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AMCAS Course stuff AAAAAAAH!

Discussion in 'Pre-Medical - MD' started by Bounty, May 22, 2002.

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  1. Bounty

    Bounty 1K Member

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    Ok so I know this has been asked before but I couldnt find the post and I just want to make sure before I do all my courses...
    1) For class title:
    We put the exact name on the transcript (even if it is just a bunch of abbreviations)? Do you think this poses a problem for the people at the med schools who review our courses? I am assuming they will know that "exper develop/molec gen" means "Experiments in Developmental/Molecular Genetics". Would it be okay to just put genetics instead of gen, for example, to make it easier to read for the med schools?

    2) For course number:
    Put 227 if the number is 227? No department name?
    Like BCH 227?

    3) If i withdrew from a class and it shows up on my transcript as WP (withdrew passing), is that what i put as my grade?

    4) For courses with discussion sections:
    We ignore that aspect of the course right? The only place it shows up on our transcript is in the course number. Usually courses with discussions are numbered 121D or something.

    5)For my independent study, on my transcript it says:

    Course: Neurobio210
    Description: Individual Study

    What do i put on amcas? If i am not putting department name then al i have is "individual study 210"

    This sucks!!!
     
    #1 Bounty, May 22, 2002
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  2. mpp

    mpp SDN Moderator
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    1) Yes, I think it is Ok to change the course name slightly, just as long as it is recongnizeable when comparing with the official transcript.

    2) If you can fit it, you can put the department name. However, the "department" will show up when you classify the course as biology, chemistry, health, behavioral sciences, etc. So it is not always needed. If you put 227 or BCH 227 neither mean anything to me nor do I think they will mean anything to the medical schools.

    3) Yes, put the grade you earned. There was an option for withdraw last year. I don't know if there was an option for withdraw passing. You might just have to choose withdraw in this case.

    4) You can include the D in the course number I wouldn't bother putting it in the course title. This may confuse the AMCAS personnel that are verifying your application.

    5) Actually the AMCAS summary will read BIOL 210 Individual Study since you will choose the Biology category for this course. I don't think you could fit Neurobio210 in the field for the course number. I think it would be Ok just to use Neurobiology Individual Study for the course title.

    Good luck...
     
    #2 mpp, May 22, 2002
  3. bujji13

    bujji13 Senior Member

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    </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> 5) Actually the AMCAS summary will read BIOL 210 Individual Study since you will choose the Biology category for this course. I don't think you could fit Neurobio210 in the field for the course number. I think it would be Ok just to use Neurobiology Individual Study for the course title.
    </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually, when I called AMCAS about this, they said that research/independent studies in any subject should be reported as "other." I think this is because independent research usually isn't as tough as the pre-med lecture courses :)
    Btw, I'm in the same boat, I have 12 credits of Neuroscience research.
     
    #3 bujji13, May 22, 2002
  4. Bounty

    Bounty 1K Member

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    not as tough eh?
    I put in way more, in terms of hours and energy, for my independent study than I did for most of the lecture sciences I took. I always thought we are supposed to put those courses as Bio. Are you saying that if you designate Bio, the AMCAS people will change it? That is lame...
     
    #4 Bounty, May 22, 2002
  5. bujji13

    bujji13 Senior Member

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    </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> not as tough eh?
    I put in way more, in terms of hours and energy, for my independent study than I did for most of the lecture sciences I took. I always thought we are supposed to put those courses as Bio. Are you saying that if you designate Bio, the AMCAS people will change it? That is lame...
    </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ok, I agree, research can definitely take up a lot of time and energy. But I think the purpose of the whole BCPM thing is to get a somewhat standardized assessment of ability in science lecture courses (ie, ones you take tests in and are graded relative to others). I think that is what the "specialist" was implying when I contacted AMCAS, and yes, she also said they would change the designation later. But she could have been wrong; I plan on contacting them again before I submit.
     
    #5 bujji13, May 22, 2002
  6. Bounty

    Bounty 1K Member

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    Just to give you an update...
    My friend called AMCAS yesterday and the woman told him that we should put independent study under BIO (or whatever it is most closely related to) and that it does count in our BCPM GPA. I dont know why the two people gave such different responses but I might try calling again next week to make sure.
     
    #6 Bounty, May 25, 2002
  7. SMW

    SMW Grand Member

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    </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Bounty:
    <strong>Just to give you an update...
    My friend called AMCAS yesterday and the woman told him that we should put independent study under BIO (or whatever it is most closely related to) and that it does count in our BCPM GPA. I dont know why the two people gave such different responses but I might try calling again next week to make sure.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You'll probably just get a 3rd answer, based on experience from last year. Just do what you think is most reasonable, and you probably won't have any problem. Ah, I take that back, with AMCAS you'll likely have multiple problems, but they probably won't be the ones you're anticipating!! :D
     
    #7 SMW, May 25, 2002
  8. Street Philosopher

    Street Philosopher freebird

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    Are there any delays if the decide to change stuff? I figure it's best to take my chances in designating as Bio (I did independent study in Neuroscience), and possibly boosting my SGPA. But I won't do it if it's going to cause a lot of delays and headaches...
     
    #8 Street Philosopher, May 25, 2002
  9. SMW

    SMW Grand Member

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    If they don't like the way you designate something, they'll just change it during the verification process. It might cause a day or so delay, but nothing major. Last year the main problem was just getting them to 1) find the transcripts you mailed to them multiple times because they kept saying they'd received nothing and 2) actually do their job of comparing transcripts to AMCAS application. Once you were in the verification process, things seemed to move relatively smoothly.
     
    #9 SMW, May 25, 2002
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