Short EC descriptions bad?

[Apparition]

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My descriptions come out to about 150 (scholarships) to 200-250 (jobs) characters. Is that too short? Thanks.

 

[An Yong]

Mine's really short too (~200 characters). I think its okay, its hard to go into detail with only 500 characters (i.e. what you've learned, how it impacted you etc.). Besides, I think thats something you can elaborate on during interviews.

 

[Tinkerbell]

Using only half the space is really no good. I know its effort and a pain but really try to write more then that. No you don't have to say every single thing you learned but fill up the space with the bigger points of each experiences. You don't want the adcoms to think you half-a$$ed your application so put the time in.

 

[Bendrix]

I disagree with Tinkerbell slightly. My strategy last year was to be concise with descriptions of EC's of lesser importance and more obvious substance, and write detailed, long, descriptions of my most significant experiences. I wouldn't BS through 500 characters about my involvement as, say, a volunteer builder for Habitat for Humanity. But I'd use the full space to describe a leadership position or a research experience. I think that long descriptions about lesser EC's serve only to draw the eye away from more the more important experiences and to call into question the big claims you make about the significance of your key experiences.

 

[LUBDUBB]

I'm thinking that adcoms are reading tons of application, and they will only take a quick gander at that part of the application. Better to be brief, rather than trip the reader up in boring bs.

 

[bigdan]

yeah - short and sweet is good...I hope, 'cause that's what I did.

I can't possibly give an accurate description of what my ECs mean to me in 500 characters. So I put the pertinent stuff, and hopefully I'll get an interview or two so that I can elaborate.

dc

 

[Jason110]

yeah - short and sweet is good...I hope, 'cause that's what I did.

I can't possibly give an accurate description of what my ECs mean to me in 500 characters. So I put the pertinent stuff, and hopefully I'll get an interview or two so that I can elaborate.

dc

I spoke to two AdCom members (UPenn and SLU) prior to submitting AMCAS and they agreed that the interview is the place where they really flesh out the details. They don't want you to 'rant' (exact word) for 500 characters if you don't need to.

Jason

 

[bigdan]

They don't want you to 'rant' (exact word) for 500 characters if you don't need to.

Jason

👍 This is good.

In addition, SDNers take note; Jason identified the schools he spoke with, adding validity to his statements.

Thanks! 👍


dc

 

[UCLAstudent]

Some of mine are that short (dean's list, scholarship). I had more to say about things like research and volunteering.

 

[efex101]

short is better they will *not* be reading for detail on the ec's