How do med-schools use AMCAAS?

[PreMedPrincess]

So you send in grades/scores/recommendations letters etc. in to AMCAAS and the respective med-school weeds out students based on what? I know its kind of a vague question but I really want to know how it works.

Is it like undergrad where they put the students with certain gpas and scores in a "up for review" file and their counterparts in the "not accepted" file?

In other words, how many steps does it take for med-schools to make a decision to give you an interview?

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[Isoprop]

generally you send in your primary app, they do a initial screening and send you a secondary app. you fill that out and send that in. then they go through your file in detail and decide whether to interview or not. after the interview, they add or subtract from your score and send out acceptances, waitlists, and rejections based on your "rank" after the interview along with other subjective factors (personality, maturity, etc).

this varies from school to school.

 

[Isoprop]

i should mention that schools vary on how much screening they do before sending you a secondary. some schools will automatically send out secondaries to everybody. some schools do some weeding before sending secondaries. however, the common denominator of most schools is that they go in depth into your file once you send them your secondaries.

also, they have a good idea of who they are going to invite before you interview. don't get me wrong, interviews are important, but you should basically see your interview as a "don't screw up" hurdle. a mediocre applicant who interviews well won't likely get in. a good applicant who has a mediocre interview still has a good chance.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

So you send in grades/scores/recommendations letters etc. in to AMCAAS and the respective med-school weeds out students based on what? I know its kind of a vague question but I really want to know how it works.

Is it like undergrad where they put the students with certain gpas and scores in a "up for review" file and their counterparts in the "not accepted" file?

In other words, how many steps does it take for med-schools to make a decision to give you an interview?

Schools vary in how they use Amcas, quite a few will only consider Aamcas info when determining if an interview will be offered, Mayo doesn't even have a written secondary, they only look at the primary. (technically, I understand that the phone interview is considered their secondary) For many schools, updates sent after the Aamcas primary are not considered, such as supplemental extracurriculars, explanations of things not known when the Aamcas is submitted, etc. One school mentioned being interested (and reviewing the Aamcas primary to see about) future courses a student intended to pursue, as plans to take biochem and genetics next fall would mean the student will be better prepared for med school.

Finally, extracurriculars..definitely a good thing to include ALL of them on the primary, as much of the screening is done pre-secondary. Some schools that accept a secondary still consider the primary as the main point of info. (found out about this when an admissions office asked for an explanation of a weakness that was clearly addressed in that school's secondary essay section)