2009-2010 AMCAS Questions Thread

[plsletmein]

---

Members don't see this ad.

do we have to wait until spring grades come out, or can we just send in the transcripts we have now? I am sure this question has been answere before, but I just noticed that many people have posted that they are waiting for spring grades to come out.

its a personal call

 

[Phitenks]

If I took a summer class (like in Summer of 2006 I took ENGL 2B), do I say it's for the 2006-2007 year, or 2005-2006?

Also, just to be clear, the course number would be 2b and not ENGL 2B, right?

 

[TooMuchResearch]

If I took a summer class (like in Summer of 2006 I took ENGL 2B), do I say it's for the 2006-2007 year, or 2005-2006?

Also, just to be clear, the course number would be 2b and not ENGL 2B, right?

To find the answers to these questions, just click Help while logged in to AMCAS. Summer classes are listed within the following academic year, so summer 2006 is listed in the 2006-2007 academic year. Course numbers include the full course number assigned by your school. Without seeing your transcript I cannot be certain, but most course numbers identify both the department and course. In your case, ENGL 2B sounds like the best answer.

 

[G1SG2]

I attended an American chemical society research symposium with my chem. research group and PI-I served as a moderator for presentations. Should I list that separately under conferences or mention it in the description of my chem research?

Anyone? I didn't present, just moderated.

 

[plsletmein]

I attended an American chemical society research symposium with my chem. research group and PI-I served as a moderator for presentations. Should I list that separately under conferences or mention it in the description of my chem research?

Wow, I didn't notice the "conference attended" option until you mentioned it. I've been to a TON of conferences, but I'm not going to list any because I didn't do anything but observe

Edit: Hmm.. I think "conferences attended" actually has some inherent implications that you did something more like present a poster or gave some talk. maybe someone else could chime in

 

[CielloStelatto]

Wow, I didn't notice the "conference attended" option until you mentioned it. I've been to a TON of conferences, but I'm not going to list any because I didn't do anything but observe

Edit: Hmm.. I think "conferences attended" actually has some inherent implications that you did something more like present a poster or gave some talk. maybe someone else could chime in

I doubt it. I mean, isn't that was the posters/presentations tab is for?
I don't know why you would put down conference attendance unless you met someone remarkable and it changed your life, or something. who knows.

 

[plsletmein]

I doubt it. I mean, isn't that was the posters/presentations tab is for?

😳 oh yeah

 

[G1SG2]

I doubt it. I mean, isn't that was the posters/presentations tab is for?
I don't know why you would put down conference attendance unless you met someone remarkable and it changed your life, or something. who knows.

Hmm, not sure, but the tab is there. I didn't present or anything; I just moderated the presentations. I think I'll just include it under my chem. research tab, as our lab group went together, including our PI.

 

[umw2010]

i have a question, maybe someone has asked this b4 but i can't go through 14 pages. so my question is; if u r graduating in 3 years then do u just put Freshman and Sophomore for ur 1st two years?? since ur 3rd year will be ur senior year and it would be after u submit my amcas.
any thoughts on it and if u know it for fact please mention the source thanks

 

[JJMrK]

Strange Question:

I took the placement exam my Sophomore year for placement out of General Chemistry 1 and 2...

I passed the exam, RECEIVED CREDIT, but how do I enter that in coursework?

It's technically not AP Credit... but it's not exempt either, because I received credit for both lectures and labs.

Help! Thanks!

Can you even apply to medical school without those courses?

 

[themoomoo]

So if i took summer courses at a junior college that had 3 semester units but my undergraduate class were on the quarter system, do i still just put 3 for for the credit box for the summer school?

 

[derArzt]

Can you even apply to medical school without those courses?

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

 

[plsletmein]

So if i took summer courses at a junior college that had 3 semester units but my undergraduate class were on the quarter system, do i still just put 3 for for the credit box for the summer school?

Yes, because you list it according to the information on your junior college transcript which it will be compared against, not your undergrad college

 

[plsletmein]

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

I would follow exactly as the AMCAS manual said for this exact type of situation: write it as it appears on your transcript and check either the AP or CLEP box even though it isn't

 

[junkct]

So what kind of stuff are we supposed to put in the activities section descriptions? like what information? do we just write what we did? or do we need to talk about why it was important to us, what we got out of it, etc.? also, should it be bullet points or paragraphs?

 

[BlueElmo]

So what kind of stuff are we supposed to put in the activities section descriptions? like what information? do we just write what we did? or do we need to talk about why it was important to us, what we got out of it, etc.? also, should it be bullet points or paragraphs?

activities that are meaningful to you. Use whatever format you want.

 

[G1SG2]

activities that are meaningful to you.

Should we also talk about why it's important, what we like most, what we learned, etc? I don't want to write too much; I want to save some info for interviews!

 

[BlueElmo]

Should we also talk about why it's important, what we like most, what we learned, etc? I don't want to write too much; I want to save some info for interviews!

I included a litte bit about that, not too much though.

 

[johncalvin]

I was selected by a group of researchers at a nearby hospital as a volunteer to help out with some clinical research at an emergency room.

So last fall, they made me sign some papers, get HIPAA compliance training, etc. Then, suddenly, I received an email that the project was on hold, but it would most likely continue in the fall (2009).

We already had an orientation event, and emails discussing the goals of the research, and volunteers' roles. But we haven't really started anything. Also, I'm not sure if the researcher will actually begin in the fall on time, or even begin at all.

Any suggestions? I only have about ~6 months of clinical/volunteer experience in a local ER. I wanted to put something down because there's a good chance that I'll be involved in this research by the time I get an interview.

 

[themoomoo]

Hi, so when it asks for the prmary contact information under letters of reference does that mean contact information of the school's career center then put the author's names below in the 1-10 area? I wasnt sure what to put in the primary contact information box... if its a letter writer, do we just pick 1? Thanks

 

[themoomoo]

For the personal statement, there isnt/doesnt have to be indentantions for each of the paragraphs right? I could get those to show up in the confirmed page so i just separated each paragraph by a whole empty line.

 

[G1SG2]

Hi, so when it asks for the prmary contact information under letters of reference does that mean contact information of the school's career center then put the author's names below in the 1-10 area? I wasnt sure what to put in the primary contact information box... if its a letter writer, do we just pick 1? Thanks

I just put my committee letter writer's name for the primary contact.

For the personal statement, there isnt/doesnt have to be indentantions for each of the paragraphs right? I could get those to show up in the confirmed page so i just separated each paragraph by a whole empty line.

I would just indent.

 

[G1SG2]

I was selected by a group of researchers at a nearby hospital as a volunteer to help out with some clinical research at an emergency room.

So last fall, they made me sign some papers, get HIPAA compliance training, etc. Then, suddenly, I received an email that the project was on hold, but it would most likely continue in the fall (2009).

We already had an orientation event, and emails discussing the goals of the research, and volunteers' roles. But we haven't really started anything. Also, I'm not sure if the researcher will actually begin in the fall on time, or even begin at all.

Any suggestions? I only have about ~6 months of clinical/volunteer experience in a local ER. I wanted to put something down because there's a good chance that I'll be involved in this research by the time I get an interview.

I'm not sure if you should list that activity, as you haven't started. Maybe you can mention it in your clinical/volunteer experience description section, but not sure you should give that a separate entry. Let's see what the others have to say.

 

[themoomoo]

1) So for the primary contact we do actually put someone who wrote a letter?
2) I tried adding indentations and its not really working

I just put my committee letter writer's name for the primary contact.



I would just indent.

 

[Say Dough]

what is the address that the evaluation letters are suppose to be sent to b/c i need to write it out for my pre-health adviser...thanks

 

[BlueElmo]

I would just indent.

Yeah I would indent. No need to waste vaulable character space.

 

[themoomoo]

its weird though... it wont show my indentations in the last/confirmation page.... also it appears that the line gaps arent adding extra characters... weird.

 

[G1SG2]

Yeah I would indent. No need to waste vaulable character space.

Are you using up all 5300 characters?

 

[BlueElmo]

Are you using up all 5300 characters?

For me, almost.

 

[themoomoo]

so if i came in with sophmore standing due to ap/jc classes, do i start out putting sophmore for my actual undergraduate course work?

I also put freshman for ap classes and jc classes taken in hs right? Thanks!!

 

[G1SG2]

For me, almost.

Hey, I tried to indent, but when I clicked "continue", it just displays my essay without any indentation at all?

 

[themoomoo]

If I am sending a letter packet from my Career Center... should the primary contact be the Career Center?

and if so how do I get a name?

 

[G1SG2]

If I am sending a letter packet from my Career Center... should the primary contact be the Career Center?

and if so how do I get a name?

Ask them who your letter writer is, I think you have to give them a name because it says primary author/contact, and author's additional info. Call and ask, isn't it your pre-health advisor?

 

[themoomoo]

I actually dont have a pre health advisor since my school has a lot of premeds....

hmmm yea so if its sending a packet picking one author wouldnt be right, i guess ill call the career center

 

[mvenus929]

i have a question, maybe someone has asked this b4 but i can't go through 14 pages. so my question is; if u r graduating in 3 years then do u just put Freshman and Sophomore for ur 1st two years?? since ur 3rd year will be ur senior year and it would be after u submit my amcas.
any thoughts on it and if u know it for fact please mention the source thanks

I graduated in three years. My first semester was listed as Freshman, because I had all my AP and IB credits. My second semester was sophomore, and my full second year, as well as my future courses was listed as senior. But really, don't worry too much about your year in school. AMCAS will change it to how they want it.

Should we also talk about why it's important, what we like most, what we learned, etc? I don't want to write too much; I want to save some info for interviews!

Your interviewers will still have plenty of things to ask you during the interviews, and you only have 1325 characters to talk about the experience. Write whatever you want, and if you sound passionate about it, you'll probably be asked about it at the interview.

For the personal statement, there isnt/doesnt have to be indentantions for each of the paragraphs right? I could get those to show up in the confirmed page so i just separated each paragraph by a whole empty line.

Yeah I would indent. No need to waste vaulable character space.

Don't indent. It won't format in the application. Don't type out 5 spaces (the equivalent of an indent), because that wastes precious characters. Just put a blank line between each paragraph.

 

[G1SG2]

Don't indent. It won't format in the application. Don't type out 5 spaces (the equivalent of an indent), because that wastes precious characters. Just put a blank line between each paragraph

Okay, thanks, and the space between paragraphs won't use up any characters, right?

 

[witness23]

I graduated in 3 years. I listed them as freshman first year, soph second year, senior third year. no changes were made, its really done by the semester in order though, so don't worry too much

 

[witness23]

so do people like listen to music or watch tv or something while filling these out. I remember I hated doing the primaries and the secondaries last year. So repetitive and ****.

 

[G1SG2]

so do people like listen to music or watch tv or something while filling these out. I remember I hated doing the primaries and the secondaries last year. So repetitive and sh*

haha, not really, I just fill it out every now and then when I get the chance (finals will officially be over on Monday, but I just couldn't resist filling it out beforehand =D). Did you have to write an essay for each secondary?

 

[witness23]

haha, not really, I just fill it out every now and then when I get the chance (finals will officially be over on Monday, but I just couldn't resist filling it out beforehand =D). Did you have to write an essay for each secondary?

many don't require an essay but some will for sure.

the worst thing is that all the essays ask the SAME exact question. However, they ALL have different character limits, which makes it ridiculously annoying.

you may also have to fill in activities again for some secondaries.

 

[G1SG2]

many don't require an essay but some will for sure.

the worst thing is that all the essays ask the SAME exact question. However, they ALL have different character limits, which makes it ridiculously annoying.

you may also have to fill in activities again for some secondaries.

Damn, that sucks especially if one is applying to a lot of schools. Did you abridge some of your essays and reuse them for secondaries?

 

[witness23]

Damn, that sucks especially if one is applying to a lot of schools. Did you abridge some of your essays and reuse them for secondaries?

this is extremely difficult (or I found it to be - maybe I'm just lazy or take my writing too seriously). I just looked through saved secondary essays and I'll show you the difference in word limits:

Penn State

Explain the negative aspects of medicine that you considered in making this career decision. (Maximum 50 words)

Is there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee? (Maximum 50 words)

Explain why you decided to apply to Penn State College of Medicine. (Maximum 50 words)

CCLCM
.What is it about the CCLCM curriculum that you feel makes it a good match for your learning style? Please limit your essay to 300-750 characters and leave a blank line between paragraphs.

..Targeted areas for improvement are identified by our students at the end of each year. Other than knowledge, what would you identify as an area that is not a strength for you? Design a plan how you could improve it. Please limit your essay to 500-1000 characters and leave a blank line between paragraphs.

..The Admissions Committee is interested in gaining further insight into you as a person. Please describe the experience which you found most personally challenging to this point in your life and discuss how it helped shape you as a person. You may discuss a moral or ethical dilemma, situation of personal adversity or other life-event you believe to have been an important hurdle for you. Please limit your essay to 1 page (about 3,500 characters) and leave a blank line between paragraphs

Mich
Select one experience from your list in part A (Non-Academic Activities) and describe in a brief essay how it impacted on your decision to go into medicine. Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

At the University of Michigan Medical School, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions, and backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our medical school community? Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

and so on


as you can see they ask the same exact thing. You will start out with writing one. You will either feel the need to add to an essay or cut out everything. If I had to do it again, I think I would have looked over my previous essays of similar topic and just write fresh ones. That would be faster and more coherent.



..
..
.

 

[BlueElmo]

Don't indent. It won't format in the application. Don't type out 5 spaces (the equivalent of an indent), because that wastes precious characters. Just put a blank line between each paragraph.

Does this apply for the activities descriptions as well? It won't format either?

 

[witness23]

Does this apply for the activities descriptions as well? It won't format either?

yes (I think). if you are interested in listing shadowing or awards, enter them as you wish. Hit the print button and see if they format. I'm not sure on this but if you are writing narratives, then do not style/format it.

 

[G1SG2]

[FONT="]as you can see they ask the same exact thing. You will start out with writing one. You will either feel the need to add to an essay or cut out everything. If I had to do it again, I think I would have looked over my previous essays of similar topic and just write fresh ones. That would be faster and more coherent.
.

holy crap, that's a big difference. I guess I know what I'll be doing this summer, then 🙂

 

[BlueElmo]

yes (I think). if you are interested in listing shadowing or awards, enter them as you wish. Hit the print button and see if they format. I'm not sure on this but if you are writing narratives, then do not style/format it.

Okay, I will just spaces.

 

[mvenus929]

Okay, thanks, and the space between paragraphs won't use up any characters, right?

It's one character for each enter, but that's a lot of difference than trying to indent, and fixing it if the format doesn't work properly.

 

[themoomoo]

hey so do we have to put in our current courses in the or can we not do that if we arent sending in our spring grades

 

[G1SG2]

hey so do we have to put in our current courses in the or can we not do that if we arent sending in our spring grades

Not sure if omitting the current courses may indicate that you're not in school this semester. If you don't want to send in your spring grades because they will be coming in too late, then I would just enter the current courses anyway and leave the grades blank.

 

[G1SG2]

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?