When to create AMCAS?

[WestCoastNative]

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Are you supposed to create it before your freshman year starts, or can you do it at any moment before you start applying to medical school? I haven't created mine yet.. I'm only a couple of semesters into my undergraduate learning.

 

[NervousNerd]

Are you supposed to create it before your freshman year starts, or can you do it at any moment before you start applying to medical school? I haven't created mine yet.. I'm only a couple of semesters into my undergraduate learning.

This gave me a good laugh.

You do not "need" to start it until the cycle you plan to apply. The AMCAS has minor changes every year so they do not recycle your old information, thus would be a waste for you to even fill out now

 

[hoihaie]

only when you really start applying. otherwise they trash your info every year, so all yoru work will be lost year to year

 

[alamo4]

I can't see it hurting to go through the motions of seeing exactly how things go and getting all your statements ready and stuff the year before. You can always save it out a pdf if I remember right, so you can cut and paste in stuff later.

There are some subtleties of what it is actually is like.

 

[ciestar]

While AMCAS itself isn't helpful an AAMC account now won't hurt you. That's where you can schedule MCAT and all sorts of things.

 

[allojay]

I can't see it hurting to go through the motions of seeing exactly how things go and getting all your statements ready and stuff the year before. You can always save it out a pdf if I remember right, so you can cut and paste in stuff later.

There are some subtleties of what it is actually is like.

I agree with the above. For the OP, I personally made an account a few years before my app season, so I could become familiar with the application and breeze through it, when the time came. Will it make a huge difference? Not likely. Do as you please, but it's not going to make or break anything.