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AMCAS: Biographic information
Contains:
Helpful Materials:
Financial Aid Awards
General Parental Income
University Bills/Finacials
Your preferred address is the address to which any physical mail from medical schools will be sent to you. So make sure this address is somewhere you will be at frequently to check mail during the admissions cycle and throughout the academic school year.
Email is the main method of communication though with AMCAS and most medical schools
Your permanent address will be used only in the event that correspondence sent to your preferred address is returned by the U.S. Postal Service.
Often students list their family home address as their permanent address.
An alternate contact is any person who will be able to contact you in the event that you become unreachable at any point during the application process. AMCAS recommends that you provide alternate contact information if you expect to be difficult to contact (e.g., studying abroad in a remote area).
If you are not a U.S. citizen, click No.
Select your country of citizenship and the type of visa you currently hold from the designated drop-down lists (Adjustment of Status, DACA, Exchange visitor/student (J1), None, Other, Permanent Resident, Refugee/Asylum, or 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.
DO NOT select a type of citizenship for which you are currently in the process of applying.
If you’re a legal resident of the United States, click 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 AMCAS.
If your county is not listed, select Unknown County from the drop-down list.
This racial and ethnic identification is optional, which AMCAS provides to "provide medical schools with information about the many ways in which an applicant could contribute to institutional diversity."
For each language, you will be asked for your proficiency level (Basic, Fair, Good, Advanced, or Native/Functionally Native) and use in childhood home.
Medically underserved: Based on your experiences or the experiences of immediate family and friends, you may believe that the area in which you grew up was “underserved” if there was an inadequate number of health care providers to meet the needs of the area; health care providers may include physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care services.
You can also use the following link to determine if your childhood residence was medically underserved: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/mua-find
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 the Financial Aid office.
If you answer Yes, 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’ll be required to provide your separation date.
If you choose Other, explain your status in the space provided.
If you have never served in the Armed Forces or are currently serving without previous discharge, answer No.
If you answer Yes, you’ll be asked if you received an honorable discharge or discharge under honorable circumstances.
If you answer No, you must explain in 1,325 characters the circumstances of your discharge, including the circumstances leading to your discharge, your period of service, and your rank at the time of discharge.
DO NOT include any instance in which you:
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Were arrested but not charged
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Were arrested and charged, with the charges dropped
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Were arrested and charged, but found not guilty by a judge or jury
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Were arrested and found guilty by a judge or jury, with the conviction overturned on appeal
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Were arrested and found guilty but received an executive pardon
If you answer Yes, you’ll 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.
DO NOT include any instance in which you:
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Were arrested but not charged
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Were arrested and charged, with the charges dropped
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Were arrested and charged, but found not guilty by a judge or jury
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Were arrested and found guilty by a judge or jury, with the conviction overturned on appeal
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Were arrested and found guilty but received an executive pardon
If you answer Yes, you’ll 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.
California Residents: do not provide any information concerning a misdemeanor or infraction marijuana conviction that occurred more than two (2) years from today’s date and specifically HS11357(b) or (c), HS11360(b), HS11364, HS11365, or HS11550.
Connecticut Residents: 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.
District of Columbia Residents: do not identify convictions that are more than ten (10) years old.
Georgia Residents: do not identify any guilty plea that was discharged by a court under Georgia’s First Offender’s Act.
Illinois Residents: you are not obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrests.
Applicants to Schools in Massachusetts: your response to the above 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.
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, which have been annulled, will not necessarily disqualify you from employment.
New York Residents: do not disclose information regarding any criminal proceeding that terminated in a “youthful offender adjudication,” as defined in Section 720.35 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law.
Oregon Residents: do not provide information concerning a juvenile record that has been expunged.
Washington Residents: limit your answer to conviction for which the date of conviction or prison release, whichever is more recent, is within ten (10) years of today’s date.
"Disadvantaged" means you had some extrinsic or intrinsic limitations compared to other medical school applicants. It helps give context to other areas of your application, which may be lacking.
Things to consider that could qualify you as disadvantaged:
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if you grew up in a medically or educationally underserved or rural area until the age of 18
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if you have a situation involving your immediate family that affected you educational opportunities or social circumstances
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if your family received state and/or federal assistance because of socioeconomic or other circumstances
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if you have a personal disability which has affected your education and/or day-to-day life
If you answer Yes, you’ll have 1,325 characters to explaining why you feel you should be considered a disadvantaged applicant.
Do's and Don't's of Disadvantaged Essay
DON'T
DO
DON'T include hypothetical situations about how your situation could have been different had some event or mistake not occurred
DON'T repeat your personal statement
DO address overcoming hardships, focusing on specific examples, how you dealt with these challenges and the lessons you learned
DO add a new dimension to your application either by telling a new story or telling the same story from a different angle
DON'T try to make excuses for deficiencies in your application
DON'T tell the story of parents or siblings
DO provide context to your situation: provide background on your situation and how it has limited you during the course of your life and your preparation for medical school
DO tell how family circumstances impacted YOU
DON'T focus entirely on only one part of your life
DO give a fuller picture of your background and don't be afraid to start at the very beginning
via AMCAS