Hours error on AMCAS - what can I do?

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jwow1337

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So I submitted my app in the beginning of June, got verified in July, and pretty much all except like 2 secondaries are done. One of my activities was a research lab I was in for a year, but it was several years ago. I didn't really remember what my time commitment was, only that I had around 100+ hours the summer before I left. This was unbelievably stupid, but I remembered that one credit counted for 5 hours of work in my current lab, and that lab was for 3 credits, so I just tripled that and multiplied it by the weeks/semesters that I worked. This came out to around 600 hours. I didn't think anything more about it, which it turns out was a very stupid move. Turns out that 3 credits is only 10 hours, so my calculated 600 hours is actually around 400.
I feel incredibly stupid for not doing this simple math before, and I feel even more stupid that I noticed this so late.
I'm caught between a rock and a hard place, because I would gladly update the schools and say that these numbers are off, but since I submitted my first secondary like a month ago, it could very easily come off as a bold faced lie and seem like I'm trying to artificially manipulate the selection process. If I keep with it and a school chooses to verify, the consequences could be SEVERE. I'll also say that every other aspect of my application was completely truthful.
For context, I'm working in my current research lab where I have several pubs and posters, and will have around 3,000 hrs in by the time of matriculation, which I discuss at length in my secondaries. And before you say it, I know this is incredibly dumb, but I wasn't focused on the lab when making my application because it's no longer important to me, although that's no excuse.
What should I do? I know the chances of verification are low, and the chances of verification given my more important and longer-lasting research lab are probably even lower since it won't make any substantive improvement to my application, and they might not even ask about hours at all.

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Not an adcom, but I think you'll be fine. You don't need to update schools to point out your 'mistake' ... it was an estimate, and 400 vs 600 hours is pretty similar anyhow (at least in the same category of time commitment imo). If anyone asks about the hours, say you miscalculated the credits, but I doubt they'll pay attention to the exact number especially if it isn't a 'most meaningful activity'.

Take a breath, dude. Best of luck!
 
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