2008-2009 AMCAS Questions Thread

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kgargar said:
I would actually disagree with many posters here. i think that the activity descriptions are not a place for bullett points. many applicants have similar activities, and medical schools don't really care which activities you have been a part of, but rather what these activities have meant to you. if you have very lofty accomplishments, that is fine, but shorter statements elucidating what you enjoyed from the activities and what you learned from them tells your future interviewers a lot more than jus thte simple fact that you volunteered in a hospital. heck, everyone has volunteered in a hospital. Make sure that you are honest in these, but at the same time, talk about the subjective part of the experience along with the objective
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I am only getting 300 characters out of 1325 per activity! What about everyone else?

This guy got into Northwestern with a 23 MCAT... he had some detailed descriptions:

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=5028
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Hey guys, hopefully someone can help me out. I graduated last spring with a B.S., and I'm currently taking a class as a non-matriculated post-bacc at the same institution as my undergrad. So do I make another completely new university entry for my postbacc work? Because I don't see an option to select PB (postbacc) status from the FR, SO, JR, SR drop-down menu for my undergrad work. Anyway, thanks a lot!!
 
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can we write shadowing Dr. House as an EC, i have accumulated alot of hours from that over the years.
 
This question may not belong in this forum but it's a question concerning the AMCAS.

As a reapplicant this year, when I'm selecting the medical schools, what exactly qualifies me as a reapplicant to that school? Is it sending the school my AMCAS application? Passing the school's pre-secondary screening? Completing the school's secondary?

Anyone know? LizzyM? Thanks! =)
 
ekchang said:
This question may not belong in this forum but it's a question concerning the AMCAS.

As a reapplicant this year, when I'm selecting the medical schools, what exactly qualifies me as a reapplicant to that school? Is it sending the school my AMCAS application? Passing the school's pre-secondary screening? Completing the school's secondary?

Anyone know? LizzyM? Thanks! =)
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If you send them your primary application.
 
Does anyone know how long it takes for Interfolio to receive and process recommendations that have been snail mailed?
 
TheElement said:
Does anyone know how long it takes for Interfolio to receive and process recommendations that have been snail mailed?
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ehhh Iwouldnt trust it..I had a LOR writer send a letter in september and she ended up getting it back all mangled in february!!!
 
ChubbyChaser said:
ehhh Iwouldnt trust it..I had a LOR writer send a letter in september and she ended up getting it back all mangled in february!!!
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I'll second that. I have one that was supposedly sent weeks ago. Still haven't seen it, and I feel bad for trying to make sure it was sent and done correctly.
 
I have recommended short descriptions and bullet points based on responses I've gotten from about 8 experienced application readers (med school faculty members who do this as a committee assignment) who complained bitterly that the descriptions are longer than they used to be yet not more informative.

You may think that how your experience made you feel is unique but read http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=523722 to discover that almost everyone has the same reflections on common activities.
 
At my school we had a mock admissions committee meeting (with actual readers from the associated top 20 med school) to get an idea of what they look for in the applications. All three of the readers said that they prefer paragraph style and that they like to see what you get out of each experience. Needless to say, that's what I'm doing!
 
franniemeow07 said:
Hey guys, hopefully someone can help me out. I graduated last spring with a B.S., and I'm currently taking a class as a non-matriculated post-bacc at the same institution as my undergrad. So do I make another completely new university entry for my postbacc work? Because I don't see an option to select PB (postbacc) status from the FR, SO, JR, SR drop-down menu for my undergrad work. Anyway, thanks a lot!!
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Is it through an "Extension" or "Extended Education" program at your school? I did the same thing...took another bio class at the same university I got my B.S. at, but it was through the university's extension program and therefore was a completely different entity. In fact, the main registrar doesn't even have my transcripts from that, I have to go the Extension office.

If it's not through an extension program at your school, I'm not sure.
 
Hey guys I wanted your advice on something --

My school ends late, do you think I should wait until after I get my spring semester grades to complete/submit my AMCAS or just get it in ASAP? This will be my second year applying.

(My apologies if this is a repost)
 
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Pedsbro said:
Is it through an "Extension" or "Extended Education" program at your school? I did the same thing...took another bio class at the same university I got my B.S. at, but it was through the university's extension program and therefore was a completely different entity. In fact, the main registrar doesn't even have my transcripts from that, I have to go the Extension office.

If it's not through an extension program at your school, I'm not sure.
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Nope, not through an extension program--just the regular undergrad classes.
Bump?
 
ChubbyChaser said:
ehhh Iwouldnt trust it..I had a LOR writer send a letter in september and she ended up getting it back all mangled in february!!!
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WHAT??

Are there any success stories? I would like to hear one before I go nuts...
 
TheElement said:
WHAT??

Are there any success stories? I would like to hear one before I go nuts...
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Took them about a week for me. My school sent my packet of letters through snail mail to Interfolio.
 
LizzyM said:
I have recommended short descriptions and bullet points based on responses I've gotten from about 8 experienced application readers (med school faculty members who do this as a committee assignment) who complained bitterly that the descriptions are longer than they used to be yet not more informative.

You may think that how your experience made you feel is unique but read http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=523722 to discover that almost everyone has the same reflections on common activities.
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Conciseness is a lot skill. People think that long, passive voice sentences make them sound more educated. It only bores the hell out of the reader. I am concerned if my descriptions are longer than 2 sentences. It is essentially a bullet point in paragraph form. If I add more than that, I feel like I am padding the description.
 
Just looking into AMCAS now. Wondering if summer courses count towards my cumulative? Sorry if this is a silly question, they didn't count towards the OMSAS (Ontario version of the AMCAS).
 
Yes. Every course you take at an accredited post-secondary institution counts for AMCAS (if you received credit hours for it).
 
Thank you.

Second question, do I have to figure out my BCPM, or do the schools do that for me?

Third question, for the hell of it: Is Orga mandatory for all med schools in the US? Can I take it for next year if I apply during this cycle?
 
Begaster said:
Thank you.

Second question, do I have to figure out my BCPM, or do the schools do that for me?

Third question, for the hell of it: Is Orga mandatory for all med schools in the US? Can I take it for next year if I apply during this cycle?
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It is calculated for you by AMCAS with your transcript grades and course classifications.

Yes, Organic is required for all med schools in the US (at least that I know of). Not only that but the Biological Sciences section of the MCAT includes Biology and Organic Chemistry. Theoretically you can still apply this cycle if you haven't taken Organic, but then that means you won't have had Organic before the MCAT, which is not a good thing.
 
Begaster said:
Thank you.

Second question, do I have to figure out my BCPM, or do the schools do that for me?

Third question, for the hell of it: Is Orga mandatory for all med schools in the US? Can I take it for next year if I apply during this cycle?
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Org chem is mandatory for all the med schools I've seen...maybe there's one or two that don't, but I wouldn't count on it. I would highly recommend taking all your prereq courses (including o-chem) before applying. A few schools might let you get away with taking it while you're applying, but they would also probably want continuous updates on it and more than likely will put your app on hold until you complete it. So again, don't try it. Take o-chem before you applying.

BCPM GPA is determined by AMCAS. You designate your classes accordingly (bio, chem, physics, math) when you enter them in AMCS, and then they'll verify these and assign a GPA based on just those classes you designated as BCPM.
 
chad5871 said:
It is calculated for you by AMCAS with your transcript grades and course classifications.

Yes, Organic is required for all med schools in the US (at least that I know of). Not only that but the Biological Sciences section of the MCAT includes Biology and Organic Chemistry. Theoretically you can still apply this cycle if you haven't taken Organic, but then that means you won't have had Organic before the MCAT, which is not a good thing.
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👍Yeah, good point about the MCAT. O-chem isn't really something you want to study on your own without having taken it in college.
 
chad5871 said:
It is calculated for you by AMCAS with your transcript grades and course classifications.

Yes, Organic is required for all med schools in the US (at least that I know of). Not only that but the Biological Sciences section of the MCAT includes Biology and Organic Chemistry. Theoretically you can still apply this cycle if you haven't taken Organic, but then that means you won't have had Organic before the MCAT, which is not a good thing.
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I scored a 36 on my MCAT, so it's not an issue for me. I've already applied once for Ontario schools, but have been waitlisted on all three and am not anticipating enough movement to get in. I have also finished my undergrad degree in psychology, as of April. I have done bio, chem, maths, physics, just not orga.

I'm in a peculiar situation, because I would like to reapply to U of Toronto, but to get their weighted GPA formula, I need to have a full five courses per year, every year (or 10 half-courses, or any combination thereof). Yet, I do not want to do a fifth full year of undergrad - it would cause me to want to hang myself. That means if I take orga on its own, I do so by sacrificing my ability to reapply to Toronto. So, please bear with me as I ask a myriad of obscenely stupid questions.

Perhaps I can take orga over the summer. Except I'm teaching a fair bit this summer for TPR, so I'm not sure I'll have the time. Ugh.
 
Begaster said:
I scored a 36 on my MCAT, so it's not an issue for me. I've already applied once for Ontario schools, but have been waitlisted on all three and am not anticipating enough movement to get in. I have also finished my undergrad degree in psychology, as of April. I have done bio, chem, maths, physics, just not orga.

I'm in a peculiar situation, because I would like to reapply to U of Toronto, but to get their weighted GPA formula, I need to have a full five courses per year, every year (or 10 half-courses, or any combination thereof). Yet, I do not want to do a fifth full year of undergrad - it would cause me to want to hang myself. That means if I take orga on its own, I do so by sacrificing my ability to reapply to Toronto. So, please bear with me as I ask a myriad of obscenely stupid questions.

Perhaps I can take orga over the summer. Except I'm teaching a fair bit this summer for TPR, so I'm not sure I'll have the time. Ugh.
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I know nothing about the Canadian system, sorry. That's a crappy rule... I suppose you have to weigh your chances of getting into Toronto compared with taking o-chem and being able to realistically expect success in applying to US med schools. Bottomline is I would not apply to US med schools without having taken O-chem, and if you want to try to take it while you're applying to US schools, email all of them you're interested in and see what they say about taking a prereq while you're applying. Good luck.
 
Most the rules in the Canadian system are crappy. Or maybe I'm just bitter for being rejected.

Either way, looks like I'm in for an interesting ride trying to figure out what the hell to do. Hurray!

Now I just need to make a list of potential schools who take Canadians.

Question: I hear you guys have rolling admissions. How early should I be aiming for? Would early to mid-June be fine?
 
Begaster said:
Most the rules in the Canadian system are crappy. Or maybe I'm just bitter for being rejected.

Either way, looks like I'm in for an interesting ride trying to figure out what the hell to do. Hurray!

Now I just need to make a list of potential schools who take Canadians.

Question: I hear you guys have rolling admissions. How early should I be aiming for? Would early to mid-June be fine?
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Congrats on the sweet MCAT! Well, some of our schools have rolling admissions and some do not. I'm not exactly sure which do, but I'm sure you can figure it out by doing some searching around the forums or each school's website. Early to mid-June is considered early - most schools don't start reviewing applications until July anyway.
 
Question on Combining Activites:

I have been involved with one organization in several different cities and in several different ways over the past 4 years. (some years I was volunteering with it every week, some years I was volunteering with it only on a few weekends that year). I want to combine all my involvements with this organization into one EC entry.

Is it okay to leave both the location AND the hours per week blank? (I plan to explain both in the description box)

Should I list the location that I volunteered the most instead of leaving it blank?
 
I just have a quick question. I'd like to apply early, but I have a volunteer position that I want to add to my ECs, but I won't be starting it until mid to late June. Should I enter that in my ECs and just state that I'll be starting it in late June? I'd rather not just have to leave it out all together.
 
Another question regarding an extracurricular: I currently have a job as a Research Assistant with a clinical research group in the Department of Psychiatry. In that position I get to interview patients for studies (one-on-one), manage my patients for follow-ups, work with physicians, work on data compilation and analysis, review submitted manuscripts for journals, help compose manuscripts for submission, and other administrative work involved with research.

In the description for this experience should I describe each of the projects I am working on and my role in them, or should I just name off what each one is. I'm a bit concerned about reaching the character limit for this activity but it has been one of the most meaningful to me and I'd like to be as detailed as possible because I think the research I am involved with is very relevant. Any ideas?
 
There's a "Current/Future" option when putting in courses on the AMCAS application. Is anyone taking advantage of this? I'm finishing my degree before going to medical school so I do have some classes left to take, and I was thinking about putting them in "Course Work," but does it really matter? I could theoretically put every class in future work, so do adcoms really give a rip about what I'm planning to take?
 
You should put all of the courses you plan on taking in the future, no more, no less. Adcoms want to see what sort of coursework you'll have under your belt before you come to their school.
 
amcas year in school question:

year 1: at my university
year 2: at my university
year 3: fall - doing study abroad for credit
spring- took a semester off to work
year 4: at my university
**now**
year5: will graduate in the spring.

I listed year 1 and 2 as regular freshman and sophmore. I listed fall of year 3 as junior year. Do I list fall of year 4 as my junior year too?

Thanks!!
 
pinkblue said:
amcas year in school question:

year 1: at my university
year 2: at my university
year 3: fall - doing study abroad for credit
spring- took a semester off to work
year 4: at my university
**now**
year5: will graduate in the spring.

I listed year 1 and 2 as regular freshman and sophmore. I listed fall of year 3 as junior year. Do I list fall of year 4 as my junior year too?

Thanks!!
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If in doubt, try the unit count approach. If at the beginning of year 4 you had over 91 semester units/hours, count it as senior year. Otherwise, just leave it as junior year.
 
Hey all,

Question regarding classifying the courses..

I have two classes that I have difficulty categorizing:

(1) Emotional Function of the Brain. Though it sounds like a psychology class, it was pretty intense on biology (brain neural pathway, brain anatomy, brain signaling). Because of the title of the course, I'm concerned AMCAS would disagree. What are my options in situations like this.

(2) Biomedical Materials and Devices for Human Body Repair. I'm also going to say that this course is either a physics or a biology course. This class is cross listed as a textile and apparel course and as a biomedical engineering class. Any ideas how to classify this?

Thanks!
 
fuzzywuz said:
Hey all,

Question regarding classifying the courses..

I have two classes that I have difficulty categorizing:

(1) Emotional Function of the Brain. Though it sounds like a psychology class, it was pretty intense on biology (brain neural pathway, brain anatomy, brain signaling). Because of the title of the course, I'm concerned AMCAS would disagree. What are my options in situations like this.

(2) Biomedical Materials and Devices for Human Body Repair. I'm also going to say that this course is either a physics or a biology course. This class is cross listed as a textile and apparel course and as a biomedical engineering class. Any ideas how to classify this?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

1- I would call that a biology class. I think you can certainly make a case for it if they argued, but brain function is neuroscience, which is classified under "Biology". I don't think you'll have a problem.

2-That's a stretch to call it physics. You MIGHT get away with biology, but honestly that sounds like biomedical engineering at first glance and therefore you would classify it under "Engineering" in AMCAS.
 
Thanks!

One other question...

Would a course in parasites be part of BCPM? The closest to parasites I found was microbiology, which was listed under Biology...
 
chad5871 said:
Another question regarding an extracurricular: I currently have a job as a Research Assistant with a clinical research group in the Department of Psychiatry. In that position I get to interview patients for studies (one-on-one), manage my patients for follow-ups, work with physicians, work on data compilation and analysis, review submitted manuscripts for journals, help compose manuscripts for submission, and other administrative work involved with research.

In the description for this experience should I describe each of the projects I am working on and my role in them, or should I just name off what each one is. I'm a bit concerned about reaching the character limit for this activity but it has been one of the most meaningful to me and I'd like to be as detailed as possible because I think the research I am involved with is very relevant. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

rather than the name of each project, just give the number of projects and put the emphasis on describing what you do. This migh include telling us about the patient population (age group, special characteristics, diagnosis), the assessment tools you use, and some of the activities that fill your day.
 
xlr8 said:
hi i was wondering if anyone who applied last cycle remembered approximately how long usually after your transcript gets sent out should you expect amcas to be contacting you to tell you they have your transcripts. also, do they email you once they receive them?
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I went through the process last year, from what I recall Aamcas "received" the transcripts typically 2-6 business days after a school said they mailed them (I had experience with sending transcripts the 6 schools where I've either earned a degree or taken a few college classes). I don't remember any e-mails from Amcas stating the transcript was received, I went on the Aamcas web site and checked, they were posted pretty fast.
 
AMCAS says "Within each term, list the courses in the order in which they appear on the official transcript." I forgot to add my AP classes (which go in as 1st semester freshman year) before I added my actual freshman year classes, so they appear after even though on my transcript they appear before.

Is there a way to rearrange courses or do I need to delete all of my first semester freshman classes and then re-enter them so they appear after my AP classes?

Thanks
 
fuzzywuz said:
Thanks!

One other question...

Would a course in parasites be part of BCPM? The closest to parasites I found was microbiology, which was listed under Biology...
Click to expand...

Definitely. I took a Parasitology class in college and put that under "Biology" the last time I applied...no problems.
 
For the transcript request form, did you sign your name under signature or is it the academic institution's signature? Furthermore, what do you put down for Amount?
 
LizzyM said:
rather than the name of each project, just give the number of projects and put the emphasis on describing what you do. This migh include telling us about the patient population (age group, special characteristics, diagnosis), the assessment tools you use, and some of the activities that fill your day.
Click to expand...
Great - that's just what I needed to know. Thank you so much!
 
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