*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2011-2012*~*~*~*

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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SU1989 said:
Can anyone tell me how submitting transcripts to AMCAS works? I took a class in a college that's not my home institution. Do I need to ask for my transcript to be sent to my home college now, or do I wait till I am applying to medical school to ask for it? Also, the class is not required for my degree so I didn't bother transferring the credits, should I do that?
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have them send it directly to amcas
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SU1989 said:
Can anyone tell me how submitting transcripts to AMCAS works? I took a class in a college that's not my home institution. Do I need to ask for my transcript to be sent to my home college now, or do I wait till I am applying to medical school to ask for it? Also, the class is not required for my degree so I didn't bother transferring the credits, should I do that?
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ozzi22 said:
have them send it directly to amcas
Click to expand...

To clarify what ozzi22 said, you do not need to have your non-home institution forward their transcript to your home institution for the purposes of your AMCAS application. You would have your non-home institution send your transcript to AMCAS when you create your AMCAS application. You would not need to bother transferring credits for the purpose of your application.
 
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Merging with the AMCAS thread.

Don't forget to use the search function and the faq's for your questions before posting :)
 
I have a question about grades reporting on the AMCAS. I took a class and failed it and then repeat it and failed it. Do I have to report it twice or just once?
 
I took the Biochemistry shelf exam and scored highly - is there a spot for putting this on AMCAS?
 
Hey guys,

My school uses the numeric grading scale. For example, I receive grades like 3.3, 3.7, 4.0, etc as grades in my classes. Now will AMCAS convert that into their own or will they take that grade into account and honor it when they calculate my GPA? Hopefully they use the grade I receive in their calculations but I am worried that I may get jipped big time as a result.

Anybody else have a school that uses this grading scale that might have a firsthand experience with something like this?
 
When you enter in your grades, you will enter it exactly as reported on your transcript. AMCAS will convert that into a standardized score; please see the 2012 grade conversion guide for details.

Referring to that guide, on page 4 you will find your particular school's grading system, where it looks like the numbers will remain unchanged on conversion.
 
theWUbear said:
I took the Biochemistry shelf exam and scored highly - is there a spot for putting this on AMCAS?
Click to expand...
You CAN put other standardized exams, for instance, I know the GRE is on there...but I don't recall all of the ones that are there.

If you want, you could put it under a general category of "Academic Achievements" in your Work and activities section, and list it along with any other academic distinction you have.

Once the app opens, will you check back in and let us know what standardized tests you can list?
 
Hi,
I have a quick question. If I am applying through EDP, should I make my AMCAS application specific to my EDP school (i.e. my personal statement). I'm thinking probably not, but I don't have a premed advisor to point me in the right direction.
Thanks!
 
CougarMD said:
You CAN put other standardized exams, for instance, I know the GRE is on there...but I don't recall all of the ones that are there.

If you want, you could put it under a general category of "Academic Achievements" in your Work and activities section, and list it along with any other academic distinction you have.

Once the app opens, will you check back in and let us know what standardized tests you can list?
Click to expand...

Will do, thanks for the response
 
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SU1989 said:
Can anyone tell me how submitting transcripts to AMCAS works? I took a class in a college that's not my home institution. Do I need to ask for my transcript to be sent to my home college now, or do I wait till I am applying to medical school to ask for it? Also, the class is not required for my degree so I didn't bother transferring the credits, should I do that?
Click to expand...

You have officially applied to med schools via AMCAS when your application gets verified. In order to verify your application, you must submit a transcript from every single institution that has given you course credit, regardless of major. If you took classes at 5 different institutions, then you need a transcript from each one. If you took some classes in HS, then you university you are at now is probably the one which gave you the credit. You will need to mail all transcripts to AMCAS after you have submitted you application on or after June 2nd.

If you didn't transfer credit, it might get tricky. I would rather send the transcript than not send it and it raise a red flag when they do the search on you and find out you were "not honest" with your application by not claiming a class you took. Hope this helps
 
cougarmd said:
helpful links:
official lor questions thread

official personal statement reader thread

last year's amcas verification thread (helps you see how long it takes to get verified at various times of the year)

last year's applicant sticky


amcas faq
1. When does amcas open? How soon can i submit?
the amcas application opens around may 5th. You can submit on or around june 1st.

2. When can i start uploading my transcripts to amcas?
as soon as the application opens, on may 5th.

3. I took a class at a community college while i was in high school. Do i still need to report that transcript?
yes. If you don't, you are risking being found out and having a school revoke an acceptance.

4. How should i organize my information in the work and activities section?
the pre-allo staff is working on a new thread for that compiles some of the best bits of information and contains a faq. that thread can be found here. please post questions regarding this section into this thread. The old thread for that lives here.

5. What about letters of rec?
funny you should ask. there is a thread for that too.

6. What should i include in my personal statement?
wouldn't you know....there is a thread for that too;) check out the official personal statement reader thread for some great advice.

7. How is amcas different this year?
see these threads for more information : http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=804620 and http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=807218



8. What is all of this about being a reapplicant?
once you have submitted an amcas application and are verified, you will be considered a re-applicant the following year. Even though you may not be a re-applicant at a particular school, the amcas application will reflect that you have "previously applied to medical school" in that you have had a verified application from a previous year. Every school you apply to will be able to see this, regardless of whether you applied to that particular school before or not.

9. What parts of the amcas application can i change after submitting? If i change these things, will i have to wait longer?
you can add and assign lors (letters of recommendation)
you can change your name, current address, and alternate names
you can add a future mcat test date

several other things that can be found here on the amcas official site.

No, you will not have to wait longer once you re-submit.


10. How long does it take to get verified after submitting?
it varies. Generally, the later you submit, the longer it takes. You can look at last year's verification times here.

11. When do secondaries come out?
this varies from school to school. If you are interested in a particular school, your best bet is to check out that school's specific thread in the "school specific discussions" forum.

12. My spring grades don't come out until may/june/july/whatever. Should i wait until i get them to submit my application?
if you decide you want to apply as early as possible, your spring grades would not be on your transcript. This is a judgement call. If your spring grades matter a lot (they contain 3 prereqs, all as, and this is the first time you've taken a full load), wait until they come in before you send your transcripts in.

If not (they result in a minimal impact to your gpa, have only 1 prereq, and don't show anything special), go ahead and submit and plan to send updates to schools. Sending them some good grades is a good reason to contact them later if you've had a lot of silence from them. You are at a greater advantage being early than having more grades that will barely impact your gpa.

I would also suggest "rushing" transcripts whenever possible. The peace of mind is worth the extra money.

Also, keep in mind; you can submit without transcripts. The problem is that you will not be verified without them.

13. What about transcripts in general? Tell me everything!
once the amcas application opens in may, you will be given an amcas id number. You are also then able to add schools (and the dates you attended those schools) into amcas. When you do this, you will be able to print a transcript sheet that contains your amcas id number on it for each school. When you go to order your transcripts, have your school include this sheet with the transcripts you send.
13a. I know this was asked in question 3 above....but do i really really really have to include every transcript?
yes, you must include transcripts from all colleges you have ever attended. You cannot send the transcripts yourself (as in, getting a copy into your hands, and then sending it to amcas); they have to come from the school directly to be considered official.
13b. Do i have to include the amcas sheet when sending in my transcripts? What happens if i don't?
you should really include this sheet; giving amcas any chance to lose your transcripts is a bad idea. However, i can tell you from personal experience that one of the 8 transcripts i had to send was done online, and i was unable to include the sheet. I gave instructions for them to write my amcas id on the envelope, and it got there fine. But again....making more work for amcas employees or giving them an excuse to lose your stuff is never a good idea.

14. What about in-progress courses, or courses i know i am going to take over the summer? What about pre-reqs i am taking over the summer?
there is a chance for you to list all future courses on the amcas application. No, you can not update these grades later in amcas, but you can update individual schools later with these grades. This is actually a perfect opportunity for you to send an update letter to schools telling them again how much you love them, and telling them what you've been up to.

this faq is a work in progress. Please feel free to make suggestions in this thread for its contents; both questions and answers.

this thread is brought to you by the volunteer pre-allopathic moderation staff.


:luck:
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thanks for the info on transcripts!!!!! This info makes the application process make more sense. Thanks again cougar!
 
Gust said:
thanks for the info on transcripts!!!!! This info makes the application process make more sense. Thanks again cougar!
Click to expand...
<3 No prob:)


As always (this is to anyone) if you have suggestions for what should be included in the FAQ, please shout it out in the thread.
 
To what extent should I clump everything I got out of working in my lab? I worked in this lab for 2 and a half years and got 2 posters and a small student grant out of it. Can I list the position, the posters and the grant as separate stuff or should they all be put together under "one activity"?
 
I just called AMCAS and got this cleared up for myself, so I thought I'd share for whoever cares.

In the AMCAS instruction manual it states, "List every post-secondary institution where you were enrolled for at least one course, even if credits have been transferred, no credits were earned, or you withdrew." (https://www.aamc.org/students/download/131750/data/2012amcasinstructionmanual.pdf, p.20)

I am graduating from school X in May, and will begin a master's at school Y in August. So, when listing institutions in the 'school attended' section I would list 'School X: transcript required' and 'School Y: transcript not required' (though I am still free to list the anticipated coursework for school Y). The same would apply if I plan on transferring to a different undergrad institution.
 
Hi guys,

I am currently working on my personal statement for the AMCAS. I submitted a draft of my personal statement as it is now and my premed dean was not a big fan :(. I am thinking of rewriting the essay, but my question is: do medical schools expect you to include at least a sentence or two of your research experience as an undergrad, if you have one? I work in a neuroscience lab and talked about it in my last draft of my personal statement, but I am planning on focusing on a new theme for my essay (community service and volunteer work abroad) and talking about my research in lab won't flow. Thoughts?
 
I didn't mention my research experience at all, because it wasn't relevant to what I was writing about. It was in my ECs if they wanted to know about it.
 
lisi326 said:
I didn't mention my research experience at all, because it wasn't relevant to what I was writing about. It was in my ECs if they wanted to know about it.
Click to expand...

I'm doing similar. I mention research in passing in my PS because it didn't have a large impact on my decision to go into medicine and didn't really fit with the rest of my PS. I'll go into detail in my ECs
 
Yeah your PS is NOT suppose to be a reiteration of your ECs or a resume in paragraphs. They already have all of that. This is your chance to talk from the heart, bound only by 5300 characters, about what really makes you tick. Focus on experiences and impressions you've had that inspire and motivate you to pursue a career in medicine.

Be sure to keep it personal and engaging because adcoms will be reading thousands of these things.

Check out the stickied PS tips thread.
 
I certainly did not write about all of my EC's. If research were pertainent to why you have chosen medicine, then yes, you should include it in your PS. If not, then it is okay to leave out.
 
I did not mention it in mine. I feel like if you put too much emphasis on the research they might ask you why you are not considering a PhD.
 
docntrainin said:
Hi guys,

I am currently working on my personal statement for the AMCAS. I submitted a draft of my personal statement as it is now and my premed dean was not a big fan :(. I am thinking of rewriting the essay, but my question is: do medical schools expect you to include at least a sentence or two of your research experience as an undergrad, if you have one? I work in a neuroscience lab and talked about it in my last draft of my personal statement, but I am planning on focusing on a new theme for my essay (community service and volunteer work abroad) and talking about my research in lab won't flow. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Merging related threads
 
I'm confused about the statement below that I have bolded.

13. What about transcripts in general? Tell me everything!
Once the AMCAS application opens in May, you will be given an AMCAS ID number. You are also then able to add schools (and the dates you attended those schools) into AMCAS. When you do this, you will be able to print a transcript sheet that contains your AMCAS ID number on it for each school. When you go to order your transcripts, have your school include this sheet with the transcripts you send.

So does the transcript sheet get put with the transcript by the school and the school sends it directly to the AMCAS? Or does the school send the official transcript to me and then I attach the AMCAS transcript sheet myself and I send it all to AMCAS? I'm just kind of confused about the wording: have your school include this sheet with the transcripts you send.

If I'm the one sending the official transcripts directly to AMCAS, then it would be good to know that now so that I can get them ordered right away.
 
anon747 said:
So does the transcript sheet get put with the transcript by the school and the school sends it directly to the AMCAS? Or does the school send the official transcript to me and then I attach the AMCAS transcript sheet myself and I send it all to AMCAS?
Click to expand...

Your school includes the transcript sheet when they send the transcript to AMCAS. You do not receive and forward the transcript yourself. The FAQ probably needs to be reworded. :)
 
Also when entering in classes, let's say my ochem lecture and ochem lab were seperate. I labeled ochem lecture as "lecture only" but my ochem lab class also had a lecture component seperate from the lab. should i say its combined lecture + lab?
 
mauberley said:
Your school includes the transcript sheet when they send the transcript to AMCAS. You do not receive and forward the transcript yourself. The FAQ probably needs to be reworded. :)
Click to expand...
I changed it to "you have sent". Is that better? Also, part 13a addresses that:
13a. I know this was asked in question 3 above....but do I really really really have to include every transcript?
Yes, you MUST include transcripts from all colleges you have ever attended. You cannot send the transcripts yourself (as in, getting a copy into your hands, and then sending it to AMCAS); they have to come from the school directly to be considered official.

Should I put that part in the first part of the question/answer in 13?
If you have a suggestion of how to reword it, please let me know.
 
CougarMD said:
I changed it to "you have sent". Is that better? Also, part 13a addresses that:
13a. I know this was asked in question 3 above....but do I really really really have to include every transcript?
Yes, you MUST include transcripts from all colleges you have ever attended. You cannot send the transcripts yourself (as in, getting a copy into your hands, and then sending it to AMCAS); they have to come from the school directly to be considered official.

Should I put that part in the first part of the question/answer in 13?
If you have a suggestion of how to reword it, please let me know.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest leaving 13a as is, and using "...to be sent" in 13.
 
pokemoniscool said:
so is it worth it to put in info about my parents, race, etcetc?
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In my opinion....yes. Do you have a reason not to put these things? I think it is better to give them more information about you with which to make a decision about you than less.

pokemoniscool said:
Also when entering in classes, let's say my ochem lecture and ochem lab were seperate. I labeled ochem lecture as "lecture only" but my ochem lab class also had a lecture component seperate from the lab. should i say its combined lecture + lab?
Click to expand...
Whatever the transcript and the course catalog says is the way to go. I am guessing that the way to list this will really be to list is as a lab only.

The "Lecture+Lab" designation is really for those classes that quite literally contain the lecture and lab portion in just that single class.


mauberley said:
I'd suggest leaving 13a as is, and using "...to be sent" in 13.
Click to expand...
Got it, thanks maubs:)
 
I am a senior in HS and my question is this:

If I do things (i.e. activities, volunteering, employment, etc) during the summer prior to my freshman year in college, am I allowed to put these activities on my amcas or tmdsas app?? Thanks
 
Thanks. In that case, can I just slip something there that happened sophmore year when I went to Nigeria to volunteer at some pharmacy.........
 
Dude...reeeeeeeeeelax. You have so much time before you even need to think about applying. If you have a fulfilling college experience you will have enough crap to put on your AMCAS/Texas app without even thinking about the peonite stuff you did in high school. Try to enjoy your last summer before college!

And really, there's no such thing as "allowed" or "not allowed". If you wanted to, you could put "butt picking" as your #1 AMCAS activity. Whether or not it's recommended is a different story.

Swiss Medical said:
I am a senior in HS and my question is this:

If I do things (i.e. activities, volunteering, employment, etc) during the summer prior to my freshman year in college, am I allowed to put these activities on my amcas or tmdsas app?? Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Will AMCAS accept transcripts from Interfolio, but does it have to be sent from the actual school?
 
"I was a Panelist on "Libel Law under Tribal Law" presentation. I was invited to speak regarding a case that I had worked on involving a novel area of Indian law - prior restraints and freedom of the press. Certain tribal members had sued other tribal members for defamation in tribal court. As part of their claims for relief, they requested that the tribal court enter an injunction forbidding discussion of their family's alleged non-Indian ancestry which the lower tribal court granted.

This tribal court action was in violation of the Indian Civil Rights Act. I served as lead counsel on that case in the appellate court where the Tribal Court of Appeals vacated the lower court judgment."

How does this sound?
 
What should I classify Classical Mythology under? English Language and Lit or Foreign Language & Lit? The readings were all translated into English.

The foreign language classification seems to include comparative literature, is that correct? But if I classify one of my English prereqs (like Holocaust Lit-technically a comp. lit class) as Foreign language, will Med schools understand that it is counting towards my English credits?
 
Hey guys.

So I just started peaking at the 2012 app and filled out some of the easy stuff. I just have one tricky question that I'm hoping someone can help me out with.

I attended institution X for both undergrad and graduate school. I received my bachelor's as an undergrad there. Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, I did not finish graduate school at that institution, and do not expect a master's degree.

This is where it gets confusing.

Now both my undergrad coursework and my graduate coursework via inst. X are all on the same transcript. My question is: do I submit these two different enrollments as one school entry or two school entries on AMCAS?
There is the option of "graduate" or "undergraduate" to differentiate between the two, but then it asks what degrees you earned from X both times if you choose the two school entry option. The issue is, I do not expect a degree from their graduate school, yet, I received one at their undergrad institution. Tricky, right??

Also, if I do the two school entry option, will AMCAS electronically be expecting two transcripts? Obviously that would be an issue since there really is only one transcript for inst. X.

Thanks in advance for any help you could give!
 
SteveJMarist said:
Hey guys.

So I just started peaking at the 2012 app and filled out some of the easy stuff. I just have one tricky question that I'm hoping someone can help me out with.

I attended institution X for both undergrad and graduate school. I received my bachelor's as an undergrad there. Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, I did not finish graduate school at that institution, and do not expect a master's degree.

This is where it gets confusing.

Now both my undergrad coursework and my graduate coursework via inst. X are all on the same transcript. My question is: do I submit these two different enrollments as one school entry or two school entries on AMCAS?
There is the option of "graduate" or "undergraduate" to differentiate between the two, but then it asks what degrees you earned from X both times if you choose the two school entry option. The issue is, I do not expect a degree from their graduate school, yet, I received one at their undergrad institution. Tricky, right??

Also, if I do the two school entry option, will AMCAS electronically be expecting two transcripts? Obviously that would be an issue since there really is only one transcript for inst. X.

Thanks in advance for any help you could give!
Click to expand...

I would do just undergrad and let the withdrawn grad grades be there. They will see this on your transcript anyways. I am no expert on this by any means.

Good luck.
 
Dartmouth2005 said:
I would do just undergrad and let the withdrawn grad grades be there. They will see this on your transcript anyways. I am no expert on this by any means.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yea that was my first inclination. Thanks!

Anyone else have input?
 
Based on that description, I still don't understand what you did or even why it's important. Did you serve as a lawyer? Is this some kind of mock-up scenario?

You need to more clearly explain what's going on. Also, for future reference, use the official AMCAS questions thread for this sort of thing.
 
hurricane123 said:
What should I classify Classical Mythology under? English Language and Lit or Foreign Language & Lit? The readings were all translated into English.

The foreign language classification seems to include comparative literature, is that correct? But if I classify one of my English prereqs (like Holocaust Lit-technically a comp. lit class) as Foreign language, will Med schools understand that it is counting towards my English credits?
Click to expand...

Is there not a classics or general humanities category? That's what I would but it under. When I think foreign language, I think reading texts in the native language. English also doesn't seem quite right, but I think that would be better than foreign language.
 
SteveJMarist said:
Hey guys.

So I just started peaking at the 2012 app and filled out some of the easy stuff. I just have one tricky question that I'm hoping someone can help me out with.

I attended institution X for both undergrad and graduate school. I received my bachelor's as an undergrad there. Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, I did not finish graduate school at that institution, and do not expect a master's degree.

This is where it gets confusing.

Now both my undergrad coursework and my graduate coursework via inst. X are all on the same transcript. My question is: do I submit these two different enrollments as one school entry or two school entries on AMCAS?
There is the option of "graduate" or "undergraduate" to differentiate between the two, but then it asks what degrees you earned from X both times if you choose the two school entry option. The issue is, I do not expect a degree from their graduate school, yet, I received one at their undergrad institution. Tricky, right??

Also, if I do the two school entry option, will AMCAS electronically be expecting two transcripts? Obviously that would be an issue since there really is only one transcript for inst. X.

Thanks in advance for any help you could give!
Click to expand...


Your transcript should be separated into two different parts -- with one part saying you were an undergrad and one part saying you were a grad student (or seeking a graduate degree at the time). If your transcript is all just one giant list of grads -- with no indicate of what degree you were seeking, then you would list it all as undergraduate coursework.

If your transcript does separate your grad coursework from undergrad coursework, then you would list your school twice. The second time you list it, for degrees earned, use "No degree expected" [That should be an option]

Conclusion - Look at your transcript. See if it knows you were enrolled into two different programs.
 
Last edited:
NickNaylor said:
Based on that description, I still don't understand what you did or even why it's important. Did you serve as a lawyer? Is this some kind of mock-up scenario?

You need to more clearly explain what's going on. Also, for future reference, use the official AMCAS questions thread for this sort of thing.
Click to expand...

The 700 character limit is hard to work with especially when discussing legal issues.

Basically, I am a lawyer. Based on the work that I had done, I was invited to speak about it to the Indian Law Section of my State Bar. We are likely the first case in this area of the law. Indeed, my work made the law. Free speech rights in Indian courts are governed by a different set of laws than state or federal courts.

I don't know what a "mock-up scenario" is.
 
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