Section 10
Health Professions School Application Process: Checklist and Timetable for Students Applying to Medical or Dental School
Cynthia Lewis
The health professions school application process begins about one and one-half years before the date when you will actually enter a health professions school. For many people, this means the winter of the junior or senior year in college. For others, it means waiting until completion of one or more years of post-baccalaureate education. As you begin the application process, make an appointment to see your pre-medical or pre-health professions advisor to discuss application strategies as they relate to the following:
- Meeting the required entrance exams (e.g., Medical College Admission Test and Dental Admission Test)
- Contacting the appropriate application service (e.g., American Medical College Application Service, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service, American Association of Dental Schools Application Service)
- Completing the application and writing the personal statement
- Identifying appropriate health professions schools
- Obtaining letters of evaluation
- Preparing for the interview
You should have all possible information to make your application successful.
The checklist below is intended to provide a detailed guide for students applying to medical, dental, or other health professions schools. The dates indicated are the deadlines for completing the activities chosen so that you have a good chance of getting interviews early (by Christmas, ahead of the masses) while, at the same time, spreading out the long and tedious application process so that it doesn't interfere with studying for the fall MCAT/DAT (if taken) or regular fall courses. Therefore, you should definitely plan to complete each activity on or before the given deadline date.
Application is usually expensive and entails travel, application fees, and other interview costs. The total expenditure could run about $3,500 for application to medical school, if you include trips across the country, and less for other health professional schools. So save money now!
Several professional organizations have centralized electronic application services. These include the AMCAS which is administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the AACOMAS which is administered by the Association of Osteopathic Schools, and the AADSAS which is administered by the American Association of Dental Schools (See Appendix B for addresses and telephone numbers). For example, you must use the AMCAS to apply to medical schools that participate in the service (the majority of U.S. schools) by submitting official transcripts from each of the schools you have attended or are attending and application materials to AMCAS. AMCAS, in turn, verifies the information, duplicates the application, and forwards it to the medical schools you have designated. A list of AMCAS participating schools can be found in the latest MCAT bulletin, the AMCAS registration packet, or the latest edition of Medical School Admissions Requirements.
Health Professions School Application Timeline/Checklist
___ January 1. It is suggested you take the April MCAT/DAT exam during your junior year and begin studying for it as soon as possible. Many schools prefer this. Be sure to contact the AAMC for MCAT preparation materials. While a number of commercaial review courses are available, consult your pre-medical advisor before taking one of these courses. Whether you choose one of these methods or independent study with your own notes and commercially-produced books and computer software, allow at least three months for dedicated, daily preparation (at least 300 hours is recommended). The importance of high MCAT scores cannot be over-emphasized!
___ January 15. If you haven't attended a summer program that provides exposure to the health professions, along with test preparation, look over the programs listed in your pre-health professions office and apply to at least three of them.
___ February. Registration packets for the MCAT/DAT are usually available in February. Register as soon as possible so that you receive your preferred testing location. You may be assigned to another test center if your preferred site is fully subscribed.
___ February. It is strongly recommended that you write a five to ten-page typed autobiography that tells everything about your family, educational, avocational, and work history that you feel is important. This can be given to your advisor and people you requested to write letters on your behalf. It is also useful in responding to questions asked on secondary applications.
___ March. Request feedback about drafts of the biographical information and personal statement in your application from your pre-health professions advisor, trusted faculty, and friends who have outstanding written communication skills.
___ March. Think about which health professions schools interest you. Read catalogs, talk with seniors who have visited schools, and above all, consult with your advisor.
___ March. Approach the people from whom you wish to request a letter of evaluation and have the letters put on file in the appropriate office at your school. Check with your pre-health professions advisor about how many and what sorts of letters schools require.
___ April 1. Modify the draft of your essay and list the schools to which you are considering applying based on comments from your pre-health professions advisor.
___ Early April (deadlines-November through February for some dental schools). Go to your Registrar's Office and request a copy of your transcript be sent to you. Check it over for mistakes and then save it, because you will need it to complete the AMCAS/AACOMAS/AADSAS form.
___ Early April. Have transcripts of all the schools you attended before your present school sent to:
- AMCAS/AACOMAS/dental schools that request it
- All non-AMCAS/AACOMAS/AADSAS schools (e.g., University of Texas system, Harvard, Baylor) to which you intend to apply
- Yourself (so that you will have a copy to complete the application form)
Note: Schools are prohibited by law from sending out grades earned at another institution. Therefore, even though your college accepted courses from somewhere else to count toward your degree, the University cannot mail a copy of your grades from other schools.
___ April 15. Request further feedback on your modified essay and then take it to a writing center at your college for suggestions on grammar, syntax, etc.
___ April 15. Pick up an AMCAS/AACOMAS packet from the pre-health office. Request an AADSAS packet by mail. Read the instructions to prepare for submitting it on June 1st (AMCAS/AACOMAS) or July 1st (AADSAS). Make notes, set up your own files, and check lists for the application process.
___ April 15. Fee Waiver. For minority and financially disadvantaged students, check question #14 on the AMCAS application. This does not automatically grant a fee waiver. Submit the waiver application that requires the signatures of a college financial aid officer and your parents, or guardians, and considerable financial information. It will take two to three weeks to process, and, if granted, you need not pay for the first 10 schools on your application. Refer to the AMCAS Designation Form Side 2 for the fee schedule for additional schools. Read all forms and instruction booklets for more information. If granted, you will receive a fee waiver card that must accompany your AMCAS application. Note: The application process alone will cost you $500 or so. If you don't ask for a waiver from AMCAS/AACOMAS/AADSAS, the schools normally won't give you one for the secondary applications.
___ April 15. Pick up an MCAT/DAT Registration packet from the pre-health office to register for the fall exam if you are not taking the April exam.
___ April 15. Consult with your advisor about requirements for specific schools in which you may be interested. Your advisor most likely has a copy of the Medical School Admissions Requirements or Admission Requirements of United States and Canadian Dental Schools which you may want to brouse. Your advisor can assist you in intergrating some of the infomration which these sources present.
___ April 30. Check with the pre-health professions office to see how many letters of evaluation you have on file. Then, ask enough faculty to write them so you will have three to five. At least one should be from the current academic year. See your pre-health professions advisor for the procedure to be used for collecting letters. If you are reapplying, update your file by obtaining letters of evaluation from instructors of classes you have taken since you last applied and in which you have done well.
___ April 30. Complete the forms requesting the Registrar's Office to send all of your college transcripts to AMCAS/AACOMAS/AADSAS, and to non-application service schools to which you intend to apply as soon as spring grades are recorded. Deadlines range from November through February and depend on individual schools.
___ May. Request applications from non-AMCAS/non-AADSAS schools to which you will apply.
___ May 1. Get high quality passport-sized (2"x2") pictures made. Be sure to wear a shirt with a collar or a nice dress.
___ May. Request final comments about the draft of your complete application form. Edit the final essay; it should be letter perfect.
___ May 30. Pick up an MCAT/DAT registration packet from the pre-health office to register for the fall exam if you did not take the spring exam.
The earliest date that your completed AMCAS or AACOMAS application will be accepted is June 1; the earliest date for AADSAS is July 1. You are urged to have your application ready to mail on this date or soon thereafter. "The earlier the better" applies to all phases of the application process. Assuming your application is in order, the application service will duplicate it and send it to the schools you have designated within three to five weeks. Schools' responses to receipt of your application will vary tremendously. Some will tell you that they want no further information for the time being (it may be months before you hear from them again), while others will immediately request supplementary materials such as additional essays, money, a picture, or letters of evaluation. You should be prepared to respond promptly to whatever requests they make. Throughout the entire process, keep very good records of everything you send. For example, make photocopies of all essays and applications in case they are lost in the mail. Also, record the dates on which you request your pre-health office or faculty to send letters of evaluation. Give one copy to your pre-health professions advisor and keep one for yourself. Keep records of all communications from the schools, as well, and make notes of any phone calls (see Appendix D for a worksheet to help you keep track of your correspondance). The AMCAS/AACOMAS/AADSAS application should be the first one you complete. Remember, the application must be typed with a typewriter with a dark/new ribbon so it will photocopy well. Commercial computer software is now available to print your copy onto the AMCAS and AACOMAS forms. You can download a Windows version of AMCAS-E from the AAMC's website, <http://www.aamc.org./stuapps/admiss/amcasreq/downlead/htm>. For technical support, e-mail <AMCAS@aamc.org>, typing AMCASETECH in the subject line. Other inquiries can be submitted to <AMCAS@aamc.org>, typing ASIS00 in the subject line. Other inquiries can be submitted to <AMCAS@aamc.org>, typing ASIS00 in the subject line. You can download a Windows version of the AACOMAS application from the Petersons College Guide website, <http://www.petersons.com/sites/extras/apps/aacom.html>. If you decide to use the diskette version of the form, make sure you can pull it up on your terminal screen and can print out the completed form before submitting it. Once your diskette (AMCAS-E) or hard copy (AACOMAS or AADSAS) is mailed, you can begin work on applications to non-application service schools. The same advice applies to these applications-submit materials as early as you can. Be prepared to respond promptly to requests for additional information.
Many students apply to about 12 medical schools and 12 dental schools because after the primary and secondary applications have been screened, the interview and other more subjective criteria are used in the selection process. You can add more schools after you have mailed your initial forms by submitting the additional designation form and paying another fee.
___ June 1-5. AMCAS and AACOMAS applications are received by the application service (deadlines are in the fall).
___ June 15. All letters of evaluation should be in your file. Request the committee letter to be written if one is provided by your college. Your letter packet should be ready to mail (deadlines are in the fall).
___ June 15. Mail the AADSAS application for dental school.
___ June 15. You will receive an acknowledgment postcard from the application service about two weeks after you mailed it.
___ June 15-25. After you receive notice of your scores, bring a copy to the pre-health office to be included in your file. Give your spring MCAT/DAT scores to your pre-health professions advisor, request feedback about retaking the fall MCAT/DAT exams, and seek advice to which schools to apply. You may add schools in the summer and fall. Your MCAT/DAT scores will automatically be sent to all schools you selected if you signed the release. If you did NOT release your spring scores, you must contact the application service directly to release them to your selected schools. If you plan to take the fall exam, you must designate it on the form. It is very helpful to your pre-health professions advisor to release the information to him or her. At the time you take the exam, you will also need to designate all non-AMCAS schools which are to receive scores.
___ July and August. Individual schools will begin to request secondary applications from you. Complete and return them within two weeks of receipt. Have your letter packet sent only to schools that specifically request secondary applications. Call or write the schools that do not provide receipt postcards to determine if they received your application materials. Study for the fall MCAT/DAT if you are taking it.
___ July 1. The AADSAS application is received by the application service.
___ July 1. You will receive a transmittal notification (AMCAS) or a biographical profile (AACOMAS/AADSAS). Submit a copy of this notice/profile to your pre-health professions advisor. The service does not forward this information to your advisor.
___ Summer. (see also Section 15. Health Professions School Application Process: Interview Guidelines). Keep track of all your applications in the following weeks and months. Some schools will be explicit in telling you when you should expect to hear something from them. If you have not heard anything soon after that date, it's reasonable to give them a call to make sure your file is complete. Other schools may not give you a timetable. In such cases, it's generally acceptable to check the status of your application if you haven't heard anything in four weeks. Use good judgment in deciding whether or not to contact a school. It's important that you not wait until March to find out some important part of your application was lost in the mail back in July, but it's also important that you not pester the school. They'll never get to reading your application if they have to spend their time answering calls from over-anxious applicants!
___ August 31. Plan to complete all secondary applications by the end of the summer. It will take an average of 100 to 200 hours to complete all of your secondary applications. Your college advising office may maintain a file of secondary applications and interview experiences. Read them!
___ October through April. Individual schools will conduct interviews for prospective students. Before you leave for an interview, ask your pre-health office for names of any alumni currently attending the medical school you will be visiting. You may want to contact them, either for suggestions on where to stay, or their opinions of the school. Read all information on individual schools and interview report forms that previous applicants may have completed following their interviews from your college. Your pre-health office may have these resources.
___ October through August. Acceptance notices start arriving. Try to stay as calm as possible as you wait impatiently for news! It's going to be a long application year. Plan well!
___ May 15. AMCAS "traffic rules" state that medical school applicants can hold multiple acceptances until May 15 of the year of matriculation. After May 15, applicants must narrow their choice to one school. You must notify schools of your decision or you run the risk of having all your offers rescinded on May 15 because you did not comply with this rule.