So in Work/Activities...
I'm presenting a poster at a national math conference in July, but I can't put future dates. I also did a presentation on it today for my school. What do I put for the date?
Also, do I have to put it separately from my research? I'd like to put them together...
You don't have to, but it depends on how much emphasis you want to put on your publications. If you think you have a lot to say about your publications themselves that is not already being said in your research section, then list them separately. Despite what it looks like, filling out AMCAS can be a really, really creative process.
If I complete the application, send it in at the earliest date, then retake the mcat in early august, will this still put me at good odds of getting an interview? or do schools just look at the initial mcat and then reject immediately
See below.
Will you theoretically have a chance? Sure there are applicants every year who arent 100% complete until late in the cycle and get in, are the odds against you? yes they are. Applicants who are complete late but still get in typically are very strong, meaning 3.7+ GPA 34+ mcat, good ecs, etc etc...but if you really wanna apply dont let anyone tell you not too. Just realize things arent in your favor.
Also, consider that your MCAT scores won't be available to schools until September,
making you late. You will most likely have received the secondaries already for schools that don't screen, but for those that do, you'll just have to wait. Interview invites start going out in July. By September, the number of interview slots available to you will be lower.
AMCAS asks "Have you ever taken a post-secondary course anywhere other than at your home institution, including college courses taken while in high school?"
What does that mean, i dont know if i should say yes or no. I did take CC courses in HS but they didnt count on my HS transcripts....man im so illiterate its sad, no wonder i got a 9 in verbal lol.
That generally means CC courses. Those would be on CC transcripts. I don't get all this stuff about listing AP/IB courses as taken in college though, when obviously they are high school courses taken in high school that _some_ colleges/universities choose to award credit for at their whim... if, however, the school gave you credit for InsertCourseHere 100, you should list that... in any case, AMCAS will fix it, if you get it wrong...
Do you guys think Plant Biology 10- "Plants, Agriculture, and Society" is a BCPM?
Yes, but AMCAS gets to make the final determination on that when they go through your courses.
That's what I was thinking. But in the AMCAS handbook, it says list Agriculture courses under "Natural/Physical Sciences" section, not BCPM.
Those are generally agronomy courses and the like. Botany isn't really a farming course... A general guideline is if the school you're at classifies it as bio, it's bio.
Hey so random question. How long and formal should the activities descriptions be? Should it read like it reads on my resume...or is it alright to inject a little humor in there. I really just want to make someone reading my app smile.
For instance....I was a tour guide so here's my draft description.
Led over 100 self-designed tours of "X-college" to prospective students over four years, hosted campus visitors and their family members in the waiting room before interviews, and collaborated with admissions officers on directly molding future classes and the admissions process itself. My admissions career started as a full-time summer intern following my freshman year and continues today as an alumni interviewer and volunteer. In addition to the many rewarding moments that come along with playing a part in someone's college decision process, my favorite admissions experience was once having a tour momentarily hijacked by student comedians dressed as pirates.
ON another note. If I studied abroad (foreign university, not run by a U.S. college/accepted) and my grades appear as P/F on my home university transcript (under the heading "Study Away") how should I add them to my courses section?
For those of you choosing to do more narrative-style descriptions (as opposed to bullet points), think of this as an exercise in composition. You want to describe both what you did and how amazing it was (and subsequently communicate what skills/feelings/satisfactions you got out of it) in a level of detail that is neither too little nor too much. Remember that you'll need to expand upon these in secondaries, so try not to put down absolutely everything--just enough to make them start drooling.
When I'm listing my courses, does the course name have to be EXACTLY the same as listed in transcript?
For my calculus class, the title on the transcript says "Anal Geo & Calculus"
Now that looks weird.
Can't I not write out "Analytic Geometry & Calculus"?
I thin I'm being neurotic here.
Your schools won't care. Just think about how your faculty feel about publishing in
Anal Biochem. If they can live with that shame, so can you.
how do i add cleveland clinic. do i put case a second time, and put in medical/graduate rather than just medical
If it doesn't list Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine or some variant thereof, there's an option to specify that on Case's iApply application/secondary.
For one of my activities , I'm putting that I'm an officer of a cultural club on campus. The club has a long name though, so should I just put "officer of **abbreviation of club*" for the title of the entry or just put Officer of On-Campus Club?? the second way seems a little tacky, but i don't think my club's abbreviation will be recognized by anyone
You might want to stray away from "on-campus club" and more towards phrasing that specifies what your club actually does, like "officer in cupstacking club" or "officer in national beerpong association." (Only one of those is AMCAS-worthy, and I bet you can guess which--yes, cupstacking is a perfectly valid EC, as are juggling, comic book writing, and fire-eating, though you should be careful about describing your motivations and learning experiences for that last one...)
Hello guys and gals! I would be grateful if you would help me with a question regarding transcripts:
I am planning of taking post-baccalaureate courses from late-May through mid-October at North Carolina schools to fulfill prerequisite for some California schools. Since the courses have not even started yet, should I even bother inputting the NC schools data into AMCAS system?
I fear that AMCAS might reject my reason for not requesting transcript (i.e. future classes) and might decide to sit on my application until I complete post-bac courses and send the transcripts.
Of course, I intend to send the NC transcript to the CA schools that point out the prerequisite deficiency, but I will send them myself directly to those schools, and not through AMCAS. I would miss the chance of raising my GPA in the application, but the alternative of waiting until October to turn in the primary application seems foolish.
So, should I leave out the NC school data in AMCAS? Wouldn't that cause delay in the application process? And would such action result in the California schools chucking my application without even pointing out the deficiencies to me? Thank you for your help.
I would call and ask, but I don't think you need transcripts for classes you haven't taken... definitely call and ask. They're perfectly helpful and they don't bite.
good evening everyone,
first and foremost, i hope all of you are doing swell with the first day of applications, i like most of you are a little bit intimidated by it. i had a couple of questions if you don't mind answering them:
i go to uc irvine and our bio affairs office has their own LOR program. i know that AMCAS has a list of schools that will only accept LORs from the AMCAS service. unfortunately, i have all my LORs in my file and I can't touch them - i also do not feel like harrassinng all my letter writers to tell them to send them. is it posssible to have our LOR service send my LOR packet to AMCAS (just like sending LORs from interfolio)? i personally think this switch to the AMCAS LOR service is unfortunate, do we HAVE to use it?
Schools' letters services are generally capable of sending them off to different agencies/institutions per request. I would ask the service about getting them all sent, rather than harangue your letter writers. I had no issues getting my committee to move letters from VirtualEvals to AMCAS last year (aside from VE being a little slow on the uptake... hopefully that doesn't happen this year...).
additionally, i took a college political science class in high school in place of my senior year government class; do I still have to send in that transcript to AMCAS to be verified? should i also assume that i have to send that transcript in addition to my uc irvine transcript (i dont understand what they mean when they say, "does AMCAS require a transcript from X school")
You still have to send in that transcript.
finally, do you have to fill all 3 criterias (when clicking "how do i know that i am disadvantaged") to be considered disadvantaged? [i certainly fit the first critera (the socially disadvantaged aspect)]
I have noooooooooooo idea! If no one else manages to answer this question for you, please call AMCAS and tell us what's up.
anyways, thank you very much for you consideration in reading my questions. i wish you all the best in applications. i'll be sure to add my 2 cents as well!
Best of luck to you!
I love all this application madness even though it's just the first day of apps and we're in the beginning of finals hell.
last question: when we request Transcripts from schools, do you think it'll be best to use SSN or school ID or will it not matter?
maybe it's a stupid question but whatever.
Happy Cinco de Drinko guys!
If your school uses a student ID number that is not your social security number, give them the ID number. AMCAS will also have your SSN if they end up needing it.
On my PC Firefox would not open the AMCAS page once it actually got to where I would put in my password and whatnot.
Internet Explorer, however, did work. I haven't tried on my Macbook yet, however.
What version of Firefox are you using? It may not be officially endorsed (or whatever they prefer to call it by AMCAS) If you really, really want to keep using that version of Firefox, try
this to pretend to be a browser that AMCAS _does_ like. No guarantees on functionality, btw. You're on your own after that.
when writing your essay for medicine, what kind of stuff should we focus on??
Your motivations for going to medical school including but not limited to any experiences you might have had that led you to come to that conclusion.
Keep in mind I am also a first-time applicant this cycle, but from what I understand you can have your AMCAS verified before your MCAT scores are released - as you mention, it is your transcript they verify, not your MCAT.
But, as mentioned, I am not an AMCAS veteran so take this with a grain of salt. [edit: this post has, ironically, been verified!]
Yes. When doomsday the younger (i.e. primary submission day) arrives in June, once you submit your application, you get entered into the verification queue regardless of your MCAT score status.
Wow. Sorry! I'm sitting here wondering how to rig these class breakdowns to my advantage, but I'm too lazy to do any number crunching
I tried reorganizing the first time and they just gave me a three-year senior year.:cry:
one insight/advice question and another potentially dumb question.
1. i have 2 spots left in my work/activities section. which of these do you think i should put?
-Relay for Life participant, sophomore year
***this is important to me because my father passed away from cancer...but i do not think it the event, itself, is significant enough to add? my advisor had told me med schools won't care that i did this. i actually wasn't pre-med when i participated, i just did so for the cause.
-Member of the Honors Program, Mortar Board (national honors society for Endicott), & Phi Sigma (biological sciences honors society)
**i posted about that earlier, im not sure if i should just choose one, combine them, or none at all.
-Completed two 120-hour internships in my minor, Communications
***since it's not related to med school, will they really care?
-Nanny for summer of 08
***work experience and i LOVED doing this. i know it has nothing to do with anything but...it was a very meaningful experience and i had a blast with the girls i cared for. not sure if i should put it...
2. also, about the payment to AMCAS...send a check...when? before or after verification?
The best way is by credit card before. You cannot be verified before submission. You cannot submit without payment.
About your ECs, is there anything you can group together in the other slots? If you feel you need to list it all to emphasize certain strengths and personal characteristics, see what's related and group them.
