*~*~*~*Tips for Entering your "Work and Activities" in AMCAS*~*~*~*

[sector9]

I've seen questions on this before but not really a clear answer.

I shadowed at the pediatric clinic where my dad works informally during college breaks - mostly him, also people working in their lab. I wasn't even planning on including this in my primary app b/c I got the feeling shadowing a relative doesn't really "count." I have other shadowing and plenty of clinical exposure working w/ physicians.

Should I add it to my app? If so, should I specify that I was shadowing my father? This really showed me a day in the life of a primary care physician and was a great learning experience over time, but if it's going to look bad to include it, I won't.

Include it, you don't need to say it was your dad, and of course group it with your other shadowing. Shadowing relatives counts, but it's good to shadow other docs too which you have already done

BTW, your dad is a physician right? The part about "in their lab" was a little confusing

ETA: I found a definitive answer by an adcom saying that it IS acceptable to include shadowing a family member http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=9880062&postcount=3200

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[jaygatsby]

Sorry if this has already been answered, but if I choose to denote my research experience as one of my most significant, how should I describe it? I plan on writing why it was significant to me, but in describing it, should I focus more on what I did in terms of techniques (PCR, SDS-PAGE, etc) or more on my project overall (going into science explanations)?

 

[sk8ngli]

Thanks, sector9 for your response. I will try to include it as research. I also helped out with the research team in Argentina as part of my course work there, but I didn't really do anything really all that meaningful, but I'll include it as one research category. If I list my shadowing experiences in Argentina in another category (as part of the description for US shadowing) that's not double dipping, is it?
Additionally, I'm going to have to list my adviser as my contact, won't I? I mean, I'm terrified they'll call her and she'll say I was awful. Isn't that why we can choose who we can get letters of recs from? So we can learn from but move on from people that we haven't gotten along well with in the past?

Also, another logistical question, the response is always bullets or prose, up to you, but what is the general consensus on mixed? As in bullets for the longer ones and prose for the most elegant ones. I need to eliminate all subjects and many verbs in order to fit in my responsibilities as an athletic team captain, but can succinctly describe a health education curriculum that I built in 700 characters of prose. I think it sounds best in prose. Do you think it's ok to have some entries in bullets and some in prose?

 

[sector9]

Sorry if this has already been answered, but if I choose to denote my research experience as one of my most significant, how should I describe it? I plan on writing why it was significant to me, but in describing it, should I focus more on what I did in terms of techniques (PCR, SDS-PAGE, etc) or more on my project overall (going into science explanations)?

I'm a little confused about your post. Are you asking two separate questions:
1. What should I write for my research "most meaningful" space?
2. What should I write for my research description space?

The beginning of the description space should be a very general description of your research, something that someone with an intro bio class could understand. The rest of the description can be more technical. Address things such as:

Publications in campus journals
Presentations at campus conferences/symposiums
Leadership in the lab

as well as other items such as the goal of your research, etc. It isn't too useful to state "I did PCR and SDS-PAGE" unless you go on to explain why you were doing it. So you should talk about the science implications of your project overall

The "most meaningful" box is almost impossible to know how to write properly because this is the first year it has been available. The best answer I can give is that the safe bet is to stick with the AMCAS prompt as listed on the application. No one can fault you with doing that. It will take at least one cycle before the adcoms on this forum can talk about the creative ways that they've seen this space used

 

[sector9]

Thanks, sector9 for your response. I will try to include it as research. I also helped out with the research team in Argentina as part of my course work there, but I didn't really do anything really all that meaningful, but I'll include it as one research category. If I list my shadowing experiences in Argentina in another category (as part of the description for US shadowing) that's not double dipping, is it?
Additionally, I'm going to have to list my adviser as my contact, won't I? I mean, I'm terrified they'll call her and she'll say I was awful. Isn't that why we can choose who we can get letters of recs from? So we can learn from but move on from people that we haven't gotten along well with in the past?

Also, another logistical question, the response is always bullets or prose, up to you, but what is the general consensus on mixed? As in bullets for the longer ones and prose for the most elegant ones. I need to eliminate all subjects and many verbs in order to fit in my responsibilities as an athletic team captain, but can succinctly describe a health education curriculum that I built in 700 characters of prose. I think it sounds best in prose. Do you think it's ok to have some entries in bullets and some in prose?

It's not double dipping if you don't list it twice. So as you don't list the shadowing hours as part of your research in Argentina, then you can group it with the rest of the shadowing.

You should list her as your contact, but Catalystik has said that the reason for the phone call by an adcom would be to determine if your time span and description were accurate. Don't worry about it too much, there are not many reports of people actually contacting your contacts

I like mixed but I'm not an adcom. I haven't seen any of the adcoms say if they prefer one way over the other, so I would just pick the one that expresses your thoughts best

 

[abcohio]

For a year I was a member of my school's optometry club. In addition to medicine I was also interested in optometry....through this experience I was able to determine that I had a much greater interest in going to medical school. Would it be a bad idea to list this experience in the work/activities? I currently only have 12 activities so I am not sure whether I should try to enter in some activities like this one to up my number.

 

[sector9]

For a year I was a member of my school's optometry club. In addition to medicine I was also interested in optometry....through this experience I was able to determine that I had a much greater interest in going to medical school. Would it be a bad idea to list this experience in the work/activities? I currently only have 12 activities so I am not sure whether I should try to enter in some activities like this one to up my number.

Do NOT try to pad your application by adding "filler" or fluff items. The average applicant only uses 9-10 spaces.

School clubs are useful if you had leadership or if it got you involved in regular community service. Otherwise, they're filler.

If this experience really did motivate you to pursue medicine, then you can talk about it in your PS. TBH, it sounds like something that you might mention when asked in an interview, but it doesn't really sound AMCAS worthy.

 

[raltima07]

I was part of the highest honor society at my school and was very active in it. Should I put that as Honors, awards, ect or other?

 

[raltima07]

Also does this wording sound bad:

My selection validates my hard work as a undergraduate research student and my potential for future success in the sciences.

 

[texasholdems]

Hi guys
might be a simple question, but confusing me a little here and can't find an ideal/LEGIT answer...

there's a space for every discription as you know, and when you click "most significant seciton" then another big box/space appears so we can type in longer discriptions.

Do we have to fill in both boxes for most significant experiences? or just ignore the first small box and use the bigger box?

thanks

 

[kautionwirez]

I sent in my application last night and I noticed that I only have 1 most significant experience checked, and forgot to add 1 more for my research.....

Do you think it is okay or should I contact amcas and have them change it?
Will this effect my application/hurt me?

 

[guitarguy23]

I have searched for a relevant discussion on my issue and have not been able to find one so I apologize if I'm repeating something previously discussed.

I've shadowed "in bulk" on two separate occasions: In March 2010 I shadowed two physicians (an OB and a Family Medicine doc) from 8am-5pm an entire work week.

The second time was in July 2010 in Honduras during a week shadowing the rural care by an American Family Medicine doc for villagers in the country.

Should I list them seperately, or not? The trouble is listing start and end dates/cities/contact info/etc if I were to list them together. What would be the best way to do this? Thanks!

 

[MalibuPreMD]

Would you all recommend including this? Or does it seem like filler?

Other activity / 3 hours a week / activity lasted for one full year

- The ****** Ambassadors Council is a group of twenty elected student leaders invited to volunteer at important university functions, including: board of regents meetings, major fundraising events, and opening nights of artistic events
- My responsibilities included: representing the student body to important donors and university associates, providing communications support in the office of University Advancement, helping to plan and coordinate council community volunteering events
- Total time: 100 hours

 

[raltima07]

Would you all recommend including this? Or does it seem like filler?

Other activity / 3 hours a week / activity lasted for one full year

- The ****** Am*****s Co***il is a group of twenty elected student leaders invited to volunteer at important university functions, including: board of regents meetings, major fundraising events, and opening nights of artistic events
- My responsibilities included: representing the student body to important donors and university associates, providing communications support in the office of University Advancement, helping to plan and coordinate council community volunteering events
- Total time: 100 hours

Sounds important (the university thought that highly of you to allow you to be a student rep towards donors) to me, and I would include it

 

[rofl]

info redacted.

 

[sector9]

I was part of the highest honor society at my school and was very active in it. Should I put that as Honors, awards, ect or other?

Honors/awards is fine

Also does this wording sound bad:

My selection validates my hard work as a undergraduate research student and my potential for future success in the sciences.

Hmm hopefully Catalystik will get back soon so she can comment on specific wording-type questions.

I think it sounds a little prideful TBH

 

[sector9]

Hi guys
might be a simple question, but confusing me a little here and can't find an ideal/LEGIT answer...

there's a space for every discription as you know, and when you click "most significant seciton" then another big box/space appears so we can type in longer discriptions.

Do we have to fill in both boxes for most significant experiences? or just ignore the first small box and use the bigger box?

thanks

Use the description box to describe the activity, then talk about the overall impact of the activity in the "most meaningful" box

My opinion is that if you don't have something to say for both boxes, then it probably wasn't as significant as you initially thought. That doesn't mean you have to hit the character limit for both boxes, but it should be easy to write something

 

[sector9]

I sent in my application last night and I noticed that I only have 1 most significant experience checked, and forgot to add 1 more for my research.....

Do you think it is okay or should I contact amcas and have them change it?
Will this effect my application/hurt me?

I would contact AMCAS and if they can't do anything, then it's over with. No use worrying about it so much if you can't do anything. I have a feeling they'll say you can't change it, but I haven't read anyone calling about this specific issue

 

[sector9]

I have searched for a relevant discussion on my issue and have not been able to find one so I apologize if I'm repeating something previously discussed.

I've shadowed "in bulk" on two separate occasions: In March 2010 I shadowed two physicians (an OB and a Family Medicine doc) from 8am-5pm an entire work week.

The second time was in July 2010 in Honduras during a week shadowing the rural care by an American Family Medicine doc for villagers in the country.

Should I list them seperately, or not? The trouble is listing start and end dates/cities/contact info/etc if I were to list them together. What would be the best way to do this? Thanks!

See this post one page back
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11102948&postcount=1068
Answer 4 should be sufficient.

Group them together

 

[sector9]

Would you all recommend including this? Or does it seem like filler?

Other activity / 3 hours a week / activity lasted for one full year

- The ****** Ambassadors Council is a group of twenty elected student leaders invited to volunteer at important university functions, including: board of regents meetings, major fundraising events, and opening nights of artistic events
- My responsibilities included: representing the student body to important donors and university associates, providing communications support in the office of University Advancement, helping to plan and coordinate council community volunteering events
- Total time: 100 hours

Sounds important (the university thought that highly of you to allow you to be a student rep towards donors) to me, and I would include it

I similarly vote for inclusion. 3 hours/week for a year is space worthy.

Just a comment on your description (if this is how it's being worded on your AMCAS): I was unclear about what exactly you did. Did you help set up and clean up for events? Did you shake hands and mingle with the important people at the university?

Anyway, it sounds interesting

 

[sector9]

I am a qualified mixologist and have bartended a few events (sporadically). should I include this?

There are two issues here.
1- Is it ok to list bartending?
The answer is yes. See this post by LizzyM in a thread by a user with a similar question
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=5937187

2-Did you do it for long enough to include?
We need more info to answer this, but it seems like it might not be enough. If you have other short term or summer jobs, then include this with the rest of those.

 

[Smiths11]

Hi, I was wondering what I should do for the following 2 situations:

1) I have 2 shadowing experiences: one in the ER and one with a general practitioner. I also volunteered with same doctor in the ER in the same time period as when I shadowed with him. So obviously it makes sense for me to group the volunteering/shadowing in the ER as one experience. But then does that mean I should list the shadowing with the general practitioner as a separate entry, or should I include that in with ER shadowing & volunteering?

-Also, should I list the ER shadowing/volunteering under "volunteering" or "other"?

2) I was a business major and I interned with a financial company the summer of my Junior year, and then worked full time with them after graduating, for 6 months, until I decided to become a post-bac. So it makes sense to list both the interning and full time positions as one right? But in that case, what dates should I list? The dates of my interning or the dates of my full time?

Thanks for the help!

 

[sector9]

Hi, I was wondering what I should do for the following 2 situations:

1) I have 2 shadowing experiences: one in the ER and one with a general practitioner. I also volunteered with same doctor in the ER in the same time period as when I shadowed with him. So obviously it makes sense for me to group the volunteering/shadowing in the ER as one experience. But then does that mean I should list the shadowing with the general practitioner as a separate entry, or should I include that in with ER shadowing & volunteering?

-Also, should I list the ER shadowing/volunteering under "volunteering" or "other"?

2) I was a business major and I interned with a financial company the summer of my Junior year, and then worked full time with them after graduating, for 6 months, until I decided to become a post-bac. So it makes sense to list both the interning and full time positions as one right? But in that case, what dates should I list? The dates of my interning or the dates of my full time?

Thanks for the help!

1) You have two options
A- Group the shadowing together as one entry (labeled as other) then list the ER volunteering in another space (listed as clinical community service). Don't double dip hours, so the hours in the ER that you were shadowing should not be included in the ER volunteering hours. Hopefully you had enough ER volunteering hours to be worthy of a space.
B- Leave the ER stuff combined in an entry. You could (probably) still list it as clinical community service, provided that you spent most of your time volunteering AND that you make it clear the exact number of hours that you did each of them. You would need to make your title of the ER activity something like "ER Volunteering and Shadowing" so that the shadowing component gets noticed.

Personally, I think that option A is best.

2) Yes group them together. List the job info into the boxes, then list the info about the internship at the end of the listing by saying "Also:"

 

[Smiths11]

1) You have two options
A- Group the shadowing together as one entry (labeled as other) then list the ER volunteering in another space (listed as clinical community service). Don't double dip hours, so the hours in the ER that you were shadowing should not be included in the ER volunteering hours. Hopefully you had enough ER volunteering hours to be worthy of a space.
B- Leave the ER stuff combined in an entry. You could (probably) still list it as clinical community service, provided that you spent most of your time volunteering AND that you make it clear the exact number of hours that you did each of them. You would need to make your title of the ER activity something like "ER Volunteering and Shadowing" so that the shadowing component gets noticed.

Personally, I think that option A is best.

2) Yes group them together. List the job info into the boxes, then list the info about the internship at the end of the listing by saying "Also:"

Ok, thanks for your help!

 

[Smiths11]

2) Yes group them together. List the job info into the boxes, then list the info about the internship at the end of the listing by saying "Also:"

Actually, I just realized that if I do this, then there will be a gap for the summer of my Junior year, even though I will explain it in my full time description. So if someone were to look over my application very quickly, they may look at the gap as a negative, and not read the details of my full time job carefully. Would this be a risk?

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I was a campus tour guide the summer between undergrad and my post-bac. Is this something that would be cool to put down, or would it be stupid? I can't decide.

 

[sector9]

Actually, I just realized that if I do this, then there will be a gap for the summer of my Junior year, even though I will explain it in my full time description. So if someone were to look over my application very quickly, they may look at the gap as a negative, and not read the details of my full time job carefully. Would this be a risk?

This is not an issue

 

[sector9]

I was a campus tour guide the summer between undergrad and my post-bac. Is this something that would be cool to put down, or would it be stupid? I can't decide.

What were the time commitments? Hours per week for how long?

 

[TheMightySmiter]

What were the time commitments? Hours per week for how long?

Like 10-15 hours per week for three months.

 

[sector9]

Like 10-15 hours per week for three months.

The time commitment indicates that you could list it.

Do you have any other short term or summer employment that you could group this with? Was it paid? If not paid, then do you have any short term volunteer activities you could group it with?

 

[kentuckylady24]

Okay, Im a little confused when you say that we need to put in the contacts? I do not see a place on my application were I added my volunteering, to actually put the contact name and number???

 

[sector9]

Okay, Im a little confused when you say that we need to put in the contacts? I do not see a place on my application were I added my volunteering, to actually put the contact name and number???

Uh, we are talking about AMCAS application, right?
In the Work/Activities section?
When you add an activity, there are a bunch of little boxes, then a big description box. The little box ask for things like a title, hours per week, and contact info.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

The time commitment indicates that you could list it.

Do you have any other short term or summer employment that you could group this with? Was it paid? If not paid, then do you have any short term volunteer activities you could group it with?

It was paid. I have a couple other short-term jobs I could list it with, but they are all pretty unrelated. I spent one summer organizing the internship database for a master's program at my university, and I've done some short-term chemistry tutoring. Could those all be listed together, even though they are qualitatively different?

 

[kentuckylady24]

My bad, Im looking at the AACOMAS application which doesnt have a contact box. sorry

 

[sector9]

It was paid. I have a couple other short-term jobs I could list it with, but they are all pretty unrelated. I spent one summer organizing the internship database for a master's program at my university, and I've done some short-term chemistry tutoring. Could those all be listed together, even though they are qualitatively different?

Hmm. I would list the tour guide and keep it as its own entry. I think it's substantial enough to list on its own, provided you have space.

Hopefully Catalystik will get back soon so she can correct me if I'm wrong. I was unable to find anyone else asking about the importance of being a tour guide

See this post about summer employment http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10994855&postcount=375

 

[sector9]

My bad, Im looking at the AACOMAS application which doesnt have a contact box. sorry

No problem

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Hmm. I would list the tour guide and keep it as its own entry. I think it's substantial enough to list on its own, provided you have space.

Hopefully Catalystik will get back soon so she can correct me if I'm wrong. I was unable to find anyone else asking about the importance of being a tour guide

See this post about summer employment http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10994855&postcount=375

Awesome, thanks for your help!

 

[Whatyousay]

I am currently a tutor for my university's main academic advising center. I'm also involved in interviewing applicants, determining the academic competency of these applicants, and training new employees. However, this latter responsibility isn't something that I'm doing every week (just during hiring periods), so I'm hesitant to include it as an activity of its own.

Should I split this up into two activities? I want to illustrate the teaching aspect of the tutoring, as well as the leadership aspect of the job training / interview committee.

 

[sector9]

I am currently a tutor for my university's main academic advising center. I'm also involved in interviewing applicants, determining the academic competency of these applicants, and training new employees. However, this latter responsibility isn't something that I'm doing every week (just during hiring periods), so I'm hesitant to include it as an activity of its own.

Should I split this up into two activities? I want to illustrate the teaching aspect of the tutoring, as well as the leadership aspect of the job training / interview committee.

It sounds like you should probably list them together in one entry.

Do you have other leadership activities? Depending on the time commitment of the leadership aspect, you could list it separately if you don't have other leadership listed.

Other ideas include adding the leadership component to the title and then separating out the leadership in the description box by leaving a blank line between the tutor aspect and the leadership aspect. This will highlight your peer leadership.

 

[TauParticle]

Hi all,

First post here. I apologize if some of these questions have been answered before.

1) How should I list contact information for a publication? I have a first authored manuscript that was recently submitted, and I received an email from the Associate Editor acknowledging that is was received. Is his name/email address appropriate to list? I also have another second author publication ... should I do the same thing here?

2) How should I list contact information for honors/awards? Because I will be lumping them together, what should the title of this activity be? (I've read it should be the most significant one, but I'm having trouble deciding which looks the best). My honors/awards are:
Deans honors (multiple quarters)
UC Regents scholar - merit scholarship that fully paid my undergraduate tuition
MCDB Special Departmental Honors - for undergraduate research
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute Summer Internship Award - this was a premedical oriented internship program where I received a stipend to cover living expenses... I talk about this elsewhere in my work activities essay (I made one entry for the publication that came out of this, one for the shadowing/clinical experience I obtained, and a third entry for all the other activities that the internship included), but I thought maybe I should list it here as well because it technically is an award that I received by winning an essay contest.

So should I just list some contact person at my university, as that will cover the first three awards I listed, and figure that whoever is looking at this is smart enough to look at my other essays to find a reference for the Sansum internship?

3) Last question (saved the worst for last). The only volunteer experience I have comes from highschool, where I volunteered to teach Tae Kwon Do at my dojo to kids and adults at my dojo four hours per week for 3 years. I've read high school experiences are irrelevant unless you continued them in college, so I'm worried that I will be viewed as heartless by admissions committees. I am applying to MD/PhD programs exclusively, so maybe this isn't so bad. I feel like I'm a good candidate for MD/PhD, but the lack of volunteer work is holding me back from submitting my application right now, and I've considered trying to sign up for some kind of some clinically oriented volunteer work immediately so I can at least list something on my application before submitting. Here's some other info about my application ... maybe you guys can give me some thought on how much you think my lack of volunteer work will hurt my application:

MCAT: 14P 11V 13B R = 38R

UG GPA: 3.6
UG Sci/math GPA: 3.7
UG Upper division major GPA: 3.9 (basically I blew it my freshman year and got straight A's after that)

I also have a Master's in molecular biology, and have 3 years of research experience in that field (2 in grad school, 1 in undergrad). From this research, I got my first authored publication (recently submitted) and gave a talk at a conference.
Graduate GPA was 4.0

2 years of teaching experience as a TA for Pharmacology and Genetics courses.

3 summers of Physics research at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center under a Nobel Prize winning physicist.

Currently working at a major biotech company in research operations (manager kind of stuff, not lab work, but all my work is related to the drug discovery process and I think it's good experience)

I've been competing in powerlifting (weightlifting competition involving bench press, squat and deadlift ... not the ones that are in the Olympics) for 4 years and set several state records in the junior division.

Letters of rec are coming from:
- My PI in the molecular biology research,
- Another professor at my school who I took classes with, was a teaching assistant for, and who served on my thesis committee in my Master's program.
- The Nobel Prize dude I worked for at Stanford
- The director of the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute where I did my premedical internship

So that's where I am... I feel like I should be good, but I was told explicitly by a DO student who served on admissions committees that not having recent volunteer work will be looked at as bad and that I should wait to submit my application until I sign up for something. Should I write about the Tae Kwon Do stuff, even though it's old. Will it count for anything.

Thanks a bunch to anyone who actually spends the time to read this whole post and respond ... I've been stressing over these questions for a while now.

 

[raltima07]

For #1 - it would be your PI

 

[Darkskies]

If we're grouping multiple awards, what should we put for the award date if they were given on different dates? This is particularly true for the Dean's list since it was awarded numerous semesters. Thanks!

 

[sector9]

Hi all,

First post here. I apologize if some of these questions have been answered before.

1) How should I list contact information for a publication? I have a first authored manuscript that was recently submitted, and I received an email from the Associate Editor acknowledging that is was received. Is his name/email address appropriate to list? I also have another second author publication ... should I do the same thing here?

2) How should I list contact information for honors/awards? Because I will be lumping them together, what should the title of this activity be? (I've read it should be the most significant one, but I'm having trouble deciding which looks the best). My honors/awards are:
Deans honors (multiple quarters)
UC Regents scholar - merit scholarship that fully paid my undergraduate tuition
MCDB Special Departmental Honors - for undergraduate research
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute Summer Internship Award - this was a premedical oriented internship program where I received a stipend to cover living expenses... I talk about this elsewhere in my work activities essay (I made one entry for the publication that came out of this, one for the shadowing/clinical experience I obtained, and a third entry for all the other activities that the internship included), but I thought maybe I should list it here as well because it technically is an award that I received by winning an essay contest.

So should I just list some contact person at my university, as that will cover the first three awards I listed, and figure that whoever is looking at this is smart enough to look at my other essays to find a reference for the Sansum internship?

3) Last question (saved the worst for last). The only volunteer experience I have comes from highschool, where I volunteered to teach Tae Kwon Do at my dojo to kids and adults at my dojo four hours per week for 3 years. I've read high school experiences are irrelevant unless you continued them in college, so I'm worried that I will be viewed as heartless by admissions committees. I am applying to MD/PhD programs exclusively, so maybe this isn't so bad. I feel like I'm a good candidate for MD/PhD, but the lack of volunteer work is holding me back from submitting my application right now, and I've considered trying to sign up for some kind of some clinically oriented volunteer work immediately so I can at least list something on my application before submitting. Here's some other info about my application ... maybe you guys can give me some thought on how much you think my lack of volunteer work will hurt my application:

MCAT: 14P 11V 13B R = 38R

UG GPA: 3.6
UG Sci/math GPA: 3.7
UG Upper division major GPA: 3.9 (basically I blew it my freshman year and got straight A's after that)

I also have a Master's in molecular biology, and have 3 years of research experience in that field (2 in grad school, 1 in undergrad). From this research, I got my first authored publication (recently submitted) and gave a talk at a conference.
Graduate GPA was 4.0

2 years of teaching experience as a TA for Pharmacology and Genetics courses.

3 summers of Physics research at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center under a Nobel Prize winning physicist.

Currently working at a major biotech company in research operations (manager kind of stuff, not lab work, but all my work is related to the drug discovery process and I think it's good experience)

I've been competing in powerlifting (weightlifting competition involving bench press, squat and deadlift ... not the ones that are in the Olympics) for 4 years and set several state records in the junior division.

Letters of rec are coming from:
- My PI in the molecular biology research,
- Another professor at my school who I took classes with, was a teaching assistant for, and who served on my thesis committee in my Master's program.
- The Nobel Prize dude I worked for at Stanford
- The director of the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute where I did my premedical internship

So that's where I am... I feel like I should be good, but I was told explicitly by a DO student who served on admissions committees that not having recent volunteer work will be looked at as bad and that I should wait to submit my application until I sign up for something. Should I write about the Tae Kwon Do stuff, even though it's old. Will it count for anything.

Thanks a bunch to anyone who actually spends the time to read this whole post and respond ... I've been stressing over these questions for a while now.

Wow, that is quite the post

1) For a publication, list the PI over the project, as raltima says. But there's a major warning here: You should NOT be listing submitted publications or publications accepted pending revisions. The only time you can list a publication is if it is accepted or published. Post if you have further questions about this. You may mention at the end of your "Research" listing that you have submitted a publication if you want to mention it, but it won't get much notice until it is accepted.

2) The title should be inclusive of all of the items in the entry, so you could just say "Scholarships and Awards"

Contact for university awards is usually your school's registrar

Pick whichever award or honor is most selective/gave you the most money/etc. Since you're applying MD/PhD you might consider using a research award as your first one. You would list the contact info for whichever award you list first, then say "Also:" in the description box and list the rest. You should probably add additional contact info for the other entries if possible, although it is not required

Be sure you aren't double dipping with the hours for the Sansum thing if you split it into multiple entries

3) Well, technically, you could include the high school experience. It is advised not to do this, however. In past years, AMCAS specified that experience needed to be from college. Now, there is no stipulation, but the general rule is still don't list it.

MD/PhD applicants often have more focus on research than volunteering. It is still recommended strongly, and since you don't have anything, you might consider not applying to some of the top programs. Did you tell your DO admissions friend that you were applying MD/PhD only?

If you would like more opinions about the volunteering/if you should apply now, consider looking around here at the Physician Scientist forum http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=32

 

[sector9]

If we're grouping multiple awards, what should we put for the award date if they were given on different dates? This is particularly true for the Dean's list since it was awarded numerous semesters. Thanks!

This question is ironic because of this quote straight from the AMCAS instruction manual

For example, an applicant who makes the Dean’s List each term should enter this only once, noting in the description that this occurred multiple times.

 

[Darkskies]

This question is ironic because of this quote straight from the AMCAS instruction manual

lol..Thanks. That still doesn't explain what I should put for the date? Would the end of the semester suffice?

 

[TauParticle]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

Yes, I told my DO friend I'm applying exclusively to MD/PhD, but I was hoping that as she's never interviewed anyone for that type of program, her advice might not be so relevant in this case.

To be clear, should I also list the PI for the project for the article (the second author one) that has actually been published?

I didn't realize I couldn't list publications that haven't been accepted. I'm hoping for a response from the journal within the next week ... do you think it's worth it to wait until it's been officially accepted?

 

[sector9]

lol..Thanks. That still doesn't explain what I should put for the date? Would the end of the semester suffice?

Yup, end of semester is fine

 

[sector9]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

Yes, I told my DO friend I'm applying exclusively to MD/PhD, but I was hoping that as she's never interviewed anyone for that type of program, her advice might not be so relevant in this case.

To be clear, should I also list the PI for the project for the article (the second author one) that has actually been published?

I didn't realize I couldn't list publications that haven't been accepted. I'm hoping for a response from the journal within the next week ... do you think it's worth it to wait until it's been officially accepted?

Yes, list your PI for the article that has been published.

It's a tough call about waiting for the publication. How sure are you that it will be accepted? Are you within the turnaround time for that journal? If so, then I guess you could wait. Otherwise, don't wait, since publication is a crapshoot and takes longer than anyone expects, usually.

The other option is to apply sooner, then send schools (the schools that allow them) an update letter once it is accepted

 

[tides55]

Hi guys, I have a quick question on categorizing some volunteering.

I volunteer with a non-profit org called A Kid Again, which is sort of like Make a Wish, and it sponsors kids with chronic and life-threatening illnesses on trips to concerts and stuff. We do hospital visits once a month for the terminally ill children, which probably falls under clinical. However, the other volunteering involves stuff like reading books, face-painting, running craft booths at the events. These kids do have chronic illnesses, but they're not necessarily confined to the hospital setting. This wouldn't count as clinical volunteering, correct?

Also, I volunteered some time at an Alzheimer's care center.... would this be clinical or non-clinical?

 

[brambles]

I see the validity of putting total volunteer hours on the AMCAS, but do people really put total hours they've worked in a lab or a full-time job? It seems kind of silly to put some-thousand-hours worked for employment.

Maybe not on the league of putting every random scholarship you get as an "award/honor," or putting your blog as a "publication," but I think it's getting there.