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

[metallica81788]

when can we start sending in transcripts to aamc? and how do we know they've received it?

Send in your transcripts NOW (unless you have final grades coming out next week - then you can wait until then)!!! It makes life easier.

You will get an email when they receive it.

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[metallica81788]

Does the order you enter your courses into AMCAS matter a lot? I think I read that they prefer it to appear in the same order as the transcript, but I don't want to have to delete them all and start over. Does anybody know if my application would not be verified because of the order within the semester? Thanks!

Don't worry about the order, because AMCAS will reorder them by date. I just ordered mine like they were on the transcript.

 

[BrainBuff]

I've got a few questions about the activities section - some of my activities get a bit complicated so input is appreciated.

1. Shadowing - I shadowed three different physicians (to make things more complicated, three different specialties in three different states across three years), should I list these all under one activity (which I would prefer to do) and explain the other two in the description section, or do I need a separate activity for each one?

2. Fulbright - I was awarded a Fulbright grant to perform research in Germany, does this count as "research experience" or "honors and awards" (I'm leaning towards the former)?

3. Scuba diving - I worked as an instructor through college and started/led a club at my undergrad, should I count these as two separate activities (one employment, one leadership) or merge them into one? In both cases my main responsibilities were teaching/making sure divers didn't kill themselves underwater.

4. Dean's List - my GPA is not such where you would expect that I'd have earned these awards; should I list them or is it better to leave them off?

5. Publications/Presentations - should I list each one separately or merge them into one activity? If possible, should I keep them organized my lab (i.e. mention them in the activity section that corresponds to the research activity) or should they get their own category? One lab led to one presentation, and the second lab led to two papers and five posters, one of which I presented - how do you recommend I list this?

6. Photography - Should I include this or will no-one care? No awards or anything significant.

And if that wasn't complicated enough... I'm working on my MPH right now and had a few questions about how to categorize some courses. Would epidemiology courses count as "health sciences"? I've done some work with modeling, would these count as "math" or "health sciences"? The courses were very math heavy (focus on ordinary differential equations and programming) but the content was more natural science (population dynamics and disease characteristics).

To complicate the course work further, I independently enrolled at German university for a year and did not transfer any credit back to the US. Should I list the courses as they appear on that transcript (in German) or translate them? The Germans use an odd grading system, should I keep that (grades range from 1.0 to 6.0) or "convert" them?

Thanks for your help!

OK, Unlike the previous poster, I will suggest a few things on your other points.

1.- Shadowing should go under OTHER and you should name the experience Clinical Shadowing or Shadowing Physicians, etc. You should use the Description box to talk about ALL of your shadowing. You can specify the years and the different experiences. Be clear and to the point. Do not list is under CLINICAL VOLUNTEER unless you were actually doing something that you can explain and had some specific responsibilities.

2.-Fulbright should go under HONORS/AWARDS. Period. You can describe the experience and mention the fact that you did research in the Description Box.

3.- Scuba gig - List it under Paid Employment, it looks better to have something like that. Again, explain briefly in the description box.

4.- Dean's List - i would not bother to list that as an AWARD. Adcoms know that Dean's or President Honor's Roll is synonymous to a high GPA, which is the norm for most applicants. It is fluff....Not worth it ( LizzyM agrees with this)
And everyone knows is awarded by semester anyway.

5.- Publications- If there is no way to merge them, then don't. There is something under Presentations/Posters and another for Publications..

6- Photography - HOBBIES - It is important to mention something like this. Mention briefly your interest and the amount of time you dedicate to it

Hope it helped.

 

[catswym]

I was experiencing the same problem until I cleared my cookies. Try that out, it may work!

I'm having the same problem but I've cleared my cookies. Sigh.

 

[eablackwell]

Question about transcripts:

Two of the colleges I am requesting transcripts from use an automated system in order to send out transcripts. I called and asked if there was any way to bypass this so that someone could put the AMCAS form, which has my AAMC ID # on it, in with my transcript.

Both colleges said no, this was not possible. The only way to send the transcripts was without the AAMC letter in it, and without my AAMC ID.

Is this a problem? Will they end up putting my transcripts with my file due to my ssn, or am I going to experience problems?

 

[freckles788]

If I did dual enrollment in high school but never got credit for it in college, I know I still have to list it as another school and send a transcript anyways, but what would I list for "program type"? Junior college or undergraduate?

 

[student113]

So after we designate the LORs for each school, they probably won't be all received by AMCAS until secondary-time, which is way after AMCAS has been submitted.

Since this designation cant' be changed, what if one of your LORs falls through and doesn't happen for some reason? Can you call the schools and let them know (assuming it one of the extra letters) or will you never be complete?

 

[DbDan]

So after we designate the LORs for each school, they probably won't be all received by AMCAS until secondary-time, which is way after AMCAS has been submitted.

Since this designation cant' be changed, what if one of your LORs falls through and doesn't happen for some reason? Can you call the schools and let them know (assuming it one of the extra letters) or will you never be complete?

i'm not quite sure what you are asking here. Last year I submitted primaries without my letters being recieved by AMCAS, once my letters were received I added their designations to the schools and "re-submitted" which essentially just added my letters to the schools.

Are you saying you plan on designating letters to the schools before they have been received by AMCAS? I'd say don't do it. Either that or be prepared to have a backup letter or make sure the letter is 100% sure to be on its way, make sure you meet the minimum requirements before you apply.

 

[rHinO1]

So after we designate the LORs for each school, they probably won't be all received by AMCAS until secondary-time, which is way after AMCAS has been submitted.

Since this designation cant' be changed, what if one of your LORs falls through and doesn't happen for some reason? Can you call the schools and let them know (assuming it one of the extra letters) or will you never be complete?

Why would you designate a letter you don't already have? This is why people have been saying for months get your LOR early b/c sometimes letters do get delayed/fall through. Get your letters ASAP and then you don't have to worry about this. You still have ~month.

 

[tpham1030]

Question about transcripts:

Two of the colleges I am requesting transcripts from use an automated system in order to send out transcripts. I called and asked if there was any way to bypass this so that someone could put the AMCAS form, which has my AAMC ID # on it, in with my transcript.

Both colleges said no, this was not possible. The only way to send the transcripts was without the AAMC letter in it, and without my AAMC ID.

Is this a problem? Will they end up putting my transcripts with my file due to my ssn, or am I going to experience problems?

AMCAS should be able to put it in your file based on your name and SSN. I didn't include the form with the transcript from a CC last year and AMCAS still got it fine.

 

[Insulinshock]

Are you guys all filling in hours/week? What about the other ones not required?

 

[mvenus929]

I have a question about "Letters of Evaluation" section. I'm using Interfolio service. Does it mean I don't have to enter any data for this section since I'm not using AMCAS LOR service? I'm confused

Update: well, never mind. I found the answers in the instruction book.

Even though you found the answers, I'm going to answer your question anyway.

You HAVE to go through the AMCAS letter service in order to apply to most schools in the US. If you have your LORs on Interfolio, you will send them to AMCAS. So yes, you'd have to put each individual letter into AMCAS, and then on Interfolio, associate the document ID with each individual letter in the delivery.

In my junior year in high school, I took AP Psychology. I passed the AP Exam, and it is on my transcript for the 2005-2006 year (HS). How do I fill out the course form for this? It requires me to select the year, but won't let me select advanced placement if I choose my year as "high school". Also, if I have to list it as freshman would this be considered "other term"?

And another question (sorry for so many! I'm nervous!) at the end of my freshman year I had 28 credits. After I was done with the summer classes, I had 35. So, for my summer classes, would I go ahead and label myself as a sophmore anyway?

When you put in AP courses, you list yourself as Freshman and put the first semester you started college, whatever that semester was, for the date of the course.

They'll redefine your class status based on what they want, but generally they want a full year to be under one classification... technically, I was a sophomore my first semester (had 46 credits going in), so I listed my second semester as sophomore, and I'm pretty sure they reclassified it to be freshman.

For experiences, descriptions of what you did versus a narrative of what you learned? Who did what and what kind of results did you get? My instinct is that you basically write what you did/the capacity of your work/your responsibilities.

For my EC's, I focused on two things: whether or not adcoms could figure out what I did (thus things like my work at a nonprofit required more explanation than volunteering at the hospital), and how it helped me choose medicine, or gave me some trait that would make me a good doctor. So, I focused a lot on skills that I learned as well as experiences themselves.

Does the order you enter your courses into AMCAS matter a lot? I think I read that they prefer it to appear in the same order as the transcript, but I don't want to have to delete them all and start over. Does anybody know if my application would not be verified because of the order within the semester? Thanks!

They will be reordered according to date and then alphabetically, I believe.

Question about transcripts:

Two of the colleges I am requesting transcripts from use an automated system in order to send out transcripts. I called and asked if there was any way to bypass this so that someone could put the AMCAS form, which has my AAMC ID # on it, in with my transcript.

Both colleges said no, this was not possible. The only way to send the transcripts was without the AAMC letter in it, and without my AAMC ID.

Is this a problem? Will they end up putting my transcripts with my file due to my ssn, or am I going to experience problems?

This is why there is a place on the application to list additional numbers that identify you. If your schools give you an ID number other than your SSN, you should list it here so that they can match your transcript to your application.

 

[Wiingy]

OK, Unlike the previous poster, I will suggest a few things on your other points.

1.- Shadowing should go under OTHER and you should name the experience Clinical Shadowing or Shadowing Physicians, etc. You should use the Description box to talk about ALL of your shadowing. You can specify the years and the different experiences. Be clear and to the point. Do not list is under CLINICAL VOLUNTEER unless you were actually doing something that you can explain and had some specific responsibilities.

2.-Fulbright should go under HONORS/AWARDS. Period. You can describe the experience and mention the fact that you did research in the Description Box.

3.- Scuba gig - List it under Paid Employment, it looks better to have something like that. Again, explain briefly in the description box.

4.- Dean's List - i would not bother to list that as an AWARD. Adcoms know that Dean's or President Honor's Roll is synonymous to a high GPA, which is the norm for most applicants. It is fluff....Not worth it ( LizzyM agrees with this)
And everyone knows is awarded by semester anyway.

5.- Publications- If there is no way to merge them, then don't. There is something under Presentations/Posters and another for Publications..

6- Photography - HOBBIES - It is important to mention something like this. Mention briefly your interest and the amount of time you dedicate to it

Hope it helped.

Thanks for the answers and helpful info!

 

[jigga who]

Does paid tutoring go under teaching or paid employment?
It wasn't exactly a job (no taxes, no W2). It was through a program at my school. minimum wage
I was not being supported by it. The check wasn't big enough!

I don't understand the difference between conferences attended and posters presented. Don't you present posters at conferences? Are they really just asking for conferences that I've attended where I just sat in the audience?

Thanks

 

[LetsGo352]

For course work:

I have both AP and IB credit from high school. On my transcript, it lists both, but in some cases, the credits over lap. In other words, passing an AP and IB test results in only a total of 3 course credits (1 class). The transcript has seperate sections for AP and IB credits so it lists those 3 course credits twice. When this happens, it shows 3 "credits earned" for IB, but it does not show any credits earned for AP, which makes sense obviously. I'm just trying to figure out how to list this on AMCAS. I'll obviously include the IB credits, but should I include the AP credits even though it represents the same class but shows no credits earned?

 

[student113]

OOOH. Okay so to clarify:

Right now I list the letters I'll get but not designate them to schools when I submit. Then when secondaries come I re-submit the primary application with the letters designated? How long will i take for schools to get them (assuming AMCAS already has them?)

 

[bl123]

bump!

I'm about to finish my MPH program, but we're on a quarter system so my final grades and degree don't come out until late June. I'd like to submit my AMCAS app ASAP though in early June...should I wait until my degree and grades are out? or should I just send a transcript now and update schools later?

pros and cons both ways. what do you think?

Thanks!

 

[mvenus929]

For course work:

I have both AP and IB credit from high school. On my transcript, it lists both, but in some cases, the credits over lap. In other words, passing an AP and IB test results in only a total of 3 course credits (1 class). The transcript has seperate sections for AP and IB credits so it lists those 3 course credits twice. When this happens, it shows 3 "credits earned" for IB, but it does not show any credits earned for AP, which makes sense obviously. I'm just trying to figure out how to list this on AMCAS. I'll obviously include the IB credits, but should I include the AP credits even though it represents the same class but shows no credits earned?

Enter it exactly as it appears on the transcript. So if it shows it under AP credit with 0.0 credits earned, put that in the verification area.

OOOH. Okay so to clarify:

Right now I list the letters I'll get but not designate them to schools when I submit. Then when secondaries come I re-submit the primary application with the letters designated? How long will i take for schools to get them (assuming AMCAS already has them?)

You can designate them to schools now if you want, but yes, if you want to add more letters later on, you'd designate them, then resubmit the primary. They are them immediately available for download, so how long it takes the school to recognize that they have the letters will depend on how often they download information from AMCAS.

 

[tpham1030]

Hey bl123,

I would personally submit the AMCAS early June and just update the schools later. A lot of secondaries have a section they ask if there is anything you want to add to your application file and you can do it then. The most important part is getting your primaries in as soon as possible and not wait for grades. But that's just what I think

 

[student113]

If I am getting paid to do research at a lab, do I list it as "Research/Lab" or "Paid Employment"?

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Hi everyone,

1)So I have a question about my experiences in a club at my university. It is a community service based club (American REd Cross) and I was also the events coordinator for the club.

Should I just clump the two experiences into "leadership" and explain I was also a member that participated in the club? or I should I separate htem into two different things so it is clear that I have non-medical community service and leadership?

2) Regarding LOE/LOR, my school will package the letters into a packet and send it off to AMCAS. i was instructed to put the counselor's name as the contact for the Letter writer on AMCAS. As such, since my packet won't be finished until after I submit early June, should I just fill out the LOE section with the information and submit my app without the completed packet or should I wait until the packet is done, fill out the LOE section, resubmit my app, and then have it sent off to AMCAS by my school?

3) Regarding "Year in school" on the course work section, if we started out our first year as "sophomore" due to AP credits, should we list that we were a sophomore or just put "freshman" as year in school to correspond to the traditional meaning of "year in school--1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th"?

Sorry for the length and verbosity...

 

[Wiingy]

Yet another question...

Is it necessary to list every poster presentation that you are a co-author on? One lab I worked in was very productive, and the full citation for all presentations takes up two activity slots. I only presented one of the posters, would it be smart to list this presentation and not list some of the others? Or would leaving these off be a bad idea?

Also, if I worked in a lab but did not participate in any research (glassware cleaning job that was just a source of income) is it safe to leave it off the application?

 

[Wiingy]

If I am getting paid to do research at a lab, do I list it as "Research/Lab" or "Paid Employment"?

If you are actively participating in research (planning experiments, collecting or analyzing data), I would definitely list this as research rather than paid employment.

 

[LetsGo352]

Enter it exactly as it appears on the transcript. So if it shows it under AP credit with 0.0 credits earned, put that in the verification area.


.

Thanks!

But if I put in all my courses just now and those credits are obviously from freshman year, can I just add them now? If I add them now, these AP "credits" will appear after the actual course work that I had in that semester and that's not how it appears on the transcript. Is that a problem?

 

[mvenus929]

If I am getting paid to do research at a lab, do I list it as "Research/Lab" or "Paid Employment"?

Depends what you're lacking in your application, but if you're participating in the research directly, I'd list it as research.

Hi everyone,

1)So I have a question about my experiences in a club at my university. It is a community service based club (American REd Cross) and I was also the events coordinator for the club.

Should I just clump the two experiences into "leadership" and explain I was also a member that participated in the club? or I should I separate htem into two different things so it is clear that I have non-medical community service and leadership?

One would hope that if you have a leadership position in the club that you're also an active member of the club. List them as one activity (under whichever you feel needs to stand out the most... the leadership or the community service) and elaborate as to what all you did in the explanation section.

2) Regarding LOE/LOR, my school will package the letters into a packet and send it off to AMCAS. i was instructed to put the counselor's name as the contact for the Letter writer on AMCAS. As such, since my packet won't be finished until after I submit early June, should I just fill out the LOE section with the information and submit my app without the completed packet or should I wait until the packet is done, fill out the LOE section, resubmit my app, and then have it sent off to AMCAS by my school?

You don't have to have your LORs in the application before you submit. It's nice, because then you don't have to worry about it anymore, but you don't have to. Listing it, even though they won't have the completed packet, won't hurt anything and it'll save you a little time and energy later on.

3) Regarding "Year in school" on the course work section, if we started out our first year as "sophomore" due to AP credits, should we list that we were a sophomore or just put "freshman" as year in school to correspond to the traditional meaning of "year in school--1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th"?

No, your first semester you list all your AP/IB credits (not the college classes you took in high school), and your entire first semester's grades. You are listed as a freshman. Second semester you can become a sophomore, though I suspect that if you have a substantial amount of AP/IB credits, they'll mess around with your classifications some (I don't think I had any junior classifications, and I had like three senior semesters).

Is it necessary to list every poster presentation that you are a co-author on? One lab I worked in was very productive, and the full citation for all presentations takes up two activity slots. I only presented one of the posters, would it be smart to list this presentation and not list some of the others? Or would leaving these off be a bad idea?

Also, if I worked in a lab but did not participate in any research (glassware cleaning job that was just a source of income) is it safe to leave it off the application?

I'm not sure how your research breaks down, but I'd list all the similar presentations in one group. So, if one lab did like 10 presentations (for instance), you'd list one activity and just list the additional presentations in the comments area.

You can also leave whatever ECs you want off your application. In fact, it's probably better to leave off stuff that you can't really talk about at an interview. I left off a couple of clubs I participated in because, while they looked good on paper, I found that I had nothing to talk about them when it came time to interview.

But if I put in all my courses just now and those credits are obviously from freshman year, can I just add them now? If I add them now, these AP "credits" will appear after the actual course work that I had in that semester and that's not how it appears on the transcript. Is that a problem?

AMCAS will reorder all your courses anyway, so it doesn't really matter. As long as they can match what you wrote to what's on your application, you have nothing to worry about. List all your AP credits under your first freshman semester/quarter.

 

[BrainBuff]

For course work:

I have both AP and IB credit from high school. On my transcript, it lists both, but in some cases, the credits over lap. In other words, passing an AP and IB test results in only a total of 3 course credits (1 class). The transcript has seperate sections for AP and IB credits so it lists those 3 course credits twice. When this happens, it shows 3 "credits earned" for IB, but it does not show any credits earned for AP, which makes sense obviously. I'm just trying to figure out how to list this on AMCAS. I'll obviously include the IB credits, but should I include the AP credits even though it represents the same class but shows no credits earned?

Medical schools will not care about AP or IB credit from high school. These courses are valuable only in the sense that you should have used them for advanced placement when you took the similar courses in college. Do not bother listing them as your courses. If they appear in your transcript then, even less of a deal to mention them.

 

[BrainBuff]

If I am getting paid to do research at a lab, do I list it as "Research/Lab" or "Paid Employment"?

List it as Paid Employment (which most students will not have) and then describe briefly the research experience in the description box. You can also list the name of Experience as Research Assistant - That way, you are getting away with both

 

[student113]

Grrr why isn't there an option for non-lab research!?!?!? I hate listing it as "Other."

If I had a significant leadership role in intercollegiate athletics, would it still be athletics? (that makes more sense but I want to make sure the leadership comes out).

 

[BrainBuff]

Yet another question...

Is it necessary to list every poster presentation that you are a co-author on? One lab I worked in was very productive, and the full citation for all presentations takes up two activity slots. I only presented one of the posters, would it be smart to list this presentation and not list some of the others? Or would leaving these off be a bad idea?

Also, if I worked in a lab but did not participate in any research (glassware cleaning job that was just a source of income) is it safe to leave it off the application?

Use one activity for Posters and in the description box list all the posters that you co-authored. THAT is more important than ONE presentation.

If you worked in a lab and got paid, that goes under Paid Employment. Go brief on the description - "Duties included maintenance of the lab"

 

[BrainBuff]

Grrr why isn't there an option for non-lab research!?!?!? I hate listing it as "Other."

If I had a significant leadership role in intercollegiate athletics, would it still be athletics? (that makes more sense but I want to make sure the leadership comes out).

Name the Leadership role in the Experience Name - still all under Athletics..

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

No, your first semester you list all your AP/IB credits (not the college classes you took in high school), and your entire first semester's grades. You are listed as a freshman. Second semester you can become a sophomore, though I suspect that if you have a substantial amount of AP/IB credits, they'll mess around with your classifications some (I don't think I had any junior classifications, and I had like three senior semesters).

Well, the issue is that I actually did start out as a sophomore because of my high AP and transfer credit load...so I guess what I "could" do is put my AP's as freshman+AP and then put the rest of sophomore..although that would get confusing, even for me...so maybe I should just go by "years"..and let AMCAS figure it out.


...I say that because as far as my class standing is concerned, I have been a "sophomore" since freshman year, a "junior" at the end of my freshman year, and a senior at the endof my sophomore year..."--ya that's what happens taking lots of units during the schoolyear and getting AP credits up the wazoo.

 

[Artimacia]

1. If your college accepted the AP credit, then count it as credit received during the fall semester of college. Be sure to mark the "AP" box. If your university gives you AP credit but just puts it all together on your transcript without giving it a title, you may list the courses individually as long as they add up to the number of credits your college gave you. (I called AMCAS about this). I would entitle the course "AP Psychology" and not give it a course number, unless your transcript says otherwise.
2. I don't think you need to check the "other term" box.
3. Yup, just list it once, under the original state school
4. Check the P/F box. P/F qualifies for any two or three-grade tier system, I believe.
5. Summer always counts for the following year. You would write the academic year as a sophomore (probably 2008-2009 for you?) and label yourself as a sophomore.

Thanks

 

[feenotype]

Under the "Academic Term" section of Coursework does anyone know what the difference is between the trimester system and the quarter system?
My school is on a quarter system as in we have four terms NOT including the summer session...but I don't think thats what AMCAS means by quarters. I'm not sure what to put here since it seems like none of the options are right. Anyone else on the same quarter system??

 

[mcapmed]

I started college in the summer of 2007. Would I list all of my AP credits in the summer section or put them in the fall section?

 

[metallica81788]

I started college in the summer of 2007. Would I list all of my AP credits in the summer section or put them in the fall section?

Whatever your first semester was - in your case Summer 07.

 

[PltEnthusiast]

Hi guys,
As I just went through three pages worth of discussion (quite impressing since AMCAS just opened yesterday), I saw many people asking how should one summarizes their activity. But, I don't see any suggestions yet :-/

Can applicants from previous years provide some insight to it? I realized that it allows a quarter page long description so, being concise is the key. But, what should be included?

Also, I am an EMT. Should I put this under leadership or community service/medical? I am leaning towards EMT since it is definitely a leader's job.. also, I don't have any other leadership experiences..

 

[BrainBuff]

Hi guys,
As I just went through three pages worth of discussion (quite impressing since AMCAS just opened yesterday), I saw many people asking how should one summarizes their activity. But, I don't see any suggestions yet :-/

Can applicants from previous years provide some insight to it? I realized that it allows a quarter page long description so, being concise is the key. But, what should be included?

Also, I am an EMT. Should I put this under leadership or community service/medical? I am leaning towards EMT since it is definitely a leader's job.. also, I don't have any other leadership experiences..

My two cents:

I am not sure the description box allows a quarter of a page!, but in any case, you should describe your activity concisely and briefly - " Assisted with data collection, literature search and writing of the manuscripts on several research projects I was involved with" The you can write the name of the manuscript or publication or abstract or whatever.

EMT is not Leadership, nor Community service (unless you were a VOLUNTEER) ...It's "Paid Employment". If you were Leader of a team or something, then you can put that under Experience Name - and briefly describe how you were a leader, in the description box. " Coordinated schedules, prepared protocols for patient care,...etc.."

 

[PltEnthusiast]

Thanks for the help.

How can you say that EMT is not a leadership?

What is a leadership? A position where you lead a project, a team, or an organization. Everybody on an ambulance is expected to lead in any situation though their are designated officer-in-charge for that shift. I was fortunate enough to always run with a team where I was given an opportunity to lead the situation. So, yes, it is a leadership.

Not an argument just an explanation.

 

[PltEnthusiast]

And, yes, I am a volunteer.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but as an EMT and assuming you were paid, you likely would need to classify this under paid employment. In addition, as an EMT, unless you are "leading"/"managing" the other person in the ambulance, i can't really consider it leadership.

 

[metallica81788]

EMT would be Paid Employment unless you were volunteering. You can talk about what you got out it leadership-wise in the description section.

I put my leadership position at a movie theater under paid employment and then described how it was a leadership experience.

 

[DJtiesto]

Question about entering grades and transcript...


Do I enter the grades first and then send the transcript from my school or do I first send the transcipt then enter grades?

Also, do I receive some sort of notice that amcas has received the transcript once I send it?



Thanks

 

[BlueElmo]

Question about entering grades and transcript...


Do I enter the grades first and then send the transcript from my school or do I first send the transcipt then enter grades?

Also, do I receive some sort of notice that amcas has received the transcript once I send it?



Thanks

I believe enter in grades first, then send in transcript.

 

[metallica81788]

You get an email once AMCAS gets your transcript.

BTW, good job to all you people applying early. It helps so much and is one of the best things you can do for yourself in this process.

I received all 7 of my interview invites by the middle of September and not a peep afterward. I'm convinced that schools looked at my app early and decided to give me a shot, whereas the other ones looked through it and put it back in the big pile and realized they didn't want to interview me later when they had less spots.

 

[mvenus929]

Medical schools will not care about AP or IB credit from high school. These courses are valuable only in the sense that you should have used them for advanced placement when you took the similar courses in college. Do not bother listing them as your courses. If they appear in your transcript then, even less of a deal to mention them.

If they are listed on your transcript, it means you got credit for them--college credit. So, you would have to list them, otherwise it'll take much longer to verify. We're not talking activities, we're talking courses.

Well, the issue is that I actually did start out as a sophomore because of my high AP and transfer credit load...so I guess what I "could" do is put my AP's as freshman+AP and then put the rest of sophomore..although that would get confusing, even for me...so maybe I should just go by "years"..and let AMCAS figure it out.


...I say that because as far as my class standing is concerned, I have been a "sophomore" since freshman year, a "junior" at the end of my freshman year, and a senior at the endof my sophomore year..."--ya that's what happens taking lots of units during the schoolyear and getting AP credits up the wazoo.

Yes, I'm aware. I started college with 46 credits of AP and IB courses. I've done this thing twice. Your first semester is ALWAYS listed as freshman unless you took actual college courses in high school. You HAVE to put your first semester courses as freshman, otherwise they'll redo it. Starting your second semester, you can list the actual courses you took as sophomore.

I can't remember how they broke down my semesters, but out of 6 of them, I believe 3 were listed as senior, one as freshman, one as sophomore, and one as junior.

Do I enter the grades first and then send the transcript from my school or do I first send the transcipt then enter grades?

Also, do I receive some sort of notice that amcas has received the transcript once I send it?

It doesn't matter as long as what's on your transcript matches what you enter. You'll also get an e-mail when AMCAS gets your transcript.

 

[guitarguy23]

I took two courses in high school in conjunction with a local technical college that were considered transfer credit at my school, but only fulfilled my requirement for the course and no letter grade was incorporated into my GPA for college.

How should I put this in the course work information?

 

[lorenzomicron]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering how AMCAS and Med Schools might think of courses taken abroad?

Well, the reason I'm really complaining is that in Australia, where I am right now, they grade/assess really harshly. Literally speaking, getting an 80% is I guess an A here, though it's actually in percentage that grades are given out. So, considering this then, my grades won't transfer very well to the US System, because I'm getting some 70s, a 60, and an 80sum, which will mean like major GPA crash. Luckily, my school won't calculate this into my GPA, though they will note the grade on the transcript. So, how does AMCAS treat this?

thanks.

 

[Wiingy]

Use one activity for Posters and in the description box list all the posters that you co-authored. THAT is more important than ONE presentation.

If you worked in a lab and got paid, that goes under Paid Employment. Go brief on the description - "Duties included maintenance of the lab"

Thanks for the reply. I tried to fit all of the presentations into one box but that violated the character limit - in this case would it be OK to drop some of the less interesting ones? Right now my experience in this lab is taking up 4 slots (one for what I did, one for the publications, and two for the posters) and that just seems like wayyyyy too many for one activity.

 

[Ilovewater]

I took two courses in high school in conjunction with a local technical college that were considered transfer credit at my school, but only fulfilled my requirement for the course and no letter grade was incorporated into my GPA for college.

How should I put this in the course work information?

Did you still get a grade in that class though? List that grade even though it doesn't factor into your college GPA. I think they still factor that grade into your AMCAS GPA. Plus, you'll send the transcript for that technical college, and they'll see that grade.

 

[Cyradis]

I can't speak for Australia, but I know for Canadian schools they just directly convert the mark. I suspect they'll do the same with your percentages, 85+ is 4.0, 80-85 is 3.7, etc.