2009-2010 AMCAS Questions Thread

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pookiez88 said:
We can enter future courses, right? I entered the courses that I am registered for in the Fall 2009 semester, and there's this red message displayed at the top:

"you have entered one or more courses without grades and/or credit hours. Although these fields are not marked with red asterisks, you may be required to enter this information"

I can still submit my app with the future courses, yes?
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yeah, definitely. Morevoer, these courses are non-binding according to AMCAS manual.
 
derArzt said:
Well, it shows up as credit hours on my transcript!

I found out AMCAS says to enter anything like this under "AP" even if it's not
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So, you don't have a grade for any of your General Chem courses? Honestly, you need to be calling schools ASAP to see if you should bother applying. Pretty sure you need a grade for the pre-reqs. Have you taken a higher level general chem or something?
 
For shadowing experience, I only wrote a short paragraph for description. I mean, there isn't much to write about other than you followed a doctor around and how cool it was. Is that okay?
 
BlueElmo said:
For shadowing experience, I only wrote a short paragraph for description. I mean, there isn't much to write about other than you followed a doctor around and how cool it was. Is that okay?
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sounds good
 
I did research for 1 year and have a publication. Now, I have different entries for my research and my publication. For my research entry, I'm just going to talk about the project (hypothesis, previous work from our lab related to this project) and what I did. Is that okay? How involved does my research description have to be?
 
pookiez88 said:
I did research for 1 year and have a publication. Now, I have different entries for my research and my publication. For my research entry, I'm just going to talk about the project (hypothesis, previous work from our lab related to this project) and what I did. Is that okay? How involved does my research description have to be?
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you dont want to make it too involved or overly scientific and bore everyone but you have the right idea, talk about the project and your role in it.
 
you dont want to make it too involved or overly scientific and bore everyone but you have the right idea, talk about the project and your role in it.
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Got it. Also, do I do the same in the description for my publication entry? I mean, I don't want to repeat the same thing. Should I just talk about some results of the publication?
 
pookiez88 said:
Got it. Also, do I do the same in the description for my publication entry? I mean, I don't want to repeat the same thing. Should I just talk about some results of the publication?
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I dont know about publications sorry 🙁 hopefully someone else does. I do know that you should not repeat information that would be a waste of time.
 
In addition to giving a short description of the activities I list on AMCAS, am I suppose to include what I gained/learned from the experience? I am unsure of what kind and how long of a description would suffice for these entries, as I have heard its an important part of the application. I dont want to go overboard and say unnecessary things, but don't wanna shorthand myself either...
 
I was just wondering in entering courses, under the course name section, for example, should I enter Math 151 as "Math" or the actual name which is "elementary calculus and functions", or simply calculus because they might not know that math 151 is the required calculus class?\

Thanks!
 
osumc2014 said:
I was just wondering in entering courses, under the course name section, for example, should I enter Math 151 as "Math" or the actual name which is "elementary calculus and functions", or simply calculus because they might not know that math 151 is the required calculus class?\

Thanks!
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There have been a couple questions on this lately. According to AMCAS, list it either way. You can list it by the actual name of the course as long as you add the course number and department. AMCAS stated that they would not have any problem distinguishing these completely named courses from their abbreviated forms on your transcripts.
 
ap888 said:
In addition to giving a short description of the activities I list on AMCAS, am I suppose to include what I gained/learned from the experience? I am unsure of what kind and how long of a description would suffice for these entries, as I have heard its an important part of the application. I dont want to go overboard and say unnecessary things, but don't wanna shorthand myself either...
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Just a little should be fine. That's what I did.
 
So for EC's, Im pretty much using 1200+ characters for each experience I have listed (10). I have heard from my pre-med advisor, that character count and "how much you write" can serve as sort of an implicit barometer for how valuable the experience was. Since Im pretty much using up the entire space for all ten activities, would you all suggest cutting down on some to sort of accentuate others? Thanks.

Akademix Esq.
 
As a fellow Buckeye, I listed it as course number being the actual class (in your case Math 151), and the course name as the description on buckeyelink (Calculus and Analytic Geometry I).

Although this new Buckeyelink looks like a pain, so good luck.
 
Azadre said:
As a fellow Buckeye, I listed it as course number being the actual class (in your case Math 151), and the course name as the description on buckeyelink (Calculus and Analytic Geometry I).

Although this new Buckeyelink looks like a pain, so good luck.
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So you put all of "math 151" into the course number section?
 
Dumb question: are you guys double spacing your personal statements/putting a line between each sentence?
 
pookiez88 said:
Dumb question: are you guys double spacing your personal statements/putting a line between each sentence?
Click to expand...
You want to save as much space as possible. Do single if you are struggling w/ space.
 
pookiez88 said:
Dumb question: are you guys double spacing your personal statements/putting a line between each sentence?
Click to expand...
It won't matter. Anything you type will be converted into plaintext when you input it into AMCAS and that will remove all formatting. For a simulation of how this will work, write your paper in notepad/textedit rather than Word.
 
just a general question about the Work/Activities section of the AMCAS app... how important is it to fill in all 15? Currently, there are 13 entries that I have. I guess I could add more, but they would really be fluff (e.g. tutoring i did in high school). Do you schools view it as a red flag if you don't have the maximum of 15 entries listed?
 
i wanted to answer the publication question.

I listed all my pubs in one tab. All presentations in one tab. I would really not waste any more space by listing them differently. For your description, I would only cite the pub appropriately.

I think this could be a pretty important section for some schools. They will pay attention to it. This is how you would list in a resume anyway. Separate diff pubs/presentation with spacing.


Some schools/interviewers will pull your pub up before your interview.
 
interleukin6 said:
just a general question about the Work/Activities section of the AMCAS app... how important is it to fill in all 15? Currently, there are 13 entries that I have. I guess I could add more, but they would really be fluff. Do you schools view it as a red flag if you don't have the maximum of 15 entries listed?
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you do not need to fill. as long as they are important to you and would be deemed significant by others.
 
interleukin6 said:
just a general question about the Work/Activities section of the AMCAS app... how important is it to fill in all 15? Currently, there are 13 entries that I have. I guess I could add more, but they would really be fluff (e.g. tutoring i did in high school). Do you schools view it as a red flag if you don't have the maximum of 15 entries listed?
Click to expand...

the average applicant has 6 experiences. I dont know why people think you need all 15 spaces, crazy neurotic pre meds 😛. most people dont have 15 meaningful experiences if you really think about. People always list clubs, and other useless crap like honor socities.
 
Question about inputting classes:

1) What are those "Special Courses" options things listed below? Where they designate Honors or P/F or withdraw and all that other stuff... If I took a course P/F, should I check the box marked P/F or what? I'm just not too sure how to use those....

2) Also, does it matter what order you input your courses?

3) Will the adcoms see A+'s if you input them? haha stupid question, but just wondering

4) Should we input our current and future courses? I think I know what I'll be taking next year, but what if it changes?
 
junkct said:
Question about inputting classes:

1) What are those "Special Courses" options things listed below? Where they designate Honors or P/F or withdraw and all that other stuff... If I took a course P/F, should I check the box marked P/F or what? I'm just not too sure how to use those....

If you took a course P/F, yes, check that box. If you took an honors course, check it (they won't care). AP classes....

2) Also, does it matter what order you input your courses?

I think you are suppose to put them EXACTLY in the order as they appear on your transcript. Obtain an unofficial transcript through your course website.

3) Will the adcoms see A+'s if you input them? haha stupid question, but just wondering

They will see what you see in your AMCAS Print Out. However, grades are recalculated on a 4.0 scale. They are more likely to pay attention to the GPA # then each grade, unless you have some kinks (I believe). If you want to impress them with A+s, apply early. Lotion runs out.

4) Should we input our current and future courses? I think I know what I'll be taking next year, but what if it changes?

You can, they are non-binding. They probably won't care though.
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.
 
Similar question:

I got accepted for an NIH summer internship, it begins May 18th. It will probably be my most meaningful research experience, as the other things I've done haven't been relevant to human biology or disease.

SOOOO.... Should I list the internship in AMCAS?
 
I got accepted for an NIH summer internship, it begins May 18th. It will probably be my most meaningful research experience, as the other things I've done haven't been relevant to human biology or disease.

SOOOO.... Should I list the internship in AMCAS?
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Yes, because you can't submit your application until June 2nd.
 
LSU Gladiator said:
Similar question:

I got accepted for an NIH summer internship, it begins May 18th. It will probably be my most meaningful research experience, as the other things I've done haven't been relevant to human biology or disease.

SOOOO.... Should I list the internship in AMCAS?
Click to expand...

the first submission date for the primary is like the first week of June. I will guess that May 18th, comes before that date. Gives you something to write. Put it down, put it down, put it down.
 
here's a few more questions I know everyone is dying to answer:

1) I have taken statistics entitled "Statistics and Experimental Design" It is within the Psychology dept at my school so my transcript has a PSY next to it. Is this listed as "Behavioral Sciences" or "Math" On the PDF, statistics is listed under "Math," but I don't want to risk my transcript not matching my application. Any ideas what to do in this situation?

2) Also, I am a neuro major and all of the neuro classes are under PSY except for Neurobiology. AAMC considers neuroscience to be listed as "biology," but (same as above), it is listed under the psych dept at my college...
 
glia25 said:
here's a few more questions I know everyone is dying to answer:

1) I have taken statistics entitled "Statistics and Experimental Design" It is within the Psychology dept at my school so my transcript has a PSY next to it. Is this listed as "Behavioral Sciences" or "Math" On the PDF, statistics is listed under "Math," but I don't want to risk my transcript not matching my application. Any ideas what to do in this situation?

2) Also, I am a neuro major and all of the neuro classes are under PSY except for Neurobiology. AAMC considers neuroscience to be listed as "biology," but (same as above), it is listed under the psych dept at my college...
Click to expand...

Course designations are given based on course content, not by department through which the course was taken. If the courses were primarily mathematics and biology courses, list them as such.
 
sorry if this was asked before, but when inputting your activities, do you include the full title in the description? for example, if you were a TA for chemistry. you select the "Teaching/Tutoring" category, but for description, do you just put 'chemistry', or 'teaching assistant - chemistry'? the reason i ask, because after you input the information, only the description is shown on the front page. for example, if i just put 'chemistry' thats what it shows. just looking at that i wouldnt know if its chemistry TA, chemistry research, chemistry hobby etc
 
with regards to listing future courses, I haven't completely finished my biology requirement.. I have 2 quarters of bio (not counting biochem) and next quarter I'll be taking another bio class and a bio lab. Since those are required for med school, I should put them, right?


Also, do we really need to put the classes exactly the same order they appear on our transcript???? i already inputted them... is there are way to switch them around without redoing the whole thing?


Also, when it says input them exactly as they appear on your transcript, can I put the full course title? I mean, on my transcript, space is limited so the courses appear as cryptic abbreviations sometimes. Is it OK to put the full course title when inputting it for AMCAS? Or should I use the cryptic abbreviations?
 
sorry if this was asked before, but when inputting your activities, do you include the full title in the description? for example, if you were a TA for chemistry. you select the "Teaching/Tutoring" category, but for description, do you just put 'chemistry', or 'teaching assistant - chemistry'? the reason i ask, because after you input the information, only the description is shown on the front page. for example, if i just put 'chemistry' thats what it shows. just looking at that i wouldnt know if its chemistry TA, chemistry research, chemistry hobby etc
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I put down the actual experience name, i.e., Biology & Chemistry Tutor-X University.

with regards to listing future courses, I haven't completely finished my biology requirement.. I have 2 quarters of bio (not counting biochem) and next quarter I'll be taking another bio class and a bio lab. Since those are required for med school, I should put them, right?


Also, do we really need to put the classes exactly the same order they appear on our transcript???? i already inputted them... is there are way to switch them around without redoing the whole thing?
Click to expand...

Yeah, you should put them down if you're taking them in the future, without a grade of course. Yes, we need to put the courses down in the order they appear on the transcript. Unfortunately, there's no way to switch them. You're going to have to do it over again.


Also, when it says input them exactly as they appear on your transcript, can I put the full course title? I mean, on my transcript, space is limited so the courses appear as cryptic abbreviations sometimes. Is it OK to put the full course title when inputting it for AMCAS? Or should I use the cryptic abbreviations?
Click to expand...

You can put the full course title.
 
Yeah, you should put them down if you're taking them in the future, without a grade of course. Yes, we need to put the courses down in the order they appear on the transcript. Unfortunately, there's no way to switch them. You're going to have to do it over again.
[/QUOTE]

I think I just had the biggest FML moment I've had in a while...
 
Lukkie said:
sorry if this was asked before, but when inputting your activities, do you include the full title in the description? for example, if you were a TA for chemistry. you select the "Teaching/Tutoring" category, but for description, do you just put 'chemistry', or 'teaching assistant - chemistry'? the reason i ask, because after you input the information, only the description is shown on the front page. for example, if i just put 'chemistry' thats what it shows. just looking at that i wouldnt know if its chemistry TA, chemistry research, chemistry hobby etc
Click to expand...

Just put chemsitry TA.
 
JimmerJammerMrK said:
So, you don't have a grade for any of your General Chem courses? Honestly, you need to be calling schools ASAP to see if you should bother applying. Pretty sure you need a grade for the pre-reqs. Have you taken a higher level general chem or something?
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Most schools will accept AP credit (which most colleges don't give actual grades for) for pre-reqs. Most schools list this on their website if it is a concern. Many premeds have AP credit for various classes, because we're in general smarter than the rest of the population and the ones on SDN tend to be more of overachievers than the standard population. Med schools would be missing out on a lot of people if they didn't allow AP Credit.

So there's really no reason to tell them to see if they should even bother applying. They should check to make sure the schools they want to apply to accept AP credit, but, as I said, most do.

Lukkie said:
sorry if this was asked before, but when inputting your activities, do you include the full title in the description? for example, if you were a TA for chemistry. you select the "Teaching/Tutoring" category, but for description, do you just put 'chemistry', or 'teaching assistant - chemistry'? the reason i ask, because after you input the information, only the description is shown on the front page. for example, if i just put 'chemistry' thats what it shows. just looking at that i wouldnt know if its chemistry TA, chemistry research, chemistry hobby etc
Click to expand...

Schools will be able to see your full description and whatnot up front, but for your own sanity, you can put something that describes the experience well, such as 'TA in Chemistry', or whatever.

junkct said:
with regards to listing future courses, I haven't completely finished my biology requirement.. I have 2 quarters of bio (not counting biochem) and next quarter I'll be taking another bio class and a bio lab. Since those are required for med school, I should put them, right?

Also, when it says input them exactly as they appear on your transcript, can I put the full course title? I mean, on my transcript, space is limited so the courses appear as cryptic abbreviations sometimes. Is it OK to put the full course title when inputting it for AMCAS? Or should I use the cryptic abbreviations?
Click to expand...

Yeah, probably a good idea to list future classes you plan to take if you haven't met the prereqs yet. And yes, you can put the full course title. AMCAS is smart enough to figure it out.
 
I think I just had the biggest FML moment I've had in a while...
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lmao, it's okay, it happens.
 
Hi,

I have just entered all my classes into AMCAS and sent my transcripts to them. The concern I have is I am currently in progress with Immunology, Biochem II, and Virology, and I am pretty sure I am getting A's in all of them this semester. I listed them as "in progress" on AMCAS just to make sure I get them in early, but do you think it is possible to send a second transcript to them with my updated grades and then have it verified? I really want to have these grades on my primary and I want to get them in ASAP!

Thanks!
 
n64benjo98 said:
Hi,

I have just entered all my classes into AMCAS and sent my transcripts to them. The concern I have is I am currently in progress with Immunology, Biochem II, and Virology, and I am pretty sure I am getting A's in all of them this semester. I listed them as "in progress" on AMCAS just to make sure I get them in early, but do you think it is possible to send a second transcript to them with my updated grades and then have it verified? I really want to have these grades on my primary and I want to get them in ASAP!

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Merging with the 2009-2010 AMCAS Questions thread. 🙂
 
I took some CC classes in high school and 1 post-bac... when you put a school you've attended into AMCAS, it's either post-bac or undergrad... and I have it as undergrad now but it won't let me label the post-bac stuff... should I make 2 entries for the school - one as undergrad and one as post-bac or should I just have everything from that school under one? And if I just use one entry, what should it be and what do I label the classes?
 
abarabas said:
I took some CC classes in high school and 1 post-bac... when you put a school you've attended into AMCAS, it's either post-bac or undergrad... and I have it as undergrad now but it won't let me label the post-bac stuff... should I make 2 entries for the school - one as undergrad and one as post-bac or should I just have everything from that school under one? And if I just use one entry, what should it be and what do I label the classes?
Click to expand...

Merging with the 2009-2010 AMCAS Questions Thread 🙂
 
on what part of the activities section do we HAVE to put down a contact name and title for reference?
 
Schwann said:
on what part of the activities section do we HAVE to put down a contact name and title for reference?
Click to expand...

you dont really have to one if you dont know it. Its not going to mess with your applicaiton.

n64benjo98 said:
Hi,

I have just entered all my classes into AMCAS and sent my transcripts to them. The concern I have is I am currently in progress with Immunology, Biochem II, and Virology, and I am pretty sure I am getting A's in all of them this semester. I listed them as "in progress" on AMCAS just to make sure I get them in early, but do you think it is possible to send a second transcript to them with my updated grades and then have it verified? I really want to have these grades on my primary and I want to get them in ASAP!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
No they wont do anything once your verified. you cant add grades.
 
man, I have like I am really behind. Did everyone already send their transcripts to amcas.
Also, did you personally send them or did you have the college send them> ?
 
Schwann said:
man, I have like I am really behind. Did everyone already send their transcripts to amcas.
Also, did you personally send them or did you have the college send them> ?
Click to expand...

You must print out a letter from AMCAS (after you put in your schools) and send that as a cover page with the official transcript... the school must send the transcript, not you... and yes, some of us already have them shipping out soon 🙂
 
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