Accidentally submitted AMCAS!?

[NYPremed89]

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I did a very stupid thing.

My application is essentially finished, although I'd like the chance to really review everything and maybe put down an Honor Society I was in... but I thought I'd save that for last.

I was in the proccess of selecting medical schools and on choosing one was lead through the proccess of paying for a background check. The next thing I know my application is submitted. I should've read more closely but I was expecting to do that by pressing the 'submit' button - not while picking out schools.

I've just tried to contact AMCAS. Is it at all possible to have my submission reversed? Has anyone ever heard of this? I'm panicked right now. I think the application can stand on its own, but I feel awful.

 

[kdangg4]

You tried to contact AMCAS? What did they say? I'm not sure, but I think they can help you out if you call in normal business hours. Don't worry! Just wait and see what they say.

 

[jeghaber]

I did a very stupid thing.

My application is essentially finished, although I'd like the chance to really review everything and maybe put down an Honor Society I was in... but I thought I'd save that for last.

I was in the proccess of selecting medical schools and on choosing one was lead through the proccess of paying for a background check. The next thing I know my application is submitted. I should've read more closely but I was expecting to do that by pressing the 'submit' button - not while picking out schools.

I've just tried to contact AMCAS. Is it at all possible to have my submission reversed? Has anyone ever heard of this? I'm panicked right now. I think the application can stand on its own, but I feel awful.

In case this post is in fact sincere, I honestly doubt it's been submitted. Unless your application has an "Application Submitted" timestamp on the home page of your AMCAS, your application has not been submitted

 

[NYPremed89]

In case this post is in fact sincere, I honestly doubt it's been submitted. Unless your application has an "Application Submitted" timestamp on the home page of your AMCAS, your application has not been submitted

It does. I'm waiting on an email reply. I'm not sure how I did it. I thought I was paying for a background check.

 

[talinnlove]

Edit: Nevermind this post! Just saw your above reply after I submitted this.

If it's actually submitted, there will be bold lettering on your homepage right next to the "Submit Application" button that says

Application Submitted:
JULY [DAY], 2013 00:00:00 PM ET

If you don't see that and your "Submit Application" button isn't greyed out, then I don't think you need to worry.

 

[NYPremed89]

It definitely is. I've got the time-stamp and everything.

How accommodating is AMCAS usually? I've never dealt with them. Is this the sort of thing where its 'This is final. Tough luck.' Or will the fact that I caught it 10 minutes later give me some kind of chance?

 

[TheBossDoctor]

How do you accidentally submit AMCAS? Don't you have to check a bunch of boxes and pay several hundred dollars in order to do that? Even when I update it (LORs and schools), they still make me check all those boxes.

 

[Jepstein30]

It definitely is. I've got the time-stamp and everything.

How accommodating is AMCAS usually? I've never dealt with them. Is this the sort of thing where its 'This is final. Tough luck.' Or will the fact that I caught it 10 minutes later give me some kind of chance?

Unless god is smiling down upon you tomorrow.. AMCAS will do nothing.

It's not that you aren't deserving of a re-do.. it's just that there's too many applicants to make ANY exceptions to their steadfast rules. Hell.. there was an applicant on these forums a week ago who claimed his application was hacked into and withdrawn. AMCAS did nothing.

My recommendation: Try. Can't hurt. But if they don't unlock it for you, do two things:
1) DO NOT read through your application for mistakes. Can't change them, don't let them get to you.
2) Mention in secondaries that you were a member of X Honor Society (or Y activity, etc.) and that it was not included in your AMCAS activities section. If a school secondary doesn't have a spot for this (i.e. no obvious prompt and no "anything else?"), include it in an update email with OTHER application updates in a few months. It's not enough to send an email with just that info.

 

[mnm123]

I understand how you might have submitted it without realizing because after adding schools it will take you straight to the submit application page. You should have been reading more carefully though. Not sure how AMCAS would handle this but you should definitely call them tomorrow and see if they can do anything. You can still review everything you submitted. If the honor society thing is the only thing missing and there is nothing else wrong with everything you submitted I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[NYPremed89]

I understand how you might have submitted it without realizing because after adding schools it will take you straight to the submit application page. You should have been reading more carefully though. Not sure how AMCAS would handle this but you should definitely call them tomorrow and see if they can do anything. You can still read revieq everythjng you submitted though. If the honor society thing is the only thing missing and there is nothing else wrong with everything you submitted I wouldn't worry too much about it

It was a really stupid mistake. The Honor Society was honestly an after-thought, I'm sure I can add it to secondaries if I want it seen. But I just feel so incredibly foolish for breezing through the certification. I just wanted to start assembling a list of schools so I could get the application moving.

I just wasn't expecting submission at all to come up under that section.

 

[Jepstein30]

It was a really stupid mistake. The Honor Society was honestly an after-thought, I'm sure I can add it to secondaries if I want it seen. But I just feel so incredibly foolish for breezing through the certification. I just wanted to start assembling a list of schools so I could get the application moving.

I just wasn't expecting submission at all to come up under that section.

I honestly don't know why it does.. and it makes life REALLY annoying since you are taken to that screen every time you add a school. You have to hit main menu to go back and add more schools.. or check the boxes + pay individually.

They should just let us assemble a list of schools.. and then hit the "update application" button on the main menu.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

How? Granted I did it 13 months ago, but I remember having to go through an asinine number of boxes to check, not to mention the huge sum of money I had to give them. That didn't clue you in?

 

[ClamzoniofRI]

Ha, this is immensely unfortunate. If I remember correctly, there were at least two separate screens where they remind you of the finality of submission. Not sure how you pulled it off, but on the bright side it'll be a great story for the kids?

 

[TheBossDoctor]

I understand how you might have submitted it without realizing because after adding schools it will take you straight to the submit application page. You should have been reading more carefully though. Not sure how AMCAS would handle this but you should definitely call them tomorrow and see if they can do anything. You can still review everything you submitted. If the honor society thing is the only thing missing and there is nothing else wrong with everything you submitted I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Strangely enough, I never encountered that. I added 20 schools before submitting and never once got taken to the submit application page.

 

[jeghaber]

Strangely enough, I never encountered that. I added 20 schools before submitting and never once got taken to the submit application page.

+1

 

[NYPremed89]

Now that I've had fifteen minutes to calm down I think I'm more shocked I let it happen than anything. Fortunately the application was -done- save for an Honor Society I wanted to mention in retrospect; nothing LORs and GPA won't reflect.

Essentially after adding a school I was taken to a screen asking me to pay for a background check. I guess that should have been a red light. At that point I was in "check out with credit card" mode. Which of course involves reading through a lot of legalize and checking yes. One thing bled into the next and there I was.

Its unfortunate but understandable AMCAS can't be responsive on an individual level. But I guess I'll give it a shot.

 

[Toss]

Now that I've had fifteen minutes to calm down I think I'm more shocked I let it happen than anything. Fortunately the application was -done- save for an Honor Society I wanted to mention in retrospect; nothing LORs and GPA won't reflect.

Essentially after adding a school I was taken to a screen asking me to pay for a background check. I guess that should have been a red light. At that point I was in "check out with credit card" mode. Which of course involves reading through a lot of legalize and checking yes. One thing bled into the next and there I was.

Its unfortunate but understandable AMCAS can't be responsive on an individual level. But I guess I'll give it a shot.

You're fine.

Many schools have secondaries that let you add additional information that you haven't covered in your AMCAS application. Put the stuff you were missing in there.

 

[TheBossDoctor]

Also, unless its Phi Beta Kappa or something really big like that, I doubt an honor society will make that much of a difference. Sure, add it in your secondaries. But for the schools that don't have an additional info section, don't sweat it. I'm beginning to wonder why I even bothered listing my honor society -_-

 

[Ismet]

Also, unless its Phi Beta Kappa or something really big like that, I doubt an honor society will make that much of a difference. Sure, add it in your secondaries. But for the schools that don't have an additional info section, don't sweat it. I'm beginning to wonder why I even bothered listing my honor society -_-

This. Unless it's PBK, no one cares.

 

[ericksonj15]

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[chem4ever]

Strangely enough, I never encountered that. I added 20 schools before submitting and never once got taken to the submit application page.

Same here. I think that since I hadn't put anything in the personal statement field, the application was not "complete" and thus they wouldn't let me submit. So even after I added in medical schools, I still had to complete my application for it to be submittable. As soon as I put in my personal statement and hit save on the bottom, it took me to the place where you submit since I already had added a medical school and my application was complete (at least by the system's standards).

If OP only added their first medical school after all of the other fields were filled on their application, then the system would take them to submit right away because by then, their application is complete.

Am I the only one who doesn't remember paying for background checks on the AMCAS application?

Nope. I'm not sure what OP is talking about.

 

[BABSstudent]

Am I the only one who doesn't remember paying for background checks on the AMCAS application?

It's because you don't.

You have to have an acceptance for Certiphi to do the background check.

Here is what the first sentence from said email says:

"You have received this email because you have been waitlisted or conditionally accepted by one or more of the medical schools participating in the AAMC-facilitated program for performing criminal background checks on conditionally accepted applicants and waiting list applicants."

 

[Ismet]

Am I the only one who doesn't remember paying for background checks on the AMCAS application?

Nope, OP just didn't read anything when clicking through and authorizing a large payment from his credit card.

 

[zippyziggy]

This. Unless it's PBK, no one cares.

and i'll posit that even if it is PBK, not putting it on your primary will make zero difference on your application.

 

[Toss]

Am I the only one who doesn't remember paying for background checks on the AMCAS application?

It's because what the OP described as "the process of paying for a background check" was in fact, the process for paying the application fee.

 

[ericksonj15]

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