2009-2010 AMCAS Questions Thread

[osumc2014]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Under the letters section, there's a dialog that asks:

"Is this letter from a school?"

I'm sending my letters from my school's Career Center, but the actual letter is from someone outside the school. I'm just using the Career Center to organize my letters.

So is my letter "from a school"?

No

 

[LaCasta]

I probbably should have asked this before submitting...

but for shadowing, I left the hours per week blank. Since it was a sporadic thing over a period of time with each physician, I just stated in the description that I shadowed each physician on several different occasions. Would that be a problem for any reason?

 

[thermodynamic]

No

Thanks.

 

[gujuDoc]

I probbably should have asked this before submitting...

but for shadowing, I left the hours per week blank. Since it was a sporadic thing over a period of time with each physician, I just stated in the description that I shadowed each physician on several different occasions. Would that be a problem for any reason?

No.

 

[AMCAS]

Question - Does anyone know if courses that are taken at another university need to be double listed? The transfer credit is applied to my main college transcript, but it's just credits not grades. Do they still want you to list the courses, even if the actual grades are on the transcript from the college where the course was taken and are listed on AMCAS with that college? Thanks in advance for the clarification.

Courses should only be listed under the school where they were originally attended, even if they were transferred.

 

[AMCAS]

Any field that is not required (marked with a red * IIRC) can be left blank. I know this because I called AMCAS on another matter and asked.

I didn't put a single contact name for any activities. I didn't fill in any fields that weren't required.

While leaving fields blank is ok for the Work/Activities section, please remember that although Transcript Grade and Credit Hours are not "required," not entering this information if it appears on a transcript can cause issues during verification.

 

[icekream]

While leaving fields blank is ok for the Work/Activities section, please remember that although Transcript Grade and Credit Hours are not "required," not entering this information if it appears on a transcript can cause issues during verification.

what kind of issues? the time in which it takes to get verified? or?

 

[AMCAS]

Sorry if this has been asked before. Ugh, I feel silly for asking this but:

On my transcript I have listed both ap math ab, and ap math bc.

I have 0 credit for ab, because bc superseded that (I was given credit for bc only)

So on the amcas should I:

1. Leave out ap math ab.
2. Put in ap math ab, with 0 credits, and check exempt?
3. Do as #2, but do not check exempt?
4. Other?

Argh I hate this.

Also, AP Lit granted me exception from taking a read&comp course. Should I just list AP Lit? I cannot specify a course because it's not a specific class that I got exception from, it is a general requirement where numerous courses qualify.

To clarify, my university requires RC1 and RC2. I qualified to be exempt from RC1. RC1 could be met by numerous courses. But there is no mention at all that my RC1 has been exempted for by AP Lit on my transcript (unofficial).

So should I just leave AP Lit as is, with no course relations? (since no course is mentioned in my transcript)

Both Math AB and Math BC should be listed as they appear on the official transcript and indicated as AP credit.

If RC1 does not appear on the transcript as a separate course, you can modify the AP Lit course name to indicate, "AP Lit: RC1." If RC1 does appear as a separate course, then AP Lit should be entered as is as AP credit, and RC1 should be entered as an Exempt course with no grade/credit.

 

[AMCAS]

what kind of issues? the time in which it takes to get verified? or?

Delays in processing or possibly being returned to the applicant.

 

[flip26]

While leaving fields blank is ok for the Work/Activities section, please remember that although Transcript Grade and Credit Hours are not "required," not entering this information if it appears on a transcript can cause issues during verification.

Understood, and I was only referring to the optional fields in the work/activities section, not the course work section.

 

[flip26]

Under the letters section, there's a dialog that asks:

"Is this letter from a school?"

I'm sending my letters from my school's Career Center, but the actual letter is from someone outside the school. I'm just using the Career Center to organize my letters.

So is my letter "from a school"?

Can someone elaborate on what this question means? Is it referring to any letter from a person at a school - say a prof - or is it referring solely to something like a committee letter.

 

[Steeler7588]

While leaving fields blank is ok for the Work/Activities section, please remember that although Transcript Grade and Credit Hours are not "required," not entering this information if it appears on a transcript can cause issues during verification.

For AP courses that we weren't given grades for, do you want us to leave the Transcript Grade fields blank or go ahead and mark them ourselves as "G"?

 

[LaCasta]

Can someone elaborate on what this question means? Is it referring to any letter from a person at a school - say a prof - or is it referring solely to something like a committee letter.

When I picked "individual letter" for professors' letters, I still selected that the letter was from a school, because then in the information for the letter it puts the professor's name and the university name also.

 

[Sparty1224]

I've searched everywhere for this but couldn't find it, so here goes...

1) Might be a dumb question but, is there a time frame within which you have to submit your AMCAS after you start it? Or can you start it and keep coming back and working on it as long as it takes you.

2) I know it says it can't support Internet Explorer 8, but has anyone tried it? I was thinking it might work in compatability view, but not sure. I might just have to downgrade to IE7.

Thanks guys.

 

[tirral]

Hi guys, if someone could answer this ASAP I'd really appreciate it.

One of my LORs is coming from the director of a hospital in Haiti which I worked at. He is asking me if I can upload his letter, if he emails me the PDF version of it. I think there might probably be a conflict of interest in my uploading his letter with my AMCAS login.

Is there any way I can upload the letter for him, or does he need to create an AMCAS login himself? If so, how involved is this process? I feel bad because he is a busy man and I don't want to make him jump through too many hoops on my behalf.

 

[AMCAS]

For AP courses that we weren't given grades for, do you want us to leave the Transcript Grade fields blank or go ahead and mark them ourselves as "G"?

If no grade appears on the transcript, this field should be left blank on the application.

 

[computerdorkdan]

I've searched everywhere for this but couldn't find it, so here goes...

1) Might be a dumb question but, is there a time frame within which you have to submit your AMCAS after you start it? Or can you start it and keep coming back and working on it as long as it takes you.

I sure hope there's no time limit. I don't think there is.

2) I know it says it can't support Internet Explorer 8, but has anyone tried it? I was thinking it might work in compatability view, but not sure. I might just have to downgrade to IE7.

Thanks guys.

Try Opera. You can change the prefs in Opera to tell it to behave like IE X. See if you can set it for IE7 and it should all be good.

 

[flip26]

I've searched everywhere for this but couldn't find it, so here goes...

1) Might be a dumb question but, is there a time frame within which you have to submit your AMCAS after you start it? Or can you start it and keep coming back and working on it as long as it takes you.

2) I know it says it can't support Internet Explorer 8, but has anyone tried it? I was thinking it might work in compatability view, but not sure. I might just have to downgrade to IE7.

Thanks guys.

Just get Firefox...you will never go back to IE afterwards.

 

[guildsman]

Courses should only be listed under the school where they were originally attended, even if they were transferred.

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi guys, if someone could answer this ASAP I'd really appreciate it.

One of my LORs is coming from the director of a hospital in Haiti which I worked at. He is asking me if I can upload his letter, if he emails me the PDF version of it. I think there might probably be a conflict of interest in my uploading his letter with my AMCAS login.

Is there any way I can upload the letter for him, or does he need to create an AMCAS login himself? If so, how involved is this process? I feel bad because he is a busy man and I don't want to make him jump through too many hoops on my behalf.

If it was anything like interfolio, then you wouldn't login into your acct. you'd follow the instructions they'd use to upload it. Like with interfolio, you'd have to not be logged in and go to the instructions for persons who are entering a letter into interfolio for a student rather then logging into your acct first.

 

[Sparty1224]

Just get Firefox...you will never go back to IE afterwards.

Fine, i'll get it.

But anyone else wanna comment on AMCAS and whether there's a time limit (either fixed or suggested) within which to finish the application once you start it?

 

[Homoochan]

My status says "Processing is completed."

Does that mean I'm verified or when I'm verified does it say "AMCAS Verified?"

I submitted on June 2...

 

[gujuDoc]

My status says "Processing is completed."

Does that mean I'm verified or when I'm verified does it say "AMCAS Verified?"

I submitted on June 2...

Maybe. Check your print application for the pdf and see if the GPA shows up and corrections show up? That will mean you are verified if that shows up.

 

[Homoochan]

Maybe. Check your print application for the pdf and see if the GPA shows up and corrections show up? That will mean you are verified if that shows up.

Yeah.. my GPA and corrections show up but then if i remember correctly, last year it said "AMCAS Verified" rather than "AMCAS Processing is Complete"

 

[flip26]

Fine, i'll get it.

But anyone else wanna comment on AMCAS and whether there's a time limit (either fixed or suggested) within which to finish the application once you start it?

No time limit.

 

[gujuDoc]

Yeah.. my GPA and corrections show up but then if i remember correctly, last year it said "AMCAS Verified" rather than "AMCAS Processing is Complete"

Hmm not sure. Maybe the poster that posts as AMCAS can answer that otherwise call them tomorrow. that's interesting.

 

[BlueElmo]

Yeah.. my GPA and corrections show up but then if i remember correctly, last year it said "AMCAS Verified" rather than "AMCAS Processing is Complete"

It's the same thing.

 

[gujuDoc]

It's the same thing.

Cool thanks for confirming that. That's what I thought but wasn't sure.

 

[redrower]

the AMCAS report lists all the schools I'm applying to; does this mean each school sees the entirety of my school list?!

 

[computerdorkdan]

So, what does an incomplete look like to schools?

I'm taking an independent study which the instructor and we agreed it would be an all-year thing (I enrolled in Spring 2009). I'll finish it this fall, but he gave me an I at the end of the spring semester and will change it once I'm done.

Is that going to do anything to my GPA?

 

[Appless]

the AMCAS report lists all the schools I'm applying to; does this mean each school sees the entirety of my school list?!

No

So, what does an incomplete look like to schools?

I'm taking an independent study which the instructor and we agreed it would be an all-year thing (I enrolled in Spring 2009). I'll finish it this fall, but he gave me an I at the end of the spring semester and will change it once I'm done.

Is that going to do anything to my GPA?

no

 

[computerdorkdan]

Ok, I THINK this is my last question.

I went to a university for 1 year right after high school. I left and went to another. I then went back to the same university as a post-bacc 10 years later.

So, do I enter that school once or twice?

If I do it once, it says from 1998-2009. That doesn't seem right.

Thanks!

 

[Tizoc]

Transcript question: I'm taking a class at community college I've never attended before for the summer. Do I send in a transcript in for this future class even though there's not going to be any grades on it? Or not?

 

[gujuDoc]

Transcript question: I'm taking a class at community college I've never attended before for the summer. Do I send in a transcript in for this future class even though there's not going to be any grades on it? Or not?

If there is no grade for it yet and if there won't be probably not but you will eventually have to send it in your final transcripts to the school you choose to go to and if it helps your case any you might want to send a grade sheet from their ISIS thing or an unofficial transcript to the schools you are applying to as an update.

 

[Steeler7588]

Has anyone figured out why AMCAS comes up with a different character number for your essay than Word does? I typed up my essay, saved it in "Plain Text" format, and pasted it from Notepad. Yet AMCAS has my count 11 characters higher than what Word says.

I'm not running into any problems with my essay (5300 exactly when I copied it into AMCAS, haha), but I'm curious about what's causing that discrepancy.

 

[Appless]

Ok, I THINK this is my last question.

I went to a university for 1 year right after high school. I left and went to another. I then went back to the same university as a post-bacc 10 years later.

So, do I enter that school once or twice?

If I do it once, it says from 1998-2009. That doesn't seem right.

Thanks!

do it once and it will say 1998-2009...they are not *****s they will look at your transcripts/app and understand. For example i have something similar where it says i went to a CC from 2003-2007....when i was only really there from 06-07, in 2003 i took some CC classes while in HS. Dont worry about it.

 

[thermodynamic]

Can someone elaborate on what this question means? Is it referring to any letter from a person at a school - say a prof - or is it referring solely to something like a committee letter.

So I checked with AMCAS. It looks like if the the letter writer is from a school you attended, then you choose from a school.

In my case where the writer is not from my school, but my letters are being sent from my school, the option I choose is not from a school.

So osumc2014 was wrong on my question, but no hard feelings. 🙂

 

[FutureScaresMe]

Has anyone figured out why AMCAS comes up with a different character number for your essay than Word does? I typed up my essay, saved it in "Plain Text" format, and pasted it from Notepad. Yet AMCAS has my count 11 characters higher than what Word says.

I'm not running into any problems with my essay (5300 exactly when I copied it into AMCAS, haha), but I'm curious about what's causing that discrepancy.

I think it's how word handles new lines separating paragraphs. In word it doesn't count it as a white space, whereas AMCAS does.

 

[gujuDoc]

I think it's how word handles new lines separating paragraphs. In word it doesn't count it as a white space, whereas AMCAS does.

That is correct. that's why I took out the blank lines as there was very little I could take out to reduce characters.

Each blank line counts as a character in amcas but does not in MS word.

 

[Jolt21]

anyone ever disputed a class to add it to the BCPM GPA? is it worth it or is it a lot of hoops to jump through?

 

[flip26]

Ok, I THINK this is my last question.

I went to a university for 1 year right after high school. I left and went to another. I then went back to the same university as a post-bacc 10 years later.

So, do I enter that school once or twice?

If I do it once, it says from 1998-2009. That doesn't seem right.

Thanks!

You need to enter it twice, as two categories of post high school experience.

Once as an "undergrad" and then once as a "post bacc."

I had pretty much the same situation, the only diff being that the early classes I took were in high school, and the later classes were part of a post bacc, with other college stuff in between.

If all classes are listed on the same transcript, you only have to send one tranny, and on one of them (I did the first one) ask for a transcript exception - there is a bubble for "cross registration" or some gibberish - I was told by AMCAS to bubble this one.

I did exactly what the AMCAS helpline person told me to do, and it worked...I am already verified.

If you don't do it this way, it will list the classes you took in 1998 as "post bacc" and that is clearly wrong...and as you have noted, it will create this ridiculously long tenure at that college that doesn't reflect the reality of what you did.

 

[kmsi117]

anyone ever disputed a class to add it to the BCPM GPA? is it worth it or is it a lot of hoops to jump through?

i actually came here to ask this exact same question, my verifier changed one of my classes so it wouldn't be in my BCPM...

any suggestions/advice?

 

[computerdorkdan]

You need to enter it twice, as two categories of post high school experience.

Once as an "undergrad" and then once as a "post bacc."

I had pretty much the same situation, the only diff being that the early classes I took were in high school, and the later classes were part of a post bacc, with other college stuff in between.

If all classes are listed on the same transcript, you only have to send one tranny, and on one of them (I did the first one) ask for a transcript exception - there is a bubble for "cross registration" or some gibberish - I was told by AMCAS to bubble this one.

I did exactly what the AMCAS helpline person told me to do, and it worked...I am already verified.

If you don't do it this way, it will list the classes you took in 1998 as "post bacc" and that is clearly wrong...and as you have noted, it will create this ridiculously long tenure at that college that doesn't reflect the reality of what you did.

That's what I figured. Appreciate it.

 

[flip26]

do it once and it will say 1998-2009...they are not *****s they will look at your transcripts/app and understand. For example i have something similar where it says i went to a CC from 2003-2007....when i was only really there from 06-07, in 2003 i took some CC classes while in HS. Dont worry about it.

Read my post above. I had this exact same situation, and I asked AMCAS. It may turn out OK for you, but according to what AMCAS told me, you did it the wrong way...if you haven't submitted yet, you might want to call AMCAS and verify what I did, noted in the post above...the classes you took in high school must show up on AMCAS as having been taken in high school - there is a separate category for them on the AMCAS grade report...doing it the way you have done it will obscure that fact.

 

[AMCAS]

i actually came here to ask this exact same question, my verifier changed one of my classes so it wouldn't be in my BCPM...

any suggestions/advice?

If you want to contest a changed course classification you can submit an Academic Change Request. In the request you must copy/paste the course description from the school's website. After you submit the request it can take up to 5 business days for a response. We can't guarantee it will be approved but this is how to request another look at your application.

 

[kmsi117]

If you want to contest a changed course classification you can submit an Academic Change Request. In the request you must copy/paste the course description from the school's website. After you submit the request it can take up to 5 business days for a response. We can't guarantee it will be approved but this is how to request another look at your application.

thanks... wow an answer straight from the man himself! and he wears a pocket square, no less. how fashionable!

 

[osumc2014]

So I checked with AMCAS. It looks like if the the letter writer is from a school you attended, then you choose from a school.

In my case where the writer is not from my school, but my letters are being sent from my school, the option I choose is not from a school.

So osumc2014 was wrong on my question, but no hard feelings. 🙂

Isn't that what I said?

 

[osumc2014]

thanks... wow an answer straight from the man himself! and he wears a pocket square, no less. how fashionable!

Lol Glad to have AMCAS on board 🙂

ps did you get a new name ksmi?

 

[SurveySays]

Does anyone know exactly what AMCAS verifies? I am under the impression they are just comparing your the grades you entered to the transcripts they receive.

 

[G1SG2]

I separated each paragraph in my personal statement by a line...but is that going to be automatically removed when I submit my AMCAS? Does AMCAS remove all formatting once we submit?