American Medical School, AMCAS Application, AMCAS Application Timeline

2018-2019 Application of a time line for a medical school (for applicants who plan to start a medical school in the fall 2019).

The medical school application process lasts for almost a year. Therefore, excellent planning and organization are great. The chronology of the Medical School application below describes the steps and the time of the application process to help you stay on the right track.

Staying on time is particularly important because most medical schools have acknowledgments. Gradual recognition means that applications are valued upon receipt. Applying early in the cycle can increase your chances of enrollment. Many schools start interviewing in August or September, and some schools offer acceptance as early as mid-October. How classrooms are filled up can be more difficult to obtain.

To begin with, you need to know some basic information about the procedure for applying for a medical school.

There are three separate centralized application services for medical schools in the United States.

AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) – used by most schools in M.D. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/

TMDSAS (Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service) – For public health schools in Texas. http://www.tmdsas.com/medical/homepage.html

AACOMAS (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service) using D.O. schools. http://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/applying

In addition to receiving a primary application through the appropriate service, most medical schools require a secondary or additional application. The last step of the application is the interview.

Here is a timeline to follow for applicants who plan to enter medical school in fall 2019:

October – December 2017

  • Get acquainted with the application process. Good sources of information are the above-mentioned application services websites and your pre-health advisor. Find out if your school has proposed a letter of recommendation and a procedure for obtaining them.
  • Collect data on medical schools. Drug Admission Requests (MSAR), available on the AAMC website, are a great resource. You can download the Osteopathic faculty profile online from the AACOM website.
  • Continue with the acquisition of clinical and research experiences during the next year.

January – March 2018

  • Ask for individual letters from a doctor or doctor’s recommendation, or receive a letter from the commission according to your undergraduate protocol.
  • Register for MCAT at least two months before the scheduled test. MCAT information can be found at https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/taking-mcat-exam/
  • Begin studying for MCAT for a few months or more before taking the test.

April – June 2018

  • Prepare and take the MCAT if you have not already taken the test or if you need to return it. Take MCAT in the spring, if possible, but no later than the beginning of the summer to deliver the results to schools at the beginning of the cycle.
  • Look for copies of your transcripts and make sure there are no mistakes.
  • Start working on primary applications. AACOMAS opens in mid-May.
  • The AMCAS application is available online in May for applicants to begin filling, but cannot be sent by early June.
  • TMDSAS opens in early May.

July – September 2018

  • If necessary, Take/retake the MCAT
  • Complete additional (secondary) applications. Some will arrive in days after filing the main application, and others will take months. Return them to schools within two weeks of receiving.

September 2018 – Spring 2019

  • Continue to send secondary files.
  • Interview in medical schools.
  • Some MD schools inform applicants of acceptance on October 15th. The school can inform candidates in advance. Notifications continue until the class is full.
  • By April 30, applicants of AMCAS schools should have only one place at school. They can stay in the waiting list for other schools.

Spring – Summer 2019

  • Updating schools where you are in the waiting list for new activities and achievements.

Autumn 2019

  • Start a medical school!

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