Applying to Medical School
Since different schools have different applications and
application procedures, it is important that you get current
catalogs and application information during your junior year. Many
application deadlines will be in the fall of your senior year. You
should discuss the application and the application process with your
faculty advisor well ahead of deadlines.
The application process for most medical schools is handled by the
American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), a non profit,
centralized, processing service. The chief exceptions are Texas
state-supported schools, foreign medical schools, and a few private
schools, but check the AMCAS instruction booklet's list of
participating schools to make certain of the status of the schools
to which you are applying. You can obtain AMCAS application forms
and instructions from your Pre-Health Professions faculty advisor or
by writing:
American Medical College Application Service
Association of American Medical Colleges
Section of Student Services
1776 Massachusetts, Ave., N.W., Suite 301
Washington, DC 20036 - 1989
If you are applying to AMCAS-participating schools, you submit only
one set of application materials and official transcripts regardless
of the number of schools to which you are applying. Included in the
application materials is a form on which you list the schools you
wish to apply to. When the AMCAS transmits your application to a
medical school, you will receive an official notification of this
transmittal. The schools to which you apply will then contact you if
they require additional information. Some colleges charge a fee in
addition to that levied by the AMCAS; check Medical School Admission
Requirements.
Unless you are applying under the Early Decision Program (see
below), application deadline dates vary for AMCAS schools, very
often November 1 or December 1 of the year prior to admission.
Again, be sure to check Medical School Admission Requirements for
specific information. You should consider the deadlines ironclad.
You must have completed application materials and the correct
service fee on file with the AMCAS by the deadline, or you will not
be considered for admission. If you are late by a day you wait until
next year. There is a two week extension past the application
deadline for AMCAS to receive all official transcripts, but you
should not push your luck. Apply for your transcripts well in
advance of deadline dates; two months would not be unreasonable.
Read all the information included in the AMCAS application packet
carefully before you fill out the application forms. They are
nit-pickers and will reject your application if, for instance, your
signature on the form is in anything other than black ink or you
type any information outside the designated borders.
If you are applying to a school which does not participate in AMCAS,
write the school's admission office for an application. Usually, you
will receive a preliminary application. If the school is interested
in you, they will then request further information, letters of
recommendation, etc. Procedures vary, however, so you should consult
Medical School Admission Requirements or the school's catalogue for
more specific information.
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