*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2011-2012*~*~*~*

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GoodGame said:
Wow really? That's such a clumsy way of doing it. They have to quote the entire list everytime, just so they can add one line of data. If I was an admin I would make an online graph that charts the data in real time as it's added. Hell, you can probably do this in Google Docs, with open permissions. Then just post the link in the OP and close the thread. No mess and no confusion.

Regarding my AMCAS application, I want to know if a certain experience of mine can be considered clinical. I used to volunteer in an assisted living home for old people. There, I tended to them to a certain degree (such as helping them move around), and I also socialized with them (e.g. bingo). According to the "Tips for Entering your Work and Activities in AMCAS" thread, the criteria for determining whether or not your experience was clinical is if you could SMELL the patients. I certainly met this criteria lol, but this is an assisted living HOME after all, so I'm at odds on how I should classify it.
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That's not really clinical. There are 2 general criteria, established by LizzyM, an adcom who frequents these forums:
1. Close enough to smell patients
2. Around someone who can write prescriptions

The people in an assisted living home could more accurately be called "residents" instead of patients, and there usually isn't someone there who can write prescriptions.

So I would put it down as non-clinical
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sector9 said:
That's not really clinical. There are 2 general criteria, established by LizzyM, an adcom who frequents these forums:
1. Close enough to smell patients
2. Around someone who can write prescriptions

The people in an assisted living home could more accurately be called "residents" instead of patients, and there usually isn't someone there who can write prescriptions.

So I would put it down as non-clinical
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Yeah that makes sense and I was thinking along the same lines. See, they don't include both of those criteria in the Tips for Entering your Work and Activities thread. They only mention the first one which is why I was confused.

Thanks for your reply!
 
So I hear that you MUST have 15 to look serious, and I hear that you don't at the same time.

So my question is, how far back does one go before things are fluff?

I'm non-trad, 26, college 2002-2004, 4 years working/taking care of goddaughter, then back to school with this goal.

Would including Special Olympics volunteer for 4 years 1998-2002 look dumb?

What about menial jobs along the way from HS til now? Does it look fluffy, or look realistic to show honest hard work, blue collar effort, and the ability to work while at school?

Thanks :)
 
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mlm84 said:
So I hear that you MUST have 15 to look serious, and I hear that you don't at the same time.

So my question is, how far back does one go before things are fluff?

I'm non-trad, 26, college 2002-2004, 4 years working/taking care of goddaughter, then back to school with this goal.

Would including Special Olympics volunteer for 4 years 1998-2002 look dumb?

What about menial jobs along the way from HS til now? Does it look fluffy, or look realistic to show honest hard work, blue collar effort, and the ability to work while at school?

Thanks :)
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Many people do not fill all fifteen slots and still get accepted.

If the Special Olympics activity contributed to your preparation for a career in medicine, then by all means include it.

The menial jobs may be useful to demonstrate responsibility and maturity. However, it may not be wise to enter them as separate activities but rather as one single entry--putting them separately might indeed look like fluff.
 
I have a question about the extracurricular activities. I shadowed a doctor for two years. In the AMCAS, how do I fill that out? Of the options they gave in Work/Activities, do I choose the Experience Type as Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical (since I also helped out at the clinic) or should I put Other? And should I just put in "shadowing" as the experience name? or should I put like "medical intern"? I know it sounds dumb but I am not from here and English is my second language and I do not want to sound informal. Thanks for your help.
 
saywatumean said:
I have a question about the extracurricular activities. I shadowed a doctor for two years. In the AMCAS, how do I fill that out? Of the options they gave in Work/Activities, do I choose the Experience Type as Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical (since I also helped out at the clinic) or should I put Other? And should I just put in "shadowing" as the experience name? or should I put like "medical intern"? I know it sounds dumb but I am not from here and English is my second language and I do not want to sound informal. Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

Please see the Tips for Entering Work and Activities thread for answers to your questions.
 
saywatumean said:
I have a question about the extracurricular activities. I shadowed a doctor for two years. In the AMCAS, how do I fill that out? Of the options they gave in Work/Activities, do I choose the Experience Type as Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical (since I also helped out at the clinic) or should I put Other? And should I just put in "shadowing" as the experience name? or should I put like "medical intern"? I know it sounds dumb but I am not from here and English is my second language and I do not want to sound informal. Thanks for your help.
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Shadowing is not community service. Mark other and label it as "Physician Shadowing". You can fill in the starting and ending month, but don't put hours per week.
 
So is it just me or anyone else who thinks that AMCAS verification is taking longer time than usual? I saw the verifications from last two years, and they seemed to be at least a week faster... ugh.
 
I did a search but came up empty handed. I am still in line to get verified but was interested in adding some more schools. I was just wondering if adding schools now, while waiting to be verified, would delay verification somehow? Also, is there any advantage to add now rather than waiting until after I am verified? Personally, I'd like to do it now just so that it is not one more thing put off to another day. Thanks
 
TTigers70 said:
I did a search but came up empty handed. I am still in line to get verified but was interested in adding some more schools. I was just wondering if adding schools now, while waiting to be verified, would delay verification somehow? Also, is there any advantage to add now rather than waiting until after I am verified? Personally, I'd like to do it now just so that it is not one more thing put off to another day. Thanks
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Your spot in the verification queue won't change so do what you want.
 
I remember there was a nice link somewhere to a video that was basically a workshop to the AMCAS from last year. Does anyone have a link to that by chance?

Also, I had a question regarding the most meaningful work activities. I understand that we should be rather strategic with this whole process. So would it be bad if I didn't note "shadowing" as most meaningful but elaborate more deeply on my shadowing experiences within my personal statement? It's not as if I am entirely trying to be strategic about it, my other activities that I want to note are very meaningful to me (Hospice and a couple leadership activities). What do you think?

Thanks!
 
RSum said:
I remember there was a nice link somewhere to a video that was basically a workshop to the AMCAS from last year. Does anyone have a link to that by chance?

Also, I had a question regarding the most meaningful work activities. I understand that we should be rather strategic with this whole process. So would it be bad if I didn't note "shadowing" as most meaningful but elaborate more deeply on my shadowing experiences within my personal statement? It's not as if I am entirely trying to be strategic about it, my other activities that I want to note are very meaningful to me (Hospice and a couple leadership activities). What do you think?

Thanks!
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Well there might be two things you're thinking of
1. AMCAS has video tutorials on their website (under "AMCAS Tutorials") https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/amcasresources/
2. There's the UW video about med school applications http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10983903

If it isn't one of those, then I'm out of ideas

I've read every post in the Work/Activities thread (which is found here http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=813591 This question is better suited for that thread) throughout this application year (this is the first year that applicants have been asked to identify activities as "most meaningful", so information from previous years can't help) and only a couple of people have stated that they are planning to list their shadowing as most meaningful. If you already talked a lot about shadowing in your PS, then I would definitely find other activities to highlight as most meaningful in your EC section. Remember, you can list a maximum of 3 activities and minimum of 1 as most meaningful, so don't feel like you have to list 3.
 
Hey everyone,
sorry if this has already been asked, but I did a quick search and couldn't find an answer. So i received my MCAT score today from the July 29th test. Are these scores automatically sent to every school I've applied to through AMCAS, or do I need to designate the schools to send to on the MCAT website? Thanks for any help!
 
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Nabob89 said:
Hey everyone,
sorry if this has already been asked, but I did a quick search and couldn't find an answer. So i received my MCAT score today from the July 29th test. Are these scores automatically sent to every school I've applied to through AMCAS, or do I need to designate the schools to send to on the MCAT website? Thanks for any help!
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Schools are automatically updated. Your question is on the Official AMCAS FAQ BTW so I'm guessing you didn't look there https://www.aamc.org/students/apply...amcas_application_without_my_mcat_scores.html
 
Should our personal statement look like a gigantic block of text? There are no indentions for new paragraphs....
 
iceman132 said:
Should our personal statement look like a gigantic block of text? There are no indentions for new paragraphs....
Click to expand...

The general recommendation is to use two consecutive carriage returns to separate paragraphs.
 
Has anyone had their AMCAS verified that submitted it on or after August 5th??
 
hi, i did a search and it didn't seem like anyone has asked/addressed this.

i am just now realizing that speeding tickets are misdemeanors in my state, which i did not think was the case when i submitted my AMCAS. it's been verified for about two weeks now...

1.) how should i address this? is it ok to include it in the secondaries in that extra "tell us anything else you want" space? and if so, do i state that i was initially misinformed, hence the reason my AMCAS says "no" to misdemeanors? or do i not even mention my oopsie on the AMCAS and just state plainly what the speeding tickets were?

2.) also, if i got probation before judgment and took a driver improvement course to have the ticket dismissed, should i mention it at all?

any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
 
I've tried looking everywhere and can't seem to get it so here we go:

I've attended two conferences and was 1st author for one of the posters and 6th author for the second. They were both for the same association but different conventions. They are on different topics.

The way I'm doing it now, I'm "using up" three lines (of the 15 allowed) for research—1 for research in general (talk about what I did) and then 2 lines for each of the presentations. Is this a good way to do it?

For each of the presentations, exactly what needs to be written for the experience field? From my understanding, I need to cite the presentation, which takes up at least half of the allowed characters. Should I briefly describe the research (although the abstract citation seems to display that by itself)?

Thanks
 
avantdesign said:
I've tried looking everywhere and can't seem to get it so here we go:

I've attended two conferences and was 1st author for one of the posters and 6th author for the second. They were both for the same association but different conventions. They are on different topics.

The way I'm doing it now, I'm "using up" three lines (of the 15 allowed) for research—1 for research in general (talk about what I did) and then 2 lines for each of the presentations. Is this a good way to do it?

For each of the presentations, exactly what needs to be written for the experience field? From my understanding, I need to cite the presentation, which takes up at least half of the allowed characters. Should I briefly describe the research (although the abstract citation seems to display that by itself)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You'll have better luck in this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=813591
 
avantdesign said:
I've tried looking everywhere and can't seem to get it so here we go:

I've attended two conferences and was 1st author for one of the posters and 6th author for the second. They were both for the same association but different conventions. They are on different topics.

The way I'm doing it now, I'm "using up" three lines for research—1 for research in general (talk about what I did) and then 2 lines for each of the presentations. Is this a good way to do it?

For each of the presentations, exactly what needs to be written for the experience field? From my understanding, I need to cite the presentation, which takes up at least half of the allowed characters. Should I briefly describe the research (although the abstract citation seems to display that by itself)?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Did you really contribute that much to the poster you were 6th author on? I would consider including that one with the main research entry or combining with the other poster, if possible. Were the topics similar enough that you could group them together, or were they completely different projects?

The general recommendation is to have the main research entry then have a separate entry for each project's highest level of accomplishment. So if you presented a poster and were a coauthor on a paper about the same project, you would create an entry for the published paper and mention the poster in the description.

The poster entry(ies) should include a short intro where you explain in very simple terms (basic enough that a non-scientist can understand) what the project was about and your own contribution. The rest can be more technical if desired. The same goes for the main research entry.

You can cut down a little on the citation if you find that it is taking up too much space. For example, just include enough of the author list to show where your name is then use "et al".
 
I finished my AMCAS application in mid-July. And I finished my secondaries about 3-4 weeks ago. Since then, I have unexpectedly found myself back in school. Do I need to report this to AMCAS and the schools to which I applied? If so, how do I go about doing so? I did not see anything in the AMCAS manual covering this scenario and have had no luck finding information on the websites of the schools where I applied.
 
Kphrogg said:
I finished my AMCAS application in mid-July. And I finished my secondaries about 3-4 weeks ago. Since then, I have unexpectedly found myself back in school. Do I need to report this to AMCAS and the schools to which I applied? If so, how do I go about doing so? I did not see anything in the AMCAS manual covering this scenario and have had no luck finding information on the websites of the schools where I applied.
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There is no way to report this information through AMCAS now that you have been verified.

You have no obligation to notify schools about being enrolled in coursework. However, if the grades are helpful (such as showing a strong upward trend), you can update schools about them after the completion of the courses. I don't think you need to tell schools about the courses immediately
 
So, I got verified, but I'm troubled/confused.

The GPA worksheet told me that AMCAS would calculate my lifetime GPA overall a few points higher than it actually did, for some reason (it told me 3.33/3.56, and AMCAS decided it was 3.29/3.54.)

Thinking back, it's not entirely surprising - I have 152 adjusted semester hours of graded undergrad credits (+ 127 non-graded of various sorts) and so there was a huge amount of stuff for them to sort though. I'm guessing they "corrected" something somewhere that negatively impacted the totals. It's obviously something from my community college coursework, since it didn't change the postbac totals.

Two questions:

1) I put the numbers from my GPA worksheet in LoR requests so if letters mention my GPA, they will use these numbers. Is a slight discrepancy here going to dramatically offend adcoms or will they realize what happened?

2) Is there any way of seeing WHAT the system decided to change about my classes as entered? 'Cos it seems entirely random, and I'm stumped. I can see the X's where they changed something, but not what they changed.
 
Hastur said:
So, I got verified, but I'm troubled/confused.

The GPA worksheet told me that AMCAS would calculate my lifetime GPA overall a few points higher than it actually did, for some reason (it told me 3.33/3.56, and AMCAS decided it was 3.29/3.54.)

Thinking back, it's not entirely surprising - I have 152 adjusted semester hours of graded undergrad credits (+ 127 non-graded of various sorts) and so there was a huge amount of stuff for them to sort though. I'm guessing they "corrected" something somewhere that negatively impacted the totals. It's obviously something from my community college coursework, since it didn't change the postbac totals.

Two questions:

1) I put the numbers from my GPA worksheet in LoR requests so if letters mention my GPA, they will use these numbers. Is a slight discrepancy here going to dramatically offend adcoms or will they realize what happened?

2) Is there any way of seeing WHAT the system decided to change about my classes as entered? 'Cos it seems entirely random, and I'm stumped. I can see the X's where they changed something, but not what they changed.
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1) I wouldn't worry about it. They won't be upset

2) You'd have to compare the X'ed courses with the pre-verification version. Did you not save the PDF of the application from when you submitted?
 
sector9 said:
1) I wouldn't worry about it. They won't be upset

2) You'd have to compare the X'ed courses with the pre-verification version. Did you not save the PDF of the application from when you submitted?
Click to expand...

1)...that's reassuring. Do you have a source to point to or way to confirm this? I'm sorry to press you on the point when you have so kindly been the first to respond here. I'm just really rattled over this. :eek:

2) Yeah, I have that around here somewhere and can dig it out. I think I was assuming that the alterations would be something arcane and not visible in summary, like reclassifying lecture to lab or something of that sort.
 
Hastur said:
1)...that's reassuring. Do you have a source to point to or way to confirm this? I'm sorry to press you on the point when you have so kindly been the first to respond here. I'm just really rattled over this. :eek:
Click to expand...

I'd counter by asking you if you have a source to point to that justifies your worrying.

The discrepancy you report is so small as to make me doubt that any reasonable person would hold it against you. Further, any "proof" that you'd get would just be anecdotal reports from specific situations that would be hardly generalizable.
 
Can someone help me out.

I want to know what the deadline for medical schools really means.

Is it the deadline to have your AMCAS application submitted with the chosen school

or the Deadline to submit a VERIFIED application for that chosen school

I am so confused.

Its October and I just decided to apply, I know its late I want to give it a try.
 
2 quick questions:

1) What do you do to strengthen your application in case you need to reapply next year? I can only think of one thing that is to do more community service since I am working full time at the moment. Any other suggestions? I don't think there is anything I can do to improve my stats at this point. GPA 3.64, 3.7 and 33M. I am sure as hell not retaking the MCAT since it is very likely my VR gonna drop.

2) I am applying this cycle and all my LORs were written in 2010. Should I have asked the professors to update the date? Do I need to do that for next year if apply again?
 
FattySlug said:
2 quick questions:

1) What do you do to strengthen your application in case you need to reapply next year? I can only think of one thing that is to do more community service since I am working full time at the moment. Any other suggestions? I don't think there is anything I can do to improve my stats at this point. GPA 3.64, 3.7 and 33M. I am sure as hell not retaking the MCAT since it is very likely my VR gonna drop.

2) I am applying this cycle and all my LORs were written in 2010. Should I have asked the professors to update the date? Do I need to do that for next year if apply again?
Click to expand...

1) Can't make useful, targeted suggestions without knowing all of your app, or where you applied to.

2) Cant't hurt to do that.
 
So I just found out there's an error on my DOB on my AMCAS application. I just made the correction but I'm not sure if I should click submit. Was hoping to call AMCAS but it's a holiday today. Do you think I should let every individual school know of the correction? I have already submitted a few secondaries.
 
Twink said:
So I just found out there's an error on my DOB on my AMCAS application. I just made the correction but I'm not sure if I should click submit. Was hoping to call AMCAS but it's a holiday today. Do you think I should let every individual school know of the correction? I have already submitted a few secondaries.
Click to expand...

I don't see the harm in doing either.
 
I've already submitted all my secondaries, but I've changed adresses, so all I have to do is change it on AMCAS, resubmit, and it's fine right? It won't affect "the line" where my secondary is right?
 
EvilSponge said:
I've already submitted all my secondaries, but I've changed adresses, so all I have to do is change it on AMCAS, resubmit, and it's fine right? It won't affect "the line" where my secondary is right?
Click to expand...

I'd follow up with the schools to make sure they have your new address, but yeah, that should be it.
 
I just realized that I overlooked Hopkins' recommendation guidelines when submitting my application... I sent four science LORs instead of two. Is this going to seriously hurt my application? They have a space in their secondary to write your LOR authors; will they be able to figure out which ones I meant to send from there? If not, is there a way to recall rec letters after the AMCAS application is submitted?

Edit: Also, if I submitted the application before the 10/15 deadline and then resubmitted it afterward with an extra rec letters, will the schools with the 10/15 deadline still consider the application?
 
Roo2 said:
I just realized that I overlooked Hopkins' recommendation guidelines when submitting my application... I sent four science LORs instead of two. Is this going to seriously hurt my application? They have a space in their secondary to write your LOR authors; will they be able to figure out which ones I meant to send from there? If not, is there a way to recall rec letters after the AMCAS application is submitted?

Edit: Also, if I submitted the application before the 10/15 deadline and then resubmitted it afterward with an extra rec letters, will the schools with the 10/15 deadline still consider the application?
Click to expand...

See previous response below.

mauberley said:
I would ask the admissions office at Hopkins for answers to your questions.
Click to expand...
 
This is not necessarily an AMCAS question, but I didn't know where else to ask it:

My boyfriend of 3.5 years and I applied to medical school this cycle to the same 14 schools because we really want to go to the same medical school. We both interviewed at several of these schools, but so far I have gotten accepted and he has been on the wait list. We are worried that we won't both be accepted to the same school and with the uncertainty of the wait lists we were considering applying to a few more schools.

Since I have already been accepted to two schools would it look bad to apply to a couple more schools this late in the application cycle?

I know that I will get a good education at any US medical school, but I also know that it won't be a good experience if I am unable to see my boyfriend for 4 years. Any thoughts?
 
Hey guys,
so basically this is my question:
I felt like i was a pretty solid applicant and only applied to 6 schools. Out of these 6, two were what I considered I was very competitive for, 2 pretty competitive for, and 2 were reach schools. Out of these, one of the "very competitive" schools wait listed me and the other I have yet to hear back from. I have interviewed at another "fairly competitive" school and have yet to hear back from the other one, and the finally, one of the "reach" schools rejected me without an II and the other has yet to get back to me. I am starting to get worried.

Is there any merit in sending out my primary app to more schools this late in the cycle? or should i just hope that it works out, and if it doesn't, wait until next year?

I got a 35O on my mcat, sGPA is a 3.62, doctor shadowing, international/national volunteer, some research experience.

thoughts?
 
Here are my stats:
Spanish Major: GPA 3.59
Science GPA 3.49
Volunteering / Patient Contact is quite immense for me on paper. So I am not at all worried about that at all.
With my strategy as a spanish major to help the diverse population, how should this hold out for me?
 
I took a Tennis course at community college before I started high school (2004). It shows up on my transcript for the school, but is NG, or no grade. Do I have to include this in my course work?
 
NXN said:
Here are my stats:
Spanish Major: GPA 3.59
Science GPA 3.49
Volunteering / Patient Contact is quite immense for me on paper. So I am not at all worried about that at all.
With my strategy as a spanish major to help the diverse population, how should this hold out for me?
Click to expand...
Create a thread in What are my chances?

The first question is going to be "What is your MCAT?" If you don't have an MCAT score yet, it's very difficult to give feedback. Your spanish major will be fine, especially if you have some interesting ECs related to it
 
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