Copy and Paste

[CarolinaGirl]

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So I read somewhere that it is not good to copy and paste your PS into amcas. Is this really true, what happens if you do it? If you do this and print out your app. would you see it like adcoms do and therefore would know if something go messed up?

Do we really have to retype it in??😕

 

[whatintheworld?]

You just have to be careful. Some of the punctuation does not come out the same. So, you can copy and paste as long as you proofread well.

 

[DocBR]

Sometimes the formatting of various word processors do not transfer over.

So in effect, while the text transfers it can become difficult/annoying to read. IMO it is worth the extra 10 minutes it will take you type it in, thus ensuring it is added and read correctly.

For an example of this effect you can copy some microsoft word documents that have special formating or symbol options into a .txt document. Somethings will come out all funky.

 

[variablistic]

If you do decide to copy and paste, the big thing to look out for is apostrophes. They'll show up as squares...

 

[boodthedog]

Save your word document as a rich text format (.rtf). This is the basic ascii (I'm guessing on that one) that will avoid the funny formatting that programs such as word use. Still double check, but this usually works. It's a good idea to do this any time you're copying and pasting into something else, like an email for example.

 

[linuxizer]

Save your word document as a rich text format (.rtf). This is the basic ascii (I'm guessing on that one).

A text document (.TXT) is basic ASCII. RTF still contains formatting codes that you don't want to deal with. Save it as a .TXT, then open that .TXT file in Notepad or another text-only editor like SciTE (freely available over the Internet), then copy/paste from there to AMCAS, then proof like crazy.

Ari

 

[Darjeeling]

I was super careful, but something went funky with the spaces. It thought I had one too many characters, and it bumped off the FINAL PERIOD of my essay. I somehow missed it... and when I later went to print the submitted application for my records, I saw it and freaked out. I was calling my premed advisor, having mini heart attacks every time I thought about it- til I realized that there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.
So, every school I applied to is under the impression that my experiences:

will harmonize to make me the whole doctor I aspire to be

and that's just the way it is. 🙁