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

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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I only managed to shadow one physician for a couple hours so far. I set up to do more, however, before I could I met with an accident and was immobile for the past six months as I got surgery, recovered, and did therapy. Now I have rescheduled to shadow two physicians in July and August. However, I won't be able to add these experiences to the my AMCAS (I plan to early July) so is there a place on the application I can say I am going to do this, so it doesn't seem like I little no clinical experience...Or should I hope to get an interview so I can reveal the new experiences...
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Suzanna said:
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?
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Make sure they're in the same order as well, otherwise it will slow down your verification process or they might send the application back to you.
 
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Last year, I sent the transcript in pretty early so it was a moot point I didn't even think about. This year sent the transcript a little bit after when I did last year (around June 6-7), and it's not still marked as received (which is fine). But I was wondering can I submit the application before that is received or does that cause a delay? Or can I submit and I'll still be added to the verification queue provided my transcript is marked as received soon as they process it?
 
Hey guys, I have a quick MCAT question. I was planning on taking my MCAT on the 21st of this month, however I feel very uncertain right now and I would like a bit more time to study. I'm going to take a practice exam either tonight or tomorrow to gauge what I should do but my question is mainly with timing. If I take the July 2nd MCAT vs the June 21st is that going to put me at a significant disadvantage or would it be worth the extra MCAT points?
 
Hey guys,

I have a question about classification of schools attended on AMCAS.

So I was enrolled in a college for 3 courses during my last two years in High School and it is the same college I eventually ended up at. When listing this institution on AMCAS am I suppose to put the start date of my undergraduate college after I graduated High School or when I started the courses during High School?

Thanks!
 
EyesOfTheWorld said:
Hey guys, I have a quick MCAT question. I was planning on taking my MCAT on the 21st of this month, however I feel very uncertain right now and I would like a bit more time to study. I'm going to take a practice exam either tonight or tomorrow to gauge what I should do but my question is mainly with timing. If I take the July 2nd MCAT vs the June 21st is that going to put me at a significant disadvantage or would it be worth the extra MCAT points?
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You'll get your score by August 2, and most schools will have sent you your secondaries if you're verified by AMCAS by then so no, you will not be at a disadvantage. you still have the potential to be complete at a number of schools by august 2, which is still considered quite early. A low score on the mcat, even with an early application however, will lower your chances
 
spongebob911 said:
You'll get your score by August 2, and most schools will have sent you your secondaries if you're verified by AMCAS by then so no, you will not be at a disadvantage. you still have the potential to be complete at a number of schools by august 2, which is still considered quite early. A low score on the mcat, even with an early application however, will lower your chances
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Thanks for the response! I'm specifically hoping for Pitt as it is my dream school and a bit of a reach. Will I be too late to be competitive there? (Sorry if this is redundant, but you mentioned "a number of schools")
 
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Hi all. I'm a reapplicant for this cycle. I applied once to medical schools in 2010 (Intending to enter as class of 2011), and didn't get in because I couldn't manage to graduate that year, among other things perhaps.

I'm wonder how procedure should go in regards to the old committee letter that was submitted for my old application cycle. It's been many years, but at the time, my committee letter was rated as a strong recommendation. Now, I do have several other more recent LOR's, but I was wondering if I should include that old committee letter. If its good, even if its old, could it hurt to include?

For reference, I have 4 other reasonably good LOR's from volunteering/employers in the last 2 years.
 
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Just got verified. AMCAS messed up the grading scales for a handful of my classes, so my cGPA is lower by like .01. It is still 3.8x. Should I bother correcting this error? Or will this put me back in line for verification and take a long time? I am thinking just forget it...
 
EyesOfTheWorld said:
Thanks for the response! I'm specifically hoping for Pitt as it is my dream school and a bit of a reach. Will I be too late to be competitive there? (Sorry if this is redundant, but you mentioned "a number of schools")
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August 2 for Pitt is still quite early, late august and september is when you're pushing it. Just have your secondary written asap, you can find the prompts online. Good luck!
 
Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to answer my silly little questions.

Thanks to everyone on SDN really, without you guys there's no way I'd be able to get through this whole process. You're all wonderful human beings. :love:
 
Lamel said:
Just got verified. AMCAS messed up the grading scales for a handful of my classes, so my cGPA is lower by like .01. It is still 3.8x. Should I bother correcting this error? Or will this put me back in line for verification and take a long time? I am thinking just forget it...
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How did they mess it up?
 
Lamel said:
Just got verified. AMCAS messed up the grading scales for a handful of my classes, so my cGPA is lower by like .01. It is still 3.8x. Should I bother correcting this error? Or will this put me back in line for verification and take a long time? I am thinking just forget it...
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No one will care or notice, nor will it make any difference. Move on, man.
 
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I know it's possible to submit to md/phd programs after only submitting to md, but does this mean that your application will need to be "re-verified"?
 
I just ordered a transcript from the student clearing house.
Has anyone ever used them to submit their transcripts directly to AMCAS? I saw an option on there to do so. I think it would be much easier to keep everything in one place versus sending a request to each school I have attended. Thoughts?
 
Perry6 said:
It does not matter what each individual school does. AMCAS has their own scale that they use regardless of what your school says/does.
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I'm pretty sure if you look at the document that UIMom linked that there are various scales that AMCAS will use to figure out what number to attach to a grade.
 
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Lamel said:
I'm pretty sure if you look at the document that UIMom linked that there are various scales that AMCAS will use to figure out what number to attach to a grade.
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For your peace of mind call them. At least you won't be sitting on wait lists next spring wondering if this made a difference. Good luck with your cycle!
 
I did look, and they have a scale to make all grades comparable. For instance if a school does not do +/- system, they have to take that into consideration. Same with the half step grades of AB, BC.
but for one of my colleges the scale was actually B+ = 3.5.
That is school specific. Just trying to help you out!
 
UImom said:
For your peace of mind call them. At least you won't be sitting on wait lists next spring wondering if this made a difference. Good luck with your cycle!
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No I mean it's such a minor thing it really doesn't matter, but thank you for trying to clear it up.

Perry6 said:
I did look, and they have a scale to make all grades comparable. For instance if a school does not do +/- system, they have to take that into consideration. Same with the half step grades of AB, BC.
but for one of my colleges the scale was actually B+ = 3.5.
That is school specific. Just trying to help you out!
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"Find the conversion that most closely matches your school’s grading system. If you are unsure which
system corresponds with your school, check with your Registrar."

The school has A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D etc. That is closest to the half-step grade since there are no A-, B- etc. grades. It would be shortsighted to attach a 3.3 automatically to a B+ just because those are the letters/symbols used, without looking into the context of the grading scheme.

In the end it doesn't really matter and I appreciate you trying to help.
 
Is submitting today, the 15th considered late? Just got it done.
 
Perry6 said:
It does not matter what each individual school does. AMCAS has their own scale that they use regardless of what your school says/does.
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Lamel is right, they messed up: the document shows that for schools with halfstep grades (e.g. AB, BC *or* alpha with only "+" notation) the grade AB or B+ is assigned an AMCAS weight of 3.5.
 
gettheleadout said:
Lamel is right, they messed up: the document shows that for schools with halfstep grades (e.g. AB, BC *or* alpha with only "+" notation) the grade AB or B+ is assigned an AMCAS weight of 3.5.
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What kind of weird schools grade with that kind of system?? :confused: :meh:
 
Has this happened to anyone? I'm on hold with AMCAS, but still want to see if anyone on SDN can weigh in.

I submitted my primary application while waiting on one transcript.

It was received today but under a different school name. I guess I chose the wrong school when I filled out the application? Anyway, my application is still waiting for this transcript because I selected the wrong school.

If this happened to you, how did you fix it?

I'm going to ask them to just match it up for me, but I know how nitpicky they can be...
 
How much medical lingo do you guys use in your personal statement/clinical/shadowing activities?

I tend to not use very many and just talk about the interpersonal aspects of medicine, but read a few of my friends past successful applications, and they tend to use quite a bit of lingo. I'm wondering if not doing so makes my expereinces seemed forged
 
sorry if this has been asked already but im pretty much done my primary and going to submit this week, but i dont have my letters in yet, and wont have them by mid july. how would that work and how will i send them to schools? i gave my profs the amcas information on how to submit. will i still get secondaries once im verified or do i have to wait for letters?
 
Hey fellas.

I recently found out I can be eligible for FAP. I wanted to submit my AMCAS over the next few days, but if I apply for FAP now, I will have to wait until early July to submit the AMCAS.

Is it possible to submit the AMCAS now, and waive the fees retroactively if I am approved for FAP in early July?

Alternatively, would it make sense to submit my AMCAS now only for one school, subsequently get approved for FAP (during which time my AMCAS is getting verified), and then add on all the other schools with the fee waiver in effect?
 
nabilesmail said:
How much medical lingo do you guys use in your personal statement/clinical/shadowing activities?

I tend to not use very many and just talk about the interpersonal aspects of medicine, but read a few of my friends past successful applications, and they tend to use quite a bit of lingo. I'm wondering if not doing so makes my expereinces seemed forged
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I can't imagine medical jargon is necessary or even preferred in one's PS or activity descriptions. Speak meaningfully about your experiences in a compelling way. The rest is stylistic for better or worse.
 
Thego2guy said:
Hey fellas.

I recently found out I can be eligible for FAP. I wanted to submit my AMCAS over the next few days, but if I apply for FAP now, I will have to wait until early July to submit the AMCAS.

Is it possible to submit the AMCAS now, and waive the fees retroactively if I am approved for FAP in early July?

Alternatively, would it make sense to submit my AMCAS now only for one school, subsequently get approved for FAP (during which time my AMCAS is getting verified), and then add on all the other schools with the fee waiver in effect?
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The AAMC will not prorate app fees for a late FAP approval (no, you can't retroactively apply it). I'm not knowledgable enough about FAP to comment on your proposed alternative.
 
lolcat said:
sorry if this has been asked already but im pretty much done my primary and going to submit this week, but i dont have my letters in yet, and wont have them by mid july. how would that work and how will i send them to schools? i gave my profs the amcas information on how to submit. will i still get secondaries once im verified or do i have to wait for letters?
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You can assign your letter entries in AMCAS to medical schools whether the letters are received or not. Once June 27th has passed, letters will be automatically transmitted to schools once marked received. School policies may vary but I am not aware of any school that requires letters before sending a secondary, though a complete secondary and all required letters must be received before your application will be "complete" at a school.
 
Thego2guy said:
Hey fellas.

I recently found out I can be eligible for FAP. I wanted to submit my AMCAS over the next few days, but if I apply for FAP now, I will have to wait until early July to submit the AMCAS.

Is it possible to submit the AMCAS now, and waive the fees retroactively if I am approved for FAP in early July?

Alternatively, would it make sense to submit my AMCAS now only for one school, subsequently get approved for FAP (during which time my AMCAS is getting verified), and then add on all the other schools with the fee waiver in effect?
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The bolded is the way to go, but call and double check this is possible so you are not leaving anything to chance.
 
I've submitted my AMCAS. Is it a big deal if one of my LOR writers is missing the institution she is associated with?

Also, I listed the years I attend a college up to Dec 2011 (date of my last UG class), but I received my diploma in Feb 2012, and withdrew from a class in 2013. Should I be worried my AMCAS will explode?
 
Thego2guy said:
Hey fellas.

I recently found out I can be eligible for FAP. I wanted to submit my AMCAS over the next few days, but if I apply for FAP now, I will have to wait until early July to submit the AMCAS.

Is it possible to submit the AMCAS now, and waive the fees retroactively if I am approved for FAP in early July?

Alternatively, would it make sense to submit my AMCAS now only for one school, subsequently get approved for FAP (during which time my AMCAS is getting verified), and then add on all the other schools with the fee waiver in effect?
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FAP doesn't work retroactively. So you'd have to wait until you're approved if you want the discounted 15 schools. Your best bet is to fill the application out, then send AAMC an email asking them to allow you to upload scans of the documents.

I mailed my documents, after a week AAMC didn't mark them as received, and the FAP webpage allowed me to upload scans. I think it takes a while to allow you to upload scans, but sending an email directly to AAMC should work just the same.
 
Any idea on this class? How to input it on AMCAS?

Course #: PE111
Course name: Football
Grade: P
Credits attempted: 0
Credits earned: 1

I don't know if I should put 0 or 1. I'm guessing 1 but I don't want that to mess anything up.


Another question:
I have a course that is titled Research Design & Analysis. It is BI311. So it's out of the biology department, but it was all statistical info. So I would list it as a math course, because that was the primary focus of the course, correct?
 
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baxt1412 said:
Any idea on this class? How to input it on AMCAS?

Course #: PE111
Course name: Football
Grade: P
Credits attempted: 0
Credits earned: 1

I don't know if I should put 0 or 1. I'm guessing 1 but I don't want that to mess anything up.


Another question:
I have a course that is titled Research Design & Analysis. It is BI311. So it's out of the biology department, but it was all statistical info. So I would list it as a math course, because that was the primary focus of the course, correct?
Click to expand...
1 and yes.
 
gettheleadout said:
The AAMC will not prorate app fees for a late FAP approval (no, you can't retroactively apply it). I'm not knowledgable enough about FAP to comment on your proposed alternative.
Click to expand...

Thanks. At this point, if I submit my AMCAS and pay for all ~20 schools, and simultaneously submit my FAP.... the only advantage that the FAP will give me will be for my secondaries, right? Primaries I'll end up paying for, but the secondaries will be waived?

I'm trying to see if there is any advantage to apply for FAP now. AAMC is quite slow to respond.
 
I'm trying to see if there is any advantage to apply for FAP now. AAMC is quite slow to respond.[/QUOTE]

I am unsure. I uploaded my doccuments last Tuesday (10th) and was approved this Monday (16th). I think submitting your AMCAS 1 week later to save a few thousand dollars is worth it if you're truly eligible for FAP.
 
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SynapticDoctah said:
I wonder if they will turn down
A lor if it's not on letterhead. How am I supposed to know if my letter writer wrote it on letterhead or
Not. It's confidential.
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My friend said: "They know what they're doing, of course they used a letterhead and signed it."

It gave me little comfort, but she has a point though. lol
 
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