*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2012-2013*~*~*~*

[emmyluna]

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Thanks for the quick and helpful response!

 

[SoulinNeed]

If we've already submitted, and been verified, how can we add more schools to apply? Do we just add them, and resubmit? Would we have to go through the verification process again?

 

[Catalystik]

If we've already submitted, and been verified, how can we add more schools to apply? Do we just add them, and resubmit? Would we have to go through the verification process again?

Go into your previous AMCAS application, add them, recertify, pay for them. You do not need to be verified again.

 

[Sjs1234]

I got an EMT-B certificate several years ago from a community college. I listed this as one of the schools under Schools Attended. However, since I only took the one class and got the certification at the end.

1) It was a class over summer so should I list it as Summer school or just put the dates I took it?

2) I put No Degree but do I put EMT-B as the Major?

3) Finally, since it was just an EMT certificate do I have to do the whole transcript request and everything? How does that work for this

 

[cwrig14]

Of course it's fine to list this job as "Most Meaningful, " because it was. And you stated that the activity did include patient interaction, so it was "clinical" even if that was a minor component of the Experience, and even if it shouldn't stand alone for patient experience on an application.

Picking a "Most Meaningful" designation because you think that's what an adcomm wants to see isn't necessarily going to win you extra points. I'd far rather see some passion injected into those extra 1325 characters, such as you did here.

Would this be an appropriate place to explain "why medicine and not pharmacy"? Or should I focus entirely on the experience, what I learned, how it applies, and all that necessary stuff and wait to answer the former question at interviews?

 

[cwrig14]

Do you think it is ok to list employment as a pharmaceutical technician as a most meaningful activity?
It honestly has been a very meaningful experience and I have learned a lot about patient interactions, healthcare as a whole and gained a very rudimentary knowledge of medicinal treatments for a variety of illnesses. I have much more to add to this and am confident that I can answer the question of "why not pharmacy" that would likely come up in an interview as a result.
My other meaningful activities were my research and teaching experiences. I would honestly label this experience as more meaningful than my other clinical experiences, but I am concerned that none of my 3 meaningful experiences are clinical experiences. I can argue that my pharm tech experience has been clinically relevant, but it is still not a clinical experience. Should I be concerned and maybe switch my clinical volunteering experiences to most meaningful?

This was my original post that you answered.
Thank you catalystik!

 

[Catalystik]

I got an EMT-B certificate several years ago from a community college. I listed this as one of the schools under Schools Attended. However, since I only took the one class and got the certification at the end.

1) It was a class over summer so should I list it as Summer school or just put the dates I took it?

2) I put No Degree but do I put EMT-B as the Major?

3) Finally, since it was just an EMT certificate do I have to do the whole transcript request and everything? How does that work for this

This thread revolves around entering activity and work descriptions in the Experiences Section. For transcript issues, you want this:

General AMCAS questions: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=895286

 

[Catalystik]

Originally Posted by Catalystik
Of course it's fine to list this job as "Most Meaningful, " because it was. And you stated that the activity did include patient interaction, so it was "clinical" even if that was a minor component of the Experience, and even if it shouldn't stand alone for patient experience on an application.

Picking a "Most Meaningful" designation because you think that's what an adcomm wants to see isn't necessarily going to win you extra points. I'd far rather see some passion injected into those extra 1325 characters, such as you did here.

1) Would this be an appropriate place to explain "why medicine and not pharmacy"?
2) Or should I focus entirely on the experience, what I learned, how it applies, and all that necessary stuff and wait to answer the former question at interviews?

1) I think that a better place is the PS, ideally focusing on what drew you to Medicine when you already had an interest in pharmacy, and not on the deficiencies of Pharm.

2) Focus more on that experience. But there would be nothing wrong with highlighting your joy in patient education encounters, or whatever else about the experience that also reveasl traits desirable in a future physician.

 

[MrNeuro]

if you have multiple publications from different labs should you still list them together even though the contact person is different? Also what should i write?

as a majority of that info is in my research essay

 

[Catalystik]

if you have multiple publications from different labs should you still list them together even though the contact person is different? Also what should i write?

as a majority of that info is in my research essay

There are a number of ways you could list them, depending on the space you have to devote to them. You don't need to "write" anything about them, other than giving the citation, as usually the description of your role in the research is mentioned elsewhere.

If any of the publications is in a campus journal, you should mention it in the same space as the research, unless the data was also published in a regional or national journal later.

You could list them by lab, so that the contact person is the same for everything in that entry.

Or, you can list them all in one space in a highly condensed format that few will understand, example given here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=12686778&postcount=13

 

[MrNeuro]

There are a number of ways you could list them, depending on the space you have to devote to them. You don't need to "write" anything about them, other than giving the citation, as usually the description of your role in the research is mentioned elsewhere.

If any of the publications is in a campus journal, you should mention it in the same space as the research, unless the data was also published in a regional or national journal later.

You could list them by lab, so that the contact person is the same for everything in that entry.

Or, you can list them all in one space in a highly condensed format that few will understand, example given here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=12686778&postcount=13

so im thinking im gonna have a work activity for each contact person and the corresponding pubs but what should i make the title? "Publications with Dr X"?

 

[Austin1990]

Ok, I am a varsity athlete on a nationally ranked NCAA Divison II team, which is obviously an enormous time commitment. Because of this, i do not really have much research experience to put in this section of my application. I have "checked all the other boxes" so to speak, and next semester will be designing my own research project and completing it over the school year as a part of the school. Unfortunately, although i plan to do this, i have not done it yet.

I take it that the prevailing wisdom is to not put planned future activities in the work and activities section. Is this something that I could perhaps address during an interview? Does being an athlete help alleviate any "penalty" I would get for not having research?

I do not plan on pursuing research or applying to research-focused schools, but obviously I want to have all my bases covered for my application. I have a great GPA and am expecting a mid-30s MCAT. My personal statement obviously mentions athletics, but is not from an angle where i could work in the lack of research.

Thanks for the help!

 

[nimbooda]

Hey all. This thread is gold, so here goes my first SDN post!

I'm a post-bacc with 7 years of work experience post-college and several part-time jobs during the undergraduate years. Does this all go into one "catch all" group, or should I have seperate entries for the full-time positions?

Here's a list:

1. Academic Advisor (large university in Chicago) - FT position from 2007-2009
2. Center and Faculty Manager (large test-prep company) - FT position 2010
3. Faculty Member (same large test-prep company) - PT 2005-2010, FT 2011-2012 (during my post bacc)
4. PT jobs including Surgical Sterile Processing (w/ Patient Sitting & shadowing exp.), server at restaurants (hs, college), librarian, mailroom, theater stage building, bookseller, coaching, etc.

I'm assuming 4) can be lumped together, but I'm unsure about the Surgical Sterile Processing job since I had patient contact and shadowing experiences during my time at that hospital. I'm also unsure what to do about the first three.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Catalystik]

so im thinking im gonna have a work activity for each contact person and the corresponding pubs but what should i make the title? "Publications with Dr X"?

Maybe, "Smith Lab Publications." Gutierez Group Publications." Abuhouli Lab Publications."

 

[Catalystik]

Ok, I am a varsity athlete on a nationally ranked NCAA Divison II team, which is obviously an enormous time commitment. Because of this, i do not really have much research experience to put in this section of my application. I have "checked all the other boxes" so to speak, and next semester will be designing my own research project and completing it over the school year as a part of the school. Unfortunately, although i plan to do this, i have not done it yet.

1) I take it that the prevailing wisdom is to not put planned future activities in the work and activities section. Is this something that I could perhaps address during an interview?
2) Does being an athlete help alleviate any "penalty" I would get for not having research?

I do not plan on pursuing research or applying to research-focused schools, but obviously I want to have all my bases covered for my application. I have a great GPA and am expecting a mid-30s MCAT. My personal statement obviously mentions athletics, but is not from an angle where i could work in the lack of research.

1) You might mention it on Secondaries, during interview conversations, or in future update letters about pertinent activities (where permitted). If you have been accepted to a specific lab and know a start date, you might wiggle mention of that onto the end of the PS if you can do it gracefully.

2) The greater one's strength in another field of endeavor, the more likely that a deficiency will be overlooked. Short answer: Probably.

 

[Catalystik]

Hey all. This thread is gold, so here goes my first SDN post!

I'm a post-bacc with 7 years of work experience post-college and several part-time jobs during the undergraduate years. Does this all go into one "catch all" group, or should I have seperate entries for the full-time positions?

Here's a list:

1. Academic Advisor (large university in Chicago) - FT position from 2007-2009
2. Center and Faculty Manager (large test-prep company) - FT position 2010
3. Faculty Member (same large test-prep company) - PT 2005-2010, FT 2011-2012 (during my post bacc)
4. PT jobs including Surgical Sterile Processing (w/ Patient Sitting & shadowing exp.), server at restaurants (hs, college), librarian, mailroom, theater stage building, bookseller, coaching, etc.

I'm assuming 4) can be lumped together, but I'm unsure about the Surgical Sterile Processing job since I had patient contact and shadowing experiences during my time at that hospital. I'm also unsure what to do about the first three.

Thanks for any input!

Sometimes older Nontrads just list all Collegiate Activities that are pertinent in an "Other" space. Or you can use "Employment", and list all Short-Term College Jobs together. But the full-time jobs would ideally be listed separately, one space for each. If you can't fit it in that way, then grouping is the way to go.

But, if you feel the sterile processing job should be highlighted, then give it its own space.

You have a lot of good and relevant stuff there. Good luck with the pruning.

 

[Fastedia]

I was wondering what I would have to do about volunteering at multiple hospitals. Should I make two entries or make one entry as "hospital volunteering?" The reason I ask is, because there is only one spot to place the contact information.

edit: nvm, I guess I could use the same approach given in the first page.

 

[Catalystik]

I write for Cracked.com, arguably one of the biggest comedy sites that generates it own content (as opposed to, say, Buzzfeed, which is an aggregator). It's under a pseudonym that I use only for the site, so there's no chance that the name will get linked to me without serious digging, but I can back up my being that person pretty well.

Content-wise, my articles are pretty tame, though one is tangentially related to sex. The language is raunchy, e.g. dick jokes and the occasional four letter word, which is the site standard, but never racist. Two of my articles have over 1,000,000 views while all the rest are over 700,000. I have 5 up now, with another in queue for publication, and hope to have a few others pitched too.

Is this something that I should tell the committee? I mean, it's something that only a handful of people do and I'm reasonably popular, but at the same time, I'm not sure how comments about the size of someone's testicles will look next to my time volunteering in the ER.

Since this activity might help you stand out in a sea of look-alike applicants, and you want to be perceived positively and come across as politically correct to conservative-outlook adcomms, you might consider listing your comedy writing under Artistic Endeavor (since its shared publically) but not giving a link to the cracked.com site. You might repost 1+ of your grandparent-approved articles elsewhere and link to that, or at least know its whereabouts in case an adcomm member expresses an interest. Or you can not mention it at all if you feel the risk is too great.

 

[sam2002]

Quick question about formatting. I am combining activities and awards in one entry, and I would like it to appear like this:

Award 1 (Date)​

Award 2 (Date)​

However, when I print my application, the online AMCAS form ignores spacing and combines everything into one line so it looks like this:

Award 1 (Date) Award 2 (Date)​

It ends up looking jumbled. Is there any way to force spacing between entries? If not, I see why being brief in the work/activity section would be huge plus just to make it readable.

 

[iTobiasFunke]

I've won several awards for my research presentations.

1. Should I mention it along with research in the research category, and then again under awards AND presentation?

that's way too redundant, but I don't know how best to lump it.

2. What about if I have an honors thesis for the above research? Should it be under the research, a category of it's own, or under presentation?

 

[Sjs1234]

I have just started some research which will end later on in the summer after my AMCAS is submitted. What is the policy for adding things like that to your Work/Activities if they are still on going and have not been completed?

 

[Catalystik]

Quick question about formatting. I am combining activities and awards in one entry, and I would like it to appear like this:

Award 1 (Date)
​

Award 2 (Date)
​

However, when I print my application, the online AMCAS form ignores spacing and combines everything into one line so it looks like this:

Award 1 (Date) Award 2 (Date)
​

It ends up looking jumbled. Is there any way to force spacing between entries? If not, I see why being brief in the work/activity section would be huge plus just to make it readable.

Two hard returns should leave a space between entries. And be sure you're looking at the print preview in PDF, and not in HTML.

 

[Catalystik]

I've won several awards for my research presentations.

1. Should I mention it along with research in the research category, and then again under awards AND presentation?

that's way too redundant, but I don't know how best to lump it.

2. What about if I have an honors thesis for the above research? Should it be under the research, a category of it's own, or under presentation?

1) Mention the awards in only one place on the application. It's probably best to include it with either the Posters/Presentation entries or with the Research so the context of the recognition is right there with it. If you don't have space to do that for all of them, then consider grouping them into one Awards entry where the title you choose covers all of them.

2) If you have a lot to say about the process of completing an Honors Thesis (without duplicating previously mentioned information), you can list it on its own under Other. If you've pretty much already covered what you wanted to say in the Research listing, you could note at the end of the Research narrative that this "this data was the subject of your Honors Thesis" or somesuch, and not create separate entry.

 

[Catalystik]

I have just started some research which will end later on in the summer after my AMCAS is submitted. What is the policy for adding things like that to your Work/Activities if they are still on going and have not been completed?

It's fine to include, since you've started the experience. For dates, you'll enter the starting month and then pick "to Present" instead of an end date (since a future date won't be accepted). If you know the end date, you can mention it in the narrative. Or to avoid using those characters to specify a date, maybe title the experience, "Summer Research in the Smith Lab."

 

[SoulinNeed]

OK, I just received a few DO secondaries, and it's like they're asking me to redo my whole primary, asking me to describe my EC activities. It's like they don't even read the primary applications. Please, tell me other secondaries won't be like this!

 

[mikeldelacruz]

Please Note:

A - One school of thought is that this is not the time to pontificate. Describe the activity if it needs describing (if you think it is something an AdCom member will not know about) and otherwise, be pithy with your description. Many think that talking about what you learned from the activity is not appropriate in this section, and is better saved as material for secondary applications.

B - Another school of thought is that this is exactly the place to address why you got involved and/or what you learned from an activity because you may not get another chance in a secondary application. Those from California especially feel this pressure since most of the secondaries at California Med Schools are screened (you do not automatically get a secondary; they review your primary application first and decide if you are worthy). Because of this it is tempting to spew as much as possible here.

C - Approach C is a combination of the two approaches. Spew when necessary (an unusual activity that may need a little bit more explanation to understand its depth, and you learned a lot from but you are NOT addressing in your PS) and limited description of commonplace application items (ER scribe, general hospital volunteer, MCAT teacher/tutor).

Thanks Got the information

 

[sam2002]

Two hard returns should leave a space between entries. And be sure you're looking at the print preview in PDF, and not in HTML.

Thanks for the help, I must have been using HTML. It is spaced correctly in PDF.

 

[Appoggiatura]

My AMCAS got verified yesterday, and I wanted to add another letter in addition to my school's committee letter to the application.
This letter comes from a research professor who's been very kind to me for ~2 years now.
The thing is, I did one summer of research in his lab (and I performed very well, according to him) two years ago, and I didn't think of including it on my submitted AMCAS.

1) Will it be a red flag if he sends his letter to schools talking about an experience I forgot to add to my primary?
2) How should I go about including this information for my application to be complete? (writing it into my secondaries where it's appropriate?)

Thanks for the help.

 

[Catalystik]

OK, I just received a few DO secondaries, and it's like they're asking me to redo my whole primary, asking me to describe my EC activities. It's like they don't even read the primary applications. Please, tell me other secondaries won't be like this!

For AMCAS schools, here is a summary of last year's Secondary essay prompts for you to check out. They will be 95% the same this year.

 

[Catalystik]

My AMCAS got verified yesterday, and I wanted to add another letter in addition to my school's committee letter to the application.
This letter comes from a research professor who's been very kind to me for ~2 years now.
The thing is, I did one summer of research in his lab (and I performed very well, according to him) two years ago, and I didn't think of including it on my submitted AMCAS.

1) Will it be a red flag if he sends his letter to schools talking about an experience I forgot to add to my primary?
2) How should I go about including this information for my application to be complete? (writing it into my secondaries where it's appropriate?)

1) No.

2) That works. Or you can include this information in an email to each school, after they receive your primary if it covers a critical deficiency in your ECs (like, you have no other research)..

 

[Medgen]

If I am condensing two different club activities, should I list my school as the "organization" and then describe the two clubs in the body of the narrative?

 

[Fastedia]

If I were a TA for both a lab and a discussion, would you enter them as separate entries or would you enter them under one entry? How about if I volunteered at different hospitals? Thanks!

 

[HSUReddie]

So I managed to make it through ten pages, but I don't know if I can make it through all 35. Sorry if some of these have basically been asked before.

I did undergraduate research on coral reefs. It'll be one of my meaningful's... So far, I have it listed under research, and in my description - which needs to be elaborated since it's a meaningful - I mentioned we presented it as a poster at such and such and oral presentation at such and such. My reasoning for this is because they were primarily undergraduate conferences and events in the state. No regional or national or anything like that. Should I make an extra thing for the poster and oral presentation or not?

Is it worth mentioning in my description of undergraduate teaching assistant that I was unpaid?

For hobbies, I just recently took up road cycling before I moved to New Orleans, but I haven't had a chance to get back into it - and I'm by no means hardcore. I also love trail-running, but you aren't going to see me running any 50k's anytime soon. Opinion?

EDIT: I also just moved to New Orleans and have only been here a month. I've got some volunteer opportunities in the works here, but haven't started anything yet. I know it's taboo to put future stuff, but can you edit the activities section after it's been submitted and gone out to schools?

Alright. That's it. Thanks a ton for any feedback. 🙂 👍

 

[Quizlet04]

Since this activity might help you stand out in a sea of look-alike applicants, and you want to be perceived positively and come across as politically correct to conservative-outlook adcomms, you might consider listing your comedy writing under Artistic Endeavor (since its shared publically) but not giving a link to the cracked.com site. You might repost 1+ of your grandparent-approved articles elsewhere and link to that, or at least know its whereabouts in case an adcomm member expresses an interest. Or you can not mention it at all if you feel the risk is too great.

Would setting up a blog with that username and reposting "clean" versions, with perhaps extra commentary, be appropriate? Should I mention that it is Cracked or just say "one of the most popular comedy websites", plus a few hints at my pageviews? Then, I could talk about how difficult and rigorous it is to source, as well as the challenge of writing to a specific voice and audience. I tend to write science-based articles, so I spend about as much time on Pubmed as I do on random news websites or blogs.

 

[Catalystik]

If I am condensing two different club activities, should I list my school as the "organization" and then describe the two clubs in the body of the narrative?

Yes.

 

[Catalystik]

1) If I were a TA for both a lab and a discussion, would you enter them as separate entries or would you enter them under one entry?
2) How about if I volunteered at different hospitals?

1) If you have the same contact for both, then list them together unless they were widely separated in time, or unless you need more space to give a full description of either.

2) Ideally, you'd give them their own spaces. If you are running short on spots you can jam them together and have little room to give your descriptions/insights. In the latter case you'd give contact info, institution, etc in the narrative for the second one, which further decreases characters remaining for your discussion.

 

[Catalystik]

1) I did undergraduate research on coral reefs. It'll be one of my meaningful's... So far, I have it listed under research, and in my description - which needs to be elaborated since it's a meaningful - I mentioned we presented it as a poster at such and such and oral presentation at such and such. My reasoning for this is because they were primarily undergraduate conferences and events in the state. No regional or national or anything like that. Should I make an extra thing for the poster and oral presentation or not?

2) Is it worth mentioning in my description of undergraduate teaching assistant that I was unpaid?

3) For hobbies, I just recently took up road cycling before I moved to New Orleans, but I haven't had a chance to get back into it - and I'm by no means hardcore. I also love trail-running, but you aren't going to see me running any 50k's anytime soon. Opinion?

4) I also just moved to New Orleans and have only been here a month. I've got some volunteer opportunities in the works here, but haven't started anything yet. I know it's taboo to put future stuff, but can you edit the activities section after it's been submitted and gone out to schools?

1) If either the poster or the presentation were done at a noncampus event, and they involved the same data, then give the more prestigious of the two its own space and mention the second in that same space.

If both occurred on campus, then leave them with the Research entry.

2) If it was a volunteer teaching gig, and you list it under Teaching instead of Community Servcie/Volunteer, then it would be wise to make clear that you were unpaid.

3) I think it adds to an application to list your Hobbies and Artistic Endeavors. Provided you've done either in the last academic year, I think they're worth listing if you can carry on a meaningful conversation about your involvement. You don't have to be "hardcore" to enjoy those interests.

4) No, but you can send update letters to schools in the future about pertinent activities, where they are allowed. And you might have a chance to mention them on Secondaries, too.

 

[Catalystik]

Originally Posted by Catalystik
Since this activity might help you stand out in a sea of look-alike applicants, and you want to be perceived positively and come across as politically correct to conservative-outlook adcomms, you might consider listing your comedy writing under Artistic Endeavor (since its shared publically) but not giving a link to the cracked.com site. You might repost 1+ of your grandparent-approved articles elsewhere and link to that, or at least know its whereabouts in case an adcomm member expresses an interest. Or you can not mention it at all if you feel the risk is too great.

Would setting up a blog with that username and reposting "clean" versions, with perhaps extra commentary, be appropriate? Should I mention that it is Cracked or just say "one of the most popular comedy websites", plus a few hints at my pageviews? Then, I could talk about how difficult and rigorous it is to source, as well as the challenge of writing to a specific voice and audience. I tend to write science-based articles, so I spend about as much time on Pubmed as I do on random news websites or blogs.

Sounds like a lot of work, when it's possible that no adcomm will have an interest in the activity beyond that you are involved. But if you do it, a hint at the number of hits is fine. And I'd suggest leaving it at a "popular comedy website."

Decide what you'll say if someone asks, "Which one?"

If you also write science articles, you could also consider just talking about both types of writing in the same space, as both fall under the umbrella of Artistic Endeavor. That might distract attention away from untoward curiosity about picky details you'd rather not be known.

 

[MusicJunkie]

I asked Nick Naylor this question, but I thought I'd get some other opinions as well:

I wrote a fiction novel that was published.
I'm not sure whether to put this under "publication" or "artistic endeavors."

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the proper category? I originally thought it'd be best under "artistic endeavors," but Nick suggested to put it under "publications."

 

[Elevencents]

I asked Nick Naylor this question, but I thought I'd get some other opinions as well:

I wrote a fiction novel that was published.
I'm not sure whether to put this under "publication" or "artistic endeavors."

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the proper category? I originally thought it'd be best under "artistic endeavors," but Nick suggested to put it under "publications."

The way I see it is, writing is the artistic endeavor in question and the book publication is exactly that, a publication. So I would list it under publication.

 

[MusicJunkie]

The way I see it is, writing is the artistic endeavor in question and the book publication is exactly that, a publication. So I would list it under publication.

Thank you! 🙂

I think I just always assumed that "Publications" meant scientific journals and the like.

 

[Fastedia]

I am currently having trouble fitting all my miscellaneous volunteering activities into one entry. Should I list I create two entries, one titled miscellaneous volunteering I and the other miscellaneous volunteering II? What would be my best approach at this? All of them are non-clinical, so I can't really separate them by non-clinical/clinical. Also, is it fine if I give one whole entry to a volunteering program (clinical) I was only involved in for 10 hours, or should I clump it in with the miscellaneous volunteering entry?

Btw, thank you so much for doing all this. It helps alot!~

 

[Catalystik]

I wrote a fiction novel that was published.
I'm not sure whether to put this under "publication" or "artistic endeavors."

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the proper category? I originally thought it'd be best under "artistic endeavors," but Nick suggested to put it under "publications."

I think I just always assumed that "Publications" meant scientific journals and the like.

I happen to agree with you. I feel your book publication would be better listed under Artistic Endeavors.

 

[Catalystik]

1) I am currently having trouble fitting all my miscellaneous volunteering activities into one entry. Should I list I create two entries, one titled miscellaneous volunteering I and the other miscellaneous volunteering II?
2) What would be my best approach at this? All of them are non-clinical, so I can't really separate them by non-clinical/clinical.
3) Also, is it fine if I give one whole entry to a volunteering program (clinical) I was only involved in for 10 hours, or should I clump it in with the miscellaneous volunteering entry?

1) Two separate entries is fine.

2) I would hope you could think of a better way to divide them that would allow at least one of the titles to be more interesting. Short-Term vs Long-Term, College vs Other, Summer vs Academic Year? If a natural dicision doesn't occur to you, maybe list them so we can come up with something.

3) Sounds like a waste of space to list it on its own. Can you tack mention of it onto your other clinical experience? If not, then adding it to the other Misc volunteering is OK.

 

[Serialhealer]

I am a working RN. I have all these advanced critical care nursing courses/certifications I took. Do I put this under paid employment because technically I got paid while sitting in these courses or as other?

 

[alliswell]

So, I never really thought of mentioning a hobby in my application until I read from this thread that it is extremely recommended. I do have hobbies but I don't think that they look as great as the others. I watch TV a LOT and I love watching TV. That's my number one stress reliever and I don't see anything wrong with it but I obviously cannot put that down in my application. I love music and singing. There's no day that you cannot hear me sing at our house but that's just about it. I've always wanted to join a choir but their schedule never fits mine. I'm part of a choir when I was in high school and it was very special to me but that was in high school. Then there's reading. I enjoy reading but I don't read as much as I watch TV. And I mostly read popular novels like the Hunger Games trilogy which I am reading right now. This is the only hobby that I think I can put in my application. The question is, should I put it or not? What do you guys think??

BTW, to everyone who contributes to this thread, thank you guys so much!!! I've been reading this thread for days now and it's been extremely helpful so far!! 😀

 

[HSUReddie]

1) If either the poster or the presentation were done at a noncampus event, and they involved the same data, then give the more prestigious of the two its own space and mention the second in that same space.

If both occurred on campus, then leave them with the Research entry.

2) If it was a volunteer teaching gig, and you list it under Teaching instead of Community Servcie/Volunteer, then it would be wise to make clear that you were unpaid.

3) I think it adds to an application to list your Hobbies and Artistic Endeavors. Provided you've done either in the last academic year, I think they're worth listing if you can carry on a meaningful conversation about your involvement. You don't have to be "hardcore" to enjoy those interests.

4) No, but you can send update letters to schools in the future about pertinent activities, where they are allowed. And you might have a chance to mention them on Secondaries, too.

Awesome. Thanks so much.

 

[MusicJunkie]

I happen to agree with you. I feel your book publication would be better listed under Artistic Endeavors.

Thanks for the advice Catalystik!

I think Nick's thinking was that if it was put under "Publications," it might garner a little more notice than something listed as an "artistic endeavor."

 

[Catalystik]

I am a working RN. I have all these advanced critical care nursing courses/certifications I took. Do I put this under paid employment because technically I got paid while sitting in these courses or as other?

Presumably, the critical care nursing classes are on your transcript. If they are not, or if you have more to say about them that you think will make your application more appealing, I suggest entrering the experience using the Other designation.

If you want to list your certifications that you used while employed as a nurse, usually that would go best in the same Employment entry where you discuss your occupation. But if you have extra space in the "Critical Care Coursework" spot, you could just as well put them there, if the title you give it covers evcerything in that listing. You have some flexibility in these choices. There is no 'one right way.'

 

[Catalystik]

So, I never really thought of mentioning a hobby in my application until I read from this thread that it is extremely recommended. I do have hobbies but I don't think that they look as great as the others. I watch TV a LOT and I love watching TV. That's my number one stress reliever and I don't see anything wrong with it but I obviously cannot put that down in my application. I love music and singing. There's no day that you cannot hear me sing at our house but that's just about it. I've always wanted to join a choir but their schedule never fits mine. I'm part of a choir when I was in high school and it was very special to me but that was in high school. Then there's reading. I enjoy reading but I don't read as much as I watch TV. And I mostly read popular novels like the Hunger Games trilogy which I am reading right now. This is the only hobby that I think I can put in my application. The question is, should I put it or not? What do you guys think??

I'm glad someone is getting benefit from the previous posts in this thread.

As far as listing a Hobbies entry, you wouldn't say:

Hobbies:
1) Reading
2) Music
3) Watching TV.

Instead, engage your audience in your interests, saying:
1) Reading: especially Science Fiction and Fantasy. I'm currently reading the Hunger Games, where I love knowing what the heroine's strategic thinking is that allows her to survive.
2) Musical Interests: I love to sing for my own enjoyment ever since I was in a choir in High School. I collect songs by Madonna, Josh Grobin, and JLo. My favorite song is "You Raise me Up."
3) TV: I love to watch Bollywood movies and I collect them. Slum Dog Millionaire opened my eyes to . . . .