hmmmm Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Can some with high EC (personal activities score) from previous years give few pointers on how to format the section. Last year I sort of listed it and scored poorly (however did get interview from school which puts heavy emphasis on ECs, Ottawa). Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 I scored significantly above admitted average last year even though I didn't have anything groundbreaking on my EC list at all (I dpn't know my score this year, but it's probably the same or higher since I actually got in this time). I spent DAYS on the EC section trying to make sure that I have 3 examples for everything. I don't think that all of these examples were amazing, I definitely recall picking some activities that, IMO, were pushing it - such as putting teaching under "leadership." However, I did have 3 activities for every section that said "pick 3..." So I guess my first piece of advice is to ensure that when it says, "pick 3," you've got 3, even if you really feel like you are stretching it - better than 1 or 2. Secondly, rather than say what I did (except for one healthcare activity where my title was really obscure, so I felt that I needed to clarify what it involved), I listed accomplishments for that position. E.g. for my hospital volunteer gig, rather than list "delivered newspapers....made beds....discharged patients..." etc, I put "Hospital Volunteer - received service award for commitment to the position." For my lame Sears job, rather than list all the boring crap I did daily, I put "Was commended for achieving a very high customer loyalty index." You get the drift. Thirdly, I made sure that I didn't use the same activity for more than one section, even if it meant writing very little about an activity that meant a lot for me in order to fit it into a section with 2 others, and then using a somewhat lame activity in the next section. Last but not least, I put EVERYTHING I possibly could in that extra "diversity of experience" section. I listed all my athletic endeavours, even if it was just running 5Ks, all my languages, etc. Obviously, someone else might have received a high PAS score with a different strategy, but considering that most of my activities weren't that mind-blowing (compared to some of my classmates), I think my approach has some merit to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmmmm Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Ah, well last year I noticed I sort of just listed stuff! I guess thats what brought it down. Also one more thing, The ask for verifiers for each activity and I listed them and it takes up nearly half of the give space did you list verifiers for all of the activities ? And really appreciate the advice. THanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Yeah, but I just gave one mode of contact for each, i.e. listed only phone # or only e-mail rather than both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 I scored significantly above admitted average last year even though I didn't have anything groundbreaking on my EC list at all (I dpn't know my score this year, but it's probably the same or higher since I actually got in this time). I spent DAYS on the EC section trying to make sure that I have 3 examples for everything. I don't think that all of these examples were amazing, I definitely recall picking some activities that, IMO, were pushing it - such as putting teaching under "leadership." However, I did have 3 activities for every section that said "pick 3..." So I guess my first piece of advice is to ensure that when it says, "pick 3," you've got 3, even if you really feel like you are stretching it - better than 1 or 2. Secondly, rather than say what I did (except for one healthcare activity where my title was really obscure, so I felt that I needed to clarify what it involved), I listed accomplishments for that position. E.g. for my hospital volunteer gig, rather than list "delivered newspapers....made beds....discharged patients..." etc, I put "Hospital Volunteer - received service award for commitment to the position." For my lame Sears job, rather than list all the boring crap I did daily, I put "Was commended for achieving a very high customer loyalty index." You get the drift. Thirdly, I made sure that I didn't use the same activity for more than one section, even if it meant writing very little about an activity that meant a lot for me in order to fit it into a section with 2 others, and then using a somewhat lame activity in the next section. Last but not least, I put EVERYTHING I possibly could in that extra "diversity of experience" section. I listed all my athletic endeavours, even if it was just running 5Ks, all my languages, etc. Obviously, someone else might have received a high PAS score with a different strategy, but considering that most of my activities weren't that mind-blowing (compared to some of my classmates), I think my approach has some merit to it. awesome insights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remington Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Hey, I listed it with numbers for order: eg. 1. Volunteer with ____ from May 07 - July 09. 2hrs/week. Responsible for _____. Verifyer M. GOoder 780-xxx-xxxx. 2. So and so. this long. bla bla. verifyer __. It made a whole lot of info somewhat organized. I just stuck with my system. I also did not put verifiers for everything, only the ones that really could verify. Its hard to get someone else to verify the impact something had on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsci Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Hmmmm, my dilemma: IMO I have a lot of diverse experience... so I'm trying to decide if I go with a list format and just list them all with minimal explanation. OR Go a little more in depth into say 30-40% of them and how they were different and what skills/experience I gained... Classic quantity vs. quality dilemma... any suggestions from successful past applicants or otherwise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmmmm Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Hmmmm, my dilemma: IMO I have a lot of diverse experience... so I'm trying to decide if I go with a list format and just list them all with minimal explanation. OR Go a little more in depth into say 30-40% of them and how they were different and what skills/experience I gained... Classic quantity vs. quality dilemma... any suggestions from successful past applicants or otherwise? yea mate, I listed as many as I could I reckon they didn't like that last year. I scored really really poorly on ECs! So I reckon you should put an explanation of sorts; I will be doing so. note: I don't think my ECs are poor as I got interviews elsewhere with average or below average academic stats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 yea mate, I listed as many as I could I reckon they didn't like that last year. I scored really really poorly on ECs! So I reckon you should put an explanation of sorts; I will be doing so. Didn't realize it was Talk Like a Pirate Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmmmm Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Didn't realize it was Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hahahah. Been listening to too many Aussies, so I have begun to write like they speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 well so far it looks like a couple of people got hurt by using lists. sure its a sample of 2 but it looks like they want explanations. might as well give it to em.....in very precise terms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kines. Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 well so far it looks like a couple of people got hurt by using lists. sure its a sample of 2 but it looks like they want explanations. might as well give it to em.....in very precise terms I agree with general consensus on not listing. It's important (IMO and Jochi's) that you not just say what you did, but make it clear why that is something worth mentioning. To build on some examples of Jochi's, I was a mentor for a high school student in the lab I worked in, so rather than say I taught him how to do immunohistochemistry, I said I fostered his interest in science as a career, which was true, but by saying that I showed why what I did should be used to judge me as a person. Unlike Jochi, I used the same activity in both volunteer and leadership sections (since my main volunteering was in the role of leadership). I got in first time...so it's not an immediate no-no. But if you can put different things in each section I would recommend it. Remember, PEOPLE are reading these, so you sound more interesting if you can craft what you did into coherent and (somewhat) intelligent statements rather than a sterile list of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remington Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 I concur too. But you could still list AND have details. Also, it may depend on if you covered any "diversity of experience " components in the other aspects of your application. If you really go into depth in the volunteer section, then perhaps you could just list your volunteer experience in "diversity of experience" without much depth. Agree or disagree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 I concur too. But you could still list AND have details. Also, it may depend on if you covered any "diversity of experience " components in the other aspects of your application. If you really go into depth in the volunteer section, then perhaps you could just list your volunteer experience in "diversity of experience" without much depth. Agree or disagree? just gimme the bloody password already! What do you say to get in? Come on........no one else will know....promise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 just gimme the bloody password already! What do you say to get in? Come on........no one else will know....promise The password is "CONNECTIVE TISSUE." I repeat, "CONNECTIVE TISSUE.":cool: :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 The password is "CONNECTIVE TISSUE." I repeat, "CONNECTIVE TISSUE.":cool: :cool: somebody has done way too much histo already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 The password is "CONNECTIVE TISSUE." I repeat, "CONNECTIVE TISSUE.":cool: :cool: strangely enough.............that woulda been my guess! I'm made for this sheat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpicyNoodles Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 Hi there, Was wondering if providing an email address is acceptable since the application only said to provide the name and number of the verifier. Second, has anyone used family members as verifiers? I find that the items I listed in the Diversity of Experiences section can only be verified by family members - eg. family trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astudentis Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 somebody has done way too much histo already! not lamina propia ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted October 17, 2009 Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 I agree with general consensus on not listing. It's important (IMO and Jochi's) that you not just say what you did, but make it clear why that is something worth mentioning. To build on some examples of Jochi's, I was a mentor for a high school student in the lab I worked in, so rather than say I taught him how to do immunohistochemistry, I said I fostered his interest in science as a career, which was true, but by saying that I showed why what I did should be used to judge me as a person. Unlike Jochi, I used the same activity in both volunteer and leadership sections (since my main volunteering was in the role of leadership). I got in first time...so it's not an immediate no-no. But if you can put different things in each section I would recommend it. Remember, PEOPLE are reading these, so you sound more interesting if you can craft what you did into coherent and (somewhat) intelligent statements rather than a sterile list of things. thank you for saying that. Two things I listed under employment do pop up elsewhere for me as well. After graduating, i worked FT for 5 years, so obviously that's alot of time working. I find it impossible not to list some of these things under leadership or acheivements. what's bugging me is the diversity question. It seems like a summary of the first bunch of questions. Not sure I'm brining alot of new things into here (i talk about degrees in business and science, a masters, diverse work exp - but all this is already mentioned). crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kines. Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 thank you for saying that. Two things I listed under employment do pop up elsewhere for me as well. After graduating, i worked FT for 5 years, so obviously that's alot of time working. I find it impossible not to list some of these things under leadership or acheivements. what's bugging me is the diversity question. It seems like a summary of the first bunch of questions. Not sure I'm brining alot of new things into here (i talk about degrees in business and science, a masters, diverse work exp - but all this is already mentioned). crap sv3, do you play any musical instruments? play any sports? ever travelled anywhere? done any research? done anything that is different than most people? this is the sort of thing they're looking for. i'm sure if you think back you'll find plenty to talk about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sv3 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 sv3, do you play any musical instruments? play any sports? ever travelled anywhere? done any research? done anything that is different than most people? this is the sort of thing they're looking for. i'm sure if you think back you'll find plenty to talk about. I have and i plan to include some of that but a couple of biggies are my diverse and thorough education (4 degrees) and work exp (5 FT years). So i'm hoping to be able to have them there, and then throw in the other stuff. i wish there was room like on Calgarys app for impact statements or like on UofT's pesonal essay to explain motives for medicine. I think it hurts me that there is not on Alberta's app. Being 29, I've gotto think adcoms will want to know "why medicine NOW?" and i dont know if i can answer that someone in the app. ........... thanks for the reply though - helpful indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp1187 Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I sorta have an issue with a couple of my verifiers. Their last name is the same as mine even though we are not related. Do you think this would look bad on the application? I don't want them to think that I am using a relative or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I sorta have an issue with a couple of my verifiers. Their last name is the same as mine even though we are not related. Do you think this would look bad on the application? I don't want them to think that I am using a relative or something like that. Hmmm, I think it would depend on your last name. If it's very common, I don't think anyone would notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kines. Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I sorta have an issue with a couple of my verifiers. Their last name is the same as mine even though we are not related. Do you think this would look bad on the application? I don't want them to think that I am using a relative or something like that. Why don't you use the "Additional comments" section to say "NOTE although the verifiers listed in sections [whatever] have the same last name, we are not related." ? that's harmless enough. The worst that would happen is they call your verifier and find out that in fact you aren't related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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