Info About AMCAS

Health Professions Advising Office 4400 University Drive, MS 2C4 Fairfax, Virginia 22030

PREMEDICAL MEMORANDUM (April 2010)

UPDATE for AMCAS (Allopathic Medical School) Applicants This document is for all George Mason-affiliated AMCAS 2011 applicants. Print this document! Read through and refer to this document. Updates may also be distributed during the summer.

To deliver your MSAC Committee Packet or Advisor Letter Packet, Dr. Chuck must have all of your letters received through veCollect (or other means) and receive a PDF copy of your completed and SUBMITTED AMCAS application. The PDF copy must have the “submitted” timestamp, your entire listing of extracurricular activities, your personal statement, and your designated schools. You must update your list of schools with Dr. Chuck if you add more schools.

Resources The 2010-2011 Medical School Admissions Requirements book is available on reserve at the Prince William campus and at Fenwick Library; the 2011-2012 MSAR should be arriving at the libraries soon, but Dr. Chuck has a copy in his office (not on the bookshelf). Read the chapters at the start of the book, and use this guide to finalize your list of schools where you will send applications.

AMCAS website. Read the applicant instructions and all the content on the website before you start!

When prompted for an alternate identification number, use your GMU-number. Make sure it is printed on your AMCAS application.

If you are changing your name due to marriage, use your (new) legal name in your application and notify Dr. Chuck. It is best that you are consistent with your name, especially if you plan to get married during the application cycle. You are able to change this information in AMCAS post-submission, but to reduce any confusion, please make sure Dr. Chuck’s committee letter refers to you with the appropriate legal name.

Prehealth Update 2010 AMCAS 2011

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AAMC Responsibilities for Applicants to Medical School The following recommendations are promulgated by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to ensure that applicants are afforded timely notification of the outcome of their medical school applications and timely access to available first-year positions and that schools are protected from having unfilled positions in their entering classes. These recommendations are being distributed for the information of prospective medical students, their advisors, and personnel at the medical schools to which they have applied. The AAMC recommends that:

1. Each applicant be familiar with, understand, and comply with the application, acceptance, and admission procedures at each school to which the applicant has applied, as well with as these Recommendations.

2. Each applicant provide accurate and truthful information in all aspects of the application, acceptance, and admission

processes for each school to which the applicant has applied.

3. Each applicant submit all application documents (e.g., primary and secondary application forms, transcript[s], letters of evaluation/recommendation, fees) to each school in a timely manner and no later than the school's published deadline date.

4. Each applicant promptly notify all relevant medical school application services and all medical schools with independent

application processes of any change, permanent or temporary, in contact information (e.g., mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address).

5. Any applicant who will be unavailable for an extended period of time (e.g., during foreign travel, vacation, holidays) during

the application/admission process:

a. Provide instructions regarding his or her application and the authority to respond to offers of acceptance to a parent or other responsible individual in the applicant's absence.

b. Inform all schools at which the applicant remains under consideration of this individual's name and contact

information.

c. Each applicant respond promptly to a school's invitation for interview. Any applicant who cannot appear for a previously scheduled interview should notify the school immediately of the cancellation of the appointment in the manner requested by the school.

d. Each applicant in need of financial aid initiate, as early as possible, the steps necessary to determine eligibility, including

the early filing of appropriate need analysis forms and the encouragement of parents, when necessary, to file required income tax forms.

e. In fairness to other applicants, when an applicant has made a decision, prior to May 15, not to attend a medical school

that has made an offer of acceptance, the applicant promptly withdraw his or her application from that (those) other school(s) by written correspondence delivered by regular or electronic methods.

f. By May 15 of the matriculation year (April 15 for schools whose first day of class is on or before July 30), each applicant

who has received an offer of acceptance from more than one school choose the specific school at which the applicant prefers to enroll and withdraw his or her application, by written correspondence delivered by regular or electronic methods, from all other schools from which acceptance offers have been received.

g. Immediately upon enrollment in, or initiation of an orientation program immediately prior to enrollment at, a U.S. or

Canadian school, each applicant withdraw his or her application from consideration at all other schools at which he or she remains under consideration.

Approved: GSA Committee on Admissions, July 17, 2003 Approved: GSA Steering Committee, July 18, 2003 Approved: Council of Deans, September, 2003 Approved: AAMC Executive Committee, October 3, 2003 http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/policies/applicants.htm


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The AMCAS 2011 podcast will be available on the GMU iTunesU Health Professions Advising website which complements the AMCAS 2010 podcast. In addition, all applicants should read the instructions before beginning. Submissions to AMCAS will begin by around June 1, but you can begin your application in early May (check the AMCAS website for exact dates). Use that time to thoroughly review the entire website and print out transcript request forms to the registrar. It is strongly recommended that you submit your AMCAS application as soon as you can, but do not submit until your final spring semester grades have posted. Always read the instructions thoroughly. The key question is when you should submit your AMCAS to not be considered late. Most admissions officers think that applicants are “early” if they RECEIVE your AMCAS application by the end of July; many will consider your application “late” if they RECEIVE your AMCAS after Labor Day. Thus, to save you any time to fret, plan to send in your AMCAS application no later than July 4. The earlier your AMCAS is in the pool,

the earlier many schools who screen your AMCAS applications (like Virginia Commonwealth) will evaluate your credentials to consider sending you a secondary application. With AMCAS, it costs $160 to process

the application and send to one school, and $32 for each additional program. On average, most applicants nationally apply to 12-15 allopathic medical programs, so expect to spend around $500 to AMCAS and around $100 more for each secondary application you will return. If extenuating circumstances require you to choose one specific program (say for family reasons), you should consider the Early Decision process. Otherwise, I do not recommend applicants go Early Decision; if you do not get in with Early Decision, you will be seriously behind when you have to apply to more programs. The EDP deadline is August 1.

Please read all the information on the Resources Page and follow all suggested instructions. Make sure you send transcript requests promptly to the registrars at each institution with the appropriate cover form. GMU’s instructions can be found at http://registrar.gmu.edu/students/transcripts/index.html; hold delivery until your spring semester grades post. Do not wait until you take your MCAT! Entering coursework is perhaps the trickiest part of the AMCAS application. Read the AMCAS Instruction Book on entering coursework. Enter the classes as you see them off

your personal copy of your transcripts. Include all repeated coursework. Unless you think that the coursework you take in the summer will make a significant difference to considering you for a medical program, I suggest submitting your AMCAS with your final spring grades and list your

summer coursework “in progress.” If you are finishing up a class in Summer Session A that is a repeat class for a science prerequisite, I may want to wait to show off that A-grade so it can be calculated with your science coursework, but in general, I’d submit your AMCAS as soon as you can.

When does AMCAS 2011 start?

How much will this cost?

What mistakes can delay my application?

If I’m taking summer classes, should I wait to submit my AMCAS?


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Since last year, the AAMC has conducted a service-wide criminal background check for all accepted applicants and those who are on waitlists. A select number of schools are participating in this project while other schools are conducting their own independent check. Go to the FAQ at http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/background.htm . Also, even though a school may not be an AMCAS participant in background checks does not mean it won’t conduct a background check on its own. In fact, all medical schools do

a background check subject to their own policies. If you

are applying for AMCAS 2011, then you should take your exams no later than September

to have a chance of being considered. This is because the rolling admissions process starts so early. That said, a poor early score does not help your application. So, I always advise students to take the exam when you are fully prepared to score the best that you can. But your chances for interviews will be much higher with better scores from

exams taken from spring or early summer. The only exception: VCU/MCV will not consider MCAT scores taken after August 31! Even if you take your exam in August, submit your AMCAS in June! It will take longer to verify your transcripts than it will to link your MCAT score to your AMCAS application. You can indicate on the AMCAS when you plan to take the MCAT (which you can change if you have to change dates). After you submit your AMCAS application, you can update the following information:

• Your contact information, including email address. • The date when you intend to take the MCAT.

Unfortunately you cannot simply upload your document. You will have to copy-and-paste instead. This answer also applies for the two additional essays for MD/PhD applicants. Here’s what the AMCAS application worksheet says:

Applicants who plan to cut & paste their essays into the application should draft their essays in a text-only format, preferably in text-only word processing software such as Microsoft Notepad. Copying formatted text

into the application may result in formatting issues that cannot be edited once your application is submitted. Applicants should enter all text responses in the application just as they would like the medical schools to see

them, avoiding use of all caps or all lower case. Medical schools have indicated that they prefer to receive applications that evidence normal writing practices regarding case. You can save your Microsoft Word documents as Text documents. Under File, select Save As. In the pop-up window, the lowest menu box lets you choose Save as Type. Change the type of file from “Word document” to “Plain Text”. Agree to discard any formatting when saving your file as a text document. The AMCAS Personal Comments Essay is limited to 5300 keystrokes (includes spaces and punctuation). The MD/PhD Essay is limited to 3000 keystrokes, and the Research

How is AMCAS doing criminal background checks?

Can I update my MCAT test date after I submit my AMCAS?

How can I upload my personal statement into the Personal Comments section?

When is the best time to take the MCAT?


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Experience Essay to 10,000 keystrokes. Hard returns (new paragraphs, “enter” key) count as two keystrokes. Print and proofread the entire document before you submit. AMCAS requests a maximum of 15 experiences that you can disclose to the schools where you are applying. “Experiences” consist of work activities, extracurricular activities, awards, honors, or publications. Some of you may have more than 15, some fewer; don’t feel compelled to write down 15 experiences if you don’t have them. Whatever you do, list the activities that you feel are the most relevant and important for the admissions committees that reveal your qualifications for a health professional career. You have 1325 keystrokes (text-only, see above) to describe each activity; use the AMCAS worksheet to help you with this.

Include experiences that are represented in your personal statement or letters of recommendation regarding community service, research, or volunteering/shadowing in a clinical setting. Membership in student organizations usually falls under “Extracurricular/Hobbies/Avocations.” Open houses to medical schools should not be included as “Conferences Attended” (or included at all). Single publications need not be peer-reviewed journal articles, but group similar types of papers together. If you write frequently for the student papers, that is an ongoing extracurricular activity. When you describe your activities, provide enough context about each experience. Describe the most significant challenges and situations that fell under your

responsibility and what you did to address them successfully. Admissions committees are not impressed with club officer titles without substantive actions or activities in which you were significantly involved. For example, if you were a “fundraising coordinator,” describe what charities you were helping, the actions or activities you organized, and how much money you raised. Do not embellish your participation, but do not speak too generally about what you did. Treat the description as an extended resume response (situation, task, action, response; or challenge, action, response). You have until around May 1 to print out your previous application before it is purged. You must re-enter all of your information again for AMCAS 2011. Regardless of how far you progressed in the application process, you should revise your personal essays rather than copy your old responses. Many medical admissions officers note this as a noticeable “offense” to a reapplicant. Reapplicants from GMU must have an institutional committee update interview with me. Please set up an appointment/interview with me as soon as possible (preferably before June 1) to incorporate your update in status and assess your improvements in your past application to issue a new MSAC letter. The only requirement I need: an updated health professional letter from a physician. You should also consider additional academic letters if you took upper-level coursework. Releasing your application information to me makes it easier for me to address any problems with processing your application, uploading your committee or additional letters, and collecting admissions data that will benefit future Mason applicants.

I’m a reapplicant but did not get accepted. Do I need to re-enter all of my information for AMCAS?

AMCAS asks me if I should release application information to my advisor. Why should I do this?

What should I include in the Work/Activities section?


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Required for all AMCAS 2011 applicants, a PDF copy of your application with your personal statement should be uploaded to Blackboard or emailed to me. I need your AAMC identification number and AAMC Letter ID to submit your letter. Provide me any updates in information from what you submitted last winter in your pre-application, including jobs, research opportunities, significant community service, or major awards. Once this has been received, I can finalize your committee letter and send it to the schools.

The AACOMAS Update discusses the steps you need to be aware of when it comes to filling out the application. But overall, applying to both allopathic and osteopathic programs is not considered to be a detriment to your overall chances of getting accepted. But you need to double your preparation and have two different packets made. You can have your osteopathic

physicians send supporting Letters of Reference to me or to the osteopathic programs directly. AACOMAS schools do not have access to AMCAS applications, and vice versa. If you are applying to the Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service (TMDSAS), you will need to read their instructions and fill out their separate application.

Most Caribbean programs do not go through AMCAS. Therefore, I will need to know if you are applying for a program in time to send your packet. Only St. George’s participates in VirtualEvals; all other schools can receive your packet by secured email or hard copy. I will need

a specific email contact to send your letters. Please give me enough time to send your packet out. If a school insists on sending paper copies, please have their admissions officer contact me. Ross University School of Medicine (and Vet) will also accept letters from Dr. Chuck as an email attachment (they don’t do this with every advisor). Note that Caribbean programs have three dates of entry corresponding to a winter, summer, and fall semester. Do your homework regarding each program and the success of their graduates to practice.

Post-Submission Changes to AMCAS Once you submit (and pay for) your AMCAS application, the following items can be changed:

• Name and contact information (keep your email address current). o Make sure your AMCAS and medical school communications are not junked.

• Required and alternate identification o List GMU number as an alternate identification number.

• MCAT test date, especially if rescheduling. • Additional references can be added but not deleted. Unless otherwise arranged with

Dr. Chuck, do NOT add additional references other than your committee packet. • Additional schools can be added (and paid for) but not deleted.

You must SUBMIT the application to save all your changes.

How about Caribbean MD programs?

Will it hurt me to apply to osteopathic (DO) programs too?


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Give me a specific timeline of what I should do in the process.

Here’s a general timeline of the process from this point for allopathic medical programs.

• Immediately give me your composite request form and checklist. Upload your photograph in Blackboard.

• June: Submit AMCAS along with transcripts with final spring grades. Send Dr. Chuck your PDF copy (upload to Blackboard or email).

• July: School-specific “secondary” applications go online. Dr. Chuck will try to send out most of the committee letters by this month as long as he has your AMCAS application and all solicited letters are received.

• August: First rounds of interview invitations sent (usually to individuals who complete their secondary applications and hold high GPA’s and MCAT scores already recorded on AMCAS)

• September: First round of interviews. Last set of committee letters are sent. • October: First Round of Offers for rolling admissions schools, usually more released

on monthly basis afterwards • November: Postbaccalaureate program applications open for those who have not

received offers yet. Investigate whether these programs accept committee letters. • February 15: Schools that have accepted you will know what other schools have

given you offers. Schools that have not accepted you will not get this information. • March: Last Round of Offers. • April: Alternate/Waitlist Inquiries. Reapplicants must petition with Dr. Chuck for a

revised committee letter for the next cycle. • May 15: All schools will have access to student’s complete application record, noting

all offers and waitlists. All matriculation deposits will no longer be refundable after around May 15.

Wrap-up Good luck in your applications, and please remember to keep your email box free for AMCAS, medical schools, and me in case we have to send you notices about the process. Please review both the Blackboard site and the application service site to be sure your application progresses.


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AMCAS Letters of Recommendation: Or why committee letters are valuable… AMCAS 2011 Section 6 covers Letters of Recommendation, which will carry over to Section 7 (where you designate the schools). Letter collection by AMCAS is performed independently of your AMCAS submission, so one’s application is not held up if all your letters are not received at AAMC. However, schools may delay considering your file until all letters have been received in their offices.

Figure 1. Interactions involved in AMCAS Letters Project. Each arrow represents written or electronic communication involved in the AMCAS Letters Project for handling letters of recommendation and evaluation. Dotted arrows are optional to be used for targeted references (such as for MD/PhD or VCU Guaranteed Admissions) following specific instructions given by Dr. Chuck for your circumstance. The Players

□ The applicant: You □ The references: Those writing you letters of recommendation □ The advisor: Me, who compiles the letters into your institutional committee letter □ AMCAS: Collects letters and application to send to medical schools □ Medical Schools: Makes all judgments on interviews, rejections, and acceptances

Definitions and nomenclature

□ AAMC ID: Eight-digit code that uniquely identifies you as an applicant and is associated with both your MCAT score and your AMCAS application.

□ AMCAS Letter ID: Seven-digit code that uniquely identifies a submitted letter of recommendation or evaluation for participating programs that receive letters through AMCAS Letters.

□ AMCAS Letter Writer Application: Computer system used upload electronic letters of recommendation to participating programs.

□ Interfolio: Private company that specializes in collecting letters of recommendation to be sent to employers, graduate or professional schools. For the most part, you

AMCAS Virtual Evals

Interfolio

U.S. Mail

Medical School Admissions Office

Applicant

AMCAS Letter Writer Application

Health Professions Advisor/Committee

General References

Targeted Reference

or

For some programs


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will not need to use this service unless you have letters from prior institutions in its repository. You must subscribe to use this service.

□ VirtualEvals (veCollect and veClient): Uploading system used only by health professions advisors to deliver letter packets to allopathic, osteopathic, and other health professional programs or services. Students do not pay to use this service as GMU Health Professions Advising assumes all costs to participate.

The Basics

□ Each applicant can declare up to 10 letters for the AMCAS application. □ Each applicant can designate the destination of each set of letters to specific

AMCAS programs that participate in the AMCAS Letters Project. □ A letter from each reference is assigned a unique AMCAS Letter ID. □ You must input the information for the references who will upload your letters to

the AMCAS Letter Writer Application. □ A committee letter counts as ONE LETTER regardless of how many additional

letters are appended to it. You do not need to add the names of the solicited references to AMCAS letters if you are using the GMU committee letter process.

□ A letter packet counts as ONE LETTER regardless of how many additional letters are appended to it. You will not need to add the names of the solicited references to AMCAS letters if you are using the GMU committee letter packet process.

□ If you decide to have all your letters sent outside the GMU committee letter process, each letter must have its own AMCAS letter ID which you must provide your referee. o Note: if you do not submit references through the GMU committee letter

process, you will be asked why you don’t have a committee letter. o In many secondary applications, you will have to list the names of the

references whose solicited letters are included in your committee letter or letter packet.

As of this draft, there are only fifteen schools that are not part of the AMCAS Letters Project. To view the list of schools that are, go to the website at http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/amcasletters.htm . (Seven schools are not on the list: these include USUHS and Duke.) In general, the schools that are not part of the AMCAS Letters Project will accept committee letters through VirtualEvals.

Browser issues You need to make sure that your browser is compatible with the AMCAS application. If it turns out that you are not able to use your browser because it is not compatible with AMCAS (that will be listed in the systems and browser requirements), you may need to see if you can run an emulator on your browser so you can run an older version of the browser without having to completely reinstall your browser on your computer. According to Student Doctor Network, if you are running the Ubuntu (Linux-based) operating system, the browser does not always work well with AMCAS; if you haven’t downloaded Firefox for Linux, do so. Check Student Doctor Network and/or post your question there if you are using this operating system regarding browsers that might be able to work with AMCAS. Browser Latest Compatible Latest Available (known) Internet Explorer PC IE 8.0

Mac IE 5.2 PC IE 8.0 Mac IE 5.2.3 (defunct)

Firefox PC Ff 3.5 Mac Ff 3.5

PC Ff 3.6.3 Mac Ff 3.6

Netscape (defunct) 7.0 7.2 Safari (a Mac-specific browser) apparently is not compatible with AMCAS.


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For Firefox, older versions of Internet Explorer (which can run AMCAS) can be emulated by installing the plug-in “User Agent Switcher 0.7.2” (or search for this plug-in for Firefox). When running AMCAS, make sure you select to run under Internet Explorer 8.0 (or earlier). Older versions of these programs can be found on the internet; one archive is oldapps.com .

What you do if you have a GMU Committee Letter If you had at least one interview from an MSAC member, select Committee Letter. If you did not have at least one committee interview, but you have requested a composite letter, then you have an Advisor Letter Packet.

Otherwise, you select Individual Letter if you are avoiding the GMU Committee Process. Please note, however, that you must fully comply with all the requirements for letters of recommendation for EACH school you apply to (for more information, go to http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/letterscriteria.htm) . A committee letter usually supersedes these individual requirements since most of your packets of letters accommodate the vast majority of these schools.


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Add the GMU Committee Letter or Advisor Letter Packet After you click “Continue”, you’ll see this screen:

Letter Title GMU Committee Packet or GMU Advisor Packet Primary Author Dr. Emil T. Chuck Title Health Professions Advisor Email [email protected] Phone 703-993-9305 Organization Name George Mason University Address 4400 University Drive MS 2C4 State Virginia City Fairfax Postal Code 22030 Waive your rights to inspect the Committee Letter (it remains confidential). By waiving your FERPA rights, the committee letter can include information about your grades, GPA, honors/awards, or other evidence of your academic performance that could benefit your application, which you allow me to disclose with your Composite Request Form waiver. When selecting schools (Section 7), you should be prompted to designate which letters go to that school if there is an “LOE” icon next to the school’s name. Find the GMU Committee Letter (or if appropriate “Select all”). That’s it. If you are not using the Committee Letter process, you will need to input each referee’s contact information and provide them an appropriate cover sheet to send with their reference letter through US Mail. Please provide your references a stamped, unsealed envelope made out to AAMC/AMCAS with the appropriate cover sheet. If the cover sheet is not included, it will take much longer to process your letter. Dr. Chuck needs your AMCAS Letter ID, which should be listed as part of the required PDF of your AMCAS 2011, so printing the AMCAS Letter coversheet is not required.

SAMPLE CONFIDENTIAL EVALUATION

[email protected] ● B477D Robinson Hall ● http://prehealth.gmu.edu

Medical Sciences Advisory Committee 4400 University Drive, MS 2C4 Fairfax, Virginia 22030

Insert Date Here Allopathic Medicine (MD) Reference for George Mason AAMC #1234567.123456 GMU G0123456789 This document summarizes my evaluation for George Mason, an alumnus of George Mason University with a degree in biology (1745). This evaluation is based on my mentoring interactions with Hippocrates, his responses to the pre-application (required of all candidates before the start of the spring semester), a draft of his personal statement, his solicited confidential letters of evaluation (appended), and confidential responses from a 30-minute individual interviews conducted by members of the Medical Sciences Advisory Committee1. An institutional profile is accessible through the VirtualEvals system and available on request.

Family background A fourth-generation Virginian, George was the first-born son (of three children) of George and Ann Thomson Mason on the family plantation. Unfortunately George Sr. drowned in a boating accident when George Jr. was only ten years old. (Read more.)

Motivation for the profession Though George had been shadowing his doctor when he was a young boy, he participated in a shadowing program while attending grade school in Maryland where he was surprised to see other physicians using fear and superstition to guide their diagnoses and treatment. …

Academic preparation George was unable to attend college originally as he became responsible for the family plantation lands which spanned 20,000 acres in Virginia and Maryland. …

Personal and interpersonal qualities In his solicited letters and committee interviews, George articulated his interest in becoming a doctor. …

Final impressions On behalf of the Medical Sciences Advisory Committee, I strongly recommend George for your consideration. I have attached copies of his solicited and confidential recommendation letters, and all signatures are on file. Please contact me if you have any additional questions about this letter. Sincerely, Emil Thomas Chuck, Ph.D. ([email protected]) Health Professions Advisor & Term Assistant Professor of Biology George Mason University Phone (703) 993-9305

1 Separate interviews were conducted with Medical Sciences Advisory Committee members.

SAMPLE CONFIDENTIAL EVALUATION

[email protected] ● B477D Robinson Hall ● http://prehealth.gmu.edu

Medical Sciences Advisory Committee 4400 University Drive, MS 2C4 Fairfax, Virginia 22030

Attached Reference Letters George Washington Mount Vernon firstpresident@whitehouse Thomas Jefferson Monticello tj@monticello Abraham Lincoln Springfield malicetowardsnone@memorial Teddy Roosevelt Hyde Park rufferidersbydawn@dealsquared

MSAC Committee comments Student is bright and passionate. Works hard at overcoming weaknesses. Shows promise.

Gunston

1

The AMCAS Application

Your Path to Success

• What is AMCAS’ role in the medical school admissions process?

• What does the current AMCAS application look like?

• What are the common pitfalls faced by applicants and how can they be avoided?

• How can the application be monitored once it has been submitted?

• What is the Fee Assistance Program?

• Where can I go for more information?

Questions we’ll answer today

• Nonprofit, centralized application service� Collects applicant information, transcripts,

and letters of recommendation � Verifies academic records� Provides standardized grading information to

participating schools

• Most medical schools use AMCAS as the primary application method

• Website: www.aamc.org/amcas

American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)

The AMCAS Website

There are a few browsers out there that the AMCAS

application does not support – you can check to

see if yours is safe here

The AMCAS WebsiteResources for Applicants

The AMCAS WebsiteCurrent Year’s Application Resources

2

Can you use your unofficial transcript to fill out the coursework section of the AMCAS Application?

If your school has a forgiveness policy, do you need to list a course you failed or withdrew from if you repeated it and got a better grade?

If you are elected President of your student organization after you submit your application, can you go back and include that achievement?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

1. Identifying Information

2. Schools Attended

3. Biographic Information

4. Coursework

5. Work/Activities

6. Letters of Evaluation

7. Medical Schools

8. Essay(s)

9. Standardized Tests

The AMCAS Application

The AMCAS ApplicationMain Menu Screen

The AMCAS ApplicationGetting HELP when you have questions

• Clicking the “Help” button will bring up a menu and information that reflects where you are in the application

• If you would like help on a different section, click “Search” and type in what you need

The AMCAS ApplicationThe Transcript Request Form

Your identifying information

Address for your institution’s registrar

AMCAS address for the registrar

Transcript Request Form

•Request copies of your OFFICIAL transcripts for you to use as you fill out the AMCAS Application

•You MUST enter information and corresponding grades for every course in which you have ever enrolled, including:

• AP & College Credit earned in High School

• Study abroad

• Withdrawls, Incompletes, Fails, and Repeats• Medical schools will see it all, regardless of

your undergraduate forgiveness policy. Enter it correctly and completely the first time.

The AMCAS ApplicationEntering your coursework

3

The AMCAS ApplicationEntering Coursework

These fields will

be verified against a

copy of your

official transcript after you

submit the application

•You must assign each course a Course Classification (ex – Biology, Fine Arts, Philosophy, etc.) based entirely on its primary content

•Course Classifications are used in the calculation of your AMCAS GPA

•The BCPM GPA is comprised of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics courses

•Course Classifications that are not "BCPM" will be calculated in your AO (All Other) GPA

The AMCAS ApplicationCourse Classification and your GPA

Study Abroad

•Include the foreign institution and the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution in your list of colleges attended.

•Request a transcript exception for the foreign institution. Indicate the U.S. or Canadian institution on whose transcript the credits will appear.

•Enter study abroad course work under the foreign college at which it was attempted, but as it appears on the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian Institution’s transcript.

Entering Study Abroad

•In the transcript request section of schools attended select the transcript is not required: Foreign College –Study Abroad through a U.S. or Canadian Institution

•In the transcript request section of schools attended select the transcript is not required: Foreign College –Study Abroad through a U.S. or Canadian Institution

•In the course work section enter the course work under the Foreign College (London School of Economics), but as it appears on the home institution’s (George Mason University) transcript

Example 1: Study Abroad at London School of Economics

•In the Schools Attended Section enter your home institution: George Mason University and enter the study abroad program: Danish Institute for Study Abroad – Denmark

•Indicate that the transcript is not required – Foreign School, Independent Attendance

•In the course work section enter the course work under the study abroad program (DIS), but as it appears on your home institution’s (George Mason University) transcript

Example 2: Study Abroad through Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS)

4

•In the Schools Attended section enter the home institution, George Mason University, enter the sponsoring institution -Butler University) and the name of the abroad program -Institute for Study Abroad – Spain

Select transcript is not required: Foreign College – Study Abroad through a U.S. or Canadian Institution

•Enter the course work under the Foreign College - Institute for Study Abroad - Spain, but as it appears on the sponsoring institution’s transcript (Butler University)

•Both U.S. transcripts are required (George Mason University and Butler University)

Study Abroad through a U.S. or Canadian Institution other than your home institution (George Mason University)

The AMCAS ApplicationCourse Classification and your GPA

•Begin the application as soon as you can

•Keep your contact information up to date

•Be aware of your deadlines, submit ahead of time

•Enter all coursework exactly as it appears on your transcript and be sure all fields are complete

•Beat your transcript deadlines - send your transcript requests as soon as you begin the application.

Avoid Delays to your Application

•Focus on completeness and accuracy over early submission. If your application contains too many errors, AMCAS will send it back to you.

•Use the “Print Application” button to double-check your data. If you submit with errors and typos, medical schools WILL see them.

•Check the Main Menu of your application to ensure it was successfully submitted

Submitting your ApplicationEarly is good. Error-Free is better!

•Name and Contact Information

•Required and Alternate IDs

•Indication of MCAT test date

•Letters of Evaluation can be added and assigned to medical schools, but NOT deleted

•Medical schools can be added if the deadlines have not passed

•If you do make a post-submission change, you must RE-SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• This will not cause processing delays

The AMCAS ApplicationThe ONLY changes after submission

•You may create up to 10 letter entries

•Committee letters, letter packets, and individual letters each count as ONE entry

•You can designate specific medical schools to receive specific letters

•The letter request form guarantees that AMCAS will match the letter to your application - print one for each letter entry and give it to your letter-writer

•Letters do not have to be entered before you submit your application

Letters of Evaluation

5

Letters of Evaluation

Author/Advisor

U.S. Mail

Interfolio

Virtual Evals

AMCAS Letter-Writer Application

Applicant

AMCAS

Letter Request

Form

LRF

Medical Schools

The AMCAS ApplicationAdding Letters in the Application




The fields marked with an

asterisk are required…

… but the other fields are very

helpful to have… just in

case


6

The AMCAS ApplicationAdding Letters to the Application

Your identifying information

Your letter-writer’s address

AMCAS address for your letter-writer to use

Used by AMCAS to attach letter to your application

Methods your letter-writer can

use to send their recommendation

to AMCAS

Letter Request Form

Many medical schools require that your recommendations are on official letterhead and bear the signature of the author

*


If you have already submitted your application, you MUST hit submit again in order to save the letter you just added

•For applicants whose families are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level

•No distinction between dependent and independent

•Reduces MCAT fee from $230 to $85�Upon registration for the MCAT, FAP recipients are sent free copies of the MSAR and the Official Guide to the MCAT exam

•Provides 14 free medical school designations in the AMCAS application (normally $32 each)

•You must have FAP approval before registering for the MCAT or submitting your AMCAS application

Fee Assistance Program

•AAMC recommends that all U.S. medical schools procure a “CBC” upon each applicant’s initial acceptance

• Enhances the safety of patients

• Bolsters general trust in the medical community

• Confirms the ability of accepted applicants to become licensed physicians

•The AMCAS application requires you to report felonies and misdemeanors

Criminal Background Checks

Sally A•Read the AMCAS Instructions

•Began her application early

•Used her official transcript to complete the application

•Included that course she bombed and repeated

•Printed her application to proofread it and was able to fix a couple of errors

•Submitted her application on time and met deadlines

A Tale of Two Sallys

Sally Z•Just realized her first deadline is today!

•Used her unofficial transcript to enter coursework

•Decided to leave off that course she bombed and repeated

• Found lots of typos and other errors after she submitted

•Had her application returned and missed her deadline

•Read the AMCAS Instruction Manual prior to submitting the AMCAS application

•Notify AMCAS of any changes in your contact information

•Know the admissions and residency requirements at each school you are applying to

•Keep track of and meet your deadlines

•Accurately complete the application

•Review your verified coursework immediately after AMCAS processing is complete

The Applicant’s Responsibilities

7

AMCAS Website: www.aamc.org/amcas

“Help” tab within the AMCAS Application

Medical School Admissions Requirements Guide

Medical school websites and admissions offices

Applicant and Advisor Relations Team

M-F 9:00 am EST to 7:00 pm EST

202.828.0600

[email protected]

Your Information Resources

Documents

Info About AMCAS