The primary application opens in early May and is done through the AAMC website. I would recommend opening up an account in AMCAS as soon as possible if you are going to apply. This application is the application where they check if you meet the requirements, ask for basic information, and etc. which will be sent to the schools of your choice later on. There are several sections to this primary application:
Identifying Information - your name, social security, and etc.
Schools attended - High school, any colleges
Biographic information - address, legal status, race, and etc.
Course Work - In this section, you either pay for them to automatically upload all of your grades and etc. or you type in every single course work you have done that will show up on your transcript along with the grade. After you submit your transcripts, AAMC will go through and make sure you properly put in this course work and will assign you your AAMC GPA.
Work/Activities - Only a maximum of 15 work experiences, extra circulars, research experiences, shadowing, and clinical experiences can be put in this section TOTAL so you must choose wisely. You will put a small description, the hours, dates, and contact information of the person you worked with. Additionally, you can choose 3 "most meaningful" experiences and you can write a paragraph about why this experience was especially meaningful
Letters of Evaluation - As mentioned before, this is where your letters of evaluation are submitted. You put in your contacts information and set a due date. Your contact will get an email and specific information on how to submit the letter of evaluation.
Medical Schools - This is where you click on the universities that you want to apply to. If you choose the Early Decision option for a university, you may not select any other university until October 15th - I will talk about the Early Decision in a later post.
Essay - The only essay that is needed for your primary application is your personal statement which I talked about in an earlier post
Standardized Tests - This is where all your MCAT scores will go. Furthermore, some schools might ask you for a CASPER score which tests emotional intelligence in stressful situations but you will get an email from that specific school if they need it.
The primary application is your first step towards applying to medical school and I would recommend turning this in as soon as possible right when it opens so that schools can send you their secondary application. You must also keep in mind the costs. The first school you choose costs $170 and every additional school you add on costs $40 and this is ONLY for the primary application so be wise with your decisions!
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