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

[HappyFeet14]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

you need a school.

Is there any reason why one could not submit their application on time, and then just wait to assign LORs once they all come in? All my letters will be in (at the very latest) by July 1st. Do schools look down upon applications that have LORs sent a little after the primary?

 

[gonnif]

Is there any reason why one could not submit their application on time, and then just wait to assign LORs once they all come in? All my letters will be in (at the very latest) by July 1st. Do schools look down upon applications that have LORs sent a little after the primary?

Oh no, that's like the worst thing, school's will scorn and deride you application. Kidding

Relax most schools wont look at letters until secondaries are complete, many committees dont get letters out until much later

 

[Jaysuperman]

Super quick question. CC classes taken after getting a degree. Are they listed as postbac undergrad or junior college?

 

[BeancheBlanco]

How should programs like Americorps be labeled? You are given a living stipend, but it is below minimum wage. At the beginning of the program they stress that this is not employment and we are not allowed to call this a "job" or anything like that. Should I just call this a volunteer activity and not say anything about compensation? Not trying to paint it in a better light, I just want to be honest and accurate. Is it possible this can be construed as insincere?

Also, another clinical or not clinical question. I work in a building that has a clinic but I don't work physically in the clinic. I see clients for infectious disease counseling/testing. When people are tested positive for diseases, I take them to the clinic and set them up with the doctor. I also take clients there fairly often for small things like blood draws. Most of the time I am not in the clinic though. Should I label this as clinical or not clinical?

 

[gonnif]

Super quick question. CC classes taken after getting a degree. Are they listed as postbac undergrad or junior college?

Anything takes AFTER you have earned the first bachelors is postbacc

This includes:

CC courses
4 Year schools
second degree programs
graduate courses NOT applied to graduate degrees

 

[gonnif]

How should programs like Americorps be labeled? You are given a living stipend, but it is below minimum wage. At the beginning of the program they stress that this is not employment and we are not allowed to call this a "job" or anything like that. Should I just call this a volunteer activity and not say anything about compensation? Not trying to paint it in a better light, I just want to be honest and accurate. Is it possible this can be construed as insincere?

list in volunteer and can discuss (non-employment) stipend if you wish

Also, another clinical or not clinical question. I work in a building that has a clinic but I don't work physically in the clinic. I see clients for infectious disease counseling/testing. When people are tested positive for diseases, I take them to the clinic and set them up with the doctor. I also take clients there fairly often for small things like blood draws. Most of the time I am not in the clinic though. Should I label this as clinical or not clinical?

seeing clients under these circumstances can be considered clinical

 

[teefero]

On my transcript currently there is a course called
ZIES: Study Abroad in UNSW and I have been giving a Pass for it BUT this a placeholder course.
It will go away when my actual classes have been approved and be replaced with my courses and my grades once they have been sent to my home school.

However, when I called AMCAS about what to do about my courses here, they told me to list the courses as they WOULD show up and choose Current/Future. (So currently under Spring 2014 I have 4 courses designated as Current/Future).

I am afraid my application won't be verified because I did not include the placeholder course and they will receive a transcript with this on it. Should I include the ZIES: Study Abroad course with the Pass grade AND the courses that will show up later as current/future?

Or should I just leave it as is?

List study abroad coursework under the foreign college at which it was attempted, exactly as it appears on the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution's transcript. Do not enter the coursework twice.

This is where I am struggling because only that placeholder course appears. Will I have to update the schools when these courses have been added?


Would my exception be that it is current/upcoming course work or a foreign college whose credits were transferred to another school?

 

[dedicated1989]

hey guys, Im trying to finalize my list of schools to apply to. I am a Maryland resident so only have UMB as my in state school. As of now I have 20 MD schools with about 6 schools public. my question is are these schools OOS friendly? They are:
Cooper Medical School (NJ)
Eastern Virginia MS (VA)
University of Toledo (OH)
University of Cincinnati (OH)
Virginia Commonwealth (VA)

If there are any other schools that are friendly to OOS please let me know! My stats are for low/mid tier ranking so Im focusing on those schools. Also any school recommendations in general. Thanks!!!

 

[kyamh]

How should programs like Americorps be labeled? You are given a living stipend, but it is below minimum wage. At the beginning of the program they stress that this is not employment and we are not allowed to call this a "job" or anything like that. Should I just call this a volunteer activity and not say anything about compensation? Not trying to paint it in a better light, I just want to be honest and accurate. Is it possible this can be construed as insincere?

I would label it as employment because you don't have to be employed elsewhere to support yourself while doing it whereas other volunteer positions take up your free time. Honestly, it doesn't matter much for a well known program like Americorps, adcoms know what they are all about.

Also, another clinical or not clinical question. I work in a building that has a clinic but I don't work physically in the clinic. I see clients for infectious disease counseling/testing. When people are tested positive for diseases, I take them to the clinic and set them up with the doctor. I also take clients there fairly often for small things like blood draws. Most of the time I am not in the clinic though. Should I label this as clinical or not clinical?

Clinical, you interact with patients.

 

[BeancheBlanco]

I would label it as employment because you don't have to be employed elsewhere to support yourself while doing it whereas other volunteer positions take up your free time. Honestly, it doesn't matter much for a well known program like Americorps, adcoms know what they are all about.

Yeah, I know that adcoms will know what AmeriCorps is. That's why I'm hesitant to call it "volunteer work". Some adcoms might think I am trying to make it look more noble than it really is. On the other hand, it definitely is not true that AmeriCorps is employment. They specifically told us that. And I'm getting mixed responses from you guys. I guess either way wouldn't make a big difference.

Clinical, you interact with patients.

Ok. I guess it depends on how you define "patient". I am testing for infectious diseases but I am not in a clinic with nurses or doctors. I just have a certification to do certain tests and people come to me to get those tests done. For these people, I would not consider them patients. But when I bring some of them to the clinic for treatment, that would make them "patients". I think I'll label it as clinical though.

 

[theroof]

I have a question regarding the Colleges Attended section.
I took a college level course by the state university in high school. But the credits weren't accepted in my current university. But do I still need to add the state university in the Colleges Attended section? in addition to the current university I attended? Do I put in as "Junior College" for the high school college level class?
And I would need to request transcripts from both universities?

Thank you.

 

[gonnif]

I have a question regarding the Colleges Attended section.
I took a college level course by the state university in high school. But the credits weren't accepted in my current university. But do I still need to add the state university in the Colleges Attended section? in addition to the current university I attended? Do I put in as "Junior College" for the high school college level class?
And I would need to request transcripts from both universities?

Thank you.

1) Any college course ever taken needs to be listed
2) Transcript from the college where it was taken needs to be sent to AMCAS
3) I would list it as HS

 

[investmentdoc]

hey guys, Im trying to finalize my list of schools to apply to. I am a Maryland resident so only have UMB as my in state school. As of now I have 20 MD schools with about 6 schools public. my question is are these schools OOS friendly? They are:
Cooper Medical School (NJ)
Eastern Virginia MS (VA)
University of Toledo (OH)
University of Cincinnati (OH)
Virginia Commonwealth (VA)

If there are any other schools that are friendly to OOS please let me know! My stats are for low/mid tier ranking so Im focusing on those schools. Also any school recommendations in general. Thanks!!!

Someone can correct me on this, but I believe U of Cincinnati isn't the easiest school especially if you are targeting low tier schools.

 

[investmentdoc]

Re: transcripts- if we are currently taking course work that will finish by Fall, are we supposed to send updated transcripts to each school ourselves? Or do they go to AMCAS which then send them out?

Also- I might have misunderstood a post above- should we not submit on June 1st if we do not have all of our LORs submitted?

 

[kyamh]

Re: transcripts- if we are currently taking course work that will finish by Fall, are we supposed to send updated transcripts to each school ourselves? Or do they go to AMCAS which then send them out?

Also- I might have misunderstood a post above- should we not submit on June 1st if we do not have all of our LORs submitted?

You will have to send the update to each school individually.

You should not wait for your LORs. Your application will be verified without the letters, you can get and submit secondaries without LORs. You will be complete at each school as soon as they have your secondary, verified app, LORs, and all your MCATs are in.

 

[dedicated1989]

Someone can correct me on this, but I believe U of Cincinnati isn't the easiest school especially if you are targeting low tier schools.

I only included it after multiple people mentioned it and I fell within their range according to MSAR. However I am not entirely sure

 

[Lindsey Freeman]

I'm extremely confused about the transcript process. I have printed off my forum with my ID number and everything. I am taking my MCAT June 13th and therefore should get my score & be sending everything in around July 13th. Should I contact the registrar office to have my transcript sent right now?

 

[investmentdoc]

I'm extremely confused about the transcript process. I have printed off my forum with my ID number and everything. I am taking my MCAT June 13th and therefore should get my score & be sending everything in around July 13th. Should I contact the registrar office to have my transcript sent right now?

You can have your transcripts sent in prior to scores being transmitted/app being complete.

 

[investmentdoc]

You will have to send the update to each school individually.

You should not wait for your LORs. Your application will be verified without the letters, you can get and submit secondaries without LORs. You will be complete at each school as soon as they have your secondary, verified app, LORs, and all your MCATs are in.

Thank you!

 

[orangeman25]

If you are filling in summer courses, what year does that fall under? For example if you took summer courses in the summer between your sophomore and junior year, under AMCAS would it still be your sophomore yr?

 

[gonnif]

If you are filling in summer courses, what year does that fall under? For example if you took summer courses in the summer between your sophomore and junior year, under AMCAS would it still be your sophomore yr?

Either do it by credit totals or, what I prefer when seeing them, is by actual year of the class. So summer after sophomore but before junior is still sophomore

 

[orangeman25]

Either do it by credit totals or, what I prefer when seeing them, is by actual year of the class. So summer after sophomore but before junior is still sophomore

Ok thank you. If you were to do it by credit totals, how would that work? How many total credits constitute a single academic school year?

 

[gonnif]

Ok thank you. If you were to do it by credit totals, how would that work? How many total credits constitute a single academic school year?

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/182162/data/amcas_instruction_manual.pdf

see page 38 for details of above

all students should consider the AMCAS instruction manual the study outline for the final exam of applying to medical school, I suggest to all that you download it and use it to the point of being able to quote verbatim

 

[tzekel]

Hi guys, I have a question. I previously applied during the 2012-2013 cycle, did not receive any love, chose to forgo the 2013-2014 cycle, and will be applying this cycle (2014-2015.)

Am I considered a reapplicant if I skipped last cycle? Will medical schools have access to my application from two years ago and expect me to address it along with the year in between? For the record, I am prepared to explain both that cycle and the one-year gap, but I just want to make sure.

Thank you for you help.

 

[gonnif]

any school that you applied to in you AMCAS of 2 years ago that you apply to again will consider you a reapplicant.

 

[tzekel]

any school that you applied to in you AMCAS of 2 years ago that you apply to again will consider you a reapplicant.

Thanks much!

 

[dedicated1989]

any school that you applied to in you AMCAS of 2 years ago that you apply to again will consider you a reapplicant.

So if I applied more than 2 years ago (I applied in 2010-2011) I am not considered as a reapplicant and I don't have to select that?

 

[gonnif]

So if I applied more than 2 years ago (I applied in 2010-2011) I am not considered as a reapplicant and I don't have to select that?

Sorry I wasnt clear; I meant that to be an example

If you EVER applied via AMCAS in your lifetime and selected schools in the list, you will be considered a reapplicant to those schools

 

[Allium cepa]

I am choosing to send my transcript early without my Spring semester grades so there will be no delay in processing of my application. Would I enter my spring courses and check the box "Current/Future"? Also, do I have to send every school an updated transcript later on or only if schools request them? My Spring grades will not impact my GPA at all and I only took one science class so I see no point in waiting for my grades to be posted and requesting the transcript then.

 

[gonnif]

I am choosing to send my transcript early without my Spring semester grades so there will be no delay in processing of my application. Would I enter my spring courses and check the box "Current/Future"? Also, do I have to send every school an updated transcript later on or only if schools request them? My Spring grades will not impact my GPA at all and I only took one science class so I see no point in waiting for my grades to be posted and requesting the transcript then.

two things to be aware of.

1) do you have more than 90 credits with grades without the spring?

2) some schools will wait for the updated transcripts before full review is done. So by not waiting for the grades, you may in fact be dealing some schools from reviewing your app.

 

[kaj]

Is it okay to send in transcripts before submitting the application? Just to AMCAS has all the materials once I decide to submit

 

[Dr Turkelton]

I finished all my degree requirements at my undergrad school in May and was cleared to graduate. The degree wasn't conferred until November though as that's when the ceremony was. Between May and November I took a bunch of courses at a different school and didn't even report them to my undergrad school. Can I list them as postbacc courses?

Is it okay to send in transcripts before submitting the application? Just to AMCAS has all the materials once I decide to submit

Yes that is what you are supposed to do.

 

[Allium cepa]

two things to be aware of.

1) do you have more than 90 credits with grades without the spring?

2) some schools will wait for the updated transcripts before full review is done. So by not waiting for the grades, you may in fact be dealing some schools from reviewing your app.

1) Yes, I have well over 90 semester units without my spring grades. I could have graduated in the Fall. I had to take only one more class in the spring to graduate. Therefore, I don't see why I should wait for my spring grades when only one of my spring classes is actually relevant... My spring grades won't make a difference on my GPA either.

2) So you are saying that I have to send every school an updated transcript later if I send my transcript early without my spring grades?

 

[Laureatebarrel]

Can you be considered first-generation college if only one of your parents went to college? Or it has to be both? What if one of your parents has less than high school degree?

 

[orangeman25]

If there is something you want to explain (maybe a low gpa or mcat), is there a place besides the personal statement where you can talk about this? Do all secondaries have some sort of essay to explain this?

I don't want to use my personal statement as a platform for any academic deficiency because it would take away from the story I want to talk about

 

[moop]

Can you be considered first-generation college if only one of your parents went to college? Or it has to be both? What if one of your parents has less than high school degree?

No, by definition you would not be the first generation of your family to go to college.

 

[moop]

If there is something you want to explain (maybe a low gpa or mcat), is there a place besides the personal statement where you can talk about this? Do all secondaries have some sort of essay to explain this?

I don't want to use my personal statement as a platform for any academic deficiency because it would take away from the story I want to talk about

Most secondaries ask at the end about circumstances you want to mention.

 

[wellcutcookies]

I'm worried that my app will be submitted late because I have to wait for my spring semester grades. Right now, I'm still waiting on one class for the grade. After that, I have to mail a transcript request form to my university, which will then mail the transcript to AMCAS right? So that will take time as well... My transcript might not be received by AMCAS until the middle of June. Would this put me at a disadvantage? My GPA is also very low, so I need every advantage that I can get. The spring semester's grades won't boost my GPA by much at all, and I would have 90 credit hours without this semester if you include AP credits. I'm starting to wonder if I should have just requested my transcript early, but it's too late for that now, especially since most of the grades are already out. The one grade that is missing will be an A for research hopefully. I definitely don't want to request my transcript right now when I have a course that I should get an A in not on it.

Any advice at all?? Should I just do as outlined above? I feel like it's out of my control now.

 

[gonnif]

1) Yes, I have well over 90 semester units without my spring grades. I could have graduated in the Fall. I had to take only one more class in the spring to graduate. Therefore, I don't see why I should wait for my spring grades when only one of my spring classes is actually relevant... My spring grades won't make a difference on my GPA either.

2) So you are saying that I have to send every school an updated transcript later if I send my transcript early without my spring grades?

You missed my point, some schools if no spring grades are present will hold your app until they are submitted. So by sending in the transcript without the spring grades in hopes of keeping things moving faster , you actually delay the processing. Depends on the school if they want an update.

 

[blubearzangel]

If your school has an outside compilation service then it is submitting 1 letter to AMCAS and therefore you have 1 letter to send to the schools that contain info from all 5 This sounds like it would be treated more as a committee letter

Yes you're correct! A committee letter is considered "1 letter" thanks!

 

[Allium cepa]

You missed my point, some schools if no spring grades are present will hold your app until they are submitted. So by sending in the transcript without the spring grades in hopes of keeping things moving faster , you actually delay the processing. Depends on the school if they want an update.

Are you sure? Some people on this thread are sending their transcripts without their spring grades because they won't be posted until August...

Also, the first post on this thread says this:

15. 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.

I am confused......

 

[hellanutella]

Are you sure? Some people on this thread are sending their transcripts without their spring grades because they won't be posted until August...

Also, the first post on this thread says this:

15. 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.

I am confused......

Hey! I think I'm the person from the class of 2019 thread... I'm also extremely confused.

My school has an odd policy where graduating seniors' grades are not posted to the official transcript until late July or early August. The university waits this long so they can issue a degree without having to retract later on or reprocess due to summer grade changes/appeals. So I can see my grades now, but they won't be on my official transcript for a while.

Therefore, I sent in my official transcript (sans spring grades) after reading tip #15 on this thread and listed my spring courses as current/in-progress. My prehealth counsellor recommended this as well, but I don't know if he was 100% certain.

Also: my spring class load is only 9 units... it's just a few upper-div science electives. Nothing essential, as I was merely taking them to fill out my major's elective requirement. I already have over 120 units competed, excluding spring grades. I really hope my app isn't severely delayed due to this.

 

[Allium cepa]

Hey! I think I'm the person from the class of 2019 thread... I'm also extremely confused.

My school has an odd policy where graduating seniors' grades are not posted to the official transcript until late July or early August. The university waits this long so they can issue a degree without having to retract later on or reprocess due to summer grade changes/appeals. So I can see my grades now, but they won't be on my official transcript for a while.

Therefore, I sent in my official transcript (sans spring grades) after reading tip #15 on this thread and listed my spring courses as current/in-progress. My prehealth counsellor recommended this as well, but I don't know if he was 100% certain.

Also: my spring class load is only 9 units... it's just a few upper-div science electives. Nothing essential, as I was merely taking them to fill out my major's elective requirement. I already have over 120 units competed, excluding spring grades. I really hope my app isn't severely delayed due to this.

I also posted on the Class of 2019 thread. Someone responded that if we go this route, we should send an update to each school about our spring grades and not leave them hanging or else it may appear that we are negligent or hiding something...

 

[hellanutella]

I also posted on the Class of 2019 thread. Someone responded that if we go this route, we should send an update to each school about our spring grades and not leave them hanging or else it may appear that we are negligent or hiding something...

Awh, thanks!
I guess I just have to go that route. Thanks a bunch for directing me to that response. 🙂

________________________________________

So in regards to updating schools about my spring grades, do I include my grades in: 1) an update letter (which is problematic since not all schools accept those pre-interview), 2) within the secondary (if given a section to do so), or 3) send each school an updated official transcript when my grades are populated?

I got all As this semester – though they didn't have any effect on my GPA. I'm just rather upset my school doesn't include these grades earlier... it's not very post-grad program friendly.

 

[cookyjar]

When I was a senior in high school, I took a college class at my current undergrad college during fall 2009 as a dual enrollment class. I noticed that my transcript request form has the dates for my undergrad years only (fall 2010~spring 2014). My official transcript includes everything, even the college class I took during high school in fall 2009. Should I change the date on my transcript request form to include fall 2009 so that the request form better reflects the transcript? The thing is, I never attended college during spring 2009.

Sorry if this is a trivial matter.

 

[Theseus]

Will a discrepancy in the actual dates of attendance at my university (2 months off) delay my application review? I ask this because while my school has my "official" registration somewhere in June 2010, the matriculation date and the start date is August 2010. In addition, my transcript doesn't list the actual start date or end date, just the beginning and end of semesters. I unintentionally sent my transcripts with start date of June 2010, instead of August 2010.

 

[TheJourney]

Hey, I have a follow up question on something that was previously asked regarding the pre-health committee letter. My school does offer a pre-health letter that they send with a "packet" to the designated schools or AMCAS, not sure exactly. This packet will contain all the letters from professors & research PI, in addition to the committee letter. Am I allowed to submit the individual letters to AMCAS using Interfolio and then the pre-health office will send their packet after they interview me and such? Does that look bad or is it too much redundancy?

 

[tantacles]

You missed my point, some schools if no spring grades are present will hold your app until they are submitted. So by sending in the transcript without the spring grades in hopes of keeping things moving faster , you actually delay the processing. Depends on the school if they want an update.

To my knowledge, very few schools do this. They will definitely want to see the updated grades, but getting your application verified should be your number one priority.

 

[Abstractions]

Either do it by credit totals or, what I prefer when seeing them, is by actual year of the class. So summer after sophomore but before junior is still sophomore

According to the AMCAS Instruction Manual Page 39
"Academic Year and Term
These fields show the Academic Year and Term during which you took the course. The AMCAS year begins with summer and ends with spring. Courses taken in the summer should be entered with the next academic year, even if your institution considers them in the previous year. For example, if you took a course in the first summer session of 2011, you should enter it as 2011–2012 academic year, even if your school considers it in the 2010–2011 academic year."

So the summer after sophomore year but before junior should be considered junior; not sophomore.

 

[K1NG]

So I submitted my AMCAS last year pretty late and didn't have a chance to complete all my secondaries. Will I still be considered a reapplicant at the schools that didn't receive my secondary?