For Applicants The AMCAS Application Process A Presentation to University of Iowa Pre-Meds Wednesday, April 27, 2011

About AMCAS What does AMCAS do? Provides an online medical school application and distributes your application to the medical schools you designate Verifies academic records and calculates an AMCAS GPA Collects & distributes letters of recommendation to the medical schools you designate Facilitates criminal background checks for accepted applicants

Application Timeline For the 2012 entering class May 5, 2011* AMCAS application opens & AMCAS begins accepting transcripts and letters of recommendation June 1, 2011* Applications can be submitted and AMCAS begins verifying coursework June 17, 2011* Initial transmission of application data to medical schools *subject to change

Application Timing Apply Early. Most students will apply in the summer—June, July, August. It can take AMCAS four to six weeks to process your application. If you are submitting AMCAS in October you are applying fairly late. The AMCAS deadline for the UI Carver College of Medicine is Nov. 1. Deadlines vary by medical school, but generally fall between October 1 and December 15

Application Timing (Cont.d) Application deadlines are posted on the AMCAS website and within the online application Get your official transcripts sent early.

The AMCAS Application AMCAS Registration Use accurate biographical information during registration:

The AMCAS Application 9 Sections: Identifying Information Schools Attended Biographic Information Coursework Work/Activities Letters of Evaluation Medical Schools Essays Standardized Tests

Application Timing and Fees $160.00 processing fee which includes one medical school $33.00 fee for each additional school Payable online by Visa/Mastercard or Telecheck

The AMCAS Application Biographic Information Contact info Citizenship Legal residence Race & Ethnicity Languages Family info – dependents/parents/siblings Felony/misdemeanor/military discharge

The AMCAS Application Changes to the Disadvantaged Section The questions that have been buried beneath the disadvantaged question will be brought to the top level and presented to all applicants. We will continue to allow applicants to self-identify as disadvantaged and write a brief essay.

The AMCAS Applications Changes to Parental Information Applicants will be required to provide information about their parents or guardians Expanded occupational & educational categories

The AMCAS Application Coursework

Entering Work/Activities You will have space to enter 15 activities (work, volunteering, honors, awards. Be sure to put health care and other volunteer activities under the appropriate categories (don’t lump them under “extracurricular”). You will have space to briefly describe the activity (maximum 700 characters) New this year: An opportunity to designate three activities as the “most meaningful” and write additional information about them (1325 characters). Also a contact requirement.

The AMCAS Application Work & Activities Enter any work or extracurricular activities, awards, honors or publications you would like to bring to the attention of medical schools A maximum of 15 experiences may be entered New Contact email or phone is required

The AMCAS Application Work & Activities Applicants will be asked to indentify up to three experiences they consider to be the most meaningful When considering which experiences are the most meaningful applicants will be prompted to consider the transformative nature of the experience, the impact made while engaging in the activity and the personal growth experienced as a result of participation

Letters of Eval./Recommendation Ask your Letter Writers before your leave for the summer. You can add up to 10 letters in your AMCAS file. Request what you will need (find out from the schools). Do not hold submission of AMCAS to wait for letters; you can put in letter information later. UI’s process is individual letters; we do not have a committee or composite process. Refer to “Applying to Med. School” handout.

Letters of Eval./Recommendation Most letters are sent in August and September. Schools have deadlines for submission of letters/secondaries. For best results, do not bump up against the deadlines.

The AMCAS Application Letters of Recommendation Letters do not have to be entered before submission of the application. Application processing is independent of letter receipt Be aware that medical schools have letters deadlines Medical schools may require letters to be on letterhead and have a signature

* Letter Request Form Letter Request Form Applicant’s identifying information Used by AMCAS to attach the letter to the application Letter ID and Letter Type The author’s address Methods the author can use to send their letter to AMCAS * Many medical schools require that recommendations are on official letterhead and bear the signature of the author

The AMCAS Application Medical Schools Designate the schools & programs to which you wish to apply Define how letters should be distributed to your designated medical schools Only schools whose deadlines have not passed will appear in the drop-down list You can come back to this section and add additional schools at any time

The AMCAS Application Essay/personal statement You may wish to include information such as: Special hardships, challenges or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits. Commentary on significant fluctuations in your academic record that are not explained elsewhere in your application.

The AMCAS Application Submission Certification: Revised Statement is now bulleted and requires acceptance to each statement rather than one paragraph. Easier for applicant to read certification statement and highlights importance of statement New Applicants must certify that all written passages have been written by them.

AMCAS Application Post Submission Changes Very few changes are permitted once the application has been submitted. They are: Name and Contact Information ID numbers Indication of MCAT test date Letters of Evaluation can be added and assigned to medical schools, but NOT deleted Medical schools can be added and programs can be changed if the deadlines have not passed Advisor Release After making a change, the applicant must re-submit in order to save changes

AMCAS Application Life Cycle May take up to 6 weeks* Not Submitted to AMCAS Submitted to AMCAS – Ready for Review Submitted to AMCAS – Under Review AMCAS Processing Complete Submitted to AMCAS – Waiting for Transcripts Submitted to AMCAS – Waiting for Transcripts Returned to Applicant

Monitoring application status

AMCAS Verification What is verified for each course? Academic Status Academic Year & Term Grades Hours Course Classification (BCPM vs. All Other) Course Type (Honors, Repeat, AP, etc.)

AMCAS Verification

Application Tips Early is good. Error-free is better. Before submitting your application, print it out and review it very carefully for missing courses or grades as well as for typos and errors. Monitor the status of transcripts & remember that transcripts must be official Look for emails from AMCAS@aamc.org regarding problems or delays Review verified coursework immediately after AMCAS processing is complete

Criminal Background Checks After January 1, accepted/waitlisted applicants to a school that participates in the AAMC CBC service will receive an email from Certiphi Screening asking to provide consent to conduct a CBC. Results will be made available for review prior to their release to medical schools to which have accepted the applicants. Applicants have 10 days to review the report and contest the accuracy of the results Infractions and juvenile records will be displayed to the applicant but medical schools vary on the content they can and will view.  

Fee Assistance Program (FAP) Assists applicants who, without financial assistance would be unable to take the MCAT or apply to medical schools through AMCAS

Resources & Information Support for Applicants and Advisors: 10 dedicated staff Office hours 9 am -7 pm ET M-F Applicant Website: www.aamc.org/amcas Telephone: 202 828 0600 Email: amcas@aamc.org Facebook.com/amcasinfo

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