*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2015-2016*~*~*~*

[ejay19955]

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Can I put a submitted article in the same section as already accepted articles, as long as I designate it with (Submitted)? I know it's frowned upon to list the articles that have been submitted but not accepted, and I would put this along with the relevant research activity if I could, but there's not enough space even with that extra 1325 characters. Meanwhile, I have only 2 publications accepted so far, so it would be easier if I put the submitted article there as well, titling the activity as "Journal Articles in Press or Submitted".

 

[justadream]

Are gap year activities supposed to be one of the entries for work/activities?

I already have 15 so if I want to add that in, I would have to push something out.

It's unclear to me because many med schools ask explicitly about gap year plans in their secondaries.

 

[oneirologist]

I apologize if this has been asked already, but I have 3 posters/presentations and wanted to list them within one entry. However, you can only choose one presentation date for the Presentations/Posters entry. Should I just choose the earliest date for the drop-down option, and then list the date for each presentation in the description? I could also list them as 3 separate entries but it just seems more neat to consolidate them... but please let me know if that line of thinking is wrong. Thanks 🙂

 

[Catalystik]

Is there a way to add extension numbers to contact phone #s?

My solution to the problem that extensions are not accepted when you try to save a phone number is to add the words "at ext 34" after the title of the contact. On the printout, this will appear as "John Smith, Principal Investigator at ext 34". The actual phone number appears across the page and down one space.

 

[Catalystik]

Should I never put zero hours for any of the activity?
For example, If I add Dean's honor list, would I put zero hours?

Honors/Awards will allow a 0, but (as I recall) some of the activities won't, in which case entering a 1 is fine.

 

[Catalystik]

I am a co-author on a paper that is being reviewed by the journal of microbiology and ecology.
I did not help to write it, but I helped a ton with the research part and I understand what the research was looking for.

How would I write this up? I ask because it is not yet published, but is soon going to be.

A submitted manuscript is not a Publication, so the best place to mention it is in the same space as the affiliated Research entry. If it is accepted by the time you receive a Secondary application that asks about activities, you can cite it then, or mention it in an update letter later in the cycle.

 

[Catalystik]

Can I put a submitted article in the same section as already accepted articles, as long as I designate it with (Submitted)? I know it's frowned upon to list the articles that have been submitted but not accepted, and I would put this along with the relevant research activity if I could, but there's not enough space even with that extra 1325 characters. Meanwhile, I have only 2 publications accepted so far, so it would be easier if I put the submitted article there as well, titling the activity as "Journal Articles in Press or Submitted".

Since you already have an established track record of research productivity, I don't think it will work against you to mention it at the end of your Publications citations, clearly labeled as Submitted Article, with the citation having an [in review] (if it's at that stage) after the journal name.

 

[Catalystik]

Are gap year activities supposed to be one of the entries for work/activities?

I already have 15 so if I want to add that in, I would have to push something out.

It's unclear to me because many med schools ask explicitly about gap year plans in their secondaries.

Gap year plans not yet begun don't belong in the Work/Activities section.

 

[Catalystik]

I have 3 posters/presentations and wanted to list them within one entry. However, you can only choose one presentation date for the Presentations/Posters entry. Should I just choose the earliest date for the drop-down option, and then list the date for each presentation in the description? I could also list them as 3 separate entries but it just seems more neat to consolidate them... but please let me know if that line of thinking is wrong.

I suggest choosing the most recent to be first on the list and to use for header information/date, with the rest in reverse chronological order by their individual dates.

 

[Hongiddong]

For my research lab, I had paid position twice on different dates, but I did research from April 2013 - June 2014. Should I separate it into two experience type.
1. Paid - summer(national science scholarship), and may2014-june2014
2. Research- and the rest of the hours.

or

Should I just lump them all in one experience type: and have a total of 1020 hours.

 

[ejay19955]

How important are listing contacts for individual activities when you are putting multiple together into one slot? For my last slot I am putting "Other Activities - Non-clinical Volunteering". The problem is since I am putting multiple activities into one I am already short on space, and putting contacts on every activity in that slot is going to suck. I have a contact for the one on the top though, since AMCAS provides one in another space. I do not have a sustained non-clinical volunteering experience but sporadic ones from multiple organizations so forgoing this entire activity is probably not an option...

 

[Catalystik]

For my research lab, I had paid position twice on different dates, but I did research from April 2013 - June 2014. Should I separate it into two experience type.
1. Paid - summer(national science scholarship), and may2014-june2014
2. Research- and the rest of the hours.

or

Should I just lump them all in one experience type: and have a total of 1020 hours.

I suggest lumping it all under Research and mentioning the salaried portions either vaguely or specifically, depending on the characters at your disposal.

 

[Catalystik]

How important are listing contacts for individual activities when you are putting multiple together into one slot? For my last slot I am putting "Other Activities - Non-clinical Volunteering". The problem is since I am putting multiple activities into one I am already short on space, and putting contacts on every activity in that slot is going to suck. I have a contact for the one on the top though, since AMCAS provides one in another space. I do not have a sustained non-clinical volunteering experience but sporadic ones from multiple organizations so forgoing this entire activity is probably not an option...

Try to put Contacts for the most substantial experiences (in the header and then in the narrative), then segue to those you where don't have space for Contact details with something like, " Other organizations where I gave time for less than 5 hours each: Humane Society of Essex County, Big City Homeless Shelter, Newton Junior High Science Classes, and XXX College Campus Cleanup Committee and Race for the Cure."

Wasn't there an umbrella organization sponsoring all/some of these activities that you could use as a Contact?

 

[ejay19955]

Try to put Contacts for the most substantial experiences (in the header and then in the narrative), then segue to those you where don't have space for Contact details with something like, " Other organizations where I gave time for less than 5 hours each: Humane Society of Essex County, Big City Homeless Shelter, Newton Junior High Science Classes, and XXX College Campus Cleanup Committee and Race for the Cure."

Wasn't there an umbrella organization sponsoring all/some of these activities that you could use as a Contact?

Thank you for your reply! And no it was all on-campus activities but not coordinated together so the umbrella organization would be my school, which is probably not a good choice for listing as the contact haha.

 

[lifesajoke]

How much description is expected for a section for Undergraduate research? I have limited slots so I am trying to use 1 spot (most meaningful) for two major lab experiences. It basically goes like this:

1) Dr. XXX, Cell Biology, Dates
During the first 9 months, I learned _____ under a graduate student. Next, I investigated ____ for which I designed, executed, and analyzed experiments under the guidance of Dr. XXX.

2) Similar formatting

All in 700 characters made the research description "skimpy" one sentence summaries.

 

[Catalystik]

How much description is expected for a section for Undergraduate research? I have limited slots so I am trying to use 1 spot (most meaningful) for two major lab experiences. It basically goes like this:

1) Dr. XXX, Cell Biology, Dates
During the first 9 months, I learned _____ under a graduate student. Next, I investigated ____ for which I designed, executed, and analyzed experiments under the guidance of Dr. XXX.

2) Similar formatting

All in 700 characters made the research description "skimpy" one sentence summaries.

A rough idea of the project and your role are sufficient. Your format looks fine. Yes, the detail might be skimpy, but unless you plan to apply to competitive, research-oriented schools, lumping into one space probably won't hurt you. OTOH, if you are going to aim high, then reconfiguring your slot choices to give each research project its own space would would likely be a better plan.

 

[lifesajoke]

A rough idea of the project and your role are sufficient. Your format looks fine. Yes, the detail might be skimpy, but unless you plan to apply to competitive, research-oriented schools, lumping into one space probably won't hurt you. OTOH, if you are going to aim high, then reconfiguring your slot choices to give each research project its own space would would likely be a better plan.

Ahhhh well thanks for the heads up. I'm planning to apply to primarily the research powerhouses!

 

[coiduition]

Hi Catalystik, I was hoping you could help me break down two of my activities to best represent them in the work/activites section.

Internship

1. Established a support group for diabetic patients (~50 hours)
2. Created and ran a fee assistance program for medications for low-income patients (~70 hours)
3. Conducted audits for diabetic health scores and used results to direct changes in the clinic (20 hours)
4. Scribing/shadowing
5. Various clinical duties

Volunteering Abroad

1. I shadowed physicians in a hospital
2. Helped out at an orphanage (helping with homework, cooking meals, teaching English, etc.)

Questions:

• I don't have any other leadership roles anywhere else on my AMCAS application, so would it be okay to group 1, 2, and 3 from my internship under leadership? (I essentially led a team of nurses and doctors in performing these tasks)
• #4 was my most significant shadowing experience (I talked about it in my PS,) so should it stand on its own, or should it be grouped with my other shadowing experiences?
• Should my volunteering experience also be separated or maintained under one experience?

Thank you!

 

[lessthanzero]

I'm aware that this has been discussed in older versions of this thread, but I wanted to get a more recent answer:
Are anecdotes encouraged or frowned upon in the EC section? I am applying to mostly top-tier schools, if that changes anything:

For instance, if I am describing my experience in a nursing home, which version do you all think is more favorable for the adcoms?
1) I provided company to elderly residents and engaged them in conversation and activities such as board games and crafts. (basically: talk about duties in a more straightforward, "scientific" manner)

2) Include the above sentence, and elaborate: I became good friends with this one man, learned about his life, realize that we actually had a lot in common despite the large age gap... and subtly connect that to how being able to relate to people who on the surface different from me, would help me later on in the medical field.

Thoughts?

 

[sunshine02]

If you were in an organization and had multiple officer positions throughout college, how do you list that in the "experience name" section of work/activities? B/c you can put 4 different time slots for each activity but they only have 1 "experience name" section. So say if you were Secretary, Treasurer, and ultimately President of X College Premed Club, how would you list the 3 different positions?

 

[vantheman]

Is it common to use well known shortened names or abbreviations? I want to save characters without sacrificing formality

A few I am concerned about are below:

"Postdoc" instead of "Postdoctoral fellow"
"Lab" instead of "Laboratory"
"ICU" instead of "intensive care unit"
etc etc etc

Thanks!

 

[LadyYahya]

For the people that did smdep, what experience type did you list it as?

Also how many hours did you list it as?

 

[moemoekyun]

Advice for how I should put this one particular activity down: I took a graded class that was essentially 1/2 TA a molec bio/biochem lab and 1/2 mini group research. The TA section is self explanatory, and the research was along the lines of "lab class uses method A to teach topic X. Can method B be streamlined to teach that instead, and add method XYZ to teach more?". I later volunteered as a TA for 2 more semesters, with one semester being a 0 credit class. Can I put TA'ing down as one activity, done 3 times, and the research as another activity? Any input would be great.

 

[Catalystik]

I was hoping you could help me break down two of my activities to best represent them in the work/activites section.

Internship

1. Established a support group for diabetic patients (~50 hours)
2. Created and ran a fee assistance program for medications for low-income patients (~70 hours)
3. Conducted audits for diabetic health scores and used results to direct changes in the clinic (20 hours)
4. Scribing/shadowing
5. Various clinical duties

Volunteering Abroad

1. I shadowed physicians in a hospital
2. Helped out at an orphanage (helping with homework, cooking meals, teaching English, etc.)

Questions:

• 1) I don't have any other leadership roles anywhere else on my AMCAS application, so would it be okay to group 1, 2, and 3 from my internship under leadership? (I essentially led a team of nurses and doctors in performing these tasks)
• 2) #4 was my most significant shadowing experience (I talked about it in my PS,) so should it stand on its own, or should it be grouped with my other shadowing experiences?
• 3) Should my volunteering experience also be separated or maintained under one experience?

• 1) Yes.
• 2) If it was scribing with embedded shadowing, keep those two things together. If it was scribing plus dedicated shadowing-only time, then divide out the shadowing-only hours and put it with your other shadowing, taking care not to double count the hours.
• 3) Dedicated shadowing is never considered a "volunteer"activity, because it only helps you. I would put the international shadowing with the other shadowing you'll list and include its hours there. You can put the international orphanage volunteering on its own if it had enough hours/duration. Or group it with other short-term volunteering, if not.

 

[Catalystik]

I'm aware that this has been discussed in older versions of this thread, but I wanted to get a more recent answer:
Are anecdotes encouraged or frowned upon in the EC section? I am applying to mostly top-tier schools, if that changes anything:

For instance, if I am describing my experience in a nursing home, which version do you all think is more favorable for the adcoms?
1) I provided company to elderly residents and engaged them in conversation and activities such as board games and crafts. (basically: talk about duties in a more straightforward, "scientific" manner)

2) Include the above sentence, and elaborate: I became good friends with this one man, learned about his life, realize that we actually had a lot in common despite the large age gap... and subtly connect that to how being able to relate to people who on the surface different from me, would help me later on in the medical field.

-Brief anecdotes in general are fine and help lighten up lengthy prose.
-Adding the impact that an activity had is also fine, though not required, and need not always relate back to medicine, but should reveal a desirable trait.
-Don't forget the desirability of "show, don't tell." Your second example didn't do that.

 

[Catalystik]

If you were in an organization and had multiple officer positions throughout college, how do you list that in the "experience name" section of work/activities? B/c you can put 4 different time slots for each activity but they only have 1 "experience name" section. So say if you were Secretary, Treasurer, and ultimately President of X College Premed Club, how would you list the 3 different positions?

I would name it Officerships in XXX Club, or Elected Positions within XXX Club, or Roles as Secretary, Treasurer, and President Within XXX Club (which should just fit), or something else that encompasses all the roles you played.

 

[Catalystik]

Is it common to use well known shortened names or abbreviations? I want to save characters without sacrificing formality

A few I am concerned about are below:

"Postdoc" instead of "Postdoctoral fellow"
"Lab" instead of "Laboratory"
"ICU" instead of "intensive care unit"
etc etc etc

I think all those are fine to use and would be universally understood by staffers reading a med school application.

 

[Catalystik]

For the people that did smdep, what experience type did you list it as?

Also how many hours did you list it as?

"Other" is appropriate, since it is a multidisciplinary experience. I suggest you not count sleep and socialization time.

 

[Catalystik]

Advice for how I should put this one particular activity down: I took a graded class that was essentially 1/2 TA a molec bio/biochem lab and 1/2 mini group research. The TA section is self explanatory, and the research was along the lines of "lab class uses method A to teach topic X. Can method B be streamlined to teach that instead, and add method XYZ to teach more?". I later volunteered as a TA for 2 more semesters, with one semester being a 0 credit class. Can I put TA'ing down as one activity, done 3 times, and the research as another activity? Any input would be great.

I would split out the TA portion and list it under Teaching. You will have to decide if listing the research component strengthens your application or not.

 

[lifesajoke]

Did AMCAS change the hour limit to 99,999? I can put in up to that many hours...is this just something that happened to be updated this year or am I crazy?

 

[yummygummie]

Was wondering if someone could provide input on this...

I just started volunteering at my local health clinic. The first 50 hours of volunteering, which I am still completing, mostly consists of shadowing the more experienced volunteers when they are seeing patients. I shadow them charting patient histories, collecting vital signs, etc. The rest of the 50 hours I am either doing menial work or preparing lab samples.

Should I still classify this experience as medical/clinical volunteering? I have confirmed with the coordinator that after the 50 hours I can go to extra training to have more direct patient contact. Also, should I describe my future role there as a volunteer (the seeing patients part) in the description box? Thank you!

 

[Hongiddong]

Under hobby,
1. Can I skip organization name?
2. For the experience name, should it only be one hobby, ex: basketball. and not basketball,guitar,surfing
3. How do I calculate the hours for such hobby?
Can I leave it as zero? hmmm

 

[Aposteriori]

For honors: I am putting Dean's honor list. If I have multiple awards, should I just choose one for the date and talk about the other awards in the description part.

 

[Catalystik]

Did AMCAS change the hour limit to 99,999? I can put in up to that many hours...is this just something that happened to be updated this year or am I crazy?

They changed it last year. You can't include the comma for it to fit though, so 99999 is the way to go.

 

[Catalystik]

1) I just started volunteering at my local health clinic. The first 50 hours of volunteering, which I am still completing, mostly consists of shadowing the more experienced volunteers when they are seeing patients. I shadow them charting patient histories, collecting vital signs, etc. The rest of the 50 hours I am either doing menial work or preparing lab samples.

Should I still classify this experience as medical/clinical volunteering? I have confirmed with the coordinator that after the 50 hours I can go to extra training to have more direct patient contact.

2) Also, should I describe my future role there as a volunteer (the seeing patients part) in the description box? Thank you!

1) I think most would categorize this as Volunteer/Community Service - Medical/Clinical, since you have begun training for the activity, have performed helpful tasks, and probably have interacted with a patient (at least conversationally) on at least one occasion.

2) Yes, making it clear that this is a future plan, I think it's fine to do so. I suggest using the strategy suggested with the Repeated feature in post #3 to differentiate projected hours.

 

[Catalystik]

Under hobby,
1. Can I skip organization name?
2. For the experience name, should it only be one hobby, ex: basketball. and not basketball,guitar,surfing
3. How do I calculate the hours for such hobby?
Can I leave it as zero? hmmm

1) Yes.
2) Pick a name that encompasses everything in the box. Rather than listing each hobby in the title, I suggest something like, Leisure-Time Activities or Other Interests or Sports and Music Pursuits.
3) Entering a 0 or 1 is fine, with your narrative giving a better idea of level of involvement for each inclusion.

 

[Catalystik]

For honors: I am putting Dean's honor list. If I have multiple awards, should I just choose one for the date and talk about the other awards in the description part.

Yes, I'd suggest using the most recent date for the header. In the narrative you could summarize the rest, saying "I also received this award for all terms from spring 2012 through fall 2014," or somesuch. Exact dates aren't needed. If you have any other Awards/Honors/Recognitions, they can go in the same box. Use the Registrar as the Contact.

 

[sandshifter]

Do we list titles for the contact person we are using (ie Dr. John Smith)? Or do we not mention Dr. at all and just use their name?

 

[jih]

I have worked at a small town grocery store out of high school and during summers while in college. Should I include this as an activity? I was a manager through most of my college years, so it has also provided me some leadership experience.

 

[Catalystik]

Do we list titles for the contact person we are using (ie Dr. John Smith)? Or do we not mention Dr. at all and just use their name?

For Dr John Smith, when you enter the Contact's Title, you'd choose "Attending Physician," "Department Director," or "Principal Investigator," because on the PDF version, the Contact name will appear with that title directly after it, separated by a comma (not in front of it). So don't include a salutation for contacts, like Dr, Mr, etc.

 

[Catalystik]

I have worked at a small town grocery store out of high school and during summers while in college. Should I include this as an activity? I was a manager through most of my college years, so it has also provided me some leadership experience.

Absolutely. Be sure to highlight your people skills, problem-solving skills, and leadership, all of which have relevance to a med school application.

 

[azzeh123]

.

 

[Catalystik]

This may be a really dumb question but for a most meaningful activity do we only fill out the 1325 character box or also the 700 character box and the 1325 box.

You can fill in both. Just because you have the extra space, don't feel obliged to use all of it, though.

 

[Aposteriori]

Yes, I'd suggest using the most recent date for the header. In the narrative you could summarize the rest, saying "I also received this award for all terms from spring 2012 through fall 2014," or somesuch. Exact dates aren't needed. If you have any other Awards/Honors/Recognitions, they can go in the same box. Use the Registrar as the Contact.

For using Registrar as contact information, What should be the contact's first and last name, and the contact's title?

 

[Catalystik]

For using Registrar as contact information, What should be the contact's first and last name, and the contact's title?

You could look up the actual name of your college Registrar, and use Registrar as the title. Or:

First name: Registrars
Last name: Office
Title: name of your school
On the application it will print off as Contact Name & Title: Registrars Office, your school's name

 

[lifesajoke]

Both.

This may be a really dumb question but for a most meaningful activity do we only fill out the 1325 character box or also the 700 character box and the 1325 box.

 

[Wolfpack93]

I shadowed a podiatrist for ~70 hours two summers ago. I was wondering if I should use this in my Work/Activities section? It's not directly related to medicine but I guess it's still clinical experience right?

 

[azzeh123]

.

 

[Catalystik]

I shadowed a podiatrist for ~70 hours two summers ago. I was wondering if I should use this in my Work/Activities section? It's not directly related to medicine but I guess it's still clinical experience right?

You can include podiatry to show you considered another healthcare field, but I'd hope that your physician shadowing outweighs whatever hours you choose to list. And expect questions at interviews like, "Well, then, why not podiatry as a career?"

Side note: There are two types of clinical activities that most med schools look for. Active clinical experience is where you interact with a patient in a helpful way. Passive clinical experience is observational only, aka shadowing. With this activity one focuses on what the physician is doing. Some schools prefer one, and some the other, but most expect to see both.

 

[Catalystik]

Do majority of the students fill out both?
If it's in my best interest to do so I will fill it out

Everyone who chooses an activity as "Most Meaningful" enters text in both spaces. My cautionary note was to communicate that it isn't desirable to ramble on and fill each space completely. Be succinct. When you've said what needs to be communicated, stop writing.