- Joined
- Jul 10, 2001
- Messages
- 160
- Reaction score
- 0
I was about to call AMCAS today to check on my application status, and something dawned on me. Over and over again on this message board people have posted notes on how they have spent hours on the phone waiting to talk to "specialists" at AMCAS. Other people talk about sending e-mails, and still others talk about actually going to the AMCAS office (!) to talk to the people in person. Though I too share in your frustration over the current state of the application process, I have come to the decision that maybe these methods of self-expression to AMCAS are counterproductive.
There are only so many people working at the AMCAS office right now. They can only do so much. It is not the "specialists" fault the computer system failed miserably. However, they are extremely back-logged right now, and it will take many hours of work to get our application out. The extreme number of calls, emails, and visits will only take the employees away from processing our applications. In an ideal world, for the money we are paying them, they should have more employees to deal with these problems. However, we have to live in reality. We have to deal with the system that is currently set up if any of us want to attend med school next year. And to help them out and expedite the entire process, we need to give the specialists a break.
I understand that we do need to contact them to check and see if our application is complete and to report any problems. However, people, please be conservative about this. It is to your own advantage. Don't call everyday to see if your transcripts are in. Read the FAQ's section before sending a question. Use this message board to find previously discussed problems. There are a lot of things we can do to help them (and consequently help ourselves). Any other suggestions on how to help them out.
As I stated before, I share in your disgust and angst with the current state of the application process. However, they are not being discriminatory--we are all in the same boat. So it really doesn't affect our chances of getting into school. Take a deep breath, enjoy the summer, and give them a couple weeks to get caught up. We all gave them a lot of money, and where it went is questionable (especially since this is a non profit institution), but complaining about it now really won't speed things up. But before you take it out on the specialists, and take them away from processing the applications, remember that you are hurting yourself and everyone else.
There are only so many people working at the AMCAS office right now. They can only do so much. It is not the "specialists" fault the computer system failed miserably. However, they are extremely back-logged right now, and it will take many hours of work to get our application out. The extreme number of calls, emails, and visits will only take the employees away from processing our applications. In an ideal world, for the money we are paying them, they should have more employees to deal with these problems. However, we have to live in reality. We have to deal with the system that is currently set up if any of us want to attend med school next year. And to help them out and expedite the entire process, we need to give the specialists a break.
I understand that we do need to contact them to check and see if our application is complete and to report any problems. However, people, please be conservative about this. It is to your own advantage. Don't call everyday to see if your transcripts are in. Read the FAQ's section before sending a question. Use this message board to find previously discussed problems. There are a lot of things we can do to help them (and consequently help ourselves). Any other suggestions on how to help them out.
As I stated before, I share in your disgust and angst with the current state of the application process. However, they are not being discriminatory--we are all in the same boat. So it really doesn't affect our chances of getting into school. Take a deep breath, enjoy the summer, and give them a couple weeks to get caught up. We all gave them a lot of money, and where it went is questionable (especially since this is a non profit institution), but complaining about it now really won't speed things up. But before you take it out on the specialists, and take them away from processing the applications, remember that you are hurting yourself and everyone else.
