2008-2009 AMCAS Questions Thread

[jzyu]

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so it seems to me like alot of ppl are in the same situation as me- transcript sent but don't know if its recieved or processed....

so can we submit our application without the transcript being verified?

 

[nikkiMD19]

Sorry if any of these questions have been asked before

Work/Activities: In my last 2 years of high school, I did a pretty significant research project at Hopkins and I presented it at a bunch of science fairs and such, won 1st place, got an award from USPHS, etc. Can I include this as an activity? I talked to my advisor about it, and she said she was under the impression that all entered activities must be college and beyond.

All work/activities listed on the AMCAS must be college and beyond... unless you started a work/activity in high school and continued doing it in college, you should not list any high school activities. If it was really significant, you can mention it in your personal statement.

I, for example, participated in an internship program at a hospital my senior year of high school and got to shadow various surgeons and observed several surgeries... although it was great clinical experience, I did it in high school and can't list it on the AMCAS. However, I definitely did mention the experience in my personal statement.

Hope this helps! 😀

 

[nikkiMD19]

so it seems to me like alot of ppl are in the same situation as me- transcript sent but don't know if its recieved or processed....

so can we submit our application without the transcript being verified?

You are allowed to submit your application without the transcript. I believe transcripts have to be in within 14 days of the application deadline. Not all schools have the same deadlines, however, and it's probably not a good idea to wait til the deadline to submit the application & transcripts.

 

[mheart]

I have a ridiculously stupid question. I went to school in the mountains, so spent a good amount of time hiking, and organized some day trips for my friends & I. Is there any way to include this on my application? It was a hobby, but I was not part of any relevant organization. I know the answer is probably no, but it was a pretty large part of my college career, so I wanted to include it somehow.
Thanks!

 

[nikkiMD19]

I have a ridiculously stupid question. I went to school in the mountains, so spent a good amount of time hiking, and organized some day trips for my friends & I. Is there any way to include this on my application? It was a hobby, but I was not part of any relevant organization. I know the answer is probably no, but it was a pretty large part of my college career, so I wanted to include it somehow.
Thanks!

You can list this in the work/activities section as "extracurricular/hobbies/avocations" from the "experience type" pull-down menu. I'm just not sure what adcoms might think of it...

Maybe a better option is to mention it in your personal statement as one of your hobbies. I think adcoms like to hear about things applicants have done OUTSIDE of medicine becuase it shows how well rounded an applicant is. 🙂

 

[pluckyduck1105]

All work/activities listed on the AMCAS must be college and beyond... unless you started a work/activity in high school and continued doing it in college, you should not list any high school activities. If it was really significant, you can mention it in your personal statement.

I, for example, participated in an internship program at a hospital my senior year of high school and got to shadow various surgeons and observed several surgeries... although it was great clinical experience, I did it in high school and can't list it on the AMCAS. However, I definitely did mention the experience in my personal statement.

Hope this helps! 😀

Thank you so much! Definitely sucks though. 👎

Question about listing your courses: When selecting "Year in School," you choose what class standing you were at the time, not necessary what year in college it was, correct? I think this is the case, but I just need to make sure.

So assuming that is correct, I came into college with enough AP credits to enter as a sophomore. When I list those AP courses (they appear on my transcript), should I select "High School" or "Freshman" for the year in school?

 

[sunnysnow7]

is there a thread for questions about who to get letters of recs from?

 

[jzyu]

on the amcas, theres 4 schools/programs listed under UCLA: Geffen, PRIME, Drew, and Thomas Haider...it seems like they all offer MD...so which one is which? I chose Geffen caz thats the one i've heard about. Anyone know what these other ones are or perhaps if its worth applying to?

 

[disorder]

Transcript Update

This for everyone who may want a reference for where their transcripts are in the AMCAS process.

I am a California resident and had to send 3 transcripts from 3 different schools and sent them on three different days. All transcripts were rush ordered (why wouldn't you?).

Transcript 1: Requested/Sent May 15th; Updated May 22nd (6 Business Days total)
Transcript 2: Requested May 15th/Sent May 16th; Updated May 27th (7 Business days total)
Transcript 3: Requested May 19th/Sent May 21st; Updated June 3rd (9 Business days total)

Good Luck everyone.

 

[M3dhop3ful]

Hey two questions:

If you have not taken english but plan on doing so before matriculating, how do you show the school this when you input your marks for your primary app?

For schools that require LORs via amcas, can I just have my reference send the letter to interfolio which I can then send to AMCAS? That would mean just having my reference write 1 letter as opposed to multiple

 

[chad5871]

Hey two questions:

If you have not taken english but plan on doing so before matriculating, how do you show the school this when you input your marks for your primary app?

For schools that require LORs via amcas, can I just have my reference send the letter to interfolio which I can then send to AMCAS? That would mean just having my reference write 1 letter as opposed to multiple

Just list is as "Current/Future." Here's what it says in the AMCAS help guide:

Current/Future
Use this Course Type designation for any courses you are currently taking or expect to take before entering medical school. Listing these courses is especially important if you have not yet completed medical school prerequisites. No AMCAS grade will be assigned.

These entries are not binding, but are intended to give the medical schools an indication of what courses you expect to complete before matriculation. If you request a change or a correction to your course listing after your application has been submitted to AMCAS, notify the schools directly of the change or correction.

In re: your question about LORs. What you described is what you should do. Have your letter writer submit the letter to Interfolio, and then request Interfolio to send it to AMCAS. From what I understand it is one of the options you can choose when picking which "schools" to send it to.

Good luck!

 

[BDNF]

Just list is as "Current/Future." Here's what it says in the AMCAS help guide:



In re: your question about LORs. What you described is what you should do. Have your letter writer submit the letter to Interfolio, and then request Interfolio to send it to AMCAS. From what I understand it is one of the options you can choose when picking which "schools" to send it to.

Good luck!

Hey chad,

Maybe a stupid question, but do you just leave the grade blank? or is there some code I should put in

 

[Vanguard23]

Could anyone answer my question as to whether or not "Course Number" includes the entire course designation?
eg, ENGL-1302

 

[Carlin]

Could anyone answer my question as to whether or not "Course Number" includes the entire course designation?
eg, ENGL-1302

Yeah, ENGL 1302 (or BIOL 204 or CHEM 103 etc etc) would be the course number.

 

[carolinablue09]

Has anybody's "status details" been updated to reflect that AMCAS has received your transcript? I sent mine in a while ago and it should have arrived before 5/28 (which they say they are inputting today based on the login page). However, my status still says that my transcript has not been received. Will that just update when we submit our application? Thanks!

 

[sunnysnow7]

I thought I'd share my transcript updates as well:

2 non rushed from UC - 1 updated 6/3
1 rushed from community college - 0 updated

All were requested by fax on 5/21. Also, when I called the community college to make sure they got my request, they said they sent it out the next day and electronically (he said that's what they have been doing with AMCAS for a year).

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Has anybody's "status details" been updated to reflect that AMCAS has received your transcript? I sent mine in a while ago and it should have arrived before 5/28 (which they say they are inputting today based on the login page). However, my status still says that my transcript has not been received. Will that just update when we submit our application? Thanks!

no you dont have to submit your transcript for them to update your transcript status.

Mine were sent out the 20th and I am in the same boat as you, which is really weird considering im only 400 miles away.

 

[Dulcina]

Ok 2 maybe stupid questions.

On the AMCAS LOR page, it says "You are not required to complete this section prior to submission, or if you are applying only to medical schools that do not receive letters of evaluation/recommendation via AMCAS. "

Does this just mean that they don't need to have received the letter? This section still needs to be filled ou and assigned to schools before submitting, right?

Also, I read this on the amcas manual "Once you have submitted your application to AMCAS you cannot remove or substitute schools on yoru designation list". I thought people often submitted early, and added schoolsl later on if they decided they wanted to apply to more places. Did I misunderstand waht they were doing?

Thanks 😳 This whole process is so unnerving.

 

[Carlin]

no you dont have to submit your transcript for them to update your transcript status.

Mine were sent out the 20th and I am in the same boat as you, which is really weird considering im only 400 miles away.

Yeah, mine were sent from Virginia, so it shouldn't take more than a day or two to get up to D.C... but still, nothing.

This waiting is just so frustrating.

 

[sunnysnow7]

·from AMCAS manual: "Courses with labs may be assigned different credits than other standard courses at the institution. If the official transcript does not clearly indicate the different credits, you must ask the registrar's office to attach a letter of explanation to the transcript before it is sent to AMCAS."



can someone explain that to me, please?

 

[seven87]

For those of you who sent electronic transcripts, how long did it take for AMCAS to receive them?

I requested from my school 5/20, they actually "sent" 5/27 and nothing as of now. Since now they are updating transcripts from 5/28, did mine get passed over? They were sent electronically so I imagine they can't take less than a day to show up at AAMC...

I'm submitting everything tomorrow but it seems pointless when of my transcript hasn't been received.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

For those of you who sent electronic transcripts, how long did it take for AMCAS to receive them?

I requested from my school 5/20, they actually "sent" 5/27 and nothing as of now. Since now they are updating transcripts from 5/28, did mine get passed over? They were sent electronically so I imagine they can't take less than a day to show up at AAMC...

I'm submitting everything tomorrow but it seems pointless when of my transcripts hasn't been received.

hahah the last 3 pages are full of these questions...but you probably have another week or two before you should worry.

 

[seven87]

hahah the last 3 pages are full of these questions...but you probably have another week or two before you should worry.

Yeah I saw those, but I didn't see many about them being sent electronically so I was wondering how that works and if anyone has had success with that form.

Maybe it takes a day or two to send electronically? Who knows...

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I thought amcas closes at 7...ive been on hold for 30 minutes...wtf.

 

[sunnysnow7]

I thought amcas closes at 7...ive been on hold for 30 minutes...wtf.

usually when you are on hold and they close before they get to your call, they just hang up on you. sucks.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

usually when you are on hold and they close before they get to your call, they just hang up on you. sucks.

after an hour I finally got to talk


Heres what I found out...Mine were sent out the 20th a few ppl that were sent out later and from farther away have already been verified

well she told me, its not neccesarily where the transcript is coming from, or when exactly it is sent out...Its more of a where your Transcript happens to fall...and its not always on a first come first serve basis.

/....hope that helps. Well, if it makes any sense.

 

[corduroy11]

I know this has come up but I haven't got a solid answer:

For the course description, do we put EXACTLY word-for-word what is on our official transcript or do we put the full complete proper name of the course (assuming it fits)?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I know this has come up but I haven't got a solid answer:

For the course description, do we put EXACTLY word-for-word what is on our official transcript or do we put the full complete proper name of the course (assuming it fits)?

exactly how it appears on the transcript.

 

[corduroy11]

thanks

 

[erkle]

Transcript Update

This for everyone who may want a reference for where their transcripts are in the AMCAS process.

I am a California resident and had to send 3 transcripts from 3 different schools and sent them on three different days. All transcripts were rush ordered (why wouldn't you?).

Transcript 1: Requested/Sent May 15th; Updated May 22nd (6 Business Days total)
Transcript 2: Requested May 15th/Sent May 16th; Updated May 27th (7 Business days total)
Transcript 3: Requested May 19th/Sent May 21st; Updated June 3rd (9 Business days total)

Good Luck everyone.

It seems like a lot of people, including myself, have questions about the progress on their transcripts, so I'm thinking that it would be helpful if people could post when their transcripts were sent and updated, where they were sent from, and list them in chronological order like the verfication threads? I don't know if this will catch on, but I'll start anyway (I added disorder's info just to get things going since he seems to have the most info):

disorder (CA): requested-5/15, 5/15, 5/19;sent-5/15, 5/16, 5/21; updated-5/22, 5/27, 6/3
erkle (CA): requested-5/23; sent-5/28; updated-waiting

 

[ZnZ25]

I JUST JOINED THIS NETWORK b/c i heard so much about...

anyways i am about to apply to med school and i have many concerns1

first of all how much is the AMCAS application fee? or is it calculated by how many schools you apply/select?

 

[HumidBeing]

I JUST JOINED THIS NETWORK b/c i heard so much about...

anyways i am about to apply to med school and i have many concerns1

first of all how much is the AMCAS application fee? or is it calculated by how many schools you apply/select?

Welcome to SDN!

Yes, it is calculated by the number of schools you select. Hopefully, others will chime in to tell you the exact costs.

 

[Akmidnightsun]

Sorry if any of these questions have been asked before

Work/Activities: In my last 2 years of high school, I did a pretty significant research project at Hopkins and I presented it at a bunch of science fairs and such, won 1st place, got an award from USPHS, etc. Can I include this as an activity? I talked to my advisor about it, and she said she was under the impression that all entered activities must be college and beyond.

Medical Schools: I'm interested in doing an MD/MPH, and I've selected many schools that offer this program. On some them there are only 2 options: "Regular M.D." and "Combined Ph.D./graduate," and only the list of different PhD degrees comes up. If this is the case, should I still check the "Combined" option?
I definitely do not want them getting the idea that I want to be considered as a candidate for a Ph.D., and most of the schools I have called said that indicating the dual degree program on AMCAS just lets the adcom know you are interested, and its not the actual application for the dual program b/c you have to be an admitted med student first.

Thanks guys, good luck on all this junk!

I'm finishing my MPH now and getting ready for AMCAS 2009, partly due to dual-application. (I got into one med school, multiple schools of PH, went with PH.) To simplify your process: For most schools with both MD and MPH programs, if you get into MD, you can just opt to do a year of MPH after your second year without doing the application. If you get into MPH, you're only into MPH. Most of the accredited schools of public health won't let you finish both in fewer than five years, so it doesn't help you to apply dual if you can get into the med schools where you're applying. In some cases, the dual application can actually prevent you getting in (Emory requires admission to both to get into either).

 

[Carlin]

I JUST JOINED THIS NETWORK b/c i heard so much about...

anyways i am about to apply to med school and i have many concerns1

first of all how much is the AMCAS application fee? or is it calculated by how many schools you apply/select?

Hey, welcome!

AMCAS charges 160$ for the first school, and 30$ for each school you add beyond that.

 

[Pink3045]

I received the email from AMCAS saying that they received my transcript, but do not know where I can see that same information within the AMCAS application...can anyone guide me to where the would be?

Also, does verification of your grades happen only after you have submitted? And is an application submitted anytime in June still considered early?

Thanks so much!

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I received the email from AMCAS saying that they received my transcript, but do not know where I can see that same information within the AMCAS application...can anyone guide me to where the would be?

Also, does verification of your grades happen only after you have submitted? And is an application submitted anytime in June still considered early?

Thanks so much!

on the side of the page where it says not submitted yet...Click it and you can see.

 

[aunt ethel]

Hey chad,

Maybe a stupid question, but do you just leave the grade blank? or is there some code I should put in

Anyone know the answer to this excellent question? AMCAS help section says "no grade will be assigned" but it also puts up a big red ink notice if you don't fill in a grade.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Anyone know the answer to this excellent question? AMCAS help section says "no grade will be assigned" but it also puts up a big red ink notice if you don't fill in a grade.

leave it blank.

 

[SJonathan]

It's like a billion or so, isn't it?

 

[pianola]

I Wish.

 

[BDNF]

Amcas indicates that they will also give us a highschool gpa.

Does that mean we have to enter our highschool courses?

 

[Karees]

So I saw both answers for this question and I just want to clarify -

When entering AP tests as part of the credit accepted at my college, my transcript includes my test grade, like 4 or 5, under grade, although it obviously wasn't converted to a grade and factored into my GPA, I also read that we shouldn't include AP test grades. So ... include them or not?

 

[MNgirl2013]

So I saw both answers for this question and I just want to clarify -

When entering AP tests as part of the credit accepted at my college, my transcript includes my test grade, like 4 or 5, under grade, although it obviously wasn't converted to a grade and factored into my GPA, I also read that we shouldn't include AP test grades. So ... include them or not?

I don't think you need to include the score at all since it isn't a grade despite your transcript listing it, just subject of the AP test and number of credits received.

 

[yojoeshmoe]

For some reason, when I enter my personal statement from Notepad onto AMCAS it is not showing spaces at the beginning of each paragraph. It just starts on the next line down. The weird thing is that when I'm on the screen to type it in, I have spaces at the beginning of each paragraph and they are counting as characters. Is anybody else having this issue and do I need to worry about spaces at the beginning of each paragraph?

 

[UGAmkw]

What if I shadowed multiple specialties, can I list them as separate? I ask because I only have 10 E.C. and 5 of them are from shadowing 5 different specialties.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

What if I shadowed multiple specialties, can I list them as separate? I ask because I only have 10 E.C. and 5 of them are from shadowing 5 different specialties.

yeah go ahead and list them separate.

 

[UGAmkw]

Thanks, I was asking because I saw where someone earlier said to list all Shadowing Experiences as one.

 

[pluckyduck1105]

In some cases, the dual application can actually prevent you getting in (Emory requires admission to both to get into either).

Ouch, really? I've called up a bunch of schools asking about that, and for the most part the same response I have gotten is that selecting the dual-degree on AMCAS won't affect your chances of getting into the medical program b/c most of the consider you for the Masters once you've been admitted. As for Emory, their website also sounds like they use the same policy:

"[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Completed applicants will be reviewed for the MD program first. If an interview is granted and the applicant is selected for admission, acceptance to the MPH program is automatic, provided successful completion of the medical school curriculum prior to the MPH year."
.[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](from Emory website)

As for the schools with the messed up drop down menu asking me to write the 2 additional essays for PhD, which is definitely not what I want, I think I'll just choose the "Regular MD" option.
.

 

[M3dhop3ful]

A few questions, related to the app but not all related to AMCAS

1) Do US schools get your school transcript? or just the info that you submit into AMCAS? ie can they see class averages, number of people in the class?

2) Do they look at the type of courses taken?

3) Is there a benefit in writing the MCAT once and doing well as opposed to writing it 2 times and getting a slighly higher score?

Thanks again for all your inputs?

 

[chad5871]

Hey chad,

Maybe a stupid question, but do you just leave the grade blank? or is there some code I should put in

If it's a current or future course, you don't need to enter a grade. The system will give you a "red text" warning after adding this course - just ignore it. AMCAS doesn't expect an entry for a grade in Current/Future classes.

Ok 2 maybe stupid questions.

On the AMCAS LOR page, it says "You are not required to complete this section prior to submission, or if you are applying only to medical schools that do not receive letters of evaluation/recommendation via AMCAS. "

Does this just mean that they don't need to have received the letter? This section still needs to be filled ou and assigned to schools before submitting, right?

Also, I read this on the amcas manual "Once you have submitted your application to AMCAS you cannot remove or substitute schools on yoru designation list". I thought people often submitted early, and added schoolsl later on if they decided they wanted to apply to more places. Did I misunderstand waht they were doing?

Thanks 😳 This whole process is so unnerving.

Supposedly you will be able to alter the LOR section even after submitting your application. The letters don't have to be received or even entered into AMCAS in order to be included at a later date. Additionally, like the manual says, you cannot "remove or substitute" any schools after submitting. This means that you cannot delete any schools from your list or try to "replace" one of the schools on your list with another school. You WILL still be able to add as many schools as you'd like after the app is submitted.

For those of you who sent electronic transcripts, how long did it take for AMCAS to receive them?

I requested from my school 5/20, they actually "sent" 5/27 and nothing as of now. Since now they are updating transcripts from 5/28, did mine get passed over? They were sent electronically so I imagine they can't take less than a day to show up at AAMC...

I'm submitting everything tomorrow but it seems pointless when of my transcript hasn't been received.

It's possible with the electronic transcripts that AMCAS has to print them out in order to verify them. It's easier to compare a paper copy to an electronic version than it is to compare two electronic documents.

exactly how it appears on the transcript.

Actually, according to previous users' feedback, you can submit it exactly how it appears on the transcript or as the unabbreviated title. If you're using full titles, however, just be careful you don't take too many liberties. For example, I have a course called "Human Societies & Globalization." On my transcript it's just called "Societies/Globalization" so I just called it "Societies & Globalization in AMCAS. As long as it makes sense, you should be alright.

For some reason, when I enter my personal statement from Notepad onto AMCAS it is not showing spaces at the beginning of each paragraph. It just starts on the next line down. The weird thing is that when I'm on the screen to type it in, I have spaces at the beginning of each paragraph and they are counting as characters. Is anybody else having this issue and do I need to worry about spaces at the beginning of each paragraph?

I have a feeling that AMCAS is forcing the formatting of the PS section so that the first line after a hard return is flush with the left side of the page. This is probably for consistency across applicants and to eliminate other possible formatting errors.