*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2014-2015*~*~*~*

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Coltsbcs said:
Possible dumb question but... is it possible to receive secondaries from schools before being verified by amcas?
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Verification takes a while (at least it did last year) but some schools may send you secondaries right after the application is made available to them (see some of the above posts). Some schools only send after verification of grades, transcripts, etc. And some schools screen/select applicants to send secondaries. It is all based on the school - a PDF should be available to download via the MSAR.
 
how do schools send out secondaries? Is it by email? Do they give you a username and PIN to log on to their school website for the secondary app? And also, do secondary essay prompts usually stay the same from year to year? I want to start pre-writing them very soon.

And also, should I be submitting secondaries within 1-2 days (ideally) of receiving them?

Thanks!
 
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wellcutcookies said:
how do schools send out secondaries? Is it by email? Do they give you a username and PIN to log on to their school website for the secondary app? And also, do secondary essay prompts usually stay the same from year to year? I want to start pre-writing them very soon.

And also, should I be submitting secondaries within 1-2 days (ideally) of receiving them?

Thanks!
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In my experience, schools do send them out by email, the one designated on your app when you submitted it. Usually they will give you a link, and username/password (a lot of times it's your AMCAS ID number), you log in, and the prompts will be there. Most of the time the essays are similar from year to year but they could change it, and that's all up to the school. Depending on which schools you applied to, they may start sending you secondaries before verification...just don't forget about the $$$ 🙁

Ideally 1-2 days = great but I think a week or two should be fine too (check me on that). Usually they give you a hard deadline (i.e. 4 weeks after they email you), and if you dont get a deadline you want to submit AT MOST before that month is over, anyhow.
 
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Can someone please answer:

Does your Committee Letter have to be sent to AMCAS in order for your application to be verified?

My school says it won't be able to submit the Letter until early July ish. Does this mean I'll be delayed? Thanks!
 
NYCdude said:
Can someone please answer:

Does your Committee Letter have to be sent to AMCAS in order for your application to be verified?

My school says it won't be able to submit the Letter until early July ish. Does this mean I'll be delayed? Thanks!
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No
 
moop said:
No
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Thanks, but the schools won't go over my app until the Letter is in, right?

Do you know if most people have their application fully complete by the time the schools get the AMCAS? My school is really dragging me through the mud right now. 🙁
 
NYCdude said:
Thanks, but the schools won't go over my app until the Letter is in, right?

Do you know if most people have their application fully complete by the time the schools get the AMCAS? My school is really dragging me through the mud right now. 🙁
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Yes and no
 
For credits I earned in research, what classification do I put the course "research"? It was chemistry research. Also, what do I do the question if its a lab/lecture/lab+lecture?
 
I am currently completing an Undergraduate Research Honors Thesis. At my school, several requirements must be met before the thesis is accepted and Honors designation is awarded. These requirements include certain number of research credits as well as thesis specific courses.

I completed the final thesis course during the Spring semester but my thesis is not completed yet. To prevent graduation, the research coordinator temporarily gives everyone that is still working on their thesis an "I" until it is all finished and submitted.

I am finishing up my thesis in the Fall semester (heavily dependent on me getting the statistically significant data that I am looking for) and the "I" will be automatically be converted to "A" once I graduate with my completed thesis.

Is there any way for me to convey this to AMCAS and med schools? Is an "I" factored into the GPA in any way (such as failing)? Would it be a good idea to check off "Current/Future" as the grade will be changed?

Thanks!
 
TrebleWanders said:
I am currently completing an Undergraduate Research Honors Thesis. At my school, several requirements must be met before the thesis is accepted and Honors designation is awarded. These requirements include certain number of research credits as well as thesis specific courses.

I completed the final thesis course during the Spring semester but my thesis is not completed yet. To prevent graduation, the research coordinator temporarily gives everyone that is still working on their thesis an "I" until it is all finished and submitted.

I am finishing up my thesis in the Fall semester (heavily dependent on me getting the statistically significant data that I am looking for) and the "I" will be automatically be converted to "A" once I graduate with my completed thesis.

Is there any way for me to convey this to AMCAS and med schools? Is an "I" factored into the GPA in any way (such as failing)? Would it be a good idea to check off "Current/Future" as the grade will be changed?

Thanks!
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I would think that AMCAS would simply not use the grade in the GPA calculations--all they do is simply verify your information. The most you could probably do is simply mention it in your secondary applications. Good luck!
 
Given that data isn't transferred to schools until June 27th, is there a huge benefit to submitting on June 3rd vs, say, June 7th (my transcript has already been received)?
 
EDIT: found the answer to my question

My verification email says to check AMCAS's grades and GPA calculations to make sure they're correct. I can see each individual grade obviously, but does anyone know where on the application you can see the GPA that AMCAS calculated?
 
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Is there any point to submitting before all transcripts are received...I am under the impression that it just gets held until the transcripts are there??
 
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I also have a question about coursework...it says to enter courses exactly how they appear on your transcript but my orgo lab is just like Chem157 then class number 567 how will they know this is one of the pre-reqs???
 
how do I enter in my SPRING future courses, If I don't even know exactly what they will be? I know my courses for the fall, as I'm already registered for them. But for spring, do I just put down my best idea of what i'll take? and will my app get messed up if I end up taking different courses?? I'm confused.
 
Nevermind in regards to my question about where the GPA is located; I found it. You have to select to print the whole application, and then the GPA is listed (along with AMCAS grades) on the pdf or html file.
 
123GO said:
I also have a question about coursework...it says to enter courses exactly how they appear on your transcript but my orgo lab is just like Chem157 then class number 567 how will they know this is one of the pre-reqs???
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I'm wondering this too!
 
I have a question regarding Coursework.
I took a few courses at a college not for credit. Is that considered an audit? or exempt? There was no grade earned, it was not a pass/fail either.
Thank you!
 
Hi, I realized a few hours after submitting my application that I missed a 0 in one of my courses. For example, it should have said Calc 1000A but said Calc 100A. Am I screwed? Thanks in advance.
 
Okay, now I am beginning to get nervous. So apparently I didn't read the directions where it specified what year to list when taking courses (FR, SO, JU, SR). I attended community college from 2006-2010, so I have a lot of units. Honestly, I probably had enough units to be considered a senior at my CC. On my AMCAS application, I split my first 2 years of cc into "freshman" then the next 2 for "sophomore". I then said that the classes I took the first year after I transferred were my junior classes, and then the last year were my senior classes.

Will they just fix this for me?
 
rachel993 said:
how do I enter in my SPRING future courses, If I don't even know exactly what they will be? I know my courses for the fall, as I'm already registered for them. But for spring, do I just put down my best idea of what i'll take? and will my app get messed up if I end up taking different courses?? I'm confused.
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I was in the same boat last year - you can't enter spring courses just yet, just enter in your known fall courses at this point. Spring grades/courses won't really matter unless they're incredibly relevant (such as an SMP in which students take actual med classes) but be sure to update schools individually as fall grades come in as that can swing the application in your favor. good luck!
 
kazin said:
Given that data isn't transferred to schools until June 27th, is there a huge benefit to submitting on June 3rd vs, say, June 7th (my transcript has already been received)?
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yes and no - while June 3rd at 9:30 am submits already have theirs verified, historically speaking, the 10:30 ams will be verified in a week. so June 7th has the potential to be pushed all the way back to mid July, if it gets held up as last year - so my advice is to submit ASAP if you have everything ready.
 
So i submitted my primary the first day at 930 am. And my app has already been verified and processed. Is this some kind of mistake I thought it wasnt going to be done till the end of June. With that said, when should I expect secondaries? My sciend GPA is a 3.94, total gpa 3.96, mcat is 31, and my ec's are pretty strong. Should I get all my secondaries back? (applied to mainly state schools and a few out of state private)
 
a.wong said:
So i submitted my primary the first day at 930 am. And my app has already been verified and processed. Is this some kind of mistake I thought it wasnt going to be done till the end of June. With that said, when should I expect secondaries? My sciend GPA is a 3.94, total gpa 3.96, mcat is 31, and my ec's are pretty strong. Should I get all my secondaries back? (applied to mainly state schools and a few out of state private)
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The first couple of minutes submitted are usually verified within the first day or so. Secondaries should be coming in July and onwards, depending on the school. Easy to find the prompts from last year in the school-specific threads on these forums. Most schools do not screen pre-secondary; find out which do and those'll be the only ones you may not get secondaries back for. Also remember that being verified and being complete at schools is not the same thing. For the latter, you need your LORs and secondaries in, so this is just the beginning.
 
TheBoneDoctah said:
My app says "processing" with 3 green check marks but I never got an email after I submitted. Was I supposed to?
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I think you'are fine, but yes you should have gotten an email notification that says,
rachel993 said:
how do I enter in my SPRING future courses, If I don't even know exactly what they will be? I know my courses for the fall, as I'm already registered for them. But for spring, do I just put down my best idea of what i'll take? and will my app get messed up if I end up taking different courses?? I'm confused.
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You can use your best guess, but I would just do future coursework for the Fall semester. In my opinion, you shouldn't be putting future coursework for Spring, heck, your school probably doesn't even have the schedule for spring semester yet.
 
Quick Question: I transferred during undergrad and both institutions accepted my AP credit. Should I enter my AP credit twice under both schools or only once under the school I graduated from?
 
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Hopefully this isn't neurotic.... My application was just verified, and every single one of my classes was changed due to a credit discrepancy. At my school, we get 1 credit per class, but the registrar tells us that this means 4 semester hours so we should list things as 4 semester hours on applications and stuff. So I did, but then AMCAS changed all of my OT credits to be 1 and then filled the Sem hours with 4. I didn't have access to those two different types of credit hours when filling out my application.

I guess my question is -- will schools look at the fact that AMCAS changed every single one of my grades and think that I'm a total idiot? Will that raise a red flag? It was seriously just a misunderstanding between what AMCAS wanted and what my registrar instructed us to do -- I realize know that I was in the wrong, but I hope this doesn't come back to bite me. Any help would be great.
 
Hey guys, this might be a really dumb question but I am paranoid.. Does your transcript request form need to be signed for AMCAS to "receive" the transcript? I sent all of my material to one of my institutions via email (including filling out their own transcript request form) so I forgot to sign the cover sheet. Should I go resend this transcript now or am I overreacting? Just wanting to get verified ASAP! Thanks.
 
I'm currently enrolled in a CMA program (CEUs, no grades) that finishes up June 19. I won't be able to get an official transcript from that school until two weeks after. I could either wait till i'm finished and submit my app in early july OR claim exempt from submitting a transcript because it's a current on-going class. any advice anyone? does a difference between now and early July significantly hurt my app/chances?
 
baconcures said:
Hey guys, this might be a really dumb question but I am paranoid.. Does your transcript request form need to be signed for AMCAS to "receive" the transcript? I sent all of my material to one of my institutions via email (including filling out their own transcript request form) so I forgot to sign the cover sheet. Should I go resend this transcript now or am I overreacting? Just wanting to get verified ASAP! Thanks.
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I think the signature is more for the schools so they can see that you've consented to them sending a transcript. I don't think AMCAS would receive a cover form and a transcript both with your name, and then not upload it because you didn't sign it.

However- always play on the side of caution- if you're going to lose sleep over it, just go ahead and send another one. No harm in that.
 
ahhssha said:
I'm currently enrolled in a CMA program (CEUs, no grades) that finishes up June 19. I won't be able to get an official transcript from that school until two weeks after. I could either wait till i'm finished and submit my app in early july OR claim exempt from submitting a transcript because it's a current on-going class. any advice anyone? does a difference between now and early July significantly hurt my app/chances?
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Per some other posts on this threat, in general earlier is better, but July doesn't seem late. I think rule is prior to August and you're still considered a relatively early applicant.
 
sunflower18 said:
Hopefully this isn't neurotic.... My application was just verified, and every single one of my classes was changed due to a credit discrepancy. At my school, we get 1 credit per class, but the registrar tells us that this means 4 semester hours so we should list things as 4 semester hours on applications and stuff. So I did, but then AMCAS changed all of my OT credits to be 1 and then filled the Sem hours with 4. I didn't have access to those two different types of credit hours when filling out my application.

I guess my question is -- will schools look at the fact that AMCAS changed every single one of my grades and think that I'm a total idiot? Will that raise a red flag? It was seriously just a misunderstanding between what AMCAS wanted and what my registrar instructed us to do -- I realize know that I was in the wrong, but I hope this doesn't come back to bite me. Any help would be great.
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Don't think med schools will care- someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. If they did....I'm sure every one of us would have some kind of "flag" for our respective applications.
 
snowman.33 said:
yes and no - while June 3rd at 9:30 am submits already have theirs verified, historically speaking, the 10:30 ams will be verified in a week. so June 7th has the potential to be pushed all the way back to mid July, if it gets held up as last year - so my advice is to submit ASAP if you have everything ready.
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Really eh?? That big of a difference for a few days. Wow. Ugh...unfortunately I don't have a choice so we'll see how it goes...
 
kazin said:
Really eh?? That big of a difference for a few days. Wow. Ugh...unfortunately I don't have a choice so we'll see how it goes...
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I submitted at 10:07 on June 3rd and mine was verified today! So maybe it'll go faster than you think.

investmentdoc said:
Don't think med schools will care- someone correct me if I'm wrong on this. If they did....I'm sure every one of us would have some kind of "flag" for our respective applications.
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Okay, phew! I hope you're right.
 
So I submitted my application on 6/3 and just realized that I took some courses that I received AP credit for and didn't list them as repeat courses. What will happen? Will they fix this for me during verification? Or will they tell me to fix it and then I'll have to resubmit?
 
sunflower18 said:
I submitted at 10:07 on June 3rd and mine was verified today! So maybe it'll go faster than you think.
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Heh June 3rd (in the AM) is a lot better than June 6 in the PM (since I'm PST). Hopefully they get through it quickly...otherwise, will there be a gigantic disadvantage for me? I mean the % of applicants who submitted the second they could can't be that big.
 
I submitted my application at 9:31am on June 3rd... still no verification. I keep reading threads where people are stating that everybody who submitted in the first five minutes is already verified and that is sort of freaking me out. Should I be concerned that mine hasn't been verified? Or is this normal? Sorry to add to the neuroticism.
 
banksgk said:
I submitted my application at 9:31am on June 3rd... still no verification. I keep reading threads where people are stating that everybody who submitted in the first five minutes is already verified and that is sort of freaking me out. Should I be concerned that mine hasn't been verified? Or is this normal? Sorry to add to the neuroticism.
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Judging from last year's verification thread, there are anomalies (not every application is straightforward). Take solace in the fact that you'll be verified ASAP and much faster than some of us!
 
Does verification begin after submission of the application and transcripts received, or when tarsncripts are marked as received?

I just sent in all my transcripts now, and I imagine that they will be there within 5-6 days or so. Usually when they get a transcript they email you saying they received the transcript on one day, and marked them as received 4-5 days later. Which is the day your app will go in que for verification?
 
banksgk said:
I submitted my application at 9:31am on June 3rd... still no verification. I keep reading threads where people are stating that everybody who submitted in the first five minutes is already verified and that is sort of freaking me out. Should I be concerned that mine hasn't been verified? Or is this normal? Sorry to add to the neuroticism.
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Your fine, you'll still be verified before the first day AMCAS transmits primaries to medical schools
 
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Is it better to submit the application now with a 29 MCAT (3.97ish GPA) or wait until I get a better MCAT score so that I don't get pre-screened out? I take the MCAT again on June 21st.
 
If you indicate that you're taking it on June 21st they won't even evaluate your app until they receive scores, I believe.
 
I noticed a lot of schools mention that they want physicians who are "culturally sensitive". That is, being aware of the culture of the person you are serving. How is this distinguished from stereotyping? In my past work experience, I have noticed that certain cultures generally have certain characteristics, and taking this into account can be important in serving the person. However, if you explained this in your application, would some people call you out as stereotyping?
 
marauderette said:
Is it better to submit the application now with a 29 MCAT (3.97ish GPA) or wait until I get a better MCAT score so that I don't get pre-screened out? I take the MCAT again on June 21st.
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If you are going to make a significantly better MCAT score, probably better to wait. Screening doesn't even get you a foot in the door. Later application with a high mcat still does.
 
So, my transcript was mailed by my school on May 29th and I still haven't heard anything about it being received by AMCAS... my school is in MD so it shouldn't have taken any more than 2 days for it to get to their mailbox... Do you think this is normal?
 
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