On May 1, 2024, AMCAS will open for prospective medical students. Here’s everything you need to know.
Key Reminders:
Medical schools will receive your text responses as plain text (formatting such as bullets, bold, and italics will be removed).
While in AMCAS, save your work frequently as the application times out after thirty minutes and you will be logged out of the system.
Ensure that you have edited and reviewed your application thoroughly prior to submitting. Once submitted, your ability to make updates to your application is limited.
Add aamc.org as a “safe” domain for your email and/or check your spam box frequently to ensure that you receive any messages from AMCAS and medical schools.
Your application will only enter the verification queue once you have submitted your application and your official transcripts are received by AMCAS. Letters of Recommendation are not required for verification.
During peak periods, June to September, the verification process will take longer due to high volume. You should check your application status online to confirm that all of your application components have been received, your application is verified and processed, and medical schools have received your application. To confirm your AMCAS status, select “View Application Status History” on the Main Menu.
There are minimal updates to AMCAS for 2025:
Mandatory sections will now be marked with a red asterisk (not just mandatory fields).
There is an updated list of schools that participate in the PREview exam; schools not participating will not receive PREview scores.
“Self-Identification” has been added to the race and ethnicity categories and subcategories, and there is a new section for specifying Tribal affiliation.
What You Should Be Doing Now:
Develop your school list. You want a hearty list of "I could go here" schools and you’ll ultimately want to apply to between 25 and 35 allopathic schools.
Finalize your Personal Statement and Work and Activities sections. This is going to take a while. If you blast it all out in one week, you haven't done it right. Give yourself time for revisions.
Request your transcripts—and this includes those from schools abroad.
Start entering your responses. Next week, when you can access the AMCAS application, enter your app info and follow up with your recommenders and/or your pre-health advisor/committee to ensure your Letters of Recommendation are on their way. AMCAS begins sending these materials out to schools in June. So, why are you checking on this stuff in May? "Because AMCAS must verify your application prior to its transmission, the wait typically is shortest in May, when it is just a few days," according to U.S. News & World Report. "By the end of July, the delay may be several weeks long." A delay in verification can hold up your getting Secondary applications (some schools send them as soon as they have your app; others read the app first and send them later). It can also mess with your getting optimal interview dates.
Submit your primary application through AMCAS by mid-June.
Start working on your Secondary Essays. "But I don't have the questions for the Secondaries yet!" you might say. That's true. Still, certain themes always come up, and if you have some stuff thought-out or, better yet, drafted, you can quickly tailor your answers to various schools' questions once they send them to you.