Should I put Dean's List as an Award if I have no other Awards?

[account4premed]

Is Dean's List/Chancellor's List worth putting if I have nothing else or does it just look like fluff? In the description I was thinking I could talk about my upward trend instead of listing other rewards, but I'm not sure if an upward trend is worth taking up an activity slot for.

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[EdgeTrimmer]

Dean’s list threshold around 3.5 GPA at most schools so won’t impress adcoms.

 

[Catalystik]

Is Dean's List/Chancellor's List worth putting if I have nothing else or does it just look like fluff? In the description I was thinking I could talk about my upward trend instead of listing other rewards, but I'm not sure if an upward trend is worth taking up an activity slot for.

What was the year-by-year GPA trend? What are the criteria for Chancellor's list? How many semesters or quarters did you qualify for it?

 

[LizzyM]

We see your GPA broken down in many different ways. Adding "Dean's list" adds nothing given that we see your grades and GPA.

 

[KnightDoc]

We see your GPA broken down in many different ways. Adding "Dean's list" adds nothing given that we see your grades and GPA.

But, does this mean OP shouldn't list it if it's all they have? Personally, I think it's worth listing, particularly in the context of an upward trend, where the transcript is not uniformly good.

OTOH, to directly answer OP's other question, no, an upward trend is NOT an "activity" and it does not get a slot!!! You can talk about it in the "anything else?" section most schools have in the secondaries.

 

[LizzyM]

Dean's list is an honor that almost every applicant to medical school can list on the application. It is so common as to be meaningless. You need not list an "honor" if you haven't any that are worth my time to read and, frankly, Dean's list doesn't make the cut.

 

[RJ McReady]

Respectfully, I disagree with the persons who state you shouldn’t list it. Deans list requirements , although it may be “common” for med school applicants, vary from school to school. People worked and studied hard for that honor and were recognized as doing so. Similarly, Latin honors or phi beta kappa should be listed on the application. If you are unfortunate enough to get a salty adcom member such as some on SDN, it may not help you. But, It will never hurt you either.

 

[RJ McReady]

Dean's list is an honor that almost every applicant to medical school can list on the application. It is so common as to be meaningless. You need not list an "honors" if you haven't any that are worth my time to read and, frankly, Dean's list doesn't make the cut.

So, in your opinion, what pray tell are honors you deem worthy of including on an application?

 

[LizzyM]

Honors that are awarded to only one person per year per school or even better, only one person per year in the state or the US. The exception might be Phi Beta Kappa.

 

[RJ McReady]

Honors that are awarded to only one person per year per school or even better, only one person per year in the state or the US. The exception might be Phi Beta Kappa.

Lol…
That’s a pretty high bar don’t you think?
With that standard probably 95 percent of med school applicants shouldn’t bother listing any of their honors…

 

[DelineSan]

I think what @LizzyM is getting at is it's pretty meaningless to list an award when the pool of contestants is severely limited, like in a college. For example, it really is not impactful to say you got a departmental scholarship or Dean's list when that information can't be used to compare yourself to applicants outside of your college.

Listing an international, nationwide, or statewide award is meaningful because you were able to compete with a sizable number of people and do well, just like you are trying to do in applying / getting accepted into med school.

 

[Moko]

I personally do not penalize or think less of applicants who put Dean's list as an honor. I was certainly guilty of that as an applicant . As a reviewer, it takes me less than 5 seconds to move on to the next activity, so it's not a major inconvenience.

However, when an applicant includes Dean's list as their only honor, it serves as a reminder that they have no other awards and failed to meet the cut for any selective distinctions. In this sense, it draws attention to a (minor) negative. Just my thoughts.

 

[RJ McReady]

I think what @LizzyM is getting at is it's pretty meaningless to list an award when the pool of contestants is severely limited, like in a college. For example, it really is not impactful to say you got a departmental scholarship or Dean's list when that information can't be used to compare yourself to applicants outside of your college.

Listing an international, nationwide, or statewide award is meaningful because you were able to compete with a sizable number of people and do well, just like you are trying to do in applying / getting accepted into med school.

Well we will just have to agree to disagree, I guess. By LizzyM’s logic very few people would qualify to list ANY honors on their application. I mean come on, one person per year per school, or per state or In the USA? Im sorry but that is absurd. Phi Beta Kappa, Magna or Summa cum laude or a major scholarship or departmental award at a at a major university is not an accomplishment that everyone can achieve. It should be listed on an application, and if it isn’t the applicant is doing him/her self a disservice.

 

[deleted1054719]

Well we will just have to agree to disagree, I guess. By LizzyM’s logic very few people would qualify to list ANY honors on their application. I mean come on, one person per year per school, or per state or In the USA? Im sorry but that is absurd. Phi Beta Kappa, Magna or Summa cum laude or a major scholarship or departmental award at a at a major university is not an accomplishment that everyone can achieve. It should be listed on an application, and if it isn’t the applicant is doing him/her self a disservice.

Is there something inherently wrong with very few people listing honors? I didn't list any on my AMCAS precisely because I didn't think any were worth listing. You're right - GPA honors are praiseworthy but it's pretty self-evident from the grades section. Frankly, I had better things to use my 15 slots on than telling adcoms I got a 3.5+ in every semester. I've never seen a Dean's list requirement that's somehow at a higher standard than what is a competitive medical school applicant GPA anyways so really, I'd expect nearly all applicants to have Dean's list.

LizzyM also did not say that those scholarships or awards should not be listed. She actually said the exact opposite.

Honors that are awarded to only one person per year per school or even better, only one person per year in the state or the US. The exception might be Phi Beta Kappa.

PBK, major scholarships, and departmental awards seem to fall in this category, no? The bottom line is - it won't hurt but most folks probably have better things to talk about on their AMCAS.

 

[LizzyM]

Is there something inherently wrong with very few people listing honors? I didn't list any on my AMCAS precisely because I didn't think any were worth listing. You're right - GPA honors are praiseworthy but it's pretty self-evident from the grades section. Frankly, I had better things to use my 15 slots on than telling adcoms I got a 3.5+ in every semester. I've never seen a Dean's list requirement that's somehow at a higher standard than what is a competitive medical school applicant GPA anyways so really, I'd expect nearly all applicants to have Dean's list.

LizzyM also did not say that those scholarships or awards should not be listed. She actually said the exact opposite.


PBK, major scholarships, and departmental awards seem to fall in this category, no? The bottom line is - it won't hurt but most folks probably have better things to talk about on their AMCAS.

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