What materials should I get together for my AMCAS application?

[guitarguy23]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Are there any materials that I'll need to try and get that might take a few days (like an official transcript, etc). What usually takes the longest to fill out on the AMCAS?

The reason I ask is because I've heard it's a good ida to have your things organized before AMCAS opens but I didn't know if there were some things that might take some time to get. Thanks!

 

[flip26]

Have you written a personal statement?

Have you asked for letters?

Get a copy of your transcript now, and when it comes time to enter this info on AMCAS, copy it verbatim.

 

[LizzyM]

make a list of your "experiences" including start and end dates, average hours per week, name & contact infomration of someone at the organization (if applicable), and some information about what you did.

Categories of "experiences" that you might include are:
employment, military
employment, non-military
volunteer, clinical
volunteer, non-clinical
research
publications
presentations
teaching-tutoring
leadership
athletics
artistic endeavors
hobbies and advocations
membership
conference attended
honors


You aren't expected to have one in every category but I've listed them in the order of importance I'd give them (if you can't list everything, be sure to include the relevant things toward the top of the list). AMCAS will put them, I think, in alphabetical order by category... at least that is how it was last year whereas the year before it was reverse chronological by start date.... either way, it didn't appear that the applicant could influence the order on the list.

 

[AH3]

How should I categorize a volunteer youth sport coaching position? Leadership, non-medical volunteering, or both? I don't have any real leadership titles other than this and this activity has been the bulk of my non-medical volunteering as well. Just trying to figure out the best category for it.

 

[lstone13]

How should I categorize a volunteer youth sport coaching position? Leadership, non-medical volunteering, or both? I don't have any real leadership titles other than this and this activity has been the bulk of my non-medical volunteering as well. Just trying to figure out the best category for it.

Well, you can't categorize it for both, but it can definitely be either. I say, it just depends on what parts of your application are lacking (i.e., you already have lots of leadership positions listed, then you label this as non-medical volunteering).

 

[LizzyM]

I tend to think of leadership as leading "peers" whereas supervision of minors is more likely to be classified as volunteer or employment as the case may be.

 

[eablackwell]

I'M a chemistry teacher. I'm guessing since employment-non military is higher up the list than teaching/tutoring, that I should list it under employment, yes?

 

[LetsGo352]

Question:

I have been researching now for a few years and have multiple publications, abstracts, and publications. Do I list each one of these separately? Or list them all under one for research?

Thanks

 

[LizzyM]

Question:

I have been researching now for a few years and have multiple publications, abstracts, and publications. Do I list each one of these separately? Or list them all under one for research?

Thanks

Tag it under publication but then list all in the publications in one slot if you want to save space. I'd list the abstracts under "presentations" if they represent presentations at mtgs.

 

[LetsGo352]

Tag it under publication but then list all in the publications in one slot if you want to save space. I'd list the abstracts under "presentations" if they represent presentations at mtgs.

Ah, ok. So I list research without listing any publications/ abstracts/presentations and just describing what I actually did in the lab. And list publications and presentations in two separate activity listings?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[cfx]

You are required to order and send it "official" transcripts, correct?

If so, do this have to be done after final grades are posted for the current semester?

Does anything else need to be sent in (or anything done other than what you see on the app itself, i.e., LOR, PS, etc.)?

 

[mvenus929]

You are required to order and send it "official" transcripts, correct?

If so, do this have to be done after final grades are posted for the current semester?

Does anything else need to be sent in (or anything done other than what you see on the app itself, i.e., LOR, PS, etc.)?

It doesn't have to be, but it should be after you get your most current grades. If you're on a system that doesn't turn out final grades until June or July, you might want to pass, but most semester systems will get grades out before the end of May.

LORs have to be sent in. Everything else is written on the application itself.

 

[LizzyM]

Ah, ok. So I list research without listing any publications/ abstracts/presentations and just describing what I actually did in the lab. And list publications and presentations in two separate activity listings?

Thanks for the reply!

Best to list them separately. If the reader of your application is making a quick skim of the experience section they'll spot research/presentations/publications and see the whole picture very quickly. If some of the information is buried in the text field it could be missed.

Also, if you had funding for your research, be sure to mention that.

 

[LetsGo352]

Thanks Lizzy M! Very helpful to have people around who know what they're talking about around this time of year.

So, the application opens May 4th and schools usually start looking through primaries june 1st? So, if we submit it on June 1st, would we be the first applications they see? Or is there a delay period between when we submit and when schools can see it?

 

[cfx]

Thanks Lizzy M! Very helpful to have people around who know what they're talking about around this time of year.

So, the application opens May 4th and schools usually start looking through primaries june 1st? So, if we submit it on June 1st, would we be the first applications they see? Or is there a delay period between when we submit and when schools can see it?

I believe you can just SUBMIT it in/after June. After submission, AMCAS verifies your info, which takes a month or two. From what I've heard, schools don't actually start looking through them until August. Correct me if I'm wrong.

What I'm curious about is what "reserves" your application's place in line, in terms of order that it is reviewed. Date of primary submission? Date of verification? Date of secondary submission? At what point are applications placed in a queue that determines when it's looked at?

 

[mvenus929]

So, the application opens May 4th and schools usually start looking through primaries june 1st? So, if we submit it on June 1st, would we be the first applications they see? Or is there a delay period between when we submit and when schools can see it?

Applications open in May, you can SUBMIT June 1. It'll take anywhere from a few hours to a couple weeks if you submit very early (depends largely on how complicated your verification is; if you have several schools, it'll take longer than someone who just has one school). AMCAS won't submit the primaries to schools until like June 20th. Schools usually don't start looking at them until July for secondary purposes (some are likely on an automated system, where you automatically get a secondary if you send in a primary). After your application is complete, they'll review it in whole and decide if you should get an interview. This usually don't start happening until the previous class is settled in.

 

[LizzyM]

A very quick and dirty algorhythm is used to determine if you get a secondary, or the secondary is automatic and you are instructed to "self-screen" based on how well you match the school's stats & mission (& state residence if applicable)

Every school is going to have its own method for handling the hundreds or thousands of applications. Reviews tend to begin in August or about 4-7 wks before the first interview date.

It appears to me that applications are reviewed in the order in which they became complete although if I have 30 applications to review in a 2 week period (what I did when I was an intial reviewer), I might make a quick look at school/gpa/MCAT and cherry pick a few for quick turn around and do the others in random order. Do keep in mind that you could be early but because an avalanche of applications are complete by August 1, by luck of the draw you could be reviewed 6 weeks after someone who submitted in the same week that you did.

If you were to draw a curve showing the number of applications completed per day it would be skewed left with a long right tail and no left tail. Superimpose the curve of applications reviewed per day: it is flat with the same number reviewed each day until about 4 weeks after the deadline date for applications.