Prioritizing ECs on AMCAS?

[stiffany]

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Hi guys. I have the perhaps not so uncommon problem of having too many things to list in the AMCAS honors and ec category (with roughly half coming from research jobs related to medicine where I'd work a year or two to help put myself through college and a postbac). Along with those, I have some very limited shadowing experiences from college (think going in a few times for a few hours). Do I list these small experiences in one of the precious 15 spots or do I focus on the jobs I had where (although they didnt involve direct patient interaction) I was dedicated 10-20 hours a week for a year or more?

 

[Apparition]

You can try to condense some experiences into one. For example, if you had similar positions in the same line of research, you can put them under one activity and explain it. All awards/scholarships could go under one or two entries.

 

[vkhalsa]

Hi guys. I have the perhaps not so uncommon problem of having too many things to list in the AMCAS honors and ec category (with roughly half coming from research jobs related to medicine where I'd work a year or two to help put myself through college and a postbac). Along with those, I have some very limited shadowing experiences from college (think going in a few times for a few hours). Do I list these small experiences in one of the precious 15 spots or do I focus on the jobs I had where (although they didnt involve direct patient interaction) I was dedicated 10-20 hours a week for a year or more?

You can list some items which are similar under the same spot if they were short. ie Research: and then just list your different small research activities.

 

[LizzyM]

No matter what, be sure that something related to patient contact has its own category even if it is reporting on only a few hrs. Some adcom members will scroll down through the ECs looking for this and if they don't find it easily you are sunk.

 

[FDoRoML]

I lumped all of my posters and presentations (research) into one blob, my major research job (where LORs were coming from and where I'd spent 8 years) in one, my art stuff into one, my hobbies into one... I still maxed out the ECs allowed. But I'm old and stuff. 😀

Here's how I sorted it all out:

Make a list of everything you think you'd like them to know about you (that's not in your PS... things you did or do now)

Prioritize the list by order of time spent doing it, relevance to medicine/science/scholarly crap/service to society (your golf handicap should be lower than your trip to feed orphans in Zimbabwe)

Find ones that lump into a "category" and link them

Star the ones that MUST stand alone regardless of category

Count your total number of ECs (now with the lumped ones being a single EC), drop off the superfluous crap at the end (think... you might bring it up somehow in a secondary or in the interview if it's interesting enough to you, so don't mourn it!), and start writing your mini-essays about them


FD

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Hi guys. I have the perhaps not so uncommon problem of having too many things to list in the AMCAS honors and ec category (with roughly half coming from research jobs related to medicine where I'd work a year or two to help put myself through college and a postbac). Along with those, I have some very limited shadowing experiences from college (think going in a few times for a few hours). Do I list these small experiences in one of the precious 15 spots or do I focus on the jobs I had where (although they didnt involve direct patient interaction) I was dedicated 10-20 hours a week for a year or more?

Consolidate. Quality over quantity. Show your depth and breadth.

 

[zimmie256]

Semi-related question: Once you have your final list of ECs, in what order should you present them? I've heard a variety of ideas: 1. Chronological order with most recent first (resume style) 2. Order by effort/hours put into each 3. Doesn't matter as long as clinical experience is in top 3-5.

What do you guys think?

(And sorry if this was already posted, didn't see it with a very quick search...)

 

[LizzyM]

Semi-related question: Once you have your final list of ECs, in what order should you present them? I've heard a variety of ideas: 1. Chronological order with most recent first (resume style) 2. Order by effort/hours put into each 3. Doesn't matter as long as clinical experience is in top 3-5.

What do you guys think?

(And sorry if this was already posted, didn't see it with a very quick search...)

As a "consumer" of this information, I like a chronlogical approach so that I can trace up from the bottom, the activities done each summer, etc. On the other hand, most people put advocations and miscellaneous stuffat the end as lifelong "just for fun" stuff and that is where I've come to expect that sort of thing. This also has the effect of putting publications and research presentations at the top becuase they are usually relatively recent events. Also, work if you are working after graduation should be near the top because that is going to be a big question as soon as the reader sees that you graduated more than a year ago.

 

[Carmenita79]

As a "consumer" of this information, I like a chronlogical approach so that I can trace up from the bottom, the activities done each summer, etc. On the other hand, most people put advocations and miscellaneous stuffat the end as lifelong "just for fun" stuff and that is where I've come to expect that sort of thing. This also has the effect of putting publications and research presentations at the top becuase they are usually relatively recent events. Also, work if you are working after graduation should be near the top because that is going to be a big question as soon as the reader sees that you graduated more than a year ago.

It seems like you can not choose the order. AMCAS automatically puts them in chronological order (oldest first).

 

[QuantumMechanic]

is there an easy way to order your ECs on the AMCAS, I like just entering it and being done but there doesn't seem to be a way to rearrange ECs once entered!

 

[LizzyM]

is there an easy way to order your ECs on the AMCAS, I like just entering it and being done but there doesn't seem to be a way to rearrange ECs once entered!

hmm... that's interesting. I never noticed. I guess ongoing stuff that started long ago ends up at the end (guitar lessons 1994-present), and the short-term, recent stuff (publication 12/05) goes at the top.

Don't worry about it.

 

[modelslashactor]

hmm... that's interesting. I never noticed. I guess ongoing stuff that started long ago ends up at the end (guitar lessons 1994-present), and the short-term, recent stuff (publication 12/05) goes at the top.

I was filling this out the other day and it orders it by date. This disappointed me because I had nice groupings for them, but I guess this at least means adcoms won't stop reading if your first few are crap, huh?

 

[stiffany]

Now what about hobbies? Should we try to include a spot just listing what we do hobby-wise or is this fluff? I'm worried about coming off as a research heavy goon without any non-academic interests.

Thanks!