AMCAS Application Tips

Steps to a strong applicationSunny Gibson, MSW

Director, Office of Diversity

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

s-gibson@northwestern.edu

Read the instructions!

You can download an instruction booklet

from the web

Not following directions can result in error

listing classes wrong (which can delay

processing)

incorrect punctuation in your personal comment

section (dead give away that you didn’t read the

directions first)

How you enter it is how we see it

How you enter the information matters

Do NOT use ALL CAPS

Please capitalize proper nouns (street names,

your name, etc.)

If you put your first name in the last name

section and visa versa, that’s how it will read

There is no spell check in the AMCAS

application – have someone read it over!

Plan your timeline

Know the deadlines (May – November)

Get copies of your transcripts and look them over

Request transcripts for AMCAS early

Only classes where you’ve posted a grade will be

calculated into your GPA, so if you want summer

semester to count, don’t submit until after your

grades are posted.

Allow enough time to do the application well!

Biographic Information

Complete each section fully

Mailing address – list address where mail

comes directly to you – preferred address

Complete parental information – even if

deceased

Ethnicity – complete section fully because it

can determine eligibility for application or

other programs at some schools.

Biographic Information

Make sure your email address is correct and useable long term.

Use an appropriate address (not: 2hot4u@yahoo or beerbonger@hotmail –please!)

Keep your contact information updated throughout the process. This is allowed even after you submit.

You cannot change anything else, but you can go back in and add (apply to) more schools.

Disadvantaged Status

Social, Economic or Educational

Disadvantage

Is English not your first language?

Are you a first generation college student?

Did you work to support your family during

high school or college?

Did you have unique hardships during your

schooling?

Disadvantaged Status

How do schools use it?

Some schools do, some don’t

Different reviewers will interpret the

information according to their own experiences

and fund of knowledge

I’ve never heard of it “penalizing” an applicant

when entered appropriately

It has various uses according to school and at

different points in the admissions process.

Disadvantaged Statement

Describe how you are disadvantaged – use facts, not your “crystal ball”

NO “If my father had not been sick, I would have gotten better grades”

YES “My father’s illness negatively impacted my performance my sophomore year”

How you have worked to overcome challenges -skills or lessons learned

Generally refers to factors beyond your control (NOT “I took too many hours freshman year.”)

Be concise

Disadvantaged Statement Example

My parents do not have an education beyond the second grade and they do not speak English. Consequently they have only been able to offer limited support for my educational pursuits. My parents are both farm laborers, and they have struggled to support our family on their wages. I began working to help support my family at the age of 12; often I had to trade sleep for paid work or school work. Needless to say, I had little time to participate in extracurricular activities. Making it through college on my own economically and emotionally was tremendously difficult. I attended a high school that was known to be one of the lowest scoring in national examinations, so it was not very helpful in preparing students for college. By and large, I have had to struggle on my own to perform in school and understand subject matter. I learned to ask for assistance, seek out any and all resources, and take initiative in my own learning.

Post Secondary Experiences

Complete all 15 if you can

If you don’t have enough, evaluate if you are really ready to apply.

If you have depth, but not a lot of breadth, that is okay, but be aware that you are competing with applicants who typically have 15 robust experiences.

ONLY post-high school experiences with very little exception (it better be both relevant to medicine and extremely big if it is from high school.)

Post Secondary Experiences

Aim for well-rounded!

Choose a variety between employment, research, volunteer, leadership, etc.

Combine categories if it helps save space – i.e. Put all jobs you had to support yourself in a single category “Customer Service Jobs” and describe each one more specifically in the space provided below.

Don’t stretch and list things twice (i.e. research under both employment and publications)

Post Secondary Experiences

Contact info – do the best you can. Leave blank if you absolutely must.

Most schools do not verify it, but they all reserve the right to.

If the person with whom you worked is no longer there, list the person’s name and the organization’s general info.

Dates

List the date range and leave open for experiences in which you are still engaged.

Post Secondary Experiences

Hours

Do not exaggerate (you would be surprised how many people’s hours exceed the number actually possible in a week.)

Please include only engaged hours – if you were a camp counselor, do not include time you were sleeping! Indicate in the description below that the nature of the position was to be on premises for the duration.

Post Secondary Experiences

Descriptions [this is how I prefer them, other

admissions folks may feel otherwise]

resume style – ACTION words to help describe

what you DID. (organized, invented, orchestrated,

designed, implemented…..)

Don’t begin all sentences with “I” – we know it is

your application

avoid repeating information in the description

already included in the title (“As a lead cardiology

diagnostic technician…)

Use the space to describe in detail

Description Example

NoName University Achievement Stars Program

Developed, organized and implemented outreach program for educationally disadvantaged youth focusing on science and math achievement. Secured private funding from various foundations by writing grants and donation letters. Developed community contacts and partnerships in schools, churches, and local businesses. Designedscience and math activities for youth between the ages of 10 and 16 by collaborating with teachers and doing research on innovative course design. Adapted and revised activities for non-English speaking youth and recruited bilingual program volunteers. Visited schools on the west side of Anytown, USA to talk to students about participating. Worked closely with NoName University partners to design an evaluation plan for the program in order to examine outcomes, make improvements and ensure long-term funding. Program continues serving over 100 students annually with 25 committed volunteers.

Course Listing

List courses without all caps –(BIOCHEMISTRY vs. Biochemistry)

Check for spelling errors or typos

Don’t abbreviate unless it is listed that way on the transcript (Gen Chem vs. General Chemistry I)

Follow the instructions from AMCAS for entering your course information! If you are unsure about the course classification, look it

up in the instruction book!

Entering incorrectly can delay processing or “flag” your application for investigation.

Personal Comments

Crucial part of your application

Experiences are about what you did,

personal comments are about who you are

and why you did those things

Get feedback & engage a writing process

Begin early (see other tutorial on personal

statements)

Don’t settle for less than your best here!

Remember

Print out entire application and have

someone review it carefully

Be sure to save your changes

Understand that AMCAS doesn’t keep

everything from one application year to the

next. Save a back up copy as PDF for your

records, so if your plans change you haven’t

lost all that work!

Double and triple check your work

Remember

Don’t wait until the last minute to submit!

Many students wait too long and submit in

September or October.

This is allowed, but be aware of the

implications for schools with rolling

admissions.

Premed Tip!

Keep a journal/log of important experiences

with dates, hours, and contact information.

It will come in handy for your AMCAS

application. If the person has given you a business card, tape the card inside

your journal/log.

It helps to also journal powerful experiences you might have along

the way that contribute to your understanding and motivation for a

career in medicine. The personal statement is a process and having

some journal entries can really help get you started on reflection

and beginning to put your dreams on paper.