Hobbies/Interests on OMSAS application

[Guest PK]

I was just wondering whther anyone has heard of putting a hobby or interest (ie. as baking, or stamp collecting, etc...) in their 48-item sketch and using a friend as a verfiier. To me this seems odd, but I want to know if anyone that has actually got into med school has done this.

 

In a way, I guess it does provide the oppotunity for the intereviewers to see an intereting side of you that likely wouldn't come up had you not included it, but at the same time it can look like padding your application, no?

 

Thanks

[Guest turtle]

i put snowboarding & mountain-biking on mine (as a single entry), neither of which i do competetively or in an organized fashion. (although i did compete in the 24-hours of adrenaline one year -- so much fun!!) and, yes, i did use a friend as a verifier.

 

i agree, it's a bit of a fine line & could possibly be seen as padding, but at the same time, i don't think that it's really the type of "padding" that would have the potential to garner anyone many extra points. i mean, i doubt the committees gave much weight to that item at all, but i put it on anyway because a) they are something that i do frequently & show a part of who i am, and it added an interesting activity for them to choose from when asking questions in the interview.

[Guest satsumargirl]

You should put down whatever you feel helps paint a picture of who you are. (within reason of course)

 

If you spend hours a week collecting stamps why not put it down? How is that really any different then putting down piano lessons or whatever.

[Guest peachy]

I definitely think that you should put down something if it's a significant part of your life, whether it's organized or not. There's no reason why baking, for example, is less significant if it's a daily activity you do in your home vs if you were taking a baking class. Obviously, though, you don't want to fill up your entire sketch with absolutely everything that you do in your leisure time

[Guest jos264]

i had put down running and yoga as hobbies on my applications and got in...though i don't think that such entries will make or break your application, I'm sure it's nice for them to see that you have interests that have nothing to do with getting accepted to med school

[Guest 24medgirl]

I have running and yoga on my sketch too and also go in! Hmmm, trend here? :rollin Just kidding. I also had cooking on there because I love to cook and thought it was important to portray that side of my personality. I think as long as you're not padding your sketch with leisure activities you should be fine.

 

T.