*-*-*The Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2011*-*-*

[student113]

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Hi guys,

For the UC systems, the lab is offered as a 4 unit course (equivalent to 1 of the lecture courses that have 3 parts).

So we spend like 10 hours a week in lab, and maybe 1-2 in lecture. Would I list this as "Lab Only" or "Combined Lecture and Lab?"

I feel like combined lecture and lab refers to those schools that have 1 unit labs attached to 3 unit lectures, which is not the case. Should I choose "lab only" and ignore the fact that there was a little lecture to emphasize it's a lab class?

 

[BlueElmo]

Hi guys,

For the UC systems, the lab is offered as a 4 unit course (equivalent to 1 of the lecture courses that have 3 parts).

So we spend like 10 hours a week in lab, and maybe 1-2 in lecture. Would I list this as "Lab Only" or "Combined Lecture and Lab?"

I feel like combined lecture and lab refers to those schools that have 1 unit labs attached to 3 unit lectures, which is not the case. Should I choose "lab only" and ignore the fact that there was a little lecture to emphasize it's a lab class?

I think Combined.

 

[Artimacia]

Under what type would being a part of my honors program web portal developement team for next year fall under? Also, possible publication into a 7 deadly sins book my old professor is working on, and small volunteering jobs like a walk or for a weekend?

 

[BrainBuff]

Wouldnt you say Art Gallery Director?
The other way seems weird, like "Hello, I'm Director Art Gallery.." to me... No offense of course,i might be missing something. Just want to help.

LOL... I do not introduce myself like that. If anything, I say I am the Director of the Art Gallery..

BTW, if i say "Hello, I am Art Gallery Director .." sounds equally weird...I do get your point about the listing tho...Thanks!

 

[anbuitachi]

wow you guys have transcripts already? University I go to ends may 21... and grades come out in June...... how unfortunate

 

[Artimacia]

wow you guys have transcripts already? University I go to ends may 21... and grades come out in June...... how unfortunate

Yea, mine ended the last week of April and I already have my spring grades

 

[Artimacia]

Is it ok to explain something like this:

I was a tutor for Athletics since October 2008 and a tutor for Center of Academic Achievement since August 2009. The subjects I tutor are Biology, Anatomy, Organic Chemistry, and Genetics.

I don't know what else to say for it. They are two different places within my school, so I just combined them as one, so I can't give a sole contact. Also, due to how my hours vary depending on need, I can't put hours per week.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Is it ok to explain something like this:

I was a tutor for Athletics since October 2008 and a tutor for Center of Academic Achievement since August 2009. The subjects I tutor are Biology, Anatomy, Organic Chemistry, and Genetics.

I don't know what else to say for it. They are two different places within my school, so I just combined them as one, so I can't give a sole contact. Also, due to how my hours vary depending on need, I can't put hours per week.

You can estimate/average hours per week. One contact should suffice, but you could list an alternate contact in the free text box. Brief explanations are just fine.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

wow you guys have transcripts already? University I go to ends may 21... and grades come out in June...... how unfortunate

AMCAS apps can't be submitted until June, right? So you should be at little to no disadvantage.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Under what type would being a part of my honors program web portal developement team for next year fall under? Also, possible publication into a 7 deadly sins book my old professor is working on, and small volunteering jobs like a walk or for a weekend?

...Not sure about the web portal development team. Use whatever category fits and best rounds out your app. People typically don't include possibles, but if you do get published, write about it in secondary apps or work it into interview conversation. Unless the small volunteer jobs are part of a larger volunteer project (like a student group or something) I might leave them off. Again, they may be good to talk about in interviews/secondaries. Of course, if you're lacking in volunteer work, you could lump several of these small projects into one heading.

LOL... I do not introduce myself like that. If anything, I say I am the Director of the Art Gallery..

BTW, if i say "Hello, I am Art Gallery Director .." sounds equally weird...I do get your point about the listing tho...Thanks!

Hello, I am Art, gallery Director. 😀

 

[Artimacia]

...Not sure about the web portal development team. Use whatever category fits and best rounds out your app. People typically don't include possibles, but if you do get published, write about it in secondary apps or work it into interview conversation. Unless the small volunteer jobs are part of a larger volunteer project (like a student group or something) I might leave them off. Again, they may be good to talk about in interviews/secondaries. Of course, if you're lacking in volunteer work, you could lump several of these small projects into one heading.

That's what I was thinking too. If I have to I'll put the portal team on "Other". I leave off the book and small groups.

 

[Artimacia]

I got accepted to two major honors research conferences. One we had planned on going but couldn't due to lack of fund, and are planning on attending the other in October. What catergory would I list these under?

 

[eablackwell]

I was accepted for a summer observership program at Shands, but it will not start until after June 1st. Should I list this on my ECs even though I have not completed it?

I only ask because by the time secondaries roll around I'll be well into the program. I do have a doctor contact that can vouch for me if they call the hospital.

 

[mcapmed]

What about AP exams that we didn't pass in high school. Do we add these as well? They show up on my transcript as "coursenumber 0.00 APN"

 

[BlueElmo]

I got accepted to two major honors research conferences. One we had planned on going but couldn't due to lack of fund, and are planning on attending the other in October. What catergory would I list these under?

I suppose Research.

 

[BlueElmo]

I was accepted for a summer observership program at Shands, but it will not start until after June 1st. Should I list this on my ECs even though I have not completed it?

I only ask because by the time secondaries roll around I'll be well into the program. I do have a doctor contact that can vouch for me if they call the hospital.

Yes, you should list it.

 

[eablackwell]

Thanks! Also, I think this was asked before, but I didn't see an answer...

On the course section of AMCAS, do I list the course exactly as it says Adv Gen Chem 1, or do I write it out Advanced General Chemistry 1?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ilovewater]

Thanks! Also, I think this was asked before, but I didn't see an answer...

On the course section of AMCAS, do I list the course exactly as it says Adv Gen Chem 1, or do I write it out Advanced General Chemistry 1?

Thanks in advance.

Write it all out, since it's the exact name of the course, and you can't go wrong with that.

 

[student113]

Hi guys,

For the UC systems, the lab is offered as a 4 unit course (equivalent to 1 of the lecture courses that have 3 parts).

So we spend like 10 hours a week in lab, and maybe 1-2 in lecture. Would I list this as "Lab Only" or "Combined Lecture and Lab?"

I feel like combined lecture and lab refers to those schools that have 1 unit labs attached to 3 unit lectures, which is not the case. Should I choose "lab only" and ignore the fact that there was a little lecture to emphasize it's a lab class?

bump please

 

[eablackwell]

I am trying to plow through this EC section and I need a bit of advice on where to put a few things.

1) I wrote 2 novels, one while I was on bed rest for 9 months (I don't idle well). However, even though I enjoy writing immensely and still continue to write here and there when I get a chance, I have not published my novels. Where should I put this, hobbies or artistic endeavors?


2) I am an olympian, and I've won medals & broken world records. Would this go in EC-hobbies or awards/honors section? Or should I list that I'm an olympian in my EC and then put the medals/records in awards/honors as well?

Thanks for all the help! This thread has been a great help!

 

[rafflecopter]

I am trying to plow through this EC section and I need a bit of advice on where to put a few things.

1) I wrote 2 novels, one while I was on bed rest for 9 months (I don't idle well). However, even though I enjoy writing immensely and still continue to write here and there when I get a chance, I have not published my novels. Where should I put this, hobbies or artistic endeavors?

I wrote several screenplays and I lumped them all together as Artistic Endeavors (sounds better) then put individual dates and descriptions for each novel eg:
"Awaken" May 2007-December 2007; ~200 hours. Horror story about a guy who eats babies

2) I am an olympian, and I've won medals & broken world records. Would this go in EC-hobbies or awards/honors section? Or should I list that I'm an olympian in my EC and then put the medals/records in awards/honors as well?

First of all, thats pretty impressive. Second of all, I'd definitely put it under Honors/Awards then for the heading "Bronze Medal in 2000 Olympic Games. Then under the description you can list the sport/records you set.

500m Mens freestyle - World record of 4.32.03s. Or whatever. Just a thought though.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I was accepted for a summer observership program at Shands, but it will not start until after June 1st. Should I list this on my ECs even though I have not completed it?

I only ask because by the time secondaries roll around I'll be well into the program. I do have a doctor contact that can vouch for me if they call the hospital.

Don't list things that haven't happened yet. It's much easier to work something new into a secondary app or interview than it is to explain why the EC didn't happen.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

bump please

Confused. Is this a lab for a class like Organic Chemistry, and did you take a separate lecture? If yes, definitely list it as Lab.

 

[eablackwell]

I wrote several screenplays and I lumped them all together as Artistic Endeavors (sounds better) then put individual dates and descriptions for each novel eg:
"Awaken" May 2007-December 2007; ~200 hours. Horror story about a guy who eats babies

So I should describe each of my novels in the narrative? I just gave a brief summary of when I wrote them. I figured they didn't care what they were about. Maybe I'm wrong 🙂

Thanks for the info.

 

[masterwolfie]

I was experiencing the same problem until I cleared my cookies. Try that out, it may work!

Thanks A GAZILLION!

 

[alk27]

I was wondering in the past...... people who submitted in June... when were you verified??

Also.... did anyone submit and then weeks later your MCAT score was sent? ... How did that work out?

Thanks🙂

 

[silverhorse84]

For reference this was 2 years ago (wow, can't believe it's already been 2 years), I submitted June 27, and was verified July 18. I sent in my transcripts quite a bit earlier though, so they were already received by AMCAS before I submitted - not sure if that made a difference or not.

Can't answer about the MCAT, sorry.

 

[anfleisch]

If you submit first day, you are verified very quickly. It is never really the six weeks thy say, but it gets longer as you get into late June or July (Maybe 3-4 wks tops?)

Just put the date of the MCAT. Schools don't put your file in place to be reviewed until they have all the letters, MCAT, and the secondary filled out. So it doesn't really matter. Have your secondary stuff done and when your MCAT comes in you will be complete.

 

[mdbound1987]

I applied the first day last year (I believe it was june 3rd) in the morning and was verified the same day. My girlfriend applied the same day, but in the evening and it took 1 week for her to be verified.

 

[plsfoldthx]

That is to say, when exactly do you have to submit your application to be in the first round of rolling admissions? (For both DO and MD)

 

[JJMrK]

I believe schools are first able to access your application in July. So any time in June will pretty much guarantee you are in the first batch.

Moving this to AMCAS questions.

 

[BlueElmo]

I think it takes less than a week if you submit in June, probably like half a week or something usually.

 

[JJMrK]

I submitted sometime in mid-June and was verified in early July.

 

[easypeaces]

I just finished classes, and am taking my finals now. Should I hold off sending my transcript until final grades are out (2-3 weeks from now) or should I send it now if I want to apply in early June?

My grades this semester aren't really going to affect my GPA either way, but I will be finishing some pre-med pre-reqs (i.e. Physics).

 

[ungu]

If I submit my AMCAS before my MCAT scores come in, will med schools wait for the scores or send me the secondaries without? I am also wondering if my application will have to be re-verified if I later want to send my application to more med schools.

 

[frescoengano]

So I got a UC that ends June 9th...grades come out approx. a week after? Should I just go ahead and submit by transcript now...or should i wait for my spring grades?

Also LOR question: are all LOR's required for the primary app? I plan on getting an LOR from a teacher after this spring quarter, therefore, my prof. would probably send it in around late june / early july. Should I just submit my app. after my grades come out or should I wait for the LOR to come in? Also, on the AMCAS thing, should I list his name down in the LOR section? (i'm getting a letter packet from my school's career center btw)

 

[SoundofSilver]

My school has a reference letter service which will send out a letter packet once they are given the AMCAS LOE ID#

When filling out the letter packet info on the AMCAS application in order to obtain a letter packet ID#, what should I write under "primary contact/author first name" and "primary contact/author last name".

I'm guessing I should just write down the name of someone who works with the reference letter service, but I'm not sure. Anyone know?

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

My school has a reference letter service which will send out a letter packet once they are given the AMCAS LOE ID#

When filling out the letter packet info on the AMCAS application in order to obtain a letter packet ID#, what should I write under "primary contact/author first name" and "primary contact/author last name".

I'm guessing I should just write down the name of someone who works with the reference letter service, but I'm not sure. Anyone know?

You should double check with your career centre to see what information you should put down. Generally for letter packets, you put down the contact information for the person in charge of the letter packets. At my university, it's been spelled out for us in a FAQ file...

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Hi guys,

For the UC systems, the lab is offered as a 4 unit course (equivalent to 1 of the lecture courses that have 3 parts).

So we spend like 10 hours a week in lab, and maybe 1-2 in lecture. Would I list this as "Lab Only" or "Combined Lecture and Lab?"

I feel like combined lecture and lab refers to those schools that have 1 unit labs attached to 3 unit lectures, which is not the case. Should I choose "lab only" and ignore the fact that there was a little lecture to emphasize it's a lab class?

I'm confused by your post (and I go to a UC)...If you're referring to like a 4 unit LAB, like say "biochemistry lab" then you'd put 4 units down as a Lab only class. If it's one of those "lab + DISCUSSION" classes, then put down Lab. I would say put down lab+lecture only if your class specifically had a Lecture component for which you received credit--double check your transcript/schedule of classes to see where credit was given. I honestly don't think it matters too much whether you put "lecture, lab, or lecture+lab".

 

[Badancil]

If your having the same problem as me the address bar keeps refreshing with /cookiepass1, /cookiepass2 and never even gets to the part where you're able to input your login name/password. Nothing's seemed to work, and I've done loads of troubleshooting. AAMC, when I called them, said something to the effect of "its not on your end, its on ours and we're trying to fix it" without giving any specifics. I hope it starts working soon because I'd like to get started without having to use some random person's computer.

Clear your cookies completeley, that has solved the problem

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Going back to my previous question,

What happens when your volume of AP Credits granted to you by your home university exceeds "freshman status"? AMCAS told me today that I have no "freshman GPA" if I don't list any of my actual university course work as a freshman (despite that I have more than X amount of credit hours than the freshman maximum and am techincally a sophomore).

She then told me to reorganise my courses so that they corresponded to "freshman=1st year, sophomore=2nd year, junior=third year, senior=4th year stuff...." or more or less like that..so I would have GPAs for freshman, sophomore, and junior classes...What do you guys think?

Before I made the changes, it basically looked like freshman=AP credits only, sophomore=1st quarter, junior=2nd quarter (and for several quarters until miday thru 2nd year of university), i became a senior and have like 4 quarters of senior classes (up til now)..and to the AMCAS lady, that looked really messed up.

 

[metallica81788]

Going back to my previous question,

What happens when your volume of AP Credits granted to you by your home university exceeds "freshman status"? AMCAS told me today that I have no "freshman GPA" if I don't list any of my actual university course work as a freshman (despite that I have more than X amount of credit hours than the freshman maximum and am techincally a sophomore).

She then told me to reorganise my courses so that they corresponded to "freshman=1st year, sophomore=2nd year, junior=third year, senior=4th year stuff...." or more or less like that..so I would have GPAs for freshman, sophomore, and junior classes...What do you guys think?

Before I made the changes, it basically looked like freshman=AP credits only, sophomore=1st quarter, junior=2nd quarter (and for several quarters until miday thru 2nd year of university), i became a senior and have like 4 quarters of senior classes (up til now)..and to the AMCAS lady, that looked really messed up.

You just put your AP credits under 1st semester Freshman year along with all the other courses you took your 1st year in college. Your sophomore year would be all the courses you took your 2nd year, regardless of how many "credits" you had. And so on for each year.

 

[SiR99]

My University calculated my gpa based on only the units that I have taken at the Actual university itself, and did not include transfered AP units.

For example:

Lets say I take 200 units at the university and graduate, they calculated my gpa from those 200 units.

However they have accepted 4 units of AP credits as well, HOWEVER these 4 units were not accounted for when my GPA was established.

At the end if my transcript says TOTAL COMPLETED UNITS 204, Is AMCAS going to calculate my new GPA out of 204 units????

I Dont want my GPA to go down, can I not include my AP credits, they pretty much mean nothing.

 

[metallica81788]

My University calculated my gpa based on only the units that I have taken at the Actual university itself, and did not include transfered AP units.

For example:

Lets say I take 200 units at the university and graduate, they calculated my gpa from those 200 units.

However they have accepted 4 units of AP credits as well, HOWEVER these 4 units were not accounted for when my GPA was established.

At the end if my transcript says TOTAL COMPLETED UNITS 204, Is AMCAS going to calculate my new GPA out of 204 units????

I Dont want my GPA to go down, can I not include my AP credits, they pretty much mean nothing.

AMCAS will only calculate GPA from the grades you actually have grades for. I had 19 hours of AP credit plus more from institutional credit and my GPA was only calculated from the 80 or something hours that I had actually taken at my school.

 

[SiR99]

How do you determine class standing if you were on the quarter system? Do you just go based off what your school used?

Tha AMCAS instructions I checked just gave the conversion for semester hours and it just said for quarter system it should change every 3-4 quarters?

Is this suppose to be a rough estimate???, can we manipulate our class standing to show an upward trend from each class standing?

Do Adcoms look for an upward trend between each class standing, or are they only interested in an upward trend between each academic year?

 

[SiR99]

AMCAS will only calculate GPA from the grades you actually have grades for. I had 19 hours of AP credit plus more from institutional credit and my GPA was only calculated from the 80 or something hours that I had actually taken at my school.

Thank You!

 

[metallica81788]

How do you determine class standing if you were on the quarter system? Do you just go based off what your school used?

Tha AMCAS instructions I checked just gave the conversion for semester hours and it just said for quarter system it should change every 3-4 quarters?

Is this suppose to be a rough estimate???, can we manipulate our class standing to show an upward trend from each class standing?

Do Adcoms look for an upward trend between each class standing, or are they only interested in an upward trend between each academic year?

I have no idea how to deal with quarter systems, so I would just go with what your school used as far as standing is concerned.

Generally AMCAS will fix your class standing to how they want it, so they might be able to see through you manipulating your class standing for an upward trend.

I don't know your last question, but it's very specific and you might be overthinking things a bit.

 

[taylormade2006]

I'm a non-trad...I graduated from college in 2006 and then returned to the same college in 2009 for post-bacc. Under "Schools Attended" do I add the same school twice - the first time in 2006 using Program Type "Undergraduate" and the second time in 2009 as Program Type "Postbacc Undergraduate?" If doing that...does AMCAS require that I send 2 transcripts even though 1 transcript will have the grades for both undergrad and post-bacc since it's the same school? It lets me print a transcript request for both...I don't want to just send one transcript and them be looking for two.

Does anyone have information on this?

 

[dynasty12]

How can you tell if AMCAS has received your transcripts before you submit your full application? I've looked and can't figure out how. thanks

 

[organdonor]

I remember I would get email updates about every little thing.

I got a notification that it was processed, I got a notification that a LOR was received, I even got notices that LOR had not been received yet, and yes, I got an email notification that my transcript had been received.

AMCAS has received a transcript in support of your application to the 2010 entering class.

I am almost certain that there is a way to check within AMCAS itself.

EDIT: here it is, it was in that same email.

You may check the status of your application throughout the admissions process by returning to your application. Your application's Welcome page is dynamic, meaning that it provides information specific to your application, including processing status and official transcript receipt status.