Old ECs?

[OldSchooler]

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[QofQuimica]

Hello all, quick background:

Graduated in 2005, finishing up a mol bio PhD, applying next year for med school (to start in 2009).

As an undergrad I had a bunch of ECs, including clinical volunteering, TA-ing, service, awards, etc. The problem is those were 5-8 years ago. In grad school I've added far fewer ECs, so my question is: are my undergrad ECs totally worthless?

I know there are some other PhD students that post here and are applying/have applied this cycle. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

No, you can put both types of ECs down if the UG activities were significant, and especially if you continued on with them after college. For example, I did include my UG thesis research because it helps establish that I've been involved in research for a long time. Just make sure you read over the description you wrote about your ECs before you go to interview, b/c I actually had an interviewer ask me what the title of my UG thesis was (from 1996, a decade earlier). He was pretty impressed when I rattled it off and then told him about the specifics of the project. What he didn't know was that the night before, I had to read up on it myself so that I'd be prepared, just in case. 😛

Other things to include, if you have them:

• languages you speak (do *not* exaggerate your level of fluency though, b/c I had an interviewer conduct part of my interview in Spanish!)
• musical or artistic pursuits (often a really good topic of conversation, especially with student interviewers who are several years your junior)
• athletic pursuits, even if it's just intramurals or on your own. One interviewer was very impressed that I ran two marathons while in grad school.
• interesting jobs you've had or trips you've taken, if any. I did some field research abroad between getting my MS and PhD, and that *always* came up.
• anything else about yourself that is unique or would be of interest to someone trying to pick a future physician (ex. teaching experience, EMT or other clinical jobs, things you do for your kids if you have any s/a coaching, etc.)

 

[OldSchooler]

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[Captain Fantastic]

It is perfectly fine to include undergrad ECs on your application. Take a look at your application and see if you can use the EC to fill a gap or demonstrate a long-term committment. Also include the EC if it is unusual and could attract some attention.

I graduated in 2000. I put three undergrad ECs on my application (TA'ing, engineering internship, student government). Unlike Dr. Q, I didn't get questioned about any of them. Still, they helped frame my undergraduate experience which I think was helpful for the reviewers.

Sometimes you want to briefly mention an undergrad activity (or any activity for that matter) in your personal statement, but don't want to interrupt the flow describing the nitty-gritty details of that experience. This is a good candidate for an EC in the activity section of AMCAS. The reviewer can then learn more about that experience but your PS stays on theme.

 

[montessori2md]

If you look at the way AMCAS works, it's very easy to use one of the slots they give you for ECs as a category, rather than just one EC. Even a lot of "trad" applicants will lump together, for example, awards, into one slot and list them, though you can't necessarily fill out the headers accurately (contact, etc).

I did that with most of my undergraduate activities, with another section for scholarships and awards.

Someone on this forum once advised using AMCAS to provide talking points for the interview. If you don't want to talk about it (because it wasn't interesting or significant), don't include it.

 

[OldSchooler]

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