ONLY 15 extracurricular slots on AAMC!?

[sjhalverson]

I just started the application process and am surprised by how limited it is...

We only have 15 slots to put down all of the work, volunteering, research, extracurriculars, leadership roles, and sports that we've done?

I've done some good stuff in my day, but what I thought would set me above the rest was the excessive ammount of things I've done.

Any tips on consolidating it all down? Am I allowed to have the title be "Student Involvement" and in the discription write about it all?

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[FlowLimited]

I just started the application process and am surprised by how limited it is...

We only have 15 slots to put down all of the work, volunteering, research, extracurriculars, leadership roles, and sports that we've done?

I've done some good stuff in my day, but what I thought would set me above the rest was the excessive ammount of things I've done.

Any tips on consolidating it all down? Am I allowed to have the title be "Student Involvement" and in the discription write about it all?

I think titling something "Student Involvement" and then putting everything you did as a student in it is a bit too much. However, a more reasonable amount of consolidation is perfectly alright. For example, you can combine all your shadowing experience into one slot, and all your awards into one slot.

On a side note, medical schools are more impressed with dedication to a handful of activities than by a massive list.

 

[medking]

I just started the application process and am surprised by how limited it is...

We only have 15 slots to put down all of the work, volunteering, research, extracurriculars, leadership roles, and sports that we've done?

I've done some good stuff in my day, but what I thought would set me above the rest was the excessive ammount of things I've done.

Any tips on consolidating it all down? Am I allowed to have the title be "Student Involvement" and in the discription write about it all?

Yes, you can group similar things into one slot.

 

[DoctorPardi]

You really only need to put really meaningful, or long lasting experiences. A lot of really good applicants do not use all 15, and I think a lot of people are stretching it when they do.

Adcoms want your application to be as brief as possible because they have thousands to review, so reading about every single EC you had over 4 years just isn't going to fly.

List the most important ones, the ones that really "matter" and that will more than satisfy the application.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Personally I plan to only highlight the major stuff- research, publications, presentations, awards for my work (non-academic), teaching activities, volunteer work, etc. All the other stuff will be stuffed into a couple of slots covering major hobbies (such as flying, scuba diving, etc).

 

[nick_carraway]

I sure hope that the problem of having to cut things out to make 15 items is limited to SDNers only. I hope the problem I had of trying to get CLOSE to 15 items is what everyone else is coping with.

 

[sle3pyguii]

I sure hope that the problem of having to cut things out to make 15 items is limited to SDNers only. I hope the problem I had of trying to get CLOSE to 15 items is what everyone else is coping with.

Who knows? Maybe when people see that there are 15 spaces, they will be compelled to make up some random BS to fill up the slots. Like someone mentioned above, the good students don't need all 15 because they have quality instead of quantity.

 

[bostonpmed]

I think I'm going to

Not you OP.. I had 5 martinis tonight .

::Carry on::

 

[maestro1625]

if you need more than 15, than most of your ECs are bull****.

 

[sjhalverson]

Maestro-They aren't BS if you've been extremely involved all four years of college.


This is the area where we're supposed to include all the awards we've earned during college too? I take it I can just lump that all into one topic, but this is the place right?

Is there more space to expand on EC in the 2nd app, or is that just more essays?

 

[FlowLimited]

Maestro-They aren't BS if you've been extremely involved all four years of college.


This is the area where we're supposed to include all the awards we've earned during college too? I take it I can just lump that all into one topic, but this is the place right?

Is there more space to expand on EC in the 2nd app, or is that just more essays?

Sometimes there'll be room for mentioning ECs in your secondaries but usually it'll just ask you to list them. There's occasionally room to expand, though.

 

[greg1184]

At least you should primarily list your medical ec's in your AMCAS. Often there are spots in the secondary for others. Like UMiami has a bunch of essays for non medical extracurriculars.

 

[LicensedPremed]

I read somewhere that medical schools don't want applicants who have a bunch of activities that are not meaningful to what is considered important for future doctors. That's why they limit it up to 15 slots because they know more than 15 activities are useless when committee make acceptance decisions.

 

[Bahadur]

A former Adcom member at UCSD said that most adcoms don't even bother reading the ECs, unless they need something to make a decision between distinguishing one candidate from another.

hmm. i dunno.

 

[ZagDoc]

Like what was said... ADCOM's arent looking for quantity, they're looking for quality. If youre having trouble fitting everything into 15 slots... you either need to trim the fat or present the ECs better.

 

[RNtoMD2011]

I think I'm going to

Not you OP.. I had 5 martinis tonight .

::Carry on::

LMAO!

 

[proclivity]

Maestro-They aren't BS if you've been extremely involved all four years of college.


This is the area where we're supposed to include all the awards we've earned during college too? I take it I can just lump that all into one topic, but this is the place right?

Is there more space to expand on EC in the 2nd app, or is that just more essays?

post 'em and i'm sure someone will let you know which ones are "less important" (politically correct version of bullsh_t) than the others and PRESTO problem solved.

Alternatively, you could always post the rest of them on each of the secondaries if you still believe there are no fluff ECs.

 

[BoilerWolverine]

We only have 15 slots to put down all of the work, volunteering, research, extracurriculars, leadership roles, and sports that we've done?

I've done some good stuff in my day, but what I thought would set me above the rest was the excessive ammount of things I've done.

I want to punch you in the face. Just FYI...

 

[mvenus929]

I sure hope that the problem of having to cut things out to make 15 items is limited to SDNers only. I hope the problem I had of trying to get CLOSE to 15 items is what everyone else is coping with.

I only had 9.

 

[silverlining1]

Consolidation is fine, according to my premed advisor. I had more than 15 things to list, but I was easily able to consolidate. For example, under the heading of "Scholarships / grants / awards" I listed and briefly described 2 research grants and 3 academic honors in the text box. Under "Other volunteering", I listed and briefly described 2 volunteer positions I held for only 1 summer. Under "Hospital volunteering", I put 2 clinical volunteer positions, each of which have lasted over 6 months. I also had one called "Extracurricular activities and hobbies" under which I put piano, clarinet, swimming, and basketball, all of which I do often but not competitively. Hope these examples help!

 

[MossPoh]

Maestro-They aren't BS if you've been extremely involved all four years of college.


This is the area where we're supposed to include all the awards we've earned during college too? I take it I can just lump that all into one topic, but this is the place right?

Is there more space to expand on EC in the 2nd app, or is that just more essays?

No they are pretty b.s. I was extremely extremely involved in college and don't have anywhere near 15. This isn't high school. It is quality over quantity. 15 is a ton of things if they really are each different. There is this common situation where people overcompensate and just start tagging stuff on. Hell, I was in the fencing club for 2 months...I'm not going to put that. I'm not going to put a ton of stuff because it really isn't worth much. I was president of a club for 3 years. I spent probably 10 hours a week doing that, on top of working 20 to 25 hours a week and courses. I never had much free time for anything else. I threw my research and TAing into it and I was in a dark abyss never sleeping.

 

[RPedigo]

Only fifteen? I used five .

I'd just try to group things, and keep everything succinct. If you write mini-essays for all fifteen of your descriptions, that's going to be tedious as hell to work through.

 

[mattypez]

MCAT, GPA, Research...Thats what they see when they look.

You are one of 10,000 applicants to schools. They dont care about "you" or what rallies you started or any of that bs involvement. You're just a number.

 

[Yehosh]

if you need more than 15, than most of your ECs are bull****.

agreed

 

[twohearted]

I want to punch you in the face. Just FYI...

After you are done can I get seconds?

Quote:
I've done some good stuff in my day, but what I thought would set me above the rest was the excessive ammount of things I've done.

WTF?

Wow, I thought age and maturity had taken some of the meaness out of me but this really makes me want to stuff the OP into a locker or give him a swirlly or wedgie.

 

[inaminute]

Just make sure you list that Nobel Prize and forget about the rest.

All you peeps who are getting mad should be happy! This person not only cannot spell "amount" or "description," but if he loads up the app with crap like "spent Christmas Eve 2004 singing carols with homeless children" he's just gonna make the rest of us look, well, honest and reasonable.

 

[BigRedPremed]

I want to see this list along with the level of involvement for each activity.

 

[paranoid_eyes]

belonging to the premed club (or whatever it's called) or Alphi Pi BS don't count as EC's...there is no way you can have over 10-15 SIGNIFICANT EC's unless you are nontrad

 

[Arc]

One thing I was told by an advisor is that 3 good EC's outweigh 15 meidocore EC's. OP, the bigger question is are you being an application *****?

 

[CBG23]

I filled up all 15, granted I didn't consolidate volunteer experiences or awards, but I thought most, if not all, had some importance to me during college.