The Primary Application

The process of applying to medical school has been centralized to a great extent by the two major organizations of medical colleges in the United States, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). Each of these organizations runs an online application service that allows students to initiate the process of applying to many schools at once through one initial primary application. Students apply to allopathic schools through the AAMC's "AMCAS" application, and apply to osteopathic schools through AACOM's "AACOMAS" application. Most schools participate in these online application services, although there are a few that do not.

For the AMCAS and AACOMAS primary applications you will create a unique User Name and Password that will allow you to create your online application. You can log in and out of your online application, and spend as long as you like entering information and making sure that everything is accurate and complete. When you are satisfied with the application you submit it electronically and it is sent to AMCAS/AACOMAS for processing.

The 2009 AMCAS and AACOMAS online applications will be available at the following web addresses:

Before you start, you will need to gather documents to help you fill out the various parts of your application. You will need copies of transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended, even if you only took one course at the school. The application requires that you fill in complete information about every college course that you have taken, using the transcript of the original school where the credit was earned. If you already have a resume prepared, it will be helpful for filling out some parts of the application. Otherwise, you can just compile a list of your most significant activities.

Guides to the AMCAS application can be found by clicking on "Support for AMCAS 2009" at the AMCAS website. A complete guide to the AMCAS application can be found by clicking on "AMCAS 2009 Instruction Book" at the website as well.

Before starting to fill out the AMCAS application, print out this Instruction Book, the Application Worksheet, and the Application Tips. Keep all these documents in a file folder to use as a reference guide as you fill out the application. These are large files to print out, but it will save you time if you have hardcopies of them to refer to as you fill out the application. The application is complicated but most questions can be answered by referring to the appropriate sections listed in the table of contents in the Instruction Book.

The instructions for the various sections of the AACOMAS application are available in a menu on the main AACOMAS website.

In addition to completing the primary application, you need to order official transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended to be sent to the application processing services (AMCAS/AACOMAS). On the AMCAS application you will print off a Transcript Request form for each school you have attended and submit the form to the registrar at each school you attended. Consult the AACOMAS website for information on sending transcripts to AACOMAS.

Information on ordering transcripts from IU Bloomington may be found at the Office of the Registrar website. Consult the website of the registrar's office at any other university you have attended about their procedures for ordering transcripts.

After completing your electronic application and submitting it you should periodically log on to the application website and monitor the status of your application to make sure that all transcripts are received and processed.

The application processing services (AMCAS and AACOMAS) must receive all transcripts before they will process your application. In essence, if you have not ordered your transcripts and have not checked to see if they have been received, then you have not completed your primary application.

For further information on how to fill out the various sections of the primary applications please consult the HPPLC publication, A Guide for Applicants to Medical Schools and the instructions available on the primary application websites.