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

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So I received need based grants to pay for college, do I put this under the "other" section or "financial need based scholarships"? There isn't a place for grants, but I do know scholarships and grants are sometimes used interchangeably.
 
In regards to your personal statement, if you already wrote about an anecdote you had with a patient in your first paragraph while volunteering at a hospice let's say, what would be the consensus on incorporating another anecdote that you have from another personal experience from the same hospice, would that be fine, or do you need more variety and would that seem like overkill?
 
AquaticSunrise13 said:
In regards to your personal statement, if you already wrote about an anecdote you had with a patient in your first paragraph while volunteering at a hospice let's say, what would be the consensus on incorporating another anecdote that you have from another personal experience from the same hospice, would that be fine, or do you need more variety and would that seem like overkill?
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In my opinion, it might be a bit of overkill to do another anecdote from the same experience. It wouldn't hurt, though, to throw in an anecdote from another experience i.e. volunteering, shadowing. Not all anecdotes need to be patient related either; I talked about students I worked with as a tutor for example.
 
I had one class with AP credit but I retook it at my university anyways as it was recommended to take it. So on my transcript it shows the AP credit (it's for calc 1) but then it shows credit not awards because it was retaken. Should I still list this on my courses?
 
gonnif said:
Not only do you need to list it, you need to note that it was retaken
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So I'm a little confused. I'm filling it out now based off how amcas says to but I don't get how to indicate it was a repeat class. Do I mark the AP credit as repeat or do I mark the actual college calculus class I took as repeat?

Edit: on my transcript it says "repeated: no credit awarded" next to the AP class not the college class
 
gonnif said:
I will make a wild guess is that you havent read the instructions.
You mark all attempts of a repeated class as repeated

2019 AMCAS Applicant Guide p 32 (pdf p37)
(Emphasis in the original)

Repeat (R)
This selection applies to each completed attempt for any course attempted more than once,
unless the final grade initially received was Withdrawal or Incomplete.
A course entry must be made for each completed attempt of a repeated course, even if any mention
of enrollment in the course has been removed from the transcript. To comply with the needs of medical
schools, AMCAS includes all attempts of repeated courses in GPA calculations, even if they are not
included in schools’ GPA calculations.
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Thanks for reading the instructions for me lol, I was watching the instruction video for AP and following that but they didn't mention repeats for it.

Considering AP credit doesn't have a grade just like a withdraw or incomplete doesn't though should I still mark it as repeat?

I'm also confused by the line "If you choose to omit your AP courses, AMCAS staff will add the credits to your application as a lump credit (even though the courses may be listed individually on the transcripts on file)."

Doesn't that mean you don't have to include the AP credit?

Sorry don't mean to make things difficult but I'd rather not list it at all if I don't have to since I never actually got credit for it.

(Also the grade on my transcript for it shows up as AP)
 
For this question: "Which area have you lived in for the majority of life from birth to age eighteen?"

I lived abroad for ~7 years of my life by 18, and the rest in different states across the United States. However, I never lived in one state in the US for more than ~3 years. So, would I put the area I lived in for this particular question as the country abroad instead of the US?

Also, I am not sure if this place is considered underserved. It's a huge urban area in a developing nation, but parts of it are underserved (super poor) and parts of it are not. What should I put for this question? 😕
 
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Is marking yourself disadvantage even worth it if you are questioning if you are? I grew up in an area that is marked underserved by AMCAS and went to a low performing/financially struggling public school. My biggest concern is that I was from an middle class family while the majority of that area was lower class and low SES. My SES situation is making me wonder if admissions will see me as trying to play a pity game or something.
 
I did an off campus internship for credit at my undergrad institution and this credit is awarded and shown on my transcript as a biology course (through bio department). Since this was not a "class" and the grade is just pass-fail, would I still list the course classification as biology?

Thanks in advance!
 
gonnif said:
Was the internship biology related such as a lab? In the end it wont matter much as P/F grade will not affect GPA.
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Yes it was a cell and molecular biology lab at a large research company near my school. That's true, I didn't think about the fact that its probably not very important when is does not affect GPA calculation. Thanks!
 
This may be an obvious question, but if I retook a course during a postbacc at an institution different from my undergrad, do I need to mark it as a repeat? The 2 courses appear on 2 different transcripts and have somewhat different titles but were essentially the same subject.
 
Hiya, I have a question about the section that asks us to break down how we paid for college:

"How have you paid or did you pay for your post-secondary education? For each of the applicable options below, indicate the average percentage contribution towards your post-secondary education. The percentages entered should equal 100%"

Does this refer to total cost of attendance or only tuition? How should I navigate accounting for the fact that I lived at home my senior year?

Thanks!
 
Is it best to use the matriculate avg or accepted avg when making a school list? My GPA is on the lower end for most schools and I have a decent upward trend so Im not really sure how I should make my list in regards to stats. I believe it was goro or LizzyM who said to take the current GPA+avg of the trend (I had a sudden spike) and average that.
 
gonnif said:
The question isnt the single GPA number, which premeds fixate on like a cat with a laser pointer. The question is how to do you sell yourself? If you have a solid upper trend for 2 years then than would be more indicative of what your academic ability is. So you have see which schools would fit that "functional" GPA estimate. Do do so, you have to use something premeds seem to avoid: your judgement, Also, this would need to mentioned in a subtle, passing way, in less than a sentence in your PS about your rising grade trend, achievement, indicative of academic ability or something along thoseca, lines. It needs to meld well with your essay and not seem to just be stuck in. I would suggest you calculate your AMCAS GPA, and post a WAMC with possible school list.
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I have a story to go along with it that I touch on a bit in my personal statement when speaking about volunteering with LGBT youth and how coming out helped me gain confidence, increased my academic performance, and allowed me to advocate for those still in the closet so they can succeed in their goals as well. You can tell the difference based on my activities section too because after coming out, I began doing HIV testing/LGBT Youth center which became my most meaningful experiences. It goes along with my long term mission of Infectious disease and decreasing healthcare disparities for the gender and sexual minority groups in rural areas (I grew up in a rural conservative area which is why it took me a while to come out).
 
If we are requesting letters through Interfolio, is it necessary for letter writers to include our AMCAS ID within the letter?
 
gonnif said:
It would be a good idea if they did but not neccessary
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Okay, I'll ask them, but idk if all of them will necessarily follow through with it. How does Interfolio link the letters to AMCAS? Will AMCAS still be able to match my LORs to my profile and med school list without the AMCAS ID number?
 
@gonnif

I got drunk at an off-campus birthday party, and I ended up hurting myself pretty badly. Like rushed to the hospital in an ambulance badly. I had a meeting with my Dean, and I had to see a school psychologist. I met with her (the psychologist), it was all good, and I never saw her again. I never talked to the police, a lawyer, etc.

Does this count as institutional action? I was underage at the time of the drinking. It did not affect my enrollment, and in fact, I I got A- in both of my science classes. I'm actually quite proud of it because I didn't get addicted to my pain meds either lol...

But yeah, is this IA? I feel like it isn't because my dean handled it pretty casually, but I just want to be on the safe side. I don't want to be put in the position where I'm saying "Oh, I didn't know that was considered IA" and then adcoms are rolling their eyes at me.

Edit: I also had no other run-ins with alcohol abuse, so I feel like this is one of those "young kid made a mistake and learned from it" type of deal. Never had any issues with academic dishonesty or anything like that.
 
Boola Boy said:
@gonnif

I got drunk at an off-campus birthday party, and I ended up hurting myself pretty badly. Like rushed to the hospital in an ambulance badly. I had a meeting with my Dean, and I had to see a school psychologist. I met with her (the psychologist), it was all good, and I never saw her again. I never talked to the police, a lawyer, etc.

Does this count as institutional action? I was underage at the time of the drinking. It did not affect my enrollment, and in fact, I I got A- in both of my science classes. I'm actually quite proud of it because I didn't get addicted to my pain meds either lol...

But yeah, is this IA? I feel like it isn't because my dean handled it pretty casually, but I just want to be on the safe side. I don't want to be put in the position where I'm saying "Oh, I didn't know that was considered IA" and then adcoms are rolling their eyes at me.

Edit: I also had no other run-ins with alcohol abuse, so I feel like this is one of those "young kid made a mistake and learned from it" type of deal. Never had any issues with academic dishonesty or anything like that.
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Best way to know is to ask your school.
 
I'm trying to fill out the courses section of the application - anyone know how to input the courses from the Joint Services Transcript? I can list the course numbers/titles but each "course" has several different courses that are recommended for it below the description with differing numbers of credit hours each.

That also begs the question of whether or not I should list any credit that my university gave me for those courses that it recommends for credit, such as 3 hours for "Physical Education - Parachuting" as a separate course if airborne school is already listed on my JST section.
 
Cyclophage said:
I'm trying to fill out the courses section of the application - anyone know how to input the courses from the Joint Services Transcript? I can list the course numbers/titles but each "course" has several different courses that are recommended for it below the description with differing numbers of credit hours each.

That also begs the question of whether or not I should list any credit that my university gave me for those courses that it recommends for credit, such as 3 hours for "Physical Education - Parachuting" as a separate course if airborne school is already listed on my JST section.
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So, when I called AMCAS, they told me to list every course under the "Military Courses" section. You list the ACE identifier as the course number, then the course title is whatever the course title is (use abbreviations as necessary). The credit hours is the total number of credits under that whole course--you don't list each section individually.

Using my own as an example:

NV-1715-1407 V04
MK 41 Vertical Launching Operation and Maintenance Core
  • Computer Maintenance and Repair 2 SH L
  • Electromechanical Systems Maintenance 3 SH L

So in AMCAS, I put NV-1715-1407 V04 for Course Number, MK 41 Vertical Launching Operation and Maintenance Core for Course Name, and for credits, I put 5 and checked the "military credit" box.

Under military experience on your JST, you only have to list those if a college or university counted them for transfer credit.
 
A few years ago I heard that there is a website that will put ur transcript info into your aamc application for a price... is that still real (if it ever was) ? Those anyone know?
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
So, when I called AMCAS, they told me to list every course under the "Military Courses" section. You list the ACE identifier as the course number, then the course title is whatever the course title is (use abbreviations as necessary). The credit hours is the total number of credits under that whole course--you don't list each section individually.

Under military experience on your JST, you only have to list those if a college or university counted them for transfer credit.
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Hey much appreciated! That's what I was more or less guessing it would be, but I wanted to check.
 
gonnif said:
Verification is not delayed by misclassification. If AMCAS disagrees they will change it with penalty. Courses are classifed soley on content, not dept

1) engineering world health is at best applied public health. It is not BIO

2) social stats can be classified as MATH

3) research is yes, teaching is maybe put them both as BIO

4) ethics is soc or phil not bio

5) stop being paranoid and use reasonable judgement
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oh they change it with penalty? What is the penalty?

Thank you for your input on the classes!
For the applied health we developed biomedical devices (part engineer part bio major team). Still in public health?

Thanks a ton
 
For nursing practicum on the transcript, do we list this as lab only? There is a paired [graded] course that is separate:

Psych Mental Health course [letter grade]
Psych Mental Health practicum [p/f]
 
eulalio said:
Sorry if this has already been asked. Is anyone else's order of coursework messed up? I entered them in the order that they appeared on my transcript, but when I go back to look at them, some of them are out of order. For example it will list a fall 2015 course, then a spring 2016 course, then another fall 2015 course right after. Is this normal, and why is it doing that?
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From what I've seen on here it's normal and a known bug so don't worry about it. It should be in order in the PDF version of your application.

On that note can anyone tell me how to view it as a PDF? I was hoping to see how it would look as a PDF to make sure I didn't mess up anything.
 
eulalio said:
Ahh okay, thanks! To view the PDF, click on "Print Application" on the main menu.

Edit: I looked at my PDF. The semesters are all in the correct order, but the classes within each semester are sometimes mixed up. I feel that shouldn't be a big issue though.
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Alright thanks! I'll check mine and see if it's the same.
 
Another question - do all courses count towards your year in school, or just courses with letter grades? I have a few practicum "courses" where grading was only CR or P/F.

I am trying to make sure I put the correct "year in school" based on credit hours.
 
I am having trouble classifying the following course work, which were a part of my neuroscience electives and biology heavy. However I wanted to double check because of the course names.

1. Music and the brain (music industry department). The school is considering switching it to the neuroscience department due to science heavy material

2. Face and brain (psychology department)

3. Psychology of addiction (neuroscience heavy but I assume this is safe to put under behavioral sciences)
 
I did dual enrollment while I was in high school and got credit for it, so I know I have to include that in past schools. However I got credit from two different community colleges which are both options on the drop down menu. However they are both part of a larger community college district which is also available on the AMCAS drop down menu. When I sent transcripts in the past it all came from the same office of the community college district. Should I make two separate entries or just use one entry that is under the district? I will provide an example below if it helps make things clearer.

Option A:
X community College
Y Community College
Undergrad University

Option B:
Z Community Colleges
Undergrad University.

Also how can I tell if my school is an approved sender of e-transcripts? I called the office and tried to explain to them how AMCAS requires a transcript ID and an AMCAS ID but the student operator was super lost. Im not sure if thats just him or my undergrad. My undergrad is a large state school so I would be surprised if they are not on the approved list. Thanks!
 
gonnif said:
1) if the transcripts come from the same registrar office, you can list as one school
2) send email to registrar to determine if school is AMCAS e-transcript verified
3) most schools are not e-transcript verified so do not assume that your state school is
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The AMCAS applicant guide says that if your school does not request your transcript ID and AAMC ID, that they are almost certainly not approved. That said, 5 of my 10 transcripts were e-transcript approved, so the number is growing.

If your school uses Credentials, Inc. or NSCH to send transcripts, those are e-transcript approved.

Edit: for any vets who will be sending a JST, even though it does not request your AAMC ID and Transcript ID, it is still an approved sender. It takes about a day or two to arrive, unlike universities, which should get there within a few hours or a day tops.
 
Transcript question:

When I was in high school (15 years ago) I took a course the teacher promoted as "dual-enrollment" w/ a semi-local private college. We had the option of paying a couple hundred bucks to earn 3 college credits for the course.

Unfortunately, I don't remember if I paid the money for the credits. If I did, I definitely didn't have them transferred to my eventual undergrad uni. I contacted the school to see if they have any info on me, and I'm getting the run-around. I don't want to have to pay $10 for a transcript and then have them email me saying they don't have one.

1.) Is there an easy online way for me to check if I'm credited w/ attending the university? I found the National Student Clearinghouse, but they want $20 just to query if I ever attended the school. I also don't know if I'm using the correct search options, and again worried about wasting the money.
2.) If I never paid for the credits but the course was still "dual-enrollment", do I have to get the college's registrar to send an explanation letter to AAMC?

Update: I've been able to access my unofficial transcript online, and it looks like I did receive credit for the class way back then. Since it appears as if I received credit, I'll be requesting an official transcript, so my questions are no longer relevant.
 
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gonnif said:
1) if the transcripts come from the same registrar office, you can list as one school
2) send email to registrar to determine if school is AMCAS e-transcript verified
3) most schools are not e-transcript verified so do not assume that your state school is
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Luckily it turns out my school was and the student worker just didn’t know what I meant. Thanks for the clarification about the multiple transcript situation!
 
Is it frowned upon to apply to multiple dual degree programs at the same institution?

For example, the Ohio State University has MD/MBA, MD/MPH, and MD/MPA options...all interest me. I know that I will ultimately have to choose one, but I don't know which one for certain I want to do. I think each augments the MD in its own way.

But I don't want to come across as ignorant of what each dual degree path is...they just all seem interesting and worthwhile!

Edit: I should mention that I have both public health and business experience, so that is why both options interest me. I have an understanding of the terminal careers for both MD/MBAs and MD/MPH, and I am interested in both.

Edit2: Sticking with MD/MPH because I'm more interested in advocacy than administration...even though business and policy are related!
 
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@gonnif I have come to a decision, just took some verbalization for me to realize what that decision was 🙂 Thanks for your perspective!
 
When mentioning an activity under "Most Meaningful", given the extra space, we can use that space to talk about an anecdote we had with a patient right?
 
I took a class called "Animal Behavior" through the biology department at my school. The class was mainly focused on the evolutionary development of behavior and the psychosocial motives behind animal behavior. How should I classify this? Biology or Behavioral sciences?
 
In regards to adcoms asking you questions about your timeline, I have some questions.

If it has been almost 2 years since I took my last college level class (finished in August 2016) but I continued doing volunteer work until June 2017, would they ask what I did from June 2017 to June 2018?

I worked from July 2017 to January 2018 and started studying for the MCAT full time since October 2017, so I was working part time while studying simultaneously for a few months, but since January, straight MCAT studying for my schedule. So should I

1. Talk about how I studied for the MCAT while working?

and

2. How I worked from July 2017-January 2018 after I finished doing volunteer work?
 
I took a class through college in schools as a senior in HS and indicated so as HS in the status on my application. At the same institution I also took a CNA class the summer before my freshman year of college. Would that fall under the freshman status or HS still? This aspect of the application is still slightly unclear to me. Also, I do require a transcript from this school correct?
 
gonnif said:
2) unless your CNA is an actually college class with credit, as opposed to a purely vocational class, it doesnt have reported. However, if it appears on the transcript, report it
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Just FYI, that's not what AMCAS told me. I was told by AMCAS that for my purely vocational class, even if the credits are unaccredited and not transferred to any institution, if they produce any sort of transcript at all, it must be reported.
 
Question about the AMCAS biographic information section:

I lived in India for most of my life (about 13-14years) and they don't pay doctors much there. Both my parents were docs in india and made about $20k combined when you convert currencies. When my fam moved to US, my dad got paid about resident salary (mom doesnt work anymore) maybe a bit more since they made him a visiting faculty. He had this job until I was 18 or 19. When I turned 19 he began working as a full time faculty and makes a stupid amount of money. He made more in the past 2 years than our entire time in India which just blows my mind.
How should I answer the biographic question: What was the income level of your family during the majority of your life from birth to age eighteen?
Technically it would be the option Under $25,000 since thats what it was from birth - about 14yrs which just feels weird to me because of what my dad makes now. We were never filthy rich or poor in comparison to others in India. We lived a pretty modest life.
 
Hi there, just reposting a comment I made a couple of days ago to see if I could get some feedback:

In regards to adcoms asking you questions about your timeline, I have some questions.

If it has been almost 2 years since I took my last college level class (finished in August 2016) but I continued doing volunteer work until June 2017, would they ask what I did from June 2017 to June 2018?

I worked from July 2017 to January 2018 and started studying for the MCAT full time since October 2017, so I was working part time while studying simultaneously for a few months, but since January, straight MCAT studying for my schedule. So should I

1. Talk about how I studied for the MCAT while working?

and

2. How I worked from July 2017-January 2018 after I finished doing volunteer work?
 
Are automatic secondaries sent out after your app has been verified and transmitted by amcas? So is the earliest we can expect secondaries June 30th this year?
 
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