Background Check Question

[Arzt67]

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I'm currently waitlisted at two schools and I received an e-mail about a background check request (I already had one requested a few months ago for the other school I was accepted at). I noticed that AMCAS does background checks starting in May for people on waitlists, but does not disclose the results to the schools until they give an acceptance. Could this be why I got the e-mail or do I have another acceptance coming soon?

I also can't seem to spell the word question 🙁

 

[phospho]

I'm currently waitlisted at two schools and I received an e-mail about a background check request (I already had one requested a few months ago for the other school I was accepted at). I noticed that AMCAS does background checks starting in May for people on waitlists, but does not disclose the results to the schools until they give an acceptance. Could this be why I got the e-mail or do I have another acceptance coming soon?

I also can't seem to spell the word question 🙁

You answered your own question - you got the email because AMCAS starts doing background checks for people on the waitlist at this time of the year. If you were getting an acceptance, you would have gotten it, since they usually call or email you right on the spot. At this point in the game, there's no logical reason for them to "wait" before they notify you about your acceptance.

 

[Arzt67]

I wasn't sure if they would give me an email saying a school requested the check if I was only on a waitlist. I know one of the schools, LSU-New Orleans, only really communicates by snail-mail.

 

[phospho]

I wasn't sure if they would give me an email saying a school requested the check if I was only on a waitlist. I know one of the schools, LSU-New Orleans, only really communicates by snail-mail.

why wouldn't they tell you that the school is the one that requested the background check? why would AMCAS care about whether you get a background check or not? They have nothing to do with this particular process. They just listen to what the schools tell them.

It's the school that requests a background check, whether it's for waitlist purposes, or for acceptance purposes.

 

[DisDude7]

I received three of those emails this morning, not sure what to think of them. I am in the same position as you, already had a bg check from another school.

 

[DisDude7]

Sounds like all waitlisted students should have received the same email. Can anyone help us confirm?

 

[Excelsius]

I'm currently waitlisted at two schools and I received an e-mail about a background check request (I already had one requested a few months ago for the other school I was accepted at). I noticed that AMCAS does background checks starting in May for people on waitlists, but does not disclose the results to the schools until they give an acceptance. Could this be why I got the e-mail or do I have another acceptance coming soon?

I also can't seem to spell the word question 🙁

According to AMCAS, background checks are NOT granted until an applicant is accepted. So getting a request for your background check is a good thing and might mean that you are close to acceptance.

" ...beginning in May of each year, a national background report will be procured for a subset of applicants who are on a participating school's alternate list; medical schools will not receive such reports until the point of acceptance."

http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/background.htm

 

[LizzyM]

I think (I have no insider information on this topic) that this is done so that you are "ready to go" at a moment's notice if a school chooses to pluck you from the waitlist.

 

[pietachok]

Indeed, there was a bit of a kerfluffle over this b/c FIU's entire waitlist got CBC emails quite some time ago.

During that, it became clear that there is definitely a policy to run the background check on applicants who are essentially "accepted pending space" so as LizzyM said, you are "ready to go." Supposedly there can be a minor difference in the wording of the email depending on whether you are accepted or waitlisted...but it is up to schools to tell AMCAS which type of email you should get, and some seem to always use the "acceptance" version.

It may or may not be indicative of your spot on the waitlist...a school could tell AMCAS to send it out to the whole list or just the top chunk.