Too much on AMCAS?

[jmillski]

Hello all. I want to see what everyone thinks about the AMCAS "experiences" section. Back when filling out the section, I had the philosophy that a GPA explains itself; there is no need to put "Dean's List 6 consecutive semesters, x honor society (if based solely upon GPA), etc, etc." But now I wonder: is it still wise to put all this? I didn't want to clog up my AMCAS with things I thought the committee would likely know simply by looking at my GPA, but, for example, are school's Dean's List GPA cut-offs different enough to go ahead and include that? Just a little something I thought of while trying to not study. Thanks!

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[mmmcdowe]

Hello all. I have a quick question pertaining to the AMCAS "experiences" section. Back when filling out the section, I had the philosiphy that a GPA explains itself; there is no need to put "Dean's List 6 consecutive semesters, x honor society (if based solely upon GPA), etc, etc." But now I wonder: is it still wise to put all this? I didn't want to clog up my AMCAS with things I thought the committee would likely know simply by looking at my GPA, but, for example, are school's Dean's List GPA cut-offs different enough to go ahead and include that? Just a little something I thought of while trying to not study. Thanks!

I had 13 lucky things in my experiences tab. I did include my Deans List awards, but in hindsight I probably would have cut it. The rule of thumb is if you have to get desperate to fill all 15, then don't. If you only have 10 legit, impressive activities, that's enough.

 

[Mobius1985]

A common approach to this problem, is to list all honors and awards under one of the 15 experience sections. You can list them, with dates, and if not self-explanatory, a narrative about what it took to deserve/achieve that honor.

 

[LossForWords]

You might find it helpful to see what other people did this cycle. The thread where people talked about it is here:

08-09 AMCAS Questions

 

[AdmiralChz]

I only put it once, and in the description included the other semesters.

 

[thegetupkid]

IMO, I would fill in ALL 15 spaces. My rationale: The AMCAS application may be the only chance for an admissions officer to get to know you. If you sell yourself short by not including something you "might not think is important", it could only hurt you.

From my experience, the AMCAS application is the basis of the entire interview. Having more experiences to talk about (no matter WHAT they are) can only be a positive thing! (Unless your experience is going to your biochem midterm drunk).

Having said that, I think if you ARE fighting for space, you should group all the academic honors into one section. You are right, if your GPA and MCAT show you are intelligent, saying you are on the Dean's list is obvious and doesn't expand upon your attractiveness as an applicant.