*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~*

[Catalystik]

It is a nation-wide event!

Congrats! That makes it even more interesting.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Catalystik]

My jaw's dropped when I learned about that we're going to get published

How did you even get this gig?

 

[puahate]

Question: For contacts lets say I am doing an activity and I am iffy if a boss or supervisor is the best to use as a contact. Can I use a co-workers email?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Question: For contacts lets say I am doing an activity and I am iffy if a boss or supervisor is the best to use as a contact. Can I use a co-workers email?

I used a co-worker as one of my contacts for an activity. Didn't seem to be a problem. It's just so they have someone to contact who can verify your involvement if they choose to do that.

 

[puahate]

I used a co-worker as one of my contacts for an activity. Didn't seem to be a problem. It's just so they have someone to contact who can verify your involvement if they choose to do that.

Cool thanks for the reply

 

[Catalystik]

Question: For contacts lets say I am doing an activity and I am iffy if a boss or supervisor is the best to use as a contact. Can I use a co-workers email?

I agree it's fine to use a co-worker. Be sure to give them a heads-up about a possible contact and review your timeframe of involvement and hourly commitment so they won't be caught unprepared.

 

[eggdropsoup414]

Looking for ideas on how to categorize these activities. I am the president of my school's table tennis club. It's a pretty big club that requires quite a bit of management. I also play competitively, have a rating, and am captain of the school's team. I also started a small non-profit where college students teach table tennis/tutor hw after school at local public schools. How should I list all of these activities? I was thinking maybe club president/captain as "leadership" and the tutor/teaching as non-clinical volunteering. I already have other volunteering though, so maybe it belongs somewhere else?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Looking for ideas on how to categorize these activities. I am the president of my school's table tennis club. It's a pretty big club that requires quite a bit of management. I also play competitively, have a rating, and am captain of the school's team. I also started a small non-profit where college students teach table tennis/tutor hw after school at local public schools. How should I list all of these activities? I was thinking maybe club president/captain as "leadership" and the tutor/teaching as non-clinical volunteering. I already have other volunteering though, so maybe it belongs somewhere else?

@Catalystik can you give you official word, but I had something like that in my app. I broke up the different aspects into multiple experiences, each with a different category. So for the tutoring part, I'd take those hours out and make a separate experience. Then I'd take the competitive playing part and make that its own experience. And I'd use the president part as leadership with its own experience. Just don't double dip hours. Make sure you only count the hours that are related to each aspect. Obviously you don't want to break it up too much, but those 3 things are pretty distinct and noteworthy on their own, it would be a shame to have them all lumped together and possibly missed.

 

[Catalystik]

Looking for ideas on how to categorize these activities. I am the president of my school's table tennis club. It's a pretty big club that requires quite a bit of management. I also play competitively, have a rating, and am captain of the school's team. I also started a small non-profit where college students teach table tennis/tutor hw after school at local public schools. How should I list all of these activities? I was thinking maybe club president/captain as "leadership" and the tutor/teaching as non-clinical volunteering. I already have other volunteering though, so maybe it belongs somewhere else?

Perhaps as follows:

1) Leadership-Not Listed Elsewhere - President of Table Tennis Club
2) Intercollegiate Sport - Rated Table Tennis Player and Team Captain
3) Community Service/Volunteer-Not Medical/Clinical - Group Founder and Teacher: School Homework & Sport Coach (you get about 63 characters for a title; pack as much description as you can into it that suggests all your roles)

-or, alternatively-

Teaching/Tutoring - Non-Profit Founder and Homework/Sport Coach (or somesuch)

Alternatively, if you don't have three spaces to spare, designate your Table Tennis Avocation a Most Meaningful activity, and you'll get an extra 1325 characters in addition to the usual 700 for your description.

Just don't double dip hours. Make sure you only count the hours that are related to each aspect.

Repeated for emphasis.

 

[Boola Boy]

The volunteer coordinator for a clinical volunteering position that I listed as a reference has retired. This volunteer coordinator also wrote one of my letters of recommendation.

• Do I need to update the schools with the contact information of the new volunteer coordinator?
• How should I update the schools? Via email directly to each school’s admissions office?

I have already been accepted to a handful of schools. Dunno if that makes a difference for what I should do.

 

[Catalystik]

The volunteer coordinator for a clinical volunteering position that I listed as a reference has retired. This volunteer coordinator also wrote one of my letters of recommendation.

• Do I need to update the schools with the contact information of the new volunteer coordinator?
• How should I update the schools? Via email directly to each school’s admissions office?

I have already been accepted to a handful of schools. Dunno if that makes a difference for what I should do.

I don't think you need to update schools if the retired volunteer coordinator email provided would reach her. Otherwise, wait until you decide which school you'll attend and just update that one through a quick admissions office email.

 

[letsgetstarted1234]

So I updated a school recently with an update that a paper we submitted was accepted.

However we changed the title slightly last minute. If you google the title with the authors the new title is similar enough to the old one where the new paper shows up.

Should i update again with the updated title? I feel like I'm wasting their time/it would be a bad update.

Should I just let it be?

 

[Catalystik]

So I updated a school recently with an update that a paper we submitted was accepted.

However we changed the title slightly last minute. If you google the title with the authors the new title is similar enough to the old one where the new paper shows up.

Should i update again with the updated title? I feel like I'm wasting their time/it would be a bad update.

Should I just let it be?

Let it be. As long as the paper is Searchable with the info you provided, you're fine.

 

[Fun1nth3sun1]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if working as a Pharmacy tech would he considered clinical if it was in retail ? During my time as a tech I had access to patient information and basically interacted with patients everyday. Is it worth it to list this as an activity ?

Also during my current job I would directly with Pathologists. Although I work in a lab, sometimes it is necessary to contact hospitals regarding patient information and doctors are counting on me to complete a test so that diagnosis can be made and the lab is located in a hospital. Is this considered clinical In any way ? i also have access to patient information everyday whole accessing and performing tests.

 

[Catalystik]

1) I was wondering if working as a Pharmacy tech would he considered clinical if it was in retail ? During my time as a tech I had access to patient information and basically interacted with patients everyday. Is it worth it to list this as an activity ?

2) Also during my current job I would directly with Pathologists. Although I work in a lab, sometimes it is necessary to contact hospitals regarding patient information and doctors are counting on me to complete a test so that diagnosis can be made and the lab is located in a hospital. Is this considered clinical In any way ? i also have access to patient information everyday whole accessing and performing tests.

1) In general, adcomms will not consider a pharmacy tech job as "clinical", so it's best not to classify it as such. However, if you give an idea of the percent time you interact with customers at the window, you'll get credit for the required people skills. The job will be looked on as highly relevant due to your increased understanding of various pharmaceuticals. It's also a position of trust and great responsibility that will reflect well.

2) Sorry, but this is also not "clinical" in the sense meant as significant to adcomms, though it takes place in a clinical environment. It's still a terrific position due to the need for understanding patient confidentiality rules, managing infectious materials, and being consistently reliable. Working in the presence of pathologists could be mentioned in your Shadowing entry, but don't double count the hours (and it should not be your only source of shadowing).

If you do phlebotomy, that portion of the job is "clinical" as you are interacting with current patients.

 

[Schadret]

Should an intercollegiate sport (equestrian team in this case) that is only during the academic year use the "repeat" option with four "Sep-June" date ranges, or is it acceptable to just put something like "9/1/14" as the start date and "6/1/18" as the end date?

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

Should an intercollegiate sport (equestrian team in this case) that is only during the academic year use the "repeat" option with four "Sep-June" date ranges, or is it acceptable to just put something like "9/1/14" as the start date and "6/1/18" as the end date?

You have several options:
1) Use the Repeated function and enter four date ranges,
2) Name the space something that suggests the team involvement is only during the academic year (and use one date span), or
3) Use some of the characters allowed to explain that your involvement was September through May for each of the four years (also using one date span).

 

[drawn_to_medicine]

I've got a bit of a dilemma; visual art has been a really big fixture in my life and something I'd like to talk about in my personal statement (still figuring out how I'll incorporate it), but at the same time, I'd like to include my art minor and art-related activities as a Most Meaningful activity. I know it's best not to be redundant between the personal statement and activities, but what should I do? Is there a way for me to talk about art in both without repeating myself too much?

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

I've got a bit of a dilemma; visual art has been a really big fixture in my life and something I'd like to talk about in my personal statement (still figuring out how I'll incorporate it), but at the same time, I'd like to include my art minor and art-related activities as a Most Meaningful activity. I know it's best not to be redundant between the personal statement and activities, but what should I do? Is there a way for me to talk about art in both without repeating myself too much?

Thanks!

The point, precisely, us not to be repetitive, so use different vocabulary and anecdotes.

Also, don't assume the same reader has access to both the PS and the activities section, so be sure both areas are sufficiently complete.

 

[drawn_to_medicine]

The point, precisely, us not to be repetitive, so use different vocabulary and anecdotes.

Also, don't assume the same reader has access to both the PS and the activities section, so be sure both areas are sufficiently complete.

I see, I didn't know they might not have access to both. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Catalystik]

I see, I didn't know they might not have access to both. Thanks a bunch!

Happy to help.

 

[deleted446889]

Hello @Catalystik

Could use some advice regarding one of my ECs. I was heavily involved with my local house of worship and amassed around 500 hours of volunteering in a variety of humanitarian and community activities including teaching and mentoring youth, helping run free food trucks in underserved areas, organizing shelters for all kinds of disadvantaged people, tons of interfaith work, and closely working with refugees. I did this throughout undergrad, and during my gap year I was given a paid position of "Community Outreach Coordinator" and accumulated 1500 hours over a year. I did many of the same things, just with greater responsibilities and involvement in the organization of these events.

I'd like to list this EC as one of my most meaningful for sure, but I'm not sure how to best categorize it. Should I list the unpaid 500 hours and paid 1500 hours separately, and if so which one would be better to list as my most meaningful? Any other advice about how to best present this would be appreciated.

Thank you so much!

 

[Catalystik]

Hello @Catalystik

Could use some advice regarding one of my ECs. I was heavily involved with my local house of worship and amassed around 500 hours of volunteering in a variety of humanitarian and community activities including teaching and mentoring youth, helping run free food trucks in underserved areas, organizing shelters for all kinds of disadvantaged people, tons of interfaith work, and closely working with refugees. I did this throughout undergrad, and during my gap year I was given a paid position of "Community Outreach Coordinator" and accumulated 1500 hours over a year. I did many of the same things, just with greater responsibilities and involvement in the organization of these events.

I'd like to list this EC as one of my most meaningful for sure, but I'm not sure how to best categorize it.
1) Should I list the unpaid 500 hours and paid 1500 hours separately, and
2) if so which one would be better to list as my most meaningful? Any other advice about how to best present this would be appreciated.

I think it's best to list them in two spaces, so that both your community service/volunteer and (recognized) leadership components can be properly highlighted. Pick the one for which you'd need the most space (which has an extra 1325 characters allowed above the usual 700) as your Most Meaningful. Maybe write out some drafts to see which it will be, if not predictable.

 

[deleted446889]

I think it's best to list them in two spaces, so that both your community service/volunteer and (recognized) leadership components can be properly highlighted. Pick the one for which you'd need the most space (which has an extra 1325 characters allowed above the usual 700) as your Most Meaningful. Maybe write out some drafts to see which it will be, if not predictable.

Will do, thank you.

I would appreciate your input on which of these activities would be most effective to designate as most meaningful. I am putting scribing and the community outreach as the other two. All of these activities have been important to me, so it's just a matter of what looks best.

A) 5th Grade Elementary Teacher. Low-income area. (half school year)

B) Give Kids the World Volunteer (250 hours)
https://www.gktw.org/index.php

C) Religious Leader. Youth priest leading weekly congregations, giving speeches, teaching classes, etc.

Thanks again

 

[Catalystik]

I would appreciate your input on which of these activities would be most effective to designate as most meaningful. I am putting scribing and the community outreach as the other two. All of these activities have been important to me, so it's just a matter of what looks best.

A) 5th Grade Elementary Teacher. Low-income area. (half school year)

B) Give Kids the World Volunteer (250 hours)
https://www.gktw.org/index.php

C) Religious Leader. Youth priest leading weekly congregations, giving speeches, teaching classes, etc.

Thanks again

Assuming all three were equally meaningful to you, I'd pick A) to provide variety.

 

[deleted446889]

Assuming all three were equally meaningful to you, I'd pick A) to provide variety.

I will go with that then. Thank you, really appreciate your advice.

 

[Catalystik]

Also, are "cookie cutter" ECs enough nowadays for medical school acceptances, given a high mcat and gpa? What does it take for top ranked meds?

From LizzyM per Goro (reposted by him from a 9/15/2017 thread):
If you have more than 300 hours of non-clinical volunteering by the time you apply you will be in the top 25% of applicants with regard to community service (based on what I see). The tip top of the pyramid are those who do a full-time volunteerism during a gap year or two (Peace Corps, City Year, etc).

Clinical... top 25% of the pool have employment in a clinical setting: EMT, scribe, patient care technician (aide). The hours don't matter... it is going to be hundreds of hours if you even work full-time for a few weeks.

The proportion of top applicants who have a publication or a thesis is relatively low -- maybe <20% if you include undergrad thesis. Publications? Less than 5% have anything in a reputable peer reviewed journal.

Most applicants have neither a thesis or a publication after 2 years of lab work during undergrad.

To stand out in the top tier, seriously, you need to be in the top 2% in terms of MCAT and have an excellent GPA. Beyond that, if you have the minimum in all areas and stand out in one or two areas (research, clinical, service, leadership, life experience) you'll be fine.

 

[deleted927529]

Hi Catalystik, I have a question about an activity I'm unsure of adding. From 8th grade to my sophomore year of college, I was an administrator and designer for an online fan game based on a popular franchise. It's how I became familiar with coding and it was a leadership role in its own way. I don't really consider this a professional activity, and I had actually forgotten about it until I started thinking about secondary essays asking about "greatest artistic experiences" and such. Is it appropriate to mention this under Hobbies, if at all?

 

[Catalystik]

Hi Catalystik, I have a question about an activity I'm unsure of adding. From 8th grade to my sophomore year of college, I was an administrator and designer for an online fan game based on a popular franchise. It's how I became familiar with coding and it was a leadership role in its own way. I don't really consider this a professional activity, and I had actually forgotten about it until I started thinking about secondary essays asking about "greatest artistic experiences" and such. Is it appropriate to mention this under Hobbies, if at all?

Definitely include it! An advantage of the Hobbies designation (for leisure-time activities), is that a Contact isn't required. Consider, though, whether the activity might fit better under Artistic Endeavors. Either can be multifactorial and both add to the individuality of your application so it stands out in adcomm minds. For both, you'd want to emphasize the design/coding/learning/leadership aspects rather than the "playing video games" part of the activity (if present).

 

[Sarasa Zebra]

What are people's opinions on designating ONE award as an activity/work experience? Usually, I see people grouping all awards in one "experience," but what would you do if an award is something like the Barry Goldwater Scholarship?

 

[Catalystik]

What are people's opinions on designating ONE award as an activity/work experience? Usually, I see people grouping all awards in one "experience," but what would you do if an award is something like the Barry Goldwater Scholarship?

If you have plenty to say about it, or if it's the only award of significance you care to mention, then using one space for a single award is fine.

 

[Sarasa Zebra]

If you have plenty to say about it, or if it's the only award of significance you care to mention, then using one space for a single award is fine.

Okay, I think I'll do that then. I was a bit antsy about separating one award from my other "less important" awards (wasn't sure how that'd come off), but given that I have a lot to say about the former, that sounds reasonable to do. Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

Okay, I think I'll do that then. I was a bit antsy about separating one award from my other "less important" awards (wasn't sure how that'd come off), but given that I have a lot to say about the former, that sounds reasonable to do.

You won't be the only one to use this strategy. Rest easy.

 

[The1Train]

I'm in kind of a pickle.
I'm applying to MD/PhDs and I'm in my first year post-college, doing research full-time. I did thousands of hours of research and non-clinical volunteering in college but only 70hrs of clinical volunteering. I have been looking for a new position after moving but it's been tough. Can I include 350 hours of volunteering in hospitals I did in high school? It was very formative and meaningful for me and I'm worried my application might read as if I don't have enough medical experience, but I know using high school experiences can be controversial.

 

[Catalystik]

I'm in kind of a pickle.
I'm applying to MD/PhDs and I'm in my first year post-college, doing research full-time. I did thousands of hours of research and non-clinical volunteering in college but only 70hrs of clinical volunteering. I have been looking for a new position after moving but it's been tough. Can I include 350 hours of volunteering in hospitals I did in high school? It was very formative and meaningful for me and I'm worried my application might read as if I don't have enough medical experience, but I know using high school experiences can be controversial.

What was the date span of the HS hospital volunteering? (Did you continue after HS graduation?)
When in college did you accrue the 70 hours of clinical experience?
Did any of your college involved working directly with patients?
Can you describe your shadowing experiences and hours?
Where are you seeking out new opportunities for clinical volunteering since moving?

 

[The1Train]

What was the date span of the HS hospital volunteering? (Did you continue after HS graduation?)
When in college did you accrue the 70 hours of clinical experience?
Did any of your college involved working directly with patients?
Can you describe your shadowing experiences and hours?
Where are you seeking out new opportunities for clinical volunteering since moving?

Thank you for your reply.

Unfortunately it was the summers before senior junior and freshman years of HS. I did not continue at either hospital after graduation. This work was directly with patients.

My college experience was my last semester of senior year. I found out at the start of senior year that I shouldn't include HS experiences. I enjoy volunteering, and value the time I get to spend helping and absorbing knowledge, but I had very limited time free during the day. This work was also directly with patients, it was all done in one Huntington's long term unit, 4 or 5hrs a week over about 5 months.

I started a shadowing experience in January with one doctor, but only at about 4-5hrs a month. I also shadow ICU rounds 2hrs/month, neurology consult rounds 4hrs/month and neurology grand rounds about 4hrs/month. I don't want to be overly ambitious about projecting these in case *fingers-crossed* interviewing gets in the way but I'm expecting to list a total of maybe 80-100hrs.
I also worked a lot during college (no clinical work unfortunately) so finding time for shadowing was difficult.

I have contacted several nearby hospitals about volunteering but they have responded that they are full/not accepting new volunteers until the summer. I am continuing to contact additional ones I find and I'm hopeful I'll find something.

I really don't mean to make excuses. In my mind I had other priorities in college (my research record is stellar) and I was already certain I want to become a doctor and I probably didn't seek out enough advice/guidance on premed requirements.

Thank you again for your help, it's very meaningful to me.

 

[Catalystik]

Unfortunately it was the summers before senior junior and freshman years of HS. I did not continue at either hospital after graduation. This work was directly with patients.

My college experience was my last semester of senior year. I found out at the start of senior year that I shouldn't include HS experiences. I enjoy volunteering, and value the time I get to spend helping and absorbing knowledge, but I had very limited time free during the day. This work was also directly with patients, it was all done in one Huntington's long term unit, 4 or 5hrs a week over about 5 months.

I started a shadowing experience in January with one doctor, but only at about 4-5hrs a month. I also shadow ICU rounds 2hrs/month, neurology consult rounds 4hrs/month and neurology grand rounds about 4hrs/month. I don't want to be overly ambitious about projecting these in case *fingers-crossed* interviewing gets in the way but I'm expecting to list a total of maybe 80-100hrs.
I also worked a lot during college (no clinical work unfortunately) so finding time for shadowing was difficult.

I have contacted several nearby hospitals about volunteering but they have responded that they are full/not accepting new volunteers until the summer. I am continuing to contact additional ones I find and I'm hopeful I'll find something.

I really don't mean to make excuses. In my mind I had other priorities in college (my research record is stellar) and I was already certain I want to become a doctor and I probably didn't seek out enough advice/guidance on premed requirements.

Thank you again for your help, it's very meaningful to me.

Ideally you would mention the HS hospital volunteering in your PS, but not list it in the Activities section. That doesn't mean you couldn't do it anyway, but it wouldn't be much regarded. I encourage you to ramp up your efforts to find another clinical venue for volunteering ASAP (consider also, hospice, skilled-level nursing home, Physical Therapy offices, private doctors offices, VA, Planned Parenthood-type clinics, inpatient Alzheimer's unit, etc.).

The shadowing sounds good, but if you plan to list future hours, those won't have much impact either. Try to get in 40-50 hours before you apply, with an emphasis on observation of office-based, physician-patient interaction observation, rather than meetings (which I would not regard as shadowing of the type that is looked for) or rounds where a patient isn't present for interview.

 

[The1Train]

Ideally you would mention the HS hospital volunteering in your PS, but not list it in the Activities section. That doesn't mean you couldn't do it anyway, but it wouldn't be much regarded. I encourage you to ramp up your efforts to find another clinical venue for volunteering ASAP (consider also, hospice, skilled-level nursing home, Physical Therapy offices, private doctors offices, VA, Planned Parenthood-type clinics, inpatient Alzheimer's unit, etc.).

The shadowing sounds good, but if you plan to list future hours, those won't have much impact either. Try to get in 40-50 hours before you apply, with an emphasis on observation of office-based, physician-patient interaction observation, rather than meetings (which I would not regard as shadowing of the type that is looked for) or rounds where a patient isn't present for interview.

Ideally you would mention the HS hospital volunteering in your PS, but not list it in the Activities section. That doesn't mean you couldn't do it anyway, but it wouldn't be much regarded. I encourage you to ramp up your efforts to find another clinical venue for volunteering ASAP (consider also, hospice, skilled-level nursing home, Physical Therapy offices, private doctors offices, VA, Planned Parenthood-type clinics, inpatient Alzheimer's unit, etc.).

The shadowing sounds good, but if you plan to list future hours, those won't have much impact either. Try to get in 40-50 hours before you apply, with an emphasis on observation of office-based, physician-patient interaction observation, rather than meetings (which I would not regard as shadowing of the type that is looked for) or rounds where a patient isn't present for interview.

Thank you Catalystik.

I am certainly going to double down on my efforts to find a new place to volunteer, and I will contact non-hospital settings as well. I will also try to find a second physician to shadow one-on-one.

Would it be received any differently if I grouped the HS clinical volunteering under the college clinical volunteering as one activity? Or could I talk about it in the most meaningful essay for the college experience? I will also mention some anecdotes in my PS that were most formative.

 

[Catalystik]

I am certainly going to double down on my efforts to find a new place to volunteer, and I will contact non-hospital settings as well. I will also try to find a second physician to shadow one-on-one.

1) Would it be received any differently if I grouped the HS clinical volunteering under the college clinical volunteering as one activity?
2) Or could I talk about it in the most meaningful essay for the college experience? I will also mention some anecdotes in my PS that were most formative.

1) Keep in mind that you are obliged to provide a Contact for each activity who will attest to your timeframe and hours of involvement, as entered on the application. You will need to provide two such Contacts. You will need to insert two different timeframes (you are allowed to enter four timeframes for each space, each with its own Total Hours), and institutions. It will remain apparent that one of the experiences occurred long before the college years. Entering it as "one activity" could backfire on you.

2) Including the HS activity in an Activities space could be done in a different way, though not as "one activity" so that there would be no negative perception, namely thus: Enter the college dates, location, institution, total hours for college years only, and Contact. Explain the experience description, role, insights, future directions, etc, then at the end of the narrative say, "I was inspired to engage in this experience after my HS hospital volunteering in [departments] at XXXX hospital where I [role] for 350 hours." Do not include these hours in your Total Hours blank for the space. If you make the activity Most Meaningful, you'd have plenty of space to include HS impact, insights, etc.

 

[The1Train]

1) Keep in mind that you are obliged to provide a Contact for each activity who will attest to your timeframe and hours of involvement, as entered on the application. You will need to provide two such Contacts. You will need to insert two different timeframes (you are allowed to enter four timeframes for each space, each with its own Total Hours), and institutions. It will remain apparent that one of the experiences occurred long before the college years. Entering it as "one activity" could backfire on you.

2) Including the HS activity in an Activities space could be done in a different way, though not as "one activity" so that there would be no negative perception, namely thus: Enter the college dates, location, institution, total hours for college years only, and Contact. Explain the experience description, role, insights, future directions, etc, then at the end of the narrative say, "I was inspired to engage in this experience after my HS hospital volunteering in [departments] at XXXX hospital where I [role] for 350 hours." Do not include these hours in your Total Hours blank for the space. If you make the activity Most Meaningful, you'd have plenty of space to include HS impact, insights, etc.

Thank you again Catalystik, your advice has been very clear and helpful. I'm going to use your #2 suggestion as well as mention it in my personal statement.

 

[deleted927529]

Catalystik, I'm probably thinking too hard about this question. I have plans to volunteer as a camp counselor in June, around the time I'd like to submit my applications (AMCAS and TMDSAS). Does it matter either way if I:

• submitted before the experience and marked it as a projected activity, or
• waited to complete the activity and then submitted a few weeks later?

Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

Catalystik, I'm probably thinking too hard about this question. I have plans to volunteer as a camp counselor in June, around the time I'd like to submit my applications (AMCAS and TMDSAS). Does it matter either way if I:

• submitted before the experience and marked it as a projected activity, or
• waited to complete the activity and then submitted a few weeks later?

1) What is the date you'd start the camp counselor position and when would you finish? 2) Have you done this before for this particular camp, or anything like it elsewhere? 3) Would you have internet access while in the camp? 4) Have you been accepted for the position and do you already know precisely what your role would be and the probable hours (without counting sleep or personal time away from the campers)?

 

[deleted927529]

1) What is the date you'd start the camp counselor position and when would you finish? 2) Have you done this before for this particular camp, or anything like it elsewhere? 3) Would you have internet access while in the camp? 4) Have you been accepted for the position and do you already know precisely what your role would be and the probable hours (without counting sleep or personal time away from the campers)?

1. June 16th to 21st
2. I haven't.
3. Probably not.
4. Yes and I do know precisely what my role would be + time commitment.

I think I see what you're getting at; I won't be able to convincingly write about the activity beyond a general description before I actually do it. What do you advise?

 

[Catalystik]

1. June 16th to 21st
2. I haven't.
3. Probably not.
4. Yes and I do know precisely what my role would be + time commitment.

I think I see what you're getting at; I won't be able to convincingly write about the activity beyond a general description before I actually do it. What do you advise?

While it wouldn't be unreasonable to wait until 6/21 to submit your primary AMCAS application (beyond adding 3+ weeks more for transcript verification), I don't feel a five-day experience is going to make or break your application. I suggest that you save it for Secondaries that give you the opportunity to discuss your application-year activities or for fall update letters, where allowed.

 

[deleted927529]

While it wouldn't be unreasonable to wait until 6/21 to submit your primary AMCAS application (beyond adding 3+ weeks more for transcript verification), I don't feel a five-day experience is going to make or break your application. I suggest that you save it for Secondaries that give you the opportunity to discuss your application-year activities or for fall update letters, where allowed.

Alright, thanks so much!

 

[Catalystik]

When you look at the total number of months or years at the job, and the description you provided, would it be impossible to have accumulated the total hours you claimed? If so, it should already have been interpreted as a typographical error. I doubt it will hurt you to clarify the situation, especially if the job is a non-critical component of your application, but it's better to make the correction now rather than get called in to explain months or years into your med school years.

 

[ZaZa24]

I worked in a lab for ~3 hours/week during the fall semester of my sophomore year of college (maybe 45 hours total). This experience helped me figure out that I DON'T want to have a career in "wet-lab" research but I don't feel like I got much out of it other than that realization.

I am now doing research surrounding chemistry education and find myself enjoying it a lot more because it is more human-centered and should have approximately 500 hours put into my own research project on this topic when I apply.

Should I list that semester of research as an activity? I do plan on writing about it in my personal statement as it helped steer me away from a pure research career and toward medicine, so would it be weird if it isn't listed as an activity?

 

[Catalystik]

I worked in a lab for ~3 hours/week during the fall semester of my sophomore year of college (maybe 45 hours total). This experience helped me figure out that I DON'T want to have a career in "wet-lab" research but I don't feel like I got much out of it other than that realization.

I am now doing research surrounding chemistry education and find myself enjoying it a lot more because it is more human-centered and should have approximately 500 hours put into my own research project on this topic when I apply.

Should I list that semester of research as an activity? I do plan on writing about it in my personal statement as it helped steer me away from a pure research career and toward medicine, so would it be weird if it isn't listed as an activity?

You are under no obligation to list every activity in which you engage, but even though it was a low-level tech or assistant gig, you might still choose to include it so adcomms know where you spent time. Your role description would make clear that you weren't involved in a higher level of research responsibility when you first started out.

I suggest you take care in describing the negatives of research and rather discuss what it is that draws you to clinical medicine. Many of your med school-affiliated interviewers are likely to have ties to research projects.

 

[studentdoctornetworque]

Prewriting my activities and deciding on how to list an experience:

I started teaching myself Spanish in 8th grade and kept with it through study abroad in college in Spain. I graduated 5/2018 and am taking 2 gap years. Since November I've been doing Spanish-English interpretation for occupational and speech therapy sessions for families of kids with a learning disability/autism as well as medical interpretation for outpatient surgery.

While I'm technically paid $25/hour for the non-medical interpretation, that is only for the hour of the appointment. Outside of the appointment I have a group message with the therapist and the mother (usually) in which I translate each of their messages for scheduling appointments and other problems that pop up. Overall I end up spending about 10 min./person/appointment translating voluntarily. Plus I drive between appointments with very little compensation for miles traveled.

I am paid for the interpretation, but because the amount of hours it provides (10-12/week) due to the nature of the job (1 hours appointments with 15-30 min. of driving in between), I end up being paid for 10-12 hours and spending time driving/text message interpreting for 10ish hours as well. Being that I have undergrad student loans to pay, choosing this job over, say, a basic science research tech job, is a considerable sacrifice. I have about 110 hours of volunteering experience outside of this, all clinical.

On top of the decision of how to list the volunteer interpretation work, I also interpret in clinical and non-clinical settings. Altogether I would categorize my interpretation as a paid employment non-clinical, non-clinical community service, and paid employment clinical. I could condense other parts of my application, but I feel like taking up 3 activity slots for this one this is a little superfluous.

Any comment would be appreciated, and thanks to whoever took the time to read this.

 

[Catalystik]

Prewriting my activities and deciding on how to list an experience:

I started teaching myself Spanish in 8th grade and kept with it through study abroad in college in Spain. I graduated 5/2018 and am taking 2 gap years. Since November I've been doing Spanish-English interpretation for occupational and speech therapy sessions for families of kids with a learning disability/autism as well as medical interpretation for outpatient surgery.

While I'm technically paid $25/hour for the non-medical interpretation, that is only for the hour of the appointment. Outside of the appointment I have a group message with the therapist and the mother (usually) in which I translate each of their messages for scheduling appointments and other problems that pop up. Overall I end up spending about 10 min./person/appointment translating voluntarily. Plus I drive between appointments with very little compensation for miles traveled.

I am paid for the interpretation, but because the amount of hours it provides (10-12/week) due to the nature of the job (1 hours appointments with 15-30 min. of driving in between), I end up being paid for 10-12 hours and spending time driving/text message interpreting for 10ish hours as well. Being that I have undergrad student loans to pay, choosing this job over, say, a basic science research tech job, is a considerable sacrifice. I have about 110 hours of volunteering experience outside of this, all clinical.

On top of the decision of how to list the volunteer interpretation work, I also interpret in clinical and non-clinical settings. Altogether I would categorize my interpretation as a paid employment non-clinical, non-clinical community service, and paid employment clinical. I could condense other parts of my application, but I feel like taking up 3 activity slots for this one this is a little superfluous.

Spanish translation activities are an excellent inclusion for a med school application.

Sorry, but driving time should not be included in any hourly counts for volunteer experiences, or for paid experiences if they aren't included on your time sheet.

If you remove travel hours, can you extrapolate how many verifiable hours for each of the three categories that you'll have by the time you apply, keeping in mind that you must provide a Contact (with email or phone #) who will agree with your accounting of hours of involvement to give maximum validity to these activities. Also mention the number of nonverifiable hours, eg, translating messages. Do you intend to continue this activity during the 2019-2020 application season?

Am I correct in assuming you have no other nonmedical community service/volunteering?