AMCAS mistake

[daniellema13]

Hey guys, my app was just verified and there is a glaring error. I am a reapplicant and last year my BCPM for freshman year was 3.93 this year they have it listed as 3.59. Obviously i haven't taken any freshman classes since my last application . Anyway the problem comes down to one course which was mistakenly given an AMCAS grade of F !! This drags my overall BCPM down to a 3.71 when it should be 3.81...I think that's a significant difference. I already put in the academic change request but this can take up to 3 weeks. Since my verified app is already submitted to schools do you guys think it would be appropriate to just shoot an email to the schools i've applied to, letting them know of the problem? It is easily verifiable given that my app from last year is (i think) available for their viewing also and shows the correct GPA calculation...

Opinions?

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[daniellema13]

bump.

 

[nonesuchgirl]

No need for a bump.

And no. Wait it out.

 

[daniellema13]

any other opinions?

 

[pianola]

any other opinions?

(1) Call AMCAS to make sure you are 100% certain that they acknowledge that this is their mistake and that they will honor your request to change the grade. If there's any doubt about it and they refuse to change the grade, you might look a little silly telling your schools...I realize a letter grade isn't usually a matter of debate, but I just had to write this little caveat just in case you find out from AMCAS that they have bad information and won't change the grade.

(2) It's very possibly appropriate to send a brief note to your schools about the grade. An extra F is a bit of a serious matter, I'd say...Especially if it's in a pre-requisite class.

Good luck. I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sure it's no fun.

 

[daniellema13]

(1) Call AMCAS to make sure you are 100% certain that they acknowledge that this is their mistake and that they will honor your request to change the grade. If there's any doubt about it and they refuse to change the grade, you might look a little silly telling your schools...I realize a letter grade isn't usually a matter of debate, but I just had to write this little caveat just in case you find out from AMCAS that they have bad information and won't change the grade.

(2) It's very possibly appropriate to send a brief note to your schools about the grade. An extra F is a bit of a serious matter, I'd say...Especially if it's in a pre-requisite class.

Good luck. I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sure it's no fun.

I contacted AMCAS yesterday and the woman i spoke with was incredibly rude and offered zero help. She said they can't comment on the outcome of a request. Every question i asked she replied very snidely with "which one do you think it is?" Um, if i knew, i wouldn't be asking would I. Sheesh. Anyway, im 100% sure it's an error on their part. Thanks for you help

 

[flip26]

If you can't pinpoint the "mistake" what makes you think that AMCAS will find it?

You really need to figure out what the mistake is...did they reclassify any classes (move something into or out of BCPM from last year) that could account for the drop?

Are you so sure that the "mistake" wasn't a mistake in your favor from last year? Maybe they got it "right" this year? If the gist of your complaint is "last year it was higher so this year it has to be a mistake" but you can't point them in the direction of the "mistake" you believe has been made this year, I would not expect them to be very helpful, either...

 

[pianola]

If you can't pinpoint the "mistake" what makes you think that AMCAS will find it?

You really need to figure out what the mistake is...did they reclassify any classes (move something into or out of BCPM from last year) that could account for the drop?

Are you so sure that the "mistake" wasn't a mistake in your favor from last year? Maybe they got it "right" this year? If the gist of your complaint is "last year it was higher so this year it has to be a mistake" but you can't point them in the direction of the "mistake" you believe has been made this year, I would not expect them to be very helpful, either...

She did pinpoint the exact error. She said it was due to an erroneous "F" marked by AMCAS.

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I think you're OK telling your schools, Danielle. I'm pretty sure I would do it if I were in your situation. You could also consider resending your transcripts to AMCAS or directly to your schools -- if there's some type of smudge on the transcript, perhaps an A looked like an F? I'm not sure what else you could do that would be helpful.

Best of luck.

 

[flip26]

She did pinpoint the exact error. She said it was due to an erroneous "F" marked by AMCAS.

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I think you're OK telling your schools, Danielle. I'm pretty sure I would do it if I were in your situation. You could also consider resending your transcripts to AMCAS or directly to your schools -- if there's some type of smudge on the transcript, perhaps an A looked like an F? I'm not sure what else you could do that would be helpful.

Best of luck.

I missed that.

But her brief description of the convo with the AMCAS "helper" made it sound like the OP was asked to pinpoint the problem but could not...the "which one do you think it is" line of questioning with her "I don't know" response is odd - aren't the grades for each course listed on the AMCAS grade report? Wouldn't the OP be able to point out the exact mistake? Like "you marked Biol 101 'F' but I made an 'A' in it."

Oh well - seems like an obvious mistake - should get cleared up - good luck.

OP - make sure the "mistake" isn't on your college transcript - did you request a copy of your transcript for yourself? Did you print out a copy of what you supplied to AMCAS (i.e., did you miscode the grade?). Did the AMCAS grade report indicate a "correction" to the information you provided (marking an F that you listed as something else?)...

Regardless, a pretty egregious error, but this is just one more reason to get your app in early vs later - they are swamped with apps right now, and getting corrections is evidently taking longer now, too...

 

[daniellema13]

I missed that.

But her brief description of the convo with the AMCAS "helper" made it sound like the OP was asked to pinpoint the problem but could not...the "which one do you think it is" line of questioning with her "I don't know" response is odd - aren't the grades for each course listed on the AMCAS grade report? Wouldn't the OP be able to point out the exact mistake? Like "you marked Biol 101 'F' but I made an 'A' in it."

Oh well - seems like an obvious mistake - should get cleared up - good luck.

OP - make sure the "mistake" isn't on your college transcript - did you request a copy of your transcript for yourself? Did you print out a copy of what you supplied to AMCAS (i.e., did you miscode the grade?). Did the AMCAS grade report indicate a "correction" to the information you provided (marking an F that you listed as something else?)...

In regards to my convo with AMCAS, the questions i was asking were about which of the listed reasons for academic request change would be best (between two that are both applicable to my situation) and other just general questions about things she should have known it seems. But yes, i have pinpointed the exact mistake, which course it is, etc. I was happy to point it out to her as well but she couldn't have cared less because she "couldn't comment on it." That's fine but at least answer the questions about your application system which you should be familiar with.

My academic history is a bit complicated for me to explain it here but the bottom line is i received an A in that course and it was given an F. And yes it says A on my official transcript.

 

[pianola]

I contacted AMCAS yesterday and the woman i spoke with was incredibly rude and offered zero help. She said they can't comment on the outcome of a request. Every question i asked she replied very snidely with "which one do you think it is?" Um, if i knew, i wouldn't be asking would I. Sheesh. Anyway, im 100% sure it's an error on their part. Thanks for you help

You might also try calling again; some AMCAS representatives are nicer than others and you might reach one who could be of some help.

I would suggest asking the representative to take a look at your original transcript and to please let you know (on the phone) what grade s/he sees from your original transcript. That way you can at least pinpoint the source of the error. Also, you might consider getting a transcript from your school so that you know where the error is coming from (i.e. is it the transcript/school causing you the problem or is it AMCAS who made the error?) Don't hesitate to be confident, but polite about the error that was made.

You might also get a feel for how schools will be notified by AMCAS about the change in grade. So you could ask the representative what sort of message the schools will be seeing.

Try to be nice to the representative, of course -- I'm sure you are being nice. I would be totally frustrated in your situation so I just thought I'd add the little reminder; trying situations don't bring out the best in anyone.

EDIT: Just read your last post. Seems like you're doing what you can. I really don't have any better advice to give you, unfortunately. A succinct but very clear notification to your schools might be your best bet.

As always, of course, wishing you the best.

 

[daniellema13]

You might also try calling again; some AMCAS representatives are nicer than others and you might reach one who could be of some help.

I would suggest asking the representative to take a look at your original transcript and to please let you know (on the phone) what grade s/he sees from your original transcript. That way you can at least pinpoint the source of the error. Also, you might consider getting a transcript from your school so that you know where the error is coming from (i.e. is it the transcript/school causing you the problem or is it AMCAS who made the error?) Don't hesitate to be confident, but polite about the error that was made.

You might also get a feel for how schools will be notified by AMCAS about the change in grade. So you could ask the representative what sort of message the schools will be seeing.

Try to be nice to the representative, of course -- I'm sure you are being nice. I would be totally frustrated in your situation so I just thought I'd add the little reminder; trying situations don't bring out the best in anyone.

I do have copies of my transcript (which show an A for the course) but it is not quite that simple. Years earlier I received a couple semesters of just "x's"...these are assigned by my institution when they have insufficient material for a grade. This had to do with a health issue and is somewhat similar to a withdrawal. Anyway, for amcas, this type of mark is classified as "no record" and not computed in your GPA (just as a W is not computed). Most of those classes i retook and so they are also classified as "repeat." AMCAS labelled all of the classes i received "x's" in as no record/(repeat for some) and left them out except for that one course...it was given an "F" instead and not labelled properly. The "A" i made later for the repeat was also computed in the GPA. Obviously it's an error as they cannot pick and choose what classes of the same grade to erroneously classify differently and give it an "F". And anyway, before i even applied to medical school the first time, i called and asked how such a mark (X) would be computed by AMCAS and they told me it is not included, etc. And they didnt include any of the other 8 classes so...

But thank you for being so helpful. I will definitely call again today, i've just been waiting on someone to show up for a meeting in my office and i don't want to be in the middle of an AMCAS call at the time.

oh and i did ask yesterday about how they report to schools, she said schools are given "change reports" weekly. My only concern is that my file will be reviewed before that happens and while its not THAT huge of an issue, i'd like my app to be as strong as possible, i don't want to do this again for a 3rd time!!

 

[flip26]

In regards to my convo with AMCAS, the questions i was asking were about which of the listed reasons for academic request change would be best (between two that are both applicable to my situation) and other just general questions about things she should have known it seems. But yes, i have pinpointed the exact mistake, which course it is, etc. I was happy to point it out to her as well but she couldn't have cared less because she "couldn't comment on it." That's fine but at least answer the questions about your application system which you should be familiar with.

My academic history is a bit complicated for me to explain it here but the bottom line is i received an A in that course and it was given an F. And yes it says A on my official transcript.

By "given an F" do you mean "given" by AMCAS?

Is there something you aren't telling us? What does your academic history being a bit complicated have to do with a clerical error? Did this class involve a retake, or did your original transcript get amended somehow (grade replacement) or something like that? Was something possibly misinterpreted on your transcript?

This grade verification process is deeply flawed and stacked against applicants. AMCAS really needs to go to a system that takes the human error out of this process - transcripts submitted via computer tape or something like that...take out the human coding steps...

Good luck. I, too, would send emails to schools telling them a grade was misposted that significantly reduces your GPA...the incorrect GPA is not the big problem for you - the "F" is a huge problem...

 

[daniellema13]

By "given an F" do you mean "given" by AMCAS?

Is there something you aren't telling us? What does your academic history being a bit complicated have to do with a clerical error? Did this class involve a retake, or did your original transcript get amended somehow (grade replacement) or something like that? Was something possibly misinterpreted on your transcript?

Yes given an "F" by AMCAS. And see above post for the academic history brief explanation.

I agree with you that the system is flawed. What's worse is that they don't make any effort to help you when a mistake on their part could cost someone an acceptance to med school. That may not be the case for me, but i'm sure it's happened in the past, i know of several people last year that had serious errors on their verified apps and for one of them at least it took amcas 8 WEEKS to fix it . And she was rejected from several places before her app was fixed.

 

[stixx]

I can't see how sending an e-mail to your schools could hurt. I mean, if it were an A to a B they might think you're being petty for not waiting. But if your application gets reviewed with an F on it that's a huge deal.

Especially since AMCAS handled it properly last year, it's pretty much guaranteed to work out in your favour - there's virtually no risk.

 

[flip26]

Your email or letter to med schools should be short and sweet, sparing them the ugly details...

Tell them a correction to the AMCAS grade report clerical error is pending that will ultimately remove the erroneously marked "F" for whatever course...identify the grade and the course, but leave out the details...don't try to recalc the GPA yourself...just tell schools the "F" is the error...

Good luck.

 

[M3dhop3ful]

to the OP, I had a similar yet not as bad of a problem as you do.

Basically, AMCAS messed up my credit hours and inputted ALL my grades incorrectly, resulting in a GPA that is 0.2 lower than what it was supposed to be. I sent them the Change Request and they got back to me in around 27 hours. Those changes can take up to 3-5 business days.

Finally, If you call again and ask the person to put a note on your file regarding this mistake, she will do so and it may add to the urgency of your request.

 

[pianola]

Finally, If you call again and ask the person to put a note on your file regarding this mistake, she will do so and it may add to the urgency of your request.

Sounds like good advice to me.

That is a complicated situation...in any case, one can only hope that the single grade won't be completely responsible for determining admission/rejection, right?

Your overall GPA is good Try to keep that thought in mind as you keep going.

EDIT: Noting my 1,000th post.

 

[daniellema13]

Thanks guys for all your help/advice. This process gets awfully tiresome sometimes.

I did call again and got a much nicer person. He made a note on my file (thanks hop3ful ). He also mentioned the 3-5 business days although the first woman told me 3+ weeks.

I think i will wait for now...if they really have it fixed w/in 5 business days that is fine with me (granted they actually report to schools in a timely manner). Since my app was just verified, i'm doubting schools will have reviewed my complete file within a week. I wrote out all my essays ahead of time so my secondaries for the most part are set to go out but im sure there are plenty of people in line before me (never thought i'd find an advantage to that)...

Good luck to all of you!!

ps- pianola...do you play piano and viola?

 

[daniellema13]

Okay so i got an email from AMCAS saying my request was processed, and then a second email saying my app has been re-verified. So i look at the app and now the freshman BCPM is 3.30!!! wtf, it has gone from 3.93, to 3.59 to 3.30??? I have no idea what they did, all i can think of is they calculated the F twice? If i include 2 F's on my own and calculate I get 3.3 also. I am beyond frustrated. I just called and the lady said all she could do was have a supervisor call me. and the F is STILL there! so my overall BCPM has no gone from 3.81 to 3.71 to 3.63, there is WAY too much human error involved in this whole process....in 3 different verifications with the exact same grades they have come up with 3 different GPAs...amazing!

 

[flip26]

Okay so i got an email from AMCAS saying my request was processed, and then a second email saying my app has been re-verified. So i look at the app and now the freshman BCPM is 3.30!!! wtf, it has gone from 3.93, to 3.59 to 3.30??? I have no idea what they did, all i can think of is they calculated the F twice? If i include 2 F's on my own and calculate I get 3.3 also. I am beyond frustrated. I just called and the lady said all she could do was have a supervisor call me. and the F is STILL there! so my overall BCPM has no gone from 3.81 to 3.71 to 3.63, there is WAY too much human error involved in this whole process....in 3 different verifications with the exact same grades they have come up with 3 different GPAs...amazing!

Are you positively sure that AMCAS is not dealing with these things in a different manner this year? Have you carefully read through the 2007 and 2008 PDFs to see if there is any difference in the way they treat incomplete grades like yours that got retaken?

I know I read the 2008 PDF after reading your thread and I was not 100 percent sure from what I read if you were really in the clear or not...the PDF is ridiculously detailed and complex...but I did not see your exact case listed, at least not in the way you described its presentation on your transcript...

You definitely need to speak to a supervisor, and you really do need to have something to send out to med schools if this gets released to them...

 

[daniellema13]

Well given that i have many other X's on my transcript and they are all classified as "no record" by AMCAS and not assigned any AMCAS grade, i see no reason why this one course should be any different...

and either way, since they made absolutely no changes to my application how could the GPA have changed once again?

 

[ACSurgeon]

Well given that i have many other X's on my transcript and they are all classified as "no record" by AMCAS and not assigned any AMCAS grade, i see no reason why this one course should be any different...

Just call the schools and explain or send them an email to go with your file... you could get rejected or put on hold for weeks until this is resolved if you don't act quickly.

 

[inhiding]

Good Lord that's some bad luck.

Unfortunately, I have no advice on my end, except I hope that your luck turns around -- and listen to lazymed, who clearly knows what s/he's talking about...

--> for you.

Man, I feel like you should reasonably be able to sue AMCAS if you don't get into medical school. Not that normal people have time to sue large organizations. But still. This is just ridiculous.

 

[daniellema13]

Good Lord that's some bad luck.

Unfortunately, I have no advice on my end, except I hope that your luck turns around -- and listen to lazymed, who clearly knows what s/he's talking about...

--> for you.

Man, I feel like you should reasonably be able to sue AMCAS if you don't get into medical school. Not that normal people have time to sue large organizations. But still. This is just ridiculous.

Haha i know right?! I will take lazy's advice and email schools. Thanks for sending some luck my way, apparently i really need it! Sadly, luck is a much bigger factor than it should be in this process

 

[sjdsn135]

Wow I feel so bad for you, I think you may need to call all of your schools and maybe even request a transcript be sent to each school individually. If you tell this story to the admissions front desk people they will probably be shocked and do whatever they can to fix this. A mistake like that just isn't right.

Haha i know right?! I will take lazy's advice and email schools. Thanks for sending some luck my way, apparently i really need it! Sadly, luck is a much bigger factor than it should be in this process

 

[thoffen]

I think you need to call all of your schools. You could potentially ask them to hold your application (don't mark it as "complete") until your change request goes through.

 

[miiki21]

I'd absolutely contact the schools - keep the email short and just explain that there is an issue with your GPA that should be corrected soon. I mis-entered information with one of my schools, called them, and had a very nice, understanding conversation with one of their assistant deans. It's good to be proactive in these things.

 

[Vihsadas]

I would absolutely call the schools too. Keep the email/convo with the school short and sweet though. Just say that the class was mis-marked as an F, and that AMCAS should be updating it shortly. Some schools keep old apps on file, so you might want to mention that as well (they can check against last year).
GL.

 

[daniellema13]

Well i'm glad i ended up sending an email to my schools cause it looks like everyone agrees it was a good idea

Thanks for all the advice. Schools were very receptive and most of them got back to me right away saying they'd put the note in my file. My problem is STILL not fixed, but i spoke with someone at AMCAS who assures me they are on it

The only reason i really debated was because according to one lady it could take a while to fix, and i sort of didnt want to be put on hold and put myself at a disadvantage, on the other hand i'd rather be reviewed with my correct GPA.

Anyway what's done is done, hopefully it works in my favor.

 

[ElisaBailey]

daniella, i've been following your tragic story and just wanted to know the outcome! did they fix your app? did they promise to update the schools asap? hope all's well now!!!!

 

[daniellema13]

all is well