To reveal or not to reveal?

[Guest byjude]

So.. Apparently the OMSAS application contains an area that allows you to specify if you feel your transcript does not reflect your true ability (eg, you endured some sort of crisis during undergrad..)

 

Is it better to write something here, or is there a possibility of being stigmatized for your excuse (or viewed as a whiner)?

 

I could see where some excuses (eg, acute physical illness lasting less than a year) would make sense to reveal, especially if you have a definite mark increase since that period. But what if your excuse could be used against you (eg, family or personal issues, mental illness which has since been controlled, more "internal" reasons) could this be (subconsciously even) used against you? Is it better to keep quiet? What if your GPA is marginal - good enough to get an interview, but probably a detriment if it's used again in a combined total to decide whether to admit you?

 

When is it better to reveal or keep your mouth shut?

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<threadtitle>What activities are acceptable in the autobiographic sketch?</threadtitle>

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<title>What activities are acceptable in the autobiographic sketch?</title>

<pagetext>I've heard stories about how applicants try to get away with padding their OMSAS autobiographic sketches with inappropriate material (eg, activities from childhood, meaningless awards [like 100th customer,eg], personal vacations, spectator participation at meaningful events, etc).

 

So what sort of stuff can be placed there? I know the obvious stuff - jobs, official volunteer positions, degrees, awards, etc. But can you also list less official activities?

 

I'm trying to think up a preliminary list of all of my activities, and I notice I'm short in terms of extracurricular activities. I could see where someone could list clubs, bands, or sports in this area - but what about less organized activities? On paper, I have no formal extracurricular activities at all, since most would probably fit more into the category of volunteering activities. But what about less organized stuff - like going to the gym (who would verify?), taking athletic classes (not that any of my instructors would remember me to be a verifier), jogging (by myself - no verifier), making art, writing, etc etc. There are a lot of things I could list, but since I plan to apply to U of T, I apparently need verifiers for every activity.

 

Is it still appropriate to list these activities and just be creative about verifiers (eg, the membership coordinator of an athletic club; or self-verifier in the form of photos of artwork)?? Or is it better to leave these activities off and only paint a partial portrait of who I am (apparently a person with no extracurricular life!!)?

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