Official AMCAS 2008 thread...

[linuxizer]

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Is there going to be an official AMCAS thread? One-off "AMCAS Question" threads are starting to proliferate like bunnies.

My questions:

1. Does shadowing fall under "Volunteering - Medical"? It seems to be the best fit, but it wasn't volunteering, it was shadowing.

2. Just to confirm, grad school math grades don't count in BCPM, right? It'd be great if they did.


--Ari

 

[nycfella]

2. Just to confirm, grad school math grades don't count in BCPM, right? It'd be great if they did.


--Ari

I asked this question a while ago and people told me that if it was taken while in undergrad that it goes towards your BCPM. I guess we'll see if its true...

 

[linuxizer]

I asked this question a while ago and people told me that if it was taken while in undergrad that it goes towards your BCPM. I guess we'll see if its true...

Hm. I took it after having graduated, but not as part of a graduate program. So I guess then it doesn't?

Ari

 

[146233]

Hm. I took it after having graduated, but not as part of a graduate program. So I guess then it doesn't?

If it was listed as a graduate level course, regardless of whether or not you were in a graduate program, then it does not count toward the AMCAS BCPM GPA.

If, however, it was listed as an undergraduate math course, then it counts whether or not you had already graduated.


-z

 

[linuxizer]

If it was listed as a graduate level course, regardless of whether or not you were in a graduate program, then it does not count toward the AMCAS BCPM GPA.
If, however, it was listed as an undergraduate math course, then it counts whether or not you had already graduated.

Well said. Thanks for the clarification. It looks like my BCPM will remain at x.x9. Such is life 🙂

Ari

 

[Aynsl156]

Hi guys,

Thanks for setting up a centralized questions thread.

My question:

I took two courses at Oxford, UK on early modern English literature and history the summer after I graduated from ugrad. These courses were taken with my ugrad institution, and the program I took them through is very well established. The courses were graded pass/fail (automatically), and we received evaluations from our tutors at the end of the course. Oh, and I think the program is more closely affiliated with my institution than Oxford. Anyways, I'm iffy on the transcript protocol in this situation, and I'd appreciate it if anyone could clarify.

 

[Spathi]

I was also wondering on what AMCAS counts A- 's as? Like if your schools counts it as 3.850 but AMCAS will count it as 3.75?

 

[linuxizer]

I was also wondering on what AMCAS counts A- 's as? Like if your schools counts it as 3.850 but AMCAS will count it as 3.75?

My understanding is that AMCAS standardizes all letter grades to the same numerical grade. An A- is a 3.7 I believe. Hurts, don't it? :-/

Ari

 

[linuxizer]

I took two courses at Oxford, UK on early modern English literature and history the summer after I graduated from ugrad. These courses were taken with my ugrad institution, and the program I took them through is very well established. The courses were graded pass/fail (automatically), and we received evaluations from our tutors at the end of the course. Oh, and I think the program is more closely affiliated with my institution than Oxford. Anyways, I'm iffy on the transcript protocol in this situation, and I'd appreciate it if anyone could clarify.

There are two situations in the AMCAS manual that apply here:
* Pass/Fail courses get their letter grade listed as "P" or I believe "N"
* Study abroad courses have a whole section to cover them, so read up 🙂l

Basically, I think you just follow the procedure for study abroad classes, then list the grade as a P.

Ari

 

[CarolinaGirl]

Does any one know how, or if we even can, check to see if AMCAS has received our transcripts? I hope mine will be sent some time in the next ten days but how will I ever know? I just don't it to be mid-june and learn a school still has not done this or somehow they were not received.

 

[DrBowtie]

Does any one know how, or if we even can, check to see if AMCAS has received our transcripts? I hope mine will be sent some time in the next ten days but how will I ever know? I just don't it to be mid-june and learn a school still has not done this or somehow they were not received.

On the main page, under status on the left, click details. It will show you if they've been received.

 

[blargh]

I have a question about the work/activities section. Can we put down a job that we held the summer before freshman year? I know they consider summer school classes to be for the next academic year, so I'm wondering if the same applies to work experience.

 

[linuxizer]

I have a question about the work/activities section. Can we put down a job that we held the summer before freshman year? I know they consider summer school classes to be for the next academic year, so I'm wondering if the same applies to work experience.

I believe the wording is "post-high school," in which case I'd say yes. It's not going to matter too much either way, but I'd say go ahead and put it down. If you want to be sure, you can always call AMCAS (or wait for someone wiser to chip in). They're quite friendly.

Ari

 

[baseball34]

Two questions about AP's Im gonna email amcas but want to hear from you all. 1. I took bio 1 and 2 and calc 1 at my school after having recieved ap credit. The ap courses appear on my transcript with an r for repeat (next to the ap not the actual course) but no credit awarded from the ap's. Do I have to list the ap courses and, if so, how do I mark them, as ap or repeat?
2. Ive read a few other posts on this but its unclear. My school gave me 22 ap creds and my first three semesters are listed as soph status for 45 creds. Do I put it in amcas with ap as the only freshman courses or reassign semesters based on their credit recommendations?

 

[146233]

Two questions about AP's Im gonna email amcas but want to hear from you all. 1. I took bio 1 and 2 and calc 1 at my school after having recieved ap credit. The ap courses appear on my transcript with an r for repeat (next to the ap not the actual course) but no credit awarded from the ap's. Do I have to list the ap courses and, if so, how do I mark them, as ap or repeat?

If they appear on your transcript, then yes, you must list them. I'd just list them as Advanced Placement. If AMCAS wants anything different, they'll change it.

2. Ive read a few other posts on this but its unclear. My school gave me 22 ap creds and my first three semesters are listed as soph status for 45 creds. Do I put it in amcas with ap as the only freshman courses or reassign semesters based on their credit recommendations?

AMCAS tells you to list all AP courses as Freshman. Beyond that, you list semester status based on what your school assigned you. The 'credit recommendations' are mainly for people who have multiple schools or were out of school for some period. Don't sweat this; semester status is probably the last thing that will trip you up during verification.


Best of luck,
-z

 

[goosie]

Hi guys,

My school doesn't do "credit hours"- if you take the class, regardless of how many hours it is, the class is 1 credit (sucks that labs count as much as everything else!)

Do I just report everything as 1 credit hour and hope that med schools are smart enough to figure out my schools stupid system? or do I need to go through and figure out how many hours I was in each class?

 

[phomp]

So in the AMCAS, each class must be entered for a particular school. Which school would the AP credits count for? I attended junior college before transferring to University. So would I put it in under my JC or my University or is there a way to list the high school?

thx!

 

[Doc Henry]

If I apply in June without MCAT scores I know I will get the secondaries from schools who don't screen...but will schools that DO screen wait for my MCAT scores????

Thx

 

[linuxizer]

So in the AMCAS, each class must be entered for a particular school. Which school would the AP credits count for? I attended junior college before transferring to University. So would I put it in under my JC or my University or is there a way to list the high school?

thx!

You can only list APs that are acknowledged on a transcript. Enter them for whatever transcript they are on. If both, I guess just pick one.

Ari

 

[IUgrad]

This is such a stupid question that I'm almost too embarrassed to post it... 😳

On my transcripts all of my courses are written in all caps and the titles are very abbreviated (i.e., PUB ISS 20TH CEN FRNC). It states in the 2008 AMCAS instructions manual "Enter the exact course name in English..." However, it later states that in text fields it is preferable to write neither in all caps nor in all undercase. Although I do realize that this instruction is more for essays and short answers, I still thought it might be much easier to read if they were written in other than all caps.

I'm new to this, so I don't know how big of sticklers they are for things like this or if I am just being silly (tend to get hung up on semantics). Do you think it would be acceptable to write the course names in a more readable format or should I just copy/paste directly from my e-transcripts?

Thanks for your help. Again, sorry about how lame this question is, especially in light of all the worthwhile questions above...

 

[Nokternal7]

On my transcripts all of my courses are written in all caps and the titles are very abbreviated (i.e., PUB ISS 20TH CEN FRNC). It states in the 2008 AMCAS instructions manual "Enter the exact course name in English..."

My courses are also very abbreviated, to the extent that it could be hard to decipher the names of some them. I feel bad writing "INTRO EPI&PUBHLTH" for example.

 

[ilovelucy]

I am also confused about the abbreviations. Do we enter them just as they are, or do we decode them into their proper names.

Also, for the course number, if the school uses letters and numbers such as: ANTH 201 do we type "ANTH" as well for the course number?


Ahhh, this is so frustrating. 😳

 

[blargh]

here's a stupid question: does amcas show up a calculated GPA before submitting? do we ever get to see it?

 

[spanamit]

Not before. It shows it once the application is submitted and verified.

 

[blargh]

This is such a stupid question that I'm almost too embarrassed to post it... 😳

On my transcripts all of my courses are written in all caps and the titles are very abbreviated (i.e., PUB ISS 20TH CEN FRNC). It states in the 2008 AMCAS instructions manual "Enter the exact course name in English..." However, it later states that in text fields it is preferable to write neither in all caps nor in all undercase. Although I do realize that this instruction is more for essays and short answers, I still thought it might be much easier to read if they were written in other than all caps.

I'm new to this, so I don't know how big of sticklers they are for things like this or if I am just being silly (tend to get hung up on semantics). Do you think it would be acceptable to write the course names in a more readable format or should I just copy/paste directly from my e-transcripts?

Thanks for your help. Again, sorry about how lame this question is, especially in light of all the worthwhile questions above...

my courses were also horribly abbreviated on my transcript. if i were you, i'd look up the nicely written out course name in your school's course catalog.

one more question: if i decline to put down my race, will they still know my ethnicity based on my name? i don't know if listing my race and #siblings will help or hurt here.

 

[ParvatiP]

Hi guys,

My school doesn't do "credit hours"- if you take the class, regardless of how many hours it is, the class is 1 credit (sucks that labs count as much as everything else!)

Do I just report everything as 1 credit hour and hope that med schools are smart enough to figure out my schools stupid system? or do I need to go through and figure out how many hours I was in each class?

My school is the same way and my premed advisor told us to enter our classes in as 1 credit and AMCAS would have some sort of conversion chart and determine how many credit hours it was worth.
Also, you can mark a course as lab/lecture if separate credit isn't awarded.

 

[OncDoc19]

If it was listed as a graduate level course, regardless of whether or not you were in a graduate program, then it does not count toward the AMCAS BCPM GPA.

If, however, it was listed as an undergraduate math course, then it counts whether or not you had already graduated.


-z

I'm confused by this and I tried looking through the AMCAS guide but found nothing. Are you saying that if I take a graduate level science course in undergrad that this won't count towards my BCPM?

 

[Surf Rx]

I am also confused about the abbreviations. Do we enter them just as they are, or do we decode them into their proper names.

Also, for the course number, if the school uses letters and numbers such as: ANTH 201 do we type "ANTH" as well for the course number?


Ahhh, this is so frustrating. 😳

For the course number, you would put in "ANTH 201" just like it is on your transcript. For the course name, enter in the entire course name as it appears on your course catalogs (e.g. Underwater Basket Weaving instead of UBaskWeav)

 

[olemissbabydoc]

my courses were also horribly abbreviated on my transcript. if i were you, i'd look up the nicely written out course name in your school's course catalog.

one more question: if i decline to put down my race, will they still know my ethnicity based on my name? i don't know if listing my race and #siblings will help or hurt here.

The "exact" name of the course is the one listed in the catalog.. hope this helps!

And to the second question, I'd say no. Many names are multi-ethnic these days...

 

[FON86]

anybody know what type of experience shadowing goes under?

 

[Surf Rx]

anybody know what type of experience shadowing goes under?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=387669

 

[FON86]

thanks

 

[frickonastick]

For a pass/fail class, do we list the 'P' for pass, as AMCAS states, or should we enter what's on our transcript (a 'S' at my university)?

 

[CarolinaGirl]

Okay in reading the amcas transcript/gpa stuff I ran across info that made me wonder if amcas will see a numerical grade for each of our classes. The reason I wonder is how else can they convert us all to the same standard gpa? If one school requires a 95+ for an A and another school a 90 for an A does amcas see this and then convert to their scale which has, say, 93 for an A?

I just wondered b/c one of my schools did not give + or - and some of my classes were graded on a scale of 96 was an A. So if they see our numerical score it could only help me in a sense. Maybe this is just wishful thinking??😀

 

[Surf Rx]

Wishful thinking indeed. 😀

 

[Aynsl156]

Last I checked, AMCAS has a bunch of grad conversion tables and they convert grades depending on what system your university uses. ie universities that give an A+ are classified differently from universities where the highest grade is A.

Link: http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/amcas2008.htm*

* click on grade conversion guide

 

[ParvatiP]

Okay in reading the amcas transcript/gpa stuff I ran across info that made me wonder if amcas will see a numerical grade for each of our classes. The reason I wonder is how else can they convert us all to the same standard gpa? If one school requires a 95+ for an A and another school a 90 for an A does amcas see this and then convert to their scale which has, say, 93 for an A?

I just wondered b/c one of my schools did not give + or - and some of my classes were graded on a scale of 96 was an A. So if they see our numerical score it could only help me in a sense. Maybe this is just wishful thinking??😀

At my school there is no set grade conversion for classes. I guess professors decide what constitutes an a, b, c, etc for their own class (my organic chem class for example said that 85-100 was some form of an A, for other classes it could be 93-100 or something). And some of our classes did not assign numerical grades for any of the papers or exams at all. So obviously it would be impossible to standardize grades and that's why we have to take the MCAT.

 

[goosie]

Hi all,

Question about the course description section- I was a Neuroscience major in college but most of those classes were either Biology or Psychology classes. For example, Animal Learning and Physiological Psychology were both taught by the Psych department and are listed as Psych classes.

I really want/need to list those classes as Biology- not only will it help my science GPA but those classes really were Biology!

Under the "help" section it says to describe the class based on what at least 51% of the class entailed (definitely bio). But, will AMCAS throw a fit if I try and list those classes as bio? I don't want my application held up over this..... stupid stupid process.

 

[mtlove]

Hi all,

Question about the course description section- I was a Neuroscience major in college but most of those classes were either Biology or Psychology classes. For example, Animal Learning and Physiological Psychology were both taught by the Psych department and are listed as Psych classes.

I really want/need to list those classes as Biology- not only will it help my science GPA but those classes really were Biology!

Under the "help" section it says to describe the class based on what at least 51% of the class entailed (definitely bio). But, will AMCAS throw a fit if I try and list those classes as bio? I don't want my application held up over this..... stupid stupid process.

I was wondering about this too! A lot of these classes at my school were cross listed as both biology and psychology. I took lots of these bio courses for psych credit. Is there any way to denote this psych classes as science classes, or am I stuck having my profs mention this in their letters of recs?

 

[PlayMeSomeMusic]

What were you registered for? Biology of Psychology? If you are registrered with PSch 101 mark it as a Psych. I have the same issue between Psychology and Neuroscience but all my major classes I registered as Neuroscience courses for the sole purpose of them counting towards science GPA as biology courses instead of a psych course.. It will say on your transcript which section you were registered in use that one..

 

[goosie]

My school doesn't let the student decide how to count the course. Biological Psychology is taught by someone from the Psych department, so it's a Psych class- even though I counted it towards a Neuro major.

So, on my transcript it's listed as a Psych class.

I'm starting to think that I'm just gonna have to put it down as a psych class. which kinda sucks.

 

[mtlove]

My school doesn't let the student decide how to count the course. Biological Psychology is taught by someone from the Psych department, so it's a Psych class- even though I counted it towards a Neuro major.

So, on my transcript it's listed as a Psych class.

I'm starting to think that I'm just gonna have to put it down as a psych class. which kinda sucks.

My school did not have a neuroscience major, so most people interested in neuroscience did a double major in biology and psych or some major/minor combination of them. I took the first route and to get enough credits for the psych major, I took ~ 20 of these cross-listed classes for psych credit instead of bio. There was no difference in grading between those who took it for bio and those who took it for psych.

Like goosie mentioned, these classes are as much a bio class as classes in the bio department, and it does suck that they are not considered as such.

There is probably no way to get around this. The only option I perceive is that you get a rec from a prof who taught and/or is familiar with this class and have them mention that psych XXX is a biology class more than a psych class. Fortunately for me, most of these psych classes were taught by biology faculty, so it can not be too difficult for them to argue this in letters. I hope you are this fortunate. Unfortunately, this will not be factored in your science GPA as you want.

Also, I am not familiar with pre-med committee letters, but the letter could also be another option to say this. (Excuse my ignorance on this manner as my school does not do committee letters).

 

[Flymm]

My major at my university does not recognize minors, but I took enough courses to qualify for a minor according to the college my major falls under. Can I put my minor under minors on the AMCAS application or am I stuck because my major does not recognize minors?

 

[linuxizer]

My major at my university does not recognize minors, but I took enough courses to qualify for a minor according to the college my major falls under. Can I put my minor under minors on the AMCAS application or am I stuck because my major does not recognize minors?

I'm a bit confused. Minors are usually in topics separate from the major, as in "I majored in Biochemical Neurophrenology, but minored in Shakespearean Sonnets because I was interested in it." If you're talking about what is often referred to as a concentration within a major, no one gets to count it. Or have I misunderstood?

Ari

 

[fluffe1234]

Hi everyone,

Is Portuguese considered hispanic? Who would I ask to find this out? I hate these racial qualifications, but shoot, if they help, I'm going to milk my Portuguese heritage dry. Thanks!

 

[Aynsl156]

I think Portugese counts as European.

Hispanic is a term that historically denoted relation to the ancient Hispania and its peoples. However, when the modern day country of Spain was created in the 15th century, it inherited the term, and thus, since then, Hispanic is also related to Spain, its people and its culture. In this process, Portugal was excluded from the term, despite the fact that the territory that nowadays covers was also in the former Hispania[1]. Instead of Hispanic, Portugal adopted the word Lusitanic for the same purposes (in reference to the former Roman province of Lusitania, which was a part Hispania; ultimately, regarding to the Lusitanians, one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle Europe).

Sourced from Wikipedia

 

[linuxizer]

if i were you, i'd look up the nicely written out course name in your school's course catalog.

Just called AMCAS to ask them about this. "Exactly as it appears on the transcript." I clarified that some of my transcript abbreviations were truly arcane, and they said it didn't matter, it should always be exactly as it appears on the transcript.

Ari

 

[dokta27]

My school is the same way and my premed advisor told us to enter our classes in as 1 credit and AMCAS would have some sort of conversion chart and determine how many credit hours it was worth.
Also, you can mark a course as lab/lecture if separate credit isn't awarded.

Hmmm.... I'm from a Canadian school so we didn't have semester hours. Would I do the same?

 

[goosie]

How have people entered AmeriCorps/PeaceCorps in the past? I don't know whether to call it community service/volunteer or paid employment?

I'm leaning towards community service (since that's the most accurate description) but technically I was "paid," so I'm not sure if that means I must put it down as employment. The pay was in the form of a stipend- it worked out to $2 an hour.....

 

[Flymm]

I'm a bit confused. Minors are usually in topics separate from the major, as in "I majored in Biochemical Neurophrenology, but minored in Shakespearean Sonnets because I was interested in it." If you're talking about what is often referred to as a concentration within a major, no one gets to count it. Or have I misunderstood?

Ari

Basically I majored in an honors program that is not really "concentrated" in anything, kind of an interdisciplinary program that is placed under the college of liberal arts within my university. My major does not officially recognize ANY minors no matter what. I am saying I got a major in this program and I minored in pre-med and business. Would that be fair considering I took enough hours in each to be considered a minor in other majors at my school than the major I am in?

I know it is weird, I hate that they don't permit minors in my program.