Great tips for entering your "Work/Activities" for AMCAS

[g3grl]

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[Catalystik]

hey. i need advice on some of my activities, specifically my work experiences.. here is a draft of my descriptions..

US CENSUS-
As an enumerator, my primary responsibility is to collect census information from residences. My job involves:
- planning work by reviewing assignments to determine most efficient routes to neighborhoods
- conducting interviews with residents by following stringent guidelines and confidentiality laws
- explaining the purpose of the census interview, answered residents' questions, elicit information following a script, and record census data on forms
- assessing quality control levels on selected addresses, and determine which samples pass/ fail
- complying with accuracy standards while maintaining high production rates
- remaining calm and professional in situation of potential conflict
Also, I have had to conduct interviews in Spanish and Arabic. Due to my highly evaluated performance and production rate, I was recruited for the third phase. Working for the U.S Census has allowed me to interact with and adapt to diverse populations.


BANK-
As a sales associate, I was responsible for customer service at all levels. I had to undergo an extensive training process upon hire, learning the various products and services, software/ system, paperwork, and selling tactics. The work entailed:
- performing bank teller functions: handled cash, accurately processing and closely verifying all transactions
- meeting monthly sales goal on new accounts and referrals
- answering inquiries and reconciling customer issues
- initiating and opening new accounts
- securing the premises while opening and closing
.Overall, I worked with customers to promote, sell, and implement products and services. From this experience, I developed a strong work ethic, attentiveness, and learned how to effectively multitask.

Is this too detailed for minor jobs( I've been told to treat each activity as a mini personal statement)? Is it okay if I bullet-ed .my duties? I went against my adviser and thought I should list them instead of making them into sentences, in case the admission officers don't care to read them.

I think the bulleting is fine, but in general, that it's way too detailed. Few adcomms won't know what a census worker or bank sales associate do. Why not highlight mainly those aspects that adcomms will key in on relating to confidentiality, diversity experience, reliabilty, and customer service relations.

That said, this is just my opinion. If you want flowery and detailed because it speaks to who you are, then go for it. Some adcomms like it that way.

 

[batista_123]

regarding the activities director contact information, I really dont want amcas contacting my boss. I used to work at a radiologist's office as his assistant, and i think this will be help my application (especially since i dont have much medically related activities)
now u might be wondering why i dont want them to contact. lets just say my boss wouldnt have anything positive to say about me
if i dont provide a phone number, will that raise red flags?
what if I provide the doctor's name? they can easily google him and obtain his number.
what if I just leave it very general ("Instead of XXX imaging center", could I say "An imaging center"?)
will doing this hurt my chances/raise red flags?
PS I know that it is very unlikely that they would contact anyone, but you never know.

 

[Catalystik]

regarding the activities director contact information, I really dont want amcas contacting my boss. I used to work at a radiologist's office as his assistant, and i think this will be help my application (especially since i dont have much medically related activities)
now u might be wondering why i dont want them to contact. lets just say my boss wouldnt have anything positive to say about me
if i dont provide a phone number, will that raise red flags?
what if I provide the doctor's name? they can easily google him and obtain his number.
what if I just leave it very general ("Instead of XXX imaging center", could I say "An imaging center"?)
will doing this hurt my chances/raise red flags?
PS I know that it is very unlikely that they would contact anyone, but you never know.

A. AMCAS doesn't contact anyone, only individual med schools might do that.
B. You are not obliged to list a phone number.

In the rare event that a contact would be made, it wouldn't be for a reference, but rather to confirm your dates and hours of employment. Isn't there an office manager, secretary, or head nurse you could list? Rather than the physician name, give the name of the business. I think it will look very odd if you don't give the business name and location, if you want to list this activity.

 

[gwupremed]

Hello All

I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to read/give feedback on my work&activities section? I'm really confused bc I have 2 positions where I performed the same tasks and held the same title. However, they were at different facilities. Anyway, please PM if you could help me out at all!!

 

[g3grl]

thank you catalystik!!! that was really helpful!

i just have another question..
like i said earlier, i was told to treat each activity description as a mini personal statement.. to introduce the activity, say what it offers, what was your contributions, and what you took away from it.. is that too much? for some activities such as clubs- AMSA, Best Buddies, MSA, etc do i need to write introductory sentences for those? .are the descriptions too detailed if i follow this format?

also, i was wondering if anyone knowledgable is willing to read a draft of my activity descriptions, i have a total of 9 only...i don't have anyone to turn to for advice who knows anything about applying to med schools. i have bothered my pre-health adviser a little too much already. so please let me know, i will be extremely grateful... just message me.. THANKS!
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[bbstarky]

Hello all, your input could be appreciated.

Last year, for 2 weeks, I worked for my dad documenting and compiling data about a certain drug's effect on eye vision. I spent about 80 hours going through countless medical records recording the change in visions. After I was done, he used the data I had recorded for a presentation at an ophthalmic convention in Prague.

The problem is, I didn't actually attend the convention, and he forgot to add me as an author. However, he did acknowledge me in slides at the end of the presentation.

My question is, can I put this under Conference/Presentations (or any other category for that matter), or should I just play it safe and don't mention it at all? I am very familiar with the background and results of the experiment and wouldn't have any trouble answering questions about it in an interview.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Catalystik]

i was told to treat each activity description as a mini personal statement.. to introduce the activity, say what it offers, what was your contributions, and what you took away from it.. is that too much? for some activities such as clubs- AMSA, Best Buddies, MSA, etc do i need to write introductory sentences for those? .are the descriptions too detailed if i follow this format?.

That much detail is fine for an activity that had a significant impact on you, but not for more mundane activitiews listed mainly so adcomms know how busy you were. Be selective so it won't be a chore to drag one's eyes through the entire activities section. Be succinct.

The great thing about bullet points is that it's easier to figure out what is intended to be meaningful and for a reader to get through an item efficiently.

 

[Catalystik]

Last year, for 2 weeks, I worked for my dad documenting and compiling data about a certain drug's effect on eye vision. I spent about 80 hours going through countless medical records recording the change in visions. After I was done, he used the data I had recorded for a presentation at an ophthalmic convention in Prague.

The problem is, I didn't actually attend the convention, and he forgot to add me as an author. However, he did acknowledge me in slides at the end of the presentation.

My question is, can I put this under Conference/Presentations (or any other category for that matter), or should I just play it safe and don't mention it at all? I am very familiar with the background and results of the experiment and wouldn't have any trouble answering questions about it in an interview.

I think it is reasonable for you to list this activity under Presentations, giving the above background so your contribution is clear, and naming the actual presenter to give him credit.

 

[isasmommy]

So I have been a little confused as to what is best to list for activities hours per week or total hours devoted to the activity? For example I see many people count their clinical hours as total hours but I have the time I worked as a CNA as 12hr/wk for a year and more during summers. Should I list 12 hr/wk and then estimate around the total number of hours and list that too? Its just that I'm seeing a lot of people list hundreds of hours so will it look better to list as total hours??

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

So I have been a little confused as to what is best to list for activities hours per week or total hours devoted to the activity? For example I see many people count their clinical hours as total hours but I have the time I worked as a CNA as 12hr/wk for a year and more during summers. Should I list 12 hr/wk and then estimate around the total number of hours and list that too? Its just that I'm seeing a lot of people list hundreds of hours so will it look better to list as total hours??

If you are listing, for example, last summer's three month span for your dates and 12 hours per week for that time, then you may if you wish also multiple it out to ~156 hours and add that to the end of your narrative for the convenience of the reader. It is not required.

Let's say that this summer you are working 15 hours per week instead, and decided to try to lump both summer jobs together as they're in the same location, and you are short on space. Then you might prefer to leave the hours per week blank in the header, since they differ, only listing the first summer's dates, and explain in the narrative the hours per week for each year (mentioning the second date span as well). A grand total for the two summers at the end might be appreciated.

If you were going to list a 16 month date span to cover the two summers, then don't put 12 hours per week, as it implies you worked that many hours for all 15 months and is misleading. Then you either 1) might average all the hours from summers only to the entire 16 months and list ~5 hours per week. Or 2) don't put the hours/week in the header, just explain the actual work spans and hours per week in the narrative.

 

[isasmommy]

If you are listing, for example, last summer's three month span for your dates and 12 hours per week for that time, then you may if you wish also multiple it out to ~156 hours and add that to the end of your narrative for the convenience of the reader. It is not required.

Let's say that this summer you are working 15 hours per week instead, and decided to try to lump both summer jobs together as they're in the same location, and you are short on space. Then you might prefer to leave the hours per week blank in the header, since they differ, only listing the first summer's dates, and explain in the narrative the hours per week for each year (mentioning the second date span as well). A grand total for the two summers at the end might be appreciated.

If you were going to list a 16 month date span to cover the two summers, then don't put 12 hours per week, as it implies you worked that many hours for all 15 months and is misleading. Then you either 1) might average all the hours from summers only to the entire 16 months and list ~5 hours per week. Or 2) don't put the hours/week in the header, just explain the actual work spans and hours per week in the narrative.

Thanks for the input. The job is one year in duration and I worked near fulltime over the summer and 12hr/wk during school year so I will put 12hr/wk in the hour/wk box and estimate total hours to place in the narrative box. Thanks, I was just wondering if it looked better to have the total hours down because that way it would make for an easier comparison say with another person that listed 500 clinical hours.

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks for the input. The job is one year in duration and I worked near fulltime over the summer and 12hr/wk during school year so I will put 12hr/wk in the hour/wk box and estimate total hours to place in the narrative box. Thanks, I was just wondering if it looked better to have the total hours down because that way it would make for an easier comparison say with another person that listed 500 clinical hours.

Sorry, I didn't catch that the employment was continuous, and thought it was summers only. If you average in the increased summer hours, you could list more than 12 hours/week. In the narrative you could explain the more intense summer hours and the lighter work load during the school year.

I don't know that it "looks better" but I do think it saves the adcomm having to do the calculation themselves. I suggest listing the total hours.

 

[batista_123]

I have a problem. My number of hours per week dont make sense in some areas. For example, some weeks it shows that I am working 50 hours a week+going to school and getting good grades, which seems pretty suspicious. Now I am not lying in my app, the reason this happened is During a time that I dropped out of school I was working 50 hours a week. When I went back to school, I reduced my hours to 20 hours per week. So I just took the average...35 hours per week. But again, when I went back to school, it shows I was working 35 hours per week + 10 hours of research + 10 hours of hobbies = 55 hours per week only in ECs, + academic life=one would go crazy, it just doesnt make sense.
Will med schools look at this as a red flag?
should i break up my job into 2 activities, the time i was working 50 hours per week, and the time I reduced my hours?

I just remembered another question that i had. I see that many people here write a lot in the description of the activities. I write like one or 2 sentence, like "working as research assistant, researching the effects of X on Y."
or "Working at whatever office, providing customer support"
is that too little?

 

[g3grl]

i was involved in 3 different clubs at school.. i'm grouping 2 of them together since my activities were minimal in those.. my question, is what i should put for the number of hours per week.. should i list them together and be like 2-3, or state them individually somehow cause one club had monthly meetings whereas the other had bi-weekly.. also how should i state the contact name for each club? and lastly, what should be the experience name?.. i'm having a semi-hard time with these.. is it okay if i just write volunteer or member?

oh and one last thing, for each activity, do i need to state what i learned or whatever.. or what i just did is sufficient?

thanks!!

 

[Catalystik]

1) I have a problem. My number of hours per week dont make sense in some areas. For example, some weeks it shows that I am working 50 hours a week+going to school and getting good grades, which seems pretty suspicious. Now I am not lying in my app, the reason this happened is During a time that I dropped out of school I was working 50 hours a week. When I went back to school, I reduced my hours to 20 hours per week. So I just took the average...35 hours per week. But again, when I went back to school, it shows I was working 35 hours per week + 10 hours of research + 10 hours of hobbies = 55 hours per week only in ECs, + academic life=one would go crazy, it just doesnt make sense.
Will med schools look at this as a red flag?
should i break up my job into 2 activities, the time i was working 50 hours per week, and the time I reduced my hours?

2) I just remembered another question that i had. I see that many people here write a lot in the description of the activities. I write like one or 2 sentence, like "working as research assistant, researching the effects of X on Y."
or "Working at whatever office, providing customer support"
is that too little?

1) You could either explain the variation in hours and the reason in the narrative, or do as you suggest and list the job in two spaces with different hours per week for each space.

2) I love brevity, but I think you overdid it. I'd like to know what procedures you performed in the lab and a little more overview for what the research is trying to determine (like a mini abstract). Research is a very important entry and should be elaborated on.

And what did you do to provide customer support? Answer questions, hook people up with those who know answers, refer them to on-line info, explain step by step what to do, solve problems, respond to complaints? Be more specific. Customer support ability has a direct bearing on having good relationships with patients, so demonstrating that you're a people person with problem solving skills is good.

 

[Catalystik]

i was involved in 3 different clubs at school.. i'm grouping 2 of them together since my activities were minimal in those.. my question, is what i should put for the number of hours per week.. should i list them together and be like 2-3, or state them individually somehow cause one club had monthly meetings whereas the other had bi-weekly.. also how should i state the contact name for each club? and lastly, what should be the experience name?.. i'm having a semi-hard time with these.. is it okay if i just write volunteer or member?

oh and one last thing, for each activity, do i need to state what i learned or whatever.. or what i just did is sufficient?

You could avoid filling in the hours per week in the header and just include the meeting frequency in the narrative description. Contact could be the President of the club or a faculty advisor (or leave it blank). Name the experience Organization Membership.

It's fine to just list what you did. If it was a group with speakers, or one that taught a skill, then you'd have something to say about what you learned.

 

[batista_123]

I work at a store for my boss, I also work in the same field as a freelancer for myself (dont tell my boss).
These are 2 activities. but what i do at both places is the same. So do I just copy and paste whatever I wrote for my hobby for my real work? should i delete the hobby and just list the work?

 

[Catalystik]

I work at a store for my boss, I also work in the same field as a freelancer for myself (dont tell my boss).
These are 2 activities. but what i do at both places is the same. So do I just copy and paste whatever I wrote for my hobby for my real work? should i delete the hobby and just list the work?

Why not list the activity as your regular job, since you don't have a contact for the freelancing. Then at the end of the description for the job, add that you do the same thing freelancing for an additional XX hours per week and give the date span, or -to present. This way you don't have to write exactly the same description twice.

 

[mommyof2]

Deleted

 

[ALlNigHtEl]

I wanted to see if anyone had some insight on whether or not it is a good idea to mention these things:

1. Should I mention the live-rat unilateral ovarectomy I did in my 400 level physiology lab? I mean... we had a sterile surgeon, a steril assistant, a non sterile assistant; the whole deal! We spent the whole semester preparing for this, and I was selected to be the head surgeon in my group. And to add some tension, if we killed the rat during surgery, we would have failed the class. After allowing the rat to recover, we euthanized the poor thing, and then we opened her up and took out the ovaries, uterus, and (I think) the pituitary; and then weighed them out and compared them to the control rat. I think my school is one of like 10 schools in the US that let undergrads do this. If I do mention it, under what should I categorize it? How specific should I be?

2. My family has a farm in TN, where they breed horses and dogs. When I get a break from school, a couple weeks a year, I put in a good 40 hrs a week working in the farm. I basically do farm stuff, but I also deal with the customers when they call and ask about the horse and/or dog prices. In addition I help my dad train the dogs. Should I put this under hobby or paid work? I did get paid... in college tuition and gas money.

Thanks

 

[Catalystik]

1. Should I mention the live-rat unilateral ovarectomy I did in my 400 level physiology lab? I mean... we had a sterile surgeon, a steril assistant, a non sterile assistant; the whole deal! We spent the whole semester preparing for this, and I was selected to be the head surgeon in my group. And to add some tension, if we killed the rat during surgery, we would have failed the class. After allowing the rat to recover, we euthanized the poor thing, and then we opened her up and took out the ovaries, uterus, and (I think) the pituitary; and then weighed them out and compared them to the control rat. I think my school is one of like 10 schools in the US that let undergrads do this. If I do mention it, under what should I categorize it? How specific should I be?

2. My family has a farm in TN, where they breed horses and dogs. When I get a break from school, a couple weeks a year, I put in a good 40 hrs a week working in the farm. I basically do farm stuff, but I also deal with the customers when they call and ask about the horse and/or dog prices. In addition I help my dad train the dogs. Should I put this under hobby or paid work? I did get paid... in college tuition and gas money.

1) You could refer to this in your Personal Statement (briefly focusing on the successful operation, and maybe avoid mentioning the euthanasia) as part of your journey in deciding about medicine as a career. Be aware that some people are very sensitive about the use of animal subjects in this manner.

2) You could list this under employment, but likely you'd do it anyway as a member of the family, even if you received no compensation, so I feel it would more properly be categorized as "Other."

 

[rierphfft]

Hopefully this is in the right place...I have 3 questions:

1. I'm a non trad applicant and graduated from undergrad in 2003. I was wondering whether it would still be relevant to list my experiences as a TA and tutoring through an organization that worked with elementary schools in the area even though it was so long ago. Also all of the coordinators are long gone by now so I wouldn't really be able to list a contact. I don't want to come across as putting in fillers but I also don't want to seem like i didn't do anything in college.

2. Do most people include hobbies? It seems like everyone must have hobbies...isn't going to the park with my son, reading, and baking just things I do for fun? What relevance do they have to my application?

3. I'm a former pastry cook and have held 3 jobs at different places doing essentially the same thing...should I put them all under one heading?

Thanks for any help...

 

[Catalystik]

1. I'm a non trad applicant and graduated from undergrad in 2003. I was wondering whether it would still be relevant to list my experiences as a TA and tutoring through an organization that worked with elementary schools in the area even though it was so long ago. Also all of the coordinators are long gone by now so I wouldn't really be able to list a contact. I don't want to come across as putting in fillers but I also don't want to seem like i didn't do anything in college.

2. Do most people include hobbies? It seems like everyone must have hobbies...isn't going to the park with my son, reading, and baking just things I do for fun? What relevance do they have to my application?

3. I'm a former pastry cook and have held 3 jobs at different places doing essentially the same thing...should I put them all under one heading?

Thanks for any help...

1) Teaching experience, as it happens, is very relevant to a medical career, so this wouldn't be "filler." Don't worry about being unable to list a contact, just enter the organization name and location.

2) Hobbies are relevant also, as adcomms like to know that you have leisuretime activities that are stress relievers. Generally, these are all listed in one entry. They also give help an application reflect your personality and make you look more well-rounded and interesting.

There is a diversity of opinion about whether to include parenting on the application. I am of the opinion that this is a good thing, but others feel it may distract adcomms and open the door to questions about your support system, and "What if an emergency yadda, yadda, yadda, comes up"-type questions, which you'd have to be prepared for. The Nontrad Forum has searchable threads about this if you want to review pros and cons (maybe use Search terms like children or family).

3. As a nontrad, having too many important experiences is a problem, so having to condense the entries is often necessary. I think that pastry cook experience will make you VERY interesting and it's fine to put all three jobs in a single space. How to do so can require some creativity.

 

[mommyof2]

I am a nontrad applicant -- I completed my undergrad in 2001 and master's in 2003. As an undergrad, I was a member of a sorority. Not something that I would normally enhance on an application, but during my membership, I was elected to two different executive board positions -- secretary and education director. Additionally, because I was "Greek," I was elected to the Order of Omega, which is a Greek honor society.
Worth mentioning? I know that some people may cringe when they hear the word 'sorority' and picture the Saturday Night Live "Delta Delta Delta can I help ya help ya help ya" skit (oops, did I just date myself)?
Any advice is appreciated

 

[Catalystik]

I am a nontrad applicant -- I completed my undergrad in 2001 and master's in 2003. As an undergrad, I was a member of a sorority. Not something that I would normally enhance on an application, but during my membership, I was elected to two different executive board positions -- secretary and education director. Additionally, because I was "Greek," I was elected to the Order of Omega, which is a Greek honor society.

If the elected positions required taking a substantive leadership role and you can give a bulleted list of your contributiions, then it is worth mentioning.

An honor society based on "Being Greek" with no other meritorious criteria required for nomination is probably not worth mentioning.

 

[mommyof2]

If the elected positions required taking a substantive leadership role and you can give a bulleted list of your contributiions, then it is worth mentioning.

An honor society based on "Being Greek" with no other meritorious criteria required for nomination is probably not worth mentioning.

Oh, sorry -- I didn't explain that very well. The honor society was for my gpa, but in order to be a member, one had to be Greek. I don't think I'll put the sorority and the honor society as two different entries, but perhaps write about all of it in one entry under 'other leadership' (or however it's worded).
Thank you for your thoughts!

 

[premed21]

I have a question regarding my research work. I did research for 1.5 years total for the same professor. However, the half of my research was spent doing one project, and the second part of my research was spent doing an entirely different project. The first project was a group project, whereas the second project was an independent one.

Should I list both research experiences under one Research entry, or should I break it into 2 entries (one entry for the first research project, and one for the second)? Thanks in advance!

 

[Catalystik]

I have a question regarding my research work. I did research for 1.5 years total for the same professor. However, the half of my research was spent doing one project, and the second part of my research was spent doing an entirely different project. The first project was a group project, whereas the second project was an independent one.

Should I list both research experiences under one Research entry, or should I break it into 2 entries (one entry for the first research project, and one for the second)?

If you are really tight on spaces, you could squeeze them together, but I would try to list them separately, since the second was independent. You might further differentiate the two experiences by naming the first "Group Research Project" and the second "Independent Research Project" as the latter earns you more kudos.

 

[golgiapparatus88]

I attended The American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene last November for 4 days where I had a poster presentation. Do I make two separate activities since there are options for "poster presentation" AND "conferences attended." I don't want to seem redundant but I'm not sure if I should explain how I went to talks/lectures in the poster presentation description.

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

I attended The American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene last November for 4 days where I had a poster presentation. Do I make two separate activities since there are options for "poster presentation" AND "conferences attended." I don't want to seem redundant but I'm not sure if I should explain how I went to talks/lectures in the poster presentation description.

You would list the experience under the highest level of activity, which is the Presentation/Poster. Within the free-text box you'll mention the Conference name and location, and it's fine to add that you attended lectures while there. It wouldn't be incorrect to list the Conferences attended separately, but it is redundant.

 

[premed21]

Thanks for your response Catalystik, I'm going to list it as two experiences.

I was wondering how we are supposed to put the contact phone numbers for the work/activities that we do? There is no option for it, so how is it to be listed? Do we just randomly insert the phone number at the end of the description? Or at the beginning? Do we include the address and email address of the contact as well, or is just the phone number fine?

How would the sample contact # part look like?

E.g.:
"Blah blah experience here blah blah."

Phone: (555) 555-5555

(or should the first thing in the description be the phone number?)
Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks for your response Catalystik, I'm going to list it as two experiences.

I was wondering how we are supposed to put the contact phone numbers for the work/activities that we do? There is no option for it, so how is it to be listed? Do we just randomly insert the phone number at the end of the description? Or at the beginning? Do we include the address and email address of the contact as well, or is just the phone number fine?

How would the sample contact # part look like?

E.g.:
"Blah blah experience here blah blah."

Phone: (555) 555-5555

(or should the first thing in the description be the phone number?)
Thank you!

You are not required to add a phone number, street address, or email address, but to my mind, it helps legitimize an experience. I suggest adding one of those options at the end of the free-text box. If it's not available due to a lot of time going by, death, or transfer of the person, don't worry about it.

 

[skyblue2000]

If you're entering numerous awards under the same title, for the award date would you put the most recent date of receiving the award or the first?

 

[Catalystik]

If you're entering numerous awards under the same title, for the award date would you put the most recent date of receiving the award or the first?

As a first choice, I'd probably enter the most prestigious and list that one first within the free-text space. If it's a tie, or none of them are really special, then I'd go with listing the most recent, and ordering the rest in reverse chronological order.

 

[Bobcat 2006]

Hey guys

I submitted my AMCAS primary in early July and it just got verified today, however i was reading through it and I had accidentally clicked one of my jobs as paid -military instead of paid non military

Is there anything I can do to fix this/ is that big a deal because if you read my description, none of it mentioned the military so will adcoms just figure it was an accident?

 

[Catalystik]

Hey guys

I submitted my AMCAS primary in early July and it just got verified today, however i was reading through it and I had accidentally clicked one of my jobs as paid -military instead of paid non military

Is there anything I can do to fix this/ is that big a deal because if you read my description, none of it mentioned the military so will adcoms just figure it was an accident?

No, there's nothing you can do to fix it.

Since you didn't fill out the Military Discharge Info in the Biographic Information section and if the job you listed wasn't obviously military-related, adcomms will figure out it was an accident. Don't worry about it. Anyone who was still in the active military would have put very different information in the free-text space.

 

[bguy10]

Hey can anyone help with these little questions-->

1. I worked for ~20 hrs/semester at a soup kitchen. this was through the pre-medical society though so do I list it as community service/volunteer or is it considered simply an extracurricular?

2. Should we list Dean's list? I was thinking of just lumping it together the few other honor societies I am in.

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

1. I worked for ~20 hrs/semester at a soup kitchen. this was through the pre-medical society though so do I list it as community service/volunteer or is it considered simply an extracurricular?

2. Should we list Dean's list? I was thinking of just lumping it together the few other honor societies I am in.

1) Soup kitchen would be Community Service-not Medical/Clinical. You could list it on its own if it averages out to > 1 hour per week and you have a good number of total hours. Or you could name an Experience "Short-Term Volunteering" and list it with other briefer volunteerism. Or you could list it under a "Membership in PreHealth Club" space (Other) along with the other community service you did with the group. Take youur pick.

2) There is no reason to list Dean's List when your GPA is apparent, but if you have other things to mention in an Awards/Honors space, then you might include it there, if you really want to.

 

[heureux]

Hi I need some help please!

Aside from clinical and volunteer work, I have a couple of things I am not sure about:

1) Certifications such as BLS/ACLS, or training courses such as EKG courses
2) A business my husband and I opened, it would help explain a gap in my coursework. (I was putting in about 14 hrs/day of work for during the first year) I'm going to add it under work but I'm worried about it being a negative.


Thank you!!

 

[sytar]

I know I need to have clinical exposure and volunteering experience. I was thinking that if I took a job as a pharmacy tech and volunteered at a hospice for a while, then I'd cover all my bases. Of course, I'd need to get in research experience, so I'd volunteer the minimum number of hours so I could maximized my time spent researching. How many hours of clinical expose do you think is appropriate as a minimum? How many hours of volunteering is appropriate as a minimum? These questions should be answered keeping in mind that the other EC's hope to be a strong research background and pharmacy tech. work. Do medschools care about work as a pharmacy tech if you're applying for the MD/PhD? and are thinking about specializing in neurology then neuropharmacology?

Alternatively, I'm considering getting a job as a nurse's aid to gain the money and clinical experience, and volunteering at a research lab to hit all of the suggested admission EC's. What other jobs would be decent sources of income, requiring little time to train, and suitable medschool EC's? the more learning I can do while on the job, the more I desire it. one upside with the nurse's aid position is that eventually you can get private patients and spend virtually all your time studying. this makes the nurse's aid position relatively attractive.

One last idea I had was to perhaps work as an eeg technician. I was thinking, down the road, of specializing in neurology, knowing how to do eeg's, and subspecializing in neuropathology. I was also thinking about neuropharmacology as a subspeciality if I went the neurology route. how valuable would eeg technician be on a medschool ap?


Do medschools care if you read textbooks extracurricularly? I've read Durand's Abnormal Psychology, Stahl's Psychopharmacology, and Voet&Voet's Biochemistry. I don't know if they care since it's ungraded.

Also, I play the piano (10+ years), compose music, and play the trumpet (3+ years). I can play pretty impressive things like moonlight sonata mvmt 3 and liebestraume. brass score of westside story on trumpet. should i include this on my application? entreat them to test my skill during an interview? bring a keyboard with me? bring CD's with my music to the interview? just throwing out ideas. I know that if I was "so good" I would have awards and accolades. I don't, because I'm not "so good", but I do believe that the level of time required to reach the level I'm at does demonstrate substantial commitment and motivation, especially for someone not intrinsically musically talented like me.

I used to play a lot of tennis. I started when I was 4 and played until I was 13. During my last year, I attended 50+ league tournaments and 3 satellite tournaments. I believe I was ranked 56 in my age bracket. Is there any way I could leverage this past experience to bolster my medschool resume? If I joined a tennis club, would medschools see that as a substantial positive? If I simply explained my tennis history, my experience might seem too dated. If I explain, plus have current tennis experience to back it up, would it be something worth investing my time into?

 

[Catalystik]

Aside from clinical and volunteer work, I have a couple of things I am not sure about:

1) Certifications such as BLS/ACLS, or training courses such as EKG courses
2) A business my husband and I opened, it would help explain a gap in my coursework. (I was putting in about 14 hrs/day of work for during the first year) I'm going to add it under work but I'm worried about it being a negative.

1) These certifications can be mentioned in the same space with whatever job or volunteer position allows you to use the training, if you wish.

2) I don't see how it can be a negative. Adcomms like to know how you spend your time. If you don't list this activity, then a lot of time is unaccounted for. many applicants have gaps in their education. Having them is not a negative if the time was productively spent.

 

[Catalystik]

I know I need to have clinical exposure and volunteering experience. I was thinking that if I took a job as a pharmacy tech and volunteered at a hospice for a while, then I'd cover all my bases. Of course, I'd need to get in research experience, so I'd volunteer the minimum number of hours so I could maximized my time spent researching. How many hours of clinical expose do you think is appropriate as a minimum? How many hours of volunteering is appropriate as a minimum? These questions should be answered keeping in mind that the other EC's hope to be a strong research background and pharmacy tech. work. Do medschools care about work as a pharmacy tech if you're applying for the MD/PhD? and are thinking about specializing in neurology then neuropharmacology?

Alternatively, I'm considering getting a job as a nurse's aid to gain the money and clinical experience, and volunteering at a research lab to hit all of the suggested admission EC's. What other jobs would be decent sources of income, requiring little time to train, and suitable medschool EC's? the more learning I can do while on the job, the more I desire it. one upside with the nurse's aid position is that eventually you can get private patients and spend virtually all your time studying. this makes the nurse's aid position relatively attractive.

One last idea I had was to perhaps work as an eeg technician. I was thinking, down the road, of specializing in neurology, knowing how to do eeg's, and subspecializing in neuropathology. I was also thinking about neuropharmacology as a subspeciality if I went the neurology route. how valuable would eeg technician be on a medschool ap?


Do medschools care if you read textbooks extracurricularly? I've read Durand's Abnormal Psychology, Stahl's Psychopharmacology, and Voet&Voet's Biochemistry. I don't know if they care since it's ungraded.

Also, I play the piano (10+ years), compose music, and play the trumpet (3+ years). I can play pretty impressive things like moonlight sonata mvmt 3 and liebestraume. brass score of westside story on trumpet. should i include this on my application? entreat them to test my skill during an interview? bring a keyboard with me? bring CD's with my music to the interview? just throwing out ideas. I know that if I was "so good" I would have awards and accolades. I don't, because I'm not "so good", but I do believe that the level of time required to reach the level I'm at does demonstrate substantial commitment and motivation, especially for someone not intrinsically musically talented like me.

I used to play a lot of tennis. I started when I was 4 and played until I was 13. During my last year, I attended 50+ league tournaments and 3 satellite tournaments. I believe I was ranked 56 in my age bracket. Is there any way I could leverage this past experience to bolster my medschool resume? If I joined a tennis club, would medschools see that as a substantial positive? If I simply explained my tennis history, my experience might seem too dated. If I explain, plus have current tennis experience to back it up, would it be something worth investing my time into?

Your question is not within the scope of this thread. A discussion of what ECs are helpful can be brought to the the What are my chances forum. Questions about alternative careers or training options might be better in the general PreMed Allopathic Forum. This thread is for those actively filling out their AMCAS application.

 

[Ataglance2010]

How necessary is it to put contact information?

I was an event coordinator for Relay For Life at my school. I only worked closely with merchants and the president of the RFL at my school. Since then, he's graduated and we've lost contact. Should I still put his name down?

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could offer some insight on how to describe research activities?

I am not sure how much detail into the project I should mention.

Currently, I have about 2 sentences discussing the project, and a paragraph explaining my poster presentations/awards. I did not go into details about the project at all. In fact, it basically sounds like titles from the presentation/what you would see on a paper.

Is this the way to do it? I assume I would talk about the project during interviews, so I did not go into techniques or approach. If I were reading an application, I would not want to see the person did genotyping or PCR. But are adcoms looking for this?

I'm so confused =(

 

[Catalystik]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could offer some insight on how to describe research activities?

I am not sure how much detail into the project I should mention.

Currently, I have about 2 sentences discussing the project, and a paragraph explaining my poster presentations/awards. I did not go into details about the project at all. In fact, it basically sounds like titles from the presentation/what you would see on a paper.

Is this the way to do it? I assume I would talk about the project during interviews, so I did not go into techniques or approach. If I were reading an application, I would not want to see the person did genotyping or PCR. But are adcoms looking for this? (

No one can predict what every adcomm is looking for. I suggest an introductory line that describes the research in a way that a first year Bio student would understand it, since most people reading it will not be research-savvy. Next describe what you contributed to the project (a bulleted list of techniques used is fine). After that, you could give a paragraph that goes into minute detail, along the lines of how a succinct abstract might read (because sometimes your interviewer is tailored to your interests). Awards and on-campus posters could be mentioned after this, but if your poster was presented at a regional or national meeting it would go under Presentations/Posters in its own spot.

This is what I suggest. It's not the only right way of doing it, so feel free to use your own judgement.

 

[skyblue2000]

As a first choice, I'd probably enter the most prestigious and list that one first within the free-text space. If it's a tie, or none of them are really special, then I'd go with listing the most recent, and ordering the rest in reverse chronological order.

Thanks Cat I followed the former!

 

[estradiol9]

I have a few questions.

1.) How about school clubs and activities? If I have enough space, should they be listed separately? Some of the school functions I am involved in include:

-a Biology Society group (We do a lot of volunteer work.)
-American Society of Chemistry
-Student Activities Council
-Spectrum (a gay/lesbian/etc advocacy club- I am not homosexual but have many friends who are.)
-Murray Center for Women in Technology

I give a few hours each week for each of them on average. I also hold board/council positions for a few.

2.) I am an EMT for a volunteer first aid squad. I also hold a secretary officer's position for the squad. Should these be listed together somehow?

3.) Additionally, should Dean's List, a greek honor society, and ANOTHER biology specific honor society be listed together?

 

[Catalystik]

I have a few questions.

1.) How about school clubs and activities? If I have enough space, should they be listed separately? Some of the school functions I am involved in include:

-a Biology Society group (We do a lot of volunteer work.)
-American Society of Chemistry
-Student Activities Council
-Spectrum (a gay/lesbian/etc advocacy club- I am not homosexual but have many friends who are.)
-Murray Center for Women in Technology

I give a few hours each week for each of them on average. I also hold board/council positions for a few.

2.) I am an EMT for a volunteer first aid squad. I also hold a secretary officer's position for the squad. Should these be listed together somehow?

3.) Additionally, should Dean's List, a greek honor society, and ANOTHER biology specific honor society be listed together?

1) It's fine to list them separately.

2) Mentioning the secretary position in the same listing in the squad is OK.

3) None of these help your application. If you wish to list them, list them together with other honors , awards, and scholarships.

 

[premed21]

Are there any examples somewhere on how the Description part of the work/activities section should be written? I have no idea how it is supposed to be formatted, and in what way I should be writing it. Please, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Catalystik]

Are there any examples somewhere on how the Description part of the work/activities section should be written? I have no idea how it is supposed to be formatted, and in what way I should be writing it. Please, any help is greatly appreciated.

If you scan through the last 15-20 pages you'll probably find some examples applicants have posted.