Two Quick Questions about Activities

[coramDeo]

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[Catalystik]

Hello all,

I have two quick questions about filling out the activities section:

1.For about 8 months in 2017, I studied at a private think tank abroad, where they select ~20 students for each class and pay for our education in liberal arts provided by invited instructors (with Ph.D's from prestigious US schools with current professorships in Korea). We were provided housing and food on top of the education, but no direct scholarship/compensation were given to us. Would this be considered under "Honors/Awards/Recognitions" or just "Extracurriculars"?

2. In conjunction with the studies, we also took internships in Washington D.C. as a part of the scholarship program from the think tank. For me, I ended up working on the Hill for a Congressman for 6 months (while in D.C., our housing was covered by the institute and we were given allowances). Should I list the Hill experience separately from the program on AMCAS? Or would it be ok to simply mention in the description that the two experiences were in conjunction and related?

Or if there are better ways to list the experiences I'd love some advice. Thanks in advance!

1) Why were you selected for participation? How selective was the process? What did you get out of it? Was it equivalent to Study Abroad? If graded, did your grades transfer to a US school?

2) What was your role in working with a congressman? Did you see a connection between your studies internationally and the role you played in Washington, DC?

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you for your reply @Catalystik!

1) the selection was based on our grades, extracurriculars, total of 4 essays and 2 interviews (sort of similar to the med school admission process now that I think of it). I'm not sure of the exact numbers but I was told by the admin that the competition was about 4:1 to get in. What I got out of it was tremendous - something I would love to address in a secondary or as a meaningful activity as it has really changed who I am as a person (long story short, someone who studied math and chemistry for undergrad was exposed for the first time to debates, philosophy, poli sci, literature, history, literature etc. and really transformed how I think and view the world) - but not necessarily a "aha" moment on wanting to become a physician. Although we were graded, they weren't for credits as it was run by a private think tank rather than an academic institution. (The think tank is internationally renowned and recognized though, especially in political science).

2) I was mostly handling fielding and responding to constituent inquiries along with a little bit of legislative research. The studies themselves didn't necessarily correlate directly, but the new perspectives I mentioned briefly above helped me in taking in the experience of being on the Hill fully and learning from it.

You could list it under "Awards/Honors" as a competitive internship/scholarship/practicum with all components in one space (perhaps using the Most Meaningful designation to get more characters) or under "Other" as an Internship (the tag most internships use). For either, you'd want to explain the competitive process for selection. "Extracurricular" doesn't fit well due to the fact that you experienced a classroom component. Alternatively, you could split it into two parts (Honors/Awards and Other), but then you lose the context that made part two more meaningful due to your new perspectives.

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you for the insight @Catalystik! As you mentioned, I think it'd be helpful to list the two activities together to show the context/conjunction between the two experiences.
1) With listing the point of contact, should I give one from the think tank, and another from the member's office as well(and is it ok for the contact to be a staffer, not the member himself - which relates to my next question)?

2) One more question; the Congressman mentioned that he'd be happy to write me a strong reference letter - would this something that would be helpful/sets me apart? The letter would most likely be drafted by one of the senior staffer/our chief of staff but will have the signature of the Member. I feel a little gray in terms of ethics since technically the congressman wouldn't be writing the letter himself, but it would appear to the adcoms that the member himself is recommending me. Am I overthinking here?

1) This Contact is not meant to be a reference, just someone who can attest to the timeframe/hours of the activity. So a staffer is fine, or whomever in the parent organization notified you about your acceptance (or that office).

2) Such a letter would have zero impact on your application cycle. I wouldn't bother. Collect the letter if you like (to be polite, as it's been discussed already), but you don't have to submit it to any school.