How many ECs/honors did you list on the AMCAS application?

[Rafa]

It seems like people usually list between 5 and 7, but some people fill up all 15 slots, and others just fill in 1 or 2. How many did you put, and why?

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[Conqueror]

I filled all 15. There were maybe 3 or 4 slightly fluffy ones, but I think I did a good job of demonstrating their substance. The other 11 or so were genuine ECs into which I put a lot of effort. As long as it's not totally transparent, I say put it - but make sure you have at least 5-7 solid things to put there.

CQ

 

[medicalbound]

I also filled all 15. There are advantages to being a non-trad -- I had 10 years of ECs and experiences to draw from, but most were from the last 5 years.

 

[Messerschmitts]

I had maybe 5 (and one of them was Dean's List! God I suck!)

 

[big_smiles]

I combined things in categories that were related.
Here's what I had:
honors program/honors thesis/honors mentor
research in two different summer programs
presenting at 3 conferences
teaching assistant/tutor
McNair Program/EOP program
volunteer in recovery room/respiratory care
club officer in honors/chemistry/pre-med clubs
bio/chem/physics award
I think making categories makes your experiences look more sustained. Ultimately you can do what you'd like. I think 1-2 is too little, though, unless they are really strong.

 

[45408]

like 10 things

 

[neovenom]

in my first year of applying, i put down about 8. didn't go very much into detail either. my result: a rejection and a wait-list.

second year, i filled all of them up and wrote as much as i could for each item. the result then: acceptance!

 

[MoosePilot]

Being a non-trad makes it easy to fill all 15.

I listed 15 things, one of which was my 8 year military career, which was about twice as significant as my undergrad work (being twice as long and more intense).

 

[ND2005]

I put somewhere around 10-12. I would have to look to give an exact count.

I would say most importantly, don't feel obligated to fill all 15 boxes. I think Adcoms would rather see 8 really significant ECs/Honors and 7 unfilled slots than 8 really significant ECs/Honors and 7 pieces of fluff written up all fancy.

 

[Thundrstorm]

I think I did 14, and some were combined categories. None of them were fluff, but I think 3 were awards as opposed to activities.

 

[snobored18]

All 15...dedicated one to awards and honors, one to honorary and professional societies, one to committee appointments (ie provost search, senior gift, res. life) and the rest to legitimate activities like varsity soccer, fraternity, tutoring, clinical and research experience. I ran out of space and was kind of pissed I had to lump stuff into categories.

 

[gujuDoc]

Being a non-trad makes it easy to fill all 15.

I listed 15 things, one of which was my 8 year military career, which was about twice as significant as my undergrad work (being twice as long and more intense).

I can believe the military work helped a great deal too. My former MCAT instructor was in the NAVY. Prior to that he had a really really low GPA. But when he was in the Navy, he went to PT school to become a physical therapist assistant and also got very disciplined by the structure the NAVY provided. As a result, he was able to focus better when he returned to school and did as well as you did on the MCAT and got higher grades in all his courses. He talked about the NAVY a lot in his personal statement, which he let us see, and how it played a significant role in his return to the idea of pursuing medicine. It turned out good for him too in the end.

 

[gujuDoc]

Being a non-trad makes it easy to fill all 15.

I listed 15 things, one of which was my 8 year military career, which was about twice as significant as my undergrad work (being twice as long and more intense).

Definitely agree that non trad students have no problem filling out the 15 slots. More years = more experience to discuss.

On a side note to others, also remember to represent your ECs as good as possible. Like if you shadow, don't just mention what kinda doctors. Talk about what you saw and learned from an experience.

 

[justskipee]

I used all 15 and wrote pretty much to the max on each. haha. my amcas is as long as a book! mostly phycho babble.

 

[gdbaby]

I think I used 10. One time my mom told me she was proud of me. That was slot 4.

 

[RxnMan]

I used the full 15, and I spread them pretty evenly between employment, community service (clinical and non-clinical), teaching, awards, research (pubs, presentations), and others (I enjoy running, sailing, rock climbing).

I reasoned that since the ADCOMs can probably only give a score (say 1-5) in any of these categories. I felt that I would enhance my chances if I recieved some score in all of the categories, instead of focusing on one category, get a high score, but zeroes everywhere else.

This has another advantage - you look more balanced, more experienced, and you're more likely to make a connection with one of your interviewers (which they'll use to learn more about you).

 

[QofQuimica]

Another non-trad here, and I used all 15. I actually had to combine a few ECs and leave a couple of things out that were still interesting and relevant, but there was no room for them. I wrote about them on my secondaries whenever they gave us space for an optional essay and brought them up during interviews whenever I was asked if there was anything else I wanted the committee to know about me. It's tough to categorize half of your life into 15 little boxes, isn't it???

 

[63768]

i'm pseudo-nontrad as i took a year off. i filled up 14 of the spots. couldn't find something significant to fill up the last slot.

 

[Rafa]

I imagine it's not a good idea to list ECs from high school...

 

[45408]

I think I did 14, and some were combined categories. None of them were fluff, but I think 3 were awards as opposed to activities.

I combined some just for the reviewer's sake. If I got three different scholarships, they can just glance over one section to find that out. Same goes for dean's list, academic recognition and honor societies.

 

[Saluki]

I filled in 8... Someone told me that it was bad to put down things that you weren't extremely involved in- looking back though, there were a few more things that I legitimately could have put that are important and might have helped my app stand out more.

 

[bootz]

I filled in 15. I guess being a non-trad has its benefits!

 

[Rafa]

One time my mom told me she was proud of me. That was slot 4.

I'm really tempted to use that one At the very least, you win "aww" points (or a smile) from whoever reads it.

 

[big_smiles]

I used experiences in high school, but would avoid it if you can (as I learned later on this forum). Having all 15 from high school would look like you didn't have relevant experiences afterwards and the ADCOM might question your motivations. But I was asked about them on interviews though (I had two activities from high school and about 10 from college), and perhaps including one super-condensed one shows sustained relevant experience. Anyone agree?

 

[NapeSpikes]

Another 15, nontrad.

 

[PurpleHaze]

I imagine it's not a good idea to list ECs from high school...

Depends on what that extracurricular was, what you have to say about it, and how it relates to medicine.

I listed one of my high school experiences because it was what convinced me to go into medicine.

 

[Saluki]

Depends on what that extracurricular was, what you have to say about it, and how it relates to medicine.

I listed one of my high school experiences because it was what convinced me to go into medicine.

The pre-med advisor told us not to list high school activities, unless it was something we continued in college....

 

[prettymd05]

I actually filled in all 15 slots...i been to a lot of conferences and i had great internships and leaderships awards. I had much more but i only put the ones that meant the most to me and explained why they were substantial. I think it definitely helped me get most of my interviews!

 

[MoosePilot]

Depends on what that extracurricular was, what you have to say about it, and how it relates to medicine.

I listed one of my high school experiences because it was what convinced me to go into medicine.

They're specifically post secondary experiences.

 

[Rafa]

...

 

[75969]

They're specifically post secondary experiences.

so...I went to college full time in lieu of senior year high school...during this time I have a lot of 'vet-type' experience (I thought thats what i wanted to do...) I dont have a lot of other things (only 3-4) to list....You all think I should list it or not?

 

[MoosePilot]

so...I went to college full time in lieu of senior year high school...during this time I have a lot of 'vet-type' experience (I thought thats what i wanted to do...) I dont have a lot of other things (only 3-4) to list....You all think I should list it or not?

Since it's also your freshman year in college (or part of it), I'd definitely list it. Any grades earned then will count against you, so ECs should count for you.

 

[Pkboi24]

I just tried to list some on top of my head and the most I could come up with was 8 and that was stretching it. Please tell me filling out all 15 is not necessary. How do you people find the time to do all this stuff? If I don't fill out all 15 is it over for me?

 

[Rafa]

I just tried to list some on top of my head and the most I could come up with was 8 and that was stretching it. Please tell me filling out all 15 is not necessary. How do you people find the time to do all this stuff? If I don't fill out all 15 is it over for me?

The application says they value 'quality' over 'quantity', so if you only list like, 5 or so, make sure they're the 5 that mean the most to you (not necessarily the ones you think might impress the adcoms most). And then write about them, and use every character available. It's better to have a few solid ones than a shotgun blast of meaningless activities

 

[gujuDoc]

I just tried to list some on top of my head and the most I could come up with was 8 and that was stretching it. Please tell me filling out all 15 is not necessary. How do you people find the time to do all this stuff? If I don't fill out all 15 is it over for me?

Read what the post above mine says. But you don't want to put stuff on there just to act as filler. you want things that meant stuff to you and that you could discuss in depth in an interview.

 

[badlydrawnvik]

I had maybe 5 (and one of them was Dean's List! God I suck!)

same here basically. i remember how i got all worked up about how i wouldn't get into any good med schools because people list 15 insane ECs and i had some crappy ones like dean's list and one semester of research. i think ECs are slightly overemphasized by people because i'm pretty happy with my progress so far given a lack of any substantial extracurriculars.

 

[speranza]

I think I had around 12. I don't think the exact number is important at all though...quality >>> quantity.

 

[LabMonster]

6 - Nontrad as well, but most were work experience. I left off quite a few things I did during my undergrad because my work experiences were more poignant and relevant. It really is about quality.

 

[nikibean]

14, nontrad, and I have a lot of very nontraditional job experience that was relevant.

 

[princessd3]

I filled in 13 (slightly non-trad)