TA as volunteering?

[907914]

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I was a TA for Genetics class this last year as well as have tutored chemistry, Biology, Ochem, Biochem and physics for a year and a half. None of it was for credit or pay, however I will have an LOR from the TA professor. Should I put this all under the teaching/TA tab or non-clinical volunteering?

I guess, more fundamental question: do ADCOMs skim the categories titles for the “checked boxes” (Which I have not tried do do, although I have at least 1 EC in each category >25 hours...) to read or do they actually read the titles/hours/descriptions etc?

 

[MyOdyssey]

I was a TA for Genetics class this last year as well as have tutored chemistry, Biology, Ochem, Biochem and physics for a year and a half. None of it was for credit or pay, however I will have an LOR from the TA professor. Should I put this all under the teaching/TA tab or non-clinical volunteering?

I guess, more fundamental question: do ADCOMs skim the categories titles for the “checked boxes” (Which I have not tried do do, although I have at least 1 EC in each category >25 hours...) to read or do they actually read the titles/hours/descriptions etc?

My take

I believe TAing is considered teaching.

Tutoring underserved kids is considered volunteering.

 

[Isoval]

I TAed for four semesters as an undergraduate.

For two semesters, I received class credit.
For the following two semesters, I received no compensation of any kind.

I described my first two semesters as leadership and my following two as volunteering.

 

[907914]

I TAed for four semesters as an undergraduate.

For two semesters, I received class credit.
For the following two semesters, I received no compensation of any kind.

I described my first two semesters as leadership and my following two as volunteering.

Did you just clarify under the TA tab or did you separate them? I don’t have the spare room to separate lol

 

[Isoval]

Did you just clarify under the TA tab or did you separate them? I don’t have the spare room to separate lol

On AMCAS, I believe I clarified in the same tab.

I primarily applied via TMDSAS where there are separate sections for leadership and volunteering.

 

[LizzyM]

II guess, more fundamental question: do ADCOMs skim the categories titles for the “checked boxes” (Which I have not tried do do, although I have at least 1 EC in each category >25 hours...) to read or do they actually read the titles/hours/descriptions etc?

If an adcom member wants to know if the applicant has teaching experience, they'll run down the list by label (or perhaps even CTRL-F and search the document). Ditto for community service/non-clinical volunteering. Classifying "tutoring other college students" as non-clinical volunteering will hurt you if it appears that you are trying to plug a hole in your application and it could make it more difficult for an adcom that is specifically looking for applicants with teaching/tutoring experience.

 

[TravelingMedicine]

If an adcom member wants to know if the applicant has teaching experience, they'll run down the list by label (or perhaps even CTRL-F and search the document). Ditto for community service/non-clinical volunteering. Classifying "tutoring other college students" as non-clinical volunteering will hurt you if it appears that you are trying to plug a hole in your application and it could make it more difficult for an adcom that is specifically looking for applicants with teaching/tutoring experience.

Can I put that I TAed for phy. ed classes? TAed rock climbing, cycling, and ultimate frisbee with about 80hrs total. If I should how should I go about framing this. I am worried that some Adcom might look down on this as not a real TA experience.

 

[Moko]

Formal teaching experiences (e.g classroom TA, tutors, etc.) are viewed very favorably by adcoms as it suggests that you are capable of breaking down difficult concepts for others -- a key skill for any clinician -- and have been vetted by that department. For folks with multiple similar TA experiences, I would just group them together under one experience (while specifying the time-frames and classes taught). It's painful to read essentially the same description across 4 separate entries when it could have been summarized into one without loss of any content.

I would categorize the PhysEd TA position as being a teaching experience as well if you actually taught stuff rather than just cheered people on.

The key is not to upsell an experience as adcoms can smell BS a mile away -- most of us have gone through this process before and know how this game goes.

 

[TravelingMedicine]

Formal teaching experiences (e.g classroom TA, tutors, etc.) are viewed very favorably by adcoms as it suggests that you are capable of breaking down difficult concepts for others -- a key skill for any clinician -- and have been vetted by that department. For folks with multiple similar TA experiences, I would just group them together under one experience (while specifying the time-frames and classes taught). It's painful to read essentially the same description across 4 separate entries when it could have been summarized into one without loss of any content.

I would categorize the PhysEd TA position as being a teaching experience as well if you actually taught stuff rather than just cheered people on.

The key is not to upsell an experience as adcoms can smell BS a mile away -- most of us have gone through this process before and know how this game goes.

For the PE classes I taught different techniques and skills for each sport. For instance in cycling (I race bikes), I taught how to safely ride on the road in close proximity of other riders, handling skills, road and racing etiquette, nutrition etc. I often lead one of the groups while the teacher lead the other. We focused on identifying issues and provided suggestions to improve as a cyclist. Would this count even though we are not teaching the processes of metabolism or anything science related

 

[Moko]

For the PE classes I taught different techniques and skills for each sport. For instance in cycling (I race bikes), I taught how to safely ride on the road in close proximity of other riders, handling skills, road and racing etiquette, nutrition etc. I often lead one of the groups while the teacher lead the other. We focused on identifying issues and provided suggestions to improve as a cyclist. Would this count even though we are not teaching the processes of metabolism or anything science related

I would say yes. Teaching comes in many different forms!