As requested, here's one medical school admissions perspective:
We want both -- brevity and meaningful information. Brevity because we have to
read too many applications and wish to be fair to all. Meaningful information
because we can't interview everyone who is "academically qualified" and so the
depth and extent of extra-curricular activities are very important -- as has
been said before, the more we can find out, the better equipped we are to make
decisions.
This is the sort of abbreviated "map" I give to the applicants who ask me how to
tackle that section:
Think carefully about which kind of experiences were really meaningful to you --
don't try to fill out space. We are very good at recognizing bs.
High school activities are important only to underline continuity during college
at increased levels of participation, leadership or responsibility (e.g., you've
played a musical instrument, participated in the high school orchestra and are
now in the college orchestra, etc.)
Don't repeat what's obvious from answers to things like experience type, title
description, contact name & title or organization name (e.g, don't repeat in the
description that you worked on research with Dr. So and So -- that information
is above the description of your experience).
If the organization in which you participated is not well known, give a brief
description followed by the role you played there, specially if it involved any
type of responsibility.
If you made Dean's list (or any type of honor like that) for more than one
semester, use the description area to list the other semesters.
If you received any scholarship, fellowship or other honor that is not
nationally recognizable, describe it briefly. Don't waste paper on scholarships
that are awarded to half the population at the school.
If you were just a member of an organization, let us know how many meetings/week
you attended and why you joined.
If you list a publication, make sure it's been accepted for publication and cite
it properly. If the paper is just being "prepared for submission" or
"submitted," include this fact as part of the research description in the part
where you listed the research activity.
If listing a research experience that extends through the academic year as well
as summer, use the description area to let us know the time invested during each
of those periods (e.g., full time during the summer, 10 hrs/week in the
fall/spring blah blah blah)
Remember that each experience you list is "up for grabs" if you are invited to
interview -- you might be asked anything about it and it can make you or break
you.
This is just a short list I made after being frustrated reading thousands of
applications that didn't give me the information I wanted or asking a question
during an interview about an experience I found interesting on the application
and learning that the participation had been so minimal or superficial as to
make the experience worthless.
My two cents.
I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend (with better weather than it's
been predicted for NYC)
Liliana
Liliana Montano
Assistant Dean of Admissions
Weill Cornell Medical College
Education - the entire pipeline