The following are common terms in the online application and application instructions.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| AAMC ID | An eight-digit number the AAMC assigns when a person registers for any AAMC service. |
| Academic Change Request (ACR) |
An electronic request option available after AMCAS processing is complete; used to request a review of possible mistakes made during AMCAS processing. |
| academic status | A student’s achieved education level (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior). The education-level assignment is based on the number of credit hours completed. |
| Advanced Placement (AP) | Advanced-level courses or exams taken while in high school. |
| All Other (AO) GPA | The AMCAS grade-point average calculation for all courses except biology, chemistry, physics, and math. |
| audit (AU) | Courses taken for experimentation without getting a grade or review. Credit hours for audited courses do not count toward fulfillment of graduation requirements. |
| BCPM GPA | The AMCAS grade-point average calculation for courses classified as biology, chemistry, physics, and math. |
| CEGEP or Grade 13 | CEGEP, or collège d’enseignement général et professionnel, is two years of general or three years of technical education between high school and university. CEGEP is considered the first level of higher education in Canada; the second is university. CEGEP accepts students who have completed six years of elementary school and five years of secondary school. |
| Certification | Certification refers to your legal signature for an electronic application. Your certification, or electronic signature, indicates your agreement to the certification statements. |
| clock hours | Credits given for attending approved, in-service programs. Sixty minutes of continuous in-service is equivalent to one clock hour. |
| College Level Examination Program (CLEP) | A program that administers a nationally standardized examination for examinees to receive college credit for competency obtained through life experiences. |
| continuing education units (CEUs) | A way to document noncredit work in activities specifically developed for adult learners in a variety of disciplines. One CEU is provided for every 10 hours engaged in a learning activity under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction. |
| course classification | Course classification is based solely on the primary content of the course content rather than on the course title or department through which it is offered. Consult your preprofessional health advisor or registrar to resolve any questions concerning classification. |
| credit hours | Hours received for courses taken at a college or university that appear on an official transcript. Some institutions may refer to credit hours as units. |
| Current or Future Courses (CCs) |
All courses you are attempting at the time you submit the AMCAS application, and those you plan to take before entering medical school. |
| Deferred Grade (DG) | Grades for certain courses are postponed because the courses last more than one term due to either the volume of course content or the amount of required student work. Research projects, theses, and dissertations are examples of courses that might have a multiterm structure. |
| Deferred or Delayed Matriculant |
The program type you select if you submitted a previous year’s application and were accepted to a medical school for a specific year but have decided (and the medical school has approved your decision) to delay entrance until the following year. |
| exempt (EX) | An individual department may use any of the following criteria to determine a course exemption: • Previous courses completed by the student at another institution. • Employment experience. • The student’s score on an approved examination. If granted, course exemption allows the student to enroll in a higher-level course within the sequence and without having to take the lower-level course. |
| grade-point average (GPA) | A measure of a student’s academic achievement at a college or university, which is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted. |
| Honors (H) | Specialized college-level courses. |
| ID numbers | Any identification numbers that are helpful in matching your documents to your application, including: • School-assigned ID numbers. • MCAT or AMCAS IDs (only before 2002). • Other IDs that may appear on your documents. For purposes of this definition, ID numbers do not include Social Security number (SSN) or Social Insurance Number (SIN). |
| International Baccalaureate |
Credit granted by a college for courses taken at a high school level under the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Such credit is treated under the same policies as AP credit. This is not to be confused with French Baccalaureate. |
| incomplete (I) |
An incomplete designation or “I” is assigned temporarily when the student is unable to fulfill all the normal course requirements. Note that many schools assign IF or F if coursework is not completed within an appropriate time limit as determined by the instructor. |
| Joint Services Transcript (JST) | An academically accepted document approved by the American Council on Education (ACE) to validate a service member’s military occupational experience and training along with the corresponding ACE college credit recommendations. The Joint Services Transcript, which has replaced the Coast Guard Institute Transcript, the Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System (AARTS), and the Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART). |
| letters of evaluation | Letters provided by a counselor, prehealth advisor, premed committee, or other professional. Evaluation letters must be sent to the AMCAS program if you are applying to a medical school that participates in the AMCAS Letters Service. |
| narrative evaluation | A written evaluation provided by institutions based on a special grading system for which letter grades are usually unavailable. The evaluation, which describes the student’s performance, is provided for each class the student completes. |
| no record (NR) | Used when a grade is unavailable at the time of transcript issuance because of an administrative error or lateness. |
| official transcript | An official document that contains all essential academic data such as dates of attendance, courses taken, grades and credits awarded, and degrees received. It may also contain information related to the student’s current status at the institution. |
| pass-fail (PF) | A grading system in which no more than two possible passing grades are attainable. |
| post-submission changes |
The limited changes to the AMCAS application that are permitted after initial submission. |
| repeat (R) | Any course that a student has failed or for which the student’s initial grade was below departmental standards. |
| transcript grade | Grades, symbols, and notations that appear on an official transcript issued by a college or institution at which a course has been completed. |
| Transcript ID | The AMCAS Transcript ID is used when requesting an electronic transcript from an approved sender. |
| withdraw | A course for which a student registered and subsequently chose not to complete. |
Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| AACOMAS | American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service |
| AAMC | Association of American Medical Colleges |
| AAMC ID | Association of American Medical Colleges ID number |
| AARTS | Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System |
| AIS | Advisor Information System |
| AMCAS | American Medical College Application Service |
| AMCAS Request ID Number |
A 16-character (including two hyphens) identification number that is assigned to each letter entry on your AMCAS application |
| AO | All other |
| AP | Advanced Placement |
| BCPM | Biology, chemistry, physics, math |
| CEGEP | Canadian collège d’enseignement général et professionnel |
| CLEP | College Level Examination Program |
| EDP | Early Decision Program |
| ERAS® | Electronic Residency Application Service® |
| GMAT | Graduate Management Admission Test |
| GPA | Grade-point average |
| GRE | Graduate Record Examination |
| JST | Joint Services Transcript |
| LOE | Letters of evaluation |
| LRF | Letter Request Form |
| LSAT | Law School Admission Test |
| MCAT | Medical College Admission Test |
| MED LOANS | Medical school loans |
| Med-MAR | Medical Minority Application Registry |
| MSAR | Medical School Admission Requirements |
| NAAHP | National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions |
| NRMP® | National Resident Matching Program® |
| OMSAS | Ontario Medical School Application Service |
| OT | Official transcript |
| SHPEP | Summer Health Professions Education Program |
| SMART | Sailor-Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript |
| SSL | Secure Socket Layer |
| THX | Testing History system |
| TMDSAS | Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Services |
| TRF | Transcript Request Form |