A Brief Overview of the Process

Applying to Medical School is a multi-year process. It starts as a freshman in college, where you must choose the correct courses in order to fulfill the requirements for US medical schools. It also includes picking or creating extracurricular activities you are interested in. It then continues with the MCAT, a day-long test covering Physics, Verbal Reasoning, Biology/Chemistry, and Writing. Finally, it's the application process itself, which takes about a year of dedicated work. Most U.S. medical schools use a common application process that is administered by AMCAS, a division of the American Association of Medical Schools. Applicants planning to apply for a place in the 2008 entering class will need to fill out and submit their AMCAS application online. As of May 1, the online application will be available at the AAMC website (www.amcas.org). The AMCAS fee is $160.00 for the first school and $30.00 for each additional school.

What does the AMCAS Do?

'The AMCAS application provides medical schools with enough information to make an initial screening; it includes a modified undergraduate transcript, science and overall GPAs, MCAT scores, information about extracurricular activities, and of course the personal statement. For 2008 admission, you may submit your completed application, with the appropriate fee, no earlier than June 1. The final deadline depends on which schools you apply to, but can be as early as the beginning of October or as late as mid-January. Regardless of these deadlines, however, admissions officers recommend you submit your application as early as possible. We also cannot stress enough how important it is to submit your application as soon as humanly possible. Early decision applicants must have all materials to AMCAS by August 1.

On the basis of the screening the first application, the Committee will either reject you or send you a supplementary application. When you receive a supplementary application, complete and return it immediately! Don't be late! Like AMCAS, most schools will return any application that arrives after the deadline. After the admissions committee reviews your supplementary application, they will do one of three things: reject you, invite you to the campus for an interview, or hold your application until the first round of interviews is complete. Final decisions are usually made after the interview. Again, there are three possible outcomes: you can be rejected, accepted, or put on a wait list.' -Adapted from www.princetonreview.com

themedschoolcoach@gmail.com | (312) 772-4153