1. education
2. school

MED SCHOOL
APPLICATION
WORKSHOP 2015
THE CAREER CENTER
WWW.CAREER.EMORY.EDU
404-727-6211
WORKSHOP TOPICS
• What is a centralized application service?
• Components
• Course Classification
• Timeline for Application
• Letter Requests
• Tips and Advice
• Career Center Support
WHAT IS A CENTRALIZED APPLICATION
SERVICE?
American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)
• AMCAS is the central application service that serves as a verifying agent
between applicants and US/Canadian medical schools
• Cost: $160, includes one school, $34 per additional school
www.aamc.org/amcas
Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS)
• If applying to Texas medical schools (except Baylor), you must apply
separately through the Texas Medical & Dental School Application
Service (TMDSAS) located at http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application
Service (AACOMAS)
• If applying to Osteopathic medical schools, you must apply separately
through the American Association of Osteopathic Colleges of Medicine
(AACOMAS) located at https://aacomas.aacom.org/
2015 AMCAS APPLICATION DATES
Application Deadlines
Date
EVENT
April 1
2016 AMCAS Resources released
May 5
2016 AMCAS application opens
June 2
AMCAS application submission
begins
July 1
August 1
Sept.-Dec.
Initial transmission of application data
to medical schools
Early Decision Program deadline
• Completed application must be
submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET of the
deadline date
• All required official transcripts must be
received by AMCAS within 14 calendar
days of the application deadline date
• EDP deadline for application and
transcripts is August 1
• AMCAS does NOT grant deadline
extensions
• Visit www.aamc.org/amcasdeadlines
Application Fees (in 2014 cycle)
• $160 processing fee (includes ONE
school)
• $34 for each additional school
• Fees subject to change
Application deadlines
*Dates subject to change.
START EARLY, SUBMIT
EARLY, DO NOT WAIT
UNTIL DEADLINES!
HOW DOES AMCAS WORK?
Application
Submitted
• Online application
completed and
submitted to
AMCAS
• Fees paid (or FAP
award used)
Application
Processed
• All required
official transcripts
arrive at AMCAS
• Verification of
coursework
• Calculation of
AMCAS GPAs
Application
Delivered
• Verified
application sent
to designated
medical schools
• Letters delivered
on a rolling basis
• MCAT scores
automatically
received (before
or after
application is
submitted
AMCAS COMPONENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
SCHOOLS ATTENDED
BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
COURSE WORK
WORK/ACTIVITIES
LETTERS OF EVALUATION
MEDICAL SCHOOLS
ESSAYS
STANDARDIZED TESTS
START EARLY! This application is lengthy and will take a considerable amount of
time. It should NOT be rushed, it needs to be error free and your best work.
SCHOOLS ATTENDED
*Make sure to
include transient
study and study
abroad schools–
this can be tricky
SEE 2016
MANUAL!
COURSE WORK
Use a personal copy of your
official transcript to complete
this section- For Emory courses,
you can get this from OPUS!
Course guidelines are located on
page 35 of the 2016 AMCAS
instruction manual.
Science GPA = BCPM (Biology,
Chemistry, Physics, and Math)
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 (700 characters
per entry)
• Contact email or phone is required
• Applicants will be asked to identify up to three “most meaningful
experiences” (additional 1,325 characters allowed for these 3)
• 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
WORK/ACTIVITIES
• Maximum of 15 entries
*Applicants can enter 4 additional
date ranges for repeated activities
• Maximum of 3 “Most Meaningful”
WORK/ACTIVITIES
•
You can now indicate repeated activities
• Up to four separate date ranges
• Future end dates up to the start of the matriculation year
(up to August 2016)
• You will specify the total hours spent on this activity for
each date range
• Make sure hours “make sense” for a full time student
• Work/Activities entries will be shown in the order they
are entered within the online application
*These entries are still sorted by each medical school’s
preference during application review
LETTERS OF EVALUATION
You can submit your
application BEFORE
your letters are
received by AMCAS.
LETTERS OF EVALUATION
• 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 and
letter minimum/maximums
• Medical schools may require letters to be on letterhead
and have a signature
• Check LOR requirements for EACH SCHOOL you are
applying to
LETTERS OF EVALUATION- EMORY SPECIFIC
• For students who participated in the composite process and
will be receiving a composite letter, select “Committee Letter”
• For students who have collected letters via a standard Career
Center letter file or have additional letters outside of the
composite letter packet, select “Letter Packet”
• You will then select “Emory University” and enter the contact
information. For the Committee Letter, enter Dr. Shari Obrentz
at the Prehealth Mentoring Office as the contact.
• For the letter packet, enter Mildred Davis-Echols at the Career
Center as the contact.
• FULL LETTER INSTRUCTIONS AVAILABLE AT:
WWW.CAREER.EMORY.EDU and will be emailed to composite
participants in early May.
• Call 404-727-6211 if you have questions when uploading
letters!
LETTER REQUEST FORM
Letter Request Form
Applicant’s
identifying
information
Letter ID and
Letter Type
Used by AMCAS to attach the
letter to the application
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
MEDICAL SCHOOLS
• Be sure to select the
correct program type and
be mindful of program
and transcript deadlines
• You can add schools at
ANY TIME before the
program deadline
• Combined programs
usually have additional
applications
• School selection matters!
Be aware of state
residency biases and
meet with a prehealth
career counselor to
review choices.
ESSAY/PERSONAL STATEMENT
• Essay/personal statement (5300 characters, includes spaces)
• Double check formatting if you copy/paste
• No grammatical errors or typos!!
TMDSAS OPTIONAL ESSAYS
**In addition to the personal statement, TMDSAS has 2 optional essays.
The essays are optional; however, you are strongly encouraged to take
advantage of this opportunity**
• Optional Essay 1 (2500 characters ):
Briefly state any unique circumstances or life experiences that are
relevant to your application. This is not an area to continue your essay
or reiterate what you have previously stated - this area is provided to
address any issues which have not previously been addressed.
Optional Essay 2 (2500 characters ):
Describe any personal characteristics and/or important or challenging
experiences you have had that will contribute to the diversity (broadly
defined) of/ or provide educational benefits to the student body.
MCAT SCORES
• MCAT scores are automatically released to AMCAS unless
the score is voided
• You may submit your application PRIOR to testing and score
release
• Indicate your intended testing date in the Standardized Tests
section of the application
• Update your application if your testing date
Contact the MCAT Team
mcat@aamc.org | 202-828-0690
Monday – Friday 9 am – 5 pm ET
ONCE AMCAS IS SUBMITTED
• Usually 4-6 weeks for verification to be completed and schools listed
to receive your application
• Supplemental/secondary requests can come in at any time after
you submit your AMCAS. Some schools wait for verification while
others will automatically send you their secondary. Most schools will
send you a secondary application (i.e., not an indication of interest)
• Typically a 2 week window for you to submit your secondary
applications (cannot submit until primary has been verified).
• Interviews are offered approximately August – March
(again, dates will vary by school and submission date of application)
• REMEMBER- You must request to have your letters uploaded from
The Career Center to AMCAS! ALLOW 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS FOR THE
CAREER CENTER TO PROCESS REQUESTS.
MULTIPLE ACCEPT DATA
• Medical schools cannot view the number or names of other
schools that you have applied to
• Medical schools have access to:
• Multiple Accept Data (February 10). This report allows
medical schools to see other schools to which an applicant
they have accepted is also currently holding an acceptance
decision
• The National Acceptance Report (April 1). This report lists all
applicants with a current Acceptance or Matriculated action
**See the Traffic Rules for Applicants for more info
TMDSAS
• Application opens Friday, May 1, 2015 at 8:00am CST
• Deadline to submit is Thursday, October 1, 2015 at 5pm CST
• Participating medical schools
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
UT Medical Branch at Galveston
UT Health Science Center at Houston Medical School
UT School of Medicine at San Antonio
Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, College of Medicine
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock
University of North Texas – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Texas Tech University Health Science Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
at El Paso
• The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
TMDSAS – Secondary Applications
• DIFFERENT FROM AMCAS
• Links to secondary applications are available on the TMDSAS website
and should be completed at the same time you submit your TMDSAS
Application.
• The following schools require secondary applications:
•
•
•
•
•
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, College of Medicine
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock
University of North Texas – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Texas Tech University Health Science Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
at El Paso
TMDSAS
• MCAT Scores
• Due to changes in the score reporting layout sent by AAMC, all scores
released to TMDSAS prior to 5/1/2015 must be re-released. Any score
released prior to 5/1/2015 will not be uploaded to the entry year 2016
application.
• Letters of Evaluation
• Two individual letters of evaluation OR one Health Professions Committee
Letter/Packet (i.e. Composite letter)
A note about AACOMAS
• New system is being put in place and will open May 5, 2015
• Key changes
•
•
•
•
•
Mobile access to check application status and notifications
Easier coursework entry
An optional coursework entry service
Quicker application processing times
The ability to submit letters of recommendation through AACOMAS
• 2016 College Information Book will be released in late April.
• More information to come!
INSTRUCTION MANUALS
DOWNLOAD AND READ:
• AMCAS 2016 INSTRUCTION MANUAL
• TMDSAS INSTRUCTION MANUAL
• AACOMAS will be available in late April
**READ ENTIRE MANUAL AS IT WILL ANSWER MANY OF
THE QUESTIONS YOU WILL HAVE**
SERIOUSLY….READ THE MANUALS!!!!!
CAREER CENTER SUPPORT
• Individual Appointments: weekdays from 9 – 5, book two weeks in
advance!
• Walk-In Office Hours: check website www.career.emory.edu
• Personal Statement Review: must submit online through the Career
Center. Go to www.career.emory.edu and select “Document Critique
Service” – allow 5-8 business days for essay turnaround.
• Mock Interviews: year-round by appointment, we can do phone and
Skype mock interviews if needed
• School Selection: we will not choose schools for you; we will help you
evaluate your competitiveness for each school to make sure it is a
reasonable choice
• Letter of Recommendation Service
• Application Assistance Throughout the ENTIRE Cycle
CONTACT US
APPOINTMENTS BY CALLING 404-727-6211
SARAH.CLARK@EMORY.EDU
CHEMISTRY MAJORS, HUMAN HEALTH MAJORS & PRE-MED
NON-SCIENCE MAJORS
OFFICE HOURS: WEDNESDAYS: 2-4PM
SHAWN.A.MARTIN@EMORY.EDU
BIOLOGY/NBB/BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER MAJORS
OFFICE HOURS: THURSDAYS 2-4PM