How to leave a note for medical schools on AMCAS?

Started by MShopes
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MShopes

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I want to mention to the medical schools that I will not finish the degree before going into medical schools and I want to to matriculate after just three years of college work because the fourth year of my major (Medical Technology) is just training that is related solely to medical technologist and hence won't benefit me much for medical school.

How can I leave a note for that to all medical schools I'm applying to? Any where on AMCAS?
 
I think you just have to mail each one separately.

Do you have a bachelors degree already?
 
iceman132 said:
I think you just have to mail each one separately.

Do you have a bachelors degree already?
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No, I just finished my sophmore year and going into my third year. However, I won't finish the bachelors degree before medical school starts. I thought to apply without finishing the degree because like I said, the fourth year has no classes and it's all training related solely to my major and also I have finished all the pre req and EC necessary for medical schools. I wanted to leave the note with my application because I don't want them to receive my note after reviewing my application and rejecting me just because of this fact. I just want to explain to them the story.
 
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MShopes said:
No, I just finished my sophmore year and going into my third year. However, I won't finish the bachelors degree before medical school starts. I thought to apply without finishing the degree because like I said, the fourth year has no classes and it's all training related solely to my major and also I have finished all the pre req and EC necessary for medical schools. I wanted to leave the note with my application because I don't want them to receive my note after reviewing my application and rejecting me just because of this fact. I just want to explain to them the story.
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There isn't an area for that on the app.

Also, this isn't a very good idea.
 
sector9 said:
There isn't an area for that on the app.

Also, this isn't a very good idea.
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Why isn't it a good idea if the fourth year is dedicated solely to my major and any ways I will go to medical school afterwards? I understand that my chances are less than normal but I thought to give it a shot since I'm taking the MCAT this summer any ways. If I don't get accepted, then I will apply next year as a normal applicant.
 
MShopes said:
Why isn't it a good idea if the fourth year is dedicated solely to my major and any ways I will go to medical school afterwards? I understand that my chances are less than normal but I thought to give it a shot since I'm taking the MCAT this summer any ways. If I don't get accepted, then I will apply next year as a normal applicant.
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1. A quick look at the msar will tell you why this isn't a good idea.
2. This can be said for any major
 
MShopes said:
I don't have the MSAR in my hand now but maybe you can give me an idea.
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I just chose 3 schools at random (drexel, einstein, evms), all of them have 100% of matriculants with a bachelors degree. This is the case at most schools (I think a few are around 99%).
 
maybe you should finish the degree in case of a bust...you can still use ur degree until u reapply...
 
Guys, I didn't mean to appear like I'm against the idea of finishing a bachelor but since I'm taking the MCAT a year early, I thought to just give it a shot since I'm not losing anything, not even a penny since I get the FAP waiver. If I don't get accepted, I will reapply next year as a regular applicant.
 
More power to you to apply this cycle, it's certainly not recommended, but if you have good support behind you, I would think you might get a few interviews or something. Just keep in mind that if you dont matriculate this cycle, and apply next cycle, you will be treated as a re-applicant at most places, and the standards are almost always higher for re-applicants, even if you only submitted the AMCAS previously and not the secondary.
 
linebacker57 said:
More power to you to apply this cycle, it's certainly not recommended, but if you have good support behind you, I would think you might get a few interviews or something. Just keep in mind that if you dont matriculate this cycle, and apply next cycle, you will be treated as a re-applicant at most places, and the standards are almost always higher for re-applicants, even if you only submitted the AMCAS previously and not the secondary.
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You know, that's what is turning me off right now...the fact that I will be a reapplicant. I don't know how am I even going to change anything in my AMCAS next year if I don't get accepted this year. Everything will be almost the same except maybe I will add extended research and new doctor to shadow. I hate to wait another year because of the fact that I will go to medical school any ways and the last year is just training for my major which I don't really need for medical school. I'm pretty young as well (just turned 20 pretty recent) but I have everything a solid applicant might need except for the MCAT still to be known-4.0 GPA, decent EC, strong letter of recommendation from committe, science professors....etc.

I don't even know, I already worked on my application but still don't know.
 
Wait - let me get this straight? You want to apply to med school next summer, the summer before your senior year - right? So you will be applying to med schools in the same time frame (summer prior to senior year) as all other traditional applicants?

So if I were you, I would apply to schools without stating that you don't intend to complete your senior year (don't want to add any hurdles to your app) and if you get acceptances, only then should you contact those schools to see if this would pose a problem for you prior to matriculation at that school. If it's a problem for them - then complete your senior year, if not, enjoy your time off. This way all your bases are covered and you won't have to possibly reapply if schools decide to toss your app after seeing your note.

P.S. I would revise your reasoning for why you don't intend to complete your coursework. The "my fourth year is specific to my major and has nothing to do with med school bit is not going to fly as it applies to practically all non-bio or non chem majors. If anything, your major is probably closer to medicine the most of the social science majors such as those in history or religious studies.
 
nabeel76 said:
Wait - let me get this straight? You want to apply to med school next summer, the summer before your senior year - right? So you will be applying to med schools in the same time frame (summer prior to senior year) as all other traditional applicants?

So if I were you, I would apply to schools without stating that you don't intend to complete your senior year (don't want to add any hurdles to your app) and if you get acceptances, only then should you contact those schools to see if this would pose a problem for you prior to matriculation at that school. If it's a problem for them - then complete your senior year, if not, enjoy your time off. This way all your bases are covered and you won't have to possibly reapply if schools decide to toss your app after seeing your note.

P.S. I would revise your reasoning for why you don't intend to complete your coursework. The "my fourth year is specific to my major and has nothing to do with med school bit is not going to fly as it applies to practically all non-bio or non chem majors. If anything, your major is probably closer to medicine the most of the social science majors such as those in history or religious studies.
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Hey man, thanks for the reply. Actually, I'm applying this cycle and they will for sure know that I won't graduate in time because of my credits. I wouldn't mention to them this as the reason to why I'm applying early but I just don't want to wait seriously...I will take my advisor's opinion. I don't know what to still do seriously. I think I will give it a shot and see what happens. If I get rejected, I will make sure to ask the school of why I got rejected to know what area of my application was weak.
 
The vast majority of med schools require a bachelor's degree to matriculate. It's very likely that if you are accepted this cycle, you will have to finish your bachelor's. It would certainly be a bad idea to tell med schools in advance that you don't plan on finishing. They don't care that you'll never use your degree for its intended purpose. I won't be using my degree for its intended purpose either. But you need to have one.
 
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TheMightySmiter said:
The vast majority of med schools require a bachelor's degree to matriculate. It's very likely that if you are accepted this cycle, you will have to finish your bachelor's. It would certainly be a bad idea to tell med schools in advance that you don't plan on finishing. They don't care that you'll never use your degree for its intended purpose. I won't be using my degree for its intended purpose either. But you need to have one.
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I agree, I'm just afraid that they refuse me because I won't finish in time. I wanted to explain the story to them but I don't know in what way. I guess I will not mention it but explain it in interview if asked.
 
MShopes said:
I agree, I'm just afraid that they refuse me because I won't finish in time. I wanted to explain the story to them but I don't know in what way. I guess I will not mention it but explain it in interview if asked.
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I'm a little confused as to why you don't seem to understand that you will most likely have to finish your degree before matriculating. 😕 Unless you are able to somehow appeal, your acceptance will be rescinded if you do not finish your bachelor's. Why would you ever take this risk?
 
V5RED said:
This just sounds like laziness. Finish the degree.
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Thanks for the helpful answer...I wasn't being lazy, I just saw that no point in finishing it when I'm capable of being admitted without finishing it....If I'm really lazy, I should actually complain about not finishing the degree in time and taking more than 4-5 years to finish it. But the fact that I want to get into medical school earlier shows that I'm not lazy at all, especially with my age too....so please just be helpful or don't post. Thank you!
 
TheMightySmiter said:
I'm a little confused as to why you don't seem to understand that you will most likely have to finish your degree before matriculating. 😕 Unless you are able to somehow appeal, your acceptance will be rescinded if you do not finish your bachelor's. Why would you ever take this risk?
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How I will have to finish my degree before matriculating? I'm 2 years away from graduating and if the medical school accept me now, then they are accepting me for the fall 2012 class which means I don't need to finish the degree...that's what it seems like. The medical school should be able to notice from my credits that I won't finish in time.

Please don't think that I'm going against you...I'm having a major confusion right now...thanks for being helpful, I really appreciate it 🙂
 
For people who think I'm being lazy or abnormal just because I'm on a rare situation, it is not bad to try to be admitted to medical school early to start my life earlier. Heck, at least I want to make my ill father proud before something happens to him. I want to show him how his son already started life and how much he contributed to my success. That might just make him live longer.

Your help and answers are greatly appreciated and I thank those above that answered based on their honest opinion/facts. Thanks, folks~!~
 
MShopes said:
How I will have to finish my degree before matriculating? I'm 2 years away from graduating and if the medical school accept me now, then they are accepting me for the fall 2012 class which means I don't need to finish the degree...that's what it seems like. The medical school should be able to notice from my credits that I won't finish in time.

Please don't think that I'm going against you...I'm having a major confusion right now...thanks for being helpful, I really appreciate it 🙂
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You have to finish your degree because the vast majority of med schools require a bachelor's degree to matriculate (i.e. begin classes). I'm not sure I can make this any plainer. If med schools look at your transcripts and see that you will not be able to finish your degree before matriculating, in all likelihood, they will not accept you. If they somehow overlook this and accept you, you will probably have to either defer matriculation for a year to finish your bachelor's, or they will rescind your acceptance--unless you are able to appeal the requirement.

Now, it's possible that you'll get accepted to a med school that doesn't require a bachelor's degree--there are a few. My state school (Colorado) is one. I wouldn't count on this, however. I would strongly recommend that you apply next year and plan to finish your bachelor's to avoid this whole situation.
 
TheMightySmiter said:
You have to finish your degree because the vast majority of med schools require a bachelor's degree to matriculate (i.e. begin classes). I'm not sure I can make this any plainer. If med schools look at your transcripts and see that you will not be able to finish your degree before matriculating, in all likelihood, they will not accept you. If they somehow overlook this and accept you, you will probably have to either defer matriculation for a year to finish your bachelor's, or they will rescind your acceptance--unless you are able to appeal the requirement.

Now, it's possible that you'll get accepted to a med school that doesn't require a bachelor's degree--there are a few. My state school (Colorado) is one. I wouldn't count on this, however. I would strongly recommend that you apply next year and plan to finish your bachelor's to avoid this whole situation.
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In fact, a lot of schools don't require a degree but highly recommend it. Two of those are SUNY downstate and New York medical college. That's probably why me and you misunderstood each other. The fact that they don't require a degree is why I'm applying early especially since I have all their requirement and also I will have finished more than 90 credits by the time I enter medical school any ways. If I get accepted, I might defer for a year to finish my bacherlor if they require me to or I can tell them that if I got asked in an interview. At least I will know I'm already accepted and don't have to worry.
 
MShopes said:
For people who think I'm being lazy or abnormal just because I'm on a rare situation, it is not bad to try to be admitted to medical school early to start my life earlier. Heck, at least I want to make my ill father proud before something happens to him. I want to show him how his son already started life and how much he contributed to my success. That might just make him live longer.

Your help and answers are greatly appreciated and I thank those above that answered based on their honest opinion/facts. Thanks, folks~!~
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Wanting to skip steps in the admissions process is not a rare situation, but actually trying to do it is pretty stupid.

MShopes said:
In fact, a lot of schools don't require a degree but highly recommend it. Two of those are SUNY downstate and New York medical college. That's probably why me and you misunderstood each other. The fact that they don't require a degree is why I'm applying early especially since I have all their requirement and also I will have finished more than 90 credits by the time I enter medical school any ways. If I get accepted, I might defer for a year to finish my bacherlor if they require me to or I can tell them that if I got asked in an interview. At least I will know I'm already accepted and don't have to worry.
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Every single matriculant to SUNY Downstate and NYMC last year had a bachelors degree.
 
V5RED said:
Wanting to skip steps in the admissions process is not a rare situation, but actually trying to do it is pretty stupid.


Every single matriculant to SUNY Downstate and NYMC last year had a bachelors degree.
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I totally understand it is hard. I just WANTED to give it a shot this year and if I don't get accepted because of that, I will work more on my EC and keep my 4.0 GPA and apply again next year. The thing I wanted to mention is the last year of my undergrad is just training and no class work is involved at all so maybe it is not really necessary in the eyes of medical schools. I will ask my advisor too about this. Thank you for the statistics!
 
Its August, have you even submitted your application? You haven't taken your mcat yet? what were you getting on your practice tests?
 
MShopes said:
Hey man, thanks for the reply. Actually, I'm applying this cycle and they will for sure know that I won't graduate in time because of my credits. I wouldn't mention to them this as the reason to why I'm applying early but I just don't want to wait seriously...I will take my advisor's opinion. I don't know what to still do seriously. I think I will give it a shot and see what happens. If I get rejected, I will make sure to ask the school of why I got rejected to know what area of my application was weak.
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Oh my bad, I see you are trying to apply this year. Well if you haven't taken the MCAT yet your starting to run a little on the late side - which isn't going to help you here.

As for applying this year, I really wouldn't recommend it. If not for any other reason than med schools like to see that their applicants majored in something that they truly had an interest in and truly enjoyed. What's it say about your interest in your major if your not even willing to see it to completion?
 
MShopes said:
Thanks for the helpful answer...I wasn't being lazy, I just saw that no point in finishing it when I'm capable of being admitted without finishing it.......so please just be helpful or don't post. Thank you!
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You dont seem to get that you are NOT capable of getting admitted without it. Yes a few people do, so do people with a 2.3 GPA. Trust me there is nothing you have described to justify you getting in w/o a bachelors.

Thus like it or not, people are being helpful. You just refuse to listen to the advice Lu asked for.
 
Nobody has mentioned that almost all schools specifically say that a bachelors is required before starting their med school.
 
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To the OP:

Treat the degree as a major EC.
You can apply without it, just like you can apply without Clinical experience or Research, but you will be severely crippled for not having what everyone else has. In fact, the degree is weight MUCH more heavily than those mentioned components.

Take this into view.

1.) You realistically only have 3 chances to apply. Many people need all three chances (not saying you are one of them). It would be a shame to toss one on a throwaway.

2.) If you finish your degree, you can get into a "better school" (iffy phrasing considering most MD schools are identical). You are SEVERELY handicapped in the application process. Why would you apply now when you are neither late in life nor ready? Apply when you are ready...

3.) Some schools do not require a Degree to matriculate, that is true. But in the same sense many schools don't require you to have an MCAT above 25. Please illustrate this in your head. Missing either will severely handicap you.
But then again, most ALL of schools require a degree

4.) YOU ARE ALREADY LATE IN THE APPLICATION CYCLE. This wouldn't be too much of a concern, but seeing as you are an extremely weak application (regardless of your stats, 38T 3.8, it is like applying with no research or clinicals) it will make a difference.


If you still want to, by all means.
 
First, the fee assistance program does not make applying free, just cheaper. Second, any acceptance you receive from medical schools is contingent upon your graduation from college. Refusing to graduate college just because you don't want to is not an acceptable reason. Third, by time you receive your rejections, you will have already needed to be half way through your senior year of college. This means you are already working on completing the degree, making your prior disclosure counterproductive, or you really aren't completing the degree, in which case reapplication is useless. Fourth: there are many good reasons for student to reapply to med school. Yours is not one of them.

If you want to go into medicine, complete your bachelor's degree.
 
MShopes said:
if the medical school accept me now, then they are accepting me for the fall 2012 class which means I don't need to finish the degree...that's what it seems like
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I can't speak for all of them, but many of the secondaries I've filled out ask you to attest to either having completed the pre-reqs (included a bachelor's) or intending to complete them prior to a certain date before matriculation. The language used often states that if you don't do so, your offer of admission may/will be rescinded.

MShopes said:
If I get accepted, I might defer for a year to finish my bacherlor if they require me to
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Essentially what I'm saying is this might not be an option, you may just be SOL.
 
I haven't read through this entire thread, but OP, don't force yourself into the position of reapplicant if you can avoid it. And you can -- wait another year. Statistically your chances are extremely poor without a Bachelor's -- sure some schools don't require one technically, but I would guess only exceptionally unique candidates are able to gain admittance without one.
 
Thanks guys for your replies...I have decided that I won't apply this year anymore due to the poor chance of getting in plus I'm late....I will apply next year when I have 1 more year left to finish my degree. However, I will still take the MCAT this summer so that if I do good on it, I can push it off the way.

For my application that I did not submit yet, if I withdrew, are alll my information lost? Should I save them to somewhere else? Some info like work/activities, I have just wrote them directly into AMCAS and I don't want to lose them. Or I can just generate the 2012 AMCAS when I'm applying for 2013 and it will use the same information right? Thanks a lot guys.

Your help was greatly appreciated and sorry if I sounded lazy..I'm really not.
 
MShopes said:
Thanks guys for your replies...I have decided that I won't apply this year anymore due to the poor chance of getting in plus I'm late....I will apply next year when I have 1 more year left to finish my degree. However, I will still take the MCAT this summer so that if I do good on it, I can push it off the way.

For my application that I did not submit yet, if I withdrew, are alll my information lost? Should I save them to somewhere else? Some info like work/activities, I have just wrote them directly into AMCAS and I don't want to lose them. Or I can just generate the 2012 AMCAS when I'm applying for 2013 and it will use the same information right? Thanks a lot guys.

Your help was greatly appreciated and sorry if I sounded lazy..I'm really not.
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I'm pretty sure you have to re-type everything in, including all the classes/grades
 
PJ meowerton said:
I'm pretty sure you have to re-type everything in, including all the classes/grades
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Okay, I will just copy paste my AMCAS work into a microsoft word document and save it for next year just in case. I can't imagine losing all this work seriously. Thank you
 
MShopes said:
Okay, I will just copy paste my AMCAS work into a microsoft word document and save it for next year just in case. I can't imagine losing all this work seriously. Thank you
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I think in some cases some or all of your application data gets carried over between sequential cycles. I can't remember if you have to submit, though, or just initiate an application.

Why don't you call AMCAS and ask? It might save you some time and effort. I've found them to be quite helpful over the phone, and if you call right away in the morning (i.e. 9 AM) wait times are minimal.
 
A bachelor's degree is REQUIRED. It doesn't matter if your 4th year is useful for medical school or not.

If I was an English major who took my pre-reqs already, that doesn't mean I can skip out on not finishing my bachelors degree just because I would be taking a bunch of English classes that have little relevance to medicine.

Your acceptance comes with strings attached, the big one being that you finish your degree before you matriculate. I'm pretty sure most schools make this pretty clear...
 
BrightandClear said:
I think in some cases some or all of your application data gets carried over between sequential cycles. I can't remember if you have to submit, though, or just initiate an application.

Why don't you call AMCAS and ask? It might save you some time and effort. I've found them to be quite helpful over the phone, and if you call right away in the morning (i.e. 9 AM) wait times are minimal.
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I might just be too afraid to trust what they say and not save it outside...so I will just save it outside and then call them up...thanks for your answer.
 
UnclePhil said:
A bachelor's degree is REQUIRED. It doesn't matter if your 4th year is useful for medical school or not.

If I was an English major who took my pre-reqs already, that doesn't mean I can skip out on not finishing my bachelors degree just because I would be taking a bunch of English classes that have little relevance to medicine.

Your acceptance comes with strings attached, the big one being that you finish your degree before you matriculate. I'm pretty sure most schools make this pretty clear...
Click to expand...

Even though most medical schools don't require a bachelor, I will not apply this year anymore but will come next year stronger even and apply to more schools. Thanks!
 
MShopes said:
I might just be too afraid to trust what they say and not save it outside...so I will just save it outside and then call them up...thanks for your answer.
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The information does NOT get saved. Your account however will be saved, you will have the same account number and use the same username and password next year but you will have to fill out all the fields again from scratch so make sure you copy and paste and save them for next year.
 
nabeel76 said:
The information does NOT get saved. Your account however will be saved, you will have the same account number and use the same username and password next year but you will have to fill out all the fields again from scratch so make sure you copy and paste and save them for next year.
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Thanks a lot...I will make sure to do this.
 
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