full time. the project is related, although slightly different.

next fall i am continuing with that prof. back to 5 hrs a week.

how do I enter this into the amcas?? all as 1 or split into two? and what would I put for hours/week if grouping together?
 
finalcountdown said:
during the semester, i did research with a professor aprpx 5 hr a week.

this summer i am working with the same prof. full time. the project is related, although slightly different.

next fall i am continuing with that prof. back to 5 hrs a week.

how do I enter this into the amcas?? all as 1 or split into two? and what would I put for hours/week if grouping together?
Click to expand...

Enter it as one and explain the time per week properly in the description section.
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
.These are some snippets I typed up that I couldn't adequately fit into my PS. My question is, should I put these in my primary for Work/Activities or should I wait to use these ideas for my secondaries?.



.Story: This took me aback, but I remember it very vividly, because it was so powerful (I would use this for my hospital experience):.
.Quote:.
.Me: “It’s nice that it’s at least really busy so you don’t get too bored”.
.Nurse: “Yes, but I’d much rather it not, because there’d be less people in pain”.
.It’s not a service industry, the goal is to make every bed free so everyone’s healthy and feeling well. Hopefully the medical teams work thusly with this frame of mind. IT was so true, and I felt foolishly blind having said what I did. But it taught me a valuable lesson, that these people are in the profession of saving lives and helping others. That’s the goal on their mind day in and day out. He taught me that I should never lose sight of this when in that environment. After that day, I never did..


(I would use the following for my BME research experience)
."The very essence of life itself is an art, a spectacular mosaic of scientific insight and humanitarian appeal" - my own quote I will expound on later. Biomedical Engineering is that very interface..
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I'd save them for an appropriate Secondary essay.
 
awasod said:
I am an author on an abstract for a poster that has been submitted for the Society of Neuroscience's 39th annual meeting, however the meeting is not until October. Is there anyway that I can include this on my application even though the actual presentation date is in the future?

thank you in advance
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I would add this information in the Research activity narrative where you've outlined in general what the research entailed. After you actually do the presentation, you can include the information in an update letter.
 
Atlantis07 said:
I asked this question earlier but didn't get an answer...can someone share their thoughts? LizzyM?

I am an author on several posters. Only one is 1st author and presented by me.

-Is it silly to list posters that I am not 1st author on? I have 3 such posters, all for national meetings. I contributed significantly to all of them. If it's okay to list these, what should I put down for the presentation date? (required)

-Also, should I list the one that I am 1st author on in the same group as all the other posters or as a separate category to highlight it? I don't really have enough space to group them into 1 activity...

Thanks!
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Here are some of LizzyM's responses to a similiar past question:

From 12/27/08:
​
Quote:
Originally Posted by wjstk http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=7525248#post7525248
Hi LizzyM,
Is this thread still active? I need your advice.
I presented 4 posters at different conferences/symposiums, I would like to lump them into one entry using bullet points. But I wonder if I could leave in blank the experience and organization name, dates, hrs/week, etc since I would specify them in the description part for each one (it won’t exceed the words limit).

Abstract Ex/ Authors and PI name. Poster title. Presented at (organization name), University name, State, date.

Same for honors and awards, I have 6 that I would like to lump them together but all have different dates, organization name, etc. I have 3 for basic science research, 2 for volunteer and so on (not enough space to enter each of them separately)

Would it be fine? I would greatly appreciate your help, thank you so much
Happy Holidays by the way


I'd advise against that approach. Whittle them down. Most awards and honors are not worth the space... cut them down to one or two (big money awards or nationally recognized honors such as Phi Beta Kappa -- not Dean's List or graduation with high honors). That should make it possible to include all the rest. If not, whittle down the presentations to only the most prestigious (national>regional>local>school specific). You can always include something in the description saying that the research was also presented at the X mtg in city/state, on xx/xx/20xx.


From 12/28//08: Quote:
Originally Posted by wjstk http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=7527733#post7527733
Would it be better to lump by research project? Put the award/publication/poster for each project all together. Fill information (i.e. Name, Dates/Hours…) about the project, and specify presentation/publication/award dates in the description? As for awards, each of them don’t stand by itself, I mean there is not much to say for description in separate entries, don't even know if worth to mention... :]

I'd split out publications, particularly if they were in "peer reviewed" journals (peer review refers to vetting by other professionals in the field, not other students). You might split out presentations if they were at national meetings or meetings attended in large part by professionals (not meetings specifically for undergrads).

Awards, IMHO, should be folded into the description of the research unless it is a major award that is national or international in scope or carries a substantial monetary award.
 
Recently i took an official IQ test and scored high enough to be accepted into Mensa. I know this may not directly reveal the caliber Dr. i will become, but it could suggest to admission committees that i have the capacity to become a physician. Do you think this should be included in my application?

If so, should i include it under "honors" in the work/activities section or in the standardized tests section? Thanks.
 
there is a lot of controversy surrounding the validity of IQ tests- what they actually measure, what they are able to predict, etc. maybe Mensa is the exception, however, even if it is, I still think it might not be the most compelling addition to your application.

- your MCAT and GPA are more reliable indicators of the components of your intelligence that would lend themselves to excelling in medicine. Additionally, your performance on your personal statement, secondaries, and in your interview demonstrate equally important (to the MCAT and GPA) and very revealing parts of your emotional/social/experiential intelligence.

just my thoughts...
 
Qcumber4life said:
Recently i took an official IQ test and scored high enough to be accepted into Mensa. I know this may not directly reveal the caliber Dr. i will become, but it could suggest to admission committees that i have the capacity to become a physician. Do you think this should be included in my application?

If so, should i include it under "honors" in the work/activities section or in the standardized tests section? Thanks.
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i agree with neuro. Maybe if you had an MCAT score that was so high that it proved that point. But you know you don't even have a score yet. I do think MCAT scores and GPA are better indicators of stuff then being in MENSA unless you are already part of MENSA and they actually do stuff other then give a title to those who qualify to be in it.
 
SFANJUM said:
I work for a company called Creative Consumer Research. What we do is conduct research studies by calling people and asking them their opinions on various topics and pay them for it. The research studies we conduct are usually non - medical. ex ( Soda Taste Tests, Music/Radio Listening studies, and surveys about how safe they think their city is and more) And then other companies lets say Dr. Pepper uses our research to enhance or tweak a new product. I have been doing that for 1.5 yrs

My supervisor says that we are a Market Research company. I know it’s not like I wear a lab coat to work and mix chemicals or anything medical related but its still some sort of research right???

I have zero research experience so i was kind of hoping maybe this could fill a hole or is that pushing it??:xf:

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hmm not sure. I guess its research but its marketing so it will be viewed differently I'm sure. But then again there are people on here that have done psychological research, research in the humanities dept with history and social sciences, etc. what makes this different then all of that is that it doesn't come off as scholarly research. its not that its not scientific but doesn't seem so scholarly compared to say any of the aforementioned examples.
 
SFANJUM said:
I work for a company called Creative Consumer Research. What we do is conduct research studies by calling people and asking them their opinions on various topics and pay them for it. The research studies we conduct are usually non - medical. ex ( Soda Taste Tests, Music/Radio Listening studies, and surveys about how safe they think their city is and more) And then other companies lets say Dr. Pepper uses our research to enhance or tweak a new product. I have been doing that for 1.5 yrs

My supervisor says that we are a Market Research company. I know it’s not like I wear a lab coat to work and mix chemicals or anything medical related but its still some sort of research right???

I have zero research experience so i was kind of hoping maybe this could fill a hole or is that pushing it??:xf:
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In my opinion this is not scholarly research meant to add to human knowledge which is the type of reseach that AMCAS intends for that designation, it is an opinion survey meant to enhance a company's product or to help promote it, get info about services to add or the direction that new development should take, etc. The information is of value only to the sponsoring agency, not to humanity in general. I suggest you not list it in the "Research" category. Rather, it is "Employment." It still has value on your application, as the job requires people skills that adcomms value.
 
Mobius1985 said:
In my opinion this is not scholarly research meant to add to human knowledge which is the type of reseach that AMCAS intends for that designation, it is an opinion survey meant to enhance a company's product or to help promote it, get info about services to add or the direction that new development should take, etc. The information is of value only to the sponsoring agency, not to humanity in general. I suggest you not list it in the "Research" category. Rather, it is "Employment." It still has value on your application, as the job requires people skills that adcomms value.
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Good post. Towards the end of my post above this is what I was getting at in that it wasn't scholarly which made it different. So yes i agree with what you said 100%. this is what I was thinking but wasn't sure so glad you came here to confirm what I thought this poster should do as well.
 
neuro1986 said:
there is a lot of controversy surrounding the validity of IQ tests- what they actually measure, what they are able to predict, etc. maybe Mensa is the exception, however, even if it is, I still think it might not be the most compelling addition to your application.

- your MCAT and GPA are more reliable indicators of the components of your intelligence that would lend themselves to excelling in medicine. Additionally, your performance on your personal statement, secondaries, and in your interview demonstrate equally important (to the MCAT and GPA) and very revealing parts of your emotional/social/experiential intelligence.

just my thoughts...
Click to expand...



I absolutely agree. Both GPA(in which i have a cGPA of 3.88 and sGPA of 3.92) and also MCAT score(of which im desperately waiting for) are by far the best indicators. Yet, i feel like acceptance into mensa based on a widely accepted IQ score would also complement that. However, at the same time i want to avoid getting very negative attention from adcom people who feel that is irrelevant. I'm stuck on whether or not to include this. Any adcom members wish to comment? Or anyone whom has had a similar situation arise? Thanks.
 
Qcumber4life said:
I absolutely agree. Both GPA(in which i have a cGPA of 3.88 and sGPA of 3.92) and also MCAT score(of which im desperately waiting for) are by far the best indicators. Yet, i feel like acceptance into mensa based on a widely accepted IQ score would also complement that. However, at the same time i want to avoid getting very negative attention from adcom people who feel that is irrelevant. I'm stuck on whether or not to include this. Any adcom members wish to comment? Or anyone whom has had a similar situation arise? Thanks.
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If you were already a member and had done stuff with the organization then it would be different. Just saying you qualify for it means nothing.
 
gujuDoc said:
If you were already a member and had done stuff with the organization then it would be different. Just saying you qualify for it means nothing.
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So you would suggest in the "standardized test section" were you have the oppurtunity to include tests other than the MCAT, i should just not include the mensa acceptance test?
 
Qcumber4life said:
So you would suggest in the "standardized test section" were you have the oppurtunity to include tests other than the MCAT, i should just not include the mensa acceptance test?
Click to expand...

Yes you should not include this as this is not a standardized exam worth anything to adcoms. That is a place to list perhaps GREs or other sccores like that and even that is unnecessary.
 
How do you order/list your activities/work into AMCAS?
by importance to you? chronological by date?
What's the best way?
thanks
 
hospitaldoctor1 said:
How do you order/list your activities/work into AMCAS?
by importance to you? chronological by date?
What's the best way?
thanks
Click to expand...

They order it for you in reverse chronological order.

Also, I'm merging this thread with the official Work/Activities thread. Read it, it's got good stuff.
 
so it does not matter how i enter them? they will automatically re-order everything for me??
 
sorry
can you edit your work/activities once you enter them into the amcas application?.. but before submitting
what can you edit when you submit the amcas application?
 
hospitaldoctor1 said:
sorry
can you edit your work/activities once you enter them into the amcas application?.. but before submitting
what can you edit when you submit the amcas application?
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You can edit everything before you submit. After you submit, you can only edit the identifying and biographic information, as well as add new letters and medical schools.
 
Thanks
When entering in Dean's List as a Activity/Work... What would you enter as organization, title, name, etc...
 
I want to group two internships that I had for the work/activity section
these two internships were both shadowing experiences... by two different types of doctors... at two different times...
one doctor was a cardiologist, the other internal medicine
how would i group these two for one slot on the work/activity?
what would i put for the date, organization, contact name, title, experience name, city, etc
thanks
 
hospitaldoctor1 said:
I want to group two internships that I had for the work/activity section
these two internships were both shadowing experiences... by two different types of doctors... at two different times...
one doctor was a cardiologist, the other internal medicine
how would i group these two for one slot on the work/activity?
what would i put for the date, organization, contact name, title, experience name, city, etc
thanks
Click to expand...
I would do this: List it under "Other". Name the activty "Physician Shadowing. Fill in the first to last date. Don't list a contact person, organization name (unless it's the same for both), hours/week, or contact. List the city only if it's the same. List the the country. In the experience description list each separately by dates, hours/week, type of physician shadowed, maybe some details about what you saw, then name and address of organization, then a contact person with phone or email.
 
thanks
could you please elaborate on what to put for the starting date and ending date?
 
The first date you began the first internship and then the final day of the second internship, even if there is a one-year gap between. The exact dates for each will be in front of each description, followed by total hours for that experience. At the very end of the narrative, you could total the hours of the two experiences together if you want to make it very clear how much you did that activity.
 
So I just realized that I put the wrong start date for one of my activities (one year earlier than it should have been). I have already submitted my primary, so I was wondering how I should go about correcting this.

Thanks!
 
I just realized that the work/activity section does not have any place for entering the info. for the contact's number or email. So how are they gonna contact them?? Does that ,mean we have to include it in the description section for all.???
 
briggs15 said:
So I just realized that I put the wrong start date for one of my activities (one year earlier than it should have been). I have already submitted my primary, so I was wondering how I should go about correcting this.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You can't correct it through AMCAS once submitted. The only way to let schools know is to send each one a letter. SDNers generally concur to just leave it alone if the error doesn't completely misrepresent you, and would be the sole reason why you might get an interview. Everyone makes mistakes. Correct it at interviews if it comes up.
 
princess22 said:
I just realized that the work/activity section does not have any place for entering the info. for the contact's number or email. So how are they gonna contact them?? Does that ,mean we have to include it in the description section for all.???
Click to expand...
It is not required that you provide this information, but if you want to look thorough and above board, personally, I think it looks better to include specific contact information at the end of the narrative section.
 
Stratego said:
It is not required that you provide this information, but if you want to look thorough and above board, personally, I think it looks better to include specific contact information at the end of the narrative section.
Click to expand...


thanks, also do you list other honors seperately or together with dean's list all in one?
 
i think its best to list all awards together.
 
princess22 said:
thanks, also do you list other honors separately or together with dean's list all in one?
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I agree that all honors, awards, and scholarships should be in one space. If you got a nobel prize, then that could go in its own space. Only list the amount of a scholarship if it is amazingly high. It really isn't necessary to list Dean's List as your transcript would make that evident, but feel free to throw that in if the space is too empty looking.
 
is it a good idea to list your interest in traveling as an activity?
even though youve only been to one country outside the US...
 
hospitaldoctor1 said:
is it a good idea to list your interest in traveling as an activity? even though youve only been to one country outside the US...
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My point of view is that it really isn't a hobby if you've only done it once. Instead of listing it as an activity, I'd base some secondary essays on the experience.
 
Last edited:
Stratego said:
My point of view is that it really isn't a hobby if you've only done it once. Instead of listing it as an activity, I'd base some secondary essays on the experience.
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Agreed. A hobby is something you do continuously. If you went summer after summer or spring break after spring break for the last 3-4 years you'd have a hobby right there. You've done this once so I'd highly doubt it.
 
I started american kempo my a year ago and absolutely loved it. i am an orange belt now but am taking a break because i had surgery and have some months before i recover. is this something to include in work/activities?
 
ToBeAnMD said:
I started american kempo my a year ago and absolutely loved it. i am an orange belt now but am taking a break because i had surgery and have some months before i recover. is this something to include in work/activities?
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Yes include it under hobbies/avocations. I'd totally include it.
 
Sweet! thanks for the quick response. i have another question, i worked as a tutor and TA and both were paid must i put them under "paid employment"? The same question goes for my small amount of research experience. Thanks!
 
ToBeAnMD said:
i worked as a tutor and TA and both were paid must i put them under "paid employment"? The same question goes for my small amount of research experience. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Sometimes you get a choice about how to label an activity because it qualifies for two or three possibilities. Put the teaching under the category where you don't yet have something to list or where it makes your application seem the most balanced. In the description, make it clear that it qualifies for the other category too. For research, it should always be listed under "Research" whether paid, for class, or volunteer.
 
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