*~*~*~* Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2020-2021 *~*~*~*

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gonnif said:
1. They are repeated courses regardless where you took them and regardless what transcripts that they appear on
2. You can bunch them together as in
English 4 credits
US History 4 credits
Click to expand...
Actually this is a lot more complicated than I anticipated. Based on my AP score for Calc, I receive credit for a math class I didn't take at my community college. Do you think I still need to mark the calculus class I took as "repeated" because it's still Calc AP Credit?
 
gonnif said:
1. They are repeated courses regardless where you took them and regardless what transcripts that they appear on
2. You can bunch them together as in
English 4 credits
US History 4 credits
Click to expand...

On page 33 of the AMCAS Guide, it states: "If you take a college-level course for which you already have been granted AP credit by the same institution, AMCAS considers the course a Repeat. For example, if you received AP credit for your AP Psychology course and took an Introduction to Psychology course at the same undergraduate institution, you should list Introduction to Psychology as a Repeat "

I have a similar situation in which I was awarded AP Psych credits at my university, then took Intro Psychology at a local state school. By the AMCAS definition, this wouldn't be a "repeat" course right?
 
Tutoring that I was paid for: does that go in paid employment/non clinical or teaching/tutoring/TA?
 
Looking at my official transcripts, they don't show AP credit from high school. Should I report it on the manual transcript entry if it's not on official transcript?

It was a single non-BCPM AP class that I received credit for in college. I am leaning toward not including it since it will show up as a discrepancy if I do, is that line of thinking correct?
 
In one of my hobbies, I document musical performance on a youtube channel. Would it be inappropriate to put a link of this somewhere, perhaps in the description?
 
my course names are written in all caps on my transcript. should I type the course names in all caps on my app as well?
 
aspiringphysician190 said:
my course names are written in all caps on my transcript. should I type the course names in all caps on my app as well?
Click to expand...
I believe so, to be safe. That is what I did and what my peers who went to the same institution as I did as well the last cycle when applying. Our courses are also written in all caps
 
gonnif said:
Lets clear this up
1) You do not get any credit for simply taking an AP class in HS.
2) You only get AP credit when a college accepts your AP Exam score and awards you credit
2) Unless your college has issued credit for AP, it doesnt exist.
3) You should only include EXACTLY what is on your official transcript
Click to expand...
Got it, thanks. The thing is I did take the AP test for it and got a satisfactory score which allowed me to skip the relevant class in college. While it doesn't show up on my transcript, it did show on other documents I used when signing up for classes.

I'm still not going to list it because it's not on my official transcript though.
 
For dates attended, what do I put as the end date for the university I'm currently attending? My expected graduate date in May 2021?
 
Is it a bad idea to mention the downsides of medicine in one of my meaningful activities? Specifically, how I've seen the downsides first-hand but know that the upsides make pushing through charting and insurance companies worthwhile.
 
Coursework question. (Disclaimer: I have combed through the AMCAS Applicant Guide multiple times, and I am currently on hold with AAMC, but I am hoping someone on here might have some guidance as well.)

The coursework situation:
-My graduate transcript at University ABC uses 8 transfer credits from classes I took at a previous institution, University XYZ.
-All the ABC transcript says is "May 20XX, University of XYZ, Earned Hours 8."
-It does not delineate which courses were transferred from XYZ.
(I took 29 credits at XYZ spanning a multitude of categories/classifications.)
-I DO have the transcript uploaded and coursework entered from University XYZ in a separate entry.

According to the AMCAS Guide, "If the following course types appear on your official transcript, they should be indicated as AP on the AMCAS application even if they are not technically Advanced Placement." Of the 17 subsequently listed course types, "special credit" and "validation credit" seem to be possible candidates for my situation. Is this valid? And even so, how can I name/classify the coursework "exactly as it appears on the transcript" when it isnt' even named?

Thanks for any help offered.
 
gonnif said:
You dont list transferred credits. This is clear

https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fast..._amcas_2021_applicant_guide_42220.pdf#page=33 (emphasis added)

Coursework Details
Under your respective post-secondary institutions, you must enter courses in chronological order exactly as they appear on the official transcript of the school where you originally attempted them. This is especially important to remember if the credit for a course was transferred from one U.S. or Canadian school to another.For example, suppose you primarily attended the University of Maryland and took Intro to Photography
at your local community college over the summer. You would list the community college in the Schools Attended section of the application (and request an official transcript for it) and add Intro to Photography as a course you took at the community college. You would not list the course under the University of Maryland, even if the credits were transferred there. The following are the fields that pertain to each entered course.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks.

Sidenote for anyone who is currently thinking of calling AAMC: the hold time was about 1.5 hours for me as caller #4 and their system is down. So even with my AAMC ID#, customer service could not view my files or uploads. Just FYI.
 
Hello,

I am a non-traditional that will be applying for the 2021 cycle and I have a quick question regarding the AMCAS application and the "submission" vs. "transmission" dates. Due to Covid19 I will now be taking my MCAT (hopefully) in the beginning of June and will receive my score on July 7th. The AAMC has changed the primary application transmitting date to July 10th and the original submission date of May 28th stands.

My question is, why do folks say it matters so much to submit your application within the first few days it opens in May if the application is not even transmitted to schools until July 7th? It seems like that logic would come into effect if you delayed your application submission until after the transmission date. I do not know anything about the logistics of the application submissions/transmissions but are apps transmitted to the medical schools in the order they were received upon submission or does it really even matter so long as you submit the application with ample time to become verified?

Thanks
 
poncho60 said:
Hello,

I am a non-traditional that will be applying for the 2021 cycle and I have a quick question regarding the AMCAS application and the "submission" vs. "transmission" dates. Due to Covid19 I will now be taking my MCAT (hopefully) in the beginning of June and will receive my score on July 7th. The AAMC has changed the primary application transmitting date to July 10th and the original submission date of May 28th stands.

My question is, why do folks say it matters so much to submit your application within the first few days it opens in May if the application is not even transmitted to schools until July 7th? It seems like that logic would come into effect if you delayed your application submission until after the transmission date. I do not know anything about the logistics of the application submissions/transmissions but are apps transmitted to the medical schools in the order they were received upon submission or does it really even matter so long as you submit the application with ample time to become verified?

Thanks
Click to expand...
You need them to verify your transcript(s) which takes a lot of time to do once the queue builds up starting on May 28
 
If I am scheduled to retake on 6/27 for score release on 7/14, should I list an upcoming MCAT date? What would happen if I decided to void that test date but listed upcoming test scores on AMCAS?

Wouldn't it effectively be the same if I just applied to one MD school and added more after I got my score back? And if the test gets cancelled or whatever, I can still add schools with my current stats?
 
Is it acceptable to put my parent's address as my preferred and permanent address on AMCAS for the purpose of secure mailing of items? I am registered to vote in my college city as I am involved in the government there so it's also where my legal residence county is labeled as. However, my reasoning is that I have roommates and am worried about the security of mail due to the crime. Thanks!
 
if i worked as a tutor, would it be appropriate to list the activity as teaching/tutoring/teaching assistant instead of paid employment?
if i pick the former should i make sure to mention it was a paid position?
 
I chose to take the first course in the physics series at my school even though I was exempted due to AP credit per a pre-health advisor telling me most med schools would not accept AP. Whether or not he gave me terrible advice is another topic but I'm trying to determine how to list this now.

Per the guide I was planning on listing this as a repeat course, but realized there is also the "exempt" status listed in the guide regarding APs and now I'm a little confused, it will only allow me to check one or the other, so am I required to call it exempt? For reference my transcript does list the letter grades I received but does not list the # of units (it says 0) and has the words "duplicate transfer work" next to the course. I'd much prefer to have the grade included in my GPA if you think they'd accept it as "repeat" but it's not worth getting it sent back over.

Thanks!
 
I have a question about how to categorize one of my experiences. I did a summer internship at a surgical research center. The program was really multi-faceted with a breakdown as follows:
30% shadowing in OR and clinic
30% hands-on workshops in simulation lab
40% chart review to obtain data for a clinical research project
I'm not sure what to classify this as... shadowing? Clinical volunteering? I don't want to categorize it as research since I had no part in study design, I just volunteered to help compile data (plus I am an MD-PhD applicant with thousands of hours of independent research already).
 
definitely_chondria said:
I have a question about how to categorize one of my experiences. I did a summer internship at a surgical research center. The program was really multi-faceted with a breakdown as follows:
30% shadowing in OR and clinic
30% hands-on workshops in simulation lab
40% chart review to obtain data for a clinical research project
I'm not sure what to classify this as... shadowing? Clinical volunteering? I don't want to categorize it as research since I had no part in study design, I just volunteered to help compile data (plus I am an MD-PhD applicant with thousands of hours of independent research already).
Click to expand...
Other?
 
Hi all – for one of my scholarships, I had to take a career/study skills course through the education department. How should I categorize this for the transcript input portion of the app? I'm currently debating between "education" and "other".
 
Hello! Is anyone else having trouble downloading their transcript request forms? I verified all of the information in the little box and I enabled pop-ups in my window. I click "print transcript request form" and nothing happens, like nothing is downloading/printing. Am I the only one?
 
SpanishMusical said:
Hi all – for one of my scholarships, I had to take a career/study skills course through the education department. How should I categorize this for the transcript input portion of the app? I'm currently debating between "education" and "other".
Click to expand...
I would throw it in "other" if the class was meant for you, as in you took the course to improve your career/study skills. But if it was to teach someone else those strategies, "education" might be the way to go! 🙂
 
HumanAfterAll said:
if i worked as a tutor, would it be appropriate to list the activity as teaching/tutoring/teaching assistant instead of paid employment?
if i pick the former should i make sure to mention it was a paid position?
Click to expand...
I would put it in teaching/tutoring/teaching asst and then mention that you were paid for it like you said! 🙂
 
definitely_chondria said:
I have a question about how to categorize one of my experiences. I did a summer internship at a surgical research center. The program was really multi-faceted with a breakdown as follows:
30% shadowing in OR and clinic
30% hands-on workshops in simulation lab
40% chart review to obtain data for a clinical research project
I'm not sure what to classify this as... shadowing? Clinical volunteering? I don't want to categorize it as research since I had no part in study design, I just volunteered to help compile data (plus I am an MD-PhD applicant with thousands of hours of independent research already).
Click to expand...
gonnif said:
@Catalystik may have some good input on this
Click to expand...
I agree there was no clinical volunteering.
I suggest carving out the hours for shadowing (don't double count them) and listing them with your other clinical observation experience in one Shadowing space, unless you already have so many hours that you don't need them.
I have no problem with your calling the chart review a volunteer experience, if you need more in the Volunteer/Community Service-Not medical/Clinical category. But the Sim workshops would not fit there. If you want to place those two components together (plus or minus the shadowing), then pick the "Other" category where most Internships belong due to being multifaceted. Your space's title can give a clue to what the slot contains.
 
Hi! Coursework question. My transcript lists courses as parts of the class we had to register for. For example, my A&P class had a lecture, lab and recitation. So it's listed on my transcript three times. The first time it shows 4 credit hours, including the one hour lab credit. I'm wondering how I should designate the "three" courses when entering them. So far I've done it:
Human Anatomy and Physiology and Lab - 4.000 (designated as lecture and lab)
Human Anatomy and Physiology- 0.000 (designated as lab)
Human Anatomy and Physiology- 0.000 (designated as lecture since this is the recitation?)
Is this the correct way to do this? I called AMCAS but the man I spoke with was not exactly sure either. Thanks!
 
avo31 said:
Hi! Coursework question. My transcript lists courses as parts of the class we had to register for. For example, my A&P class had a lecture, lab and recitation. So it's listed on my transcript three times. The first time it shows 4 credit hours, including the one hour lab credit. I'm wondering how I should designate the "three" courses when entering them. So far I've done it:
Human Anatomy and Physiology and Lab - 4.000 (designated as lecture and lab)
Human Anatomy and Physiology- 0.000 (designated as lab)
Human Anatomy and Physiology- 0.000 (designated as lecture since this is the recitation?)
Is this the correct way to do this? I talked with AAMC but the man I spoke with was not exactly sure either. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Not a pro, but as I understand it you should just list everything exactly as it appears on your transcript. I had some circumstances where a class I got credit for was just straight-up repeated twice on my transcript, and adcoms on here said to list all of it. I don't think anyone will ding you for being faithful to your transcript, but it's always possible that you could have something sent back for not including everything.
 
gonnif said:
I dont consider a tutor a TA. Any college student applying to medical school should have the ability to tutor hence why not a very impressive EC in my view
Click to expand...
didn't ask for whether it was an impressive EC in your view... wtf...
 
I was a humanities major and my university required a final "capstone" course, where we were required to conduct research and complete a 40-page paper. The title on my transcript is along the lines of "Research Seminar." What course classification would this fall under?
 
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gonnif said:
You list EXACTLY as written
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't think I was clear about my question! I am entering the course three times as it is on the transcript. I was wondering about what to mark each of the three entries as (combined lecture and lab vs. lecture only vs. lab only) or will it not make much difference?
 
gonnif said:
I presume the course/paper was humanities. So I would title RESEARCH SEMINAR (senior thesis/capstone) and classify humanities
Click to expand...

However of all the humanities course classifications offered, is English appropriate since the purpose of the class was to write a final paper?
 
For this application cycle, by when should I have my letter writers submit their letters of recommendation? Does it need to be before July 10th for the data transmission to schools or is it after that? If so, when?
 
On the information about previous institutions, AMCAS wants to know the specific months of enrollment. I took some classes at a community college many years ago, and I can't find information about the specific months that the course was held, just the general term (for example, Fall 2012). I also can't find the academic calendar or course catalog from that long ago. What should I put for the month? Can I just put the month based on a current academic calendar for that term? (for example, the months that the academic calendar for Fall 2020 include)
 
Under what Course Classification would "Medical terminology" fall under when filling out coursework on AMCAS? I checked out the list but that specific class doesn't show up. Just curious. Thanks!
 
gonnif said:
HEAL
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s what I put under the course classification last year but when they processed my application it had an X next to it meaning that There was an issue with verifying that since perhaps it was in the wrong category. Thoughts?
 
1. Does 2019-2020 summer classes mean classes taken the summer before 2019-2020 school year (last summer) or classes taken after the 2019-2020 school year (this upcoming summer)?

2. When sending my transcript from my undergrad university, should I hold the transcript order until grades are posted for Spring 2020 (so that wouldn't be until mid-June) or should I submit as is now?

3. For future upcoming courses, there are still three core courses I know I will need to take for my major. Should I list them as future courses? And if yes, does it matter which quarter I list them under?

4. Following the previous question, I know that I will take one more writing intensive course before I graduate. How should I list that under courses and when should I list that I will take it? (Since obviously I'm not 100% sure what my course schedule looks like for next year yet)
 
@gonnif

Hey gonnif a community college I attended uses parchment as the transcript service and requests an aamc and transcript id, which is normal; however, when I directly choose AMCAS and sent it in- it has not been received by AMCAS twice now. Even though I received the confirmation both times that amcas has downloaded it.

Next week, do you recommend using parchment to send the transcript directly to their email: [email protected]? While including my transcript ID sheet. I’m assuming because it’s parchment and there was a field to input my aamc info, my school is verified for the email above?

Or
Should I just request an express physical mail? Which would be the fastest step?
 
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1. For two courses I've taken (Psychological Stats and Psychology Research Methods), the "discussion sections" are technically labeled as "labs", so should I put down lecture + lab even though the "lab sections" were untraditional?

2. I need some help on course classifications for these courses that are all technically listed under the psychology department (not sure if I should list as social science or as their respective course material): Behavioral Neuroscience and Behavioral Neuroscience lab (Biology?), and Psychological Statistics (Math?).
 
For the disadvantaged essay, are we supposed to be just stating facts and what constituted your disadvantaged status and leave it at that or are we supposed to also add at the end the values it taught/how we grew and learned from these factors? I was curious about what adcoms are expecting in terms of how you are supposed to write it.
 
I have credits from study abroad courses that were transferred to my UG school & show up as P/F on my UG transcript. As a result, they weren't included in my UG GPA.

However, for AMCAS, I have to submit a transcript from the study abroad institution itself (because it's a US-based institution, confirmed with AAMC via email), and this transcript contains letter grades. Will AMCAS include the letter grades of these courses in the GPA that they calculate?
 
@gonnif Should I put a W in the OT grade section for a withdrawal I received in a course? Or should I leave the OT grade section blank. I already indicated the course type as a Withdrawal (W)
 
I am going to declare my minor after this quarter because I'm completing the last pre-req before I can declare. That means though that my minor won't be listed on my transcript if I were to send it in now. Does that mean I should not list my minor on my AMCAS application?
 
gonnif said:
1) If you havent done so already, contact AMCAS by phone. I would imagine this is solely delay in the AMCAS system being updated
2) that email address is supposedly setup for some sort of fax call back but appears to have become catch-all. Schools arent approved for that address. You can use parchment to send directly to that address
3) I would avoid mail unless nothing else works. Not only is this slowest, if this shows up and others above you now have extra processing steps to make sure they reconcile
Click to expand...

Yes, I contacted them and apparently there's a problem going on with parchment. Apparently, they're working to "index" it. I don't know what that means. But I think at this point it's best to send in a mail copy right? All of my electronic ones have already been downloaded but I guess due to whatever reason AMCAS is unable to receive them.
- I think the mail will be received in 2-3 days. There's only one Grade in my transcript altogether (its a cc). Hopefully, the mail copy can be processed in a week or so. Besides that all the electronic ones are already somewhere in their system so hopefully the processing step with the mail copy is swift.
- I also contacted my registrar's office to ask them to send AAMC an email to get the FAX number. Should i call parchment and tell them to cancel the mail order?
 
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gonnif said:
then go ahead. Their database indexing issue is noting if the transcript has been marked received without actually having to go and find it. The AMCAS system is essentially an early design of a document management system. Your record in the database doesnt actually hold the documents but just acts as pointer to where the documents are. If the documents arent indexed correctly or in a manner that is incompatible between parchment and AMCAS, it wont work correctly.
Click to expand...
@gonnif
1.) I also contacted my registrar's office to ask them to send AAMC an email to get the FAX number. Parchment has just sent in my mail order and Its expected to be received in 2-3 days. When do you expect this to be marked as received by AMCAS?

2.) Say if by some miracle all of my electronic transcripts are recovered by next Thursday and my application is submitted on the same day. Are you saying that if my mail in transcript is not marked as received by this point, this will delay my position in the verification line?
I am not implying that I am dead set on first day or never. I'm just using this as a placeholder.

3.)What if the mail transcript is marked as received by June 1st week and by this time my electronic transcripts for that school have already been used to verify my one Grade from that institution? Are you saying this will also delay my verification?
 
Hello! I am finishing up a masters program this upcoming year. I know the courses I'm taking for the fall, but I don't know my classes for spring yet (it will be all electives). Is it okay if I just input the courses I will take for the fall? Or should I try to brainstorm a schedule and input that for spring 2021 as well, given that it might not end up being accurate? Thank you.
 
gonnif said:
impossible to say. They are working remotely and thus inefficient in many ways. Could easily take a week or two


Yes, they have know idea if the latest transcript has an updated grade, a repair of a some error, or what. They normally wait until all transcripts are received


Yes, as they now have to go back and see if the new transcripts have differences
Click to expand...
Understood. @gonnif

I just received an update that they have received my Electronic Transcript today! However, I unfortunately mailed in my mail copy yesterday and it's on its way. All of my transcripts are now in. I plan to submit my application on around May 28th if possible and so is there anything I can do to have them "ignore" the mail copy that is being received? Rather, is there anything I can do to stop any delay in verification whatsoever?

Furthermore, in the worst case scenario say my app is verified by June 2nd week ( as all my electronic copies are in) and the mail in copy is marked as received on shortly after that point. How does the process work- will my app still be in the same position in the queue as before as it has already been verified? Will they change my status?
 
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