Application Submitted

• Online application completed and submitted to the AMCAS program.
• Fees paid (or Fee Assistance Program award used).

Application Processed

• All required official transcripts have arrived at the AMCAS program.
• Coursework has been verified.
• GPAs calculated by the AMCAS program.

Application Delivered

• Verified application sent to designated medical schools.
• Letters of evaluation sent as they are received by the AMCAS program.
• MCAT® and PREview® scores automatically sent as they become available.
   

Online | aamc.org/amcas

Answers to most questions are available on our website: aamc.org/amcas. You will find helpful tools such as FAQs, guides, and video tutorials there, too.

Social Media | X, formerly known as Twitter and YouTube

Follow the AMCAS program on X and YouTube at @AMCASinfo. We post updates and announcements on X and provide video tutorials on YouTube to help you fill out your application.

Phone | 202-828-0600

AAMC Support Center representatives are available Monday through Friday from
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. Please have your AAMC ID number available when you call.

Submit an Inquiry | Complete the Form

To ensure a quick response, please include all the required information.

The 2025 AMCAS application has a few new features:

• Additions to the race and ethnicity categories and subcategories for “Self-Identification.”
• A new section dedicated to specifying Tribal affiliation.
• An updated list indicating which schools participate in the PREview^® professional readiness exam; schools not participating will not receive PREview scores.
• Mandatory sections will now be marked with a red asterisk (not just mandatory fields).

Each medical school determines its AMCAS application deadline and the date by which the AMCAS program must receive official transcripts. Be sure to have all your official transcripts sent to the program in a timely manner to avoid processing delays and missed deadlines.

Your AMCAS application may be submitted before or after the AMCAS program receives your official transcripts and letters of evaluation.

Keep in mind:

• Once you submit your application, your ability to make changes to it is very limited.
• Once your application is submitted and all your official transcripts are received, your application will enter the verification queue.
• Your verified application will include your AMCAS GPAs, which you will be able to find on your printable application.
• Letters of evaluation that the AMCAS program receives on your behalf will be sent to your designated medical schools as they are received.
• You may submit your application before your letters of evaluation arrive at the AMCAS program. Letters are not required for the program to verify your application.

To meet a school’s AMCAS deadline, your application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on the deadline date. Official transcripts for regular applicants must be received within 14 calendar days of the application deadline or the next business day if the transcript deadline falls on a weekend or holiday. (Regular applicants are applicants applying to MD programs, not to MD-PhD programs or to the Early Decision Program.)

The Early Decision Program deadline for the application and all official transcripts is Aug. 1 or the next business day if Aug. 1 falls on a weekend or holiday.

Application materials received during peak periods (June through September) may take longer to process because of high volume. You may miss deadlines and forfeit fees if your application is returned because of errors. If the AMCAS program returns your application, the date you officially recertify and resubmit your application will be used to determine if you have met the application deadlines for your designated medical schools. To avoid delays, it is important that you read all instructions thoroughly and submit all materials in a timely manner.

During peak season, AMCAS verification may take six to eight weeks. Once you have submitted your application and the AMCAS program has received all your required transcripts, your application will be listed as Ready for Review. At this stage, your application is in the verification queue. When your application status is Under Review, the AMCAS program determines if there are any missing or incorrect items that may prevent verification processing. If omissions or errors can’t be resolved, the program will return your application.

The most common reasons for a returned application are:

• Failure to include original grades and credit hours for repeated courses.
• Failure to list 10 or more courses that appear on an official transcript.
• Failure to list 10 or more credits as they appear on an official transcript.
• Failure to list 10 or more grades as they appear on an official transcript.
• Failure to list coursework in chronological order.

You can only correct or change an AMCAS application that is returned to you. Be sure to review your application carefully before submitting it to the AMCAS program. You will not be able to change anything unless the program returns the application to you and specifically requests corrected information.

The standard application process involves the following steps once you submit your application:

• The AMCAS program emails you the acknowledgment that your application was received. You
  may also verify receipt through your application’s Main Menu. The acknowledgment indicates only that your AMCAS application has been received; it does not indicate that your materials are complete or that you have met the deadline requirements.
• The AMCAS program determines whether all official transcripts have been received. If they have not, your application is held until they have. The program will email you every 10 business days until the transcripts arrive or until all deadlines have passed. You may check the status of your transcripts by checking your application’s Main Menu.
• If any transcripts are missing or incomplete during verification, the AMCAS program stops verifying your materials and emails you. Omission of any necessary materials causes processing delays and could lead to missed deadlines.
• When your application and all transcripts are on file, the program verifies your entered coursework against your official transcripts.

The AMCAS GPAs are standardized GPAs that medical schools can use to fairly compare the academic records of applicants who have attended undergraduate and graduate institutions that use different academic calendars and grading systems. Your AMCAS GPAs are calculated during verification and will be listed on your printable application once AMCAS processing is complete. You will also be able to view your Cumulative Undergraduate GPA and your Graduate GPA.

AMCAS GPAs almost always differ from those calculated by the school(s) you have attended. The AMCAS program does not attempt to compare AMCAS GPAs with those that appear on your official transcripts.

The formulas the AMCAS program uses to calculate AMCAS GPAs are available in the Grade Conversion Guide.

If you are reapplying to medical school, you are only considered a reapplicant to schools that received your verified AMCAS application from a previous application year. Keep in mind:

• You will need to resubmit official transcripts and letters of evaluation to the AMCAS program.
• You will indicate your reapplicant status for each school you’re reapplying to in the Medical Schools section of your application.
• If you submitted a 2024 AMCAS application and did not withdraw it, most of the information you entered will roll over to the current application.
  • Although most of your information rolls over from your submitted 2024 AMCAS application, the Main Menu will show all sections of your new application as “Incomplete.” You are responsible for your responses whether the information is rolled over or manually entered. You must review each section and edit or enter information as appropriate. When you verify that information is correct and select Continue at the end of each section, the Main Menu will show that section as complete. We suggest you print your application from the previous year to confirm what you submitted.
  • If the AMCAS program made changes to a section of the application, you will need to reenter information there.
• If the information you provided for misdemeanors, felonies, and/or institutional actions varies from previous applications, the AAMC may investigate the discrepancy. Changes to how you describe the circumstances surrounding the misdemeanors, felonies, and/or institutional actions are acceptable.

If you are a deferred or delayed matriculant, log in to the AMCAS site with the same AAMC log-in credentials you used for your previous application. You are a deferred or delayed matriculant applicant for the entering class if you:

• Submitted an AMCAS application for the previous entering class,
• Received an acceptance,
• Delayed your matriculation with the approval of the medical school granting the acceptance, and
• Were instructed by the medical school to submit your application to the institution as a deferred or delayed matriculant.

Before you submit an application to the next entering class, you need to verify your status as either a restricted or an unrestricted delayed matriculant applicant with the medical school that offered you an acceptance. When you receive the confirmation and instructions from your designated medical school to apply with delayed or deferred matriculation, the school will let you know whether your status is restricted or unrestricted.

If you are a restricted delayed matriculant applicant, you have agreed with the medical school granting the deferral that you will apply only to that medical school for the next entering class. In this case, you will not have to pay an AMCAS processing fee for resubmitting your application to the school granting the deferral. Violations of restricted delayed matriculation agreements are violations of admission processes and may result in an investigation.

If the program is unrestricted and you are allowed to designate additional schools, you will be required to pay the standard AMCAS processing fee as well as the appropriate fees for each designated school (minus the fee for the school granting the deferral).

If you have submitted your application to the AMCAS program and are then granted a late deferral by one of the schools to which you applied for the previous entering class, you may need to complete one of the following tasks, depending on the type of deferral you received:

• If the program granting the deferral is restricted and you have designated other medical schools, you will need to withdraw your application from the other medical schools by sending them a written notice of withdrawal. Once your application has been processed, you may not un-designate any institutions from the Medical Schools section.
• If the program is unrestricted, you need to ask the medical school granting the deferral to extend your deadline; once your deadline has been extended, you must select the Deferred/Delayed program type for the deferring school in the Medical Schools section of your AMCAS application and then update your application by selecting Resubmit Application on the Main Menu.

The AMCAS program makes every effort to process applications in a timely manner, and you can help ensure the success of those efforts. You are responsible for:

• Making sure the AMCAS program receives your application, official transcripts, and documentation.
• Regularly checking the status of your application, from the date you submit your AMCAS application through the date your designated school(s) receives your application.
• Notifying the AMCAS program if your designated school(s) has not received application materials within two to four weeks of the date the AMCAS program completed its processing.

You can monitor the status of your application by selecting View Application Status History on the Main Menu of the application.

The AAMC ensures high ethical standards for admission to and enrollment in medical schools. Accordingly, if you are an applicant to medical school, you must provide complete, current, and accurate information throughout the admission processes.

The AAMC investigates any alleged falsification, omission, or discrepancy in application materials and any irregular behavior exhibited and reported during the application process. If a potential case is identified, you will be notified and asked to provide relevant information. If the investigation confirms incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate information, the AAMC will issue a report.

Before the issuance of a final report, the AAMC offers you the option, and reserves the right, to request arbitration for the following reasons: (1) you conclude that the draft report unfairly characterizes the matter under investigation, or (2) the parties cannot reach an agreement on the content and language of the report.

Binding arbitration shall be conducted through written submission to the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS) in Washington, D.C. An investigation may result in delays in processing application materials. The sole issue for arbitration shall be whether the AAMC acted reasonably and in good faith in preparing the report.

For more information, refer to the Policies and Procedures for Investigating Reported Violations of Admission and Enrollment Standards.

To complete and submit your application, you must certify the following statements by checking each box in the application and selecting the Agree button.

• I certify that the information in this application and associated materials is current, complete, and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
• I certify that all my writing, including personal comments, essays for MD-PhD applicants, and descriptions of work/activities, is my own. Although I may utilize mentors, peers, advisors, and/or AI tools for brainstorming, proofreading, or editing, my final submission is a true reflection of my own work and represents my experiences. I acknowledge that no changes can be made after submission and will thoroughly proofread my work. Quotations are allowed if I cite the source.
• I have read, understand, and agree to comply with the AMCAS Applicant Guide, including the provisions noting that I am responsible for monitoring and ensuring the progress of my application process by checking the Main Menu of my application.
• I understand that I am responsible for reviewing my application after AMCAS processing is complete. I am responsible for notifying the AMCAS program of any discrepancies resulting from the verification process by using the Academic Change Request process, located in the Quick Links section of the Main Menu.
• I have read, understand, and agree to comply with the Application and Acceptance Protocols for Applicants, which sets forth guidelines for ethical conduct during the application process
  and defines important application cycle dates.
• I have read, understand, and accept the AAMC’s Policies and Procedures for Investigating Reported Violations of Admissions and Enrollment Standards, which sets forth the AAMC’s practices for investigating and reporting discrepancies in credentials, attempts to subvert the admissions process, inaccuracies, material omissions, or other attempts to subvert the admissions process.
• I understand that I am responsible for learning the admission requirements, application policies, and due dates for each school to which I am applying and that I am not eligible for a refund of AMCAS fees if I do not meet the admission requirements of the medical schools to which I apply.
• I understand that, unless advised otherwise by the recipient school, I am required to inform the admissions office of each medical school to which I apply if I am convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor or felony crime after the date of my original application submission and prior to medical school matriculation. I understand that this communication must be in writing and must occur within 10 business days of the conviction, guilty or no contest to plea.
• I understand that I am required to inform the admissions office of each medical school to which I apply if I become the subject of an institutional action after the date of original application submission and prior to medical school matriculation. I understand that this communication must be in writing and must occur within 10 business days of the occurrence of the institutional action.
• I acknowledge and agree that my sole remedy in the event of any errors or omissions relating to the handling or processing of my application is to obtain a refund of my AMCAS application fee; however, I may be eligible for a refund only if I have notified the AMCAS program of any errors or omissions within 10 days of application processing completion.
• I understand that the AMCAS program has my permission to release information, at the request of the medical school(s), to a third party to prepopulate online secondary applications.
• I understand that any medical school in which I enroll may release my relevant student records to the AAMC for inclusion in the AAMC Student Records System (SRS), a secure, centralized enrollment database on the national medical student population. Access to SRS is limited to medical school administrators and select AAMC staff. The student records released to the AAMC may include information about my enrollment status, attendance, degree program, graduation plans, and demographic and contact information. Released student records will not include information about my academic performance, such as coursework grades or test scores. The AAMC uses SRS data for accreditation purposes, data services, outcomes studies, program evaluations, research projects, and other data activities in support of the medical education community and may release the data to a limited number of third parties. All AAMC uses and release of data will be consistent with the AAMC’s privacy policies.
• I understand that my access and use of this application is governed by the AAMC Website Terms and Conditions and the AAMC Privacy Statement, including the AAMC Policies Regarding the Collection, Use, and Dissemination of Medical School and Applicant Data, which I agreed to when I created an AAMC account and which I continue to agree to by my access and use of the AAMC website, including this service. I acknowledge the following regarding my personal information:
  • The AAMC may release my application information to any school to which I submit my application.
  • The AAMC may release information regarding my matriculation status, including any commitment to matriculate I indicate to the AMCAS program, to any medical school to which I submit my application.
  • I understand that once released to a school, my personal information will be subject to the school’s privacy policies.
  • I agree to the processing and storage of my personal information on servers located
    in the United States.
  • I acknowledge that if I wish to exercise any rights I may have under applicable law regarding my personal information I should refer to the AAMC Privacy Statement or contact privacy@aamc.org or amcashelp@aamc.org to make such a request.

You may access the AMCAS application log-in button by visiting aamc.org/amcas.

Information you entered when you registered for an AAMC account will populate on the first page that comes up in the application process. You can make any necessary changes to your legal name, preferred name, citizenship (only changeable before submitting your AMCAS application), birth date, and email address on this page. You may also need to add information that was not in your AAMC profile. After you have submitted your AMCAS application, you can update the information in your AAMC profile as needed.

Be sure that your information is accurate because this address is tied to your AMCAS application notifications.

Please note: Any changes you make to your My AAMC Profile, even for another AAMC service, will update your AMCAS application. Please also be aware that if you have already submitted an application, any changes you have made to your My AAMC Profile will not be reflected in that application until you resubmit it. Resubmitting does not slow down your application processing time.

• A red asterisk (*) marks required fields and sections throughout the application. Even though optional fields are obviously not required, the information may be helpful to medical school admissions officers and, ultimately, to you. If applicable, provide the optional information.
• Medical schools receive all text-entry responses as plain text, which means that formatting options (such as bullets, bold and italic fonts) do not appear for reviewers. You should enter text responses in the application exactly as you would like the medical schools to receive them (e.g., avoid using all uppercase or lowercase text).
• To make sure you receive emails from the AAMC, we recommend you add aamc.org as a “safe” domain to receive messages from. It is your responsibility to ensure you receive messages from the AMCAS program and medical schools.
•  The AMCAS application times out after 30 minutes of inactivity. A time-out warning will appear to alert you that you have five minutes left before the system logs you out of your session. Remember to save your work often!

This field is for your full legal name as it appears on legal, government-issued documents. Nicknames should be entered in the Preferred Name section of the application.

The AMCAS program will automatically populate the First Name, Middle Name, and Last Name fields based on the information you entered during registration. Both first name and last name are required.

Any nicknames and preferred names should be added in this section.

Alternate names are any variations of your name, such as a family (maiden) name or a nickname that may appear on any of your official transcripts sent to the AMCAS program. Completion of this field is optional, but we strongly encourage you to enter any names that may help us match relevant materials with your application to avoid any possible delays.

Include any ID numbers that may be helpful in matching your documents to your application, such as the following:

• School-assigned ID numbers.
• MCAT or AMCAS IDs assigned before 2002.
• Other IDs that may appear on your documents and transcripts.

Do not enter your Social Security number (SSN) or Social Insurance Number (SIN) in the field provided.

Enter your birth information in this section. The AMCAS program will automatically populate these fields with the information you entered during registration.

Enter your gender, gender identity, and preferred pronouns in this section. Schools use data on gender to understand the overall demographics of their student body and for reporting purposes required under federal law. You should answer the gender question based on the gender with which you identify, which may or may not be the sex you were assigned at birth. Gender Identity is a separate, optional question intended to draw out additional layers of student body diversity, including diverse perspectives from applicants who have experienced major life events or transitions related to their gender identity.

Enter the information for the high school from which you graduated. If you attended more than one high school, include only the school from which you graduated.

The AAMC will provide medical schools with consistent, publicly available data about your high school  from the National Center for Education Statistics Public School Search and the National Center for Education Statistics Private School Search.

If your high school does not have publicly available data, no information will be delivered to the medical schools about your high school. Additionally, the AAMC uses three years of data and may use imputations to calculate data when needed. This means that in cases where specific data points are missing, the AAMC may estimate or fill in these gaps using statistical methods. Applicants should be aware of this process as it ensures consistency in the information provided to medical schools.

U.S. Schools/U.S. Territories and Possessions

Select United States and then select the state and county where the school is located and the school name from the drop-down list. Enter the name of the school only if it’s not listed or you need to modify the name. Then, enter the city and your year of graduation in the designated fields.

Canadian Schools

Select Canada and then select the province where the school is located and the school name from the drop-down list. Enter the name of the school only if it’s not listed or you need to modify the name. Then, enter the city and your year of graduation in the designated fields.

Non-U.S. and Non-Canadian Schools

Select the appropriate country from the drop-down list. Then, select either the school name from the drop-down list or Other (not listed). Enter the name of the school only if it is not listed or you need to modify the name. Then, enter the city and your year of graduation in the designated fields.

Earned Equivalency or General Educational Development (GED)

If you received a high school equivalency diploma or a GED certificate, please list the state and county where the certificate was awarded. In the School field, select Other (not listed), then in the box provided to the right, type “Earned Equivalent or GED.” Then, enter the city where you took the test and the year you received the certificate.

Home School

If you were home-schooled, please list the state and county where you were home-schooled (or received your diploma). In the School field, select Other (not listed). In the box provided, type “Home-Schooled,” and then enter the city where you were home-schooled and your graduation year.

In this section, list every postsecondary institution where you were enrolled for at least one course, even if the credits were transferred, no credit was earned, or you withdrew. Postsecondary institutions include, but are not limited to, all colleges or universities, including community colleges, in which you were enrolled in a degree, credit, or certificate program.

You have the option to select an institution as Summer School Only and/or Study Abroad Program. Select the study abroad option only if you were involved in a program through a school that was not affiliated with a foreign school. For programs through a school affiliated with a foreign school, please refer to the Transcript Exception Request.

• If you were enrolled in more than one program at an institution (e.g., undergraduate and graduate), create a separate entry for each program. Please request separate transcripts for your undergraduate and graduate programs.
• Create a separate entry for any U.S.- or Canadian-sponsored study abroad program in
  which you participated.
• If you change or delete a school entry, you will lose all degrees, majors, minors, and coursework you entered for that school. The application gives a warning before confirming deletion.

U.S. Schools, Territories, and Possessions

Select United States and then select the state and school name from the designated drop-down lists. Enter the name of the school only if it is not listed or you need to modify the name. Then, select your program type, indicating your start and end dates from the designated drop-down lists. Coursework taken at a Puerto Rican institution should be entered under this selection.

Canadian Schools

Select Canada and then select the province and school name from the designated drop-down lists.
Enter the name of the school only if it is not listed or you need to modify the name. Then, select your program type, indicating your start and end dates from the designated drop-down lists.

Select the country in which the school is located and the school name from the designated drop-down lists. If your school is not listed, select Other (not listed). Enter the school name that’s on the official transcript, if appropriate. Enter the city in which the school is located and select your program type, indicating your start and end dates from the designated drop-down lists.

If you wish to authorize the AMCAS program to release information about your application to the designated advisor(s) at the school(s) you attended, select Yes. These advisor(s) have met AMCAS-established requirements and are bound by confidentiality. Transferred information includes your personal and demographic information, MCAT scores, PREview scores, GPAs, the names of your letter writers, your letter of evaluation types, the names of any other schools you have attended, the medical schools to which you have applied and actions those schools have taken, and the status of your AMCAS application. In addition, selecting Yes for this option allows AMCAS staff to discuss your application with the designated advisor(s) at each school.

Prehealth advisors use this information to gauge the effectiveness of their advising program and to improve advising services at their school.

Under the postsecondary institutions you entered into your AMCAS application, you are asked if you earned a degree or expect to earn a degree from the institutions listed. To add a degree, select Add Degree. Degrees are listed alphabetically. If your degree is not listed, you may select Other Associate’s, Other Bachelor’s, Other Master’s, or Other Doctorate and enter your current degree in the box provided. Then, enter the month and year when you earned the degree or expect to earn the degree. Finally, select Save.

Majors

To enter declared majors, select Add Major under the appropriate school(s). Majors are listed
alphabetically. If yours isn’t listed, you may select Other Major and enter your major in the designated field. Then, select Save.

Minors

To enter declared minors, select Add Minor under the appropriate school(s). Minors are listed
alphabetically. If yours isn’t listed, you may select Other Minor and enter your minor in the designated field. Then, select Save.

If the AMCAS program requires a transcript from your school(s), you will list the school(s) in this section, and you will be able to create and print an AMCAS pre-barcoded Transcript Request Form to send to the respective registrar(s). We strongly suggest you include the AMCAS pre-barcoded Transcript Request Form with your transcript(s) because this helps ensure your transcript(s) are applied correctly to your application. Issues with transcripts are the number one cause of processing delays and missed application deadlines. Please review this section carefully.

We also strongly recommend you request copies of your official transcript(s) for your own use in completing the Coursework section of your application. Please review each transcript carefully to be certain that:

• All coursework to date is listed and accurate.
• Any narrative evaluations received instead of grades are attached to your record.
• All final grades are reported correctly.
• All final grade changes are clearly recorded.
• Any list of other institutions attended is correct and complete.

You must submit new official transcripts each year you apply.

One official transcript is required from each U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian postsecondary institution at which you have attempted coursework, regardless of whether you earned credit. The transcript requirement applies but is not limited to:

• College-level courses attempted while in high school, even if the courses did not count toward
  a degree at any college.
• Colleges at which you originally attempted a course, even if the credit was subsequently transferred to and accepted by another school.
• Colleges where you registered but did not earn any credit (e.g., incompletes, withdrawals,
  failures, audits).
• Courses that did not count toward a degree regardless of whether credit was earned or transferred.
• Extension programs through which you attempted courses if the extension division provided a separate transcript.
• Correspondence and home study programs.
• Military education and Joint Services Transcripts (JSTs).
• American colleges overseas.
• U.S., U.S. territorial, and Canadian medical schools.

The AMCAS program does not accept any transcripts from international evaluation services. Please refer to the Study Abroad Coursework section for further instructions.

Electronic Transcripts

The AMCAS program accepts official transcripts mailed by your registrar or electronically submitted as an eTranscript by an approved vendor, either National Student Clearinghouse or Parchment. Contact your school’s registrar’s office to find out what their transcript transmission process is. The AMCAS program prefers electronic transcript submission. For efficient processing, please submit your transcript electronically to the AMCAS program. If you request an electronic transcript, do not send a paper transcript. When requesting e-transcripts, make sure to provide your accurate AAMC ID and Transcript ID to prevent delays. 

The AMCAS program will not accept transcripts sent by fax or email. If your institution is not set up with a vendor to send transcripts electronically and can’t mail a paper transcript, please have your registrar contact etranscripts@aamc.org. Additional information about mailing transcripts be found on our website.

If No Official Transcript Is Available

If the institution provides only a certificate of completion or does not provide an official transcript, the registrar of the institution must send the AMCAS program an official letter verifying that no official transcript is available.

If the Institution Closed

If an institution has closed, archived transcripts should be available. Ownership of the archived transcripts varies from state to state, but we suggest the following list to start your search, in addition to a basic Internet search:

• State Department of Education.
• State Department of Commerce.
• Another campus if the school was part of a multicampus system.
• The National Student Clearinghouse.

Your application will not be processed without an official transcript or detailed letter from the registrar’s office indicating that no transcript is available.

College-Level Courses Taken While in Middle and High School

Many students attempt college-level courses while still in middle and high school. The courses primarily fall into the following categories:

• Advanced Placement (AP) Prep Courses and Exams
  Unless a U.S. or Canadian postsecondary institution has granted credit for an AP course or an AP exam, such information should not be listed on the application. If credit has been granted, courses and exams should be listed according to the instructions regarding AP credit.
• Other Courses
  Many students take other types of college-level courses either independently or through special programs offered by their school. Courses should be listed on your application under the name of the college, regardless of where the course was held.

Before completing your AMCAS application, contact the relevant college to determine transcript availability. If a transcript from the college is available, you need to have it sent to the AMCAS program and make sure the courses are listed in the Coursework section of your application.

If a transcript is not available from the relevant college, the college’s registrar should send an official, detailed letter (with a Transcript Request Form attached) indicating that no transcript is available because of institutional policies. Do not send middle or high school transcripts to the AMCAS program.

If you indicate that a transcript is not required, you must request a transcript exception from the Colleges portion of the Schools Attended section. You can do this online only before you submit your application. If you need to request a transcript exception after you have submitted your application, please contact the AAMC Support Center at 202-828-0600 or send a message.

Below are the reasons for seeking a transcript exception. You must select only one option:

• Canadian CEGEP (collège d’enseignement général et professionnel) or Grade 13 program.
• Current or future coursework (spring, summer, fall).
• Multiple-degree or consortium/cross-registration program with no separate transcript available.
  • Choose this option if no separate transcript is available from the school where coursework will be attempted. Only one transcript is required for schools you attended more than once, as long as all coursework appears on the same official transcript.
• Foreign institution or study abroad program sponsored by a U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian institution — credits transferred.
• Other foreign institution — no credits transferred.
• Institution temporarily closed — currently unable to provide transcript.

By selecting an option on this page, you are requesting a transcript exception; exceptions are not granted automatically. Furthermore, exceptions granted in previous years are not valid for other application cycles. A new request must be submitted with each new application submitted.

Please carefully research the availability of your transcript(s) before completing the Transcript Exception Request. If the AMCAS program denies your request, you will be required to provide a transcript or a detailed letter from the appropriate registrar’s office. If the AMCAS program reviews your request after a transcript deadline and subsequently denies the request, the program cannot extend your deadline and cannot send your application to the school(s) for which deadlines have passed.

If you need additional help with your Transcript Exception Request, speak with your prehealth advisor or the AAMC Support Center at 202-828-0600 or send us a message.

The application form will ask whether credit from the program associated with the Transcript Exception Request was transferred to another institution. You may select Yes or No. If you select Yes, you will be prompted to select the institution the credit was transferred to.

Only list courses attempted independently at a foreign institution if the coursework has been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution. The only exception is MD coursework attempted at any institution, which should also be listed in the Coursework section.

In most cases, the education office at your current duty station will help active-duty and reserve personnel obtain the available records for all military coursework.

Non-active-duty personnel should contact individual schools directly to obtain the available records for all military coursework. It’s generally faster to obtain transcripts directly from the schools rather than from the central records office. Transcripts are available from the following military institutions:

• Air Command and Staff College
• Air Force Institute of Technology
• Air University
• Armed Forces Staff College
• Army Command and General Staff College
• Army War College
• College of Naval Command and Staff
• Community College of the Air Force
• Defense Information School
• Defense Language Institute
• Industrial College of the Armed Forces
• Joint Military Intelligence College (formerly Defense Intelligence College)
• National Cryptologic School (in Ft. George G. Meade, Md.)
• National Defense University
• National War College
• Naval Postgraduate School
• Naval School of Health Science
• Naval War College
• Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Even if you have not attended one of the above institutions, you may still be required to submit military transcripts. If the JST is available, the AMCAS program requires it for applicants who served or are serving in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.

If you select that you have served in the military, the AMCAS program suggests requesting a military transcript from Joint Services to lessen any possible delays during the verification process.

The JST documents the professional military education, training, and occupation experiences of service members and veterans. All enlisted and warrant officers — active-duty members and veterans of all Army components and active-duty members and veterans of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard — are eligible to obtain a JST. You may create a JST account and request transcripts at jst.doded.mil or by emailing usarmy.knox.tradoc.mbx.armyu-access-jst@army.mil.

When listing military credits in the Coursework section of your application, you will find JST listed as a school under Florida.

The schools listed below are not considered foreign institutions, so the AMCAS program requires transcripts. Please note: The list is not exhaustive. In addition, U.S. institutions with campuses overseas (such as University of Maryland Global Campus) are considered U.S. colleges for which transcripts are required and for which all coursework must be listed. Courses should be entered into the Coursework section, as with all other coursework.

American Colleges Overseas (not an exhaustive list)

Although the AMCAS program can accept transcripts that are not accompanied by a Transcript Request Form, the program is not responsible for transcripts that can’t be matched to your application because of a missing form. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to use the pre-barcoded Transcript Request Form. When you request an official, paper transcript for the AMCAS program, you need to inform the relevant registrar that the Transcript Request Form must be attached to the transcript when it is sent. If a school has placed a financial hold on your transcripts, the AMCAS program will not grant a Transcript Exception Request under any circumstances.

We recommend the use of a printed PDF AMCAS Transcript Request Form to avoid any delay in transcript processing. To generate a PDF AMCAS Transcript Request Form, select the Create Transcript Request Form button next to the appropriate institution in the Transcripts subsection of the Schools Attended section.

Next, select from the drop-down menu the name that will be displayed on the transcript (you may select among the Legal, Preferred, and Alternate Names you entered earlier). Then, you must verify and/or modify the prepopulated School Address. Finally, select Print Transcript Request Form. Please note: If a school name is updated in the application, an updated Transcript Request Form should be generated and included with the transcript.

You have previously matriculated as a medical school student if you were officially enrolled and attended classes as a candidate for a medical school degree regardless of country (U.S. MD school, U.S. DO school, Caribbean school, or other foreign school). You will need to answer either Yes or No to the question about previous matriculation.

If you marked Yes that you previously matriculated to any medical school, you must provide the name of all medical schools to which you previously matriculated, the degree you sought, and why you are reapplying to medical school at this time. You will have 1,325 characters to briefly explain your previous matriculation.

If you were ever the recipient of any institutional action by any college or medical school for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violation, you must answer Yes to the question about institutional action, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment or require you to withdraw. Furthermore, select Yes even if the action does not appear on, or has been deleted or expunged from, your official transcripts as a consequence of institutional policy or personal petition. Examples of institutional actions include, but are not limited to, academic probation, academic standing warnings, suspension, residence hall policy violations, and ethics policy violations.

Failure to provide an accurate answer to the question about institutional action or, if applicable, failure to complete the form provided by the school may result in an investigation. The AMCAS program will report institutional actions listed on your transcript, regardless of whether you report them on your application. Medical schools require you to answer the question accurately and provide all relevant information. Medical schools understand that many individuals learn from the past and emerge stronger as a result. Full disclosure will enable medical schools to evaluate the information more effectively within the context of your application.

If you become the subject of an institutional action after certifying and submitting the AMCAS application, you are required to inform your designated medical school(s) within 10 business days of the date of the occurrence.

If you select Yes you were a recipient of an institutional action, you will be prompted to select an institutional action category from the drop-down (“conduct,” “academic,” or “both”).

Your preferred address is the address where any physical mail from medical schools will be sent. If your preferred address changes after you submit your application, you can update and save the changes by officially updating your application by selecting the Resubmit Application button. Be sure to keep both your email address and your preferred address current.

Your permanent address will be used only if correspondence sent to your preferred address is returned by the U.S. Postal Service. If your permanent address changes after you submit your application to the AMCAS program, you may update the address and then save the change by officially updating your application by selecting the Resubmit Application button.

An alternate contact is any person who will be able to contact you if you become unreachable at any point during the application process, up to the date of matriculation. We recommend you provide alternate contact information if you expect to be difficult to contact (e.g., studying abroad in a remote area).

By entering the name of an alternate contact person and completing all required fields, you authorize the AMCAS program and your designated medical school(s) to release information about your AMCAS processing and admission status to the alternate contact person. The AMCAS program and the medical schools, however, are under no obligation to release information to your alternate contact. If you do not list an alternate contact, the program will not make your information available to a third party.

If you are a U.S. citizen, select Yes to the question in this section.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, select No. Select your country of citizenship and the type of visa you currently hold from the designated drop-down lists. The options are Adjustment of Status; DACA; Exchange visitor/student (J1); None; Other; Permanent Resident; Refugee/Asylum; and Student (F1). If you do not currently hold a visa or have permanent resident status, select None from the drop-down list. If your visa type is not listed, select Other and enter a visa description in the space provided. Be certain to select the citizenship status you have been officially granted; do not select a type you are currently in the process of applying for.

You may not change citizenship status after submitting your application. If your citizenship status changes, please notify your designated medical school(s) directly.

The medical school(s) you apply to may be interested in your state and/or county of legal residence. Each state has its own qualifications for determining legal residency; medical schools may request additional documentation. You are responsible for researching and understanding a state’s qualifications for legal residency before claiming it as your state of legal residence in your AMCAS application. It may be possible to qualify for multiple states of legal residency, but you may select only one in the AMCAS application. If you have a state of legal residence in the United States, select Yes and then select the state in which you are a legal resident. If your state is not listed, select Unknown U.S. from the list. If you qualify for residency in more than one state, you may declare only one of those states as your legal residence in your AMCAS application. After selecting your state, select the county from the drop-down list. If your county is not listed, select <state name> Unknown County from the drop-down list.

If you are not a legal resident of the United States, select No.

After submitting an AMCAS application, you may request a change to your legal residence information.

To update your state and county of legal residence, please send an email from the email address on your application to AMCASExceptions@aamc.org and include the following information:

• Your name.
• Your AAMC ID number.
• The state and county of legal residence you listed in the application (may be empty if previously not selected).
• The state and county of legal residence you would like it changed to (may be empty if previously not selected).

You can only update certain sections after submitting your application. If you’d like to make changes, please notify your designated medical school(s) directly.

If you would like, you may self-identify with a race and an ethnicity. If none of the options apply to you, you may select Other and write in your response. This question provides medical schools with important information for understanding applicant and student body racial and ethnic diversity, as well as data for required reporting under local and federal laws. Race and ethnicity data are not collected for use in making admission decisions.

If you would like, you may self-identify your tribal affiliation. Tribal affiliation is the acknowledgment of membership or association with an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous tribe. This question is intended to provide you with an opportunity to share additional information about yourself and enhance your profile for medical schools in ways that you may not have expressed elsewhere. Applicants with affiliations to more than one tribe can enter multiple affiliations. The AMCAS program will not collect any materials to verify tribal affiliation.

Please add all languages you speak, including English. You may add a language by selecting Add Language. For each language, you will be asked for your proficiency level (Basic, Fair, Good, Advanced, or Native/Functionally Native) and level of use in your childhood home. After completing the fields, select Save.

In this subsection, you must answer questions related to your childhood, including questions about how you paid for college. To help you answer these questions, we define several important terms:

Immediate family: The federal government broadly defines immediate family as “spouse, parent, child, sibling, mother- or father-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, or sister- or brother-in-law, including step and adoptive relationships.”

Medically underserved: Based on your experiences or the experiences of immediate family and friends, you may believe the area in which you grew up was “medically underserved” if there was an inadequate number of health care providers to meet the needs of the area; health care providers include physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care services.

State and federal assistance programs: These programs are specifically defined as means-tested programs under which individual, family, or household income and assets must fall below specified thresholds. The sponsoring public agencies then provide cash and noncash assistance to eligible individuals, families, or households. Such programs include welfare benefit programs (federal, state, and local); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); unemployment compensation; General Assistance (GA); Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Medicaid; and housing assistance.

Pell Grant: A Pell Grant is money the federal government provides to students who have, among other factors, demonstrated financial need. To determine whether you were ever a recipient, you may wish to review your past financial award letters or contact your graduating institution’s financial aid office.

The first question asks if you have served or are currently serving in the U.S. military. If you answer Yes, you will then indicate your expected military status at the time of enrollment in medical school by selecting one of the options provided. If you select Veteran, you will provide your separation date. If you choose Other, you will explain your status in the space provided.

The second question asks if you are eligible for a GI bill. If you answer Yes, please select one option from the drop-down menu (Montgomery GI Bill; Post 9/11 GI Bill; Other). If you answer Other, please write your GI bill name in the space provided.

Please note: The AMCAS program may require a JST. Review the requirements in the Transcript section for guidance.

The question asks if you have ever been discharged by the Armed Forces. Answer No if you have never served in the Armed Forces or are currently serving without previous discharge. If you answer Yes, you will be asked if you received an honorable discharge or discharge under honorable circumstances. If you answer No, you must explain in 1,325 characters (or fewer) the circumstances of your discharge, including the circumstances leading to your discharge, your period of service, and your rank at the time of discharge.

Responding Yes to the felony or misdemeanor question will not necessarily disqualify you from acceptance or admission to medical school. Individual medical schools will review your response for accuracy and completeness and consider the information in the context of their overall assessment of your suitability for admission. Failure to disclose information, or the submission of inaccurate or incomplete information, on this application or on the form provided by the school may result in an AAMC investigation and the school may disqualify you for admission.

The AAMC recommends to all U.S. medical schools that they procure national background checks on all applicants upon initial acceptance to the medical school (refer to AAMC-Facilitated Criminal Background Checks). Disclosure in the application provides you an opportunity to frame the incident in your own words.

Felony or misdemeanor convictions may prevent some medical students from completing their experiential education requirements or obtaining licensure after graduation due to site or state restrictions. Check with the schools to which you plan to apply for more information on the potential implications of certain convictions on licensure in their state.

You must disclose your felony or misdemeanor conviction(s) even if you have a pending petition for expungement before the court on the date you submit your AMCAS application, unless a state-specific law to not disclose applies (refer to state-specific notifications below).

Felony

You must indicate whether you have ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a felony crime, excluding (1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, (2) convictions that have been expunged or sealed by a court (in states where applicable), and (3) any offense you are not required to disclose pursuant to a state-specific law (refer to state-specific notifications below).

Misdemeanor

You must indicate whether you have ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor crime, excluding (1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, (2) any convictions that have been expunged or sealed by a court, (3) any misdemeanor convictions for which you completed any probation and for which the court dismissed the case (in states where applicable), and (4) any offense you are not required to disclose pursuant to a state-specific law (refer to state-specific notifications below).

Felonies or Misdemeanors You Do Not Need to Disclose

You need not disclose any instance of a felony or misdemeanor crime in which you were:

• Arrested but not charged.
• Arrested and charged, with the charges pending.
• Arrested and charged, with the charges dropped.
• Arrested and charged but found not guilty by a judge or jury.
• Arrested and found guilty by a judge or jury, with the conviction overturned on appeal.
• Arrested and found guilty but received an executive pardon.

If Yes to Felony or Misdemeanor

If you answer Yes to the felony or misdemeanor question, you will have 1,325 characters to explain the circumstances of your conviction, including the number of conviction(s), the nature of the offense(s) leading to conviction(s), the date(s) and location(s) of conviction(s), the sentence(s) imposed, and the type(s) of rehabilitation.

State-Specific Notifications About Felony and Misdemeanor Crimes

Below, you will find state-specific notifications relevant to the misdemeanor question in the application. This list may not be exhaustive, so you may wish to consult the admissions offices of the schools where you plan to apply for more information. These state-specific mandates are included here by regulatory mandate and may repeat information included elsewhere in the application.

• California Residents

  • Please do not provide any information concerning a misdemeanor or infraction marijuana conviction that occurred more than two years from today’s date and specifically HS11357(b) or (c), HS11360(b), HS11364, HS11365, or HS11550 as they related to marijuana before Jan. 1, 1976, and their statutory predecessors.

• Connecticut Residents

  • Pursuant to CT Public Act No. 02-136 and specifically Section 31-51i of the general statutes:
    You understand that you are “not required to disclose the existence of any arrest, criminal charge or conviction, the records of which have been erased pursuant to Section 46b – 146, 54-76o, or 54-142a; that criminal records subject to erasure pursuant to Section 46b – 146, 54-76o, or 54-142a are records pertaining to finding a delinquency or that a child was a member of a family with service needs, an adjudication as a youthful offender, a criminal charge that has been dismissed or annulled, a criminal charge for which the person has been found not guilty or a conviction for which the person received an absolute pardon; and, that any person whose criminal records have been erased pursuant to Section 46b – 146, 54-76o, or 54-142a shall be deemed to have ever been arrested within the meaning of the general statutes with respect to the proceedings so erased and may so swear under oath.”

• District of Columbia Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Do not identify convictions that are more than 10 years old.

• Georgia Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Do not identify any guilty plea that was discharged by a court under Georgia’s First Offender’s Act.

• Hawaii Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Please do not identify any felony convictions over seven years old or any misdemeanor convictions over five years old.

• Illinois Residents

  • ​​​​​​​You are not obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrests.

• Maryland Residents

  • ​​​​​​​As permitted under the Maryland Second Chance Act, convictions that have been successfully “shielded” do not need to be disclosed on an application.

• Massachusetts School Applicants

  • ​​​​​​​Because Massachusetts educational institutions are prohibited from requesting information from you about certain misdemeanor crimes, your response to the above misdemeanor question will not be provided to medical schools in Massachusetts.Note: Medical schools in Massachusetts typically collect misdemeanor information via their secondary or supplemental applications. In addition, the AAMC recommends that all medical schools conduct a criminal background check on applicants at the time of acceptance.

• Nevada Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Only report those convictions that occurred within the past seven years.

• New Hampshire Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Only report those convictions that have taken place in the past seven years. Convictions that have been annulled will not necessarily disqualify you from employment.

• New York Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Do not disclose information about any criminal proceeding that terminated in a “youthful offender adjudication,” as defined in Section 720.35 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law.

• Ohio Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Please do not indicate any arrest or conviction for a minor misdemeanor drug violation (relating to 100 grams or less of marijuana or five grams or less of hashish).

• Oregon Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Do not provide information about a juvenile record that has been expunged.

• Virginia School Applicants

  • Do not disclose information about a conviction for marijuana possession.

• Washington Residents

  • ​​​​​​​Limit your answer to conviction for which the date of conviction or prison release, whichever is more recent, is within 10 years of today’s date.

You must inform the admissions office at each medical school to which you apply if you are convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor or felony crime after the date of your original application submission and before medical school matriculation. The communication must be in writing and must occur within 10 business days of the conviction.

To provide some additional context around each individual’s application, admissions committees are interested in learning about the challenges applicants may have overcome in life. This question is designed to give you the opportunity to provide additional information about yourself that is not easily captured in the rest of the application. Learn more about the Other Impactful Experiences question.

Please enter information about your parent(s) and/or guardian(s). Select Save to add a parent or guardian. To enter another parent or guardian, select +Add Parent/Guardian.

Some medical schools want to know about your brothers or sisters, if you have any. Select Add Sibling to add a sibling.

Please enter the number of people who are financially dependent on you (do not include yourself).

Any course with credit hours and a letter grade is calculated in the AMCAS GPAs, regardless of whether the credit was counted toward a degree or toward a school-calculated GPA.

• If you enter grades on your application that are not listed on your official transcript, they will not be included in your AMCAS GPAs. Conversely, if you do not enter grades on your application that appear on your official transcript on file with the AMCAS program, those grades will be included in your AMCAS GPAs during the verification process.
• Most courses with the AMCAS Course Type listed below are not included in AMCAS GPA calculations. Instead, the total number of hours for each of these categories is reported to medical schools under the heading “Supplemental Hours.”
  • Pass/Fail-Pass
  • Pass/Fail-Fail
  • Advanced Placement (AP) Credit
  • College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
  • Other Test Credit
• Any courses with any of the following course types on your official transcript have no value or weight in your AMCAS GPA:

  Symbol	Meaning
  AU	Audited courses
  CC	Courses you are currently taking or expect to take
  DG	Multiterm courses (incomplete series, for which your grade is deferred)
  EX	Exempt courses
  NR	Courses for which there is no recorded grade because of school error
  W	Courses from which you have officially withdrawn or you have dropped

• Grades and credit hours are factored into the AMCAS GPA calculations as they were assigned by the school where you took the given course(s). The only exceptions are for foreign coursework transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution and coursework taken through an official study abroad program.
• The AMCAS program counts all plus (+) and minus (–) grades even if your school does not. For example, at some schools and in the AMCAS calculation, a plus or minus counts as 0.7 or 0.3 (e.g., 3.7 or 3.3 GPA); at other schools, a plus or minus counts as 0.5 (e.g., 3.5 GPA). (For more about grade conversion, refer to the Grade Conversion Guide.) Please note: The AMCAS program assigns the same weight (4.0) to grades of A+ and A.
• The AMCAS program counts grades for all attempts of a repeated course, even if your school does not.
• Depending on how your school considers them, grades of IF (incomplete failure) or unauthorized, unofficial, or administrative withdrawal may be treated as an F in your AMCAS GPA.
• Grades and credit hours for all failed courses are included in your AMCAS GPAs even if they are not included in the GPA calculations of the transcript-issuing institution.
• Narrative Evaluations will not be factored into your AMCAS GPA.
• Academic forgiveness policy: If your school has an academic forgiveness policy and replaces the original grade you received with a special transcript symbol, the original grade and attempted credits must be entered on your AMCAS application, regardless of whether they appear on your official transcript. If the original grade is not entered, the AMCAS program will return your application to you to enter the original grade, which may cause you to miss application deadlines and forfeit fees.

The AMCAS program does not typically verify coursework from some types of institutions (e.g., acupuncture schools, vocational and career schools, Bible colleges) unless an associate degree or other advanced degree is earned. This coursework will not be factored into your AMCAS GPAs.

Your AMCAS GPAs will not include credit earned at an institution that does not:

• Grant associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and/or doctoral degrees.
• Offer a transcript for military coursework.
• Transfer credits to a degree-granting institution.

This coursework will be processed with the not equal (≠) verification mark and will not be counted in the AMCAS GPAs.

Some examples of these types of institutions are:

• Massage schools.
• Acupunctural schools.
• Bartending schools.
• Cosmetology schools.
• Scuba diving schools.
• Vocational, career, and training schools.
• Seminary and Bible colleges.
• Culinary schools.
• Real estate schools.

• AMCAS GPAs are reported to medical schools for each academic status (high school (HS), freshman (FR), sophomore (SO), junior (JR), senior (SR), postbaccalaureate (PB), and graduate (GR)). In addition, two separate GPAs are calculated for coursework listed as biology, chemistry, physics, math (BCPM), and all other (AO). Postbaccalaureate coursework is included in the Undergraduate Total GPA and a separate Postbaccalaureate GPA.
• The chart below shows how the information is presented to schools for a student who completed undergraduate coursework in three years and took no college-level courses in high school.

Verified Grade-Point Averages
GPA calculations will appear only when your application status is “Processed.”

Under your respective postsecondary institutions, you must enter courses in chronological order exactly as they appear on the official transcript of the school where you originally attempted them.

This is especially important to remember if the credit for a course was transferred from one U.S. or Canadian school to another.

For example, suppose you primarily attended the University of Maryland and took Intro to Photography at your local community college over the summer. You would list the community college in the Schools Attended section of the application (and request an official transcript from that school) and add Intro to Photography as a course you took there. You would not list the course under the University of Maryland, even if the credits were transferred there. The following are the fields that pertain to each entered course.

Academic Year and Term

These fields show the Academic Year and Term during which you took a course. The AMCAS year begins with summer and ends with spring. Courses taken in the summer should be entered with the next academic year, even if your institution considers them in the previous academic year. For example, if you took a course in the first summer session of 2016, you should enter it as the 2016-2017 academic year, even if your school considers it in the 2015-2016 academic year.

In the Academic Term drop-down menu, please select the academic term that best mirrors the institution’s academic calendar system.

Year in School

The guidelines below will help you determine your Year in School. The AMCAS program is not responsible for any delays in processing and/or incorrect GPA calculations that may result from incorrect Year in School assignments. If the Year in School designation greatly exceeds the ranges specified below, the program may reassign statuses.

Each undergraduate status should consist of about 24 to 35 semester hours. If you are enrolled in an institution as a full-time, continuous undergraduate, you should usually change your Year in School after every two semesters, three to four quarters, or two to three trimesters.

If you have been enrolled part-time or have had interrupted attendance, you should use the following ranges to determine your appropriate status for each term:

For example: Freshman and sophomore years should have a combined total of no more than 65 semester hours; freshman, sophomore, and junior years should have a total of no more than 95 semester hours.

If you have a significant number of AP or college-level coursework credits before entering college, you may list your entire first college year as FR status. In doing so, you will most likely exceed the guideline of 0 through 35 semester hours for freshman year, but your AMCAS GPAs will reflect your “true” first year in college; in these cases, the AMCAS program will not change your academic status. However, if you’d rather base your academic statuses on credit hours only, your application will be accepted and verified according to the year-in-school guidelines.

The following rules will help you determine the appropriate AMCAS Year in School for all your coursework (including foreign coursework):

• Do not assign more than one status to an academic term.
• Assign HS status to college-level courses taken before the high school graduation date you entered in the Schools Attended section, regardless of the physical location of the college-level course. This does not include AP, Exempt, International Baccalaureate (IB), or CLEP credit.
• Assign FR status to AP, Exempt, IB, or CLEP credit awarded when you first entered college. Do not enter AP coursework under HS status.
• Once your undergraduate Year in School (FR, SO, JR, SR) has advanced, do not assign the previous status; continue to enter your completed coursework from that point.
• Junior and community college courses (e.g., associate degree coursework) should usually be listed as FR or SO if you took the courses before you attended a four-year institution. For attendance longer than two years at the same school, refer to the Year in School section.
• Courses for a bachelor’s degree earned in two years should be assigned statuses of FR and SR.
• Courses for a bachelor’s degree earned in three years should be assigned statuses of FR, SO, and SR.
• Courses for a bachelor’s degree earned in more than four years should be assigned statuses of FR, SO, JR, SR.
• Assign Postbaccalaureate (PB) status to any undergraduate-level coursework you enrolled in:
  • After you received your initial BA or BS degree.
  • While enrolled in a graduate program if coursework is not applied to a graduate degree.
• Assign graduate (GR) status to any professional or graduate-level coursework that is not applied to an undergraduate degree.

Course Number and Course Name

In the designated fields, enter the course name in English and the course number exactly as it appears on the official transcript (excluding symbols or any style formatting). If the exact course name does not fit, enter a logical abbreviation. The course name and number are critical for the AMCAS verification of each course on the official transcript and for the medical school’s or schools’ evaluation of your application.

Course numbers should include all letters and numbers associated with the course (e.g., BIO 101). If a course number does not fit in the space provided, include the last eight digits. If decimal points are part of the course number on your official transcript, include them when entering the course number. The AMCAS program is not responsible for processing delays or missed deadlines resulting from incorrect listings of course names and numbers.

Course Classification

Each course must be assigned a course classification based strictly on the primary content of the course. The course classifications listed in the Course Classification Guide appear in boldface type and are titled as they appear in the course classification drop-down list. The items beneath each boldface heading are examples of courses for which you should select that bolded course classification. You are responsible for selecting the correct course classification, but the AMCAS program reserves the right to change the classification if the assigned classification clearly does not apply.

If you disagree with a change the AMCAS program has made to a course classification, you may submit an Academic Change Request. Applications are not returned for changes made to course classifications.

The AMCAS program is not responsible for incorrect GPA calculations resulting from incorrect course classifications. If you are unable to classify a course satisfactorily, we suggest you refer to the description of the course on the relevant school’s website.

The AMCAS program uses course classifications to calculate your GPAs. Classifications highlighted in the BCPM group indicate such courses will be included in the calculation of your BCPM GPA, which comprises biology, chemistry, physics, and math courses. Classifications not grouped in BCPM indicate courses that will be included in the calculation of your AO (all other) GPA.

The department offering the course is typically not a factor in the course classification. For example, a course should be classified as biology if the primary content is biology, regardless of the department that offers the course.

The following guide provides examples of how courses are often categorized. Please select course classifications based on the primary content of the course. Biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics grades are used to calculate the AMCAS BCPM GPA. Please note: Natural and physical sciences courses (NPSCs) are not included in the BCPM GPA.

For interdisciplinary courses in which two or more subject matters are combined into one course, refer to the description of the course on your school’s website or consult with your prehealth advisor to choose the most appropriate course classification.

Course Classification Guide

Your AMCAS application will automatically convert most undergraduate credit hours (also known as units and hours) to either semester hours or supplemental hours based on conversions provided by undergraduate institutions.

Again, indicate your credit hours or units exactly as they appear on your transcript. Do not attempt to enter conversions based on the Grade Conversion Guide or any other conversion method.

If no hours appear on your official transcript, leave the item blank unless the credits have been removed as a result of failure.

Below the Credit Hours field, you are asked, “Did the course include a lab section?” The three available selections are Lecture Only, Lab Only, and Combined Lecture and Lab. Select the appropriate designation for the course.

Enter the grade, symbol, or notation exactly as it appears on your official transcript from the institution where you attempted the course. If a grade appears on your transcript or you have earned a grade, you must enter it in the application.

If no grade appears on your transcript and you have not received a grade, a grade entry is not required unless the course has subsequently been repeated or removed because of academic bankruptcy or similar institutional situations For the initial attempt of a course that has been repeated or removed because of academic bankruptcy or similar institutional situations, enter the original grade earned before the course was repeated, regardless of whether it appears on the official transcript or is included in your GPA. Failure to enter the original grade received for repeated courses can lead to returned applications, missed deadlines, and forfeited fees.

The AMCAS program will automatically convert most standard undergraduate transcript grades to AMCAS grades based on conversions provided by undergraduate institutions. Your AMCAS GPAs may not be exactly the same as your GPA(s) on your official transcript(s). AMCAS grades provide medical schools with a standardized comparison for evaluating your academic career. You will be able to view your AMCAS GPAs on your printable application after it has been verified. If you believe an AMCAS grade has been incorrectly assigned to a particular course, you may submit an Academic Change Request.

Audit refers to any course you attended without attempting to earn credit, either formally or informally. If you officially registered for the course, it’s usually listed on the transcript with a special symbol or notation. No credit hours or AMCAS grade will be assigned.

CLEP (CL)

You can earn CLEP credit by passing an examination offered by the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or through USAFI/DANTES (U.S. Air Force Institute and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support). To claim credit in the CLEP category, the credit hours must be listed on your transcript.

You may list your CLEP credit only once, even though more than one institution may have awarded credit. The transferred credit may be credited to the institution granting the most CLEP credit.

Current/Future (CC)

Use the Current/Future designation for any courses you are currently taking or expect to take before entering medical school. Listing these courses is especially important if you have not yet completed medical school prerequisites. No AMCAS grade will be assigned.

Current/Future entries are not binding or required but are intended to give medical schools an indication of what courses you expect to complete before matriculation. Current/Future courses do not have to appear on a transcript to be entered in Coursework. The AMCAS program will not add, remove, or modify Current/Future courses after your application is submitted. If the information changes, please contact the designated medical school(s) directly.

If Current/Future grades are entered on your application but not listed on your official transcript at the time of verification, they will not be included in your AMCAS GPAs. Conversely, if you do not enter grades but grades are listed on your official transcript at the time of verification, they will be included in your AMCAS GPAs.

Deferred Grade (DG)

Deferred Grade should be selected for any single course that officially takes more than one term to complete before the final grade and credit hours are awarded (e.g., research, thesis, dissertation credits). DG coursework is not the same as Repeat, Incomplete, or sequential levels of a subject (e.g., Spanish I, Spanish II) with final grades awarded at each level.

If a final grade has not been awarded, make a separate entry for each academic term:

• Use Deferred Grade for each entry for which there is no final grade. No AMCAS grade will be assigned.
• Do not use Deferred Grade for the entry that includes the final grade.

Exempt (EX)

Use Exempt to indicate courses that were completed but not awarded credit hours. No credit hours or AMCAS grade will be assigned. Exempt courses may include any course you were not required to complete because you had any of the following:

• Previously completed courses.
• Employment experience.
• Passed a departmental exam.

Honors (H)

An Honors course refers to any course attempted through an honors program or section.

Incomplete (I)

A course is considered Incomplete if the work required for it was not completed within the appropriate time limit. If the Incomplete is unresolved, no AMCAS grade will be assigned; however, if the Incomplete is resolved, an AMCAS grade will be assigned. Select Incomplete even if:

• A grade has been ultimately assigned.
• There is no notation indicating Incomplete on the official transcript.

Many schools assign an IF or F grade if the coursework is not completed within a given time limit. If attempted credit hours are listed on the official transcript or can be determined by the AMCAS program, the F will be included in your AMCAS GPAs.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

To claim IB credit, the credit hours must be listed on your transcript. Include IB credit courses only once (indicating IB under Special Course Types), even though IB credit for the same subject may have been awarded by more than one institution. IB courses should be entered under the institution awarding the most credit. IB credit should be entered under the first term in which the college credit was initially granted. If no term is designated, include the credit with FR coursework.

If the transcript from the college awarding IB credit does not list course names, enter the subject area for which credit has been earned as the Course Name (e.g., IB Credit: English).

Military Credit (MC)

The Military Credit type should appear only for courses in which a non-alpha grade was received (that is, pass/fail grades or credit awarded) at a U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian military institution. ROTC courses are not considered military credit.

When listing military credits, you will find JST listed as a school under Florida in the Schools Attended section of the application.

No Record (NR)

Assign No Record to any course for which no final grade is available because of an administrative problem or delay at the school. No AMCAS grade will be assigned.

Pass/Fail (PF)

Pass/fail courses are those attempted under a pass/fail system that allows no more than two passing grades and one failing grade (e.g., credit/no credit, pass/fail, satisfactory/unsatisfactory, high pass/pass/fail).

Pass/fail courses attempted under a pass/fail system that allows three or more passing grades (e.g., high pass/pass/low pass/fail) will be treated as a regular pass/fail course unless your school provides an alpha letter grade conversion (e.g., A, B, C).

Repeat (R)

This selection applies to each completed attempt for any course attempted more than once, unless the final grade initially received was Withdrawal or Incomplete.

A course entry must be made for each completed attempt of a repeated course, even if any mention of enrollment in the course has been removed from the transcript. To comply with the needs of medical schools, the AMCAS program requires that the grades from all attempts of repeated courses be included in GPA calculations (along with the original grades given for those courses, even if they are not included in schools’ GPA calculations).

If you take a college-level course for which you already have been granted AP credit by the same institution, the AMCAS program considers the course a Repeat. For example, if you received AP credit for your AP Psychology course and took an Introduction to Psychology course at the same undergraduate institution, you should list Introduction to Psychology as a Repeat.

Do not select Repeat for courses designed to be repeated (e.g., independent study, thesis, chorus).

If your school has an academic forgiveness policy and subsequently replaces the original grade received with a special transcript symbol, the original grade and attempted credits must be entered on your AMCAS application, regardless of whether they appear on your official transcript. If you do not list all your attempts in a given course (along with the original grade), the AMCAS program will return your application to you to enter the original grade, which may cause you to miss application deadlines and forfeit fees.

Withdrawal (W)

A Withdrawal includes any course you officially withdrew from, regardless of whether you were passing or failing at the time. Such courses usually appear on the transcript as a “W” or equivalent symbol. No credit hours or AMCAS grade will be assigned for Withdrawals, except in cases where the school includes the Withdrawal failing grade in the GPA as an “F.”

A course entry should not be made if the course was dropped within the normal drop/add period and does not appear on your transcript. The courses from which you made unofficial or administrative withdrawals will be included in your AMCAS GPAs if your school included them in its GPA.

If you withdrew entirely from a school before completing courses for a specific term, you must still list each course for which you were registered that term, with Withdrawal as the Special Course Type. If the school does not issue transcripts for students who withdraw entirely, you must ask the registrar’s office to send an official letter (with an AMCAS Transcript Request Form attached) indicating that no transcript is available because of institutional policies.

Use the following list to determine if you must include your CEGEP (Canadian collège d’enseignement général et professionnel) or Grade 13 courses. The AMCAS program does not require a transcript from the CEGEP institution.

Credits Transferred

Courses attempted at a CEGEP or through a Grade 13 program must be listed if the credit has been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution with the use of a credit-hour system convertible to semester hours.

• Include the CEGEP or Grade 13 institution and the U.S. or Canadian institution accepting transfer credit in Schools Attended.
• Request a transcript exception for the CEGEP or Grade 13 institution and indicate the U.S. or Canadian institution on whose transcript these transfer credits will appear.
• List the coursework under the CEGEP or Grade 13 institution at which it was attempted.
• If transfer credits are not assigned to individual courses, divide the credit-hour total as appropriate to distinguish the number of credits for each course.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding transfer credit provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course (and the conversions are included on the transcript or in an official letter attached to the transcript):
  • Enter all required course data.
  • The AMCAS program will include the coursework in AMCAS GPAs, regardless of institutional policies.
• If the U.S. institution awarding transfer credit does not provide letter grades other than pass/fail:
  • Indicate Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on the official transcript of the institution awarding transfer credit.
  • The AMCAS program will include the coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass and Pass/Fail-Fail credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.
• If the Canadian institution awarding transfer credit does not provide letter grades other
  than pass/fail:
  • Indicate Advanced Placement as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on your official transcript.
  • The AMCAS program will include the coursework in your cumulative Advanced Placement credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.

Credits Not Transferred

If CEGEP or Grade 13 course credits have not been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution, you are not required to list the courses. If you choose to include the coursework on your application:

• Include the CEGEP and Grade 13 institution in Schools Attended.
• Request a transcript exception for the CEGEP or Grade 13 institution.
• Provide all required course data except credit hours attempted and grades.

The AMCAS program will not verify the coursework and will not include it in your AMCAS GPAs or cumulative credit-hour totals.

Clock Hours

Official transcripts are required from all U.S., U.S. territorial, and Canadian postsecondary institutions awarding clock hours. If the institution provides only a certificate of completion or if no official transcript is available, the registrar of the institution must send the AMCAS program an official letter (with a Transcript Request Form attached) verifying that no official transcript is available.

Please note: Your application will not be processed without an official transcript or letter.

Conversion to Semester Hours Provided by Institution

If the clock-hour institution provides a conversion to semester hours:

• Include the clock-hour institution in Schools Attended.
• If your official transcript does not clearly indicate the institution’s recommended conversion, ask the registrar’s office to attach a letter of explanation to your official transcript before it is sent to the AMCAS program.
• Enter all required course data, taking special care to enter the correct number of clock hours as credit hours.

The AMCAS program will verify the course data and will include the coursework in your AMCAS GPAs.

Conversion to Semester Hours Not Provided, Credit Transferred

If the clock-hour institution does not provide a conversion to semester or quarter hours and course credits have been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution by using a credit-hour system convertible to semester hours:

• Include the clock-hour institution and the U.S. or Canadian institution accepting transfer credit in Schools Attended.
• Request the required official transcript (or a letter from the registrar’s office if a transcript is not available).
• List the courses under the clock-hour institution at which they were attempted.
• If transfer credits are not assigned to individual courses, subdivide the credit-hour total as appropriate and assign credit hours to each course.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding transfer credit provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course on your official transcript or in an official letter attached to your official transcript, enter all required course data. The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your AMCAS GPAs, regardless of institutional policies.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding transfer credit does not provide letter grades other than pass/fail:
  • Indicate Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on your official transcript.
  • The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass and Pass/Fail-Fail credit-hour totals and not in your AMCAS GPAs.

Conversion to Semester Hours Not Provided, Credit Not Transferred

If the clock-hour institution does not provide a conversion to semester hours and course credits have not been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution, you are not required to list the courses on your application. However, you must:

• Include the clock-hour institution in Schools Attended.
• Ask for the transcript to be sent to the AMCAS program. If a transcript is not available, request a letter of explanation from the registrar (with a Transcript Request Form attached).

If you include this coursework in the Coursework section of your application, provide all required course data except credit hours.

The AMCAS program will not verify the coursework and will not include it in your AMCAS GPAs or cumulative-credit-hour totals.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

CEU credits are usually used in vocational, licensure, and certificate programs (e.g., real estate licenses, teaching and nursing certifications). You are not required to list CEU courses on your application.

CEUs cannot be converted to semester hours. The AMCAS program will not verify the coursework and will not include it in your AMCAS GPAs or cumulative credit-hour totals.

For a variety of reasons, many students attempt college-level courses while in middle or high school. The courses primarily fall into the categories of AP Courses/Exams or Other.

AP Courses/Exams

Unless credit has been granted by a U.S. or Canadian postsecondary institution or university for an AP course or an AP exam, you should not include such information on the application. If credit has been granted, you should list courses/exams according to the instructions for AP credit. Do not send high school transcripts or AP test score reports to the AMCAS program. AP credit earned during dual enrollment cannot be listed as high school coursework.

Other Courses

Many high school students take other types of college-level courses either independently or through special programs offered by their school. You should list these courses on your application under the name of the college, regardless of whether the course was held at the high school or college.

Contact the college that offered the course to determine transcript availability before you complete your AMCAS application. If a transcript from the college is available, you must ask for it to be sent to the AMCAS program, and you must list the course(s) in the Coursework section of your application.

If letter grades and credit hours are listed on the college transcript, the AMCAS program will include the grades and credit hours in its GPA calculations, even if they have not been transferred to the primary undergraduate school or used toward a degree. The courses do not require any Special Course Type unless they fall under one of those types. The only available Year in School for courses taken before the high school graduation date you entered in the Schools Attended section is High School.

If a transcript is not available from the college, the registrar’s office of the college must send an official letter (with a Transcript Request Form attached) indicating that no transcript is available because of institutional policies. You should not send high school transcripts to the AMCAS program.

If your school uses a full-year course program, choose one of the Full Year options from the Academic Term drop-down list based on the school’s calendar system. Do not divide classes by term or enter Deferred Grade (DG) as the course type.

If a U.S. or Canadian institution has granted Life Experience credit (e.g., health or physical education course credits resulting from military service or military occupational specialty (MOS) codes held):

• Include the U.S. or Canadian institution granting the credit in Schools Attended.
• The official transcript from the school granting the credit must list Life Experience course credits for the information to be verified by the AMCAS program.
• Indicate Advanced Placement as the Special Course Type.

Medical School Coursework

• You must list courses taken in any medical school program at any institution, regardless of country. Include the institution in the Schools Attended section. Enter coursework, transcript grades, and credit hours.
• Transcripts are required for medical school coursework taken at U.S., U.S. territorial, and Canadian medical schools, regardless of whether the coursework was completed.
• If medical school coursework was attempted at a foreign institution, you must request a transcript exception with the reason Foreign Institution — No credits transferred or Foreign Institution or study abroad program sponsored by U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian institution — Credits transferred if a U.S. or Canadian institution has awarded credit for some or all your courses.
• If a U.S. or Canadian institution has accepted credit, indicate which school granted you the credit. Enter your courses under the foreign institution.
• List any other courses attempted at a medical school that were not part of a medical school program. List the courses in the same way you would list any other coursework. Your AMCAS GPA will include these courses.

MD-Degree Coursework

• Enter coursework, transcript grades, and credit hours for courses taken for an MD degree attempted or completed at a U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian medical school. These courses will not be computed in your AMCAS GPAs or cumulative-credit-hour totals.
• Transcripts are required for MD-degree coursework taken at U.S., U.S. territorial, and Canadian medical schools, regardless of whether coursework was completed.
• Include the institution in the Schools Attended section and select Previous Matriculation.

Pay very close attention to this section if you participated in a study abroad program or will be including in your application coursework attempted anywhere other than at an institution in the United States or Canada.

Individual medical schools may request foreign transcripts to complete secondary applications. You should check with the medical schools you’re applying to about their requirements and, if necessary, request foreign transcripts as soon as possible.

This section outlines the most common study abroad scenarios. Contact the AAMC Support Center if you have questions.

Some schools, although not physically located in the United States or Canada, have received accreditation from an institutional accreditor recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and are thus not considered foreign institutions; as a result, transcripts from these schools are required. Courses should be listed in AMCAS materials in the same way all other coursework is listed. U.S. institutions with campuses overseas (such as the University of Maryland at Munich) are considered U.S. colleges for which transcripts are required, and all coursework must be listed.

For more information, refer to the American Colleges Overseas subsection under Schools Attended.

Courses attempted independently (not through a study abroad program) at a foreign institution must be listed if the credit has been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution by using a credit-hour system convertible to semester hours. Courses include those taken in a foreign country before formally enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution as well as those taken independently after enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution.

In Schools Attended, list the U.S. or Canadian institution that granted your transfer credit and list the foreign school.

• You must request a transcript exception for the foreign institution and select the reason Foreign Institution or study abroad program sponsored by U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian institution — Credits transferred.
• When asked if the credits from the foreign school were transferred, you must select Yes and select the name of the U.S. or Canadian institution that granted the credit.
• List foreign coursework as it appears on the U.S. or Canadian transcript under the foreign institution at which it was attempted. Do not list the coursework twice.
• If transfer credits are not assigned to individual courses, subdivide the credit-hour total as appropriate and assign credit hours to each course.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding transfer credit provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course on your transcript, enter all required course data. The AMCAS program will include the coursework in your AMCAS GPAs, regardless of institutional policies.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution does not provide letter grades other than pass/fail:
  • Indicate Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on your official transcript.
  • The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass and
    Pass/Fail-Fail credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.

Courses (other than MD coursework) attempted independently at a foreign institution do not have to be listed if credit has not been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution, except to meet medical school prerequisites unduplicated by other listed coursework. Such courses include coursework taken in a foreign country before formally enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution as well as coursework taken independently after enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution.

You are not required to list these courses in your AMCAS application, but you may do so if you’d like to make medical schools aware of them. The AMCAS program will not verify the coursework and will not include the courses in your AMCAS GPAs.

If you include this coursework in your application:

• Include the foreign institution in Schools Attended, request a transcript exception for the school, and select Foreign Institution — No credits transferred. Do not send foreign transcripts or certificates to the AMCAS program.
• Provide all required course data from the foreign institution except credit hours attempted and grades.

Watch the video tutorial about how to enter study abroad coursework on the AMCAS Tools and Tutorials website. You can also find more information about study abroad coursework by visiting the AMCAS Study Abroad webpage at aamc.org/amcasstudyabroad.

You must enter courses attempted through a study abroad program. List study abroad coursework under the foreign college, the foreign listing of your home institution, or the organization at which the coursework was attempted exactly as it appears on the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution’s official transcript. Do not enter the coursework twice.

If you attended a study abroad program, a transcript is required from the U.S. or Canadian institution that sponsored the program, even if it was not your home institution. Although you may not have taken a course at the sponsoring institution itself, you must have a transcript from that school if it was the school that awarded you credit for the study abroad coursework.

Study Abroad Program Sponsored by a U.S. or Canadian Institution

This type of program was sponsored by your undergraduate institution or another U.S. or Canadian college or university. The sponsoring school is the institution that granted you credit for the courses you took in the study abroad program.

In the School Attended section of your application, you will:

• List the U.S. or Canadian school that sponsored you (that is, the school that assisted with your registration at the study abroad institution or initially granted you credit for the courses taken).
• List the study abroad (foreign) institution.

When asked “Does the AMCAS program require an official transcript?”

• Select Yes for the U.S. or Canadian Institution that sponsored you.
• Select No for the study abroad (foreign) institution. Choose this transcript exception reason: Foreign institution or study abroad program sponsored by U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian institution — credits transferred.
• When asked if the credits from the foreign institution were transferred, select Yes and enter the name of the sponsoring school in the required field.

Enter your study abroad courses under the foreign school you attended exactly as they appear on the sponsoring school’s transcript.

If the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course on its transcript, enter all required course data. The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your AMCAS GPAs.

If the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution does not provide letter grades other than pass/fail:

• Indicate Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on the official transcript of the U.S. or Canadian sponsoring institution.
• The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass and Pass/Fail-Fail credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.

Study Abroad Program Sponsored by an Organization Other Than a U.S. or Canadian Institution

This type of program was sponsored by a third-party organization (such as Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), Cultural Experiences Abroad, DIS, International Education of Students, International Studies Abroad, World Education Services) to assist with the registration and enrollment at a study abroad school. This section provides directions for when a U.S. or Canadian school has granted credit for your study abroad courses.

In the Schools Attended section of your application, you will:

• List the U.S. or Canadian institution that has granted you credit for your study abroad course.
• List the study abroad organization.
• Select the state where your study abroad organization’s headquarters is located.
• Select Other Not Listed for the school name. Modify the school name to reflect the name of the organization and the country where you completed your study abroad (e.g., “CIEE Spain”).

When asked “Does the AMCAS program require an official transcript?”

• Select No for the study abroad organization. Choose this transcript exception reason: Foreign institution or study abroad program sponsored by U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian institution — credits transferred.
• Select Yes for the U.S. or Canadian institution that gave you credit for the study abroad courses.

When asked if the credits from the study abroad organization were transferred, select Yes, and enter the name of the institution where the credits were originally accepted. Enter your study abroad courses as courses taken at the study abroad organization. However, enter them exactly as they appear on the official transcript from the U.S. or Canadian institution that granted you credit.

If the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course on its transcript, enter all required course data. The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your AMCAS GPAs.

If the sponsoring U.S. or Canadian institution does not provide letter grades other than pass/fail:

• Indicate Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on the official transcript of the U.S. or Canadian sponsoring institution.
• The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass and Pass/Fail-Fail credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.

The AMCAS program cannot accept documentation from certain study abroad programs, including those listed below. To be verified by the AMCAS program, coursework taken through one of these programs must be transferred to a U.S. or Canadian college or university. Please note: The list is not all-inclusive:

• Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE)
• Cultural Experiences Abroad (CEA)
• Danish Institute for Study Abroad Program (DIS)
• International Education of Students (IES)
• International Studies Abroad (ISA)
• World Education Services (WES)

Please note: The AMCAS program requires official transcripts from the School for International Training (SIT Graduate Institute).

If a U.S. or Canadian institution has granted credit for an IB examination, enter the exam with International Baccalaureate as the Special Course Type and enter the transcript grade as recorded on the official transcript of the U.S. or Canadian institution accepting the examination as transfer credit and credit hours. IB credit should be entered under the term in which the college credit was initially granted. If no term is designated, include the credit with FR coursework.

The AMCAS program will verify and include letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) in its AMCAS GPA calculations only if such grades appear on the transcript of the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding the transfer credit.

French Baccalaureate is not considered an International Baccalaureate examination. Please list French Baccalaureate examinations under the Advanced Placement course type.

Refer to the Military Education Transcripts subsection of the Schools Attended section to determine if a transcript is available for courses taken at military institutions.

Transcript Available

If a transcript is available directly from the military school listing individual courses with letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours are convertible to semester hours, include the military school in Schools Attended and enter course information as it appears on the transcript. The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your AMCAS GPAs.

If your transcript does not list individual courses with corresponding grades and semester hours (or course units convertible to semester hours) but the program attaches American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations to the transcript:

• Include the military school in Schools Attended.
• Send a Transcript Request Form to the military school. Handwrite on this request that the transcript should include ACE recommendations so that the AMCAS program will expect the information and the school will know to send it.
• Enter course information as it appears on the ACE recommendations. The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass and Pass/Fail-Fail credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.

Joint Services Transcript Available

If a transcript is not available directly from the military school but a JST is available:

• Select Joint Services Transcript in the Schools Attended section (listed under Florida).
• Enter coursework as it appears on the JST under Military Course Completions.
• Military experience should be listed under coursework only if a U.S. or Canadian institution has accepted the experience as transfer credit.
• Experience from Occupations Held should not be listed unless a U.S. or Canadian institution has accepted the experience as transfer credit.
• Do not select Pass/Fail (PF) Special Course Type for military courses. Instead, select Military Credit (MC) Special Course Type for these courses.
• ROTC courses are not considered military credit.
• The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your year-in-school status and in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass credit-hour totals but not in your AMCAS GPAs.

Additional information is available on the JST website at jst.doded.mil/smart/signIn.do.

Transfer Credit Awarded by Another School

Follow the instructions below if no transcript is available directly from the military school or program and if another institution awarded transfer credit.

If a JST is not available from the military but another U.S. or Canadian institution has granted transfer credit for military coursework:

• Include in Schools Attended the military program and the U.S. or Canadian institution
  accepting transfer credit.
• You must request a letter from JST stating that no transcript is available. Enter course information as it appears on the official transcript of the school accepting the transfer credit.

If the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding the transfer credit provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and credit hours are convertible to semester hours for each course on its transcript or in an official letter attached to its transcript, enter all required course information. The AMCAS program will verify and include this coursework in your AMCAS GPAs, regardless of institutional policies.

If letter grades and/or credit hours are not listed for each course on the transcript of the school awarding the transfer credit, select Military Credit as the Special Course Type. The AMCAS program will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail-Pass credit-hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.

No Transcript Available

If no military school transcript, JST, or transfer credit to another college is available, you are still encouraged to list military courses on the AMCAS application, particularly if the courses were health-related.

• Include the military school in Schools Attended.
• Request a letter from JST stating that no transcript is available. Enter all course information except credit hours. The AMCAS program will not verify the coursework and will not include it in your AMCAS GPAs.

All narrative evaluations received from registrars will be forwarded to your designated schools with your application. If you have received narrative evaluations for some or all courses in lieu of letter grades (e.g., A, B, C):

• Include the name of the institution(s) in Schools Attended.
• Do not select Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type, even if your transcript reflects a pass/fail grade for narrative evaluation coursework. Enter all required course information.

If USAFI/DANTES credit has been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution:

• Include the U.S. or Canadian institution accepting USAFI/DANTES transfer credit in the Schools Attended section. Indicate New Jersey as the state, then select Other (not listed) for the School Name field, and modify it to read USAFI/DANTES.
• A transcript is not required from USAFI/DANTES. You must request a transcript exception and indicate the name of the U.S. or Canadian institution on whose transcript the credits will appear.
• Indicate CLEP as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course information.
• If transfer credits are not assigned to individual courses, subdivide the credit-hour total, as appropriate, to determine the number of credits for each course.

If USAFI/DANTES credit has not been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution:

• Include USAFI/DANTES in Schools Attended. Indicate New Jersey as the state, then select Other (not listed) for the School Name field, and modify it to read USAFI/DANTES.
• A transcript is required from USAFI/DANTES.
• Indicate CLEP as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course information.

You may add work and activity entries in the Work/Activities section. Simply select +Add Work/Activity and fill out the fields below. Please refer to the Work and Activities Guide for Applicants, which provides instructions for entering “Completed” and “Anticipated” experience hours.

Experience Type

From the drop-down list, select the experience type that best represents the experience you wish to include. Given that the information is self-identified, you must decide which option fits best for each experience.

Experience Name

Enter the name of the experience or the title you held during the experience. If the experience has no explicit name, select a name that you feel best describes the experience.

Completed Experiences

Experience Dates

In this section, include the start and end dates for each experience. Some Experience Types, such as Awards, Presentations/Posters, and Publications, require only one date. Given that medical schools want information about experiences that began before application submission, your start date must be the current month or earlier. End dates cannot go beyond the month and year the information is entered.

If you have not started this experience, please enter May 2022 as the start and end dates and enter 0 (zero) in the Completed Hours field.

Total Completed Hours

Enter the total number of hours you completed for the experience during the date range you indicated. If you have a nontraditional schedule, use the Experience Description field for any explanation.

If you participated in an experience more than once, select Yes under the Repeated field for that entry. You may enter up to three additional date ranges; you must include the number of hours completed for each of those date ranges.

You may enter 0 (zero) hours for publications and for Honors/Awards/Recognitions entries. Use the description to provide more information about the nature of the award or the number of times you earned it.

Anticipated Experiences

Experience Dates

In this section, please indicate if you anticipate completing any additional hours for an experience. Enter the date range if you anticipate completing additional hours. Please note: The start date must be the current month and year or later. Similarly, medical schools require experience end dates to coincide with the start of medical school, so the latest end date is August of the current application cycle.

Total Hours

Enter the total number of hours you expect to complete for the experience during the date range you indicated.

Organization Name

Enter the name of the organization where the experience occurred.

Country and City

Select the country and state/province where the experience occurred, and enter the name of the city in which the organization is located or where you spend most of your time during the experience.

Contact Information

Enter the information (title, first and last names, and phone number and/or email) for a person whom medical schools may contact to verify that the experience occurred. For example, you may enter the information for your supervisor or the individual in charge of a particular program. If the experience was a student-organized group and there is no advisor, you may list a staff member in the student affairs/activities office who can verify your experience.

If you don’t have information for a contact person, you may enter the name of a person who can verify your participation, including yourself.

Experience Description

You have the opportunity to describe or summarize each experience in 700 characters or fewer.

If you plan to cut and paste your experience description into the application, draft your information in plain text, preferably in text-only word-processing software such as Microsoft Notepad or Mac TextEdit. Medical schools receive all text-entry responses as plain text, which means reviewers don’t receive formatted text. Copying formatted or rich text into the application may result in formatting problems that cannot be edited once your application is submitted.

You may identify up to three experiences you consider to be the most meaningful. This designation will allow you an additional 1,325 characters to explain why the experience(s) was particularly meaningful to you.

When writing your summary, you may want to consider the transformative nature of the experience, the impact you made while engaging in the activity, and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation. If you have two or more experience entries, you will be required to identify at least one as the more or most meaningful.

You may change which experience(s) you designate as Most Meaningful until the initial submission of your application. The text you entered in the Experience Summary section will be lost if you remove an experience from those you have designated as Most Meaningful. Your Most Meaningful selection(s) will be designated as such by a check mark in the Work/Activities main screen.

• AAMC ID: Eight-digit identification number assigned to each user of AAMC products and services.
• Letter ID: Eight-digit identification number assigned to each letter entry on your AMCAS application.
• Letter Request Form: PDF generated by you in the AMCAS application for your designated letter authors, with your mailing address, AAMC ID, Letter ID, and information about submitting letters to the AMCAS program.

Each letter type is considered one letter entry, regardless of the actual number of letters it contains.

• Committee Letter: A letter authored by a prehealth committee or prehealth advisor and intended to represent your institution’s evaluation of you. A Committee Letter may or may not include additional letters written in support of your application. The Committee Letter is sometimes called a Composite Letter.
• Letter Packet: A packet, or set, of letters assembled and distributed by your institution, often by the institution’s career center. A Letter Packet may include a cover sheet from your prehealth committee or advisor; however, in contrast to a Committee Letter, a Letter Packet does not include an evaluative letter from your prehealth committee or prehealth advisor.
• Individual Letter: A letter written by, and representing, a single letter author. If you have already included an Individual Letter within either a Committee Letter or Letter Packet, you do not need to add a separate entry for that letter.

If a Committee Letter or Letter Packet is sent to the AMCAS program, the entire Committee Letter or Letter Packet will be sent to the schools you have designated to receive the letter. The AMCAS program does not split packets or add or remove letters once the packets or letters have been received. If you wish to send a specific letter to one medical school, we recommend you enter it as an Individual Letter and have it sent separately.

• In the Letters of Evaluation section, select +Add Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation.
• Select the type of letter to be forwarded to the AMCAS program (Committee Letter, Letter Packet,
  or Individual Letter).
• If you select Committee Letter, you may enter a Letter Title (it is optional and visible to medical schools). Next, select a school from the Select School drop-down menu. Then, fill in the fields for the Primary Contact, including address, phone number, and email address (all
  required fields).
• If you select Letter Packet, you may enter a Letter Title (it is optional and visible to medical schools). Next, select a school from the Select School drop-down menu. Then, fill in the fields for the Primary Contact’s information, including address, phone number, and email address (all required fields). Finally, you will have the option to add the names of the other letter writers who contributed to your packet.
• If you select Individual Letter, you may enter a Letter Title (it is optional and visible to medical schools). Next, you will answer the question, “Is the author associated with a school?” If the answer is Yes, you will be prompted to select the associated school from the Select School drop-down menu. Finally, you will fill in the fields for the Primary Contact’s information, including address, phone number, and email address (all required fields).
• Provide a Letter Request Form to the letter author.  The AMCAS program does not send Letter Request Form(s) to letter authors. You may print the form or save it as a PDF file so you can email it to the person who will be submitting your letter(s) of evaluation. Your AAMC ID and Letter ID numbers must be included for the letters to be matched properly to your application.
• Read and certify your understanding of the letters policy for participating medical schools.
• Select Continue.

Watch the How to Add Letter of Evaluation Entries video tutorial on the AMCAS Tools and Tutorials website.

Once you have designated which medical schools you would like to apply to in the Medical Schools section of your application, you may designate specific letters to be received by specific medical schools. When you’re adding medical schools, you will be prompted to add letters of evaluation. If you have already entered letters, a list of your letter entries will appear. Select the letters you’d like to be delivered to the given schools.

If you’ve already added medical schools but have not designated letters or would like to designate additional letters:

• Go to the Medical Schools section of the application and select the Edit link next to the school to which you wish to assign letters.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page to Select Your Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation.
• Select the letter(s) you would like to assign to that school, then select Save.
• If you have previously submitted your application, go to the Main Menu and select the Resubmit Application button to save your changes. This will not cause processing delays or result in additional fees.

If the AMCAS Letter ID number listed in your application differs from the number provided to your letter author, the AMCAS program will be unable to match them. You will be notified by email that a letter of evaluation has been received but not yet added to your application. You will need to log in to match the letter received to the letter information entered. The letter will be displayed under Received Letters in this section of your application.

To match a letter of evaluation for which you already have a letter entry:

• Log in to your application and go to the Letters of Evaluation section.
• Select Match This Letter.
• To match to an existing letter entry, select the letter entry from the list and select Save Match.

To match a letter of evaluation that you have not yet created a letter entry for:

• Log in to your application and go to the Letters of Evaluation section.
• You will be prompted to complete an Add Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation entry. For more information, refer to Creating Letter Entries.
• Once you have completed the fields, select Save.
• Regardless of how you added letters to your application, if you have previously submitted your application, go to the Main Menu and select Resubmit Application to save your changes. This will not cause processing delays or result in additional fees.

You must provide your letter author(s) with your AAMC ID and AMCAS Letter ID to ensure your letters are matched correctly to your application.

• AMCAS Letter Writer Application: This application enables letter authors to upload PDF versions of a letter(s) securely to the AMCAS program. Your letter author will be required to register (if not previously registered) and will need your AAMC ID and AMCAS Letter ID in order to upload your letter(s). The ID numbers are found on the Letter Request Form.
• Interfolio: The AMCAS program can receive letters sent to Interfolio if you are an Interfolio user or your institution uses Interfolio to deliver evaluation letters. Authors should add the appropriate AAMC ID and AMCAS Letter ID to their Interfolio account; the IDs must accompany your letter for your letter to be matched to your application. It can take up to three business days for letters to be delivered to the AMCAS program. Instructions are provided below.

Using Interfolio to Submit Letters: Enter each letter entry into your application before you have it delivered via Interfolio to the AMCAS program.

Individual Letter

• Enter each individual letter separately into your AMCAS application.
• Create a new delivery in Interfolio and select the AMCAS designation.
• Select the corresponding individual letter(s).
• Enter your AAMC ID and AMCAS Letter ID, found on the Letter Request Form for each individual letter.
• Complete the delivery.

Letter Packet or Committee Letter

• Enter the Letter Packet or Committee Letter as one letter entry in your AMCAS application.
• Create a new delivery in Interfolio and select the AMCAS designation.
• Select the corresponding letter(s) that belongs to the Letter Packet or Committee Letter.
• Enter your AAMC ID and AMCAS Letter ID found on the Letter Request Form for each letter. If the letters are compiled in Interfolio to make one Letter Packet or Committee Letter, you should enter the same AMCAS Letter ID for all letters that belong in that Letter Packet or Committee Letter.
• Complete the delivery.

After the initial submission of your AMCAS application, letter entries may not be deleted; instead, they may be designated as “No Longer Being Sent.” This can only be done if the letter has not been received by the AMCAS program. Log in to your application and go to the Letters of Evaluation section to make the designation:

• A notice above the letter descriptions reads as follows: “Medical schools need to know if you no longer plan on having specific letters sent to the AMCAS program. If one or more of your letters listed below is not going to be sent to the AMCAS program, select here.”
• Check the box next to the letter(s) that will not be sent to the AMCAS program. Be sure to select the correct Author and Letter ID combination from your application.
• You must read and acknowledge the following: “I understand that if the AMCAS program receives this letter at any time during this application cycle, the program will forward it to the medical school(s) that I have selected to receive this letter.” Then, select Save.
• To save these changes in your application, you must officially update your application. Changes will not be saved unless you officially update your application by selecting the Resubmit Application button on the Main Menu. Updating your application for this purpose will not cause processing delays or result in additional fees.
• The last column of the letter entry will now read “No Longer Sending.”
• Designating an entry as “No Longer Being Sent” does not remove a letter entry from your application.

You may check the receipt status of any of your letters in the Letters of Evaluation section or by selecting the Details link in the Transcript and Letter Receipt Information section on the Main Menu. You will also receive an email notification each time a letter of evaluation is added to your AMCAS application.

• You may continue to add letters to your application and assign them to medical schools after the initial submission of your application, but you may not edit or delete existing information after your initial submission.
• Once the AMCAS program receives a letter, no party may delete or edit it. Any letters that follow an original letter with the same AMCAS Letter ID will be appended to the original letter and sent to all medical schools you selected as recipients of that original letter.
• Under no circumstances will the AMCAS program provide access to letters of evaluation to you or your letter writers.
• Medical schools may require letters of evaluation to be written on official letterhead and signed by the author(s).
• You must comply with each medical school’s letter deadline(s).
• Please consult your prehealth advisor about questions or concerns about your letters of evaluation.
• Please refer to MSAR for additional details.

In the AMCAS application, you can filter medical schools by state, deadline, and program type by selecting from one (or more) of the drop-down menus. You can also select the medical school directly from the school drop-down list.

Once you have made a selection, information on the medical school’s participation in other services (e.g., AMCAS Letters and Criminal Background Check Service) will appear. The additional information will update each time you select a medical school from the list.

You must review your medical school designations carefully. Once you have submitted your application to the AMCAS program, you can’t remove or substitute schools on your designation list under any circumstances.

Adding Schools After Submitting Your Application

You can send your application to additional medical schools if their application deadlines have not passed. To designate additional schools after you have submitted your application, return to the Medical Schools section of the application, select the additional schools you wish to designate, then return to the Main Menu to recertify and officially update your application by selecting the Resubmit Application button. You must recertify and officially update your application with the newly designated schools in accordance with those schools’ stated deadlines. Deadlines may differ for different program types. There is a fee for applying to additional medical schools.

Updating your application will not delay the processing of your application.

Previous Application to a Medical School

If you have a verified AMCAS application from a previous application year that was sent to designated medical schools, you are considered a reapplicant to those medical schools, regardless of whether you completed a secondary application.

If you add a school to which you previously applied (through the AMCAS program, another application service, or directly to the school), you must indicate the addition of that school in your current application. Failure to acknowledge previous application activity may result in an investigation.

When you’re adding a medical school, you must designate which program you’re applying to at the selected school. The AMCAS application does not permit you to designate several programs for a single medical school. If you wish to apply to several programs at a single school, you should contact the medical school directly for recommendations on how to do that.

Certain programs require you to obtain permission from the medical school before you submit an application to them. In addition, some programs may be restricted, precluding you from applying to other medical schools. Not all types of programs are available at all medical schools. Please contact medical schools directly before applying to any restricted programs. An explanation of each type of program follows:

• Regular MD Program: Regular MD Program refers to the standard medical degree program at the selected school.
• Combined MD-PhD Program: Designating a Combined MD-PhD Program type notifies the MD program at a school that you’re interested in applying to one of its combined MD-PhD programs, either alone or in combination with the Regular MD Program. When you select this option, you will be asked to indicate the specific combined program(s) you’re interested in. The Combined MD-PhD Program type requires you to complete two additional essays in the Essay section. Designating the Combined MD-PhD Program type is not the same as applying to the program and may require an additional application. Contact the medical school directly for additional information.
• Combined Bachelor’s-MD Degree Program: You may not designate a Combined Bachelor’s-MD Degree Program type without preapproval from the medical school you’re applying to. Designating a Combined Bachelor’s-MD Degree Program type is not the same as applying to the program and may require an additional application. Contact the medical school directly for additional information.
• Combined MD Degree-Graduate Program: Designating a Combined MD Degree-Graduate Program type notifies the Regular MD Program at the designated school that you’re interested in applying to one of its Combined MD Degree-Graduate Programs, either alone or in combination with the Regular MD Program. When you select this option, you will be asked to indicate the specific combined program(s) you’re interested in.
• Deferred/Delayed Matriculation: You will need preapproval from the medical school before you apply if you were previously admitted to that medical school and granted a deferral.
• Early Assurance Program: You will need preapproval from the medical school to apply to an Early Assurance Program. This program type is reserved for applicants medical schools invited to apply.
• Other Special Program (OSP): An OSP is typically a special program of study offered by a medical school. OSPs tend to vary greatly from one institution to another, so you should refer to the Medical School Admission Requirements website or the medical school’s website for detailed information about each OSP.

If the program you want to select isn’t listed, then its deadline has passed, the program requires preapproval, or the program has a residency requirement. If the program deadline has not passed, contact the medical school to determine whether you are eligible to apply.

You can change a medical school program type if the deadline has not passed. To save changes to the application, select Update Application on your AMCAS application. Select Medical Schools and change program types. Updating your application will not delay the processing of your application.
If you are switching from the Early Decision Program to a Regular MD Program, you must release your Early Decision Program selection from your application to be able to select additional medical school designations. There is no charge to update your application unless you add medical schools when you update it. Note: If you are switching from the Regular MD to the Combined MD-PhD Program for the first time, be prepared to answer additional essay questions. You will not be able to add answers to those essay questions after you resubmit your application.

The Early Decision Program (EDP) allows you to secure an acceptance from one EDP-participating medical school by Oct. 1* while allowing enough time to apply to other schools if you’re not accepted.

As an EDP applicant, you must agree:

• Not to apply through the EDP if you have already submitted an initial or secondary application (AMCAS or non-AMCAS) to a U.S. medical school for an MD-degree program for the current entering class.
• To apply to only one medical school (AMCAS or non-AMCAS) through the EDP.
• Not to submit additional applications (AMCAS or non-AMCAS) until one of the following:
  • You receive an EDP rejection.
  • You receive a formal release from the EDP commitment.
  • The Oct. 1* notification deadline passes (contact your EDP school if you have not been notified).
  • You have decided to apply to other medical schools, communicated these intentions to the medical school(s), and officially released yourself from the EDP designation in your AMCAS application.
• To familiarize yourself and comply with the school-specific EDP policies of the program to which you were accepted, including any school-specific conditions if you decide to change program types and apply to other medical schools.

You must adhere to the terms set forth by a medical school if you are accepted to its EDP. The terms apply, but are not limited, to applicants accepted to the current entering class, delayed matriculants from a previous entering class, and all other applicants who are required by the medical school to submit an EDP application to the current entering class.

Medical schools agree to notify EDP applicants of admission decisions by Oct. 1* and may defer applicants to the regular applicant pool, if appropriate.

EDP Deadlines:

• Aug. 1*: Application submission and official transcripts received.
• School-specific deadline: Any supplemental application materials.

If your application is received by the stated deadline but any of your transcripts is late, you may still apply to the medical school’s Regular MD Program. To do so, change the program type to which you are applying from Early Decision to Regular MD Program in the AMCAS application. Once you have made the change, you may designate additional medical schools.

*Or the next business day if the date falls on a weekend or holiday.

Consider and write your Personal Comments Essay carefully; many admissions committees place significant weight on the essay. Here are some questions you may want to consider while writing the essay:

• Why have you selected the field of medicine?
• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that has not been disclosed in other sections of the application?

In addition, you may wish to include information such as:

• Unique hardships, challenges, and obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits.
• Comments on significant fluctuations in your academic record not explained elsewhere in your application.

Formatting Your Essay:  Medical schools receive all text-entry responses as plain text. This means that formatting options such as bulleted lists, indented paragraphs, and bold and italic fonts do not appear for reviewers and are not available in the AMCAS application. You may want to include an extra space between paragraphs because the essay does not permit indentation.

To avoid formatting issues, we recommend typing your essay directly into your AMCAS application; copying formatted text into the application may result in formatting problems that can’t be edited after your application is submitted. If you do cut and paste your essay(s) into the application, you should draft your essay(s) in a plain text format, such as Microsoft Notepad or Mac TextEdit.

Please keep the following in mind:

• Proofread carefully! No changes (including corrections to grammatical or typographical errors) may be made to your essay after you submit your application to the AMCAS program.
• You can’t run a spell check in the AMCAS application, but most browsers have built-in spell checking that you can enable. Use English (United States) characters; other characters may not be accurately recognized.
• Medical schools prefer to receive applications that follow normal writing practices regarding the case of letters. You should avoid using all uppercase or all lowercase letters for the text responses in your application.
• Plagiarism or misrepresentations may result in an investigation. You may use artificial intelligence tools for brainstorming, proofreading, or editing your essays. However, it's essential to ensure that the final submission reflects your own work and accurately represents your experiences.
• It isn’t necessary to repeat information reported elsewhere on your application.
• The essay will be sent to all the medical schools you apply to.
• The space allotted for the essay is 5,300 characters, or about one page. Spaces are counted as characters. You will receive an error message if you exceed the character limit.

If you’re applying to MD-PhD programs, you’re required to provide two additional essays, the MD-PhD Essay and the Significant Research Experience Essay. Use the MD-PhD Essay to state your reasons for pursuing the combined MD-PhD degree. Your essay will be forwarded only to your designated MD-PhD programs. This essay is limited to 3,000 characters.

Below the MD-PhD Essay, you will be asked to enter your total hours of research experience.

If you’re applying to MD-PhD programs, you’re also required to write an essay that describes your significant research experiences. In this essay, please specify your research supervisor’s name and affiliation, the duration of the experience, the nature of the problem you studied, and your contributions to the research effort. This essay is limited to 10,000 characters.

If you were an author of a publication about your research, please enter the full citation in the Work/Activities section of your application.

Please note: If you change the program type to a Combined MD-PhD Program at a designated school after you submit your application to the AMCAS program, you will need to complete the MD-PhD and Significant Research Experience Essays before you can resubmit your application.

All MCAT exams you have taken and for which you have received scores will be automatically released to the AMCAS program. Before you submit your application, you must ensure all the MCAT exams you’ve received scores for are listed in this section. Please note: This does not include any exams you voided at the time of the exam.

If you have not yet taken the MCAT exam or have not yet received a score for a recently taken MCAT exam at the time you submit your application, it is very important that you include in your application the test dates for upcoming or recently taken MCAT exams. If you don’t do this, medical schools will have no way of knowing that they should expect (additional) MCAT scores from you. Also, be sure to remove MCAT exam date(s) from your application after your scores have been released and to keep this section current after you submit your application!

Most medical schools require MCAT scores to be no more than three years old. Consult with the schools you plan to apply to or the Medical School Admission Requirements website to ensure you meet all requirements for test dates. All MCAT scores from 2003 to the present will be automatically released to the AMCAS program (unless you voided your scores at the time of the exam) and will be included in all your future AMCAS applications.

 The AMCAS program does not need your scores to verify your application. You may submit your AMCAS application before or after the release of your MCAT scores.

MCAT Exams Taken Before 2003: If you wish to release MCAT scores earned between 1991 and 2003, you do so by selecting the Print Score Report option in the MCAT Score Reporting System. You may then mail or email the report to the institutions that should receive your scores. The report includes a Verification Code the schools will use to confirm your scores.

To release scores earned before 1991, please visit the Electronic Score Request webpage.

Your scores on the AAMC PREview^® assessment, a professional readiness exam, will be automatically released to the AMCAS program, and schools that require or recommend PREview scores that you have designated in your AMCAS application will have access to your scores. Before you submit your application, you must ensure all the PREview exams for which you have received scores are listed in this section. Please note: This does not include any exams you voided at the time of the exam.

If you have not yet taken the PREview exam or have not yet received a score for a recently taken PREview exam at the time you submit your application, it is very important that you include in your application the test dates for upcoming or recently taken PREview exams. If you do not do this, medical schools will have no way of knowing that they should expect (additional) PREview scores from you. Also, be sure to remove PREview exam date(s) from your application after your scores have been released and to keep this section current after you submit your application.

Refer to the PREview program for a complete list of schools requiring or recommending the PREview exam. Consult with the schools you plan to apply to or the Medical School Admission Requirements website to ensure you meet all requirements for test dates. All PREview scores from 2020 to the present will be automatically released to the AMCAS program (unless you voided your scores at the time of the exam) and will be included in all your future AMCAS applications.

The AMCAS program does not need your scores to verify your application. You may submit your AMCAS application before or after the release of your PREview scores.

If you’re an applicant to a special program, such as an MD-PhD or an MBA-MD program, medical schools may require other test scores in addition to your MCAT scores. Examples of other tests include the GMAT, LSAT, MAT, or GRE. If you wish to include non-MCAT test scores in your application, select Add Test Score under Other Tests.

If you’ve taken a test that includes several sections (e.g., GRE-Math and GRE-Psych), treat each section as a separate test by entering each section individually.

Please note: The AMCAS program does not verify scores on tests other than the MCAT exam. Although your designated medical schools may require additional information and official score reports, please do not send the score reports to the AMCAS program.

If you do not have any other exams to report, designate None under Other Tests. A response is required to complete the section.

You may not change, correct, or update selected parts of your application after you submit it to the AMCAS program. To accept the conditions, check off each statement and then select Agree. In the next screen, you will then be prompted to enter your password. You will have the opportunity to print a PDF of your application as it appears on this screen.

Pay application fees (tax, where applicable, will be calculated at checkout) by credit card through VeriSign’s secure credit card transaction services (for Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Enter your credit card information, including the billing address, and then select Continue to make your payment.

The AMCAS program will not accept any offline payments, including checks, money orders, or credit card information sent via mail, fax, email, or phone.

Fee Assistance Program applicants: Your award is not retroactive. Please wait until you receive your award to submit your AMCAS application.

Your application will be held if you owe the AAMC money for services provided in a previous year or for the current year for any AAMC program. Applications will not be processed until financial holds are resolved, which may result in missed deadlines.

It’s your responsibility to ensure the AMCAS program has received payment of all required fees. You will receive email notification if your application is held for financial reasons. If you have any questions, send us a message or call 202-828-0600.

Once you submit your application and it has been successfully delivered, the AAMC’s service is complete and no refunds will be issued. It’s your responsibility to select the programs you will apply to, complete your application correctly, monitor the status of your application, ensure all required materials are received and posted to the application, respond to all notifications in a timely manner, and adhere to the deadline requirements posted by each program you have applied to. You will not receive a refund for failure to meet the admissions requirements of a medical school or for an unsuccessful application.

• Select View/Update Application in your current application. Your applicant profile should show up, and you can make changes to your contact information there. Select Save & Continue to access your application.
• If you’re in the application, another way to access your profile is to choose Edit My Profile.
• You must save and resubmit your application to have the changes saved in your application. This will not affect the verification status of your application.

The AMCAS program requires you to review verified coursework and GPA information. If you find discrepancies or disagree with changes made during the verification process, you may submit an Academic Change Request for review by the program. After the review, the request is either granted or denied. The Academic Change Request option is available in the Quick Links tile of the Main Menu. When submitting an Academic Change Request, you must select one of the following reasons:

• Recompute the following GPA/hours.
• Reverify the following courses.
• Add the following courses.
• Delete the following courses (only if the course has been added to your application by AMCAS staff).
• Update the following school information.

In the AMCAS application, you will need to enter details about your request into the text box and explain why you are requesting this change to your application. You may enter more than one request into the text box.

The AMCAS program will evaluate ONLY the following items in an Academic Change Request:

• Academic status.
• Academic term.
• Academic year.
• AMCAS grade.
• Course classification: Copy and paste into the text box either the course description directly from your school’s website or a link where the description can be found so that AMCAS staff can verify the primary content of the course.
• Course type.
• Credit hours attempted.
• Degree date and/or degree type.
• Grade update if the school made an error when reporting a grade: You must have the school submit an updated official transcript reflecting the changed grade and a letter from the registrar’s office explaining the reason for the change. If the letter is not included with the updated transcript, the Academic Change Request will be denied.
• Incorrect school name.
• Lab or lecture course.
• Degrees, majors, and minors: If you request a change to your major or minor course of study and it is approved, the AMCAS program changes the name to the most appropriate core subject name. The program can’t change the subject name to the specific title of your degree, major, or minor. For example, a request to add “marine biology” as a minor will be input as “biology.”
• Official transcript grade.
• Omitted coursework (does not include current or future coursework).
• Semester or supplemental hours.
• School: Add a school and the associated coursework if you failed to report the school on the AMCAS application at the time of submission. The AMCAS program must receive the official transcript before you submit the Academic Change Request. If the AMCAS program does not receive the transcript before you submit the Academic Change Request, the request will be denied. This does not include a school(s) you are currently attending or planning to attend.

The AMCAS program will not change, correct, or add:

• Course names, titles, or numbers.
• Grades and hours for certain types of courses that were left off the application and did not appear on any official transcript at the time of processing, including:
  • Current/Future (CC) coursework.
  • Deferred Grade (DG).
  • Honors (H) designation (the AMCAS program does not add the Honors type if omitted by
    the applicant).
  • Incomplete (I).
• Any other sections or items in your application (e.g., essays, biographical and employment information, activities, school designations, test scores and dates).
• A discrepancy in GPA calculation from a previous application cycle.
• Current or future schools or institutions.

You must (1) select the Resubmit Application button and (2) recertify your application each time you make an allowable change after your initial submission. If you skip these steps, your changes will not be saved. Updating your application does not affect its processing and will not result in delays.

Upon your initial, conditional acceptance by a participating medical school and after Jan. 1 for all programs (except applicants accepted by an Early Decision Program, for whom a background check takes place at the point of acceptance), Certiphi Screening, Inc., will send an email to the preferred email address you entered in your AMCAS application. The email will give you access to a secure, online form through which you will provide basic identifying information and consent for a background report to be procured. Your consent will serve for all participating medical schools that offer you conditional acceptance.

Once you have provided consent, Certiphi Screening, Inc., will conduct a background check. When the background check is complete, Certiphi Screening, Inc., will send an email to your preferred email address asking you to review the background check report before its distribution. Once you have received the email, you will have 10 calendar days to contest the accuracy of the contents of the background check report. Once you have reviewed and released the report or after the specified 10-calendar-day period has elapsed, the background check report will be made available to the participating medical school(s) that made a conditional offer of acceptance.

• If you have submitted an AMCAS application to schools participating in the Criminal Background Check Service, you may obtain a preliminary background report before the report is requested by and released to participating institutions by visiting Application Station at applicationstation.certiphi.com and using this code: CERTAP2025. Applicants are responsible for the discounted cost of the preliminary background report, which is $71, plus any fees for international background check research. For more information, please contact Certiphi Screening’s Applicant Services team at 800-803-9582 or ApplicantServices@certiphi.com.
• The preliminary background report is for your information only and will not be made available to any school participating in the AAMC-facilitated Criminal Background Check Service.
• Upon your initial, conditional acceptance to an additional participating medical school, the background check report will be made available to other participating medical schools offering a conditional acceptance after Jan. 1.
• The background check will not be released to any party other than the medical school(s) requesting it.
• History in the background check report that may include infractions and juvenile records will be displayed to you, but medical schools’ policies vary in the content their reviewers can and will view.

Please review the Felony and Misdemeanor section of this AMCAS Applicant Guide for further details.

Below are state-specific notifications that some states mandate for inclusion in advance of a background check. Many state-specific mandates indicate you are required to request in writing a copy of the report procured on you. If you live in one of the states named below, you will receive a copy of the report without requesting it.

For Maine Applicants Only

“Upon request, you will be informed whether or not an investigative consumer report was requested and, if such a report was requested, the name and address of the consumer reporting agency furnishing the report. You may request and receive from us, within five business days of our receipt of your request, the name, address, and telephone number of the nearest unit designated to handle inquiries for the consumer reporting agency issuing an investigative consumer report concerning you. You also have the right, under Maine law, to request and promptly receive from all such agencies copies of any reports.”

For New York Applicants Only

“You have the right, upon written request, to be informed of whether or not a consumer report was requested. If a consumer report is requested, you will be provided with the name and address of the consumer reporting agency furnishing the report.”

For Washington Applicants Only

“If we request an investigative consumer report, you have the right, upon written request made within a reasonable period of time, to receive from us a complete and accurate disclosure of the nature and scope of the investigation. You have the right to request from the consumer reporting agency a summary of your rights and remedies under state law.”

For California,* Minnesota, and Oklahoma Applicants Only

“A consumer credit report will be obtained through Certiphi Screening, Inc., P.O. Box 541, Southampton, PA 18966. Telephone: (800) 260-1680. Website: certiphi.com.

• “If a consumer credit report is obtained, I understand that I am entitled to receive a copy. I have indicated below whether I would like a copy.
• “If an investigative consumer report and/or consumer report is processed, I understand that I am entitled to receive a copy. I have indicated below whether I would like a copy.”

*California applicants: “If you chose to receive a copy of the consumer report, it will be sent within three (3) days of the employer receiving a copy of the consumer report and you will receive a copy of the investigative consumer report within seven (7) days of the employer’s receipt of the report (unless you elected not to get a copy of the report). Certiphi Screening’s privacy practices with respect to the preparation and processing of investigative consumer reports may be found at certiphi.com.”

Para información en español, visite consumerfinance.gov/learnmore o escriba al Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20552.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check-writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to consumerfinance.gov/learnmore or write to: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20552.

• You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment — or to take another adverse action against you — must tell you and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
• You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your “file disclosure”). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
  • A person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report.
  • You are the victim of identity theft and place a fraud alert in your file.
  • Your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud.
  • You are on public assistance.
  • You are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.

In addition, all consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See consumerfinance.gov/learnmore for additional information.

• You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your creditworthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. Refer to consumerfinance.gov/learnmore for an explanation of dispute procedures.
• Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
• Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need — usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
• You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For more information, go to consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.
• You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
• You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or in some cases a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency, violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
• Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.

States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state attorney general. For information about your federal rights, contact the relevant organization in the table below.

Credit report contact information:
Certiphi Screening, Inc.
A Vertical Screen Company
Attn: Consumer Disclosure
P.O. Box 541, Southampton, PA 18966
Toll-free phone: 800-260-1680
Note: All laws cited are subject to change, and although the AAMC will endeavor to keep this information up to date, we will not be held responsible or liable for any changes that may not appear in this document.
 

This privacy statement explains what kinds of information the AAMC collects through its website (including the AMCAS website), web-based applications, and other AAMC programs and how the AAMC uses this information.

These policies describe specific uses of personal information of AMCAS applicants and medical students. The AAMC disseminates application information to medical schools to which applicants have applied.

Any information published by the AAMC related to medical school applications is done with aggregate statistics. The AAMC may also share personally identifiable data with peer not-for-profit organizations, certifying boards, licensing bodies, and other organizations involved in medical education for research, eligibility determination, verification, and credentialing purposes.