*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2012-2013*~*~*~*

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I was entering my course work into the AMCAS and got stuck on on practicality. At my university some classes have labs associated with them while other classes have discussions. If it was a "hard" science class it was almost always called a lab, if it was a "soft"science class it was almost always called a discussion. Should I enter those discussions as labs and in the course name box write the course followed by "and discussion or and lab"? Also, for those classes that had a discussion session associated with them should I classify them as Lecture and Lab or just as Lecture?

To give an example, I am thinking of a Microeconomics, Psychology, and Calculus I, these classes had discussions, which had separate assignments, quizzes, and maybe even exams, which contributed to the overall grade.
For AMCAS, a lab means hands-on work under a microscope or mixing chemicals in chemistry or something like that.

My university had small-group discussions called "labs" led by a TA, some optional but usually required as part of a class, but that's not what they're talking about
 
I pasted a description that was exactly 700 characters into the box. When I checked by printing PDF, it erased a few characters. Every time I try to update it, it reverts back to the missing characters. Huh?
 
I pasted a description that was exactly 700 characters into the box. When I checked by printing PDF, it erased a few characters. Every time I try to update it, it reverts back to the missing characters. Huh?

That's why it's recommended that you don't paste. If it doesn't work when you type it, just shave a few to be safe.
 
Yeah, I ended up using a contraction and it worked. Wow, my other one is 1324 so hopefully that doesn't crap out haha.

Fine tooth comb indeed.
 
Does anyone know how to properly cite a published abstract and a poster presentation?

Links/examples would be nice. Thank you
 
Does the "how did you pay for post-secondary education" just refer to the cost of tuition, or do we include the cost of books, off-campus housing, expenses, etc...? The reason I am asking is bc I didn't really pay anything for tuition (covered by need-based and merit scholarships), but family and I paid for housing, books, expenses, transportation costs, etc.
 
Is it cool to use abbreviations for instrumentation (e.g. HPLC, NMR, ELISA, SEM, TEER etc...)? I figure it's common knowledge but I wanna make sure.

Likewise, with orgs that have long titles, what if you aren't sure if they are well known, but desperately need the extra space?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
So any more opinions about transcribing exactly what appears on transcripts despite spelling errors or stupid abbreviations?

Another question I have: would a "human evolution" course count under BCPM if its listed under Anthropology?
 
I have 30 MCAT, still planning to apply. But I'm also retaking in Aug but do not want to wait for it to submit. Is it OKAY if i submit my application without indicating im taking MCAT (already registered)???

And can I update schools once my new mcat scores are out? Will I be shootingmyself in the foot if they question me why I didn't indicate i planned on retaking the mcat?
 
No idea if that's true. Might be a good idea to call AMCAS before you submit to figure it out.
 
I have 30 MCAT, still planning to apply. But I'm also retaking in Aug but do not want to wait for it to submit. Is it OKAY if i submit my application without indicating im taking MCAT (already registered)???

You don't have to wait, it'll automatically update when the score rolls in. You should probably let the schools know that you are retaking though.
 
It's just that I don't want them waiting for my new score. I just want them to assess me with my current score, asap.
 
So I take my MCAT 5/24 and won't have scores until 6/26 I believe, which is just a few days shy of the first data transmission to schools. I will have all the other portions of my application done but I don't want to submit officially until I have my scores back just in case I don't do well. So, my question is.. if I request my official transcripts to be sent to AMCAS in late May/early June, will they start going over my coursework and calculate my GPA then? Or will they wait until I submit my application officially?

I was hoping to submit 6/26 and have my application be sent to schools in one of the first transmissions since I want to apply EDP..
 
So I take my MCAT 5/24 and won't have scores until 6/26 I believe, which is just a few days shy of the first data transmission to schools. I will have all the other portions of my application done but I don't want to submit officially until I have my scores back just in case I don't do well. So, my question is.. if I request my official transcripts to be sent to AMCAS in late May/early June, will they start going over my coursework and calculate my GPA then? Or will they wait until I submit my application officially?

I was hoping to submit 6/26 and have my application be sent to schools in one of the first transmissions since I want to apply EDP..
AMCAS will not start add your application to the verification queue until you have both
A. submitted your application
AND
B. ALL transcripts have been received

At that point you will be in line for verification, which can take up to a month

Send your transcripts as soon as all of your grades are on there

Also, merging with AMCAS questions thread
 
AMCAS will not start add your application to the verification queue until you have both
A. submitted your application
AND
B. ALL transcripts have been received

At that point you will be in line for verification, which can take up to a month

Send your transcripts as soon as all of your grades are on there

Also, merging with AMCAS questions thread

Sigh.. If I have to wait a month for AMCAS to verify and send the application, that will be pretty late for EDP. Is it a bad idea to submit the application without MCAT scores?
 
Sigh.. If I have to wait a month for AMCAS to verify and send the application, that will be pretty late for EDP. Is it a bad idea to submit the application without MCAT scores?
No it is not a bad idea. However, I forgot that EDP candidates have priority verification so it should only take a few days for you
 
No it is not a bad idea. However, I forgot that EDP candidates have priority verification so it should only take a few days for you

Oh awesome.. I had no idea about that, thanks!
 
The title is pretty self explanatory. I went to the school's registrar and they said they only send the transcript and do not send anything else (i.e. the transcript request form in this case).

Since my school isn't sending it, can I send it myself separately? Or can I get away with not sending one in the first place?

I e-mailed AMCAS about it and this is the response I got:

Dear ,

Thank you for contacting AMCAS.

The transcript request form is not manditory. If your school has its own form, the trnascript can be sent with that form.


YAY
 
A little confused with this. Do you need to print it out and send it to your college to fill it out? Because I can juts go on my school's website and request an official transcript to send to an address.

Asking because I want to request my transcript (since apps submit on June 5), but I can't even get access to the AMCAS Transcript Request form until I fill out the application. I feel like if I fill out the application by June 1ish, 4 days might not be enough time for my school to send a transcript.
 
A little confused with this. Do you need to print it out and send it to your college to fill it out? Because I can juts go on my school's website and request an official transcript to send to an address.

Asking because I want to request my transcript (since apps submit on June 5), but I can't even get access to the AMCAS Transcript Request form until I fill out the application. I feel like if I fill out the application by June 1ish, 4 days might not be enough time for my school to send a transcript.

Just add all your schools in AMCAS w/o filling out the rest of the app or grades or anything. Print out the AMCAS request form and give it to your registrar. Some schools also prefer you fill out their transcript request form and submit that with the AMCAS form so I would check with each school.
 
You can access the AMCAS transcript request before you submit, you just need to have entered your personal information and schools attended. It's a good idea to give it to your school to send along with the transcript, to make sure AMCAS can quickly and easily attach it to your application.
 
A little confused with this. Do you need to print it out and send it to your college to fill it out? Because I can juts go on my school's website and request an official transcript to send to an address.

Asking because I want to request my transcript (since apps submit on June 5), but I can't even get access to the AMCAS Transcript Request form until I fill out the application. I feel like if I fill out the application by June 1ish, 4 days might not be enough time for my school to send a transcript.

Just add all your schools in AMCAS w/o filling out the rest of the app or grades or anything. Print out the AMCAS request form and give it to your registrar. Some schools also prefer you fill out their transcript request form and submit that with the AMCAS form so I would check with each school.

You can access the AMCAS transcript request before you submit, you just need to have entered your personal information and schools attended. It's a good idea to give it to your school to send along with the transcript, to make sure AMCAS can quickly and easily attach it to your application.

Start your application now. You can save your progress as you go along. Get to the portion where you enter your coursework, then you can print a transcript request form.

The AMCAS transcript request form must be sent in with the official copy of your transcripts.

The easiest way I found to do this was to send the physical copy "AMCAS Transcript Request Form" along with my "University Transcript Request Form" that I downloaded off the university site. I put special instructions for them to include the AMCAS form.

Hope that helps!
Merging
 
im still confused on how to enter AP credit. say my transcript says this:

Dept Course Lvl Grd Units
---- ------ --- --- -----
ADVANCED PLACEMENT 5/06 08F
HIST EUROPEAN LD 8.0
ADVANCED PLACEMENT 5/07 08F
ENGCOMP 3 ENGL COMP-RHET&LANG 8.0
ART HIS ART HISTORY LD 8.0
HIST UNITED STATES LD 8.0
LIFESCI UNASSIGNED LD 8.0
ADVANCED PLACEMENT 5/08 08F
POL SCI UNITED STATES LD 4.0

the manual & tutorial video says u should enter course numbers and names if they are given on the transcript, but it's confusing since some AP courses had course numbers (like ENGCOMP 3) but some didn't (like LIFESCI UNASSIGNED). should i just try to copy everything that's in my transcript, OR should i do what the tutorial did in leaving the course number blank & adding "AP Credit: ______" as the course name?

if the former option, would i input it like this:
Course Number: HIST Course Name: EUROPEAN
Course Number: ENGCOMP 3 Course Name: ENGL COMP-RHET&LANG
Course Number: ART HIS Course Name: ART HISTORY
Course Number: HIST Course Name: UNITED STATES
Course Number: LIFESCI Course Name: UNASSIGNED
Course Number: POL SCI Course Name: UNITED STATES


thank you!
 
Any of you guys know about this?

Does the "how did you pay for post-secondary education" just refer to the cost of tuition, or do we include the cost of books, off-campus housing, expenses, etc...? The reason I am asking is bc I didn't really pay anything for tuition (covered by need-based and merit scholarships), but family and I paid for housing, books, expenses, transportation costs, etc.
 
I have a question about AP credits that I don't think has been answered yet. My school lists 6 APs with a total of 21 credits. (5 3-credits and 1 6-credit) HOWEVER, beneath these it says Total Credit Awarded: 15 credits. (My school's policy is that you can receive no more than 15 AP credits for them). I don't know how to list the credits in coursework as I don't want to list more than what I was awarded and I also don't want to list one with credit units that don't match what is shown on the transcript.

Do I list them all and redistribute the credits so they show no more than 15? Do I list only enough to add up to 15? The handbook doesn't address this, either.
 
I have a question about AP credits that I don't think has been answered yet. My school lists 6 APs with a total of 21 credits. (5 3-credits and 1 6-credit) HOWEVER, beneath these it says Total Credit Awarded: 15 credits. (My school's policy is that you can receive no more than 15 AP credits for them). I don't know how to list the credits in coursework as I don't want to list more than what I was awarded and I also don't want to list one with credit units that don't match what is shown on the transcript.

Do I list them all and redistribute the credits so they show no more than 15? Do I list only enough to add up to 15? The handbook doesn't address this, either.

I never had any AP credits, but does this fall under the category of "credits must be reported under the original institution granting the credits". My take is that though your school may only "accept" 15 total credits, that there may be another way to report these as AP only and not through the undergraduate institution you are attending. Any other thoughts?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced Placement (AP)
To claim AP credit, the credit hours must be listed on your transcript. AP
courses should be entered under the term in which the college credit was
initially granted. If no term is designated, include with freshman
coursework (FR). Include AP credit courses only once (by selecting
Advanced Placement as the Special Course Type), even though AP credit
for the same subject may have been awarded by more than one institution.
AP courses can be assigned under the institution awarding the most credit,
but cannot be listed under all the institutions that may have awarded credit.

If AP credits appear in one block on the transcript, distribute the credit
appropriately among the AP exams taken.
 
Last edited:
Does the "how did you pay for post-secondary education" just refer to the cost of tuition, or do we include the cost of books, off-campus housing, expenses, etc...? The reason I am asking is bc I didn't really pay anything for tuition (covered by need-based and merit scholarships), but family and I paid for housing, books, expenses, transportation costs, etc.

My inclination is that it includes all of the above.
 
Can anyone save me the hassle and answer this "search engine" question?

If we submit June 5, when can we expect our first secondaries to be sent out, even the auto ones?
 
Can anyone save me the hassle and answer this "search engine" question?

If we submit June 5, when can we expect our first secondaries to be sent out, even the auto ones?

I would pick a couple school specific threads from last year and see when their secondaries were sent out.
 
June 29th is when they get sent to the schools electronically. Automatics should be soon after that.
 
My schools has e-transcript requests and not sure if the request form from AMCAS is required. I would have to drive an hour to give them the form.
 
My schools has e-transcript requests and not sure if the request form from AMCAS is required. I would have to drive an hour to give them the form.


there are these fancy things called fax machines. Fax the form to them, have them mail your transcript.
 
You've gotta use what AMCAS wants. Call AMCAS to make sure, but yes, either fax, scan, or mail (that's what I did) the appropriate form to your school.
 
It's not necessary, but it will make it more likely that your transcript is correctly matched to your application.
 
It's not necessary. I e-mailed AMCAS (and AACOMAS, for that matter) with the same question a few days ago. Here's their response

Thank you for contacting AMCAS.

The transcript request form is not manditory. If your school has its own form, the trnascript can be sent with that form.

If we can be of additional assistance, please contact us at [email protected] or (202) 828-0600 M-F 9a-7p ET.

Thank you,
 
My schools has e-transcript requests and not sure if the request form from AMCAS is required. I would have to drive an hour to give them the form.

there are these fancy things called fax machines. Fax the form to them, have them mail your transcript.

You've gotta use what AMCAS wants. Call AMCAS to make sure, but yes, either fax, scan, or mail (that's what I did) the appropriate form to your school.

It's not necessary, but it will make it more likely that your transcript is correctly matched to your application.

I had to get transcripts from 3 schools and only one of them let me upload the transcript request form to be included with the mailed transcript. The rest still got into my account OK. Make sure you add all your student id #'s into your AMCAS account to help them match your transcripts to you.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2

It's not necessary. I e-mailed AMCAS (and AACOMAS, for that matter) with the same question a few days ago. Here's their response
Merging
 
If I finished school in dec 2008 (last courses to finish major), but walked in june 2009, what do I list as the date I got my degree? June 2009 yes?
 
This may have been answered already but along the lines of AP credit, I had roughly 15 college in the high school credits from a local CC and don't know whether or not to list the CC under the colleges section. I know i need a separate transcript but I'm not sure if i should list it as a school attended.
 
Question about secondaries - on MSAR, a lot of the schools say that secondaries open June 1 or 15, but AMCAS says first data transmission to med schools isn't until June 29. Do some people submit their secondaries before the first data transmission (June 29) or is that just a mistake?
 
My academic probation explanation. What do you guys think?

I was placed on Academic Probation for my first two semesters of undergraduate because I neglected my studies. My maturity level and level of commitment to my education were severely lacking. I did not adjust well to the new environment or to being away from home and my school work was significantly affected. As I became better adjusted and more focused I began to work harder and find great enjoyment in the coursework. Since then, my GPA has shown a steep uphill trend.

Though the blemish will never be removed from my academic transcript, I continue to use it as a reminder of how far I've come both as a student and as a person. I am not proud of those semesters of unacceptable academic performance, but accepting them and moving forward has helped shape who I am today.
 
I sent my transcript to AMCAS and also myself a week ago. When I saw the transcript, Phi Beta Kappa is not on there even though I was inducted this semester. Can I still put on the application or is it not worth it?

Thanks!
 
This may have been answered already but along the lines of AP credit, I had roughly 15 college in the high school credits from a local CC and don't know whether or not to list the CC under the colleges section. I know i need a separate transcript but I'm not sure if i should list it as a school attended.

As I understand it, if they have a transcript for you, then that school needs to be listed as a separate school. If you call the CC and they do not have record of you, you would put it under your university.
 
Top