ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL AMCAS APPLICATION? AMCAS IS A UNIFIED SYSTEM,
SO YOU DON’T NEED TO SEND AN APPLICATION TO EACH SCHOOL SEPARATELY. AMCAS TAKES CARE
OF ALL YOUR APPLICATIONS AND SENDS THEM TO THE SCHOOLS YOU INDICATE IN YOUR APPLICATION…
AND IN THIS VIDEO I’LL GIVE YOU OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AMCAS AND GIVE YOU TIPS ON HOW TO
MAKE EACH SECTION STAND OUT...
[INTRO] HI! I’M NATALIE STOBERMAN AND I’M AN ADMISSIONS
ASSOCIATE HERE AT BEMO. BEFORE WE GET STARTED, SUBSCRIBE ON WHATEVER SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL
YOU’RE WATCHING THIS ON SO YOU DON’T MISS ANY OF OUR UPCOMING VIDEOS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE
US TO HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL, VISIT BEMOMEDSCHOOL.COM TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL
CONSULTATION. F-Y-I... CHECK OUT THE TIME STAMPS IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIDEO TO
NAVIGATE TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THIS VIDEO THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. HERE’S WHAT
WE ARE GOING TO COVER: AMCAS APPLICATION OUTLINE
5 TIPS TO ACE YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION
AND WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS,
SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!… AND WE HAVE THE MOST EFFECTIVE TIPS TO MAKE YOU
APPLICATION STAND OUT… I’LL TALK ABOUT THAT MORE TOWARDS THE END OF THE VIDEO SO
MAKE SURE TO WATCH UNTIL THE END… LET’S GET STARTED!
AMCAS APPLICATION OUTLINE THE AMCAS APPLICATION IS STRICTLY USED FOR
GETTING INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL… AND A GOOD MAJORITY OF U.S. MEDICAL SCHOOLS UTILIZE AMCAS…
BUT IT’S NOT THE ONLY APPLICATION SYSTEM IN THE U.S… IF YOU’RE APPLYING TO MED
SCHOOL IN TEXAS YOU’LL BE USING THE TMDSAS SYSTEM… AND IF YOU’RE WORKING TOWARDS
YOUR D-O DEGREE, THEN THE AACOMAS WILL BE THE APPLICATION SYSTEM YOU’LL BE USING…
BUT LET’S GO BACK TO AMCAS… YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION PROCESSING
FEE WILL COST $170 U.S. FOR YOUR FIRST SCHOOL, AND $42 U.S. FOR ANY ADDITIONAL SCHOOL...BEFORE
YOU GET STARTED WITH YOUR APPLICATION, IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
EACH SECTION IS REALLY ASKING OF YOU SO THAT YOU CAN DEVELOP A CONCISE AND EFFECTIVE APPLICATION…
THE GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE AMCAS APPLICATION IS AS FOLLOWS:
>>SECTIONS 1-3: YOUR BACKGROUND INFORMATION... IN THESE SECTIONS, YOU WILL FILL OUT YOUR
NAME, BIRTHDAY, SCHOOLS ATTENDED, CITIZENSHIP, ETHNICITY, RACE, AND MORE.
>>SECTION 4: COURSEWORK AND GPA CALCULATOR... IN THIS SECTION, YOU PROVIDE YOUR TRANSCRIPTS
AND OTHER INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND... THIS INCLUDES COURSES, GRADES,
CREDITS, FOREIGN COURSEWORK, STUDY ABROAD, AND ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT
YOUR EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. AMCAS WILL CONVERT ALL TRANSCRIPT GRADES TO AMCAS GRADES BASED
ON CONVERSION INFORMATION PROVIDED BY YOUR SCHOOL… THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO
KNOW IF YOU’RE COMING FROM A CANADIAN SCHOOL AS MOST SCHOOLS DON’T USE A 4.0 GPA SYSTEM...
THIS GPA CONVERSION ALLOWS FOR A STANDARD WAY TO COMPARE EACH APPLICANT’S BACKGROUND.
BCPM GPA WILL COMBINE YOUR BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, AND MATHEMATICS GRADES. THE REST
OF YOUR COURSEWORK WILL BE CALCULATED AS “ALL OTHER” GPA. ONE FINAL NOTE, CLASSES TAKEN
IN CANADIAN SCHOOLS ARE NOT CONSIDERED FOREIGN.
>>SECTION 5: WORK AND ACTIVITIES... A MAXIMUM OF 15 EXPERIENCES MAY BE SUBMITTED, BUT YOU
CAN ENTER UP TO FOUR OCCURRENCES FOR EACH EXPERIENCE... REMEMBER, QUALITY TRUMPS QUANTITY!
THESE ACTIVITIES WILL APPEAR IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER TO ADMISSIONS COMMITTEES AND YOU CANNOT
REARRANGE THEM...
YOU CAN IDENTIFY UP TO THREE EXPERIENCES THAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST MEANINGFUL. AND
IF YOU HAVE TWO OR MORE EXPERIENCES, YOU MUST IDENTIFY AT LEAST ONE OF THEM AS THE MOST
MEANINGFUL… SOME OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES TO GET FOR THIS AMCAS SECTION IS CLINICAL
EXPERIENCE AND PHYSICIAN SHADOWING…
U.S. MEDICAL SCHOOLS DO REQUIRE THEIR APPLICANTS TO DEMONSTRATE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE IN THEIR
APPLICATION COMPONENTS. HAVING CLINICAL EXPOSURE INDICATES YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE MEDICAL
PROFESSION IS ABOUT... START GAINING CLINICAL EXPERIENCE AS EARLY AS YOU CAN. APPLY TO VOLUNTEER
IN HOSPITALS AND CLINICS, AS WELL AS LONG-TERM CARE AND RETIREMENT HOMES. OTHER WAYS TO GAIN
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE INCLUDE VOLUNTEERING IN HOSPICES, WORKING AS A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL’S
ASSISTANT, BECOMING A CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT, OR BEING A PERSONAL CARETAKER... AS A FUTURE
PHYSICIAN, YOU MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE IN PATIENT INTERACTION. EXPOSURE TO PATIENTS AND THEIR
NEEDS WILL CULTIVATE YOUR EMPATHY AND COMPASSION… WHICH ARE QUALITIES HIGHLY REGARDED BY THE
ADCOMS.
>>SECTION 6: LETTERS OF EVALUATION... IN THIS SECTION, YOU WILL INDICATE WHO IS WRITING
YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, WHAT TYPES OF LETTERS WILL BE SENT TO AMCAS, AND WHICH SCHOOL SHOULD
RECEIVE EACH LETTER... YOUR LETTERS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO AMCAS BY YOUR REFEREES. YOU WILL
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVING EACH WRITER A LETTER REQUEST FORM THAT INCLUDES YOUR MAILING ADDRESS,
AAMC ID, THE LETTER ID, AND DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO SUBMIT THE LETTER TO AMCAS... THE
LETTER ID MUST BE INCLUDED IN EACH LETTER, AS IT WILL ALLOW AMCAS TO MATCH THE LETTER
TO THE PROPER NAME CORRECTLY...
>>SECTION 7: MEDICAL SCHOOLS... YOU WILL ENTER THE NAMES OF ALL THE MEDICAL PROGRAMS TO WHICH
YOU’RE APPLYING… LIKE YOUR MD, OR COMBINED PROGRAMS LIKE MD-PHD PROGRAMS OR MD AND GRADUATE
DEGREES...
>>SECTION 8: ESSAYS... YOU WILL UPLOAD YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT HERE. YOU ARE LIMITED TO
5300 CHARACTERS, INCLUDING SPACES. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED IF YOU EXCEED THE AVAILABLE SPACE.
WHEN WRITING YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT, REMEMBER AAMC’S CORE COMPETENCIES, WHICH OUTLINE
THE QUALITIES AND EXPERIENCES THAT SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS MUST DEMONSTRATE.
YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT SHOULD BE STRUCTURED AROUND 2 OR 3 EXPERIENCES; AND ONE OF THE
BEST TIPS WE CAN GIVE YOU IS TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF EXPERIENCES YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR
PERSONAL STATEMENT ALLOWS FOR SPACE TO TALK ABOUT EACH EXPERIENCE IN DEPTH... YOUR STATEMENT
SHOULD BE STRUCTURED LIKE AN ACADEMIC ESSAY THAT INCLUDES AN INTRODUCTION, BODY, AND CONCLUSION.
THE INTRODUCTION OF YOUR ESSAY MUST BE STRONG TO CAPTIVATE THE READERS AND KEEP THEM INTERESTED
IN YOUR STORY. IT MIGHT BE EASIER TO WRITE YOUR INTRODUCTION LAST AFTER YOU WRITE THE
BODY AND CONCLUSION OF YOUR STATEMENT. THIS WAY YOU WILL ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOUR ESSAY
TALKS ABOUT AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FORMULATE AN INTRODUCTION THAT INDICATES WHAT THE READER
SHOULD EXPECT FROM YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT.
YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT GIVES ADCOMS AN IDEA OF YOUR PERSONALITY, VALUES, AND HISTORY.
NOT ONLY DOES IT TELL YOUR STORY, BUT IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES YOUR SELF-AWARENESS AND ABILITY
TO SELF-EVALUATE, SHOWS THE QUALITY OF YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AND ABILITY TO IDENTIFY
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT POINTS OF YOUR EXPERIENCES. WRITING CLEARLY AND CONCISELY IS A SKILL GREATLY
VALUED BY ADMISSIONS COMMITTEES. BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR STATEMENT, MAKE SURE TO READ MEDICAL
SCHOOL PERSONAL STATEMENT EXAMPLES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ADCOMS ARE LOOKING FOR IN THEIR APPLICANTS.
>>SECTION 9: STANDARDIZED TESTS... YOUR MCAT SCORES WILL BE RELEASED HERE. IF YOU ARE APPLYING
TO SPECIAL PROGRAMS LIKE MD/PHD OR THE MBA/MD, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO PROVIDE YOUR GMAT, LSAT,
MAT, OR GRE SCORES... YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT THE SCHOOLS CAN SEE ALL THE TIMES YOU SAT
THE MCAT, SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE SCORE IN AS FEW TEST ATTEMPTS AS
POSSIBLE. IF YOU PLAN TO TAKE THE MCAT EXAM MORE THAN ONCE, TRY TO FIND OUT IF YOUR CHOSEN
PROGRAM WILL USE YOUR HIGHEST SCORE OR WHETHER THEY WILL CALCULATE YOUR MCAT AVERAGE... THEIR
CHOICE MAY AFFECT YOUR PREPARATION AND STUDY PLANS. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL HELP YOU PREPARE
FOR YOUR MCAT AND THE AMCAS APPLICATION PROCESS...
5 TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING ACCEPTED
YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO PREPARED WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING FOR YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION…
YOU KNOW WHAT EACH SECTION NEEDS, NOW IT’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO ON YOUR
OWN TO MAKE YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION STAND OUT...
>>1. PREPARE AHEAD AND APPLY AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD KNOW IS THAT THE
MAJORITY OF AMERICAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS HAVE ROLLING ADMISSIONS. THIS MEANS THAT THEY REVIEW
APPLICATIONS AS THEY COME IN AND SEND OUT MEDICAL SCHOOL SECONDARY ESSAYS APPLICATIONS,
OFFER INTERVIEWS AND ADMISSIONS AS SOON AS THEY SEE WORTHY APPLICATIONS AND CANDIDATES.
THE LONGER YOU WAIT TO APPLY, THE LESS LIKELY YOU ARE TO BE ACCEPTED...
ADDITIONALLY, ADCOMMS WILL BE ABLE TO TELL IF YOU PUT LITTLE TIME INTO PREPARING YOUR
AMCAS APPLICATION. RUSHED APPLICATIONS WILL BE EVIDENT BASED ON THE QUALITY OF REFLECTION
AND WRITING ON THE PART OF THE STUDENT. TO HAVE THE GREATEST CHANCE OF ACCEPTANCE YOU
SHOULD PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION EARLY AND APPLY TO MEDICAL SCHOOLS OF YOUR CHOICE AS
SOON AS YOU CAN... IT WOULD BE WISE TO AIM TO APPLY AS EARLY AS MAY WHEN THE APPLICATION
PROCESS OPENS. THIS MEANS A LOT OF PLANNING ON YOUR PART. FIRST OF ALL, YOU WILL NEED
TO PREPARE ALL OF YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION COMPONENTS, INCLUDING YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT, EXTRACURRICULARS,
TRANSCRIPTS, AND RECOMMENDATION LETTERS. YOU DO NOT NEED YOUR MCAT SCORES OR LETTERS OF
REFERENCE TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION, BUT BY THE TIME YOU APPLY, YOU SHOULD AT LEAST
BE PLANNING TO WRITE THE MCAT AND TO HAVE POTENTIAL RECOMMENDERS IN MIND.
>>2. RESEARCH THE SCHOOLS TO WHICH YOU ARE APPLYING
DO NOT APPLY TO MEDICAL SCHOOLS BLINDLY. BE SELECTIVE IN CHOOSING WHICH SCHOOLS YOU WANT
TO ATTEND. MAKE SURE THAT YOU MEET ALL THE MEDICAL SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE LISTED
BY THE SCHOOL. MEDICAL SCHOOL REJECTION IS OFTEN THE RESULT OF NOT TAKING THE TIME TO
FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF APPLICANTS DIFFERENT MEDICAL SCHOOLS LIKE TO ADMIT INTO THEIR PROGRAMS...
TO BE A COMPETITIVE APPLICANT, YOU WILL NEED TO MEET SOME OF THE CRITERIA SET NOT ONLY
BY THE SCHOOL BUT BY ITS FORMER MATRICULANTS...
PREMED EXPERIENCES ALSO PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THE SELECTION PROCESS, SO RESEARCH THE SCHOOLS
TO WHICH YOU’RE APPLYING AND NOTE WHAT KIND OF SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES THEIR MATRICULANTS
POSS ESS. FOR EXAMPLE, A MEDICAL PROGRAM YOU CHOOSE MAY BE VERY RESEARCH-ORIENTED AND EXPECT
ITS STUDENTS TO HAVE QUALITY RESEARCH EXPERIENCES… SO IF YOU HAVE LITTLE TO NO RESEARCH EXPERIENCE,
YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING ADMITTED TO THAT SCHOOL DECREASE SIGNIFICANTLY.
>>3. EMPHASIZE THE RIGHT EXTRACURRICULARS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF ACCEPTANCE, YOU
MUST CHOOSE THE RIGHT EXTRACURRICULARS FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL TO INCLUDE IN YOUR AMCAS WORK
AND ACTIVITIES SECTION. THIS CONTINUES THE RESEARCH ASPECT THAT I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED...
SOME STUDENTS DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCES THEY INCLUDE IN THEIR
AMCAS WORK AND ACTIVITIES SECTION… INSTEAD, THEY SIMPLY LIST THEIR EXPERIENCES WITHOUT
CONSIDERING WHAT THEIR CHOSEN SCHOOLS VALUE IN THEIR APPLICANTS. FOR YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION
YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO STRATEGICALLY CHOOSE WHAT EMPLOYMENT, VOLUNTEERING, AND OTHER EXTRACURRICULARS
YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR APPLICATION.
>>4. ENSURE HIGH QUALITY OF YOUR APPLICATION COMPONENTS
EACH COMPONENT OF YOUR APPLICATION MUST BE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES
OF GETTING ACCEPTED. THE ADCOMS GET THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND LEVELS
OF RESPONSIBILITY BY SIMPLY READING YOUR APPLICATION... THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TELL YOUR LEVELS OF COMMITMENT,
YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL, YOUR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE CONCISELY AND CLEARLY… ON TOP
OF YOUR ABILITY TO PRESENT A HOLISTIC, INFORMED IMAGE OF YOUR CANDIDACY FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL.
THIS IS WHY PREPARING YOUR APPLICATION EARLY IS IMPORTANT. TAKE YOUR TIME TO BRAINSTORM
AND CAREFULLY COMPOSE EACH SECTION OF YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION. IT IS CRUCIAL
TO ELIMINATE ANY GRAMMATICAL AND PUNCTUAL MISTAKES. RESEARCH THE SCHOOLS TO WHICH YOU'RE
APPLYING TO GET IDEAS AND INSPIRATIONS FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL STATEMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND
ACTIVITIES SECTION, AND EVEN FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATION LETTERS...
>>5. FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS JUST THIS VERY SIMPLE RULE OF FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS
CAN HELP YOU INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF ACCEPTANCE. STUDIES SHOW THAT THE STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE
MEDICAL SCHOOL REJECTION TEND TO FORGO THE DETAILS OF APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS. IT IS
ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO FOLLOW SECTIONS’ INSTRUCTIONS VERY CAREFULLY A ND DO EXACTLY WHAT IS INDICATED
IN THE GUIDELINES. NOT ONLY DOES THIS SHOW YOUR MATURITY AND DETERMINATION, BUT IT ALSO
DEMONSTRATES YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND COMPREHENSION SKILLS.
THAT’S OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ACING YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION... CHECK OUT OUR BLOG TO
READ MORE ABOUT THE AMCAS APPLICATION PROCESS... I HAVE INCLUDED THE LINK IN THE DESCRIPTION
OF THIS VIDEO FOR EASY ACCESS... IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR AMCAS APPLICATION,
VISIT BEMOMEDSCHOOL.COM TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION... HOPEFULLY YOU ENJOYED
THIS VIDEO SO PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE AND LEAVE A COMMENT. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT
AMCAS THAT I DIDN’T COVER, LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND I WILL GET BACK TO
YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE... DON’T FORGET THAT WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS
EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS… SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN. THANKS
FOR WATCHING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.