The AMCAS is basically the Common Application for MD programs. The AMCAS is used widely by U.S. medical schools, so it’s necessary to understand how it works. Because it can be a confusing system to navigate, we’ve broken it down into its tiniest components in this comprehensive AMCAS application guide.
Final Thoughts. Though it can be time consuming, the hassle of filling out the AMCAS medical school application is far outweighed by the convenience of a single service to submit most of your application materials.
If the letters are grouped together as a packet from one source, or are from a committee, you can make one entry for the whole set. You can create up to 10 entries. Entries may be added and assigned to medical schools after the application has been submitted, but they cannot be edited or deleted after submission.
What is AMCAS? If you’re considering applying to medical school for the first time, you’ve likely heard of AMCAS, the American Medical College Application Service. Run by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the AMCAS medical school application is a centralized application service through which you’ll submit your grades, test scores, ...
AMCAS requires one official transcript from every post-secondary institution (i.e., college-level and beyond, including college courses you took during high school) where you have attempted course work. Official transcripts must be sent directly from each institution. Moreover, AMCAS accepts both paper and electronic transcripts. Finally, you should wait until you have registered for an AMCAS account before requesting that your transcript (s) be sent to ensure that AMCAS can accurately match your transcript (s) with your application ID and to avoid delays.
Therefore, your course list and GPA will be “locked in,” even if you receive new course grades since submitting your AMCAS application. If you would like to update individual schools on more recent grades, you may do so in your secondaries—if there’s a natural place to mention an update—or via an update letter.
The AMCAS Application makes sure that you have a proper category to fit your activity into, no matter how unique it may be. There’s always the “other” category for the really rare and valuable experiences you may have. If you applied before, the categories are now different from previous years’ application.
While not all AMCAS extracurricular activities carry the same weight, they should give the medical school admissions committees a good picture of what you did for each activity. Additionally, they should learn why it was meaningful to you and what you learned.
No, you cannot add any information to AMCAS—in your Work and Activities section or anywhere else— once you submit. However, you can provide updates in your secondary essays, during interviews, or through letters of interest or intent .
Admissions committees will see your experiences listed in chronological order by default. However, they’ll be able to rearrange your experiences by category (e.g., shadowing, volunteering) and a number of other ways based on how they prefer to review applications.
If you wish to know about the AMCAS coursework order, read the following advice:
To successfully finish an application to the medical school, you should not do these things on a course work section:
The AMCAS is the American Medical College Application Service, a centralized application service used by premed students when applying to medical school. It lets you create one application which is then sent to all of the allopathic medical schools to which you’re applying.
Early Decision Program: These programs allow applicants to secure an acceptance from one participating medical school by October 1 while allowing time to apply to other schools if not accepted. The deadline for the Early Decision Program is August 1 (application and official transcripts must be submitted by this date).
Once you submit your AMCAS application and release your transcript, your application will begin being processed. (Note: both your application and transcript must be received for application processing to begin. The processing of your application entails confirming your coursework and calculating your AMCAS GPA.
MCAT Scores: Only include MCAT exams which you have taken at the time that you submit your AMCAS application. Do not include exams that you voided. Remember that you only have to include scores which you have released to the AAMC. Most medical schools require that your MCAT scores are no more than 3 years old.
Withdrawing your AMCAS application. To withdraw your AMCAS application, you must go online and select “Withdraw application” from the right side of the main menu. You can ONLY withdraw your application when it is in the following status: Submitted to AMCAS-Ready for Review.
Contact Information: AMCAS uses email for everything, so make sure that your email is valid, easily accessible, and up to date. If your contact information changes at any point during the application process, you must update this information on the AMCAS application website.
This section will let you indicate who your letter writers are, what types of letters will be sent to AMCAS, and which schools should receive each letter. You do not need to enter your letters in your AMCAS application prior to submission.