*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~*

[medreamer]

@Catalystik
Question about letter of recommendation entry on AMCAS
I made one entry so far entitled "X University Committee Letter" which will include all of my university letters of rec in one composite letter. I also have outside letters of rec from the director of student affairs from my university, doctor I shadowed, volunteer program at hospital, pharmacy I worked at, and research advisor. They all sent their letters to my pre-health advisor who kept them in one file and is willing to send them out on the recommenders' behalf. In this case...

1. Do I make another entry for this letter packet?
2. What should I name this letter of rec entry?
3. Can I put the contact info as my pre-health advisor who will be sending them out?

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[prairiemusic]

I have a question about entering course work. I have two marks of "AR" - Administrative Referral. It's supposed to be a placeholder while the professor consults with my advisor but it's been literal years since I received one of them and neither myself nor my advisor has been able to get in touch with the professor. Do I need to check one of the special boxes? i.e. No Record or Withdrawal? Or do I just put "AR" for the grade (that's how it's listed on my transcript) and hope that the explanation I put for the associated academic probation will suffice?

 

[prairiemusic]

I have a question about entering course work. I have two marks of "AR" - Administrative Referral. It's supposed to be a placeholder while the professor consults with my advisor but it's been literal years since I received one of them and neither myself nor my advisor has been able to get in touch with the professor. Do I need to check one of the special boxes? i.e. No Record or Withdrawal? Or do I just put "AR" for the grade (that's how it's listed on my transcript) and hope that the explanation I put for the associated academic probation will suffice?

Update: I have consulted the instructions and it says to use No Record, thank you friends

 

[mariposas905]

If AMCAS marks all your transcripts as received, does that they mean they have them and won't lose them? I have not submitted AMCAS for verification yet...I'm wondering if there is still a chance AMCAS could lose the transcripts after I submit or if I'm good because they are marked as 'received?'

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik
Question about letter of recommendation entry on AMCAS
I made one entry so far entitled "X University Committee Letter" which will include all of my university letters of rec in one composite letter. I also have outside letters of rec from the director of student affairs from my university, doctor I shadowed, volunteer program at hospital, pharmacy I worked at, and research advisor. They all sent their letters to my pre-health advisor who kept them in one file and is willing to send them out on the recommenders' behalf. In this case...

1. Do I make another entry for this letter packet?
2. What should I name this letter of rec entry?
3. Can I put the contact info as my pre-health advisor who will be sending them out?

I'm not so sure that a second packet of Supplemental Recommendations consisting of 5 additional letters will be counted as a single letter (like the Committee Letter packet will be). And if it's not, there are not a huge number of schools that will allow a total of 6 letters. Which means you'd be better off entering each one individually and targeting them carefully so you don't exceed the allowable LOR limit for each school.

Quote from AMCAS Application Guide: "If a Committee Letter or Letter Packet is sent to AMCAS, the entire Committee Letter or Letter Packet will be sent to the schools you’ve designated to receive the letter. AMCAS does not split packets or remove a letter from your packet once it has been received. If you wish to send a specific letter to one medical school, we recommend that you enter it as an Individual Letter and have it sent separately from the packet."

My reading of this is that one committee letter or one packet will be sent out by AMCAS, but not both. But your advisor may have a different experience since she's accumulated the letters in one file.

What say you @gonnif ?

 

[Catalystik]

Quick question about course classification: I took some foreign literature classes, but they were completely taught in English, and we read and wrote everything in English as well. Would I classify this as English lang/lit, or foreign lang/lit?

English

 

[Catalystik]

If AMCAS marks all your transcripts as received, does that they mean they have them and won't lose them? I have not submitted AMCAS for verification yet...I'm wondering if there is still a chance AMCAS could lose the transcripts after I submit or if I'm good because they are marked as 'received?'

You're good.

 

[prairiemusic]

Okay I have an actual question now! I was planning to take Orgo II at my local four year this fall, but I am having difficulty enrolling and it looks like I may have to take it in the spring. Should I list it as fall (future) on the off chance that I get off the waitlist for the class, or should I list it in the spring to be safe?

 

[mariposas905]

You're good.

Okay, so received does mean they can't lose the transcripts anymore? I'm going to submit on the 15th, so it would suck to have them take four weeks to verify and then say they can't because of a lost transcript and put me at the back of the queue so just wanted to confirm!

 

[prairiemusic]

No one will care. Schools do not use AMCAS to check for prereq fulfillment

Thank you for the quick reply! I'll just stick it in the Fall then.

 

[medreamer]

I'm not so sure that a second packet of Supplemental Recommendations consisting of 5 additional letters will be counted as a single letter (like the Committee Letter packet will be). And if it's not, there are not a huge number of schools that will allow a total of 6 letters. Which means you'd be better off entering each one individually and targeting them carefully so you don't exceed the allowable LOR limit for each school.

Quote from AMCAS Application Guide: "If a Committee Letter or Letter Packet is sent to AMCAS, the entire Committee Letter or Letter Packet will be sent to the schools you’ve designated to receive the letter. AMCAS does not split packets or remove a letter from your packet once it has been received. If you wish to send a specific letter to one medical school, we recommend that you enter it as an Individual Letter and have it sent separately from the packet."

My reading of this is that one committee letter or one packet will be sent out by AMCAS, but not both. But your advisor may have a different experience since she's accumulated the letters in one file.

What say you @gonnif ?

So would it be better to make individual entries for the outside letters and have my advisor send the letters individually?
Also even though AMCAS would receive 6 different letters, can I choose to have some schools only receive 3,4,or 5 of them?

 

[Eagleye2]

Hey so I have a quick question, I’ve been reviewing my application in the “print application” form, and my classes are coming in the correct SEMESTER order, but they’re out of order within each semester. For example, my transcript lists physics 1st and biology 2nd, and that’s the order that I put them in, but on the print application form of the application, it’ll list them in opposite order. They’re still in the correct semester and year, just wrong order within the semester. Is this a glitch or did I somehow put them in incorrectly

 

[tc1118]

Guys I really think I screwed up. In my haste to get my application in early I completely forgot to add my upcoming SMP and coursework to the appropriate areas of the app. I've contacted AMCAS to see if the information could possibly be added, but I'm assuming I've royally screwed myself. Has anybody had similar issues?

 

[melaninnMD]

Guys I really think I screwed up. In my haste to get my application in early I completely forgot to add my upcoming SMP and coursework to the appropriate areas of the app. I've contacted AMCAS to see if the information could possibly be added, but I'm assuming I've royally screwed myself. Has anybody had similar issues?

How many activities do you have already? Unfortunately I believe it is too late to add additional activities :/ however, for most secondaries, they have a section where you can update them on recent activities so you can include them there. I've seen this option in prompts from several schools already. Hope there's comfort in that! Don't stress about it!

 

[melaninnMD]

Hey so I have a quick question, I’ve been reviewing my application in the “print application” form, and my classes are coming in the correct SEMESTER order, but they’re out of order within each semester. For example, my transcript lists physics 1st and biology 2nd, and that’s the order that I put them in, but on the print application form of the application, it’ll list them in opposite order. They’re still in the correct semester and year, just wrong order within the semester. Is this a glitch or did I somehow put them in incorrectly

I saw a recent tweet by the AAMC that they area ware of the problem with the order of classes and that we could ignore it. They said so long as the classes are right you should be fine!

 

[melaninnMD]

Guys I really think I screwed up. In my haste to get my application in early I completely forgot to add my upcoming SMP and coursework to the appropriate areas of the app. I've contacted AMCAS to see if the information could possibly be added, but I'm assuming I've royally screwed myself. Has anybody had similar issues?

Yep, you can choose which schools receive certain letters, they don't all have to go the the same schools. If it's a committee letter/packet then in that case all those letters submitted to the committee will go to whichever school get's the packet.

 

[neurotx]

I'm new to SDN, so I hope this is the right place for this question.

To keep it short, I have a class B misdemeanor on my record from about 18 months ago. It was a nasty traffic violation, no alcohol or substances involved--just stupidity. I went to court, got a plea in abeyance, went to defensive driving, and kept my record clean after that. The court has it listed as a dismissal of a class B misdemeanor on my record.

I feel like most of the wisdom I have seen indicates that I should just disclose it on my app and talk about how I have change/what I learned and then move on. Recently, however, I have read that AMCAS explicitly states you don't have to disclose charges that were dismissed? What is the truth? What is the wise thing to do?

I could potentially get it expunged, but that's a six-month process that I learned about too late to be effective for this cycle.

For what it's worth, I already submitted TMDSAS with a full disclosure of the offense.

Any ideas on how this might hurt my chances? Stats are pretty good and EC's are decent.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Guys I really think I screwed up. In my haste to get my application in early I completely forgot to add my upcoming SMP and coursework to the appropriate areas of the app. I've contacted AMCAS to see if the information could possibly be added, but I'm assuming I've royally screwed myself. Has anybody had similar issues?

If you’re worried because you didn’t include something you think you had to, it says in the applicant guide (and in the application) that future coursework doesn’t have to be listed and are not binding.

 

[Lucca]

Hey everyone! I just want to make sure that I can do the following after initial primary submission:
- add schools under the school list category
- add letters of recommendation under the LOR category (have interfolio deliver LOR)

You can add schools after you submit.

Add all of the letters you expect to send to aMCAS onto the application before you submit. You can send them in via interfolio at any point after that and/or let amcas know to no longer expect a letter. You cannot alter the list of letters being sent to a school after submitting to that school.

 

[theKingLT]

I do not recommend that applicants list a letter until it is actually sitting in AMCAS

Why is that? Can't you always chsnge it to not send if you can't get it?

 

[melaninnMD]

Future Classes/coursework are not in the work/activities area of the application and therefore not affected by this limit

My bad, I thought SMP was one of those summer research programs, not coursework!

 

[Lucca]

I do not recommend that applicants list a letter until it is actually sitting in AMCAS

I should clarify that I meant to list the letters that you know you’re going to send because you have them sitting in interfolio already. It can take two weeks or more for an interfolio delivery to be marked received on the amcas end.

 

[Lucca]

I will repeat, do not assign letters until they are in AMCAS. There have been minor but persistent issues with letters be properly transferred from Interfolio to AMCAS such as have multiple copies of the same letter being transferred. There is no benefit is assigning a letter prior to it being in AMCAS (actually there is no benefit in assigning a letter until transmission day as it aint going nowhere).

Can you submit to a school without assigning any letters to it? You can’t jump into the verification Q without at least specifying them for one school. If you have a letter in interfolio, it’s going to get to AMCAS even if there are some minor hiccups on the way, no?

 

[Lucca]

1) letters are not needed for primary verification. They are not verified in any way shape or form as AMCAS only forwards letters
2) schools will not need letters until secondary is submitted at the earliest. More likely not until Sept in most cases
3) letters are transmitted in 1 business day after they are loaded into AMCAS
4) Despite the name the AMCAS primary application is a seperate system from AMCAS Letter Service

I understand. What I’m saying is that you need to specify at least 1 letter for a school when you are submitting your application (whether or not it has arrived at amcas) and you can’t alter that info after you submit. Unless I’m missing something or wrong about this, which is what I’m asking

 

[esob]

AMCAS states "don't put your SSN" in the Identification numbers list for schools, but one of my schools doesn't have a student ID for me and my transcript instead contains my SSN. Should I add my SSN and roll with it or just hope that the school will honor my transcript request without an identifying number?

 

[Onager]

Question for you all:

When I was in HS I took community college courses that did not count toward HS graduation and ended up earning an associate degree before HS graduation. This will be reported on AMCAS of course and shown on my transcripts. At the community college I was in an honorary and we did several health related things including organizing a health fair. To what extent should I incorporate these things into my application, if at all, since they are kindof HS-era activities, although health related. Should I get a recommendation letter from a Prof./advisor from my time there? I have 5 letters from my University already.

 

[avocadosnumber]

Re: entering coursework, I have a little point of confusion. There are a couple of courses for which I received AP credit that are listed twice on the transcript. For example, ENGL 101 is listed and shows that I received 3 credits. But then there's a second line (screenshot below) for ENGL 101 that's basically blank--I don't know what this is meant to indicate but perhaps it signifies an exemption(?). Then Algebra is shown three times but with 0 hours, so I'm assuming it's meant to show an exemption?

So I know that I definitely need to enter it as AP credit, but I'm not sure if I need to make a separate entry for the same course since it's technically shown more than once on the transcript. But I can't categorize the course as both AP and exempt on AMCAS. I called AMCAS and my undergrad registrar, and neither really knew what to tell me.

If that was confusing, basically I just want to know if I need to make separate entries but with different designations for the same course if it shows up multiple times (but not because I took it multiple times) on the transcript? Thank you!

 

[avocadosnumber]

If its on the transcript multiple time then list it multiple times. Else you risk delay in verificatio

Even if it's the exact same course or the exact same thing is listed three times like this?

Also in the case of the ENGL course, how should I interpret that second line? Exemption?

Thank you for your help!!

 

[XOXO123]

This question feels way too silly to make a thread about so hope it's okay to put it here. Is it okay to use contractions in my PS and/or secondaries (didn't vs did not)? I've always been taught no contractions in formal writing, but it just sounds so stiff to me here.

 

[Unlimited Apps]

Few questions:
I submitted my AMCAS around June 8th (transcripts were received a few days prior to this date). Assuming that it gets verified before the transmission date (obviously it is not guaranteed but I think likely?), what is the best way to add additional schools and still theoretically sent out in the first batch transmitted?

I submitted my primary with only a few schools because my school list was not yet finalized. I am in the process of finalizing it now and want to add the remaining 20+ schools. Should I do it BEFORE verification or AFTER verification? If I do it in the coming weeks before verification, it doesn't reset my place in the queue right? Cause I believe I have to resubmit the application after adding more schools. And if I add schools after verification I am assuming it will take a business day or two to update and I might not be in the first batch transmitted?

I know I am being kind of anal about this when it doesn't appear to be that big of a deal but I just want to make sure that I don't mess up anything with the primary verification process and being timely.

 

[esob]

I left active duty military service nearly two decades ago. For the point of contact should I just list some generic 800 number for a govt agency that can verify my military service or would it be better to list a fellow vet (but perhaps not someone I actually served with) as the point of contact or perhaps someone such as the director of student veterans affairs who knows me and has seen my DD214 and can verify my military service dates?

I also have another question about listing a point of contact. I have been self-employed since leaving active duty, so my options for listing POC are:

- Myself
- My spouse (who is listed on the corporate papers as the CEO)
- One of my clients (I have several who would be happy to do this)
- One of my employees/subcontractors who has worked for me years

Which is preferred?

 

[buckoh24]

Is it best to designate letters to get your app complete then add more later? I have 2 letters in (1 science LOR and 1 lab manager) and 4 more on the way (1 science, 1 PI, 1 mentor, 1 non science) but Im not sure if those will be in by June 28th. Should I put the 2 I have now and then add the others later to fit the schools LOR requirements?

 

[avocadosnumber]

If the contact information for the point of contact you designated for an activity changes or someone else takes over their position at the organization, what would be the best course of action if you've already submitted?

 

[DameJulie]

How to create citation for an accepted manuscript that's currently preparing to be published?

My guess would be Doe Jane et al., title, (2018). Journal. Accepted manuscript.

What do you all think? It should appear online in the next month or so, but for now no doi or PMID is out for this manuscript yet.

Also, should I include the journal that the paper is accepted in? Since by the time of submission, we're probably still in that embargo rule thing. Not sure including the journal in the citation would violate that rule.

 

[DameJulie]

Technically, you are part of the embargo as well not having any proper citation but your suggestion is the way to do it

Should I still go ahead and create the citation, or just say "I have an accepted manuscript in [journal] and will appear online around [month]" and not going into detail on AMCAS?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Should I still go ahead and create the citation, or just say "I have an accepted manuscript in [journal] and will appear online around [month]" and not going into detail on AMCAS?

I spoke to an adcom in person and asked this exact question. His answer was identical to gonnif’s.

 

[Catalystik]

Should I still go ahead and create the citation, or just say "I have an accepted manuscript in [journal] and will appear online around [month]" and not going into detail on AMCAS?

You would know the terms of the journal's embargo better than we can, but it seems most conservative not to cite it, but to use your suggestion of, "I have an accepted manuscript in [journal] which will appear online around [month]" without going into detail. If you use the full title prematurely, you never know who might see it.

 

[325jerseyboy]

Question about taking CASPER exam on July 8th 2018.
Some of schools I am applying to need CASPER. Is it OK to appear the exam on 8th July? Will it have a negative impact on my application. I am already verified by AMCAS and my Committee letter is already in AMCAS. So probably my application will be transmitted to the schools in the first batch. Any response will be appreciated

 

[thebdot]

Question about LoRs after submission: can we change which schools we want them sent to? I know we can add letters but can we edit the recipients of ones we already have listed?

 

[DameJulie]

Question about taking CASPER exam on July 8th 2018.
Some of schools I am applying to need CASPER. Is it OK to appear the exam on 8th July? Will it have a negative impact on my application. I am already verified by AMCAS and my Committee letter is already in AMCAS. So probably my application will be transmitted to the schools in the first batch. Any response will be appreciated

That's definitely ok. Schools will receive your scores in 3-4 weeks, meaning your app will be complete by the end of July, which is still early.

 

[325jerseyboy]

Schools do not really start processing until August besides that with thousands of applications in can take 4-12 weeks for an app to be fully considered

Thanks @gonnif. Do you have any advice on strategy for taking CASPER?

 

[325jerseyboy]

That's definitely ok. Schools will receive your scores in 3-4 weeks, meaning your app will be complete by the end of July, which is still early.

Is anyone familiar with this test? Any advice on how to prepare?

 

[DameJulie]

Is anyone familiar with this test? Any advice on how to prepare?

If you search here there are many post that talk about how to prepare. I think most people just read through the medical ethics page. make sure you practice typing beforehand. It takes some provoking thoughts, but your typing fingers need to match up with your thought speed.

 

[avocadosnumber]

I've already sent my advisor the request to send my committee letter, but it hasn't been received by AMCAS yet. I know that verification doesn't require LORs, but if I submit my primary without assigning that letter to any schools, will I be able to go back in (after verification and after the letter has been received by AMCAS) to assign the letter to my chosen schools?

 

[Catalystik]

Hmm while the AMCAS application is treated as confidential, an adcom who is peer-reviewer, friend of your PI, or worse, researcher who competes with PI, could make an issue. Even so I think risk is low. What about “findings on TOPIC accepted for publication in JOURNAL”

I think that's reasonable considering there's already (likely) a Research entry on @DameJulie 's application that will mesh with the general topic provided.

 

[keytonez]

Is there a way to differentiate between courses you intentionally chose to take Pass/Fail and courses you took that were only offered Pass/Fail (e.g. independent research or field work)? All p/f grades show up as "S" on my transcript, whether I chose or was forced to do p/f. Applicant guide does not have a clear answer here. Thank you!

 

[esob]

My military service is also my paid healthcare experience. Which category would be better to list it under?

 

[325jerseyboy]

Question on Changing Program to schools already applied:
I have applied to MD/PHD program of a Medical school. My application is already verified by AMCAS. Can I change my application to particular school that I applied for MD/PHD to MD Only ? If Yes till what time that assignment can be changed?

 

[mariposas905]

For the letter entries, do we really have to include a primary address for our letter writer information? Can this just be the school address or the address of the place they work?

 

[mariposas905]

1) if schools get to your letters before Labor Day, it would be suprising

2) schools do not check ECs very much during the admission process. They might spot check a little but usually only if something is atypical or for further info. Sometime applicants either overstate or understate something. The same with letters

3) schools are more likely to check EC and LORs after acceptance during post-acceptance / pre-matriculation phase. This is where a school will verify much of every student prior to being allowed to start classes

4) dont worry about this

Does this mean schools don't usually consider letters when inviting people to II? Because don't a lot of schools give out interview invites in July and August? If most schools don't read the letters until Labor Day, then I guess this part isn't a big factor in extending invites