OMSAS ABS Examples: The 9 Mistakes I See in Almost Every Draft

Since my last post about the ABS made its way around, I've had a lot of premeds send me their drafts to look over, and I noticed the same handful of problems showing up again and again. So I figured it was worth writing down properly instead of repeating myself in DMs every time. If you're staring at your thirty two entries right now wondering if they're any good, here's what I'd flag if you sent it to me.

The description talks about the organization instead of you

This is the single most common issue I see. An entry will spend its whole 150 characters explaining what the food bank does or what the lab studies, and never actually say what you did there. The reviewer already assumes the organization does something reasonable. What they want to know is what you personally showed up and did, and what happened because you did it.

There's no number anywhere in the entry

Hours per week, people trained, events run, dollars raised, whatever the honest number is. A vague description reads like it's hiding something even when it isn't. A specific number does the opposite work, it makes a short entry feel concrete and real.

Every entry starts with the same verb

Led, led, led, organized, led. It happens because you're tired and it's the easiest word to reach for, but reading five entries in a row that all start the same way makes the whole sketch blur together in the reviewer's head. Vary it, and let the verb actually match what you did.

The verifier is a friend, a roommate, or a relative

I know it feels like the fastest option when you're behind on the deadline, but it can cost you credibility on an entry that might otherwise be strong. If you don't have a real supervisor or coordinator for something, that's worth knowing now, in July, while you still have time to either find one or reconsider the entry.

You haven't actually confirmed the verifier's email still works

This is the most avoidable scramble in the entire application and I watched it happen to people around me last cycle. People change jobs, switch emails, or just stop checking an old inbox. A quick message now saves you a genuine panic in September.

Everything meaningful happened in the last twelve months

If your sketch reads like your whole life started last September, that's usually because you're leaning on the newest, most impressive sounding things instead of the ones that actually shaped you. A reviewer can tell the difference between a sketch built for the application and one that reflects an actual few years of a life.

It's all awards and titles, with barely any employment

I used to think my retail and grocery store jobs looked unimpressive sitting next to research placements, so I want to say this directly: nobody on the other side of this cared. What mattered was that I could talk about responsibility, dealing with a difficult customer, or covering someone else's shift on short notice. A paycheque teaches things a certificate doesn't, and it comes through in an interview far more naturally than a rehearsed award story does.

You're padding to reach all thirty two slots

Twenty eight strong entries with real verifiers will always read better than thirty two where four are clearly there to fill space. If you're stretching to find a thirty second thing to list, it's usually a sign you should tighten what you already have instead.

Reading it top to bottom, no theme shows up

This is the one thing people notice least while writing and adcoms notice most while reading. By the end of your sketch, a stranger should be able to say what you're actually about in one sentence, whether that's community health, mentorship, research curiosity, or something else entirely. If nothing emerges, it's worth going back through and asking what story your own thirty two entries are already telling, whether you meant them to or not.

If you want someone to go through your sketch line by line and catch what I just described before you submit, that's the actual ABS review I offer over at the site, and it's priced for students on purpose. If you'd rather just talk it through first, the site also has a free fifteen minute call where I'll tell you honestly what I see.