AMCAS : All Questions Here

[mdsadler]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am now getting really paranoid about IB credits. I received 3 credits just for completing the diploma IB program and not for any course in particular. I wasn't planning on sending in a transcript and am not really sure how to get an IB transcript. My university transcript mentions the 3 credits so I am now worried that I need to get an IB transcript sent to AMCAS. AMCAS mentions AP but there is nothing about IB. Does anyone know how this works?

 

[pbehzad]

I am now getting really paranoid about IB credits. I received 3 credits just for completing the diploma IB program and not for any course in particular. I wasn't planning on sending in a transcript and am not really sure how to get an IB transcript. My university transcript mentions the 3 credits so I am now worried that I need to get an IB transcript sent to AMCAS. AMCAS mentions AP but there is nothing about IB. Does anyone know how this works?

I got the IB diploma back in high school and got some credits for college, but I called the AMCAS people adn they said treat it like AP credit. On my transcript IB credit and AP credit show up in the same section. Hope that helps.

 

[javert]

Academic status IS determined by credits (see AMCAS help). Therefore if you come in with 27 credits then you are only a freshman for 1 semester.

But, according to the AMCAS help:

Applicants with undergraduate, full-time, continuous enrollment at an institution should usually change Academic Status after every 2 semesters, 3-4 quarters, or 2-3 trimesters. Applicants who have been enrolled part-time, or who have had interrupted attendance, should use these ranges to determine their appropriate status for each term:
...table excluded...

So their table dividing academic status by credit hours is only really applicable if you're not a full-time student...at least, that's how it appears to me.

 

[merino_one]

I wrote AMCAS to ask them about the contacts for ECs and here was their reply : "Because Post-Secondary Experiences are optional, you do not need to list a contact if you do not wish to. You may include the contact's phone number if you so choose."

Soooo.. what do you guys think? Is it better to have no contact at all, or a contact with no phone number? Just curious -- b/c just putting a name with no phone number seems pointless, but then again, I don't have phone numbers for everyone... but putting no contact seems bad to me too.

 

[hakksar]

So their table dividing academic status by credit hours is only really applicable if you're not a full-time student...at least, that's how it appears to me.

Well not when I asked AMCAS last year in this same situation (they may have changed it from last year) . . . your academic status should change every two semesters while in college. However, if you come in with a lot of college credits from high school (ie AP classes that show up on a college transcript) then you will change after the 1st semester since your college transcript will show you having completed enough credits for Soph status. This could of all changed over the year but I doubt it.

 

[bigdan]

acl-
I did put in my summa cum laude under the awards portion of the ECs.
I used "academic honors" for the title.

dc

 

[microTAS]

They could probably check the name (google), which is easier than calling people. It would be a pain to call up ECs for each applicant even randomly. The app didn't ask for phone/email, so I didn't put it down. However, I had letter of recs from many of my ECs

I wrote AMCAS to ask them about the contacts for ECs and here was their reply : "Because Post-Secondary Experiences are optional, you do not need to list a contact if you do not wish to. You may include the contact's phone number if you so choose."

Soooo.. what do you guys think? Is it better to have no contact at all, or a contact with no phone number? Just curious -- b/c just putting a name with no phone number seems pointless, but then again, I don't have phone numbers for everyone... but putting no contact seems bad to me too.

 

[derf]

I wrote AMCAS to ask them about the contacts for ECs and here was their reply : "Because Post-Secondary Experiences are optional, you do not need to list a contact if you do not wish to. You may include the contact's phone number if you so choose."

Soooo.. what do you guys think? Is it better to have no contact at all, or a contact with no phone number? Just curious -- b/c just putting a name with no phone number seems pointless, but then again, I don't have phone numbers for everyone... but putting no contact seems bad to me too.

I didn't see a contact number box, rather a contact name/title only. I just plan to fill in exactly what they ask. Nothing more/nothing less.

 

[Scubadoc]

hi all, I have another 2 questions...sorry!

1. in the post secondaries, I was appointed chair to a committee at my school by the dean to decide on an award for the best professors at the school. I was chosen from all the majors in my college...what do you think, should it be under awards/recognitions/honors or leadership-not listed elsewhere or what...I am really not sure!!

2. if you are the president of a club at school, do you put it under extra curriculars or under leadership?

😕

 

[gboug]

hi all, I have another question...sorry! in the post secondaries, I was appointed chair to a committee at my school by the dean to decide on an award for the best professors at the school. I was chosen from all the majors in my college...what do you think, should it be under awards/recognitions/honors or leadership-not listed elsewhere or what...I am really not sure!! Thanks!!! 🙂

I'd put it as leadership and qualify it in the space they give you... let them know you were selected for it, etc. Hope that helps. 🙂

 

[derf]

hi all, I have another 2 questions...sorry!

1. in the post secondaries, I was appointed chair to a committee at my school by the dean to decide on an award for the best professors at the school. I was chosen from all the majors in my college...what do you think, should it be under awards/recognitions/honors or leadership-not listed elsewhere or what...I am really not sure!!

2. if you are the president of a club at school, do you put it under extra curriculars or under leadership?

😕

only you will know if this experience involved leadership or not. Did the position involve a lot of teamwork in a consensus oriented style? If it involved simply selecting an award winner, then I would put in the "other"
under post sec exper. However, if it involved critical decision making and significant responsibilities, then leadership is prolly best. good luck

 

[Scubadoc]

Thanks a lot you 2! It seems like it is almost subjective, how you classify things! I appreciate the advice. What about the club prez thing...leadership or EC?

 

[derf]

Thanks a lot you 2! It seems like it is almost subjective, how you classify things! I appreciate the advice. What about the club prez thing...leadership or EC?

president of a club in school is most definitely leadership.

 

[Scubadoc]

muchas gracias!

 

[acl3623]

this may be extra picky, but so is everything about AMCAS....is it ok to type in your course info in all caps? and course names? thats the way it is on my transcript, i just remember reading somewhere not to use all caps...but maybe that was just for the PS...

 

[derf]

this may be extra picky, but so is everything about AMCAS....is it ok to type in your course info in all caps? and course names? thats the way it is on my transcript, i just remember reading somewhere not to use all caps...but maybe that was just for the PS...

I typed my course names in all caps to 1) correspond to transcripts, and 2) it looks better since the courses are abbreviated on my transcripts.

 

[penguinol]

Has any conclusion been reached on the academic status problem with advanced standing? Someone suggested that academic status according to AMCAS was defined solely by your year (ie. 1st year = freshman, 2nd year = sophomore) regardless of outside credit (AP/CLEP/High school credit). But then it was pointed out that people who plan to graduate in 3 years would lack senior status. Is anyone else in a similar situation?

 

[hakksar]

Has any conclusion been reached on the academic status problem with advanced standing? Someone suggested that academic status according to AMCAS was defined solely by your year (ie. 1st year = freshman, 2nd year = sophomore) regardless of outside credit (AP/CLEP/High school credit). But then it was pointed out that people who plan to graduate in 3 years would lack senior status. Is anyone else in a similar situation?

Well there is not a consensus here but my post above discussed how it was done last year. I did it by credits last year and it was not a problem. If you are unsure give AMCAS a call since there is obviously a lot of confusion about how they word it.

 

[acl3623]

Has any conclusion been reached on the academic status problem with advanced standing? Someone suggested that academic status according to AMCAS was defined solely by your year (ie. 1st year = freshman, 2nd year = sophomore) regardless of outside credit (AP/CLEP/High school credit). But then it was pointed out that people who plan to graduate in 3 years would lack senior status. Is anyone else in a similar situation?

thanks derf!

i'm on the same boat..i entered my freshman year with 18 credits...which makes me a sophomore by my spring semester. thats also my status on my transcript. i think it goes by the number of credits, not the year you are in...the instruction book it looks like it goes by semester hours (pg.30).

if you come in with ap credit, do you assign it to your first academic year and term??ie my 18 ap credits i got go under fall 2000 semester along with my actual fall 2000 semester classes????? 😕

 

[derf]

Has any conclusion been reached on the academic status problem with advanced standing? Someone suggested that academic status according to AMCAS was defined solely by your year (ie. 1st year = freshman, 2nd year = sophomore) regardless of outside credit (AP/CLEP/High school credit). But then it was pointed out that people who plan to graduate in 3 years would lack senior status. Is anyone else in a similar situation?

this is prolly the most f'ed up thing in AMCAS. I called them 10 times on this subject and got different responses 10 different times! I'm not kidding!

In general, you
1) want to never think in terms of years, but units; semester that is, not quarter
2) want to ensure 30-35 units for each status
3) never have more than one status for each single semester. That is, if you took 5 classes in the Spring 2002 semester, all must be classified Freshman for example. you can't mix in a single term

example, if you hit 33 units after your VERY first semester in college, then you label your HS coursework PLUS YOUR first semester only as freshman.

Your second semester all the way thru to 66 TOTAL units (including HS coursework) you label SO

JR = 66-91 roughly

SN = 91 to infinity

 

[javert]

Has any conclusion been reached on the academic status problem with advanced standing? Someone suggested that academic status according to AMCAS was defined solely by your year (ie. 1st year = freshman, 2nd year = sophomore) regardless of outside credit (AP/CLEP/High school credit). But then it was pointed out that people who plan to graduate in 3 years would lack senior status. Is anyone else in a similar situation?

Actually, what to do if you're graduating in 3 years is one thing that AMCAS is very clear on...from the instruction booklet: "Courses for a Bachelor's degree earned in three years should be assigned Freshman (FR), Sophomore (SO), or Senior (SR) statuses" (p. 30). It's what to do if you're graduating in 4 years but have a semester's worth of AP credit that they're so unclear about.

 

[javert]

if you come in with ap credit, do you assign it to your first academic year and term??ie my 18 ap credits i got go under fall 2000 semester along with my actual fall 2000 semester classes????? 😕

I believe this depends on how your school lists it on the transcript...my school, for example, lists them along with 1st semester courses, so I'm doing the same.

Whatever semester you assign them to, they would have Freshman status, as stated in the booklet.

 

[Jason110]

All right, here is my breakdown in terms of units. If anyone can help me out here, I'll be forever grateful (and I'll give you karma points towards admission to your dream school).

Term: Credits
High School Credit (During High School): 21
Summer '01: 4
Fall '01: 22 (includes AP)
Spring '02: 17
Summer '02: 12
Fall '02: 18
Spring '03: 17
Fall '03/Spring '04: 15/15

So I can break it down possibly as follows:

Strategy #1:
HS: 21
FR: 4 + 22 = 26
SO: 17 + 12 = 29
JR: 18 + 17 = 35
SR: 15 + 15 = 30


The real issue with strategy #1 is that the "12" unit semester was a summer session semester. AMCAS specifically states that: "Assign the upcoming status to summer session courses (e.g., summer courses between your freshman and sophomore years should be assigned Sophomore (SO) status)." If I follow that guideline, I get the following:

Strategy #2:
HS: 21
FR: 4 + 22 + 17 = 43
SO: 12 + 18 + 17 = 47
JR: 15 + 15 = 30
SR: whatever will be taken these next two semesters

Strategy #2 is ridiculous in terms of units. What strategy is better to use? What rule supercedes the other? Units or summer session (that is the real question)?

Jason

 

[javert]

A third option could be....

Strategy #3:
HS: 21
FR: 4 + 22 + 17 = 43
SO: 12 + 18 = 30
JR: 17 + 15 = 32
SR: 15 + whatever will be taken these next two semesters

 

[Premedtomed]

thanks derf!

i'm on the same boat..i entered my freshman year with 18 credits...which makes me a sophomore by my spring semester. thats also my status on my transcript. i think it goes by the number of credits, not the year you are in...the instruction book it looks like it goes by semester hours (pg.30).

if you come in with ap credit, do you assign it to your first academic year and term??ie my 18 ap credits i got go under fall 2000 semester along with my actual fall 2000 semester classes????? 😕

Yup, Also I think it is better to designate Fr, So, Ju yrs as 1st, 2nd, 3rd years of college if you are full time. I think this should do the trick. If you are like who is going to graduate in four years and had 13 AP credits, then the senior year will look awfully long- 4 semesters long! You don't want that

 

[microTAS]

Yup, Also I think it is better to designate Fr, So, Ju yrs as 1st, 2nd, 3rd years of college if you are full time. I think this should do the trick. If you are like who is going to graduate in four years and had 13 AP credits, then the senior year will look awfully long- 4 semesters long! You don't want that

That's exactly what I am submitting. It makes sense chronologically

 

[mdsadler]

I got the IB diploma back in high school and got some credits for college, but I called the AMCAS people adn they said treat it like AP credit. On my transcript IB credit and AP credit show up in the same section. Hope that helps.

Did you send a transcript from IB to AMCAS? I am still unsure what needs to be sent to AMCAS to have a complete application. If you did send a transcript for your IB courses did you talk to your high school or did you go directly through IB? Does sending IB transcripts cost anything?

Sorry for all the questions but I have no idea about any of this stuff.
Thanks

 

[penguinol]

Actually, what to do if you're graduating in 3 years is one thing that AMCAS is very clear on...from the instruction booklet: "Courses for a Bachelor's degree earned in three years should be assigned Freshman (FR), Sophomore (SO), or Senior (SR) statuses" (p. 30). It's what to do if you're graduating in 4 years but have a semester's worth of AP credit that they're so unclear about.

I saw that option, but in my case, I had over 30 hours coming into college. Then I CLEP'd some more that first semester and combined with coursework I had 60+ hours by the second semester. So, if going strictly by credit hours I would have been a Junior that second semester. For the AMCAS application I have Freshman for the first semester then a jump to Junior for the next semester.

Or should I start out with Sophomore? It's confusing because I wasn't assigned Sophomore status immediately because I hadn't claimed all the AP/CLEP/Community college credit before the semester started so I was still classified as a Freshman until registration for Spring when they changed it to Sophomore. 😕

 

[derf]

I saw that option, but in my case, I had over 30 hours coming into college. Then I CLEP'd some more that first semester and combined with coursework I had 60+ hours by the second semester. So, if going strictly by credit hours I would have been a Junior that second semester. For the AMCAS application I have Freshman for the first semester then a jump to Junior for the next semester.

Or should I start out with Sophomore? It's confusing because I wasn't assigned Sophomore status immediately because I hadn't claimed all the AP/CLEP/Community college credit before the semester started so I was still classified as a Freshman until registration for Spring when they changed it to Sophomore. 😕

It doesn't matter when you were assigned units. AMCAS looks at the units that you completed chronologically, not when they were claimed. So, you would be a junior the second semester.

 

[penguinol]

It doesn't matter when you were assigned units. AMCAS looks at the units that you completed chronologically, not when they were claimed. So, you would be a junior the second semester.

So, I should use Sophomore for the first semester coursework? Doesn't AMCAS want AP credit to be listed as Freshman? And we're not supposed to have more than 1 academic status per semester, correct? What to do ..

 

[derf]

So, I should use Sophomore for the first semester coursework? Doesn't AMCAS want AP credit to be listed as Freshman? And we're not supposed to have more than 1 academic status per semester, correct? What to do ..

yeah, you can't designate more than 1 status for any single semester/quarter. If *after* the first semester, you were in the 33-66 total semester range, then the first semester would be sophmore.

 

[jtown]

i requested a transcript ~2 weeks ago so i could have a copy of my last quarter grades (winter, not spring) so that i could enter it properly in amcas...
i dont feel like waiting much longer (and who knows how long it'll take)

my question:
i know the course numbers and whatnot, but should i be concerned with putting the courses in the same order as they are listed on the transcript?

e.g.
CHEM 6C
CHEM 140C

or
CHEM 140C
CHEM 6C

it does say, "Enter courses exactly as they appear on transcript."

thanks

now, time to revise the PS for the 48th time.

 

[Premedtomed]

Yes, exactly as they appear on the transcript 😀

i requested a transcript ~2 weeks ago so i could have a copy of my last quarter grades (winter, not spring) so that i could enter it properly in amcas...

my question:
i know the course numbers and whatnot, but should i be concerned with putting the courses in the same order as they are listed on the transcript?

e.g.
CHEM 6C
CHEM 140C

or
CHEM 140C
CHEM 6C

it does say, "Enter courses exactly as they appear on transcript."

thanks

now, time to revise the PS for the 48th time.

 

[derf]

i requested a transcript ~2 weeks ago so i could have a copy of my last quarter grades (winter, not spring) so that i could enter it properly in amcas...
i dont feel like waiting much longer (and who knows how long it'll take)

my question:
i know the course numbers and whatnot, but should i be concerned with putting the courses in the same order as they are listed on the transcript?

e.g.
CHEM 6C
CHEM 140C

or
CHEM 140C
CHEM 6C

it does say, "Enter courses exactly as they appear on transcript."

thanks

now, time to revise the PS for the 48th time.

I put them exactly as they appear...same order, etc. Just trying to make it easier for them to verify.

 

[IcedCube]

whats this all about? Under Schools Attended:

"*Do you authorize AMCAS to release information about your application, including MCAT scores, to school-designated advisors, provided this institution is eligible to receive such information based on the criteria set forth by AMCAS?"

what criteria set forth by amcas? is it shady if u dont release? (i hate my advisor) even if you dont release, i bet the advisors still get to peep your application.

 

[penguinol]

whats this all about? Under Schools Attended:

"*Do you authorize AMCAS to release information about your application, including MCAT scores, to school-designated advisors, provided this institution is eligible to receive such information based on the criteria set forth by AMCAS?"

I think this is AMCAS asking for your permission to send your information (GPA/MCAT scores/Age) to the premed advisors at your school for statistical purposes.

 

[IcedCube]

I think this is AMCAS asking for your permission to send your information (GPA/MCAT scores/Age) to the premed advisors at your school for statistical purposes.

i have a feeling they'll do so anyways.

 

[penguinol]

i have a feeling they'll do so anyways.

Trust no one? 😀

 

[jtown]

my question:
i know the course numbers and whatnot, but should i be concerned with putting the courses in the same order as they are listed on the transcript?
it does say, "Enter courses exactly as they appear on transcript."

i answered my own question...

(from the instructions {who ever would have thought to look there?} on the course entering page)
"""

Once you have entered more than one course, arrows will appear in the column labeled "Move". Use these arrows to arrange your course list in the order courses appear on your transcript.
"""

 

[MoosePilot]

i answered my own question...

(from the instructions {who ever would have thought to look there?} on the course entering page)
"""

Once you have entered more than one course, arrows will appear in the column labeled "Move". Use these arrows to arrange your course list in the order courses appear on your transcript.
"""

I entered mine straight off the transcript and they lined up on their own...

 

[TripleDegree]

I put them exactly as they appear...same order, etc. Just trying to make it easier for them to verify.

Don't sweat it - its no big deal. Don't listen to all the diapered *****s who are entering an online application for the first time - it is not as exacting as some people make it out to be.

 

[docmemi]

Don't sweat it - its no big deal. Don't listen to all the diapered *****s who are entering an online application for the first time - it is not as exacting as some people make it out to be.

ummm, are you okay? another poster,jtown, just pointed out that you should put them in the same order as your transcript.

 

[TripleDegree]

ummm, are you okay? another poster,jtown, just pointed out that you should put them in the same order as your transcript.

And what I'm saying is that you don't! As long as they're the same course number, same course description, match up to the right quarter/semester, you're fine. Nowhere in the AMCAS does it say that the courses have to be in the same "order" as the transcript.

Lets not make up stuff, and make this process harder than it needs to be - and in the process, scare the heck out of new applicants.

 

[docmemi]

And what I'm saying is that you don't! As long as they're the same course number, same course description, match up to the right quarter/semester, you're fine. Nowhere in the AMCAS does it say that the courses have to be in the same "order" as the transcript.

Lets not make up stuff, and make this process harder than it needs to be - and in the process, scare the heck out of new applicants.

sorry, but you are being a ***** right now.

see page 28, http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/2005instructionbook.pdf

"you must: ..."ENTER COURSES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. WITHIN EACH TERM, LIST THE COURSES IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR ON THE OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT"

okay, so it says to do it exactly. for all intensive purposes, im sure you can get away with just putting it in the correct semester. but if you follow the directions, you are going to make it much faster and you wont run into any problems.

 

[derf]

a little snippy on this saturday, aren't we? take it easy!!

the topic isn't even all that important to start a debate on guys...

 

[docmemi]

a little snippy on this saturday, aren't we? take it easy!!

the topic isn't even all that important to start a debate on guys...

i knowww. very stupid arguement. one word, BORED!

 

[derf]

sorry, but you are being a ***** right now.

see page 28, http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/2005instructionbook.pdf

"you must: ..."ENTER COURSES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. WITHIN EACH TERM, LIST THE COURSES IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR ON THE OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT"

okay, so it says to do it exactly. for all intensive purposes, im sure you can get away with just putting it in the correct semester. but if you follow the directions, you are going to make it much faster and you wont run into any problems.

docmemi lays down the wood!!!!!

 

[derf]

docmemi, are you planning to join the jordan farmar bandwagon also, or are your roots permanently etched in trojan land,

Go Bruins!!!

 

[docmemi]

docmemi, are you planning to join the jordan farmar bandwagon also, or are your roots permanently etched in trojan land,

Go Bruins!!!

im coming to the other side...

 

[hamhamfan]

Goodness, I tried searching but I couldn't find the answer to my question:

I've gone to many, many different colleges, and I am a transfer student too. Several of tlhe schools gave me AP credit. Should I list all of them? It's a lot and I don't even have some of the transcripts on hand. I might not be able to send my AMCAS on June 1st if I wait. 🙁