Another Columbia supplement question. My last one, I promise!

<p>Okay, so this question is a bit more involved. For the "supplementary materials" section, what if I include a very detailed account of my internship at a cardiac lab within a hospital? I know that, conventionally, if one were to check off the 'science' box for the supplementary materials, it would be a research abstract or something, but I didn't have a specific project. I was basically helping out with clinical trials, observing surgeries/catheterizations/echocardiograms, centrifuging/pipetting blood samples and then preparing them to be shipped to clinical research institutes. Honestly, I had (and am currently) having a very cool experience, and I was wondering if I could use this as a scientific supplementary material. As you can tell, I'm not artistically or musically inclined, and I have trouble leaving anything blank, whether it's optional or not.</p>

<p>If not, could I put it other the "Other" category? Can anyone give me examples of what one would put under the "other" category?</p>

<p>If you have a letter of recommendation from your internship, you could send that as a supplement. I wouldn’t send anything too long because chances are then that they simply won’t read it. A self written account is a little eh - at any rate, don’t make it too long. A letter from the head of the program or something would resonate a lot better.</p>

<p>For other, something like a reference letter from an employer, etc.</p>

<p>Absolutely not. Other than a published scientific paper, I’d only include a letter of recommendation from your internship coordinator. If you want to write about your experiences working in the cath lab, then make that the subject of your personal statement. But I doubt the admissions officers will be happy if you just include a second essay, after they’ve explicitly asked you not to do so. It’s optional, so it’s better to attach nothing extra than attach something superfluous.</p>

<p>For what it’s worth, I wrote my personal statement about my experiences working in a hospital (including watching cath procedures), and I attached a letter of recommendation from my boss as the optional “Other” document.</p>