*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Questions Thread 2017-2018*~*~*~*

[sparkleberry27]

Do the courses absolutely need to be in the same order as they appear on the transcript? The order was off for me, so i deleted all the courses from that semester and re-entered it in order, but one course keeps moving 2 places up. I tried twice.

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[medic408]

Question regarding coursework classification:

In high school, I received college credit for my high school's research program coursework. Here is a description of the coursework as listed on the UAlbany website:

ACAS 110 Intermediate Methods Research is only available to those students who have a mentor. While students may begin the application process before a mentor is engaged, they must have an active mentor to complete the application process. Students learn research methodology in the natural and social sciences by accessing scientific databases by using online bibliographic search techniques, consulting doctoral-level research scholars, developing hypotheses and performing experiments to test them, and writing research papers and making presentations at scientific symposia. It is expected that the students will have done many of these activities in the prerequisite high school course, and in this course emphasis is placed upon performing experiments in consultation with mentors. Students are expected to spend at least three hours per week outside of class. Prerequisite(s): completion of one year of an approved course in science research at the high-school level; permission of instructor; available for year-long course of study only.

Not sure whether to mark this other, biology, behavioral & social sciences...

 

[medic408]

Just to be clear, while in high school, you had a dual enrollment with SUNY Albany, where you received a grade and credit that appears on a SUNY Albany transcript. Since this is a general research course description, what area of research did you concentrate on and what kind of experiments dis you do?

Correct. During the school year I focused on biological research and prepared for my summer research internship (in biology). I feel like if I mark this course as biology, AMCAS is going to question it and ask for verification (which, at this point, I can't really provide). I also don't care if this course counts as part of my BCPM GPA-- won't make a difference. I'd be fine marking it as other if AMCAS won't have a problem with this.

 

[medic408]

just mark BCPM . If they dont like it, they will just change it

Ah okay so basically I can mark biology, and if they don't like it, it will get changed to another category *without* affecting the verification process? I.e. I can just accept their change and not have to go through re-verification?

 

[Horse Apiece]

@gonnif

Going into college I took math and english placement tests, which appear on my transcript at the end, but not for any grade or credit. Do I list those under AP (or at all)? AMCAS guidelines are difficult to interpret concerning this matter.

 

[aaronrodgers]

I am applying MD/PhD so there are 2 research essays to write beyond the personal statement. Since I will be speaking extensively about research in those essays, do I need to mark research as a significant experience on my works/activities section? I currently have the 3rd sig. exp. marked and explained on my shadowing.

 

[DirtyMathBook]

When is the latest MCAT i can sign up for and still count for this 2018 cycle?

 

[SuaveCardigans]

would I be considered having junior or senior standing for classes taken during the summer between my junior/senior years? Per my uni's registrar office, this would be considered part of my junior academic year, but when I entered onto the primary I had to enter as the next academic year, otherwise it showed up as before fall junior year, not after spring. @gonnif

 

[OchemOficionado]

.

 

[OchemOficionado]

Regarding the PS. Should we not format AT ALL? Should we enter it as one block of text? No clear paragraphs? No indenting (which takes up precious characters)?

How do we make sure it looks appropriate when people read it?

NEVER MIND. I just read the instructions. Haha.

 

[itsalwayssunny96]

I know it's suggested to group shadowing experiences together...I had a really intense shadowing internship and then also shadowed a general practitioner over a winter break. I would say the internship was one of my most meaningful experiences but the other wasn't... should I say this distinction? And which contact information should I give - does it matter from which shadowing experience?

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

If you have a shadowing experience that you feel was very impactful, you can certainly speak about it separately. If you group them, you can have one doctor as contact

If I grouped all my shadowing together, would it be acceptable to use this entry as one of the 'most meaningfuls' and describe how shadowing has impacted me?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[drgomally]

I have a family member who is terminally ill, and for the past couple of years of been his personal caregiver. Would it be ok to list it as an activity, and does it count as clinical experience?

 

[pottedcactus]

I took an extra year to fulfill my pre-med requirements (majored in computer science and decided to go into medicine my senior year).

I had AP credits transferred to my undergraduate university, which caused my class level standing to be listed as "sophomore" during my second semester at the school. In addition, my class standing during my actual senior year (4th year) is listed as "graduate" possibly due to the fact that I enrolled in a progressive 1-year master's program, which I ended up dropping. My fifth year class standing is listed as "senior".

On my AMCAS app, should I enter the class standing exactly as printed on my transcript? Or should I use a different convention? Would the fifth year count as "senior" or "postbaccalaureate"?

Thanks

 

[morejedi]

Hey everyone! Just filling out my application and requesting transcripts. I received an email confirming that one of my transcripts was received and was just wondering if this would be reflected anywhere on my AMCAS application. I've checked on the page where you input your colleges but couldn't see anything.

You know... just for some peace of mind

 

[morejedi]

I believe nothing will be noted until you actually submit your application. then you can check status as in processing. however the email will be the only direct confirmation of transcript being recieved

@gonnif you are a wonderful individual and if life ever permits it I would love to bake you homemade cookies.

 

[stilllovegreys]

Do the courses absolutely need to be in the same order as they appear on the transcript? The order was off for me, so i deleted all the courses from that semester and re-entered it in order, but one course keeps moving 2 places up. I tried twice.

Same here. I thought I was losing my mind!

 

[morejedi]

Hey ya'll, back again.

Just wondering, do we need to include High School AP classes? A friend of mine who applied last year said they were on his transcript for his JC and he had to include them, but my same unofficial transcript from the same JC doesn't include the AP courses.

:O

 

[7331poas]

Hey @gonnif

Any tips on writing the disadvantaged essay? I am a first generation, SES, mexican, rural (medically underserved) applicant. Not sure if you just list these and explain why I fit those qualifications or will AMCAS automatically tell schools I meet this criteria?

 

[Terry Toma]

I just want to make sure that I am entering the correct dates attended for one of my schools. When I did my master's degree, I finished my thesis (and thus received my diploma) two semesters after completing all for-credit coursework on campus (I moved away from the school after completing all required courses and wrapped up/defended my thesis while working in my field). Should my "end date" be the date that I completed my coursework, or the date that the degree was conferred?

 

[Medicineandbasketball]

Hi I have several questions regarding transcripts, starting an app, and the MCAT score:

1) I took the MCAT end of April and I receive my score in 10 days. If I start my AMCAS application now and in the event that I am not satisfied with my score and I apply next cycle, will schools in the next cycle know that I started an application the previous year? They only consider me as a re-applicant if I submitted the app right?

2) Should I send transcripts to AMCAS now without knowing my MCAT score? Do they just simply discard the transcripts if I end up not applying this cycle?

Thanks!

 

[Terry Toma]

when degree conferred

Cool. Thanks so much for doing this.

 

[Medicineandbasketball]

Thank you so much for your helpful responses. One other question I had was that I took a single college course while I was a senior in high school. On AMCAS, do I have to make a completely new college entry in "Colleges Attended" to accommodate for this one course?

 

[Terry Toma]

Donations to my retirement fund are greatly appreciated........ (yes, its a joke)

I feel like I can safely commit to donating every penny I have left after I pay my application fees.

Edit to ask if you'd like your $0 in check form, or if monopoly money would be preferred.

 

[morejedi]

Thank you so much for your helpful responses. One other question I had was that I took a single college course while I was a senior in high school. On AMCAS, do I have to make a completely new college entry in "Colleges Attended" to accommodate for this one course?

This is a quote from another FAQ thread -

14. I took a class at a community college while I was in high school. Do I still need to report that transcript?
Yes. If you don't, you are risking being found out and having a school revoke an acceptance.

Definitely get it on your application and get a transcript for it

 

[7331poas]

Most docs come from higher income/educational background and fewer from racially/ethnically diverse background
A large fraction of the population is the inverse of the above

Do you believe or can you show why your background may make you better to relate and understand the population you are likely serve?

I agree. I am mostly wondering what adcoms want to see in that essay? Just to the point or an elaboration?

 

[morejedi]

dont tell them, show them withxan example from your life

Can you like one of my SDN posts so I can use the fact that you've liked my post in my personal statement? TBH it seems like good enough reason to separate me as a strong applicant

 

[morejedi]

With your screen name, just show the Adcoms how you can use The Force

 

[sparkleberry27]

I tested out of a language at my school, but my official transcript does not reflect this in any way. Is there a way to communicate to adcoms on my application that I have mastered a language?

 

[RobertSacamano]

I entered in my courses on AMCAS in the order the appear on my transcript. Yet today I checked and the order has been completely switched, and there is no rhyme or reason to the order (not alphabetical). The order seems to be random. Will this be an issue for verification? Does anyone know why the courses were reordered?

 

[pottedcactus]

I took an Independent Study (online) business course at BYU which I started around February my senior year of high school. They give you a year or so to complete the course. I ended up taking the final exam and finishing the course some time in August of that year when I had already started undergrad.

The transcript from BYU lists the course and grade as having been taken "Fall Semester 2011" most likely because I took the final exam around the time Fall semester started. I tried to get the credit transferred to my undergraduate institution but it didn't count for anything. On my undergraduate transcript, the dates listed for that course are 9/1/2011 to 12/28/2011.

How should I enter this course in AMCAS? Would it count as high school?

 

[pottedcactus]

List it as HS

I forgot to mention that Fall Semester 2011 was also my first semester of undergrad and the BYU transcript does not indicate a course start date. Still list as HS?

 

[pottedcactus]

It is actually on a different transcript. Just realized it didn't count for any credit at my undergraduate university but is listed on my ugrad university's transcript anyways. I'll double check with AAMC. Thank you!

I have one more question. The AMCAS instruction manual says "If you take a college level course for which you already have been granted AP credit by the same institution, this course is considered a Repeat."

I took AP Chemistry and received a 5 which I believe counts for first semester general chemistry credit at my undergraduate university.

I ended up taking general chemistry (2 semesters or 1 years worth) at a state university over the summer because it was cheaper, however I never sent my AP scores to this university.

Is it necessary to mark the first semester general chemistry course as a repeat?

 

[Welshman]

AP credit and transfer question:

I transferred schools after my freshman fall semester. My first school gave me 3 P/F credits attached to actual classes at the school (e.g. BIO101) for each AP/IB exam. My second school gave me 4 for credits per exam but just listed them under AP/IB Exam XYZ.

Is one preferable to the other? Should I list it at the school that gave me the most credit/attended the longest or the school I attended first?

 

[pottedcactus]

Ok, lets try this again. Did you take a course that you received credit for from a school? How it is listed on your UG?



If your school gives you actual credit that appears on a transcript, then it would count as a course and any subsequent taking of the same course would be a repeat.However, simply by taking getting a 5 on the AP exam, does not mean your college will automatically give you credit. So I presume you can see if its on the transcript that you currently have

I took that online course at BYU and got credit at BYU. Tried to transfer credit to USC to see if it would count towards anything, but it doesn't look like it did. The course does however appear in my USC transcript next to CC courses I took in high school and AP credit. I think USC lists everything you attempted to transfer in regardless of whether or not credit was received.

There's a "transfer detail information" section at the top of my USC transcript that looks like this:
AP credit ... Units Attempted: 16.00
Community college ... Units Attempted: 12.00
BYU ... Units Attempted: 3.00

Undergraduate Units Attempted: 31.00
Earned: 28.00
Available: 16.00

So it looks like only the AP credits counted for anything at USC.

Regarding the AP credit repeat question, AP Chemistry does appear on my USC transcript, however I took the general chemistry courses at a Cal State university over the summer. AP credit does not appear on the Cal State transcript as I never submitted the scores to them.

 

[TheAppleJuice]

I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IF YOU DID NOT QUOTE THIS SO I CAN DELETE IT LATER

thank you

So I have 20 units of AP credit, essentially one semester, so I was thinking about "offsetting" all my semesters when assigning the year (freshman, sophomore etc.) for the courses I took

This is why: I notice that my GPA trend looks better when I offset it. If I did it "regular" (by the calendar) it looks like I had a crummy sophomore and junior year; but when I do it offset it looks like I had a solid freshman and sophomore year, a crummy junior year, but then a good senior "semester" (the spring of my 'junior' year)

So do you think for this benefit, I should off set all my coursework like this:

Freshman: AP + 1st Fall (3.75)
Sophomore: 1st Spring + Summer 1 + 2nd Fall (3.8)
Junior: 2nd Spring + Summer 2 + 3rd Fall (3.1)
Senior: 3rd Spring (3.7)

Otherwise it looks more like: FR 3.85, SO 3.0, JR 3.3

(these numbers are not exact)

AMCAS states the following by the way

If you have a significant amount of AP or college-level coursework credits prior to entering college, you may list your entire first college year as Freshman (FR) status. In doing so, you will most likely exceed the 0-35 credit hour guideline for freshman year, but your AMCAS GPAs will reflect your “true” first year in college; in these cases AMCAS will not change the academic status. However, if you would rather base your academic statuses based only on credit hours, your application will be accepted and verified as such.

@gonnif @Goro @LizzyM

 

[pottedcactus]

You took a class at BYU, you got credit at BYU, you have a transcript at BYU, you report this course on your AMCAS under college heading at BYU

Yep, I have a separate entry for BYU. In the schools attended section, I listed "Dates Attended" as "May 2010 to September 2011". Transcript shows I took the course "Fall Semester 2011" probably because of the date I took the final exam. So when entering coursework in the coursework section for BYU, it only lets me select "high school" because of what I entered for "dates attended". I could change the dates attended so that I can enter the course as "freshman" but that wouldn't be correct either...

Now we have established you have had chemistry credits awarded by USC, the course taken at CalState should be marked as repeat as well as the AP on USC.

So just to be clear, mark the AP on USC as repeat and first semester g-chem as repeat on CalState?

Thanks

 

[TheAppleJuice]

Yep, I have a separate entry for BYU. In the schools attended section, I listed "Dates Attended" as "May 2010 to September 2011". Transcript shows I took the course "Fall Semester 2011" probably because of the date I took the final exam. So when entering coursework in the coursework section for BYU, it only lets me select "high school" because of what I entered for "dates attended". I could change the dates attended so that I can enter the course as "freshman" but that wouldn't be correct either...


So just to be clear, mark the AP on USC as repeat and first semester g-chem as repeat on CalState?

Thanks

actually, I also have a similar question - just so I'm clear, are you saying that if AP credit for chemistry shows up on my transcript (as the actuall gen chem I and II course with units), then I take General Chemistry I and II at my college, I should count them as repeats (the ones I took in the college classroom)?

 

[Ayahuasca]

Another AP Credit question:

I have 20 AP credits, they are mentioned in my transcript under TEST CREDITS but are not used to calculate my GPA at all. They are listen as credits earned though, so they are awarded. How do I go about listing these (if I should) on AMCAS? All 4 AP classes are lumped together in this test credit category and are not separately distinguishable.

EDIT: Think I may have answered my own question. Want to make sure this is correct though. I should input each AP course separately with the amount of credit earned for each. They should be placed as earned during my first semester of college.

Thanks for the help!

 

[BigKahuna18]

Hi @gonnif, thanks for doing this! Three questions:

1. I took ~50 credits of college courses during my junior and senior years of high school. I currently have all of those credits listed under 'high school' and just changed the academic year to reflect when the courses were actually taken. Am I correct in understanding that these courses will not impact the freshman/sophomore/junior/senior credit or GPA status on AMCAS and only contribute to the high school GPA, overall sGPA and overall AO GPA?
2. Similar to the AP credit question above, if I took General Chemistry 1 at a university in high school and later took Intro to Chemistry 1 at another university after high school, should I list the course as a repeat? The courses have different names but cover the same material.
3. Is it ok to change the order of my courses on AMCAS but still leave them in chronological order?
For example, say my transcript reads Chemistry 1, Intro to Psychology, and Biology 1 for fall 2017 in that order.
If I list them as Intro to Psychology, Chemistry 1, Biology 1 in this order will it be an issue? This could impact my GPA trend when AMCAS divides years up based on total number of credits.

I read the AMCAS guidelines but just want to verify as this has a huge impact on my GPA trend.

 

[Neglektor]

I recently graduated from University A. I was a transient student in the summer after my freshmen year at University A where I took two courses at University B. On my official transcript from University A, I have been given course credit for the classes I took as a transient student at University B. Under the course work tab on AMCAS, I listed the transient coursework under the University A coursework (even though I took these classes at University B), because they appear on my official transcript from University A. Is this correct to do, or should I only list the transient coursework under the University B coursework tab on AMCAS? Currently, the two summer casses I took are appearing twice- once under University A coursework and again under University B coursework. @gonnif

 

[SheraSkn]

I have a weird situation with my transcripts

All of my final grades for spring 2017 have been posted
However, I was told that my transcript will not reflect my bachelors degree until at least May 31st even though my graduation is on May 21st
is this not THE most ridiculous thing? has anyone else experienced this?

anyway i'm deciding between 2 options:
1) sending the transcript now (because all my grades are in and GPA is up to date)
2) waiting until May 31st and overnighting it (will amcas have it ready for June 1st though? like will there be a chance that i can submit and be verified on June 1st)

What do you suggest I do? Thanks!

 

[SheraSkn]

Rule 1: Take a Breath

1) you can send it without graduation; it will not matter
2) you can send on June 1st. Even if gets there a week later, nobody's application will be transmitted until June 30
3) Order of verification does not matter in order of transmission; AMCAS will send a single transmission to each school with everybody's application each day
4) Order of transmission has has nothing to do with the order in which schools will evaluate or review. That is, if were 20th application in the daily transmission, doesnt mean you will be the 20th processed.

1) if i send it without my bachelors degree, won't there be a discrepancy between my app and the transcript?
2) I'm leaning towards sending it on June 1st! Should I wait to submit my app until they receive my transcripts or does it not matter

Thanks for your help! (and the reminder to breathe i needed it)

 

[Saifa]

Question about classifying an activity here-

I've been planning to use my ~200 hours of clinical RN education (basically functioning as a nurse on med/surg and going to a nurse preceptor for help) prior to switching to a bio major as my primary source of clinical experience. Can I classify this as "paid clinical work?" It certainly doesn't qualify as volunteering but I would like to describe it as a meaningful experience and would hope to get it tagged as clinical.

 

[DerDudelsack]

Quick question about coursework:

Does the coursework order have to exactly match the order on your transcript? If so, how do you change the order? Or is it enough to just make sure courses are with their corresponding school year?

Thank you so much for the help!

 

[steo55]

I tried skimming through this thread and I'm not sure if this question was asked but: I've tried inputting my courses in the order that they appear on my official transcript, however, the order gets rearranged somehow. For example, under Semester 1 of Freshman year, if I type in Class A, B, and C (the order in my transcript), it will rearrange them to C, A, B on AMCAS. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it matter what order the courses are listed under each semester?

 

[Catalystik]

Question about classifying an activity here-

I've been planning to use my ~200 hours of clinical RN education (basically functioning as a nurse on med/surg and going to a nurse preceptor for help) prior to switching to a bio major as my primary source of clinical experience. Can I classify this as "paid clinical work?" It certainly doesn't qualify as volunteering but I would like to describe it as a meaningful experience and would hope to get it tagged as clinical.

It isn't paid work or volunteering. It would be most accurate to use the "Other" tag and name it something like, Clinical Rotations for Nursing School.

 

[Horse Apiece]

Will AMCAS use the most recent sent in transcript if you re-send in your transcript before submission? Since you like how your spring grades look, but they already received an earlier version of your transcript two weeks ago?

 

[drdeezly]

For AP credits, do we use pre-freshman status? Or do we use the status we were when we redeemed the credit?

 

[Horse Apiece]

Oy Vey! Which is why you shouldnt send in your transcript until you have spring grades.

You shouldnt send them in as now you have two versions of transcript that do not match and could possibly trigger a flag to see if there is an issue. While that is unlikely (not highly unlikely, just unlikely), the risk is it could delay your verification. You could call AMCAS and ask but I would be leery of doing it

I will call and update in this thread! Thanks for the response though!

EDIT: AMCAS will use the most up to date transcript as long as submission has not occurred.