My AMCAS activities changed...am I in trouble? D:

[zeppelinpage4]

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So..I think I've made a mistake and I wanted some advice on what I should do.

It's pretty late in the cycle, I've long since submitted my AMCAS, attended interviews and I am incredibly happy to say I have a few acceptances in hand. Overall, I'm happy.

However, I have an issue with my activities. On my AMCAS, I listed a volunteering job I did during junior year. When describing it, I briefly added that I would be continuing this volunteering into my senior year and I did not put an end date to the activity.
The problem is, once my semester started senior year, I picked up some new activities and my other ones got more intense, and I did not have time to go back to that volunteering, thus I did not continue it this semester.

Similarly, I listed a research activity, which I also said I would be continuing on my AMCAS. I also did not list an end date for this research. In addition, I had been planning to pick up a second research project as a senior and on my personal statement I mentioned that I would continue my old project (which I said I would continue on AMCAS) and take on the new research project as a senior.

However, when I started senior year, I found out that my professors preferred if I just worked in one lab, and I just did not have the time for both projects. So, I left the old research project that I said I would be continuing, and just worked in the new lab.

Now, I realize I was a complete idiot for assuming I would continue these things and then listing them on my AMCAS. However, back in June, I honestly thought I would be continuing the volunteering and working in two labs as a senior.

I am mentioning this change in update letters to the schools I am still waiting on. However, I can't send update letters to the schools that already accepted me, and the few schools that don't accept updates.
I feel like I pretty much lied on my AMCAS, and I don't want to have my acceptances or future degree rescinded because of this. How would I go about updating schools that accepted me already? Or do they understand that future activities can change after submission, and this isn't as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be?

I feel like I'm in trouble because of this. Is this something I should address? Or do schools understand that activities and things can change after the AMCAS is submitted? Any advice or ideas would be helpful.

 

[Mavii]

Unless a school directly asks you for an update on something specific, you don't have to update them with anything (aside from legal action taken against you).

 

[Microglia]

I have no real expertise on this (it's a good question for LizzyM) but I would think that schools understand if future plans change. I have a friend who was taking a gap year to work a clinical research job, and then a couple days after submitting and about a week and a half into his new job the project unexpectedly ran out of money and his position was dissolved. He switched to a very different but still clinical job. I'd assume medical schools understand when these things happen.

 

[LizzyM]

What you liste was true at the time. You could write "to present" and quit the day after your AMCAS was submitted and what you wrote would still be true based on the submission date.

No worries; you did not falsify your application.

Schools know that plans change and they don't expect up-dates of every little thing. (Can you imagine the number of updates from 4,000+ applicants!)

 

[NickNaylor]

Ditto Lizzy. One my activities included details about an honors thesis and what I would be doing during the upcoming year to finish that.

...yeah, didn't happen - I lost all motivation to do a thesis after I was accepted. I dropped out of the honors program and continued on my merry way. I never heard about it from any school (including the one I matriculated at).

 

[pre med 2014]

I was going to type what LizzyM said. As long as it was true at the time you hit submit.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Phew! Thanks so much guys! Really, I was getting worried over this, but I am glad it is something schools understand.

And thanks for chiming in LizzyM, hearing from someone in admissions and other users is very reassuring. And I can only imagine haha. I was worried that I'd annoy some of my schools more by trying to explain this whole situation to them. Really, thanks for the reassurance everyone. 🙂

Sorry, I'm just really happy right now. I guess the whole process made me a little more neurotic and stressed than I had expected. With this issue resolved though, I can actually sit back and enjoy being done with all this...well almost done.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Ditto Lizzy. One my activities included details about an honors thesis and what I would be doing during the upcoming year to finish that.

...yeah, didn't happen - I lost all motivation to do a thesis after I was accepted. I dropped out of the honors program and continued on my merry way. I never heard about it from any school (including the one I matriculated at).

Thanks NickNaylor! I was going back through the thread and thought about your post again. I looked at some other threads too.

So, it would be totally okay at this point to not go back to a number of my activities?
I really want to enjoy my last semester at school and rest before med school starts, so I'm considering not going back at all to the volunteering from last year.

 

[NickNaylor]

Thanks NickNaylor! I was going back through the thread and thought about your post again. I looked at some other threads too.

So, it would be totally okay at this point to not go back to a number of my activities?
I really want to enjoy my last semester at school and rest before med school starts, so I'm considering not going back at all to the volunteering from last year.

I wouldn't drop EVERYTHING, but if you're doing stuff that you don't really enjoy, I would drop it if I didn't have any outstanding commitments. I would try to enjoy as much of post-acceptance college as possible. It'll probably be the best time of college.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Thanks NickNaylor! I was going back through the thread and thought about your post again. I looked at some other threads too.

So, it would be totally okay at this point to not go back to a number of my activities?
I really want to enjoy my last semester at school and rest before med school starts, so I'm considering not going back at all to the volunteering from last year.

I think a lot of people are in the same boat. You'll be okay. Go enjoy yourself before you run out of time. 👍