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

[canben14]

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Thanks for the response sector9. In regard to the first question, I was not sure if I should list the experience as research/lab since it was not really done in a lab. Yes, the presentation aspect of it was not great thing, I mostly wasn't sure what else to classify it as. It was for my senior engineering capstone project. I would say it was mostly independent research with collaboration with industry personnel. Do you think I can still classify it as "research/lab". Thanks

 

[Ultimeaciax]

For grouping activities together, say conferences... What should I name it if the conferences are not related to each other? Also, they require contact info. Which contact info should I put or should I put all? An example would be nice. Thanks in advance!

 

[sector9]

For grouping activities together, say conferences... What should I name it if the conferences are not related to each other? Also, they require contact info. Which contact info should I put or should I put all? An example would be nice. Thanks in advance!

Name it something that encompasses all of the activities. Like "Evolutionary Ecology Conferences" or whatever.

Put in contact info for one of them, then talk about that one first in the description. Then you can separate the other one with a blank line then say "Also:" and talk about the second one, giving the contact information in the actual description box.

Just a note about your example: Listing conferences you attended (without you giving a poster or presentation) are rarely useful for the purposes of medical school admissions. It might be fluff

 

[sector9]

Thanks for the response sector9. In regard to the first question, I was not sure if I should list the experience as research/lab since it was not really done in a lab. Yes, the presentation aspect of it was not great thing, I mostly wasn't sure what else to classify it as. It was for my senior engineering capstone project. I would say it was mostly independent research with collaboration with industry personnel. Do you think I can still classify it as "research/lab". Thanks

Did you work with a professor at your school to collaborate on the project?

Engineering can definitely be counted as research, as can research done as part of a class project. Just because you weren't in a lab titrating chemicals does not mean it is not legitimate research. However, it would be helpful to know if this was similar to a literature review/case report or something more original than that?

If you are in doubt, then list it as "other". It sounds like a large time commitment that an adcom wouldn't pick up on just by glancing at your coursework.

 

[sector9]

Ok I think I got it figured out. I'm keeping Siemens in its own spot, but I'll categorize it as 'honors/awards,' and add Dean's List as a one line mention at the end of Siemens. Sector9, Siemens is a lot like Intel, and I've heard both ways about both of them. Everything I was trying to get in has a spot now, so I'm thinking I might as well leave Siemens in its own spot along with Dean's List.

I moved my doctor shadowing to the same category as my hospital volunteering (I had essentially the same things to say about both of them), which freed up the spot for my undergraduate research journal article. IM soccer was in its own spot anyway, so I didn't touch that.

My other honors/awards have been fellowships, grants, and travel awards for research, and I've included those in their respective research categories, so this is my only honors/awards section.


Success?

If you fit everything into 15 slots, then go for it. Adcoms have differing opinions about including high school stuff (I think UWash's FAQ page says you can include anything from birth on up or something like that. There's no specific rule, just recommendations from the adcoms on here, so interpret things how you want). Good luck

 

[Catalystik]

I moved my doctor shadowing to the same category as my hospital volunteering (I had essentially the same things to say about both of them)

Be sure to include the word "Shadowing" in the name you give the activity, then, so it won't be overlooked.

 

[Ironhorse3]

how is everyone physically entering them in? just typing? or copy and and paste with Microsoft notepad?
I know the instruction manual warns against copy and paste a lot.

 

[RabbitMD]

So... I'm having a LOT of trouble figuring out how to explain why my "most meaningful" experiences are meaningful without repeating what's in my personal statement.

I thought about choosing different experiences to talk about, but that feels weird. The three I've selected right now are so clearly the most meaningful (that's why they're in my PS...).

Right now I'm trying to give additional details and reflection about them that are not in the PS, but it's driving me nuts not to be able to say the main reasons, or to figure out how to word this. Is it weird to say things like "In addition to the factors explained in my personal statement..."? Or "For an account of ________ please see my personal statement?"

Edit: It also feels weird to give "additional" details in *this* section, which a reader would probably read first? I don't want to steal the thunder from my PS.

😕

Any thoughts on this?! Thanks!!

 

[sector9]

how is everyone physically entering them in? just typing? or copy and and paste with Microsoft notepad?
I know the instruction manual warns against copy and paste a lot.

Copy and paste from notepad is fine.

I have a Mac, but I wrote everything in Word, then copied and pasted to a basic program (TextEdit) and then copied and pasted into the application

Just make 100% sure that you copied everything and that everything was saved by looking at the PDF version thoroughly before submission (on main menu, click "Print Application" and pick the PDF option. The HTML option screws up formatting a little bit and AMCAS says PDF is representative of what the med schools will see)

 

[sector9]

So... I'm having a LOT of trouble figuring out how to explain why my "most meaningful" experiences are meaningful without repeating what's in my personal statement.

I thought about choosing different experiences to talk about, but that feels weird. The three I've selected right now are so clearly the most meaningful (that's why they're in my PS...).

Right now I'm trying to give additional details and reflection about them that are not in the PS, but it's driving me nuts not to be able to say the main reasons, or to figure out how to word this. Is it weird to say things like "In addition to the factors explained in my personal statement..."? Or "For an account of ________ please see my personal statement?"

Edit: It also feels weird to give "additional" details in *this* section, which a reader would probably read first? I don't want to steal the thunder from my PS.

😕

Any thoughts on this?! Thanks!!

My thoughts are in the FAQ, number 8b.

I am a little worried about your PS if you feel like you're repeating everything. Make 100% sure that your PS hasn't turned into a listing of EC's but instead focuses on "Why do you want to be a doctor?" It's a frequent mistake and trap to list off your experiences and feel the need to explain each activity

What many, many, many pre-meds do is fall into the Extra-Curricular trap. Rather than discussing why they are motivated to pursue medicine they simply state that they are motivated and then start talking about their extra-curricular activities. (I've done it, and it happened frequently in statements I helped edit) If the EC shows up in your ECs section and you talked about it there, there's no need to talk about the details of what you did in your personal statement. I'm pretty sure performing bench research counting drosophila did little to help your motivation to become a physician, don't throw in a line telling me it did just so you can remind me about that 4 weeks of research experience you've got.

you want to cut anything that does not directly address the following:

• intro
• "why medicine?"
• support for "why medicine?"
• any problems/gaps in education along the way that really should be addressed in PS
• conclusion

This doesn't mean your ECs are off limits, it just means that you should discuss specific experiences that actually affected your motivation. It's better to use a single detailed example and illustrate how it drove you to medicine than to try to say you did X here which made you want to be a doc, then did Y there which made you want to be a doc, etc.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=536199
(emphasis mine)

Also, keep in mind that the AMCAS prompt never asks why these activities are most meaningful for you to pursue medicine. The prompt asks why the activities are meaningful and formative aspects of your life, so you could approach your answer differently

 

[RabbitMD]

My thoughts are in the FAQ, number 8b.

I am a little worried about your PS if you feel like you're repeating everything. Make 100% sure that your PS hasn't turned into a listing of EC's but instead focuses on "Why do you want to be a doctor?" It's a frequent mistake and trap to list off your experiences and feel the need to explain each activity


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=536199
(emphasis mine)

Also, keep in mind that the AMCAS prompt never asks why these activities are most meaningful for you to pursue medicine. The prompt asks why the activities are meaningful and formative aspects of your life, so you could approach your answer differently

Thanks sector9.

Sorry for my ignorance, but which FAQ?

My personal statement doesn't talk about ALL my experiences, really just those three. I'm a non-trad applicant, and the flow of it is like....

1. Previous life (physics research, experience #1), why I decided not to do that anymore, realized I needed my work to benefit people directly

2. The story of my first experience being responsible for a patient, as a WFR in Yosemite, and why it totally rocked my world (working in Yosemite, experience #2)

3. Clinical volunteering experience (experience #3) and how it confirmed for me that I wanted to practice medicine

And then conclusion.

For all of them, a major part of why they are meaningful is that they helped me to decide I wanted to do medicine, which is where I'm having trouble with the overlap.

With the working in Yosemite, though, for example... would it be weird to say something along the lines of "This experience was meaningful because it was my first patient care experience here that first made me decide to pursue medicine (for an account see my personal statement). It is also meaningful because blah blah blah..."?

 

[RabbitMD]

Also, keep in mind that the AMCAS prompt never asks why these activities are most meaningful for you to pursue medicine. The prompt asks why the activities are meaningful and formative aspects of your life, so you could approach your answer differently

I guess this is probably going to be the key.

 

[sector9]

Thanks sector9.

Sorry for my ignorance, but which FAQ?

The 2nd post in this thread. I'm still thinking about your situation. Catalystik might be the better person to answer so I may just wait for her

 

[am0428]

I listed my university twice (once for undergraduate and again for post-bacc classes). It asked me if a transcript is required for each one, and I checked yes, because I already sent in my transcript that shows all of this. Well, of course, the computer doesn't know this and thinks it is two different schools I guess. So, I get an email that says I have a hold on my submission and I need a transcript for my university (Post-Bacc.) and it is due by August 1st (MONDAY!!!!). I can't change anything, so now I have to wait until Monday morning and HOPE that someone can help me and that it won't be too late. Has anyone experienced this or know if they will be able to take the hold off of my account on MONDAY?!

 

[sector9]

I listed my university twice (once for undergraduate and again for post-bacc classes). It asked me if a transcript is required for each one, and I checked yes, because I already sent in my transcript that shows all of this. Well, of course, the computer doesn't know this and thinks it is two different schools I guess. So, I get an email that says I have a hold on my submission and I need a transcript for my university (Post-Bacc.) and it is due by August 1st (MONDAY!!!!). I can't change anything, so now I have to wait until Monday morning and HOPE that someone can help me and that it won't be too late. Has anyone experienced this or know if they will be able to take the hold off of my account on MONDAY?!

Reposted two other times... and wrong thread...

 

[Catalystik]

So... I'm having a LOT of trouble figuring out how to explain why my "most meaningful" experiences are meaningful without repeating what's in my personal statement.

I thought about choosing different experiences to talk about, but that feels weird. The three I've selected right now are so clearly the most meaningful (that's why they're in my PS...).

Right now I'm trying to give additional details and reflection about them that are not in the PS, but it's driving me nuts not to be able to say the main reasons, or to figure out how to word this.
1) Is it weird to say things like "In addition to the factors explained in my personal statement..."? Or "For an account of ________ please see my personal statement?"

Edit: It also feels weird to give "additional" details in *this* section, which a reader would probably read first? I don't want to steal the thunder from my PS.

My personal statement doesn't talk about ALL my experiences, really just those three. I'm a non-trad applicant, and the flow of it is like....

1. Previous life (physics research, experience #1), why I decided not to do that anymore, realized I needed my work to benefit people directly

2. The story of my first experience being responsible for a patient, as a WFR in Yosemite, and why it totally rocked my world (working in Yosemite, experience #2)

3. Clinical volunteering experience (experience #3) and how it confirmed for me that I wanted to practice medicine

And then conclusion.

For all of them, a major part of why they are meaningful is that they helped me to decide I wanted to do medicine, which is where I'm having trouble with the overlap.

2) With the working in Yosemite, though, for example... would it be weird to say something along the lines of "This experience was meaningful because it was my first patient care experience here that first made me decide to pursue medicine (for an account see my personal statement). It is also meaningful because blah blah blah..."?

1) I think that the two essays should be complete in themselves without referring one to the other. They aren't necessarily going to be read together. You want there to be minimal repeated information in the two, but that doesn't mean there can't be any overlap at all. (But use different words.)

Definitely don't steal the thunder from the PS, as that essay is key in whether anything else gets read.

2) You could save a lot of words by saying, "This caused me to realize . . ."

Comments: You don't have to designate more than one activity as "Most Meaningful" if you don't have a great deal more to say. But working in Yosemite and telling about it can help reveal other personal qualities that adcomms will feel are important in a candidate that have nothing to do with helping that first person or medicine (responsibility, dedication, teamwork, scientific curiosity, selflessness, ability to communicate well, leadership, grit, etc) So let the Experiences Section essay dwell on what you did that that demonstrates such traits instead. The same can be true of the research and clinical volunteering if you decide to keep them as "Most Meaningful.".

 

[RabbitMD]

1) I think that the two essays should be complete in themselves without referring one to the other. They aren't necessarily going to be read together. You want there to be minimal repeated information in the two, but that doesn't mean there can't be any overlap at all. (But use different words.)

Definitely don't steal the thunder from the PS, as that essay is key in whether anything else gets read.

2) You could save a lot of words by saying, "This caused me to realize . . ."

Comments: You don't have to designate more than one activity as "Most Meaningful" if you don't have a great deal more to say. But working in Yosemite and telling about it can help reveal other personal qualities that adcomms will feel are important in a candidate that have nothing to do with helping that first person or medicine (responsibility, dedication, teamwork, scientific curiosity, selflessness, ability to communicate well, leadership, grit, etc) So let the Experiences Section essay dwell on what you did that that demonstrates such traits instead. The same can be true of the research and clinical volunteering if you decide to keep them as "Most Meaningful.".

Thank you Catalystik! This was a helpful way to think about it.

I'm thinking I'll just keep physics research and Yosemite as "most meaningful" because both of those have been transformative in important ways other than their direct role in this path (which is the part the statement talks about), but that definitely show personal qualities relevant to medicine... whereas the meaningfulness of the clinical volunteering I think I deal with pretty completely in my statement. If that makes sense...

 

[MedicJosh]

ok, so i've got two questions:

much of my medical/clinical experience is also work experience. should i list this under paid employment or medical/clinical. i currently have it under work experience because for medical/clinical it also has volunteer/community service as the same category

also, for the extracurricular/hobbies section would it be ridiculous to put exercise/running? i don't want adcoms to think i'm just trying to fluff my application but i also don't want them to think i'm a robot that does nothing other than pre-med stuff. ...thoughts?

 

[sector9]

ok, so i've got two questions:

1. much of my medical/clinical experience is also work experience. should i list this under paid employment or medical/clinical. i currently have it under work experience because for medical/clinical it also has volunteer/community service as the same category

2. also, for the extracurricular/hobbies section would it be ridiculous to put exercise/running? i don't want adcoms to think i'm just trying to fluff my application but i also don't want them to think i'm a robot that does nothing other than pre-med stuff. ...thoughts?

1. If it was paid , then it belongs in employment. As you pointed out, the category is for volunteer/community service activities.

The title and description of the job will make it clear that you had clinical exposure and experience. Hopefully you have some volunteer activities (either clinical or nonclinical) to list as well

2. Definitely include the running if you regularly participated in it, even if it was just for fun. Most applicants have a hobbies section where all of their hobbies are lumped together

 

[SOCCER21]

I dont see anywhere in the application where it says I have to choose at least 1 activity as most meaningful. I do read where it says picking 3 is optional. Would I be at a disadvantage if I didn't pick any as most meaningful? And in my personal statement I wrote a lot about my shadowing so then I'm assuming it would be silly to write about it again.

 

[sector9]

I dont see anywhere in the application where it says I have to choose at least 1 activity as most meaningful. I do read where it says picking 3 is optional. Would I be at a disadvantage if I didn't pick any as most meaningful? And in my personal statement I wrote a lot about my shadowing so then I'm assuming it would be silly to write about it again.

If you have 2 or more activities listed, then you have to select one or more (up to 3) as most meaningful.

I wouldn't write about shadowing again but rather focus on another activity.

ETA: The application does say you have to select at least one activity as most meaningful, both in the instruction manual and when you click on "Help" at the top of the page. Here's the quote:

You may identify up to three (3) experiences that you consider to be the most meaningful. If you have two or more entries, you will be required to identify at least one (1) as the most meaningful.

(emphasis mine)

 

[MedicJosh]

sector9, thanks for the help

 

[Catalystik]

And in my personal statement I wrote a lot about my shadowing so then I'm assuming it would be silly to write about it again.

I would still list the shadowing (under "Other") so it won't be overlooked as the person who scores/assesses your Experiences isn't necessarily the same one who reads your PS, but I agree there is no need to write further description beyond the specialties, names, contact, and number of hours.

 

[Salt is good]

I just submitted my primary application ,and I forgot to put 2 volunteering experiences that I did this summer +100 hrs. of community service at my church :cry::cry:. What am I suppose to do?

 

[Catalystik]

I just submitted my primary application ,and I forgot to put 2 volunteering experiences that I did this summer +100 hrs. of community service at my church :cry::cry:. What am I suppose to do?

Either work it into Secondary essays, or include it in an update letter you'll eventually send.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

How cliched is it to list reading as a hobby? Is it acceptable to list yourself as the "reference?"

Also, I volunteered at the university hospital for a semester my freshman year, but stopped 2nd semester due to a tougher schedule. This was 10 years ago, should I put it or does that look "desperate?"

 

[darkhope]

Hi guys so my app just got verified, and I took a look over the coursework thing and it looks correct, is that all i'm supposed to look for? Or is there anything else I'm supposed to check?, Also, after verification, they listed a junior college I was at while in high school taking summer classes there as a "main program", is that right? thanks

 

[MedicJosh]

I have a publication in an EMS magazine that's about stress cardiomyopathy. Should I provide a brief description about what that condition is or is merely stating that the article is about stress cardiomyopathy enough?

 

[sector9]

1. How cliched is it to list reading as a hobby? Is it acceptable to list yourself as the "reference?"

2. Also, I volunteered at the university hospital for a semester my freshman year, but stopped 2nd semester due to a tougher schedule. This was 10 years ago, should I put it or does that look "desperate?"

1. Reading is fine. Group it with other hobbies. Listing yourself as a contact is an option, but the more objective the contact, the better (like you could list a book group member, spouse, roommate, or parent instead of yourself)

2. I'm not sure about this question. Cat better take it

 

[sector9]

1. Hi guys so my app just got verified, and I took a look over the coursework thing and it looks correct, is that all i'm supposed to look for? Or is there anything else I'm supposed to check?,

2. Also, after verification, they listed a junior college I was at while in high school taking summer classes there as a "main program", is that right? thanks

1. Yup, just confirm the coursework section and see if they changed anything by using these marks https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/faqs/147918/aftersub_shared_3.2.html

2. As long as it's still marked as "High School" for your GPA purposes, I don't see a problem with that.

 

[sector9]

I have a publication in an EMS magazine that's about stress cardiomyopathy. Should I provide a brief description about what that condition is or is merely stating that the article is about stress cardiomyopathy enough?

Some adcom's can be members of the community who volunteer their time. So a simple explanation is appropriate.

A good approach is to have a short paragraph designed for an audience with very basic biology/physiology/anatomy knowledge, then the rest can be more technical

 

[HurricaneKatt]

Ok sorry if these Q's have already been asked, but I did a little searching and didn't quite find the answers I need.

For Shadowing experience at the same hospital, under the same physician...
I shadowed a total of X hours (I don't have these recorded unfortunately, is it ok to put an estimate, or a range - i.e. Approximately 12-14 hours total?). These hours were spread over a few different days, over 2 years. I am not sure of the best way to enter this in regards to start and end date, and hours/week. Can I leave hours/week blank and put my total hours in the description? And is a rough estimate of the start and end date based on the first and last times I shadowed with this physician acceptable?

Also I volunteered at the Children's Hospital for roughly a year. I got over 100 hours total, but my time was not regular during the whole time I volunteered. For several months I was doing about 4 hours a week, every week. Later in the year (when my class schedule changed the next semester) I continued to volunteer but my time was more sporadic (however, I still maintained roughly 4 hours per shift - the shifts were just more spread out). Should I:
- leave the average hours/week blank and just indicate my total hours in the description
- put 4 hours/week, fill in the 1 year start-end dates, but in the description include Total Hours=100
- Average out the 100 hours per 52 weeks a year and just enter the average hours/week = 2 hrs, and in the description indicate the total (or not)

Next is for future things. I am hoping to do some more volunteering and shadowing in the next year. How can I add these to my application?
1) If I have a certain "event" already scheduled/committed can I include this and indicate that I am committed to the future event as of X date? (i.e. "As of September 2011 I will be volunteering for the local School for the Deaf for 4 hours a week. I look forwards to the chance to.... and I will be doing tasks such as... This will help teach me...skills...")
2) If I am NOT committed to the "event" I assume I should not enter it (in case it does not happen) but then, once I do complete it what is the best way (if any) to ensure that schools have the chance to see this? (i.e. After I submit my application, I end up shadowing 2 docs for a total of X hours, and doing volunteer work for Y hours). Do I call the school and say I did X and Y? Can I submit a request to AMCAS to add this? Or am I just out of luck until my interview?

Also - for volunteering with the Premed club... we did various volunteering things over the course of 4 years. We did some neat stuff so I feel this deserves it's own entry separate from "Premed club" (leadership as I was an officer for 3 years). Under Premed Club I put the admin for the school clubs and Greek Life as my contact. For the volunteer work entry, should I also put the admin, or would it be better to put one of the current club officers as my contact?

Ok last question I think. For now. What should I put for start and end date for something I have been doing my entire life (art)? Obviously I didn't come out of the womb holding a paint brush, but I have been drawing, painting, etc since long before I can remember... And what just put my mother as a contact??? This is kind of a weird one, but it is something very important to me and I want to include it.

 

[HurricaneKatt]

Sorry for the long post! 😳😛

 

[sector9]

Ok sorry if these Q's have already been asked, but I did a little searching and didn't quite find the answers I need.

1. For Shadowing experience at the same hospital, under the same physician...
I shadowed a total of X hours (I don't have these recorded unfortunately, is it ok to put an estimate, or a range - i.e. Approximately 12-14 hours total?). These hours were spread over a few different days, over 2 years. I am not sure of the best way to enter this in regards to start and end date, and hours/week. Can I leave hours/week blank and put my total hours in the description? And is a rough estimate of the start and end date based on the first and last times I shadowed with this physician acceptable?

2. Also I volunteered at the Children's Hospital for roughly a year. I got over 100 hours total, but my time was not regular during the whole time I volunteered. For several months I was doing about 4 hours a week, every week. Later in the year (when my class schedule changed the next semester) I continued to volunteer but my time was more sporadic (however, I still maintained roughly 4 hours per shift - the shifts were just more spread out). Should I:
- leave the average hours/week blank and just indicate my total hours in the description
- put 4 hours/week, fill in the 1 year start-end dates, but in the description include Total Hours=100
- Average out the 100 hours per 52 weeks a year and just enter the average hours/week = 2 hrs, and in the description indicate the total (or not)

Next is for future things. I am hoping to do some more volunteering and shadowing in the next year. How can I add these to my application?
3) If I have a certain "event" already scheduled/committed can I include this and indicate that I am committed to the future event as of X date? (i.e. "As of September 2011 I will be volunteering for the local School for the Deaf for 4 hours a week. I look forwards to the chance to.... and I will be doing tasks such as... This will help teach me...skills...")
If I am NOT committed to the "event" I assume I should not enter it (in case it does not happen) but then, once I do complete it what is the best way (if any) to ensure that schools have the chance to see this? (i.e. After I submit my application, I end up shadowing 2 docs for a total of X hours, and doing volunteer work for Y hours). Do I call the school and say I did X and Y? Can I submit a request to AMCAS to add this? Or am I just out of luck until my interview?

4. Also - for volunteering with the Premed club... we did various volunteering things over the course of 4 years. We did some neat stuff so I feel this deserves it's own entry separate from "Premed club" (leadership as I was an officer for 3 years). Under Premed Club I put the admin for the school clubs and Greek Life as my contact. For the volunteer work entry, should I also put the admin, or would it be better to put one of the current club officers as my contact?

5. Ok last question I think. For now. What should I put for start and end date for something I have been doing my entire life (art)? Obviously I didn't come out of the womb holding a paint brush, but I have been drawing, painting, etc since long before I can remember... And what just put my mother as a contact??? This is kind of a weird one, but it is something very important to me and I want to include it.

I renumbered some things 🙂
1. Leave hours/week blank. Put the real start/end dates. Try to estimate total hours for each doctor shadowed in description. If it's an estimate, state that it is. Group all shadowing under "Other"

2. Do option "c" by taking total hours/numbers of weeks. It is a good idea to include total hours in description if you have room. You shouldn't need to state that you did 4 hours/week for a time and then sporadic later. Cat will correct me if I'm wrong

3. It's a bad idea to put anything down that you haven't officially started yet, even if you are committed. It it was something like "I've been treasurer for 6 months, and I've been elected as president for next year" then you could say that because you were elected already and you don't have to make a new space for it.

The AMCAS app does not allow you to enter future dates. Save these activities for secondaries (if applicable to a prompt), update letters, and interview conversations.

4. You can split out the leadership with the premed community service. Most people group that stuff into one listing, but if you had substantial time commitment to both, then you could separate them. Just make sure you don't double count the hours.

If you do group them, you could make both roles clear in the title.

I would probably list the same contact for both, but I think you're overthinking it. Just put down someone who can vouch for your hours of commitment over a time span.

5. This is a tough one, but I'll take a crack at it until Cat takes a look. I would probably pick a date when you started having a strong commitment to it and felt like you had a skill level above your peers. Remember, you can list is as an "artistic endeavor" instead of just a hobby if you presented at a gallery, competition, or in a book. Your mom is a fine contact. Just pick someone who can verify your commitment and time span for the activity. For something personal like art, it will probably be a parent, close friend, roommate, or similar. And I agree, definitely include it!

 

[AnoeaSarei]

.

 

[chiapet874]

I was wondering: for one of my leadership activities, I had listed my club faculty advisor as the person to contact for more information; however, I found out recently that she had quit.

Is this going to be an issue when the med schools attempt to contact the faculty member?

 

[sector9]

If I skipped high school entirely and attended college, how would I list my high school information on AMCAS? No, I am not trolling. I attended an accelerated college program (google them. there are a few in the US) I called AMCAS and they kept repeating, "no high school? you can't go to college without going to high school." what do i doooo? :O

No idea. I think calling AMCAS is the only way to answer this question, so I would call again

 

[sector9]

I was wondering: for one of my leadership activities, I had listed my club faculty advisor as the person to contact for more information; however, I found out recently that she had quit.

Is this going to be an issue when the med schools attempt to contact the faculty member?

Does the phone number or email address you provided still work to contact either this advisor or his/her replacement?

If so, then I wouldn't worry. If not, then you could consider sending schools a short note but I probably still wouldn't worry

 

[ayaya]

For research activities that took place prior to grad school but am still in the process of writing the paper (and still involved in other projects as well), do I list the dates as month/yr - present or until the actual date that I stopped working in the lab?

I also have a question about contact information for when I studied abroad. If the contact person cannot speak English should I still list them as the contact person?

 

[ash914]

If I skipped high school entirely and attended college, how would I list my high school information on AMCAS? No, I am not trolling. I attended an accelerated college program (google them. there are a few in the US) I called AMCAS and they kept repeating, "no high school? you can't go to college without going to high school." what do i doooo? :O

Did you get a high school diploma? I had a friend who went through one of those programs, and described it as a high school + college combined program, like the combined bs/md programs some med schools have. Either way, don't describe it as "skipping high school" and you might have better luck when you call in.

 

[sector9]

1. For research activities that took place prior to grad school but am still in the process of writing the paper (and still involved in other projects as well), do I list the dates as month/yr - present or until the actual date that I stopped working in the lab?

2. I also have a question about contact information for when I studied abroad. If the contact person cannot speak English should I still list them as the contact person?

1. You can say you're still working on the research since you really are. However, be careful about how you list the hours. For example, if you worked in the lab for a year at 20 hours per week, then worked from home for 3 months at only 2 hours per week, then you should total up all of the hours and divide by the hours per week to get the average number of hours worked per week. Don't list that you worked 20 hours a week up until now because that isn't true.

The alternative is to list the time span and hours per week for the time span you were there in the lab, then state in the description that you are still working on writing up a paper despite not being in the lab anymore

2. Do you know someone else who speaks english who can vouch for you? Perhaps a professor from your school who was in the program? Or even a fellow participant?

 

[Narmerguy]

If my friend was responsible for preparing food for patients in an AID's home and then hanging out/interacting with them/playing with them, does he list this as clinical experience?

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Sorry to beat the horse to death, but I have a couple of things that I feel are relevent but am not sure what to call them.

• since I want to be a surgeon, I would thing it's relevant to say that I like to knit and crochet, and that I like to tinker with stuff, but how do you say that without sounding like a total tool? LOL

• I also love to learn about congenital cardiac anomalies and how they're going about fixing the weirder ones these days. Is that apprpropriate to say under "reading?"

 

[sector9]

If my friend was responsible for preparing food for patients in an AID's home and then hanging out/interacting with them/playing with them, does he list this as clinical experience?

This is a gray area. It sounds more like nonclinical to me, based on my understanding of this post http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=8282422&postcount=1956

So we have two criteria:
1. Is your friend close enough to smell patients? This criteria is met
2. Is your friend around people who can write prescriptions? It sounds like this criteria is probably not met

In the end, it is a gray area but hopefully he/she has some solid clinical experience to put down

 

[sector9]

Sorry to beat the horse to death, but I have a couple of things that I feel are relevent but am not sure what to call them.

• since I want to be a surgeon, I would thing it's relevant to say that I like to knit and crochet, and that I like to tinker with stuff, but how do you say that without sounding like a total tool? LOL

• I also love to learn about congenital cardiac anomalies and how they're going about fixing the weirder ones these days. Is that apprpropriate to say under "reading?"

I think that the only really interesting thing to put down on your app is the knitting and crocheting. You would put that down under "Hobbies" grouped with all your other hobbies.

You could put down reading too in the same spot, but saying that you really like congenital cardiac stuff is a little weird unless you have the same condition. Then it makes sense. Maybe LizzyM can comment on this since Catalystik is out of town

Don't put down "I like knitting so I'm going to be a great surgeon". This isn't an application to be a surgeon; it's your application to go to medical school. By the time you apply to residency, you will have some more interesting stuff to say anyway

 

[LizzyM]

I think that the only really interesting thing to put down on your app is the knitting and crocheting. You would put that down under "Hobbies" grouped with all your other hobbies.

You could put down reading too in the same spot, but saying that you really like congenital cardiac stuff is a little weird unless you have the same condition. Then it makes sense. Maybe LizzyM can comment on this since Catalystik is out of town

Don't put down "I like knitting so I'm going to be a great surgeon". This isn't an application to be a surgeon; it's your application to go to medical school. By the time you apply to residency, you will have some more interesting stuff to say anyway

I knit, too. Perri Klass is a physician and knitter and she's written about the two and you might enjoy reading some of her essays. (We met once at a conference on the medical humanities and bioethics and talked about... knitting!) http://www.perriklass.com/knitting.shtml#

I think that your interest in the repair of congenital cardiac abnormalities might fit better in an essay rather than in the experience section. Some schools will ask if you have anything not mentioned elsewhere that you'd like to add and this would be an interesting addition. At least one asks about career plans and you could work "surgery" and congenital repairs into that essay.

 

[heyapril]

I was a postbac IRTA at the NIH soon after I graduated college in 2009 and would like to list that under my work experiences. The catch is that I was only there for 4 months--I resigned from my position to move across country to train in the ministry. I know...it looks like I'm uncommitted/flakey and if I mention this on my application, I run the risk of appearing that way.

In all honesty though, I would really like to list the NIH as one of my most meaningful experiences...I've actually been in 6 different research labs (with long term [over 1 yr] commitments in three of them--the other three are the NIH and two summer programs). They were all computer and imaging based for the most part, but my work at the NIH was more "wet lab" (doing surgeries, PCR, etc.). I know that I'll have to explain why I left if it was "so important"...the short answer is that I knew that I needed to grow in other areas besides science--I needed to grow and mature as a person and learn how to build with people from a wide variety of socioeconomic classes, from the former vice president of General Mills to the single mother working minimum wage (literally).

I'd love to get advice on this though, as to whether I should include it in my application and what would be the best situation to do...I've thought about not including it or maybe including it but not mentioning it as my most meaningful experience...I'm just not sure. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot...Thanks a ton in advance for any advice!!

 

[epsilonprodigy]

I decided to include the scut jobs I did in undergrad just to prove that I can tolerate suckage. Problem is, I don't have any contact info for them. I worked at The Picture People and Starbucks, and before that, the dorm caf. I was going to list a contact for Starbucks since that's where I stayed the longest. I called the corporate number and they said there's no one person, but I could give the corporate number and they'd verify that I worked there. I don't even remember my boss' last name, let alone his phone number or email. What should I list for the contact person?

 

[MedicJosh]

ok, so for activities that you don't list as "most meaningful" should you keep it to a simple description of the experience or should you also include like what you got out of it...if there's room?

 

[AnoeaSarei]

Did you get a high school diploma? I had a friend who went through one of those programs, and described it as a high school + college combined program, like the combined bs/md programs some med schools have. Either way, don't describe it as "skipping high school" and you might have better luck when you call in.

.