2009-2010 AMCAS Questions Thread

[JJMrK]

just out of curiosity, do most people wait until after they have submitted their application the first time to decide which LORs they want to go to each school? when i asked a question about LORs, people seemed surprised that i was designating which schools i wanted them to go to on my first submission.

I'm waiting until I get secondaries from the school before I assign letters.

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[parhumn]

I'm waiting until I get secondaries from the school before I assign letters.

that's actually a great idea.

i also noticed that most med schools require certain types of LORs but many of them don't specify a limit. generally, if they don't, do you think 5 is too many?

 

[toast861]

I'm confused about the verification process. I'm currently taking summer courses and want the med schools I apply to receive my summer grades, as they are a couple of retakes from classes I did poorly in earlier. Also, I took the MCAT on June 18th, so I am waiting for my scores (should be in on July 21st). I'm really worried about getting my application in too late in the cycle, so how does this work? Do I have to wait for my transcripts to be complete before I can submit? Or should I sumbit my transcipts to AMCAS & AACOMAS and then submit? Also, should I wait to get my MCAT scores, or do they just get forwarded to the schools and the adcoms match them to your app file? SO CONFUSED!!!

 

[JamesBond15]

I'm confused about the verification process. I'm currently taking summer courses and want the med schools I apply to receive my summer grades, as they are a couple of retakes from classes I did poorly in earlier. Also, I took the MCAT on June 18th, so I am waiting for my scores (should be in on July 21st). I'm really worried about getting my application in too late in the cycle, so how does this work? Do I have to wait for my transcripts to be complete before I can submit? Or should I sumbit my transcipts to AMCAS & AACOMAS and then submit? Also, should I wait to get my MCAT scores, or do they just get forwarded to the schools and the adcoms match them to your app file? SO CONFUSED!!!

You application will not be verified until your transcripts are received. You can click submit, but you app will just sit there and wait till they receive transcripts.

You can not send them a second set of transcripts. Once everything is verified, that is it. You can however send schools an update letter with the new grades. You can also mention your new grades in the secondary (for most schools there will be an option). But an update letter is the other option.

You can submit your app without your MCAT score. The verification on your application will start and you will start receiving secondaries after you are verified. However, you application will not be considered complete by the schools until your MCAT score is known. A complete application means the school has your primary application, secondary application, letter of recommendations, MCAT, and fee.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I'm confused about the verification process. I'm currently taking summer courses and want the med schools I apply to receive my summer grades, as they are a couple of retakes from classes I did poorly in earlier. Also, I took the MCAT on June 18th, so I am waiting for my scores (should be in on July 21st). I'm really worried about getting my application in too late in the cycle, so how does this work? Do I have to wait for my transcripts to be complete before I can submit? Or should I sumbit my transcipts to AMCAS & AACOMAS and then submit? Also, should I wait to get my MCAT scores, or do they just get forwarded to the schools and the adcoms match them to your app file? SO CONFUSED!!!

Once you submit, you can't upload new grades. Therefore, if your GPA is going to go up by a large amount because of the summer work, you should wait until those grades would appear. If they won't affect your GPA that much, you may want to just submit and get it in. Don't worry about waiting for the MCAT score.

Merging with the AMCAS Questions Thread.

 

[parhumn]

for courses that you repeat, do you need to select repeat for both courses or just the time you repeat it?

for instance, i took a college course in high school, but then took the same college course in college because i didn't feel comfortable with the material when i took it in high school. do i click repeat for both high school and college entries, or just the college entry? THANKS!!

 

[premedmind]

Do Work/Activities have to be in chronological order or any other type of order?

Also, how should we enter in being a treasurer of a club? Should I list it as "Leadership - Not listed elsewhere"?

What should I put as the experience name?

 

[Transmogrifier]

Do Work/Activities have to be in chronological order or any other type of order?

Also, how should we enter in being a treasurer of a club? Should I list it as "Leadership - Not listed elsewhere"?

What should I put as the experience name?

Your activities will be sorted alphabetically by name no matter how you enter them.

List your activities however you think they best fit. Leadership sounds like an ok classification. "Club X" or "Club X Treasurer" would work fine as a title.

 

[flip26]

Your activities will be sorted alphabetically by name no matter how you enter them.

List your activities however you think they best fit. Leadership sounds like an ok classification. "Club X" or "Club X Treasurer" would work fine as a title.

They are sorted by start date, not by alphabet.

 

[parhumn]

They are sorted by start date, not by alphabet.

Earliest to oldest, or oldest to earliest?

 

[Transmogrifier]

Earliest to oldest, or oldest to earliest?

Oops you're quite right. I knew they weren't sorted by the order you entered them at least .

And I'm guessing you'll find out pretty quickly which date order they sort in, does it really matter?

 

[JJMrK]

Do Work/Activities have to be in chronological order or any other type of order?

Also, how should we enter in being a treasurer of a club? Should I list it as "Leadership - Not listed elsewhere"?

What should I put as the experience name?

AMCAS will sort them by date.

 

[parhumn]

Oops you're quite right. I knew they weren't sorted by the order you entered them at least .

And I'm guessing you'll find out pretty quickly which date order they sort in, does it really matter?

depends because my i have written the descriptions in a somewhat chronological order, referencing previous activities (i.e. "i left my lab at XXX to work in lab YYY because i received this super awesome scholarship)

 

[JJMrK]

Your activities will be sorted alphabetically by name no matter how you enter them.

List your activities however you think they best fit. Leadership sounds like an ok classification. "Club X" or "Club X Treasurer" would work fine as a title.

Not correct, see above.

 

[JJMrK]

Earliest to oldest, or oldest to earliest?

Things you started most recently to things you started a long time ago.

 

[Tabeeb12]

Hi, I am applying in the 09-10 cycle. I went to Univ. of Virginia undergrad ('07) and am trying to figure out how to input my LORs...

I have 7 LORs that I want going to every school. Do I input all of these under one letter packet or each one as an individual letter? Note, they do not all come from one institution.

Details
- one is from my premed advisor at UVa
- one science faculty from UVa
- one non-science faculty from UVa

- My PI from my research
- my lab mentor (PhD student) who I worked under in the lab
- the leader of a community service I have been active in for the past 2 years
- a physician (MD) that I shadowed extensively.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.

 

[JJMrK]

I'm confused about the verification process. I'm currently taking summer courses and want the med schools I apply to receive my summer grades, as they are a couple of retakes from classes I did poorly in earlier. Also, I took the MCAT on June 18th, so I am waiting for my scores (should be in on July 21st). I'm really worried about getting my application in too late in the cycle, so how does this work? Do I have to wait for my transcripts to be complete before I can submit? Or should I sumbit my transcipts to AMCAS & AACOMAS and then submit? Also, should I wait to get my MCAT scores, or do they just get forwarded to the schools and the adcoms match them to your app file? SO CONFUSED!!!

Nothing happens until you click submit and they receive your transcripts. What date will your transcripts be in by if you wait for summer grades?

 

[premedmind]

Is it bad that the descriptions for my Work/Activities is only around 400 words out of the 1325 allowed? In those 400 words, I adequately describe what I did, but not much else.

 

[JJMrK]

Hi, I am applying in the 09-10 cycle. I went to Univ. of Virginia undergrad ('07) and am trying to figure out how to input my LORs...

I have 7 LORs that I want going to every school. Do I input all of these under one letter packet or each one as an individual letter? Note, they do not all come from one institution.

Details
- one is from my premed advisor at UVa
- one science faculty from UVa
- one non-science faculty from UVa

- My PI from my research
- my lab mentor (PhD student) who I worked under in the lab
- the leader of a community service I have been active in for the past 2 years
- a physician (MD) that I shadowed extensively.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.

If any are coming together, like from a Career Center Office, put those as a packet and the others as individual.

 

[JJMrK]

Is it bad that the descriptions for my Work/Activities is only around 400 words out of the 1325 allowed? In those 400 words, I adequately describe what I did, but not much else.

I don't think it matters. I put like a sentence or two of why I did this/what I got out of it, but I don't think most people do.

 

[Tabeeb12]

If any are coming together, like from a Career Center Office, put those as a packet and the others as individual.

Thank you MrK. So, if a school allows a maximum of 5 LORs, for example, then would my "packet" count as 1 LOR, then the individuals count as 1 each? Or no?

 

[JJMrK]

Thank you MrK. So, if a school allows a maximum of 5 LORs, for example, then would my "packet" count as 1 LOR, then the individuals count as 1 each? Or no?

No, I wouldn't do that. If you have schools on your list that require 5 max, make sure your packet doesn't have more than 5. To do this, have your best 5 letters sent as a packet. Then go back a few days later and send another, and so on and so on, until all your letters are in. You can then assign the packet to the schools that don't want a bunch of letters and add individual letters also if some schools will take more.

 

[millepora]

I submitted my application yesterday, but I forgot to check with AMCAS whether we needed to enter future coursework. I am in my junior year, so I got another year of classes to take. Should I have done this? Is there anyway, AAMC will allow me to input this after submission, if I have to?

 

[mvenus929]

I submitted my application yesterday, but I forgot to check with AMCAS whether we needed to enter future coursework. I am in my junior year, so I got another year of classes to take. Should I have done this? Is there anyway, AAMC will allow me to input this after submission, if I have to?

You don't need to.

 

[PabloPicaso]

Can I send my LORs to AMCAS via interfolio without assigning them to the schools? I'm waiting for verification and secondaries to come before assigning letters. So I was wondering when I should send my LORs to AMCAS because they are all submitted to interfolio.

 

[housefish26]

So I decided to use a bullet point, resume-style format for my work/activities section. Does anybody know if you can use actual bullets? Like a closed in circle? Or can you just use a dash?

 

[vladmoney]

Three questions:
1. I have AP courses on my transcripts with no grades, only credit hours. I list no grade for this when imputing them in?
2. What if I took AP classes, but they are not on my transcripts? Do I still have to list them.
3. This has been brought up before, of hand, but not really answered. Should you list studying abroad as an EC?? I mean I can write a lot about (learning different culture and history, how the classes are structured differently, played different sports, economics classes are taught differently because of smaller economy, etc etc), but is it really worth it. Its more like stories than actually what did you learn from this.

SOrry got put in another:
4. If I shadowed X amount of doctors, someone already said to put it all into one EC, but what start end date do you put down for this. Just put the whole window of time that connects all the shadowing experiences?

Thanks a head of time.

 

[miffy810]

Three questions:
1. I have AP courses on my transcripts with no grades, only credit hours. I list no grade for this when imputing them in?
2. What if I took AP classes, but they are not on my transcripts? Do I still have to list them.
3. This has been brought up before, of hand, but not really answered. Should you list studying abroad as an EC?? I mean I can write a lot about (learning different culture and history, how the classes are structured differently, played different sports, economics classes are taught differently because of smaller economy, etc etc), but is it really worth it. Its more like stories than actually what did you learn from this.

SOrry got put in another:
4. If I shadowed X amount of doctors, someone already said to put it all into one EC, but what start end date do you put down for this. Just put the whole window of time that connects all the shadowing experiences?

Thanks a head of time.

1. You should list it exactly how it is on your official transcript (if you have a copy). If not, I would suggest to put "CR" for credit on there because that's probably what it says on the transcript.
2. No, I think you only put the APs that counted towards your college course credit. Again, only the APs that show up on your college transcript.
3. I'm not sure about this.
4. I left the start and end dates blank since it is not a required field. Then in my description section, I listed the dates and hours/week for each separate shadowing experience.

 

[miffy810]

I took my MCAT on June 18th and will get my score back on July 21st. However, I also signed up for a MCAT retake July 31st in case I did badly the first time. But I would like to submit my AMCAS application before July 21st. IF I indicate on my AMCAS that my latest MCAT test date would be July 31st, but then decide NOT to retake it, do I then need to then let them know since they won't be looking at my application until Sept. 1st when the new scores come out? Or Should I indicate on AMCAS that my latest test date is June 18th? I'm thinking the former situation would be preferred over the latter?

Thanks!!

 

[lost786]

Quick question, and I'm sure this has been answered before, but I just can't find the answer. I sent my amcas application in about two or three weeks ago and I wanted to add another two schools to send my application to. Will adding them at this point in any way affect my application to the schools I previously added?

Thanks,

 

[premedmind]

How do you enter in courses that are planned or have not been completed? For example I'm a Junior now and will be a Senior next fall. I want to list the courses that I am currently enrolled in for the Fall 2009 semester.

Do we just leave out the grade and enter them normally?

 

[AMCAS]

Quick question, and I'm sure this has been answered before, but I just can't find the answer. I sent my amcas application in about two or three weeks ago and I wanted to add another two schools to send my application to. Will adding them at this point in any way affect my application to the schools I previously added?

Thanks,

No. If you are currently waiting for verification if will not affect your place. If your application is already processed you do not have to go through verification again.

 

[AMCAS]

How do you enter in courses that are planned or have not been completed? For example I'm a Junior now and will be a Senior next fall. I want to list the courses that I am currently enrolled in for the Fall 2009 semester.

Do we just leave out the grade and enter them normally?

Enter the credits you expect to earn, but leave the grade blank. This will cause a warning to display indicating you have left the grade out, but in this scenario you can disregard it. Also, make sure to indicate the Current/Future special course type at the bottom.

 

[AMCAS]

Can I send my LORs to AMCAS via interfolio without assigning them to the schools? I'm waiting for verification and secondaries to come before assigning letters. So I was wondering when I should send my LORs to AMCAS because they are all submitted to interfolio.

Yes, AMCAS will accept Letters of Evaluation from Interfolio before you assign them to medical schools.

 

[kimkim]

Hi, guys!
I have 2 questions about AMCAS. I would appreciate your help.

(1) In AMCAS, we are supposed to list all the medical schools we want to apply to. I haven't submitted my AMCAS yet. But for example, is it ok for me to list only 5 medical schools for now and just submit my AMCAS application, and then maybe add 5 more medical schools later?
I know this is possible(to add more medical schools later). The only concern that I have is if I do this, would it slow down my application process for the schools that were on the list from the beginning? I guess what I am saying is, wouldn't 5 schools(that I initially applied to) get 2 AMCAS application from me(if I add more medical schools later and resubmit my AMCAS application)? Is this bad?

(2) In AMCAS, it asks if I plan to take more MCAT in the future? Is it possible to change my answer to this question after I submit my application to AMCAS?
I am asking this because I am not sure yet if I have to re-take MCAT or not. I am planning on saying "yes" to this question(because I might re-take MCAT on September) and submit my application. However, I might decide not to take any more MCAT depending on the circumstances. If this is the case, then can I change my answer to this question to "no" later(even after I submitted my application)? Would medical schools also get updated information?

Thank you so much guys.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Hi, guys!
I have 2 questions about AMCAS. I would appreciate your help.

(1) In AMCAS, we are supposed to list all the medical schools we want to apply to. I haven't submitted my AMCAS yet. But for example, is it ok for me to list only 5 medical schools for now and just submit my AMCAS application, and then maybe add 5 more medical schools later?
I know this is possible(to add more medical schools later). The only concern that I have is if I do this, would it slow down my application process for the schools that were on the list from the beginning? I guess what I am saying is, wouldn't 5 schools(that I initially applied to) get 2 AMCAS application from me(if I add more medical schools later and resubmit my AMCAS application)? Is this bad?

(2) In AMCAS, it asks if I plan to take more MCAT in the future? Is it possible to change my answer to this question after I submit my application to AMCAS?
I am asking this because I am not sure yet if I have to re-take MCAT or not. I am planning on saying "yes" to this question(because I might re-take MCAT on September) and submit my application. However, I might decide not to take any more MCAT depending on the circumstances. If this is the case, then can I change my answer to this question to "no" later(even after I submitted my application)? Would medical schools also get updated information?

Thank you so much guys.

Merging with the AMCAS Questions Thread.

 

[vladmoney]

1. You should list it exactly how it is on your official transcript (if you have a copy). If not, I would suggest to put "CR" for credit on there because that's probably what it says on the transcript.
2. No, I think you only put the APs that counted towards your college course credit. Again, only the APs that show up on your college transcript.
3. I'm not sure about this.
4. I left the start and end dates blank since it is not a required field. Then in my description section, I listed the dates and hours/week for each separate shadowing experience.

4. The start and end date look to be a required field though, since they have a red * by them.

 

[mvenus929]

Hi, guys!
I have 2 questions about AMCAS. I would appreciate your help.

(1) In AMCAS, we are supposed to list all the medical schools we want to apply to. I haven't submitted my AMCAS yet. But for example, is it ok for me to list only 5 medical schools for now and just submit my AMCAS application, and then maybe add 5 more medical schools later?
I know this is possible(to add more medical schools later). The only concern that I have is if I do this, would it slow down my application process for the schools that were on the list from the beginning? I guess what I am saying is, wouldn't 5 schools(that I initially applied to) get 2 AMCAS application from me(if I add more medical schools later and resubmit my AMCAS application)? Is this bad?

(2) In AMCAS, it asks if I plan to take more MCAT in the future? Is it possible to change my answer to this question after I submit my application to AMCAS?
I am asking this because I am not sure yet if I have to re-take MCAT or not. I am planning on saying "yes" to this question(because I might re-take MCAT on September) and submit my application. However, I might decide not to take any more MCAT depending on the circumstances. If this is the case, then can I change my answer to this question to "no" later(even after I submitted my application)? Would medical schools also get updated information?

Thank you so much guys.

1) No, it won't affect your first 5 schools. They won't get your application twice. You aren't resubmitting, exactly, you're just re-certifying, which what you're doing when you agree to that statement right before you submit.

2) No, you can't change it.

 

[gator13doc]

When I am writing my research description for work/activities, should it focus more on the research project or my duties? Thanks!

 

[starl3tte]

We are currently entering transcripts into the application that were received on 06.30.09.

When they say "entering," are they verifying the courses on the transcript with the courses we input into the app? If so, seems like there's only a couple days turnaround for the review process. Or do they simply mean that they are receiving and acknowledging transcripts, and it will still take additional time for them to verify the courses?

 

[sshashid87]

Hey I had a question about entering some volunteer stuff on amcas...yes i realize for sdn this is very late to be doing anything but yeaaa...

I volunteer with United Way, and we just sign up for projects we like to do...the thing is, I've done a bunch of projects with them, do I list every single project I've done by name, or can I just give a few examples? Can I put a more general explanation saying I volunteer with UW at various places around such and such city, working at places such as XXXX or YYYY, or should I list them allll...like Worked at AAAA for X hours, BBBB for Y hours, CCCC for Z hours? THanks for any advice and I'm not sure why I used so many letters to signify meaning, I doubt you relaly needed that...

 

[GuitarFreak]

anyone?

 

[badapplestix]

How strict are schools about the 2 science 1 non-science letter of rec. I don't want my non-science rec to delay my application :/

 

[mvenus929]

We are currently entering transcripts into the application that were received on 06.30.09.

When they say "entering," are they verifying the courses on the transcript with the courses we input into the app? If so, seems like there's only a couple days turnaround for the review process. Or do they simply mean that they are receiving and acknowledging transcripts, and it will still take additional time for them to verify the courses?

They mean that they are literally entering the transcripts. So, if your transcript was received on 6/30 and that's your last transcript, congrats, you're finally in line to be verified.

How strict are schools about the 2 science 1 non-science letter of rec. I don't want my non-science rec to delay my application :/

Each school is different. E-mail each of them for details.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Hey guys
Which course do we select "Repeat" for, in the Special Course Types? The class with the unsatisfying grade that we repeated, or the class that replaced the bad grade?

Thanks all!

Merging with AMCAS Questions Thread.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

My app is ready to submit except for the letters of rec. I am waiting for them to be sent in by the premed committee.

Can I still submit without these letters?

 

[G1SG2]

My app is ready to submit except for the letters of rec. I am waiting for them to be sent in by the premed committee.

Can I still submit without these letters?

Yes, you can.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Yes, you can.

Thanks. I'm sure I could have found the answer I am just not happy with my situation and am on the fence with what to do, so I was lazy.

 

[Nafis64]

Question:
1. I wanted to send a packet of LOR from my career center to AMCAS. Now I made a letter and indicated the authors in there on AMCAS. Now, one of the writers in the packer is no longer going to be in the packet (its going to be directly uploaded) anyhow AMCAS said there is now way to edit the LOR which is stupid. Is it a problem if I send a packet to AMCAS with 6 of the 5 authors mentioned? Would it create mess for adcoms? I can always create a new letter, but that would mean a new letter ID and new letter needed to be sent to the career center. What should I do?

2. Is the print out of the AMCAS what med schools see? The reason I ask is because I listed where my parents went to school. In the app you select the dropdowns and then select the school, so I think the city and country appear, but in the PDF all it says is "foreign-Not coded" and does not mention location. i was hoping it did.

Thanks

 

[Justforfun]

Hey,

I checked "combined lecture and lab" for my biology and physics courses, but I forgot to add "and lab" to the courses. My application was already submitted. Will the schools not know that these were lab and lecture courses? I printed the application, and the application does not indicate that I checked the "combined lecture and lab" box.