*~*~*~* Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2021-2024 *~*~*~*

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If I have played piano always at least semi-seriously (as in consistent practice) since I was 5 years old, should I count accumulated hours since I began at age 5? I got a lot more serious in college, but I had definitely accumulated at least 1000 hours before then.

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Apologies if this is a repeated inquiry, but what are your thoughts on how to distribute most meaningful activities across activity types? Is it looked upon favorably to include a most meaningful research experience versus another kind? And how relevant is the time of the activity to it being most meaningful? For example, would it be wise to elaborate on a research experience from 5-8 years ago if one could reflect meaningfully about it? Thank you!
The use of a long-ago activity as MM is fine. You need not attempt to pick certain activity types. What is important is your reflective comments about your choices. Though if you want to be somewhat strategic, picking three research activities when your stats are more in line with less-selective, non-research focused schools might not be your best choice.
 
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If I have played piano always at least semi-seriously (as in consistent practice) since I was 5 years old, should I count accumulated hours since I began at age 5? I got a lot more serious in college, but I had definitely accumulated at least 1000 hours before then.
For Artistic Endeavors and Hobbies, hours won’t matter, so you could use a zero or a 9999 or make a good faith effort to be accurate. Keep in mind it will be your most recent involvement that adcomms will care about, so highlight those years. You might consider using the Repeated feature to break your endeavors into perhaps Childhood years, HS, and College and beyond, specifying thise dates and Total Hours.
 
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@Catalystik Thanks for all of your help!

Quick question about publications:

If I am listed as the 9th Author, on a 15-author paper. The paper is accepted with revisions that are ongoing right now. How should I list this in the application?

I will also be listed as a Co-author in two other papers which are expected to be submitted in two to three weeks, should I list these even though they haven't been submitted?
 
@Catalystik Thanks for all of your help!

Quick question about publications:

1) If I am listed as the 9th Author, on a 15-author paper. The paper is accepted with revisions that are ongoing right now. How should I list this in the application?

2) I will also be listed as a Co-author in two other papers which are expected to be submitted in two to three weeks, should I list these even though they haven't been submitted?
1) If the paper was accepted pending minor revisions, it can be listed under a Publications tab with an explanation if its status. If it needs major revisions, it should not be listed.

2) No.
 
When listing an award, is it enough to just say something like " I received this award at [time]. This award goes to [award description]"
Or should we include something more? Thanks.
 
When listing an award, is it enough to just say something like " I received this award at [time]. This award goes to [award description]"
Or should we include something more? Thanks.
Moved your question to this main thread.

The format you listed is fine. It could even just be “X Award- Given to [award criteria]”.
 
Moved your question to this main thread.

The format you listed is fine. It could even just be “X Award- Given to [award criteria]”.
Thank you! This might be a bit of a weird question but the official scholarship description says something like "this award is for exceptional students who...." When reading this, they'd understand that it's just the description right? cuz I don't want them to think I'm calling myself exceptional lol
 
Thank you! This might be a bit of a weird question but the official scholarship description says something like "this award is for exceptional students who...." When reading this, they'd understand that it's just the description right? cuz I don't want them to think I'm calling myself exceptional lol
What were the qualifications and eligibility for it?
 
What were the qualifications and eligibility for it?
High gpa, majoring in science and being involved in research (not just doing research but having pubs/posters) as well as community involvement. It was kind of competitive.
 
High gpa, majoring in science and being involved in research (not just doing research but having pubs/posters) as well as community involvement. It was kind of competitive.
Say it was “a competitive scholarship awarded to students in the College/Department of Science on the basis of their academic record, research and community involvement”
 
I was wondering if it looks bad if we use separate entries for shadowing.
I am trying to write reflections but the list takes a lot of characters
I am planning to put together 2 ENT shadowing, 1 primary care doctor shadowing and virultual shadowing, so a total of 3 entries.

2. Also, do they care if I cannot follow up with my anticipated hours? I am not really sure what my plans are so I am not sure if I could 100% follow what I put on the anticipated duration. I set the anticipated hours period from June to admission month of medical school.

Thank you.
 
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1. I was wondering if it looks bad if we use separate entries for shadowing.
I am trying to write reflections but the list takes a lot of characters
I am planning to put together 2 ENT shadowing, 1 primary care doctor shadowing and virultual shadowing, so a total of 3 entries.

2. Also, do they care if I cannot follow up with my anticipated hours? I am not really sure what my plans are so I am not sure if I could 100% follow what I put on the anticipated duration. I set the anticipated hours period from June to admission month of medical school.
1) I strongly suggest you not use more than two spaces for Shadowing.

2) It’s fine if you don’t use the Anticipated Experiences add-on when you aren’t sure of the future plan. Instead you may add at the end of the Completed hours narrative a comment that you “hope to add additional hours over (?) timeframe.”
 
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1) I strongly suggest you not use more than two spaces for Shadowing.

2) It’s fine if you don’t use the Anticipated Experiences add-on when you aren’t sure of the future plan. Instead you may add at the end of the Completed hours narrative a comment that you “hope to add additional hours over (?) timeframe.”
I see. Do they ever check if someone has completed their anticipated hours?
 
I see. Do they ever check if someone has completed their anticipated hours?
Some schools check nearly everything. Some rarely do. Others check only if claims are extraordinary or seem unlikely.

Recall that future hours have little impact in decision-making. Many applicants don’t mention them.
 
Some schools check nearly everything. Some rarely do. Others check only if claims are extraordinary or seem unlikely.

Recall that future hours have little impact in decision-making. Many applicants don’t mention them.
Would it be better to not include future hours if I am unsure?
I am not really sure how it would play out as they have changed the application this year separating completed hours and anticipated hours. I certainly do not want to be seen as somebody who stopped all activities after applying.
 
Would it be better to not include future hours if I am unsure?
I am not really sure how it would play out as they have changed the application this year separating completed hours and anticipated hours. I certainly do not want to be seen as somebody who stopped all activities after applying.
No one knows yet how the new feature will play out, but it should keep applicants from lumping completed and future hours together indistinguishably. The Repeated feature was used to separate out future hours in past cycles for thise choosing to do so.
 
Say it was “a competitive scholarship awarded to students in the College/Department of Science on the basis of their academic record, research and community involvement

Say it was “a competitive scholarship awarded to students in the College/Department of Science on the basis of their academic record, research and community involvement”
Oh I like that. Thank you so much!!
 
Hey just to make sure, who do I write down as a contact for a shadowing activity? the physician's contact info or the clinic's?
 
I'm pretty sure this was discussed in this thread before but I'm having trouble finding it. What goes in the description box for a poster presentation? Is there a specific citation format that we should follow?
 
I'm pretty sure this was discussed in this thread before but I'm having trouble finding it. What goes in the description box for a poster presentation? Is there a specific citation format that we should follow?
Just the citation, a comment if it won an award, and who presented it if not you.

Google “how to cite a poster“ and examples will pop up.
 
Can someone help edit my activity sections? I am a MD reapplicant.

Thanks!
 
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Can someone help edit my activity sections? I am a MD reapplicant.
Reviewing or editing the Activities section lies outside the scope of this thread. Here is another thread you can post on to ask for help:
Thread 'Feedback On My Work/Activities List'
Feedback On My Work/Activities List

Also, please remove your personal email. We strive for anonymity here.
 
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Hello, I have a bunch of random questions concerning the Work/Activities that I'd appreciate any guidance on!

First, I have a few experiences that I'm struggling to categorize in the options provided by AMCAS:

1) Summer internship at a hospital, focused on "innovative fields" in medicine. Could maybe be considered "research", but I'm leaning towards non-research since I'm not actually doing any research and just learning about the research fields themselves.
2) CNA training course

Would these experiences fall under "Other" or is there some clinical category I can put them under? I'm worried the "clinical" nature of these experiences will be missed if I categorize them as "Other", but I can't seem to find an appropriate clinical category for them.


Secondly, the aforementioned summer internship has a very significant shadowing portion to it (100+ hours). Would it be smarter to separate the shadowing bit out as another entry so that I can list it as a "Shadowing" entry, or should I just keep it in the main entry and mention the shadowing in the description? Again, unsure about how to categorize the internship itself.


Final question: would PBK membership and Dean's List justify an awards entry? I feel that these two alone are a bit weak since I would do literally nothing but list them, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out :)
 
(Moderator note: answers pertain to @manifestingmed 's question above, membername changed by request. )

B. Yes, I would carve out the shadowing hours and list them separately, taking care to subtract those hours from the Internship listing. With the shadowing taken out of the Internship experience, there may not be enough substance left to list it on its own, as learning about the variety of medical fields is not "space-worthy," IMO. I agree that Research would not be appropriate as a tag.

C. You may list them under a Recognitions tab, but if you are short on space don't feel compelled to do so, as your GPAs will speak for themselves. Alternatively, you could group them with other honors you might have earned.
 
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Should I list ultimate frisbee (club sport) under extracurriculars or intercollegiate athletics? I don't know whether intercollegiate athletics is reserved for NCAA/NAIA varsity teams. We weren't national championship level but certainly competitive doing 3 practices a week, 3+ tournaments a season.
 
Should I list ultimate frisbee (club sport) under extracurriculars or intercollegiate athletics? I don't know whether intercollegiate athletics is reserved for NCAA/NAIA varsity teams. We weren't national championship level but certainly competitive doing 3 practices a week, 3+ tournaments a season.
I would prefer to see it listed under Extracurricular with an explanation of how the hours were accounted for.
 
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I have a dilemma and need some advice. Currently, I have 16 solid activity descriptions written and need to weed one out. I am in between 3 different activities. One is a publication, two is the research project that led to the publication, and three is a NASA-funded project relating to health of astronauts. And to add onto the research lab, it a brief summer project, but I felt that I had to give the project context before throwing in a publication. The NASA one is personally more meaningful to me, but should I sacrifice it for the research project?
 
I have a dilemma and need some advice. Currently, I have 16 solid activity descriptions written and need to weed one out. I am in between 3 different activities. One is a publication, two is the research project that led to the publication, and three is a NASA-funded project relating to health of astronauts. And to add onto the research lab, it a brief summer project, but I felt that I had to give the project context before throwing in a publication. The NASA one is personally more meaningful to me, but should I sacrifice it for the research project?
Could you possibly combine your research project and publication entries since they are related?
 
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I have a dilemma and need some advice. Currently, I have 16 solid activity descriptions written and need to weed one out. I am in between 3 different activities. One is a publication, two is the research project that led to the publication, and three is a NASA-funded project relating to health of astronauts. And to add onto the research lab, it a brief summer project, but I felt that I had to give the project context before throwing in a publication. The NASA one is personally more meaningful to me, but should I sacrifice it for the research project?
Can you enter the pub under Publications and include a brief description of the project in the same space?
 
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I did in-person scribing. Since a lot of people did virtual scribing, should I name the activity "In-Person ER Scribe"? I currently have "Emergency Room Scribe". Halfway through my MMA essay it's implied heavily that I was in-person, but before that I don't make it explicit, I think. (I don't really know how virtual scribing works tbh.)
 
I did in-person scribing. Since a lot of people did virtual scribing, should I name the activity "In-Person ER Scribe"? I currently have "Emergency Room Scribe". Halfway through my MMA essay it's implied heavily that I was in-person, but before that I don't make it explicit, I think. (I don't really know how virtual scribing works tbh.)
I think it would be very reasonable to be explicit in the title of the space.
 
Hi,

Should I categorize a health educator position as "Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical" since I provide health education to patients in a clinical setting? It also involves public health/community outreach activities so I wasn't sure if it's medical/clinical?
 
Hi,

Should I categorize a health educator position as "Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical" since I provide health education to patients in a clinical setting? It also involves public health/community outreach activities so I wasn't sure if it's medical/clinical?
What area of health ed do you teach? How are your clients referred to you?
 
What area of health ed do you teach? How are your clients referred to you?
Focused on childhood obesity prevention, breastfeeding, etc. Usually, patients are referred by pediatricians. But I'm also involved in developing health ed materials as well as hosting health ed workshops for patients and community members.
 
Focused on childhood obesity prevention, breastfeeding, etc. Usually, patients are referred by pediatricians. But I'm also involved in developing health ed materials as well as hosting health ed workshops for patients and community members.
Assuming you have enough active patient experience that you had planned to tag as Medical/Clinical, consider tagging this teaching activity as Employment Not-Medical/Clinical, with a good description of your training and various roles, and let adcomms make up their own minds about how they would classify it.
 
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How should listing NP / MD Shadowing be done on AMCAS? Current format below.

Aug 1999:
Jane Doe: NP, Example Hospital, 10 Hr

Nov 2000:
Dr. John Smith, MD, Neurosurgery, Example Hospital, 4 Hr


My concern is essentially, if I give them the same prefix (ex, putting Dr. for both) then people might think of scope creep. But if I give them different prefixes, then it's kind of obvious that I'm setting apart the one NP on my shadowing. I don't really want to omit the NP because it was a formative experience and let me decide nurse vs physician, plus my hours aren't that high to begin with. Any elegant tricks to avoid this would be greatly appreciated.
 
How should listing NP / MD Shadowing be done on AMCAS? Current format below.

Aug 1999:
Jane Doe: NP, Example Hospital, 10 Hr

Nov 2000:
Dr. John Smith, MD, Neurosurgery, Example Hospital, 4 Hr


My concern is essentially, if I give them the same prefix (ex, putting Dr. for both) then people might think of scope creep. But if I give them different prefixes, then it's kind of obvious that I'm setting apart the one NP on my shadowing. I don't really want to omit the NP because it was a formative experience and let me decide nurse vs physician, plus my hours aren't that high to begin with. Any elegant tricks to avoid this would be greatly appreciated.
If the NP earned a doctorate in nursing practice perhaps she is a DNP, making it less if a stand-out that she is included on the list. Do you know her exact status?

Most would list the experiences in reverse chronological order.

I agree that they should not be given the same prefix of Dr.
 
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If the NP earned a doctorate in nursing practice perhaps she is a DNP, making it less if a stand-out that she is included on the list. Do you know her exact status?

Most would list the experiences in reverse chronological order.

I agree that they should not be given the same prefix of Dr.
Thank you for the quick response! I believe she is not a DNP. I was also thinking maybe not giving anyone a prefix? Ex both of them have "Jane Doe", "John Smith". Plus it'd save quite a few characters.
 
Thank you for the quick response! I believe she is not a DNP. I was also thinking maybe not giving anyone a prefix? Ex both of them have "Jane Doe", "John Smith". Plus it'd save quite a few characters.
One should not use both a prefix and academic credentials after the name, in the listing of a medical person.
 
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Hi, so for one of my activities (clinical job) I stopped working in May but will pick up once again end of August after an internship. In the anticipated date, should I list it from (Current month-August 2023) or (August 2022-August 2023)?
 
Hi, so for one of my activities (clinical job) I stopped working in May but will pick up once again end of August after an internship. In the anticipated date, should I list it from (Current month-August 2023) or (August 2022-August 2023)?
For Anticipated Hours enter August 2022 as the Start Date and August 2023 as the End Date.
 
Hi, in the activities section I listed a program in which I participated. As part of this program I was elected as part of the board of directors and had special tasks. Do I include this information under the same activity or do I create a new Leadership entry and specifically talk about my leadership role in this separate entry? Thanks.
 
in the activities section I listed a program in which I participated. As part of this program I was elected as part of the board of directors and had special tasks. Do I include this information under the same activity or do I create a new Leadership entry and specifically talk about my leadership role in this separate entry?
It depends on how leadership-y your role was and if that role had enough separate hours that the extra space has an impact. As examples: If you mainly went to meetings and voted, I would not use a separate space. If you came up with new initiatives, headed committees, delegated tasks, provided oversight for those efforts, and took overall responsibility for the results, then another space would be warranted.
 
I'm currently a bit unsure of how to present my hobbies. My confusion is essentially (i) which ones to include and, as a corollary, the amount of depth for each one. As an example, if I only included one hobby then I would be able to discuss it in greater depth. Thoughts would be appreciated.
 
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I'm currently a bit unsure of how to present my hobbies. I do a lot of non-academic coding (art, origami, DNA/RNA rendering, being the only person to solve a notorious max-difficulty question on a competition website). I also picked up Minesweeper during the pandemic and have the fastest time in a fairly populous state (<60 seconds on expert). On the other hand, I also enjoy exercise and cooking but don't really have any achievements to show there outside of long term commitment.

My confusion is essentially (i) which ones to include and, as a corollary, the amount of depth for each one. As an example, if I only included one hobby then I would be able to discuss it in greater depth. Thoughts would be appreciated.
Omit Minesweeper. If one item, do the non-academic coding, if you can explain it well in lay-person's terms (as it's the most unique).

If you want to include exercise and/or cooking, you need some added info to draw interest, like what ethnic/level-of-spiciness/healthy-diet cookery you prefer/have mastered and what drew you to it? What forms of exercise/frequency/group efforts/any competitions, how you've improved, why you got involved? If you can't add interesting details, then don't bother.
 
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