To mention or not to mention this hobby on AMCAS/application?

[shemarty]

I buy things like textbooks online from wholesalers and then sell them to other students at my school. This means that I can give the students a $180 book for $100 (which they're happy about), and I end up earning about $25 per book. This varies depending on how old the book is (sometimes I can find the books much cheaper), and this quarter alone I made nearly $2000 in these first couple weeks of class.

I've also done this with other things like buying DVDs in bulk and selling them online and to students (earned several thousand over the last couple years). I've also tried iPods and other electronics on Craigslist (haven't done electronics as much, but made $1000 last spring), etc.

This isn't exactly a "paid job", and I do it as hobby because it's fun, not to earn money. Though it's been pointed out that I'm lucky that my hobby earns money rather that costs money! It's nice to make enough to pay for my expenses, though (laptop, new digital SLR camera). Unfortunately, I couldn't even make a dent in my university bill.

People have said that I have good business sense and asked why I didn't want to go to business school instead, but I couldn't see myself pushing money around as a career. I think medicine would be far more rewarding, and I would like to spend my life actually personally making a difference to my patients rather than buying a company, splitting it up into pieces, then selling it off to other companies, etc.

Anyway, I might keep up the mini-business for awhile and maybe try to expand it to see if I can potentially earn enough to help pay for med school.

Either way, is this worth mentioning on the AMCAs? It's a quirky hobby that I do for fun, but I'm afraid it's not as "respectable" of a hobby as playing the piano or oil painting.

What do you guys think?

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[shemarty]

Oh, and this is for the 2009 cycle, obviously...

 

[se2131]

From your MDapps, all of your extracurrics are in either health or research in some way, shape, or form. I think that this could be an entry that'll add another light to your app when the adcoms review it. As long as absolutely nothing shady is going on (which I don't suspect there is), I don't see a problem w/ it.

 

[shemarty]

about the "shady" part.

I've been asked 'are the DVDs bootleg?! I usually just get those from people who have large collections and are moving away and don't want to lug their huge collection with them.

I had the same concern about my other activities being entirely related to medicine and health. I am actually trying to take up photography, since several of my friends are into it and they take amazing pictures. (I even bought the camera!) Unfortunately, I haven't had more than a couple afternoons to play around with it.

I was just worried about adcoms or interviewers potentially frowning upon a hobby that would appear to be all about "making money." I wouldn't want them to get the impression that I was interested in medicine for the wrong reasons. Though I think my actual motivations should be pretty clear from my personal statement, which I haven't actually written yet, but I will soon!

 

[Picklesali]

about the "shady" part.

I've been asked 'are the DVDs bootleg?! I usually just get those from people who have large collections and are moving away and don't want to lug their huge collection with them.

I had the same concern about my other activities being entirely related to medicine and health. I am actually trying to take up photography, since several of my friends are into it and they take amazing pictures. (I even bought the camera!) Unfortunately, I haven't had more than a couple afternoons to play around with it.

I was just worried about adcoms or interviewers potentially frowning upon a hobby that would appear to be all about "making money." I wouldn't want them to get the impression that I was interested in medicine for the wrong reasons. Though I think my actual motivations should be pretty clear from my personal statement, which I haven't actually written yet, but I will soon!

I can take that SLR camera off your hands if you don't have time to play with it!!!

 

[Bartelby]

I think it is pretty cool. It seems to me that it shows you are able to organize and plan well, work with people, and have fun doing something unique. You might want to ask around for other opinions, but I feel like for most people reading your application it will be seen as an interesting and memorable positive mark, while for a few others might see it as trying to make a few bucks off your classmates (which it really isn't, I know, but I think a few might see it that way).

To sum up: I would list it.

 

[Nasem]

Props for anyone who learns the system and makes money off of it...

Unfortunately, I would never put "hustler" as a hobbie, just leave this part time.... but seriously, you just gave me an idea

 

[Arjunsi]

I buy things like textbooks online from wholesalers and then sell them to other students at my school. This means that I can give the students a $180 book for $100 (which they're thrilled about), and I end up earning about $25 per book. This varies depending on how old the book is (sometimes I can find the books much cheaper), and this quarter alone I made nearly $2000 in these first couple weeks of class.

I think there is potential for an adcom to see this as just a method of exploiting the system to earn some extra cash. In fact, to me this seems equivilent to including your ebay 'powerseller' status as an extra curricular.

More importantly though, what you are doing is probably illegal. The bookstores on almost every campus in the United States are private companies that have a contract with your school. The university houses the business and assures that only they are given the right to sell books on campus, and in return a part of the profit made goes back to the school. Some schools tolerate students posting flyers to sell their used books from previous semesters, but a organized business venture like yours would probably not be tolerated if university administration became aware of it. You would likely be forced to stop what you are doing, but could potentially even be brought up on nonacademic misconduct charges.

Really, what you are doing is similar to bringing a cart into a Gap store and selling brand name jeans for a cheaper price, pocketing 25% of the profit, and writing it off as a noble effort because the customers are happy to save a few bucks. Even if your campus looks the other way or does not have a contract to sell books through a private business, most schools do and adcoms will probably have the same initial negative reaction that I did.

 

[shemarty]

That's interesting, I didn't think there was anything wrong with selling used books on a college campus. Additionally, profs encourage students to buy their books used or online, since they're almost always much cheaper that way.

I guess it really depending on the individual, whether they consider this entrepreneur-ism or "hussling." I generally think "hussling" refers to illegal activities, or something that leaves the victim feeling ripped off. I often help my friends buy and sell their own textbooks (at no charge, of course), but one person paid me back an extra ten bucks for the time and effort.

One of the doctors I shadowed - he broke his ipod and immediately bought a new one. I offered to help him sell his old broken one on e-bay, since there are lots of people who buy up broken ipods, fix them and sell them. I managed to get him $120 back, which was half the price he paid for his new one. He's often said that I'm resourceful, though I guess that could have both positive and negative connotations.

Anyway, I thought it was a little harsh to call this "exploiting the system." Something is for sale, I buy it. I put it up for sale and somebody else buys it. Isn't that how our economy works? I don't think I'm breaking any rules here, am I?
Anyway, I've gotten both positive and negative reactions in the past, and that's why I posted this thread in the first place. I wanted to gauge the general opinion before I do something really risky like actually talk about it on my application.

 

[CSnowFoxD]

I think it's an interesting thing to put on ur app, although it seems kind of complicated regarding the its legality, I think the adcoms or whoever will get the idea that you're just helping out others. Adcoms are people too, and unless they are some money hungry faculty member who forces students to buy their books so that they can get $$$ or something, they shouldn't see this as a negative thing. Even if it breaks rules, they're probably those rules no one knows about or cares much about (never heard of what Arjunsi mentioned--our professors encourage us to buy [used] books online too). So I think its an interesting "EC" to mention.

btw, I recognized your name a while ago, and now I'm pretty sure I bought a book from you...smalll smallll world!! (or there are too many ppl on SDN).

 

[estairella]

You would likely be forced to stop what you are doing, but could potentially even be brought up on nonacademic misconduct charges.

Total BS. According to you, no American store could ever sell at less than the retail price, because somewhere in some store in the US there is a place which sells at said price.

The OP is not illegally sourcing from the bookstore or anything, he is not at all legally involved with the bookstore so.. basically you're saying

"NO YOU CAN'T DO IT BECAUSE COMPETITION IS ILLEGAL." I mean, are you serious?

Newsflash: Contracts between one company and another DO NOT EVER APPLY TO THIRD PARTIES WHO HAVE NOT AGREED TO SAID CONTRACT.

Wow, I don't know why I went off like this, but I guess it's just total misinformation like yours is pretty disgusting. Do you work at your university bookstore or something?

 

[brianmartin]

Ferengi!!!

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

I would certainly list it.

I listed something to the effect of "buy things off the internet and resale for small profits"

I also mentioned that I buy/sale wrecked cars/trucks/RVs.

I think both added to my application. I listed to same for residency....

 

[silverlining1]

Hey,

I think it could be interesting - have you asked the advisors yet?

I agree with the majority of the posts that this activity is not illegal.

You've already looked at the AMCAS, right? I think there's a category that is called "Extracurricular Hobbies/Avocations" or something - this would go there. I do not think it is paid work.

 

[shemarty]

have you asked the advisors yet?

Not yet... I wanted to get a draft of personal statement done before I started worrying about the 15 AMCAS slots...