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

[givemethenews]

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Wanted an opinion on this,
It has been three years since I have been diagnosed with chronic migraines. I think it has given me some perspective from a patient standpoint. I have had a year and a half of cycling meds to find the right one, a constant fight to adapt my environment for prevention, and days crippled with constant pulsation going through my head. Now they're mostly controlled and I have non-medicinal ways of fighting through them if imitrex doesn't work (came in handy on the MCAT).

I want to list this under "other". It does not fit within my personal statement in my opinion but definitely was significant in my path. What should I do?

 

[Catalystik]

For hobbies, what kind of activities can we add that would be appropriate for a slot? I mentioned how I have my own blog. Would mentioning that you work out, watch movies and write poetry add anything to that section, or not really? Also, if I mention my blog like I do in Post # 468 on this thread, would I then right below that description (in the "same slot of hobbies" obviously) write the following:

Also: Exercising, watching movies, and writing poetry-250 hours.

Does that seem/sound weird, and would I have to go into detail about writing or working out, or simply list them as above?

You can just write a list of three hobbies, or you can make it more interesting by adding a bit of detail, type of exercise, favorite genre of movie, more about the poetry, etc. This will help adcomms find a point of connection with you to start a conversation.

 

[Catalystik]

It has been three years since I have been diagnosed with [redacted] Now they're mostly controlled and I have non-medicinal ways of fighting through them.

I want to list this under "other". It does not fit within my personal statement in my opinion but definitely was significant in my path. What should I do?

This might be good to save for Secondaries to answer common questions similar to: Tell about a challenge you overcame. Discuss a major stress in your life and how you overcame it. Was there a time in your life when you failed? What did you do about it? Most important in answering any of them is the reassurance that they are now under control.

Or you could mention it under Other if you've saved something else for that type of question.

 

[Catalystik]

I just submitted and noticed a very boneheaded mistake: in the field for contact title, I wrote Mr./Mrs./Dr. instead of their job title. Presumably for the doctors I shadowed/volunteered for, this is OK, but it undoubtedly a little confusing with respect to the other ones. I don't know why I didn't realize title didn't mean salutation beforehand... how bad of a mistake is this?

If this is what you redacted, I hope you don't mind if I replicate your post here as a cautionary note for other members. I will remove the quote, if you prefer not.

The title appears after the person's first and last name on the PDF printout, so entering, eg, Mrs would result in the application reading Jane Doe, Mrs. This is not a big deal, but I don't blame a perfectionist for fretting over it. AMCAS should really put the title space last rather than before the first and last name when you are filling out the application, as "title" and "salutation" can be considered synonymous in some contexts.

 

[PopeKnope23]

1) Yes you an list it now. Understand that future hour predictions don't carry any weight, so you'd be listing it mainly so adcomms will know your intent. It will be important for you to give updates on Secondaries, where possible, and in future update letters (where permitted) as you continue in the lab and get a better overall picture of your role.

2) Enter it under Research.
-For dates and total hours use the Repeated feature. Assuming you'll submit this month, timespan 1 will be June 2018 to June 2018. Be honest and enter 8 or 10, or whatever number of hours you'll have been in the lab before you submit. Timespan 2 will be June 2018 to May 2019. Enter a conservative number of hours that you predict. Both spans and total hours will appear in the header of the activity. Keep in mind that things happen frequently to change the plan: illness, injury, toxic work environment, not making it through the probationary period due to performance issues, PI decides to leave, etc.

-Hopefully you have the Contact information for someone who can attest to your timeframe and hours worked.

-There's no reason to mention the thesis. Adcomms won't care about it anyway.

Thank you so much for your help—these tips are fantastic. In my description for Research, should I describe what the project is about in terms of the science? Or should I mainly focus on my role and what I’m hoping to learn from it? Or both? Not sure if adcoms care enough for me to go into the details of the actual science.

 

[Misunderstood Warlock]

Hi, I have some questions here. Sorry if any of these have been asked or answered before. I didn't have much look from filtering through this thread for answers.

Is it in poor taste to name certain physicians that I networked with to have them come speak on our campus for events in my activity descriptions?

If I'm doing research for a professor "unofficially" (aka not hired or part of a program, just as part of a rag-tag team of some students and the professor), what's a good activity and organization name for this?

I've been playing piano for a very long time as a hobby, and I'm not sure how many hours to put for it because it's been over a decade. I'm also not sure what contact or organization name to put (should it be myself? my parents? my old piano teacher?). I'm lumping it in with the fact that I dance as part of exercise under "Music" (as the activity name).

I volunteered for a hospital for a couple of internships through my university, and I never had a consistent supervisor or anyone that I kept contact with who was actually present for my volunteering. The internships are logged on my transcript and I think my hours are probably on record with the third-party organization that my school coordinated the internships with (called Volunteer Services). Would it be okay to put that organization as the contact for that? Or should it be a specific person?

 

[Catalystik]

In my description for Research, should I describe what the project is about in terms of the science? Or should I mainly focus on my role and what I’m hoping to learn from it? Or both? Not sure if adcoms care enough for me to go into the details of the actual science.

Sometimes interviewees are matched with an Adcomm who shares their research field. Describe your project with one sentence in lay terms. After that you can get technical if you have space, but you for sure want to mention your role, maybe techniques you learned, a poster you presented at your school, . . .

 

[Catalystik]

1) Is it in poor taste to name certain physicians that I networked with to have them come speak on our campus for events in my activity descriptions?

2) If I'm doing research for a professor "unofficially" (aka not hired or part of a program, just as part of a rag-tag team of some students and the professor), what's a good activity and organization name for this?

3) I've been playing piano for a very long time as a hobby, and I'm not sure how many hours to put for it because it's been over a decade. I'm also not sure what contact or organization name to put (should it be myself? my parents? my old piano teacher?). I'm lumping it in with the fact that I dance as part of exercise under "Music" (as the activity name).

4) I volunteered for a hospital for a couple of internships through my university, and I never had a consistent supervisor or anyone that I kept contact with who was actually present for my volunteering. The internships are logged on my transcript and I think my hours are probably on record with the third-party organization that my school coordinated the internships with (called Volunteer Services). Would it be okay to put that organization as the contact for that? Or should it be a specific person?

1) I think it's a waste of characters to name them rather than just saying they are physicians and their general topic (if you even have room for that).

2) Volunteer research is still research. Why not list it under Research, and say Patel lab for the Organization (if you don't want to identify the institutional affiliation)? Hopefully the professor is willing to vouch for your timeframe and hours of involvement. Name the space: Volunteer Investigator of Xxx, or Xxx Project Participant, or somesuch.

3) You don't need a Contact for a Hobbies space. I'd suggest for Total Hours you enter a 999 or 9999 to suggest that the hours are so high they don't really matter. No one will care about precision in this situation.

4) Yes, use Volunteer Services for the Organization (but mention the site in the description). You don't need a specific person, but you are required to fill in the blanks. For name enter Title: Coordination Team First Name: Office Last Name: Staff. On the printout of your application it will look like: Office Staff, Coordination Team. (The comma is automatic)

 

[masnerj]

@Catalystik

I played a sport for four years but also captained for part of that time. As of right now, I have two separate slots designated for this scenario:

1) Sport - 4 years of activity
2) Leadership - Period of time that I was a captain

I am having some trouble deciding how I should split up the hours for them. As of right now, I am thinking of just having non-leadership number of years* sport hours/yr for 1) and then for 2) just having the leadership number of years * sport hours/yr. To be honest, majority of the time that went into the sport during my captain years required some form of leadership, whether strictly formal or not (whether it be at practice or at workouts or at a competitive event). You think this is OK or should I divy it up differently?

Each slot will have well over 750 hours under my plan.

 

[Catalystik]

@CatalystikI played a sport for four years but also captained for part of that time. As of right now, I have two separate slots designated for this scenario:

1) Sport - 4 years of activity
2) Leadership - Period of time that I was a captain

I am having some trouble deciding how I should split up the hours for them. As of right now, I am thinking of just having non-leadership number of years* sport hours/yr for 1) and then for 2) just having the leadership number of years * sport hours/yr. To be honest, majority of the time that went into the sport during my captain years required some form of leadership, whether strictly formal or not (whether it be at practice or at workouts or at a competitive event). You think this is OK or should I divy it up differently?

Each slot will have well over 750 hours under my plan.

Help me understand better:
How many years were you captain? (and was it academic year only, calendar year, or only for, say, 6 months a year)
You aren't counting any of the hours twice, right?
The end date for sport-activity-only is the same as the start date for leadership?

I think it's fine to work from the premise that the majority of the time that went into the sport during your captain years required some form of leadership.

 

[masnerj]

Help me understand better:
How many years were you captain? (and was it academic year only, calendar year, or only for, say, 6 months a year)
You aren't counting any of the hours twice, right?
The end date for sport-activity-only is the same as the start date for leadership?

I think it's fine to work from the premise that the majority of the time that went into the sport during your captain years required some form of leadership.

I was captain for three semesters (an academic year plus an extra semester). I am making sure NOT to count the hours twice but rather just splitting up the true number of hours dedicated towards the sport into two categories: the one for Intercollegiate Athletics and the one for Leadership. Unfortunately the end date for the sport-activity-only is NOT the same as the start date for the leadership (The leadership portion was in between the entire period of activity).

I was thinking of listing 4 years of the sport under the Intercollegiate Athletics slot but only including the respective hours NOT dedicated towards being a captain for the 1.5 years. And then listing a 1.5 year activity under leadership for the captaincy and including the normal activity hours for that time frame.

 

[Catalystik]

I was captain for three semesters (an academic year plus an extra semester). I am making sure NOT to count the hours twice but rather just splitting up the true number of hours dedicated towards the sport into two categories: the one for Intercollegiate Athletics and the one for Leadership. Unfortunately the end date for the sport-activity-only is NOT the same as the start date for the leadership (The leadership portion was in between the entire period of activity).

I was thinking of listing 4 years of the sport under the Intercollegiate Athletics slot but only including the respective hours NOT dedicated towards being a captain for the 1.5 years. And then listing a 1.5 year activity under leadership for the captaincy and including the normal activity hours for that time frame.

Got it. Carry on then with your now somewhat more complex mathmatical formula for splitting the hours. I suggest an addendum added to the bottom of the Intercollegiate Sport space stating that the hours for the last 1.5 years are included elsewhere, so they'll know you didn't double count them.

 

[cardiBnegative]

I'm hoping someone can answer at least one of my questions!

1. I was thinking of having a "catch-all" for various volunteering opportunities (any org I did less than 50 hours for), and then something similar for hobbies (I think running a marathon dressed as spongebob to raise money for JDRF may be somewhat memorable enough to include?), would this be reasonable, and who would I put as the contact if this was even possible?
2. The PI I did research with in freshman+sophomore year passed away at the beginning of my junior year. I would like to list this as one of my ECs but obviously her email/phone # would not gain AdComs a response, or at least not from her. Should I note that she is deceased somewhere and is there a best practice for this? I didn't publish from this, or even write a thesis but my relationship with her lab and her (she was more or less the only prof I actually had a relationship and her passing crushed me) was certainly meaningful.
3. Is listing my volunteer roles that I held leadership in under community service a mistake (should I list them under leadership)?

Thank you in advance, sending you all good vibes this cycle!

 

[Catalystik]

1. I was thinking of having a "catch-all" for various volunteering opportunities (any org I did less than 50 hours for), and then something similar for hobbies (I think running a marathon dressed as spongebob to raise money for JDRF may be somewhat memorable enough to include?), would this be reasonable, and who would I put as the contact if this was even possible?
2. The PI I did research with in freshman+sophomore year passed away at the beginning of my junior year. I would like to list this as one of my ECs but obviously her email/phone # would not gain AdComs a response, or at least not from her. Should I note that she is deceased somewhere and is there a best practice for this? I didn't publish from this, or even write a thesis but my relationship with her lab and her (she was more or less the only prof I actually had a relationship and her passing crushed me) was certainly meaningful.
3. Is listing my volunteer roles that I held leadership in under community service a mistake (should I list them under leadership)?

1) Yes. It's reasonable to group short-term volunteering and also a Hobbies entry. Hobbies don't need a Contact. For the volunteering, you'd probably put the Contact for the most recent or the one with the most hours in the header, and the others in the narrative space with a subtotal of hours and the name of the organization for each additional place. Definitely mention the SpongeBob thing. As a last resort, you list yourself as Contact.

2) Did you work with a grad student or post doc who can attest to your involvement?

3) Do you have one strong leadership role already listed? Then leave the rest under Volunteer/Community Service. If you list your volunteering under Leadership, then you'd only be listing the dates and hours for leadership. The volunteering could be mentioned in the narrative space as a backstory, but obviously it doesn't have the same impact if you do it that way. Or you could split out the leadership and give the volunteering its own space, dividing the hours up appropriately, each with its own dates. Or you could stick with a Volunteer space, mention the leadership in the name you give the activity to call attention to it and describe in the narrative, and include all the hours and dates with that organization in one space.

 

[cardiBnegative]

1) Yes. It's reasonable to group short-term volunteering and also a Hobbies entry. Hobbies don't need a Contact. For the volunteering, you'd probably put the Contact for the most recent or the one with the most hours in the header, and the others in the narrative space with a subtotal of hours and the name of the organization for each additional place. Definitely mention the SpongeBob thing. As a last resort, you list yourself as Contact.

2) Did you work with a grad student or post doc who can attest to your involvement?

3) Do you have one strong leadership role already listed? Then leave the rest under Volunteer/Community Service. If you list your volunteering under Leadership, then you'd only be listing the dates and hours for leadership. The volunteering could be mentioned in the narrative space as a backstory, but obviously it doesn't have the same impact if you do it that way. Or you could split out the leadership and give the volunteering its own space, dividing the hours up appropriately, each with its own dates. Or you could stick with a Volunteer space, mention the leadership in the name you give the activity to call attention to it and describe in the narrative, and include all the hours and dates with that organization in one space.

1. Thank you (kind of wasn't sure if the SpongeBob thing would make me look ridiculous)!
2. The post doc was amazing but no longer is affiliated with the university, but I should be able to find her with some linked in searching!
3. So far all my leadership roles are listed under volunteering because I guess I associate it more with volunteering than leadership, but I will pull at least 3 and designate them as leadership. Thank you so much for the advice, I really appreciate it!

 

[masnerj]

Here's another question:

I recently started a clinical research position (is my gap year full-time activity) and am trying to figure out if it would be a bad thing to list it as Employment - Clinical/Medical.

I have a decent clinical exposure (Hospital volunteering over several years + good shadowing) and my application already has a nice research component to it. I am considering putting the experience down as clinical employment and only listing half or slightly less than half of what full-time hours would be expected for the year to account for actual % of time working with patients.

The job involves a few studies that I am going to be working on, one a drug trial to test for efficacy in an already diagnosed patient population and the others have both control and diagnosed patient arms where I am utilizing different tests. I feel that because I will be working with patients regularly in a variety of roles, I should be able to atleast list hours for that portion under clinical employment. Wouldn't really benefit me to list the other half under research because I already have significant productive research.

Thoughts? Would rather not piss off half the schools I am applying to and have my entire application seen in a negative light as a result of this classification. I know clinical research has been a grey-area on SDN in terms of classification as clinical experience.

 

[Catalystik]

1. Thank you (kind of wasn't sure if the SpongeBob thing would make me look ridiculous)!
2. The post doc was amazing but no longer is affiliated with the university, but I should be able to find her with some linked in searching!
3. So far all my leadership roles are listed under volunteering because I guess I associate it more with volunteering than leadership, but I will pull at least 3 and designate them as leadership. Thank you so much for the advice, I really appreciate it!

3) I would just pull out one and leave the other two alone. Pick the one that was the most peer leadership-related.

 

[Catalystik]

Here's another question:

I recently started a clinical research position (is my gap year full-time activity) and am trying to figure out if it would be a bad thing to list it as Employment - Clinical/Medical.

I have a decent clinical exposure (Hospital volunteering over several years + good shadowing) and my application already has a nice research component to it. I am considering putting the experience down as clinical employment and only listing half or slightly less than half of what full-time hours would be expected for the year to account for actual % of time working with patients.

The job involves a few studies that I am going to be working on, one a drug trial to test for efficacy in an already diagnosed patient population and the others have both control and diagnosed patient arms where I am utilizing different tests. I feel that because I will be working with patients regularly in a variety of roles, I should be able to atleast list hours for that portion under clinical employment. Wouldn't really benefit me to list the other half under research because I already have significant productive research.

Thoughts? Would rather not piss off half the schools I am applying to and have my entire application seen in a negative light as a result of this classification. I know clinical research has been a grey-area on SDN in terms of classification as clinical experience.

Is there any benefit to the patients from what you'll do, and will the results of any tests done go into their regular medical record? Can you give more detail about your role with the patients (I'm not asking about all your roles for the studies)?

Is your preference to call it a clinical job rather than Research related to a strategy for the type of school you want your application to appeal to?

 

[masnerj]

Is there any benefit to the patients from what you'll do, and will the results of any tests done go into their regular medical record? Can you give more detail about your role with the patients (I'm not asking about all your roles for the studies)?

Is your preference to call it a clinical job rather than Research related to a strategy for the type of school you want your application to appeal to?

Don't want to give too many specifics in an effort to remain anonymous but I will say the patients DO benefit from what I'll be doing (especially the drug trial) and it will be something that will probably go on their medical record that they were on said drug for X amount of time. My role is going to be interacting with patients, screening them using interviews for the study, collecting biological samples for the study, to name a few.

My preference to consider it a clinical job arises from a personal belief that it could be 50% either way and that I would rather choose the route that is more advantageous to my application in terms of making it seem more complete (rather than it filling a hole).

Bottom line, will be interacting with patients A LOT, some of the work will benefit them and be regular in nature, and these patients are very sick.

 

[Neuro244]

I'm combining two similar activities into the same slot and was wondering if they sound different enough so that you can see at least somewhat of a difference between the two. I was wondering if the description for each one sounds good without any fluff and if it flows well. I'd appreciate some feedback on it:


Experience Name-Hospital Greeter and Transporter, Total Hours-118, Classification-Community Service-Medical/Clinical

As a Care Ambassador, I greeted, talked with, and helped patients and their family as they arrived at the hospital by bringing them wheelchairs and escorting them to the ER, pharmacy, or any of their appointments. Talking to patients allowed me to ease any worries they had about being in a hospital and to interact with them in a more casual manner.
79 hours in October 2012-March 2013

Also:

Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center, 39 hours in May 2013-June 2013
Contact: John Smith (to preserve privacy), Radiology Department Coordinator, (818) 555-5555
As a Greeter, I learned where all the departments in the hospital were located and helped patients find their way around the hospital. I escorted patients to the pediatric, orthopedic, and pharmacy departments, as well any department where they were visiting family members.

 

[Neuro244]

If you mention in one of your activities that you shadowed a CRNA for about 4-5 hours, would that be unique at all to adcoms when looking over your list of activities? What's the concensus on mentioning other health care professionals that you may have shadowed outside an MD or DO (i.e. Physical therapist, CRNA, RN, pharmacist, Neuropsychologist, psychologist)?

 

[Catalystik]

Don't want to give too many specifics in an effort to remain anonymous but I will say the patients DO benefit from what I'll be doing (especially the drug trial) and it will be something that will probably go on their medical record that they were on said drug for X amount of time. My role is going to be interacting with patients, screening them using interviews for the study, collecting biological samples for the study, to name a few.

My preference to consider it a clinical job arises from a personal belief that it could be 50% either way and that I would rather choose the route that is more advantageous to my application in terms of making it seem more complete (rather than it filling a hole).

Bottom line, will be interacting with patients A LOT, some of the work will benefit them and be regular in nature, and these patients are very sick.

I think your strategy of including the patient-support components only and excluding the pure research aspects should keep you from annoying schools with your classification choice. I also don't think it would hurt to add an addendum like, the "job is full-time, but non-patient-related duties are not included in the hours above," without ever mentioning the "research" word.

 

[Catalystik]

1) If you mention in one of your activities that you shadowed a CRNA for about 4-5 hours, would that be unique at all to adcoms when looking over your list of activities?
2) What's the concensus on mentioning other health care professionals that you may have shadowed outside an MD or DO (i.e. Physical therapist, CRNA, RN, pharmacist, Neuropsychologist, psychologist)?

1) No.

2) It shows you considered other health-related careers. It leaves you open to "compare and contrast" type questions at interviews.

 

[2019App]

Sports question - I am actively involved in a sport through paid coaching (ran a week-long summer camp), a little volunteer coaching, and playing in several on and off-campus leagues. The camp has been my only "Paid Employment" in college.

Should I include the paid coaching as it's own activity and include everything else under "Hobby", or lump it all together under "Hobby"? The camp was ~40 hours but it will be a few years old by the time I apply. I may have a paid clinical job to list before applying, in which case I would probably lump my sports activities together.

 

[masnerj]

Do you think that using all 15 slots (assume one is for hobbies) is a bad thing? I have some friends that are using less than 10 and I am starting to get worried that medical schools might think I am not committed enough or have prioritized "breadth over depth." Majority of my activities are longer than a year but I just happen to have been involved in a lot of things during my time at college... Most aren't medically related but I definitely want to mention them (apart from maybe one or two mentions of clubs that I have been in but haven't done much).

 

[Catalystik]

Sports question - I am actively involved in a sport through paid coaching (ran a week-long summer camp), a little volunteer coaching, and playing in several on and off-campus leagues. The camp has been my only "Paid Employment" in college.

Should I include the paid coaching as it's own activity and include everything else under "Hobby", or lump it all together under "Hobby"? The camp was ~40 hours but it will be a few years old by the time I apply. I may have a paid clinical job to list before applying, in which case I would probably lump my sports activities together.

Isn't there some backstory of sport involvement that qualified you to be a coach, like even before the off-campus leagues? You could consider listing everything under a) Extracurricular, however the b) Hobbies category has the beauty of not requiring a Contact. You could also split the sport involvement into c) a Teaching space (all the coaching, and you can mention when you were paid) if you have nothing else in that category + a EC or Hobbies space for the League involvement. Listing only 40 hours of employment on its own doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Catalystik]

Do you think that using all 15 slots (assume one is for hobbies) is a bad thing? I have some friends that are using less than 10 and I am starting to get worried that medical schools might think I am not committed enough or have prioritized "breadth over depth." Majority of my activities are longer than a year but I just happen to have been involved in a lot of things during my time at college... Most aren't medically related but I definitely want to mention them (apart from maybe one or two mentions of clubs that I have been in but haven't done much).

If you aren't fluffing up your activities and still have 15 spaces, you're fine.

What were the clubs? Any leadership or volunteering related to them? Or are they your potential "fluff" candidates?

 

[masnerj]

If you aren't fluffing up your activities and still have 15 spaces, you're fine.

What were the clubs? Any leadership or volunteering related to them? Or are they your potential "fluff" candidates?

No leadership or volunteering related to them. They are current events/policy related clubs where members discuss political issues and various fields at weekly meetings and also do policy blogs.

But at the same time I guess if an applicant just has activities under: employment, volunteering, medical, research then it might seem as though the applicant doesn't have any side interests and is simply checking off boxes for an application. Its a balance I guess.

I definitely would say all of my activities (even the short ones) have either a volunteering or leadership component or I have been involved in it long enough for it to be interesting and significant.

 

[Catalystik]

No leadership or volunteering related to them. They are current events/policy related clubs where members discuss political issues and various fields at weekly meetings and also do policy blogs.

But at the same time I guess if an applicant just has activities under: employment, volunteering, medical, research then it might seem as though the applicant doesn't have any side interests and is simply checking off boxes for an application. Its a balance I guess.

I definitely would say all of my activities (even the short ones) have either a volunteering or leadership component or I have been involved in it long enough for it to be interesting and significant.

I'm glad to see they were clubs that required active engagement.

 

[2019App]

Isn't there some backstory of sport involvement that qualified you to be a coach, like even before the off-campus leagues? You could consider listing everything under a) Extracurricular, however the b) Hobbies category has the beauty of not requiring a Contact. You could also split the sport involvement into c) a Teaching space (all the coaching, and you can mention when you were paid) if you have nothing else in that category + a EC or Hobbies space for the League involvement. Listing only 40 hours of employment on its own doesn't appeal to me.

Yes, I have been involved in the sport for many years and was a paid coach for 5+ months in High School (150-200 hours), but it is my understanding that I should only include activities since graduating HS? I do have a college teaching activity (150 hours).

Other than requiring a contact, is there a difference between using the EC category vs. the Hobby category? I am thinking now I should group it all under one, and perhaps save some of the details for secondaries or interviews. This is something I'll be able to talk passionately about and had some interesting experiences in HS (playing, volunteering, coaching) that will show long-term/ongoing involvement in the sport on multiple levels.

 

[Catalystik]

Yes, I have been involved in the sport for many years and was a paid coach for 5+ months in High School (150-200 hours), but
1) it is my understanding that I should only include activities since graduating HS?

I do have a college teaching activity (150 hours).

2) Other than requiring a contact, is there a difference between using the EC category vs. the Hobby category?

I am thinking now I should group it all under one, and perhaps save some of the details for secondaries or interviews. This is something I'll be able to talk passionately about and had some interesting experiences in HS (playing, volunteering, coaching) that will show long-term/ongoing involvement in the sport on multiple levels.

1) It is the SDN prevailing adcomm opinion that it's OK to include a HS activity if it continued into the college years.

2) Hobby is a leisuretime activity, ie, not work or classroom-related.
Extracurricular Activities "are those that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education, performed by students." per Wikipedia. Note: there are some definitions that exclude paid activities. If you want to be picky, you can use the "Other" tag" instead, which embraces anything.

 

[de_mon_vivant]

I helped my parents with their restaurant as a server over the span of 1.5 years, usually during the summer breaks. It was a humbling experience, and I gained good communication skills. Do you think it would be a good idea to put this as "other" and my parents as contact (I was not paid, just to clarify)? I currently have 12 entries, and I should be good without adding another one... I sincerely appreciate your help you have provided thus far! @Catalystik

 

[Dr. Snow]

Is it weird to say that some of my experiences and things I learned will benefit my future patients? I feel like it makes me sound that I know I will be accepted and become a physician.

 

[theKingLT]

1) It is the SDN prevailing adcomm opinion that it's OK to include a HS activity if it continued into the college years.

Is there a limit to this as far as number of hours. I've been in a sport since I was very young and continued through college. I was just going to list my college hours (almost 8,000) because I figured the fact that I'm at a D1 level would imply that I had many previous hours as well. Instead should I use the repeated feature to add the ~15,000 hours from childhood/high school? It just seems rather excessive

 

[Catalystik]

I helped my parents with their restaurant as a server over the span of 1.5 years, usually during the summer breaks. It was a humbling experience, and I gained good communication skills. Do you think it would be a good idea to put this as "other" and my parents as contact (I was not paid, just to clarify)? I currently have 12 entries, and I should be good without adding another one.@Catalystik

This was employment regardless of the fact that you didn't get a paycheck. In a family business, compensation comes about in different ways. Absolutely list it. Having a parent as the contact with a title of Business Owner is fine.

 

[Catalystik]

Is it weird to say that some of my experiences and things I learned will benefit my future patients? I feel like it makes me sound that I know I will be accepted and become a physician.

Yeah, don't do that.

 

[Catalystik]

Is there a limit to this as far as number of hours. I've been in a sport since I was very young and continued through college. I was just going to list my college hours (almost 8,000) because I figured the fact that I'm at a D1 level would imply that I had many previous hours as well. Instead should I use the repeated feature to add the ~15,000 hours from childhood/high school? It just seems rather excessive

The maximum you can enter into the space is 99999. Your college estimate alone is fine, as Adcomms are more interested in what you've been doing lately. You can include a Repeated timeframe for HS if you like, or another one for the childhood years. Alternatively, just refer to the earlier involvement in the narrative as part of the backstory without mentioning specific numbers.

 

[sam_jones1]

If I have been volunteering at a hospital every summer since I was a freshman in high school. So, I volunteered 3 summers in high school, and 3 summers in college (I skipped the summer b/w high school and college). I also plan on volunteering over my gap year if my work schedule allows. What would be the best way to list this in my application? I was just going to input every summer but the "repeated" function only allows me to input 4 periods of time. Should I list the entire experience June 2011-June 2017 with total hours and explain in the written part? Sorry if this is confusing, I am just trying to figure out the best way to do this.

 

[de_mon_vivant]

This was employment regardless of the fact that you didn't get a paycheck. In a family business, compensation comes about in different ways. Absolutely list it. Having a parent as the contact with a title of Business Owner is fine.

Thank you so much for your reply! I sincerely appreciate the advice you have given the last few days -- I had been at a loss in regards to how I should deal with all these activities. Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

If I have been volunteering at a hospital every summer since I was a freshman in high school. So, I volunteered 3 summers in high school, and 3 summers in college (I skipped the summer b/w high school and college). I also plan on volunteering over my gap year if my work schedule allows. What would be the best way to list this in my application? I was just going to input every summer but the "repeated" function only allows me to input 4 periods of time. Should I list the entire experience June 2011-June 2017 with total hours and explain in the written part? Sorry if this is confusing, I am just trying to figure out the best way to do this.

I'd suggest using the Repeated feature for two timeframes: the HS years and the college years. The end date1 and begining date2 can skirt around the year you missed. Be sure the word "Summer" is included in whatever name you give the space so it's clear the experience was not year-round. Since the gap year plan is not sure, you might omit mentioning any involvement then, since you probably have plenty of hours already.

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you so much for your reply! I sincerely appreciate the advice you have given the last few days -- I had been at a loss in regards to how I should deal with all these activities. Thank you!

You're very welcome.

 

[PopeKnope23]

Clarification question--for "Experience Name," do we list what OUR title was (aka "Business Office Assistant," "Tutor") or do we put it more generally? (Like "Employment at XYZ" rather than my job title at XYZ?) Not sure if this even matters, but I don't know what appears first on our application and how specific I should get with the Experience Name.

 

[Catalystik]

Clarification question--for "Experience Name," do we list what OUR title was (aka "Business Office Assistant," "Tutor") or do we put it more generally? (Like "Employment at XYZ" rather than my job title at XYZ?) Not sure if this even matters, but I don't know what appears first on our application and how specific I should get with the Experience Name.

The Experience Name is the first thing one sees after the Category (Shadowing, Hobbies, etc).

You can use your literal title. Or if it's not so descriptive, you can craft a better one of your own. And you can add even more information. You get about 65 characters, so you might want to expand and include detail that will be intriguing (what area of research, what department at the hospital, best race locale as a runner, impressive award name, etc).

You might like to read item #18, post 2 of this thread for other Naming comments.

 

[cs1994]

I'm a non-trad re-applicant who has been working for 2 years in clinical trials. Talking about my current work was the bulk of my personal statement so would it be weird if I don't make that item a MM when I include it in the experience list?

I have other significant research and shadowing I want to talk about from before this job as MMs instead, but I'm worried it would look odd to not mark my current job an MM when I've been working there for so long and it obviously has had a great impact on me from my personal statement.

 

[girlunobserved]

Hey! Quick question - if i have an email but no phone number, how would i go about putting it in the application? Should i put my own phone number instead. I've been trying to get the contact's number, but she's relatively unresponsive right now...

 

[Catalystik]

I'm a non-trad re-applicant who has been working for 2 years in clinical trials. Talking about my current work was the bulk of my personal statement so would it be weird if I don't make that item a MM when I include it in the experience list?

I have other significant research and shadowing I want to talk about from before this job as MMs instead, but I'm worried it would look odd to not mark my current job an MM when I've been working there for so long and it obviously has had a great impact on me from my personal statement.

Adcomms aren't going to think that way. You will have taken a lot of space already to discuss your current work and its impact, so moving on to share your insights from other activities is appropriate. No one should want to seem like a "one-trick pony."

And, duration of an activitiy has nothing to do with whether it should be MM or not.

Just to check, this isn't the same Personal Statement you submitted before, right?

 

[Catalystik]

Hey! Quick question - if i have an email but no phone number, how would i go about putting it in the application? Should i put my own phone number instead. I've been trying to get the contact's number, but she's relatively unresponsive right now...

You need an email or a phone number for a Contact, not both.

 

[ak-aka-dak]

I’m listing a leadership activity that I did for 5 years during each the school year, but the program didn’t take place during the summers. How do I list the 5 star5 and stop dates with only four time slots available? Should I list the entire time period once and then in the description mention that it wasn’t during the summer? What’s the best way to list this activity?

 

[Golfer94]

I am currently working a full-time job while applying. I was going to list my already completed hours and my future hours for this job via the "repeated" option, but I am not completely sure what month I would stop working there if I were to be accepted, so I didn't want to put 8/2019 in there if I end up quitting before then. I thought about using the description section to talk about the future hours instead of the "repeated" option, but then I also wasn't sure how to discuss the situation, especially since I'd rather use the characters to go more in-depth about my role. I don't think saying something like "I plan to keep working at X until I am accepted and maybe a little while longer after that" sounds very good... Any advice?

 

[Catalystik]

I’m listing a leadership activity that I did for 5 years during each the school year, but the program didn’t take place during the summers. How do I list the 5 start and stop dates with only four time slots available? Should I list the entire time period once and then in the description mention that it wasn’t during the summer? What’s the best way to list this activity?

Best might be to use one time frame and add the words "Academic Year" or the equivalent, to the title of the space, which excludes the summer months.