We’re going to answer some of the most frequently asked AMCAS questions here. Let’s dive in!
Who should I ask to write recommendation letters?
You should go a step beyond a school's expectations when you request recommendations. We suggest you aim for:
At least two science professors
At least one non-science professor
Medical professionals. Note: You don't have to stick to M.D.s; osteopathic physicians, nurse practitioners, EMTs, medical students—anyone who supervised you is gold.
Supervisors at your job, volunteer posts, and extracurricular activities.
Review our blog for more on this topic.
How do I select my Work & Activities “Most Meaningful Experiences” entries?
Ah, the "Most Meaningful," your chance to share more about what you most value and have learned from—in seemingly random character limits of 700 and 1,325 with spaces.
We like for two of the three Most Meaningful entries to be about clinical or research experiences. If you took a gap year to work, you might make the third entry about that job. More and more applicants are working full-time after college. Even if your full-time work experience is outside the medical field, you're learning in a competitive, stressful environment. This is attractive to schools.
Our advice for drafting your Most Meaningful entries: In the initial 700, share your role and duties, what you valued about the role, and start to say what you gained from it through a singular example. In the 1,325, deepen the anecdote that exemplifies what you brought to and took from the experience.
Review our blog for more on writing your W&A section.
Should I answer the “Other Impactful Experiences” question?
This question text states that not all candidates are expected to respond. Rather, it is for those who have had “major challenges or obstacles.” We urge you to consider any significant challenges that you have faced, using the following questions:
Did this experience impact my life in a way that provides meaningful context to my application? Examples of such adversity include: Facing a significant health challenge such as cancer or a disability; serving as the guardian to your younger siblings, while also attending classes (likely, negatively impacting your resume); living in an underserved medical community that made it difficult to gain shadowing or clinical experiences, but also inspired your interest in rural medicine.
What did I learn from the experience? Your essay response should detail the adversity, but should focus on what you learned from going through the experience. Did this experience provide you with an “ah-ha!” moment that changed your perspective and impacted your life? If the take-aways from the adversity do not feel relevant to your application (i.e., your learnings do not clearly make you a stronger candidate for a medical school), you should reconsider the take-aways or including the experience.
Have I already spoken to this experience in my personal statement? You will want to avoid redundancy by sharing different stories and anecdotes in this essay and your personal statement. If you fully explored the experience in your personal statement, do not feel compelled to re-write about the experience here. Not all applicants are expected to have responses to this question.
Review our blog on this question for additional context.
When do I need to submit the AMCAS application?
We recommend that you submit your application no later than early to mid-June because your application will go through a verification process prior to the data being released to medical schools. This can take anywhere from a couple of weeks early in the process, to over a month during peak application submission periods. Note, in order to complete verification, your application must contain your official transcript, so request this document as well as your letters of recommendation a month or two before your planned submission date.
You also want to submit your AMCAS application early because this step triggers schools to send out secondary application materials, either automatically, or after a pre-screen of your application.
Review our blog with suggested application timing.