I just called AMCAAS and wanted to share something

[sc4s2cg]

That most of you here probably knew, but:

Apparently whether a class fits under the sciences or cumulative GPA is up to you the student, due to, according to the representative, the result of medical schools. The reasoning is that only the student knows what was really taught in the class and whether it was science oriented or no. The only time a change will be made is if "an obvious" class is listed under science.

I had no idea. I thought the decision is made based upon the department the class is under, or the title of the class. The representative specifically mentioned these two options as not being the way that classes are categorized. Interesting.

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[RogueUnicorn]

no that person is wrong. the amcas folks will reclassify a course as it sees fit when it goes through your transcript.

 

[wanderer]

no that person is wrong. the amcas folks will reclassify a course as it sees fit when it goes through your transcript.

Yea but if a course is borderline, they probably won't change it.

 

[medbound13]

So would computer science be put under there if you wanted it to be?

 

[NickNaylor]

So would computer science be put under there if you wanted it to be?

Can you read? You don't get to choose where it goes. AMCAS determines where it goes and will change your selection accordingly.

 

[movax]

So would computer science be put under there if you wanted it to be?

A lot of upper-level comp sci is practically mathematics, so I personally would not feel guilty or unethical about listing those courses as math. (Algos, AI, graph theory, crypto...all about the math). I think this time around I might try to list Digital Signal Processing and Communication Systems as math, and Semiconductor Physics as physics, as opposed to leaving them as pure-EE courses. I might be able to get away with the physics one, but the AMCAS minions will probably laugh and change the previous two back to engineering.

Chances are good however, that AMCAS will see the 'CS' and immediately reclass it for you, which sucks. Doesn't hurt to try though.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

That most of you here probably knew, but:

Apparently whether a class fits under the sciences or cumulative GPA is up to you the student, due to, according to the representative, the result of medical schools. The reasoning is that only the student knows what was really taught in the class and whether it was science oriented or no. The only time a change will be made is if "an obvious" class is listed under science.

I had no idea. I thought the decision is made based upon the department the class is under, or the title of the class. The representative specifically mentioned these two options as not being the way that classes are categorized. Interesting.

I think this is more geared towards the vague classes that aren't necessarily/clearly one or the other. eg: "the science of writing" (or something like that)--it's likely a writing course, but if for some reason it emphasized say "the scientific method" and a bunch of other "science" concepts, then sure it's a science course.

I doubt you'd get away with classifying a Humanities course as a science course, and that type of thing...

 

[phltz]

I had several classes that were crosslisted under both the computer science and the math departments, and one that was offered by the mechanical engineering department but which covered material that straddled physics, math, and computer science. I resolved these ambiguities so as to improve my average. AMCAS didn't seem to have any problems with my categorizations. It's worth noting that my main undergrad institution doesn't clearly indicate on a transcript what department each course is offered under. Use your judgment. I would say that a straight-up programming class is definitely computer science and not math. An algorithms class is pretty mathy, and so it could be worth categorizing it as math. Worst case they change it back to CS. A class in, say, cryptography should certainly be categorizable as math.

 

[Catalystik]

If AMCAS changes it and you feel their decision is incorrect, you can appeal the decision by sending in a course description from the catalog.

 

[moxche]

Can you read? You don't get to choose where it goes. AMCAS determines where it goes and will change your selection accordingly.

I accidentally listed something very obvious like "Molecular Biology" as a social science (or whatever the category was called) and AMCAS left it alone. So yes, you pretty much do get to choose and no, they don't always change it accordingly. I had to get in touch with them to fix the mistake once I spotted it.

 

[nfo2010]

The person you spoke to knows what they're talking about and is correct (it is their job, after all). According to a document my pre-med adviser compiled from AMCAS sources and years in the business, "AMCAS relies on students to make the call, but they also reserve the right to question calls they deem doubtful..." In addition, "Students may also include courses [as BCPM courses] that reasonably fall into BCPM categories based on their content. The following criteria should be followed for doing so: 80% or more of the course material is BCPM subject matter, taught as such."

This really is the only way they can do it as there's so much ambiguity in class designations at various schools that they'd never get anything done if they changed borderline classifications based on what they thought best and then had to put up with all the challenges and appeals from thousands of pre-meds.

 

[DocBell]

I accidentally listed something very obvious like "Molecular Biology" as a social science (or whatever the category was called) and AMCAS left it alone. So yes, you pretty much do get to choose and no, they don't always change it accordingly. I had to get in touch with them to fix the mistake once I spotted it.

Key word being always. I accidentally classified a course as a natural science and AMCAS reclassified it as physics. I would guess it depends on the reviewer.

 

[Long Way to Go]

Key word being always. I accidentally classified a course as a natural science and AMCAS reclassified it as physics. I would guess it depends on the reviewer.

Err, isn't physics a natural science?

 

[startswithb]

Imagine how many former psychology or communications majors are sitting in a cubicle reading through all our crap all day...

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Can you read? You don't get to choose where it goes. AMCAS determines where it goes and will change your selection accordingly.

Unless they changed the rules, the applicant lists courses based on content, not title or department. Under this system, BSKT 101 (Intro to Basket Weaving) clearly isn't science, but BSKT 508 (Thermodynamics Principles of Basket Weaving) could be listed as chemistry or physics. AMCAS can redesignate courses at its discretion.

 

[DocBell]

Err, isn't physics a natural science?

Amcas has a natural/physical science designation for geology, animal science, ect and then physics designation for astronomy and physics.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I'm still going to put all my psyc classes that I think should be under "science" such as biopsyc, sensation/perception, psychopharmacology, cog. neurosci., and stats and advanced stats. If they say no, I'll just appeal. If that doesn't work at least I tried.

 

[nfo2010]

I'm still going to put all my psyc classes that I think should be under "science" such as biopsyc, sensation/perception, psychopharmacology, cog. neurosci., and stats and advanced stats. If they say no, I'll just appeal. If that doesn't work at least I tried.

Worked for me. I think I had five psych classes all like yours that didn't scream BCPM but based on content I felt they deserved to be counted as such. End result = their inclusion bumped my science GPA up from a 3.4 to a 3.5, I got accepted to a few medical schools, and now I'm looking back with satisfaction that I took the time to double check with my adviser.

 

[gettheleadout]

Unless they changed the rules, the applicant lists courses based on content, not title or department. Under this system, BSKT 101 (Intro to Basket Weaving) clearly isn't science, but BSKT 508 (Thermodynamics Principles of Basket Weaving) could be listed as chemistry or physics. AMCAS can redesignate courses at its discretion.

lmao I love this...perfect explanation

 

[AlexB]

you should delete this thread right away.