OMSAS - Sketch

[taisho]

Hey guys, I was just wondering for under additional details for employment, volunteer, extracurricular activity entries, it tells us to specify our level of education. I'm interpreting this as the level of education we had when we first started the activity, but if it is something you did since high school until now, what would you put in this field?

[MonkeyDLuffy]

I apologize if this has been asked before but when describing activities in the OMSAS sketch, is it advisable to solely mention responsibilities or do we also try to include a line about what we learnt from the experience?

 

I spoke to the medical students at U of T today and was told that we should only describe our roles and responsibilities, but not what we learnt from experience. However, advice on this forums says otherwise..

 

Now I'm in a dilemma.

[med11]

Is there any place where we should describe our ECAs?

 

Because it only asks for "Summer or Academic Yr" and "Level of Performance/Type of Activity"

[Savac]

Is there any place where we should describe our ECAs?

 

Because it only asks for "Summer or Academic Yr" and "Level of Performance/Type of Activity"

 

Use the second box that gives you 150 characters to describe your activity

[med11]

The instructions say:

 

" Indicate the type of activity: individual activity, team activity or club activity (ie sports, arts, music, student governments, personal activities such as camping etc) For sports activities, indicate at which level you performed: recreational, varsity, intramural, provincial, national or international. "

 

So should would be describing the activity or just stick to what they ask

[Savac]

The instructions say:

 

" Indicate the type of activity: individual activity, team activity or club activity (ie sports, arts, music, student governments, personal activities such as camping etc) For sports activities, indicate at which level you performed: recreational, varsity, intramural, provincial, national or international. "

 

So should would be describing the activity or just stick to what they ask

 

Just describe the activity. There is nowhere else on the application that will allow you to discuss the details of your ECs.

[Dr.No]

If I was included as a co-author on a poster, but didnt present it at a conference, does that count as a publication that I can put down under research?

[w_robin]

If I was included as a co-author on a poster, but didnt present it at a conference, does that count as a publication that I can put down under research?

 

Your name is on the poster...

 

Just make sure that you make the details clear (i.e. co-author on a poster that was presented at a conference). I wouldn't mention explicitly that you didn't present it... but that might just be me.

[DocMC]

I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere, but if I started an activity before the age of 16 and continued it throughout high school (until the end of grade 12), would the start date be the real start date (when I was 14/15) or should it be when I was 16? For example, if I played high school hockey for 4 years would I put the real start (when I was 15)?

 

Thank you

[Rorzo]

I'm sure this has been answered elsewhere, but if I started an activity before the age of 16 and continued it throughout high school (until the end of grade 12), would the start date be the real start date (when I was 14/15) or should it be when I was 16? For example, if I played high school hockey for 4 years would I put the real start (when I was 15)?

 

Thank you

 

I know many people with successful applications that put the actual start date down.

[DocMC]

Great. Also, I played many different sports in high school (hockey, soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, and wrestling). Should I group them all under one entry? Or have a separate entry for each sport?

 

Thanks again!

[future_doc]

Separate entries space permitting

[DocMC]

Separate entries space permitting

 

Once again thank you for the help. Much appreciated.

[bpp]

I know many people with successful applications that put the actual start date down.

 

what about something that I started when I was around 8 or 9? Should I include the hours and start date from then? seems like they wouldn't really consider it that valuable

[Leon]

what about something that I started when I was around 8 or 9? Should I include the hours and start date from then? seems like they wouldn't really consider it that valuable

 

Something that started that early and is still ongoing is actually a very good thing to include. That level of commitment is appreciated by admissions.

[MarshMellow]

I had a question about the "Formal Education" section.

 

Does it make sense to put certificates like "Bio Safety Training", "Lab Safety Training", "Experimental Animal Care Training Course"...etc.?

 

I'm not quite sure where I stand on this. On one hand yes, it is 'formal training' (where a course was taken and there was a test/quizzes done & had to be passed at a certain level to obtain a certificate/license). But on the other hand, these things seem quite trivial...

 

Any insight would be awesome!

[Leon]

I had a question about the "Formal Education" section.

 

Does it make sense to put certificates like "Bio Safety Training", "Lab Safety Training", "Experimental Animal Care Training Course"...etc.?

 

I'm not quite sure where I stand on this. On one hand yes, it is 'formal training' (where a course was taken and there was a test/quizzes done & had to be passed at a certain level to obtain a certificate/license). But on the other hand, these things seem quite trivial...

 

Any insight would be awesome!

 

AFAIK formal education refers to university degrees.

[MarshMellow]

AFAIK formal education refers to university degrees.

 

Thanks Leon! I guess I'll leave them out

 

I have another question regarding the wording of the ABS. Because of the 150 char. limit I've been using what some may say "poor grammar/sentence structure". But I feel it's the only way to get as much stuff in there. Being concise & thorough is so hard.

 

For example my one description is:

 

"Enjoy feeding pts & conversing/reading/playing with pts & their family in the ER or other wards (isolation etc.). Ensure quality of care with nurses."

 

I'm not sure how to feel about using the slashes instead of commas & abbreviations like "pts".

 

Is it best to stick to 100% proper English? Or is there some leeway as to how we word our descriptions?

[future_doc]

I had a question about the "Formal Education" section.

 

Does it make sense to put certificates like "Bio Safety Training", "Lab Safety Training", "Experimental Animal Care Training Course"...etc.?

 

I'm not quite sure where I stand on this. On one hand yes, it is 'formal training' (where a course was taken and there was a test/quizzes done & had to be passed at a certain level to obtain a certificate/license). But on the other hand, these things seem quite trivial...

 

Any insight would be awesome!

 

In my view if Formal Education was meant to cover university degrees, it would say University Degrees. I would include the items you suggest as otherwise, there is no place to put them, and this is the appropriate place. For example, if you took ballet, music or languages outside of normal school, this is the place to list them.

[Leon]

Thanks Leon! I guess I'll leave them out

 

I have another question regarding the wording of the ABS. Because of the 150 char. limit I've been using what some may say "poor grammar/sentence structure". But I feel it's the only way to get as much stuff in there. Being concise & thorough is so hard.

 

For example my one description is:

 

"Enjoy feeding pts & conversing/reading/playing with pts & their family in the ER or other wards (isolation etc.). Ensure quality of care with nurses."

 

I'm not sure how to feel about using the slashes instead of commas & abbreviations like "pts".

 

Is it best to stick to 100% proper English? Or is there some leeway as to how we word our descriptions?

 

This is just how I worded my stuff and I got interviews from 3 Ontario schools that do evaluate your ABS (Queens, UT, Ottawa) so I would say it's safe to assume that they understand your need to convey information and accept abbreviations and poor grammar.

 

That said, I wouldn't use too many abbreviations. I had trouble with your "pts" until I realized you were talking about a hospital setting. Maybe say "patient" the first time and then use the abbreviation after?

[MarshMellow]

This is just how I worded my stuff and I got interviews from 3 Ontario schools that do evaluate your ABS (Queens, UT, Ottawa) so I would say it's safe to assume that they understand your need to convey information and accept abbreviations and poor grammar.

 

That said, I wouldn't use too many abbreviations. I had trouble with your "pts" until I realized you were talking about a hospital setting. Maybe say "patient" the first time and then use the abbreviation after?

 

Thanks for the feedback! I actually tried exactly that. I spent quite a bit of time trying to fit the word "patient" in at the beginning but the limit was hindering it. My bad, I just put the description out of context. It's a description for a hospital volunteer position (ER volunteering).

 

So in that case, I hope they read the descriptions after reading the title of the position so there is some context.

[bpp]

Something that started that early and is still ongoing is actually a very good thing to include. That level of commitment is appreciated by admissions.

 

thanks! I just wouldn't have thought that they wouldn't care that I played hockey as a kid; i guess it's the fact that i they are ongoing

[Leon]

I want to reiterate: As long as you haven't hit your 48 limit, feel free to include what you want. Don't include too much stuff you see as fluff but if you have the space, why not include it? The only risk is "diluting" your app but that's up to your discretion.

 

Cheers

Leon

[DinoHunter]

In the OMSAS booklet, it says:

 

To associate a verifier with a given activity, enter a number in brackets beside the activity. This number should correspond to the number on the verifiers list.

 

In which entry field exactly do we put this? "Beside the activity" is too unspecific for me. Does it go at the end in the "Description" field;

 

e.g., "Patient support volunteer (4)"?

[future_doc]

I hope they read the descriptions after reading the title of the position so there is some context.

 

They would begin at the title.