how far back for activities?

[jgenes]

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hey fellow non-trads - do we list activities we did in college? or only more recent stuff? how far back is too far back?

 

[Law2Doc]

That all depends how nontrad you are. If you are a 40 year old career changer don't spend much space on college. If you are 23 and only a few years out of college, then yes, list them.

 

[jgenes]

That all depends how nontrad you are. If you are a 40 year old career changer don't spend much space on college. If you are 23 and only a few years out of college, then yes, list them.

I'm 28. Is that still young enough to include college activities?

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm 28. Is that still young enough to include college activities?

Use your discretion. If it's a big accomplishment or of lasting duration, list it.

 

[Darth Doc]

I did include a few items that were from college (and I'm over 35) since I had room in the application and they showed a continuity of volunteerism in medicine. I don't know if it helped me get accepted, but I didn't see a reason not to include it.

 

[Law2Doc]

..., but I didn't see a reason not to include it.

The reason would be that it can look like padding, and can either highlight a lack of accomplishments after college or dilute your real post-grad accomplishments. Better to have a few amazing activities than a ton of activities but have people thinking, "he's really grasping for stuff to put down, isn't he".

 

[familyaerospace]

I included one or two things that started pre-high school but I did it for over 25 years for one, about 15 years for the other. I had a few college activities which I primarily grouped together (I started companies in college), but things I did for a long time took priority over things that were short.

 

[QuantumJ]

If you continued with an activity from a long time ago until very recently I would put it.

 

[Gauss44]

hey fellow non-trads - do we list activities we did in college? or only more recent stuff? how far back is too far back?

Are you talking about the 15 work/activities section on amcas? If so, I was wondering what factors should determine which ones we choose? Time could be a factor. Another factor could be the work/activities' relevance to your wanting to become a doctor. Another could be impact (on you/the world/etc.). Another could be how much time the activity took while you were in classes (ex. an 80 hour work week while taking 17 credits would be relevant). Another might be prominence (ex. if you changed healthcare policy across the usa or something 10 years ago, and want to continue that goal in the future as a doctor).

I don't know how much time matters relative these other factors. What are ADCOMs interested in?

 

[familyaerospace]

Adcoms are interested in a variety of things including your ability to commit to something, leadership, volunteer work, and want to be able to show that you can handle a lot of things on your plate and assure you can still do well. Plus they want you to have a personality. All the points you made were also valid and factors to consider.