-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
*-*-*The Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2011*-*-*
Started by JJMrK
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
- Status
anyone?
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Check out this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=734116&page=5
Also, one of the members made a plot of 2009 verification time vs. date of submission that's floating around out there, so find that. I believe most people who were included in the figure were verified in a little over 3 weeks if they submitted sometime in July. However, AMCAS states not to expect it earlier than 4-6 weeks, so it could be longer.
Also, one of the members made a plot of 2009 verification time vs. date of submission that's floating around out there, so find that. I believe most people who were included in the figure were verified in a little over 3 weeks if they submitted sometime in July. However, AMCAS states not to expect it earlier than 4-6 weeks, so it could be longer.
so would the secondary say (for Example)...
"please submit 2 science and 1 non science letters..and any additional"
...something along those lines??
"please submit 2 science and 1 non science letters..and any additional"
...something along those lines??
Hi guys,
I have a question about Interfolio. I have been telling my schools to send my transcripts directly to AMCAS, but just found out today that one of my schools hasn't received the request by mail. I am just waiting for that transcript to summit.. and now I have to wait at least one more week..😡
I want to request the transcript electronically because it's faster but my school does not accept attachments electronically. So my question is, can I send the transcript to Interfolio w/o the Request form and have Interfolio send transcript to AMCAS? or would I still need the Transcript Request Form for that...? I will call AMCAS and see what they say... but does anyone know?
Many thanks
I have a question about Interfolio. I have been telling my schools to send my transcripts directly to AMCAS, but just found out today that one of my schools hasn't received the request by mail. I am just waiting for that transcript to summit.. and now I have to wait at least one more week..😡
I want to request the transcript electronically because it's faster but my school does not accept attachments electronically. So my question is, can I send the transcript to Interfolio w/o the Request form and have Interfolio send transcript to AMCAS? or would I still need the Transcript Request Form for that...? I will call AMCAS and see what they say... but does anyone know?
Many thanks
Thank-you!!! I hope it will go smoothly once I submit.
I am not sure if you can or can't reassign letters after you've submitted your AMCAS. I thought you can.
Your letters should still be recognized as from professors if the letters are on official school letterhead and signed by professors.
Anyway the secondaries usually have a section for letters, and you can elaborate on those secondaries they types of letters they are, and that they're from your school profs, and list the ones you want them to read if they only accept 5. Or just attach a note to the secondaries for any clarification or email the admissions office for clarification. The policy should be if they accept 5 letters and you submitted more than that, they would randomly choose the 5 they would read, usually the first 5 in the order received.
As long as you answer the question, in theory you should be fine. However I would stay away from trying to be "cute" or "creative." You'll likely be neither and do it poorly.
.
Last edited:
I don't know the rules exactly, but waiting a week makes really no difference in your application cycle and chances.
I thought you can only send transcript from your admissions office directly b/c AMCAS doesn't want you to alter the transcript, which you can potentially potentially when you send it to Interfolio and they send it to AMCAS.
Anyway if AMCAS accept transcript from Interfolio, your admissions office should still attach an attachment for your Interfolio file so when Interfolio got the transcript it won't get lost.
When you send the transcript from Interfolio to AMCAS, you can leave out the Transcript Request form b/c that basically just spell out your name and your AMCAS ID, and Interfolio and assign your AMCAS ID to your materials when you send materials from Interfolio.
Don't sweat if it only takes a week of waiting.
Quick question:
The pre-med committee at my institution uses VirtualEvals to submit the committee letter to AMCAS. Can I go ahead and make a letter entry in AMCAS? Or do I need to wait until I have the letter available? Our advisor didn't request letter ID/AMCAS ID information. Is that going to be problematic?
The pre-med committee at my institution uses VirtualEvals to submit the committee letter to AMCAS. Can I go ahead and make a letter entry in AMCAS? Or do I need to wait until I have the letter available? Our advisor didn't request letter ID/AMCAS ID information. Is that going to be problematic?
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
It depends on what you mean by narrative. You definitely don't want to just list out activities, and just talking about them is about equally as boring. You definitely want to tell specific stories, and they can be in a "narrative" form. The only thing to be careful of is whether you're being clear with the stories (I'd focus on one or two to start and finish... the middle can be more "explanatory"). There's a lot of debate over whether to write it in present tense (readers with a background in writing will usually be fine with it, but it seems to be frowned on a bit in the sciences). I'd avoid making the entire piece just one long narrative though.
Missing prerequisite classes are a seriously matter. You should contact AMCAS to work that out, to try to resubmit.
Or you can wait to see if they would add the AP classes when they verify.
That said, it is still salvageable with secondaries because you can list your classes in the secondaries and explain that you have all the English classes.
Also most schools only require that you complete all the prereq classes by the time you matriculate, so you would still get interviews and if accepted, you will have to send them your transcript anyway and they can then verify that you have your English classes.
Be careful not all med schools accept AP credits.
I don't use VirtualEvals, but my guess your advisor should have your AMCAS ID and letter IDs so that AMCAS don't lose them when trying to assign them to the right applicant.
Yes you need to make letter entry in AMCAS first of any forthcoming letters. I believe you can edit any entry you had made before AMCAS received the letter. Make a letter entry on AMCAS generates a letter ID for that letter to give to whoever is sending that letter to AMCAS
Last edited:
I am disappointed because I waited almost 2 weeks for my transcript to get to AMCAS already; did not find out it wasn't sent until today. Now I have to wait 1 more week, possibly more, because I need to resend the request... If what you say about Interfolio is true, then I see no other option though. Thanks. I will just submit AMCAS today anyways.
Anyone else with experience with VE that can provide some insight?
I'm not doing it to be cute. I wrote a first draft that was a simple explanation of why I wanted to be a doctor. I had an intro, 5 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph addressed a particular reason.
After reading my essay, I felt that I hadn't included much about myself and I tried to address too many ideas. So, I tried to rewrite my essay as a narrative, leaving out some of what I had in my first draft to more fully develop the most essential points and to make my essay more clear. I've tried being creative, and I actually think it's working pretty well. I know how it can seem that one is trying too hard, but I'm being careful to avoid that; if something doesn't fit, I don't try to make it fit.
I haven't really mentioned my activities at all. I don't think they need to be included in the discussion of my decision to become a doctor. The whole essay is a single story in which I explain through a conversation with my brother why I want to be a doctor. It's much easier to organize this way and the development isn't so labored. Does this sound alright?
After reading my essay, I felt that I hadn't included much about myself and I tried to address too many ideas. So, I tried to rewrite my essay as a narrative, leaving out some of what I had in my first draft to more fully develop the most essential points and to make my essay more clear. I've tried being creative, and I actually think it's working pretty well. I know how it can seem that one is trying too hard, but I'm being careful to avoid that; if something doesn't fit, I don't try to make it fit.
I haven't really mentioned my activities at all. I don't think they need to be included in the discussion of my decision to become a doctor. The whole essay is a single story in which I explain through a conversation with my brother why I want to be a doctor. It's much easier to organize this way and the development isn't so labored. Does this sound alright?
Last edited:
I'd be more concerned about discussing a conversation than I would be about writing a couple of experiences in narrative format that led you to your decision. Making a conversation the entire basis for your personal statement (if that is indeed what you did) is VERY difficult to do well. I'm not saying it isn't possible; I'm just warning you that it would be hard to pull off and might not go over well with some adcoms.
Also, on another note, make sure you aren't getting too attached to what you're writing (as hard as it is... I struggled a lot with it last summer). If you have someone edit it and the red ink all over it makes you want to cry, they've done a good job. I know you probably have people available to edit it, but it you want an extra eye, you're welcome to message me.
I ordered 4 LORs to be [priority] sent about a week and a half ago...do LORs automatically get received....or is there some sort of line?
Have you checked the msar? I'm pretty sure several of the schools do say they will waive the secondary fee if you've been approved for the aacom fee waiver.
I think being economically disadvantaged is more subjective. Do you honestly feel that your financial situation has held you back in any way?
I think being economically disadvantaged is more subjective. Do you honestly feel that your financial situation has held you back in any way?
yea, you can submit w/o letters; just add them later
no, you are fine.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
if i took an EMT course at my schools separate "college of professional studies", am I adding the college as one of the colleges i attended? and it doesnt belong in my coursework does it? i did receive a grade for it
i will be sending out a transcript for it
i will be sending out a transcript for it
My institution uses veCollect. They uploaded all of my rec letters to veCollect and will bundle it with my committee letter when they submit it to AMCAS. What they had us do was create a SINGLE Letter of Evaluation entry since only one packet is being submitted. They directed us to choose, "committee letter" and enter the head of pre-med advising's info. That then generates a letter request that we have to print and mail to them so that they have our AMCAS number and the letter ID number. They absolutely need these two numbers so your advisor not asking must have been an oversight.
You don't need the letter to make the entry (there actually can't be a letter without an entry since they wouldn't have your letter ID to submit it with) and you don't need the letter submitted to AMCAS to submit your application either. Double check with your institution if they want you to select "committee letter" and who you should put as the contact for that letter on AMCAS.
Most schools will, I think there was a thread few months ago with list of which schools waive and which don't.
EN
EN
as long as you copied it into notepad and posted it in plain text into the box you are fine. They print it out AFAIK.
You may want to double check with AMCAS on your interfolio method. AMCAS may be adamant that transcript must be sent from your school's admissions office.
When entering language courses under the Course Work tab, should I designate the classes as lecture+lab if the language class had one-on-one tutorials and assignment work in the school's language lab in addition to lectures?
it belongs. it is a health sciences or whatever they're calling it (same as nursing, med tech) NOT bcmp.
I put my EMT-B course as BCMP and AMCAS never recategorized as health science. It put a nice boost to my sGPA.
priority shipping via my career center...
looks as if i should have used interfolio
do you guys think its ok to send in secondaries before my letters come in?
looks as if i should have used interfolio
do you guys think its ok to send in secondaries before my letters come in?
yea, it's OK but it won't matter if you wait to submit or if you submit now, since they won't be able to mark you complete until the letters come in (with the rare exception of some schools that don't need LORs until the interview)priority shipping via my career center...
looks as if i should have used interfolio
do you guys think its ok to send in secondaries before my letters come in?
Merging related threads and bumping this thread. Please keep all AMCAS related questions in this thread.
I don't think it matters as long as your units and grades are right. Only place where lecture vs lecture & lab designation really matters are for the prerequisite courses that require a lab component for med schools (sciences).
You can designate it whatever you like and AMCAS would change anything as they see fit and you would still be verified. So you can put lecture + lab.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I'm fairly certain that MCAT scores aren't required for verification, but maybe someone knows for sure.
That makes sense. Thanks for the help!
Yes! I'm going to submit AMCAS tonight! 😀
I really should've started on this crud earlier though.
No, being verified does not depend on if you have an MCAT score or not. It depends on if AMCAS had received your transcript or not (what does your transcript status say). All that AMCAS does to verify is pretty much just checking your grade entries against those on your your transcript.
The MCAT score would automatically be uploaded to AMCAS when it comes out, even if you've designated a later date or whether or not your AMCAS has been verified.
Considering it's busy time for AMCAS submission right now, chances are AMCAS is being backlogged and maybe you should wait a week or more.
nope!
While submitting one of my secondaries, I realized that I made a blunder on my primary and then again on the secondary. I listed a summer activity during college under the wrong year! I didn't even realize it until I saw the handy little graph they generate for you and saw two activities overlapping exactly. Is this a big deal? 🙁
Last edited:
- Status
Similar threads
