You will have to submit your transcripts to AMCAS® so that they can verify your grades, so determine how your undergraduate institution submits transcripts to graduate schools. Note that you will have to submit transcripts from ALL institutions you have attended (community college, one college summer class that you took in high school, etc.)

Make sure to indicate if the grades were under semester or quarter system:

• If you are on the semester system, you more likely will have your final grades from spring semester back before submitting your application. In this case, submit your application with the grades from spring semester and make sure to send the most updated official transcript to AMCAS.

• If you are on the quarter system, you may want to submit your application early, which is likely before you receive your spring quarter grades. This is completely fine! You can submit your transcripts and application without these grades, but you will have to send your final transcripts to the medical school you choose to attend at the end of the application cycle. Additionally, if you would like to include your spring quarter grades because they will boost your GPA, you will have to wait until you receive your official transcript to submit your application, so keep that in mind!

TIP: When filling out your academic record, have a copy of your official transcript on hand. Most schools provide quick access to an unofficial transcript, but sending yourself a copy of your official transcript (if it is free) could be helpful, as this is the transcript that AMCAS will be referencing when verifying your application.

In AMCAS, you will also have to classify each of your classes as science or AO (all other). Here is a guide from AMCAS on how to classify each of your classes:

https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/course-classification-guide/

• You can enter up to 15 experiences (you do not need to use all 15)

  • You have 700 characters (including spaces) to include a brief description of what you did, what you learned, and it helped you in your path to becoming a physician.

  • For each experience, you have to list the following:

    • • Experience Name

      • Experience Type, which can be classified as one of the following:

· Artistic Endeavors

· Community Service/Volunteer – Medical/Clinical

· Community Service/Volunteer – Not Medical/Clinical

· Paid Employment – Medical/Clinical

· Paid Employment – Not Medical/Clinical

· Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation

· Research/Lab

· Presentations/Posters

· Publications

· Conferences Attended

· Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant

· Extracurricular Activities

· Hobbies

· Honors/Awards/Recognitions

· Intercollegiate Athletics

· Leadership – Not Listed Elsewhere

· Military Service

· Other

• • • • Contact Name & Title

      • Contact Email

      • Contact Phone

      • Location of Experience

      • Organization Name

      • Dates of Experience

      • Total Hours

  • You can designate up to 3 experiences as "Most Meaningful"

    • For each Most Meaningful experience, you get an extra 1325 characters (including spaces) to describe how it influenced your path to medicine

• You do not need these ready at the time of submitting your primary application. However, most schools require them to be received in order for your application to be considered "complete" at their school (after you have submitted a secondary application to that school).

• Ask your professors for letters of recommendation early. We recommend asking them initially 1.5 to 2 months before you plan to submit the application, but later is fine too.

  • • If they agree, compile a Recommender Packet. This can include file with:

· Cover Letter giving an overview of your application

· Resume/Curriculum Vitae

· Personal Statement Draft

· This document with guidelines for letter-writers from AMCAS®: https://www.aamc.org/system/files?file=2019-09/lettersguidelinesbrochure.pdf

· A list of instructions for submitting to Interfolio

• Each school has different letters of recommendation requirements, so research all of these ahead of time. Plan which schools will receive which letters, depending on the type of letter.

  • • We recommend trying to collect 2 science (BCPM) professor letters, 1 non-science professor letter, and, if you are able to, at least 1 extracurricular letter (such as research PI). Most schools do not specifically require letters from science vs. non-science professors, but one or two of your schools might. Here is a sample of letters of recommendation received by an applicant:

· 1 professor that the student took 2 upper division biology courses with

· 1 professor that the student took 1 upper division biology course with

· 1 upper division Writing course professor

· The student's research PI

· An MD doctor the student scribed with (if you are applying DO, it may help to have a DO physician write you a letter of recommendation)

• Use Interfolio or a different letter distribution service to submit your letters of recommendation:

  • • It is free to store confidential letters in Interfolio, but it costs $48/year to send letters from Interfolio. This is definitely worth the money.

    • For each letter, you would create a new entry in Interfolio, and through their Interfolio portal, the professor will be able to upload the letter under the entry you designated for them.

· Interfolio will then verify that the professor included a signature and valid letterhead. Make sure you ask your letter-writers ahead of time to include both of these when submitting their letter.

• In Interfolio, you should waive your right to see the letter. This lets schools know that you trust what your professors have to say about you.

• Create an entry for the letter in your AMCAS® Application. This will generate a Letter ID that you will input into Interfolio, and this will match the letter in Interfolio to the entry you created in AMCAS®. Because this is all done electronically, the letter will be sent from Interfolio to AMCAS® on the same day you request it to be sent.