*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2014-2015*~*~*~*

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So, my transcript was mailed by my school on May 29th and I still haven't heard anything about it being received by AMCAS... my school is in MD so it shouldn't have taken any more than 2 days for it to get to their mailbox... Do you think this is normal?
Yes it's normal. AMCAS is slowing down. :(

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In my experience, schools do send them out by email, the one designated on your app when you submitted it. Usually they will give you a link, and username/password (a lot of times it's your AMCAS ID number), you log in, and the prompts will be there. Most of the time the essays are similar from year to year but they could change it, and that's all up to the school. Depending on which schools you applied to, they may start sending you secondaries before verification...just don't forget about the $$$ :(

Ideally 1-2 days = great but I think a week or two should be fine too (check me on that). Usually they give you a hard deadline (i.e. 4 weeks after they email you), and if you dont get a deadline you want to submit AT MOST before that month is over, anyhow.

thanks!!! very helpful
 
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I'm not sure if this has been covered, I searched the thread but didn't find anything. My school had a specific course for the presidential honors scholars program, titled simply as "sophomore scholars seminar", "junior scholars seminar", etc. We would meet once a week to talk about senior theses, but we had students from all majors. You received a P/F for this, and 0 credits. My question is, what would be the course classification? Other? Or should I not include it in the courses (even though it appears on my transcript)?
 
I'm not sure if this has been covered, I searched the thread but didn't find anything. My school had a specific course for the presidential honors scholars program, titled simply as "sophomore scholars seminar", "junior scholars seminar", etc. We would meet once a week to talk about senior theses, but we had students from all majors. You received a P/F for this, and 0 credits. My question is, what would be the course classification? Other? Or should I not include it in the courses (even though it appears on my transcript)?
What does your transcript say? Follow that, but it really doesn't matter much. AMCAS will categorize it according to whatever they want.
 
I'm not sure if this has been covered, I searched the thread but didn't find anything. My school had a specific course for the presidential honors scholars program, titled simply as "sophomore scholars seminar", "junior scholars seminar", etc. We would meet once a week to talk about senior theses, but we had students from all majors. You received a P/F for this, and 0 credits. My question is, what would be the course classification? Other? Or should I not include it in the courses (even though it appears on my transcript)?
"Other" is fine if the course code (e.g. HONR) doesn't describe it well enough to classify it. Definitely include it though, as it appears on your transcript and excluding it from your course list on AMCAS could delay your verification.
 
What does your transcript say? Follow that, but it really doesn't matter much. AMCAS will categorize it according to whatever they want.
"Other" is fine if the course code (e.g. HONR) doesn't describe it well enough to classify it. Definitely include it though, as it appears on your transcript and excluding it from your course list on AMCAS could delay your verification.

Thanks for the quick reply! My transcript has the course code as SCHOL. I think I will classify it as Other for now, and AMCAS can re-categorize if they see it.
 
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Is it better to submit the application now with a 29 MCAT (3.97ish GPA) or wait until I get a better MCAT score so that I don't get pre-screened out? I take the MCAT again on June 21st.

Like someone said, schools are not going to review you if they know you're taking an MCAT. Send that in asap and get it verified so you're good to go once you get your score.
 
I noticed a lot of schools mention that they want physicians who are "culturally sensitive". That is, being aware of the culture of the person you are serving. How is this distinguished from stereotyping? In my past work experience, I have noticed that certain cultures generally have certain characteristics, and taking this into account can be important in serving the person. However, if you explained this in your application, would some people call you out as stereotyping?
I think being culturally sensitive is not so much noticing and generalizing what kind of characteristics a certain culture may have--that would definitely be stereotyping. Being culturally sensitive.. or culturally aware means that you know about certain cultural practices and will respect those practices. I.e the Amish do not like their pictures taken so at my non-clinical volunteering where we require photographs of people we work with, we respect the Amish culture and allow them not to be photographed.

A great book which exemplifies the disasters of not being culturally aware is "The Spirit Catches You Falling Down" by Anne Fadiman.
 
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I think being culturally sensitive is not so much noticing and generalizing what kind of characteristics a certain culture may have--that would definitely be stereotyping. Being culturally sensitive.. or culturally aware means that you know about certain cultural practices and will respect those practices. I.e the Amish do not like their pictures taken so at my non-clinical volunteering where we require photographs of people we work with, we respect the Amish culture and allow them not to be photographed.

A great book which exemplifies the disasters of not being culturally aware is "The Spirit Catches You Falling Down" by Anne Fadiman.

I'm still having trouble distinguishing between cultural "characteristics" and cultural "practices". In your example, do you ask everyone if they want their picture taken, or do you only ask if they identify as Amish? Let's say I'm around a culture that, through experience and talking with others I have observed to be generally conservative and more often offended if asked about more liberal issues without much tact (like drug history, sexual history, etc.). Would it be considered "stereotypical" for me to notice this and alter my interactions in a healthcare setting with this specific culture based on it.
 
So this is more of a secondaries question, but perhaps someone can help me here:
I have 3.71 s/3.7 cGPA, but got a C in Biol 1 my first semester of college (retook at school I later transferred to: B+) which is why my sGPA is lower than it should be (all A's in my other science courses). The Biol 1 course only had 5 grades, and I did well on the 4 exams (something like B, A, B, A), but our research project studying planarians failed because many died (resulting in a failing grade for it, and hence the C). My second semester of college I had to withdraw from Biol 2 (no academic penalty however) because my advisor told me I had to take a freshmen specific course which was at the same time as my Biol 2 class, but didn't tell me soon enough to drop the class yet told me to start attending the other class so I could catch up by the time I withdrew from Biol 2 (it was a huge fiasco and part of the reason I transferred).
All this considered: I'm wondering if I should explain this on my secondaries even though I have a decent sGPA (4.0 in my chem minor) and technically didn't retake the Biol 1 course. I'm mostly worried since there's no way to prove this, and I don't want to look like I'm making stuff up... Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
 
I'm still having trouble distinguishing between cultural "characteristics" and cultural "practices". In your example, do you ask everyone if they want their picture taken, or do you only ask if they identify as Amish? Let's say I'm around a culture that, through experience and talking with others I have observed to be generally conservative and more often offended if asked about more liberal issues without much tact (like drug history, sexual history, etc.). Would it be considered "stereotypical" for me to notice this and alter my interactions in a healthcare setting with this specific culture based on it.

I Think cultural "characteristics" sound more like you assume that a certain trait / characteristic is associated with a certain culture (I. E all people of a certain culture are hostile or nice based on previous experience with). Whereas cultural sensitivity is more about knowing customs and practices, not behavioral traits?

And yes, we only ask if they are Amish (as far as I know of) because we know that photographs are forbidden in their culture. However, If other people from another culture oppose to them for cultural purposes, we would also respect that. In this case, we're not generalizing what they like, how they act, etc. We are just aware of something that we know for sure is part of their culture.
Sorry if it's not clear!
 
If you are going to make a significantly better MCAT score, probably better to wait. Screening doesn't even get you a foot in the door. Later application with a high mcat still does.

Like someone said, schools are not going to review you if they know you're taking an MCAT. Send that in asap and get it verified so you're good to go once you get your score.

Thank you both for your response, but I'm still confused... I understand that if I send in my application this month, no school will care until my second scores arrive (July 21-26), BUT I will get my AMCAS verified. I don't know how long it would take to get it verified, so I don't know how much of an advantage that would be or if I would be at a disadvantage because a 29 MCAT is a red flag. I just don't know how this works...
 
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Thank you both for your response, but I'm still confused... I understand that if I send in my application this month, no school will care until my second scores arrive (July 21-26), BUT I will get my AMCAS verified. I don't know how long it would take to get it verified, so I don't know how much of an advantage that would be or if I would be at a disadvantage because a 29 MCAT is a red flag. I just don't know how this works...

You will be at a huge advantage to be verified because that can take up to 6 weeks. You cannot get secondaries without being verified, even after you get your MCAT score. So if you don't send it in until after you get your new MCAT then you have to wait up to 6 more weeks before you can even get secondaries. And if something's wrong with your app, then even longer. Verified, no new MCAT score=schools won't be looking. So they're not going to care about your 29MCAT.
 
may be a silly question - my amcas says processing complete. I'm guessing that this means i'm verified? my grades and all of that have been calculated. But it also says my information has been made available to the medical schools on my list - I thought that date was June 27th?
 
I wrote for a column for a big university newspaper - it was not paid but I had a position and wrote weekly. Should this go under "Other" or "Publications" or "Extracurricular Activities" (probably not that) or something else? "Publications" seems appropriate but they only allow for one date - probably primarily for academic publications - but I had articles published weekly for over a year. What should I do?
 
I just noticed that my coursework on AMCAS does not appear in the order as it appears on my transcript... even though I completed this section in the exact order... what is going on??
 
Questions about AP class-

I took AP Calc AB and how it appears on my transcript is "ADV PLACEMENT EXAM- MATH AB, 05-09". Is that exactly what I should put for "Course Name" on AMCAS, even with the 05-09 part (which is the date)? Should I put "AB" as the course number or leave that blank?
 
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I Think cultural "characteristics" sound more like you assume that a certain trait / characteristic is associated with a certain culture (I. E all people of a certain culture are hostile or nice based on previous experience with). Whereas cultural sensitivity is more about knowing customs and practices, not behavioral traits?

hmm, I think there's a thin line that you are distinguishing between. Not everyone in each culture practices the same customs, just as they don't have the same behavioral traits. There are just generalities, which I think can be practically useful to know, but also possibly stereotypical.
 
You will be at a huge advantage to be verified because that can take up to 6 weeks. You cannot get secondaries without being verified, even after you get your MCAT score. So if you don't send it in until after you get your new MCAT then you have to wait up to 6 more weeks before you can even get secondaries. And if something's wrong with your app, then even longer. Verified, no new MCAT score=schools won't be looking. So they're not going to care about your 29MCAT.

Thank you very much :)
 
may be a silly question - my amcas says processing complete. I'm guessing that this means i'm verified? my grades and all of that have been calculated. But it also says my information has been made available to the medical schools on my list - I thought that date was June 27th?
You are verified and it is June 27th, the message is just a standard one given on the interface.
 
Hi,

My college does not indicate credit hours on our transcript, and so as AMCAS says I am not listing credit hours in my course work. However, there are some "double" and "half" credit courses I took (count as twice or half of a regular course, respectively) that are only differentiated by a "D" and "H" at the end of the course code. Do you think AMCAS will be able to realize this just by the code when calculating my GPA? I'm not sure how I can better indicate that some courses should count twice or half a normal grade.

Thanks!
 
I have a question about study abroad course work that I can't seem to find the answer to. I understand that I have to list the courses under the school where I took my classes abroad but I have to use the information on my official transcript from my "sponsoring" university (my home school).

As it is listed in the AAMC instruction manual:
If the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution does not provide letter grades other
than Pass/Fail:
Indicate "Pass/Fail" as the Special Course Type and provide all other required
course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on the official
transcript of the U.S. or Canadian sponsoring institution.

My problem is that my home school lists TR (transfer credit) as my grade and doesn't indicate it as pass/fail. I had to pass the classes in order to get the credit to transfer so my question is should I check the pass/fail box under course type? (also I did take one pass/fail class and that is listed as P on my transcript) Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
 
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I have a question regarding the credit requirements and class year. Does anyone know if it's a big deal to say I'm a junior, sophomore, etc. although I'm not technically based on the amcas credit requirements? My 2013 fall semester would be considered a sophomore due to being 3 credits short of a junior standing. However despite the credits, I was still a junior as far as the amount of semesters i've attended school. I just screwed up my freshman year and didn't take too many credits.
 
I have a question regarding the credit requirements and class year. Does anyone know if it's a big deal to say I'm a junior, sophomore, etc. although I'm not technically based on the amcas credit requirements? My 2013 fall semester would be considered a sophomore due to being 3 credits short of a junior standing. However despite the credits, I was still a junior as far as the amount of semesters i've attended school. I just screwed up my freshman year and didn't take too many credits.
I believe if you indicate clearly that you will have enough credits to graduate May/June 2015, perhaps in a special circumstance (because right now it doesn't seem like you will graduate on time for this cycle), it should be fine.
 
Hi,

My college does not indicate credit hours on our transcript, and so as AMCAS says I am not listing credit hours in my course work. However, there are some "double" and "half" credit courses I took (count as twice or half of a regular course, respectively) that are only differentiated by a "D" and "H" at the end of the course code. Do you think AMCAS will be able to realize this just by the code when calculating my GPA? I'm not sure how I can better indicate that some courses should count twice or half a normal grade.

Thanks!
My best idea would be to list the D courses as 4 credits, normal courses as 2, and H courses as 1. Also send an additional note/email in to help them out, but I think the AMCAS staff will be able to figure that out.
 
Holy sdlflskdjfslkdfjsdkf!!!! Okay, tonight I logined to my account and was ready to submit my application. HOWEVER, EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN MY ACCOUNT DISAPPEARED!!!! Even the transcripts that I have sent a few weeks ago and was marked as received wasn't there either! Has this tragedy ever happened to anything one else? It's after hours now so I can only wait until tomorrow morning. I'm crying on the inside.
 
Holy sdlflskdjfslkdfjsdkf!!!! Okay, tonight I logined to my account and was ready to submit my application. HOWEVER, EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN MY ACCOUNT DISAPPEARED!!!! Even the transcripts that I have sent a few weeks ago and was marked as received wasn't there either! Has this tragedy ever happened to anything one else? It's after hours now so I can only wait until tomorrow morning. I'm crying on the inside.
Did you get hacked? That's terrible. Just call them first thing. I would not be surprised if they have backup files.
 
No, I didn't. I never would've thought that this would happen.
I never thought it would either. I just printed it out a billion times because I'm old and like paper. You did scare me into making sure my app is still there. It is.
 
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I never thought it would either. I just printed it out a billion times because I'm old and like paper. You did scare me into making sure my app is still there. It is.

Haha, glad that yours is there. Guess mine is an isolated incident.
 
I wrote for a column for a big university newspaper - it was not paid but I had a position and wrote weekly. Should this go under "Other" or "Publications" or "Extracurricular Activities" (probably not that) or something else? "Publications" seems appropriate but they only allow for one date - probably primarily for academic publications - but I had articles published weekly for over a year. What should I do?

Publications is really just for research. I'd use extracurricular activities.

You also don't really need to worry so much about what you file it under. Just give it a descriptive title and you'll be fine.
 
I have two questions about the "paid for post-secondary" information -

1) Is it just for tuition? I paid for almost all of my tuition, but my parents helped with housing.
2) Is an athletic scholarship an academic scholarship? I'm assuming it is, because I had to maintain a certain GPA and was nominated by my coach.
 
Is there a way to remove a school I added before verification, post-submission?
 
I read the following on a different thread:

Keep in mind that "early" vs "late" is more dependent on when you are complete at schools. Of course, submitting your primary earlier allows you to get secondaries earlier and therefore be complete earlier, but I think what people forget sometimes is that once you get through the verification process, it doesn't matter anymore whether you submitted on June 3 or June 16 or June 28. What matters is when your secondary and LORs are in. If you are complete by August, you are a very early applicant.

Make sure your PS is as good as it can be. It's not worth applying slightly earlier with an application that is not as strong as it could be.

What is still considered early for AMCAS submission? Is the end of June still considered Early?
 
Appreciate it.

Real life is kicking my ass right now and my goal of submitting late this week seems like a quaint dream...
 
So I am filling out my classes for primaries and one of my classes is clcv 115 mythology of greece and rome. Im not sure what subject to put it under? History?
Thank you
 
So I am filling out my classes for primaries and one of my classes is clcv 115 mythology of greece and rome. Im not sure what subject to put it under? History?
Thank you
History is fine, Philosophy & Religion (PHIL) might be as well. Safer bet might be HIST and then they probably won't change it. Also merging this with the Official AMCAS Questions thread.
 
I read the following on a different thread:



What is still considered early for AMCAS submission? Is the end of June still considered Early?

I have a similar concern! Some people are saying submitting even a few days after AMCAS opens puts you way behind, while others say a week or two won't make a difference. I will be submitting my application by Monday (hopefully earlier), so that's almost two weeks from June 3. I guess it's just pre-med paranoia right now, but I hope submitting before the end of June really doesn't serve as a disadvantage.
 
When I print my application, the PDF version shows the correct bullet-point formatting in the works/activities section. However, the HTML version shows the bullet-points all bungled up in one mesh!

Which version will adcoms see?

either..... some print it off for a paper file, some read it online. It is the luck of the draw. dont worry about it. we all know "to err is human, to really screw up you need HTML"
 
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I have a similar concern! Some people are saying submitting even a few days after AMCAS opens puts you way behind, while others say a week or two won't make a difference. I will be submitting my application by Monday (hopefully earlier), so that's almost two weeks from June 3. I guess it's just pre-med paranoia right now, but I hope submitting before the end of June really doesn't serve as a disadvantage.


Rule 1: Take a Breath

end of June is fine.
 
Holy sdlflskdjfslkdfjsdkf!!!! Okay, tonight I logined to my account and was ready to submit my application. HOWEVER, EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN MY ACCOUNT DISAPPEARED!!!! Even the transcripts that I have sent a few weeks ago and was marked as received wasn't there either! Has this tragedy ever happened to anything one else? It's after hours now so I can only wait until tomorrow morning. I'm crying on the inside.

are you on 2015 AMCAS site? as opposed to 2014. also try switching browsers.
 
Hi,
I have a questions about the coursework. If my classes on AMCAS are under correct semesters but are in different order than on the transcripts, does it matter? For example, on AMCAS I have Fall 2012: Biology, Physics, History.... but on my Transcripts I have Fall 2012: Biology, History, Physics... Should they be in the same order under every semester?
 
According to the pdf of my application, I grew up in a medically undeserved county even though I did not realize it at the time nor felt the effects. Should I list under the self-declared section of my application that the area I grew up in is medically undeserved ? This designation makes sense after shadowing in local primary care clinics
 
According to the pdf of my application, I grew up in a medically undeserved county even though I did not realize it at the time nor felt the effects. Should I list under the self-declared section of my application that the area I grew up in is medically undeserved ? This designation makes sense after shadowing in local primary care clinics
If you couldn't tell before finding out then I would say no, don't change your answer.
 
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