How old can AMCAS activities be for a nontrad?

[hebrewBAMmer]

Is there a general rule for this? I went to undergrad from 2007-2011. Since then, I worked a job for a year, have some volunteering, have been working on my PhD program, and have done some extracurriculars for fun. Obviously, those are things I would include in the AMCAS activities section. However, there's 15 spaces available, so being able to include things I did in undergrad would be beneficial. However, is that frowned upon since I graduated 6 years ago, or is it perfectly fine to pick some of the things I did in undergrad and include them? If so, is there a certain percentage of things one should have between undergrad listings and post-undergrad listings?

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[AnotherLawyer]

I'm just a premed like you, so I could be completely wrong, but I think it's always an issue of quality over quantity. If you were regularly involved in some activity that highlights a positive trait of yours or helps answer "why medicine?" then I would include it. On the other hand, if you showed up to Habitat for Humanity one random afternoon 7 years ago, I don't think the adcoms will particularly care and it will look like you're desperate to fill space.

 

[amuseddoughnut]

Is there a general rule for this? I went to undergrad from 2007-2011. Since then, I worked a job for a year, have some volunteering, have been working on my PhD program, and have done some extracurriculars for fun. Obviously, those are things I would include in the AMCAS activities section. However, there's 15 spaces available, so being able to include things I did in undergrad would be beneficial. However, is that frowned upon since I graduated 6 years ago, or is it perfectly fine to pick some of the things I did in undergrad and include them? If so, is there a certain percentage of things one should have between undergrad listings and post-undergrad listings?

I finished undergrad a couple years before you, but my 15 "extracurriculars" included internships in undergrad, shadowing in undergrad, and even one significant clinical experience during high school (200 hours of volunteering at my local children's hospital). Most of the rest were more recent experiences.

IMO, what you want to do is to just put your most compelling extracurriculars on there, whether they are old or not. You want these items to add to your story about why medicine is right for you and why you will be an excellent physician. With your amount of experience, you will have a lot of options of what to put into that section of the application. You will eventually decide which of those experiences presents you in the best light.

What you don't want is to make it look like you have been completely absent from experiences related to medicine since undergrad. You still need to show that you have had sustained interest in medicine and sustained experiences that will make you a good doctor throughout time.

 

[hebrewBAMmer]

I finished undergrad a couple years before you, but my 15 "extracurriculars" included internships in undergrad, shadowing in undergrad, and even one significant clinical experience during high school (200 hours of volunteering at my local children's hospital). Most of the rest were more recent experiences.

It's funny you mention high school because I was debating about including all the hours I volunteered at Children's Hospital while in high school and continued doing so when I was home on holidays from undergrad. I'll definitely include then some significant experiences from undergrad then.

The rule of thumb is nothing from high school or earlier. I included things older than what you're talking about and had no issues.

Hmmmmmm that's fair, although I had done a bunch of clinic volunteering in high school which really helped influence my desire to apply for medical school in the future. I continued it through undergrad when I could. Do you think that would be ok to use?

 

[popopopop]

Put it on there, but make sure you got some recent things too. You'll be fine.

 

[AnotherLawyer]

I would not put anything in from hs. I mean, you're worried about your undergrad stuff being old. How would ancient hs activities look.

I've heard the only time HS stuff is appropriate is if it ran into college. So if you joined your town's volunteer ambulance squad when you turned 16 and stuck with it until you finished college and moved off, that could be appropriate. But something that started and stopped in HS is probably not a good idea. If it played a huge role in your decision to pursue medicine, just discuss it in the PS.

 

[amuseddoughnut]

I don't think there is really a hard rule. Each adcom is different, and I found multiple articles saying to put in your experiences if they add to your application, even if they are from HS.

As a fellow PhD, all the advice I received mentioned that I had to make the case for why medicine now. Since you have been in research, you have to do a good job of convincing the adcom that you are doing medicine because you genuinely want to help others. My high school volunteering hours not only gave me insight into and inspiration for medicine, but also helped to show adcoms that my interest in medicine was genuine and started a long time ago.

I would ask the adcom of your favorite school if you are really worried about it. 1 item on your ECs that indirectly references high school hours sounds like not a big deal.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

It's funny you mention high school because I was debating about including all the hours I volunteered at Children's Hospital while in high school and continued doing so when I was home on holidays from undergrad. I'll definitely include then some significant experiences from undergrad then.



Hmmmmmm that's fair, although I had done a bunch of clinic volunteering in high school which really helped influence my desire to apply for medical school in the future. I continued it through undergrad when I could. Do you think that would be ok to use?

I would not put anything in from hs. I mean, you're worried about your undergrad stuff being old. How would ancient hs activities look.

I believe @LizzyM has said that something relevant to your app that started in high school and went through college is acceptable.

 

[LizzyM]

Good luck if your only clinical exposure was in HS. That's the biggest "problem" we see with applications that include HS stuff. Listing things you did when you were a kid are discouraged. If you continued in an activity into adulthood (18+) that's cool.

 

[hebrewBAMmer]

Good luck if your only clinical exposure was in HS. That's the biggest "problem" we see with applications that include HS stuff. Listing things you did when you were a kid are discouraged. If you continued in an activity into adulthood (18+) that's cool.

Thanks! Question then @LizzyM : What if you started something in high school, and continued it in college when home on school breaks (I went to college out of state to a small rural area, so clinical stuff there was very limited, so the only time I could really go back to hospital volunteering was during school breaks). Is that ok to include then in addition to more recent things I've done?

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks! Question then @LizzyM : What if you started something in high school, and continued it in college when home on school breaks (I went to college out of state to a small rural area, so clinical stuff there was very limited, so the only time I could really go back to hospital volunteering was during school breaks). Is that ok to include then in addition to more recent things I've done?

AMCAS now permits you to show multiple periods of activity (start/end dates) for the same experience. Use that to show that you were volunteering over breaks.