Format of Personal Activities section

[Star]

I've figured out what I want to say in the Personal Activities section, but I'm not sure how exactly to go about arranging my answers. Are we allowed to use a list with point for notes? Or should we try to turn it into a paragraph? I was thinking about doing both, since the employment section seems suited to a list while the others look more like they want a paragraph. But they give so little guidance here that I'm not really sure how to start.

 

I realize that people will probably all do this differently, I'm just trying to get some idea of how others are going about this. Thanks for your help!

[Lactic Folly]

I used both point form and paragraph, depending on the question. It shouldn't matter either way as long as it is well written and free of errors.

[Wut?]

No standardized format. Go crazy.

[Jochi1543]

I did it in a resume format. E.g. "Hospital volunteer - ran errands, talked to patients (verifier contact)."

[flamesfan]

i used:

 

position: explanation (time and verifier) / new activity

[BrendanJ]

from my experience I'd say

 

1. be as concise as possible and play around with the spacing to max out your content included

 

2. be sure to include not just the what/where of your activities but WHY it is relevant, in other words, what have you gained in each that will be valuable/useful for a career in medicine??

[Meditopia]

How are you guys indicating the verifiers for each particular activity? I was thinking of putting them in brackets right after mentioning the activity. Is this what most people are doing or are some listing them all at the end of the question.

Also, if you are using the same activity for multiple questions wont it be redundant to repeat the verifier's contact info or are we expected to repeat it regardless. Any input would be appreciated

[LostLamb]

man oh man how to fit in the "why"...i can barely fit in the title of the activity, the time frame, and the duties....

 

am i the only one who hates the 'lines' format? give me # of characters limitation anyday....

[BrendanJ]

can't stress it enough: (even according to previous admissions docs that gave seminars on how to apply) the why is the most important part. I'd go as far to say as an activity is almost worthless without a why.

[Jochi1543]

can't stress it enough: (even according to previous admissions docs that gave seminars on how to apply) the why is the most important part. I'd go as far to say as an activity is almost worthless without a why.

 

Hm, I dunno, I never put in a "why" (well, except for awards, obviously) last year, and I scored well above the admitted average for "personal attributes." I put in a lot of "why's" for U of C and didn't even make the interview invited average for EC/W/V section, lol.

[Wut?]

can't stress it enough: (even according to previous admissions docs that gave seminars on how to apply) the why is the most important part. I'd go as far to say as an activity is almost worthless without a why.

 

 

I have heard the same, and wholeheartedly agree.

[anonymity]

With regards to the five questions, do we know if it is read by a single reviewer? Or are the questions divi'ed up to a team? Just wanted to know if it would be possible to build off responses in other questions given this tiny amount of space we have.

 

Thanks!

[Wut?]

Nobody really knows, but everyone on the committee is supposed to have a copy of an applicant's package.

[Paulhammer]

am i the only one who hates the 'lines' format? give me # of characters limitation anyday....

 

Amen Lamb, whose lines are they talking about anyway? certainly not standard lines on a page, or in the box - one of my boxes has 995 characters with spaces, and is fine, and another has 993 and exceeds the 15 lines.... *EDIT* 963 characters was the magic number in box 5!

 

GAR! There are only so many shorter synonyms I can throw in and still have the darn thing make sense!

[Typical Premed]

Does anyone know if the limit of 3 activities for some questions is a strict limit or is more of a guideline.

[Jochi1543]

I have no idea, but I treated it as a strict limit.

[Star]

These guidelines are so vague, it's kind of annoying. Are we supposed to be putting dates for our employment record? Such a waste of valuable space, haha.

[Jochi1543]

These guidelines are so vague, it's kind of annoying. Are we supposed to be putting dates for our employment record? Such a waste of valuable space, haha.

 

I didn't this year. I don't think I did last year, either. In between the dates and the verifier contacts, you'd lose half of the already very limited space.

[always_panicked]

So for this "why" component, are you specifically writing out one line that ties the activity to something that would benefit a medical career? For example, if I wrote that I volunteered in a hospital, do I really need to write a line saying why its relevant. Isn't it obvious?

 

Also, for awards and achievements, if I won a scholarship, should I write a specific line relating it to medicine?

 

I guess I just treated this like OMSAS and didn't even think to add the 'why' component!

[meme me]

I wouldn't worry too much about this whole 'why' argument. It's completely unrealistic to think we can explain why each activity we're listing is relevant to medicine in the very limited space we're given... it's a ridiculous suggestion in my opinion. Ultimately, it's up to the addmissions committee to decide what's relevant and what isn't... there's no way we can make an argument about the relevance of an activity in a couple of words. In these tiny spaces we're given, I think what's more important is to get down what the activity was, what sort of time committment was involved and obviously, a contact.

[meme me]

can't stress it enough: (even according to previous admissions docs that gave seminars on how to apply) the why is the most important part. I'd go as far to say as an activity is almost worthless without a why.

And I would say that you've gone way too far. Worthless?...please.

[tearless]

It's completely unrealistic to think we can explain why each activity we're listing is relevant to medicine in the very limited space we're given... it's a ridiculous suggestion in my opinion.

 

i think you've misunderstood. the point isn't to describe the activity's relevance to medicine, but rather to describe what you got out of the activity. this is what i take to mean "why". most activities probably will not be directly related to medicine (in fact none of mine were), and this isn't a bad thing.

 

and for the record, yes i do believe an activity where you don't know "why" - as in you weren't a better person for it - may as well be worthless.

[Dayne67]

Is everyone also putting in dates for each activity?

[BrendanJ]

i think you've misunderstood. the point isn't to describe the activity's relevance to medicine, but rather to describe what you got out of the activity. this is what i take to mean "why". most activities probably will not be directly related to medicine (in fact none of mine were), and this isn't a bad thing.

 

and for the record, yes i do believe an activity where you don't know "why" - as in you weren't a better person for it - may as well be worthless.

 

I agree. That's just my opinion, but definitely not the single correct way to do it by any means. That's the beauty of just leaving a blank space and having applicants go at it.

[meme me]

i think you've misunderstood. the point isn't to describe the activity's relevance to medicine, but rather to describe what you got out of the activity. this is what i take to mean "why". most activities probably will not be directly related to medicine (in fact none of mine were), and this isn't a bad thing.

 

and for the record, yes i do believe an activity where you don't know "why" - as in you weren't a better person for it - may as well be worthless.

 

Thanks tearless, but I haven't misunderstood anything: I know the difference between describing an activity's relevance to medicine and what one has gained from that activity, but this is a moot point. Do you really think there's a difference between these two with respect to space in a 15 line limit response space? Because I don't.

 

My point is this: when you folks start talking about discussing what one has gained, etc., you're stepping into essay country. And unfortunately for all those enlightened U of A applicants who actually know what their experiences meant to them, there is no essay portion.

 

If your counter-argument to my point is this: "You could, for instance, say that from your experience as team captain for your soccer team, you learned leadership skills and the value of teamwork... that doesn't take up much space." My response would be this, "You're right; it doesn't take up much space. But in an answer block limited to 15 lines/answer... 5 lines/activity, it seems superfluous to state that you gained leadership qualities from a leadership position... it fails to contribute to the answer in a meaningful way."

 

Look, I just believe that these answers are more spewing the resume in an eloquent fashion than anything else and I don't know/have never seen any resume that lists the 'why.' So either your experiences weren't as significant or well-explained as mine or we just plain disagree on how to approach the questions.

 

And "for the record" I never said anything to the regard of how an activity can still contain some worth if one does not understand its 'why'... (it's ridiculous that I'm actually clarifying this). What I insinuated was that not mentioning this 'why' IN A MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION WITH A LIMIT OF 15 LINES/ANSWER... 5 LINES/ACTIVITY does not make it worthless to mention that activity.

 

E.G. Student Union President, Sept 06 - May 07

 

Hmm... no room for the why... darn. Delete.

 

Point made?

 

And a little more for the record.... people that don't understand the worth of their activities to their growth as an individual and all that crap, probably aren't the types of individuals applying to medicine... so to suggest that not putting it in our applications because we don't know it is insulting to our intelligence and a sheepish offensive on your part, coyly defending your own opinion of how an application was supposed to be filled out.

 

Now, to everyone out there who thinks I'm being beyond a little long-winded and seem a little ticked... I apologize. This forum just constantly frustrates me with individuals who post on here in their dogmatic language, as if what they heard from that dude in organic chemistry who has a brother at med school say is the absolute truth... this is a forum for the sharing of information, opinions and ideas; it shouldn't be a place for certain applicants to bully others into following their lead just so that bully can feel a little more comfortable and falsely secure about their own position. Don't exaggerate, don't embellish, and don't lie.

 

And that rant is not directed solely at tearless by any stretch of the imagination. It is a more general rant about the nature of this board.

 

Cheers!