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

Started by JJMrK
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Senlin said:
Thanks for your reply. To clarify,

1) I'm on the opposite coast from my undergrad institution and can't fly in to visit just for this
2) My undergrad does not have a committee 🙁

And yeah, he's already written a letter of some sort, but it probably needs an update (at the very least, it needs to be addressed to the adcom) and uploaded to Interfolio. I considered asking my undergrad advisor, or contacting a TA I had who is a grad student in the professor's lab, but these seem "sneaky." I think I will just try to call him... Should I line up some backup letters just in case? Unfortunately, 1) I don't have a whole lot of backup letter writers, 2) I don't want to burden them, and 3) it seems like I'm asking pretty late now =/
Click to expand...

I definitely didn't mean for you to "talk" face to face, when I wrote the message I actually should have typed "write" because an advisor writing a committee letter is very busy these days and an email would suffice.

Absolutely call him. If he doesn't answer leave a voicemail. If you get him on the phone and he says he's still working on it ask if you can be of any help. Obviously be nice but make sure it's clear that this needs to be done soon (not by being aggressive, just by being direct). If you still can't reach him in a day or two then it's time to think of back up plans, don't approach another prof yet.
 
Also, once I submit and its verified, can I edited a portion of my EC section? Or once you submit what you have is what will stay?
 
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LebLlama said:
Can I submit my application now if I will be taking my first MCAT August 11?
Click to expand...

Yes. You can also submit it just to one school. When your MCAT score comes back, you can then add the rest of your schools if you get a good score. If you don't, you will only be out $120 instead of a few hundred. Just be sure that you wait until you are verified before you attempt to add more schools.

LebLlama said:
Also, once I submit and its verified, can I edited a portion of my EC section? Or once you submit what you have is what will stay?
Click to expand...

No. There are only a few things you can change, including contact info and some LOR information.
 
JJMrK said:
Yes. You can also submit it just to one school. When your MCAT score comes back, you can then add the rest of your schools if you get a good score. If you don't, you will only be out $120 instead of a few hundred. Just be sure that you wait until you are verified before you attempt to add more schools.
Click to expand...

By waiting to add schools, you save money, but do you disadvantage yourself for those schools? Or, should you do the secondaries ( from the SDN prompts) and then send in your primary as soon as you get your MCAT scores and the secondary shortly thereafter? Then there won't be any disadvantage?
 
Hi guys,
I am at the enter your classes page right now
i read the entire 49 pages of this thread and i cant find the answer
if i took a course and i got an incomplete, and the next quarter i completed the course and got a grade, how do i handle this?
my transcript says:
"course name I"
"course name B" *incomplete removed

also,
about freshman/sophomore thing. I did most of my courses at a 4 year universtiy, but I also took some courses at a Community college on and off. So What is my status at the community college? is it always freshman?
 
Last edited:
once AMCAS has received our LORS and we submit them to schools, is this submission done online instantly or is it via snail mail and will take some time?
 
batista_123 said:
Hi guys,
I am at the enter your classes page right now
i read the entire 49 pages of this thread and i cant find the answer
if i took a course and i got an incomplete, and the next quarter i completed the course and got a grade, how do i handle this?
my transcript says:
"course name I"
"course name B" *incomplete removed

also,
about freshman/sophomore thing. I did most of my courses at a 4 year universtiy, but I also took some courses at a Community college on and off. So What is my status at the community college? is it always freshman?
Click to expand...

With questions on entering coursework, it's best to just do what you think makes most sense. If there's a mistake, AMCAS will fix it for you and it won't affect your app.

SNS said:
once AMCAS has received our LORS and we submit them to schools, is this submission done online instantly or is it via snail mail and will take some time?
Click to expand...

This is correct.
 
Can you submit additional LOR's to schools after you designate some letters? I have 3 letters completed, but I'm waiting on a 4th. Can I submit the first 3 and then submit the 4th when it's uploaded to AMCAS?
 
I submitted by primary app on the 11th and have not been verified yet. I originally applied to 18 schools, and was thinking of adding more. When I tried to do that, it gave me the following message:


You have just added or modified a designated medical school. To have your application sent to your designated medical school(s) you must first certify and re-submit your application.

Do you want to certify and submit your application now?​
What does this mean? If I add a medical school, my application will be re-submitted and the submission date will change to the 18th? Or should I wait for my application to be verified, and then add schools?
 
When I copy and paste my personal statement from MS word to the text box in AMCAS and click done, I see there is some weird formatting...like there are spaces between two letters in a word (i.e., the word "therefore" will appear as "therefor e." However, when I click "print application" and read my PS from the PDF file that is generated, the format seems to be completely fine, just like in MS word. Will adcoms see it the way it is in the PDF file or the way it is in the text box? Thanks.
 
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I took the MCAT on Jun 17 and indicated it on my AMCAS (the printable version of my app says add'l MCAT intent date 06/17/10). I submitted my app at the beginning of July. My MCAT scores will be released Tuesday. Once they are released, will they automatically appear on my AMCAS?
 
SNS said:
once AMCAS has received our LORS and we submit them to schools, is this submission done online instantly or is it via snail mail and will take some time?
Click to expand...

I believe LORS are transferred instantly along with AMCAS to med schools. But once the med schools have the LORS, they still need to take time to access the LORs and match them to your application file. You'll have to wait for that. Also med schools may overlook new LOR you send them, so you need to make sure that they download the new letter from AMCAS later.
 
david06 said:
I took the MCAT on Jun 17 and indicated it on my AMCAS (the printable version of my app says add'l MCAT intent date 06/17/10). I submitted my app at the beginning of July. My MCAT scores will be released Tuesday. Once they are released, will they automatically appear on my AMCAS?
Click to expand...

Yes automatically upload to AMCAS, usu the same day as the release date. After release of scores, you just have to log in to your AMCAS account and can see the score in your AMCAS app
 
I attended the university of alaska fairbanks for a few classes back in high school, and I needed to get a transcript from them.
I sent a request on the 10th of June~
2 weeks later, it wasn't received (postage between DC and Alaska takes longer than normal mail, and since I had to mail in paper transcript requests, it takes doubly long. a week and half is a reasonable estimate of reception by amcas) so I called... they said that they didn't know what request I was talking about and they demanded that I just resend one (probably get a few people lying about lost transcript forms to get ahead of the line every year)

On the 28th of June, I sent another request.
2 weeks later, it still wasn't received so I called them. They said they received it and it'll be out soon.

1 week later, it still hadn't been received. I called and they said there were COmplicatIONS because there wasn't an order FORM!! I asked last time if I needed to do anything on my part and they said no... Why didn't they contact me about this?!
I called a few days later and it was confirmed to be sent out.
**funny thing is they found my other transcript request. It was sitting in a box for the same problem, but just plain forgotten.

At this rate, it'll be received on the ~26th



Holy crap, a month and a half for a transcript... wtf
At this point I feel completely cheated. I was planning on applying in late-June.

I know that there probably is nothing I can do at this point. I've been reading some of the threads here, and noticed that most say if your application is not strong, it's better to wait and apply early next cycle than applying late.

Considering my rather weak application, I was wondering how badly this transcript business screwed me over for public NY schools (as a resident)
perhaps lowered my chances X10??
 
1. why does they ask for GRE score on AMCAS?
2. Should I enter mine if I'm only applying for MD only?
I did really well, but who cares?
Thanks,
 
Hi guys,

I think this is going to screw me up no matter what but doesn't hurt to ask for advice..

I submitted my AMCAS already but realized that on my official transcript there is a course I forgot to add... This was a university test that I went one Saturday to take and it took like an hour so I never considered a course and I had no idea that it would show in my transcript as a course.

I know that verification takes about 3 weeks.. so what happens now? would they see this mistake and send it back to me for change and I would have to wait 3-4 more weeks again??? so am I looking at 6-7 weeks for my application to get verified for this mistake?? 🙁
 
mz1986 said:
Hi guys,

I think this is going to screw me up no matter what but doesn't hurt to ask for advice..

I submitted my AMCAS already but realized that on my official transcript there is a course I forgot to add... This was a university test that I went one Saturday to take and it took like an hour so I never considered a course and I had no idea that it would show in my transcript as a course.

I know that verification takes about 3 weeks.. so what happens now? would they see this mistake and send it back to me for change and I would have to wait 3-4 more weeks again??? so am I looking at 6-7 weeks for my application to get verified for this mistake?? 🙁
Click to expand...

You're fine. You can have about 10 coursework mistakes before AMCAS makes you fix them yourself. If you check out page 9 of the manual, AMCAS WILL fix "omitted coursework".

Don't worry about it. Good Luck!!
 
batista_123 said:
if i took a course and i got an incomplete, and the next quarter i completed the course and got a grade, how do i handle this?
my transcript says:
"course name I"
"course name B" *incomplete removed
Click to expand...
Just enter the course twice, first with an I and second with a B. The first time you enter it with an I, mark the checkbox indicating that you have a deferred grade (i.e. it's a multi-term course).

knightstale4 said:
What does this mean? If I add a medical school, my application will be re-submitted and the submission date will change to the 18th? Or should I wait for my application to be verified, and then add schools?
Click to expand...
It's OK, it won't hold up your verification process. I added another school while in the queue to be reviewed, and it made me a little nervous too!
 
G1SG2 said:
When I copy and paste my personal statement from MS word to the text box in AMCAS and click done, I see there is some weird formatting...like there are spaces between two letters in a word (i.e., the word "therefore" will appear as "therefor e." However, when I click "print application" and read my PS from the PDF file that is generated, the format seems to be completely fine, just like in MS word. Will adcoms see it the way it is in the PDF file or the way it is in the text box? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Anyone have any idea regarding AMCAS text formatting? 🙂
 
Out of curiosity, how does that appeal process work? Let's say you don't agree with a classification, and want to provide evidence to support your case. I know you can do that, however, don't they immediately ship out the application to the schools when they "verify" the app? So how can they change it since the schools will already have the original?
 
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Posting this question again since I didn’t get any love the 1st time.

I'm looking to see if a new, unrelated research position would trump a poster abstract for the AMCAS activities list.

I am thinking it might be a good idea to merge the poster abstract with the research position that contributed towards it. My rationale for merging them is 1) Although I was present at the conference, I did not present, 2) my name is in a sea of others in the 2 abstract citations, 3) honestly, since I was a lowly tech at the time, I would be much more comfortable discussing the general concepts of my research if asked in an interview. I feel like if you list a citation (publication or poster abstract), you should be prepared to answer more in depth questions.

Anyway, my opinion is that in this case, my new research job would trump the poster abstract entry. Any thoughts?? If it helps, I already have another entry with a journal publication (2nd author).
 
brudog59 said:
Posting this question again since I didn’t get any love the 1st time.

I'm looking to see if a new, unrelated research position would trump a poster abstract for the AMCAS activities list.

I am thinking it might be a good idea to merge the poster abstract with the research position that contributed towards it. My rationale for merging them is 1) Although I was present at the conference, I did not present, 2) my name is in a sea of others in the 2 abstract citations, 3) honestly, since I was a lowly tech at the time, I would be much more comfortable discussing the general concepts of my research if asked in an interview. I feel like if you list a citation (publication or poster abstract), you should be prepared to answer more in depth questions.

Anyway, my opinion is that in this case, my new research job would trump the poster abstract entry. Any thoughts?? If it helps, I already have another entry with a journal publication (2nd author).
Click to expand...

This thread is the one you want to post your question in.
 
fatalerror said:
copy it to notepad, adjust it to the way you want (usually it doesn't look like in word), and save it (in notepad). Copy paste it into AAMC. Try that.
Click to expand...

I did. The thing is, it doesn't look weird in word, notepad, or even in the AMCAS text box. It is when I click continue and view it on the AMCAS Essay section (not the box/edit view, the entire essay on the AMCAS page) when I see that space 😕
 
G1SG2 said:
I did. The thing is, it doesn't look weird in word, notepad, or even in the AMCAS text box. It is when I click continue and view it on the AMCAS Essay section (not the box/edit view, the entire essay on the AMCAS page) when I see that space 😕
Click to expand...

Oh, well, I'm pretty sure adcom's see the .pdf (or something like it). If it's fine, I think your ok. But you can always e-mail AMCAS.
 
fatalerror said:
Oh, well, I'm pretty sure adcom's see the .pdf (or something like it). If it's fine, I think your ok. But you can always e-mail AMCAS.
Click to expand...

Okay, I agree. I'll call AMCAS to double check. Thanks for your help :luck:
 
So, just back to my question. How would the appeal process work if they send it out straight to the schools after verification? How does one have time to argue about course classification.

Also, I was wondering about reference letter. Some schools require them from "professors" you had in the sciences. But many of my courses were not run by professors but by instructors/lecturers. So when schools ask for a "professor", do they really want the person who instructed the science class you took, or do they require PhD.
 
Hello guys,

I just submitted AMCAS. Feels good 🙂
After submittion, the screen says,

"Submitted to AMCAS - Waiting for Transcripts" - Applicant has certified and submitted application but AMCAS application is pending processing while AMCAS waits for transcripts

although they also say that they recieved transcript from my institution.

What is going on here? Can anyone help? Thank you😍
 
Sorry if this is in the wrong spot guys.

I've posted a few times on SDN, but it's been a while.
I have a question about listing shadowing on AMCAS (under 'other,' of course).

How would i list something like this: (I kept a spread sheet of dates/hospitals/specialties/what I saw, learned, and participated with)

Gastroenterologists Office Student Intern 1,010 Hours
Shon Cook, M.D. Shadowing Neurosurgery 10 Hours
Denise Rable, M.D. Shadowing General Surgery 7 Hours
John Hill, D.O. Shadowing Anesthesiology 7 Hours
Eileen Fox, M.D. Shadowing Pediatrics 8 Hours
Robert Gaston, D.O. Shadowing Oncology / Radiation Therapy 10 Hours
Gautam Dehadrai, M.D. Shadowing Radiology 6 Hours
Muhammad Salim, M.D. Shadowing Cardiology 7 Hours
Joseph Ripperger, MD Shadowing Psychiatry 10 Hours
TOTAL: 1,230 Hours


Sorry for jagged allignment on that.
Here is my question, How do I list this in description? There's not enough room to list all of them by name, specialty, and hours AND go into 'what I learned, observed, etc...' How succient vs. thorough should I be here? What's the best way to deal with this, but not make it sound unimportant (or, on the other hand, make it sound like I'm relying too heavily on these experiences?).

Thanks for your time.


 
I submit mine on the 12th and am still waiting for it to be verified. Relax man, this is probably the busiest time at AMCAS all year because the most applications are flowing in right now so it will likely take at least 3 weeks for it to be verified.
 
How long does verification typically take? I submitted in the beginning of July and still haven't been verified, is this normal or should be worried. Also, will they not verify me until all my LORs are received and will I not get secondaries until I am verified because so far I've only gotten a couple secondaries.
 
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Currently verification is at exactly three weeks, but that was from those of us who submitted at the end of June. It will most likely take the 4-6 weeks Cole has noted.
 
1. What does it mean when schools say they have received your preliminary AMCAS information? What does the preliminary AMCAS information include? MCAT, GPA, extracurriculars? I have not been verified yet through AMCAS.

2. Also, a school said they received my MCAT score, and they are pleased that I am pursuing medical education. I find this idiotic since my MCAT is below average. Do schools just start sending out random e-mails to applicants just to get their money? Or is it because I put down disadvantaged that I am getting these e-mails?
 
i submitted last year around this time and it took 24 days afaicr. are things moving faster for you guys this year?
 
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