2017 AMCAS School Tools User Manual

Transcription

1 Table of Contents Introduction... 4 Overview of School Tools... 4 Changing Your Password... 5 Support... 5 Customizing the Admissions Processing Software... 6 Installing the Java Plug-In... 6 Installing Adobe Reader... 6 Pop-Ups and Active X Controls... 6 Tools>Internet Options>Security>Custom level... 6 Using the AP Setup Tab... 7 Options Tab Tab Printing Tab Print Order Sub-Tab Default Sections Sub-Tab Naming Convention Sub-Tab Hidden Fields Tab Doc Options Tab Sch Defined Tab Using School-Defined Tabs Using the Security Tab Users Tab Data Transfer Tab Scheduling Tab New APP ML Tab Documents Tab Finding and Selecting Applicants Searching for Applicants Working with the Applicant List Using Filters Using Advanced Filters Audit Tab Reviewing Applicant Information Overview of the Admissions Processing (AP) Tab Data Tabs and Sub-Tabs Summary Tab Summary Sub-Tab Miscellaneous Sub-Tab Change History Sub-Tab Biographic Tab Biographic Information Sub-Tab Contact Information Sub-Tab Childhood Information Sub-Tab Experiences Tab AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 1

2 Essays Tab Academics Tab Schools Sub-Tab Courses Sub-Tab GPA/MCAT Sub-Tab Printing Applications Actions Tab and Sub-Tab Comment & History Sub-tab Working with Optional and School-Defined Data AMCAS Letters Service Using the Letters Tab Non-AMCAS Received Letters Loading Letter of Evaluation Images Printing AMCAS Letters of Evaluation Using the Interview Tab Adding Interview Notes Using the Custom Tab Updating Applicant Information Editing and Saving Data Setting Application Statuses Assigning Applicants to Interviewers or Committee Members Setting Admission Actions AMCAS Admissions Actions and Codes AAMC-facilitated Criminal Background Check Service (CBC) Participating in the Criminal Background Check Service Initiating Background Checks on Accepted Applicants Setting Alternate List Background Checks Using the Admission Action Upload Utility (AAUU) Sending Messages Granting Applicant Pre-Approvals Setting Deadline Extensions Extending Deadlines for Existing Applicants Running GPA and MCAT Comparison Reports Exporting Mailing Label Data Reports AAMC Reports Available to the Public AMCAS Reports Available Through School Tools Software Generating AMCAS School and National Reports Appendices Appendix A: Course Classifications Appendix B: Special Course Types Appendix C: AMCAS Admission Actions Appendix D: BCPM and Other GPAs Appendix E: Rural/Urban Continuum Appendix F: Submitting Actions via the AAUU Appendix G: Submitting Alternate List CBC Requests via the AAUU Appendix H: AMCAS Determination of Primary Undergraduate School AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 2

3 Appendix I: Submitting Alternate List Background Checks via Direct Insertion Appendix J: State-Specific Notifications for Criminal Background Checks Appendix K: AMCAS Data Retention Policy AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 3

4 Introduction The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is a centralized application service operated by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). AMCAS enables first-year medical school applicants to apply to multiple AMCAS-participating medical schools with one online application. The AMCAS School Tools web application was designed for medical school admissions offices to use to streamline the selection of entering classes each year. The information in this manual is also accessible from within the application by clicking Help. Overview of School Tools Access School Tools at Prior to logging in, you will need your system administrator to create your user account with proper permissions. The AAMC creates an initial account and a set of permissions for the designated system administrator(s). The system administrator will then have the ability to create users and add or update permissions for users at the school. Depending on your user permissions, you may not have access to all of the tabs on the School Tools homepage. The School Tools web application is comprised of seven main tools: Admissions Processing (AP) The AP allows you to track AMCAS application data from initial submission to final admissions decisions. Using the AP, you can search, review, and manage applicants and applicant data. You can also evaluate interviews, view letters of evaluation, and communicate with applicants via . Data Transfer The Data Transfer tab allows you to schedule when you will receive any selected AMCAS supplementary materials such as the TAMF, DADF, AMCAS letters of evaluation, Electronic Verified Printed Applications (evpas), and Electronic Change Reports. In this tool you can also generate a copy of the Preliminary Applicant Contact (Mailing Label) Data File and download electronic versions of applicant documents including narrative evaluations, investigation reports, and AMCAS letters of evaluation. AP Setup AP Setup is where you will customize the AP to meet your processing needs. For example, you can define application statuses and admissions actions, create school-specific fields, and determine whether you wish to receive preliminary/unverified application data. Ad Adv The Admissions Advantage tool launches the AAMC Admissions Hub in a new browser window. You can also access AMCAS web content directly at (sign-in required). Security 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 4

5 The Security tool allows you to specify which users have access to the system and application data. AMCAS will set up a system administrator account which will allow you to add users and create or update permissions for users. You can have multiple system administrators at your school. Reports The Reports tool provides access to pre-defined School and National Reports, including the Roster of Applicants and Acceptance Reports. AAUU The Admission Action Upload Utility (AAUU) tool permits schools to submit admission actions to AMCAS via a text file. Changing Your Password To change your password click the My Account button displayed on the School Tools Homepage. You will be redirected to the page to change your password. Passwords may contain letters and numbers. To change your password: 1. On the School Tools Homepage, click My Account 2. You will be redirected to the OneAAMC Account page. 3. Click on the Change Password option. 4. Enter your current password in the Old Password field. 5. Enter your new password in both the New Password and Confirm Password fields. 6. Click the Update button. 7. A confirmation screen will appear and provide you with an option to return to School Tools. Support The AMCAS Medical School Relations team is available weekdays, between 9:00am and 5:00pm ET, to assist you with School Tools and other AMCAS products. Phone: Fax: schoolrel@aamc.org Web: (sign-in required to see AMCAS content) 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 5

6 Customizing the Admissions Processing Software You can customize settings such as adding interviewer and committee member accounts, creating default settings in AP Setup, and developing custom fields. Installing the Java Plug-In School Tools utilizes a Java plug-in that allows you to connect to the AMCAS server and upload files, such as letters of evaluation or narrative evaluations. To use the plug-in, you need to download the free Java installation file from and then install it by following the instructions from Java. It is important that the plug-in is installed on every computer that will be used to access School Tools. Please consult with your system administrator regarding the installation of this plug-in. Installing Adobe Reader The system exports all reports in PDF format. Users who are expected to view or print reports will need Adobe Reader installed on his/her computer. Go to and download Adobe Reader by following the instructions on their website. Please consult with your system administrator to ensure the latest version of this tool is installed on each computer that will be used to access School Tools. Pop-Ups and Active X Controls Many functions in the system appear as pop-up windows. If your school uses pop-up blocking software, such as the Google toolbar, it must be modified so that pop-ups are allowed from School Tools. AMCAS School Tools also uses Active X controls and Java scripting. Please consult with your system administrator regarding these settings to ensure easy use of the AMCAS School Tools software. Here are some Internet Explorer (IE) security settings that need to be set for each user. You can navigate to these settings in IE following these steps: Tools>Internet Options>Security>Custom level 1. Under Active X Controls and Plug-ins the following should be ENABLED: a. Automatic prompting for Active X Controls b. Run Active X controls and plug-ins c. Script Active X controls marked safe for scripting 2. Under Active X Controls and Plug-ins the following should be PROMPT: a. Download signed Active X Controls 3. Under Downloads the following should be ENABLED: a. Automatic Prompting for file downloads b. File download 4. Under Scripting the following should be ENABLED: a. Active Scripting b. Scripting of Java applets 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 6

7 Using the AP Setup Tab The AP Setup tab is accessible to system administrators or those whom the system administrator has assigned access permission. The tabs and sub-tabs within AP Setup include: Options Tab The Options tab displays by default after accessing AP Setup. The features in this tab allow you to define the system defaults and establish a list of Application Statuses and Admissions Actions for use in the AP tab. General Options Sub-Tab Specify an address to use as the sender address for all correspondence with applicants, the location for shared files, your default search criteria, and whether or not your school wants to receive Preliminary/Unverified Applicant data. Preliminary/Unverified Applicants Specify whether or not you want to see preliminary/unverified applicant records in the AP search results. Preliminary/unverified applicant data is from submitted applications that have not yet been verified by AMCAS. Certain tabs and features in AP will not be available when viewing preliminary applicants since some information is available only for processed applicants (e.g., experiences, essays, course work). If you opt to receive preliminary data and later determine that you do not want preliminary data, changing your selection from Yes to No will not remove any preliminary applicant data that has already been transmitted. Admission Processing Address Specify the From address that appears in all communications sent from your office to applicants using the AP. Export Options There are two storage location options available for files exported from an advanced filter: Shared Storage and Local Storage. Each of these options is detailed below. Export to Shared Storage: Shared Storage could be housed on a network drive that is accessible to all School Tools users. Provide a Shared File Location in the Path: field. Export to Local Storage: The Local Storage option exports the file to the specified location on the machine hosting your ADI Client. Provide a Shared File Location in the Path: field. Note that if you attempt an export to shared or local storage and the file does not show up, it is most likely a system permissions issue. Your IT administrator should make sure that the ADI has access to the shared drive/folder. In some cases, it may be difficult to determine if the ADI has such access. One simple method is to locate the Username and Password assigned to the ADI Client service and verify that it has access to the storage location AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 7

8 To determine what username and password the ADI has been assigned take the following steps (must be done on machine housing ADI): Open Control Panel (Start>Settings>Control Panel). Open Administrative Tools and click on Services. Right click on ADI Client Service and select properties from the drop-down menu. Click on the Log On tab. If Local System Account is selected, you will need to verify that the username and password associated with the local system account has access to the shared drive. If this Account is selected, you need to verify that the account and password entered have access to the shared folder. Shared Storage Use this path for shared files such as applicant photos, letters of evaluation, official transcripts, or interview notes. Beginning with the 2017 cycle, you should create a folder for each file type as shown below. Be sure to select a shared file location accessible to all AP users at your school. Files must be located in the root folder for each document type. Default Search Criteria Specify the default search criteria. If a default is not specified, AP search functionality automatically defaults to Last Name. Default Search Result Display Type Set your Default Search Result Display Type when viewing lists of applicants after performing a search. The options available are Paginate or All. Paginate means that when viewing the search results list, ten applicants will be displayed per page. If you select All, the entire search results will appear as a scrollable list. Default Experience Sort Type Select how an applicant s experiences are listed within the Experiences tab. You can sort the experiences chronologically, by experience type, or by most meaningful. If sorted by most meaningful, the experiences the applicant designates as most meaningful will be listed first in alphabetical order. MCAT Date Range Set a minimum and maximum date range if you do not wish to view MCAT scores outside the determined range. If a range is set, you will be unable to filter for MCAT scores outside of the date range. If you do not set a minimum and maximum date range, then all MCAT scores will display. All MCAT scores for your applicant pool will be transmitted to your local AMCAS database regardless of the MCAT date range that you enter here. Automated Notification-Inbound Address Add an address at which you would like to receive automated notification of the following: 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 8

9 Narrative Evaluations A Narrative Evaluation has been received in support of an applicant s application. Program Type Change An applicant has changed the Program Type on their application. Notifications of investigation reports are automatically sent to the Dean of Admissions and investigations contact designated for your school. To change your designated investigations contact, please contact the AMCAS Medical School Relations Team. Application Status Sub-Tab Application Status refers to the application review and processing sequence at your institution. In this tab you can specify which application statuses your school will use. Select these options from a predetermined list or create your own school-defined application statuses. Adding School-Defined Application Statuses School-defined application statuses are outlined in white. To add a School-Defined Application Status: 1. Click the Application Status sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Click Add New Option and enter the name in the Application Status Description box. 3. Check the Use checkbox. You may add up to five application statuses at one time. Click the Save Options button. We strongly recommend that you do not name a school-defined application status with the same name as an application status provided by AMCAS. Activating Application Statuses The application status items outlined in gray are provided by AMCAS. Schools may opt to use them or use their own statuses to meet school-specific needs. To activate an Application Status: 1. Click the Application Status sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Check the Use checkbox for the application status you would like to use and save your selections. If you click another tab or sub-tab before saving the changes, you will see a pop-up window asking if you wish to save your changes. Deactivating Application Statuses You cannot delete an application status if it has already been used for an applicant that year. However, you can deactivate it so that it cannot be used for any other applicants. Application statuses provided by AMCAS cannot be deleted, only deactivated. To deactivate an Application Status: 1. Click the Application Status sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Clear the Use checkbox for the application status you no longer want and click Save AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 9

10 Deleting Application Statuses You cannot delete a school-defined application status if it has already been used for an applicant that year; you can only deactivate it so that it cannot be used for any other applicants. Application statuses provided by AMCAS cannot be deleted, only deactivated. To delete an Application Status: 1. Click the Application Status sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Select the application status to be deleted by clicking on its Application Status Description. 3. Click Delete Selected Option. The page will refresh and return you to the Application Status page, where the deleted status will no longer appear. Setting the Order of Application Statuses Control the order in which application statuses appear in the drop-down lists within the AP Actions tab. To set the order of Application Statuses: 1. Click the Application Status sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Click Set Option Order. 3. Move a selected application status by clicking Up or Down. Click Save. The page will refresh and return you to the Application Status page. Admission Actions Sub-Tab Admission actions are decisions regarding admissions. In addition to official AMCAS-defined admission actions, you can add your own actions. These school-defined admission actions appear to AMCAS and are listed on AMCAS reports as Other. School-defined actions are not considered official or final AMCAS actions. For a description of each available AMCAS admission action see Appendix C. Valid Subsequent Admission Actions When you select an admission action in the top pane, a list of valid subsequent admission actions appears in the bottom pane. You cannot modify the subsequent admission actions, nor can you define valid subsequent admission actions for school-defined admission actions. Adding School-Defined Admission Actions School-defined admission actions display in white and appear above any gray AMCAS-defined admission actions. School-defined actions cannot be final actions. Therefore, No will appear in the Final Action column for all school-defined admission actions. We strongly recommend that you do not name a school-defined admission action with the same name as an admission action provided by AMCAS. To add a School-Defined Admission Action: 1. Click the Admission Actions sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Click Add New Option and enter the name in the Admission Action Description box. 3. Check the Use checkbox. You may add up to five admission actions at one time. Click Save Options AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 10

11 Activating Admission Actions The admission actions outlined in gray are provided by AMCAS and must always remain active. School-defined admission actions are outlined in white and can be specified as active or inactive. To activate an Admission Action: 1. Click the Admission Actions sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Check the Use checkbox for the corresponding admission action. Click Save. Deactivating Admission Actions You cannot delete an admission action if it has already been used for an applicant that year. However, you can deactivate it so that it cannot be used for any other applicants. Only school-defined admission actions can be deactivated. To deactivate an Admission Action: 1. Click the Admission Actions sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Select the admission action to be deactivated and clear the corresponding Use checkbox. Click Save. Deleting Admission Actions A school-defined admission action can be deleted from the system if it has not been used for any applicant that year. You cannot, however, remove any official AMCAS admission actions. To delete an Admission Action: 1. Click the Admission Actions sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Select the admission action to be deleted by clicking on its Admission Action Description and click Delete Selected Option. 3. A pop-up window will ask you to confirm deletion. The page will refresh and return you to the Admission Actions page, where the deleted action will no longer appear. Default Tabs Sub-Tab The Default Tabs section allows users to specify the order of sub-tabs within the associated AP tab. For example, schools can change the order of applicant data on the AP Summary tab. In the drop-down box under Default Sub-tab Name, there are three choices, Summary, Miscellaneous, and Change History. You may reorder those sub-tabs to suit your preference for viewing applicant information. You can modify the order of the sub-tabs at any time during the application year. To change the order of a Default Sub-Tab Name: 1. Select which AP tab you would like to change. 2. Select which Default sub-tab name you would like to change from the drop-down menu. Click Save to apply your changes AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 11

12 Tab Use the features in the Tab to create, edit, and delete templates to use when communicating with applicants. You can create templates for standard s such as acknowledging receipt of application or to provide information about your school, programs, secondary application, etc. You cannot add attachments to templates, however they can be added when sending an via the AP. To create a new Template: 1. Click Add New Template. 2. Enter the Subject and the Message. 3. If you wish to make the template available only to your account, select the Keep this template private checkbox. Click Save. The page will refresh and return you to the main Pre-Defined page, where your new template will appear. To edit or delete an Template: 1. Select the template to be edited or deleted from the tab. 2. Click Edit Selected Template and modify the content as needed or click Delete Selected Template to delete. Click Save. Printing Tab The sub-tabs under the Printing tab in AP Setup include Print Order, Default Section, and Naming Convention. Print Order Sub-Tab The Print Order sub-tab allows users to control the order in which application sections print from AP. For example, users can have the essay section(s) print immediately after the summary section if desired. The application summary will always appear at the top of the Print Order Setup list. To specify the print order: 1. Click on the Print Order sub-tab. 2. Select a section from the list that you would like to move and use Up and Down to modify the order of the sections, click Save when all sections are in your desired order. Default Sections Sub-Tab From the Default Sections sub-tab, you may choose which sections on the AMCAS application print by default. Note that users can also determine which sections of the application they wish to print at the time of printing. To choose which sections print by default: 1. Select the Default Sections sub-tab then check on/off which sections you would like to have/not have printed AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 12

13 2. Click Save when finished. Naming Convention Sub-Tab The naming convention sub-tab allows users to define the file naming convention for applications printed via the AP. The following fields are available to choose from: AAMC ID Unique, AAMC assigned identifier APPL PERSON ID Year-specific AMCAS identifier APPL YEAR The year of the application cycle (entering class year) FIRST NAME MIDDLE NAME LAST NAME MED INST ID Unique school identifier assigned by the AAMC Hidden Fields Tab Throughout the application process, all AMCAS data will be stored in the database. However, the Hidden Fields tab allows you to hide fields (e.g., date of birth, sex, and race) at specific times during application review to ensure that certain data do not prejudice the admission application process. Many schools, due to state regulations or their own policies, cannot use certain data collected on the AMCAS application. The choices made on this screen affect all applicants and all views and override any user permissions established in the Security tab. In addition, these fields will be hidden on all reports that show applicantspecific data and corresponding report selection criteria will not be available for selection. For example, if applicant sex information is hidden until matriculation, this field will not appear on any reports or selected tabs. Furthermore, users cannot filter the data using the hidden field. Hidden data are included for aggregate statistics only. You can make changes to this tab at any time. To hide a field: 1. Click the Hidden Fields tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Check the Hide checkbox for the field to be hidden. You can sort the Hidden Fields list by clicking on the Tab Name or Field Name column heading. 3. Select an option from the Hide Type drop-down list. a. Hide Until Interview Completed: The field is hidden from view throughout the application process until the application status is set to Interview Completed for a specific applicant. Note that Interview Completed can only be selected if the Interview Completed status is marked in use on the Application Status sub-tab. b. Hide Until Accepted: The field is hidden from view throughout the application process until the admission action is set to Accept for a specific applicant. c. Hide Until Matriculated: The field is hidden from view throughout the application process until the admission action is set to Matriculated for a specific applicant. d. Always Hide: The field is hidden from view throughout the application process. 4. Repeat steps 2-3 for each field to be hidden. a. If you select a field that appears more than once, the system will prompt you to hide other locations with the same Hide Type. b. Click the OK button to hide the field on all tabs where it appears AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 13

14 c. Click the Cancel button to hide the field only on the selected tab. 5. Click Save when finished. To unhide a field: 1. Click the Hidden Fields tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Clear the Hide checkbox for the field(s) to be unhidden. You may wish to sort the Hidden Fields list by clicking on the Tab Name or Field Name column heading. 3. Click Save when finished. Doc Options Tab The Doc Options tab allows you to specify the naming convention for Application Reports, Narrative Evaluations, and AMCAS Letters delivered to your school s AAMC File Server space. These documents can be requested and delivered by an automated process (AP Setup) or manually requested within School Tools. Naming Scheme for Application Reports This tab allows you to set the file naming scheme for application or investigation reports. When selecting an available field, you will see a sample filename. Once you have selected your preferred naming scheme, you can save your changes by clicking Save on the far right. AAMC ID Unique, AAMC assigned identifier APPL PERSON ID Year-specific AMCAS identifier APPL YEAR The year of the application cycle (entering class year) FIRST NAME MIDDLE NAME LAST NAME PROGRAM TYPE CODE The program to which the applicant is applying: 1 Regular M.D. 2 Deferred/Delayed 3 Early Assurance 4 Combined Bachelors/Medical Degree 5 Early Decision 6 Combined Medical Degree/Graduate 7 Other Special Program 8 Combined Medical Degree/Ph.D. IR Static identifier (Investigation Reports) Naming Scheme for Narrative Evaluations This tab allows you to set the file naming scheme for Narrative Evaluations. When selecting an available field, you can see a sample filename. Once you have selected your preferred naming scheme, you can save your changes by clicking Save on the far right. AAMC ID Unique, AAMC assigned identifier APPL PERSON ID Year-specific AMCAS identifier APPL YEAR The year of the application cycle (entering class year) FIRST NAME 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 14

15 MIDDLE NAME LAST NAME SCHOOL NAME SCHOOL ATTENDED ID Unique identification number of the applicant s school providing narrative evaluation PROGRAM TYPE CODE The program to which the applicant is applying: 1 Regular M.D. 2 Deferred/Delayed 3 Early Assurance 4 Combined Bachelors/Medical Degree 5 Early Decision 6 Combined Medical Degree/Graduate 7 Other Special Program 8 Combined Medical Degree/Ph.D. NE Static identifier (Narrative Evaluations) Naming Scheme for AMCAS Letters This tab allows you to set the file naming scheme for AMCAS Letters. When selecting an available field, you can see a sample filename. Once you have selected your preferred naming scheme, you can save your changes by pressing the save button on the far right. This naming scheme is only applicable for schools participating in the AMCAS Letters service. AAMC ID Unique, AAMC assigned identifier APPL PERSON ID Year-specific AMCAS identifier APPL YEAR The year of the application cycle (entering class year) FIRST NAME LAST NAME PRIMARY AUTHOR LAST NAME Last name of the primary author of the letter Individual(I)/Committee(C)/Packet(P) Letter type identifier CURRENT RECEIPT DATE Most recent letter receipt date Letter ID Unique, AMCAS assigned letter identifier INSTITUTION NAME Name of institution issuing letter INSTITUTION ID Unique identifier of institution issuing letter PROGRAM TYPE CODE The program to which the applicant is applying: 1 Regular M.D. 2 Deferred/Delayed 3 Early Assurance 4 Combined Bachelors/Medical Degree 5 Early Decision 6 Combined Medical Degree/Graduate 7 Other Special Program 8 Combined Medical Degree/Ph.D. AL Static identifier (AMCAS Letter) 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 15

16 Sch Defined Tab Applicant information is presented in the system based on tab controls representing major groups of information. The School-Defined tab allows you to determine whether you want to use pre-defined tabs to manage letters of evaluation and interview data. In addition, you can define up to three additional custom tabs to track any data not already managed in the AP. For example, a custom tab can be set up to track secondary applications or institution-specific information. Letters of Evaluation Use this tab to track and access letters that have been received electronically or imaged upon receipt by your school, as well as to assign scores to letters. Interviews Use this tab to store interview notes or scanned documents associated with an interview. School-Defined 1, 2, and 3 Use these tabs to track any data not already managed in the system. For example, some schools assign a tab to special program reviews (e.g., M.D.-Ph.D. programs). Other schools assign a tab to information about secondary application fees, updated transcripts, and other materials applicants may send directly to you. Custom fields can be defined for each tab. The Custom tab data that is created on the school-defined tabs is only stored in your AMCAS local database. AMCAS cannot restore this data if lost or damaged. We recommend that you periodically back-up your database. Using School-Defined Tabs The system allows you to define up to three custom tabs. You can enable or disable the tabs at any point in the application process. These tabs help you track applicant information that is pertinent to your institution, but not included in the AMCAS application. To use a School-Defined Tab: 1. Click the Sch Defined tab and then click the Tabs sub-tab. 2. Select a year from the Application Year drop-down list. 3. Select Yes, keep this tab for any of the School-Defined options. 4. Enter a Tab Name and click Save. Once you have defined a custom tab, you can create custom fields to display and store information for that tab. To create a Custom Field: 1. Click the Sch Defined tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Select the sub-tab on which you want to add a field. 3. Click New Custom Field and enter a Field Name. 4. Select a Field Name Location from the drop-down list. a. This controls where the field name label appears with respect to the data contained in the field. 5. Select a Display Type from the drop-down list. Options include: a. The Text Box option will display a single-line text field AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 16

17 b. The Drop-down Box option will display a field that contains a drop-down list of values; the user can select only one choice from the list. After selecting this display type, enter the choices for the drop-down list in the List of Values box. c. The Text Area (Text Box) option will display a multiple-line text box suitable for notes or longer text entries. d. The Checkbox option will display a set of values with checkboxes next to each; the user can select more than one value. After selecting this display type, enter the list of values in the List of Values box. e. The Radio Button option will display a set of values with radio buttons next to each; the user can select only one value. After selecting this display type, enter the list of values in the List of Values box. f. The Date option will display a date field where users can enter the date in mm/dd/yyyy format or click the Open Calendar button to select a date. g. The URL option will display a link that, when clicked, will take users from the AP to the specified URL, which may be school-specific software. 6. In the Display on Columns drop-down list, select whether the field appears in Column 1 or Column 2 of the school-defined tab. 7. Select whether to make the field Read Only via AP Interface. This option is used to display readonly information on a tab that is imported from other school software (for example, your secondary application). 8. Enter the Width of Field and Length of Field. Depending on the Display Type selected, the Width of Field and Length of Field may not be applicable. These options only affect how much information displays on the screen. These options do not determine how much information is physically stored in the field. 9. Review the Example Model. 10. Complete the Value Validation and List of Values areas if required. The Value Validation area is required if you select Text Box or Text Area as the display type. a. Alphanumeric fields can contain letters and numbers. b. Character fields can only contain letters. c. Numeric fields can only contain numbers. 11. The List of Values area is required if you select Drop-down Box, Checkbox, or Radio Button as the display type. a. Value Text determines what will display on the screen. b. Value determines what will be stored in the database. 12. Check the boxes for the tab(s) on which the custom field will be displayed from the Show this Field On list. 13. Click Save. The page will refresh and return you to the Tab and Field Setup page, where the new custom field will appear. Editing and Deleting Custom Fields To edit a Custom Field: 1. Click the Sch Defined tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Select the sub-tab and the custom field to be edited or deleted. 3. Click Edit to modify the information as needed or select the field to be deleted. You cannot delete a custom field if it has already been used for an applicant in a given application year. 4. Click Save. The page will then refresh and return you to the Tab and Field Setup page AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 17

18 Changing the Location of Custom Fields You can change the location of custom fields on a tab by using the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Column buttons. To change the location of Custom Fields: 1. Click the Sch Defined tab and select a year from the Application Year drop-down list. 2. Select the sub-tab and the custom field to be moved. 3. Click the appropriate Move to Column button to move the custom field from one column to the other. Click Save. Using the Security Tab Before anyone can access the system, the system administrator must use the Security tool to specify which users should have access. The AAMC creates the initial account and a set of permissions for the system administrator(s). The system administrator will then have the ability to add users and create or update permissions for users at the school. The Security settings apply to all application years. To access the Security Tool, click the Security tab on the School Tools homepage. Users Tab The Users tab displays School Tools users and their level of access to the system. The Interviewer, Committee, and Restrict Apps checkboxes allow the system administrator to identify a user as an interviewer or a member of a committee and thereby grant or restricted access to applicant data. The View link displays the applicants currently assigned to the user. Each user can have a different set of permissions. Rather than determining permissions by job title, security settings can be user-specific. However, schools can also create templates to apply the same permissions to multiple users if desired. You can also sort each user by User ID, User Name, Name, Interviewer, Committee, Restricted Apps, and Restrict User by Program Type. Search/Add User When clicking Search/Add User button, you ll be taken to the screen below where all fields are required to either search or add a user to your school AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 18

19 Sync School User When you click the Sync School User button, data is first stored at AMCAS and then sent back to your school s database. After adding or updating user permissions use this button to send the new information to your local database. Export List Clicking the Export List Button exports of a list of the permissions for each user in a text file format. Adding Users You will need to fill in all required information on the screen to grant them to access School Tools: First Name Last Name Address AAMC ID Username To add a New User: 1. Click Search/Add User on the Users tab, enter information for the user then click Search 2. The user name must be at least 6 characters long. It may include numbers and letters but cannot use symbols. If the information matched to an existing user, the system will display the assigned username. If you feel this information is correct please proceed to add School Tools permissions for the user. Please select the appropriate Staff Type AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 19

20 3. Select permissions for the user, then click Update Permissions. Once saved, you cannot modify or delete a user, their information, or return to this screen. The user, once logged in, can modify his/her password. Assigning Permissions The Permissions screen is organized into four different sections: Permissions, Personal Info, Reset Password, and Remove User. To assign user permissions: 1. Select the user to whom you wish to assign permissions by clicking on their User ID, User Name, or Name on the Users tab. 2. If a template has been created with permissions similar to those you wish to grant to the user, select a template from the Apply Templates to this User drop-down list. After a template has been applied, you can adjust a user s permissions without affecting the saved template. When applying a template to a user, the template contains permissions for the School Tools suite. You do not have to apply a template for each tool separately. 3. When you select a school tool, access permissions appear on screen. Make sure the overall School Tools checkbox is selected if the user will have permissions to the tool. Dark gray shading indicates a tab; light gray shading indicates a sub-tab; white indicates a function that appears on the sub-tab. If a user needs access to a function, the checkboxes for the parent tab and sub-tab must be selected as well. 4. To restrict a user by Program Type so that they will only be able to view applicants to a specific program, check the Restrict User by Program checkbox for the corresponding user on the Security tab. A pop-up box will allow you to select the program to which the user should be restricted. 5. Select the appropriate options for the user and click Update Permissions AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 20

21 Resetting User Passwords The Reset Password feature sends a new password to the user s default address or to the designated alternate address. The user can use this new password to access the system and modify his/her password if desired. To reset a user s password: 1. Click Reset Password on the Users tab. This displays the user s current security question, security answer, and default address. An option for entering an alternate address is provided if the default address is invalid. 2. Click Reset Password. Removing User Accounts System administrators (super users) can remove a user s account. This action is permanent and prevents the user from gaining access to School Tools (including AP and all other tabs). The user will no longer be shown in the list of users, but their name will continue to appear in locations where a name and timestamp are displayed; for example, admission actions that the user may have set will still display with that user s name. Removing a user s rights removes their affiliation with your institution, but their AAMC account will remain active. As an administrator or super user, you cannot remove your own School Tools rights. The Remove User action is not reversible, so it is not an appropriate solution for limiting or preventing access temporarily or for a specific period of time. If you need to temporarily prevent a user from accessing School Tools, create a permissions template that provides no permissions (no checkboxes are selected) and apply it to the user. (See Assigning Permissions and Creating Security Templates for instructions.) To remove a user: 1. Click Remove User on the Users tab. 2. If you are certain that you wish to permanently remove this user, click OK. The user will no longer appear in the list of users. Creating Security Templates Security templates can be created to record and store a set of permissions that can be efficiently applied to multiple users. To add a new Security Template: 1. Click Templates on the Security tab and select the Add button. 2. Enter a Name and Description for the new template and click Save. 3. From the Templates tab, click on the template for which the permissions need to be modified. 4. Click on the Permissions sub-tab and select the appropriate school tool. Make sure the overall tool checkbox is selected if you want to activate permissions for the tool. Dark gray shading indicates a tab; light gray shading indicates a sub-tab; white indicates a function that appears on the sub-tab. If a user needs access to a function, the checkboxes for the parent tab and sub-tab must be selected as well. 5. Select the permissions to save with the template and click the Update Permissions button AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 21

22 Editing or Deleting Security Templates Once a template has been created, the permissions for the template can be modified and saved. Changing permissions in the template, however, does not automatically update any user profiles that were originally based on the template. You will have to update each user s permissions accordingly or reapply the template. To edit a Security Template: 1. Click the Templates on the Security tab and select the Template to be edited or deleted. 2. To edit, change the Name and Description as desired. Click the Permissions tab and edit content as desired. Click Save. 3. To delete, select the checkbox for the template to be deleted. Click Delete. Specifying Interviewers, Committee Members, Restrict Apps, and Restrict User by Program Type These checkboxes allow you to identify a user as an interviewer or committee member, restrict the user s access to applicants, and to restrict a user by program types. Users can assign applicants to interviewers/committee members by using the Perform Group Actions feature of the AP's Applicant List screen. After assigning applicants, interviewers and committee members with restricted access will have access to only those applicants. The View link displays the applicants currently assigned to the user. To identify Interviewers and Committee Members: 1. Select the Interviewer or Committee Member checkbox for the appropriate user(s) on the Users tab. 2. To restrict applications to a certain user click the Restrict Apps button on the Security tab for the corresponding user. 3. By clicking View beside the checkbox, you will see a list of application assigned to this user. i. To remove applicants viewable to this user, select the appropriate applicant and click Mark Select Apps Unviewable. Data Transfer Tab The Data Transfer tool is broken down to Scheduling, NewApp ML (mailing label), and Documents. Scheduling Tab The Scheduling tab allows users to schedule receipt of AMCAS supplemental products; DADF (Detailed Applicant Data File), TAMF (Table Applicant Master File), AMCAS Letters, Electronic Verified Printed Applications, and Electronic Change Reports. Schools can schedule which days of the week they would like to receive this data. These files are generated overnight, and posted to your dedicated space on the AAMC File Server by noon Eastern Time on the days you specify for receipt. The TAMF and DADF text files can be used with third party products for data integration. File layout specifications and sample files are available on the AAMC Admissions Hub: For more information regarding AMCAS Letter delivery to the AAMC File Server, please refer to Section 5 of this manual AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 22

23 Scheduling of Verified Printed Applications and Change Reports In the Data Transfer tab you can select whether or not you would like to receive electronic (PDF) VPAs and Change Reports and when you would like these products delivered to your dedicated space on the AAMC File Server. These options are located on the Data Transfer tab. New APP ML Tab From this tab you can generate a copy of the Preliminary Applicant Contact (Mailing Label) Data File. This data file contains contact information for all new applicants who have designated your school in their submitted, but not yet verified, AMCAS application. To create a Mailing Label Data File: 1. On the NewApp ML Tab select the Application Year and the Semi-Monthly Period that you want included in the report. 2. Click Generate and Post file. The file will be posted to the AAMC File Server. Documents Tab The Documents tab allows users to download electronic file versions of Narrative Evaluations, Investigations Reports, and AMCAS Letters included in applications. There are three document status categories you can choose from when searching for documents: Not Downloaded: This category includes documents you have not yet downloaded through the Download Documents tab. Downloaded: This category includes documents you have already downloaded through the Download Documents tab. Changed: This category includes documents previously downloaded that have since been updated or changed. You can search for individual applicant documents by using the applicant s AAMC ID or the applicant s last name. You can also select any number of applicants from this list. After selecting and sorting the search list, you can print the data sorted by the following criteria: Legal name AAMC ID Evaluator Name Document Type Previous Download Indicator Change Indicator Last Download Date To simply view a document without having it marked as downloaded click on the applicant s name and the document will open in a separate window displayed as a PDF. To download records: 1. Select a Document Type on the Documents tab and click Not Downloaded under document type. 2. Select the number of records you want and click Download AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 23

24 3. A popup window will appear that allows you to open or save your file. You may save the.zip file to your desktop or any drive of your choosing. The files will be named according to the naming convention that you have set up under the Doc Options Tab within the AP Setup. 4. To view records that you have previously downloaded, select Document Type on the Documents tab and click Downloaded. Previous downloads are indicated with a Y AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 24

25 Finding and Selecting Applicants This section focuses on using the Search, Filter, Advanced Filter, and Audit functions to find individual applicants or groups of applicants. Searching for Applicants The Search tab appears immediately after you select the AP tab. The Search tab allows you to search for a specific applicant or group of applicants by multiple search criteria. To search for an applicant or a group of applicants: 1. Select a year from the Application Year list. 2. Select a search option from the Search drop-down list. The default search criteria can be changed within AP Setup. The All Applications option displays every applicant in your database. The Preliminary/Unverified Applications option will be available only if your school has indicated in AP Setup that you wish to view preliminary/unverified applicant information in AP. 3. Type a search value in the box to the right of the search criteria. Entering nothing in the box will display all applicants. Use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard in the Last Name and First Name fields to find all names that begin or end with a certain letter or letters. For example, typing b* finds all applicants whose name starts with the letter b. You can also type *b to get all records that end with the letter b. Working with the Applicant List Search results form the Applicant List. The top line of the Applicant List screen displays the type of search performed (e.g., All Applicants) and the number of applicants that matched the search criteria. Click on an applicant s name to display the Summary tab of his or her application. By default, the results are displayed alphabetically by last name. You can change the sort order by clicking on any column heading. Refining the Applicant List You can select specific applicants from the list by clicking the checkbox to the left of each name and then clicking the Constrain button to display only those individuals. You can also use the Refine Result button to perform another search within an applicant list. For example, if you initially searched for all verified applications, you could refine the search to only display verified applications with an admission action of Hold for Information. Clicking the Refine Result button will return you to the initial search window. Sending an from the Search Results Clicking on an applicant s address opens an dialog box with the selected applicant as the recipient. To send an , enter a subject, add attachments, write a message (or use a saved template), and click Send. You can view and edit your templates from the tab under AP Setup AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 25

26 Printing Search Results Clicking the Print button displays a printable view of the Applicant List. If your search results are displayed on more than one screen, only the applicants on the current screen will be printed. To print a list of all the applicants found, select Show entire result to display all applicants found and then click the Print option in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. The printed Search Results will display the search criteria at the top of the page. Using Filters Filters allow you to find applicants by specifying your own criteria. For example, schools can find all applicants who are state residents or all applicants who are not U.S. citizens. When you apply the filter, only the records that contain the value(s) specified will show in the Filter page. Creating a Filter To create a Filter: 1. Click the AP tab on the School Tools Homepage. This automatically displays the Search tab along with its sub-tabs. 2. Click the Filter sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year drop-down list. 3. Click the Add button and enter the filter name in the Filter Name field. 4. Select the desired criteria and click Save. The Filter function only permits the and qualifier when more than one criterion is entered. 5. To view the results, select the filter from the Filter List and click the Apply Filter button. The Filter screen appears, listing all applicants that meet the specified criteria. Once a filter is created, you can easily change the criteria by clicking edit on the selected filter and modifying it as desired. To save the changed criteria as a new filter, click Save As and rename the filter. Deleting Filters Filters can be deleted by clicking Delete on the selected filter. Deleting unused filters keeps the filter list relevant and makes it possible to view only needed filters. Using Advanced Filters The Advanced Filters section of the AP enables users to create more complex filters and to export data based on these filters. Use Advanced Filters to create more complex criteria that may use the or qualifier or a combination of the or and and qualifiers. For example, you may want to find applicants who are in-state residents or applicants who self-reported Disadvantaged status in the application. Creating Advanced Filters To create an Advanced Filter: 1. Click the AP tab on the School Tools homepage. This automatically displays the Search tab along with its sub-tabs. 2. Click the Advanced Filter sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 26

27 3. Click Add and enter the advanced filter name. 4. If the first filter criteria will be part of a group, select the open parenthesis from the Start Group field. To select criteria, choose from the Tab Name list and Tab Field list. 5. Select an Operator from the drop-down list. Operators = Equal to > Greater than < Less than <> Not equal to >= Greater than or equal to <= Less than or equal to Looks for items like whatever is typed into LIKE the value field. Use the LIKE operator to return search results that include the searched value, i.e. if J* is the search value, all last names staring with the letter K will be included in the results. When searching MCAT scores, EXISTS ANY (<) and EXISTS ALL (=>) will appear before the operator. If you would like your value to appear in each MCAT Administration for which scores exist for a given applicant, you would select only those operators preceded by EXISTS ALL. If your value only needs to exist in one administration, select EXISTS ANY. 6. Enter a value for the field or select from the drop-down list where applicable. If this is the end of a group, select the close parenthesis from the End Group field. To continue with more filter levels, click Add Row. Rows can be deleted and inserted using the buttons at the bottom of the screen. 7. Select a qualifier, either AND or OR, from the drop-down list. AND is inclusive, the record must meet both criteria rows to be included in the results. OR allows the record to be included if it meets either of the criteria rows. AAMC recommends that you do not exceed more than 12 rows for optimum performance. 8. When finished specifying the criteria, click Save. To view the results, select the filter from the Advanced Filter List and click Apply Filter. Editing and Deleting Advanced Filters Advanced filters can be modified to help redefine the group of applicants, copied to create new filters, or deleted once they are no longer needed. To modify or delete an Advanced Filter: 1. Click the AP tab on the School Tools Homepage. This automatically displays the Search tab along with its sub-tabs. 2. Click the Advanced Filter sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year drop-down list. 3. Click Edit for the desired filter from the Advanced Filter List. Click delete to delete the filter. 4. Modify the filter as necessary and click Save to save your changes. Click Save As to create a new filter AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 27

28 Advanced Filter Limitations The current functionality of the advanced filter uses database table inner joins meaning that the scope of the filter is limited to existing data. Applicants who do not have data related to your specified filter criteria Value type will not be returned. This behavior is most evident when using data fields that are optional on the AMCAS application. For example: If you filter for applicants with the ethnicity = Cuban, the filter will return applicants who self-identified Cuban ethnicity. However, filtering on the criterion of ethnicity <> (not equal to) Cuban will return applicants that designated an ethnicity other than Cuban, but will not return those applicants who did not provide any ethnicity information on their AMCAS application. Creating Export Files and HTML Reports The Advanced Filters that you create can be used as the first step in exporting data. To export data based on an Advanced Filter: 1. Click the AP tab on the School Tools Homepage. This automatically displays the Search tab along with its sub-tabs. 2. Click the Advanced Filter sub-tab and select a year from the Application Year list. 3. Select the filter you wish to use for your export. Once you have clicked Export, you will be able to select all data fields you wish to export. Data fields available for export are organized by the tab on which they appear in the AP software. For example, to export an applicant s Legal name, scroll to ID & Contact Information and select the appropriate fields. The fields you specify for export will be associated with the Advanced Filter used to begin this export, and that you will not need to re-enter these items each time. 4. Select pipe delimited or HTML for the format option. Pipe delimited file is a text file that data is separated by commas and can be shown in Microsoft Excel. Click Export. Exported files are sent to your school s dedicated space on the AAMC File Server. Audit Tab The Audit tab aids processing by displaying quick statistics on the number of applications that fit the category of new, viewed (or exported), status assigned, or final action submitted. View the Audit Tab within AP tab on the School Tools homepage. When you view, apply application statuses, and apply admission actions to applications in the AP, you will see those changes reflected in the Audit Tab statistics. Applications are categorized into New, Viewed (or exported), Status Assigned, or Final Action Submitted. These categories are then broken down into Preliminary/Unverified Applicants, Verified/Processed Applicants, and Grand Total. Clicking on a number in any category automatically displays that subset of applicants. Advice from AMCAS: The Audit Tab is best used for general processing rather than tracking. If an admissions procedure is driven by specific officers having specific applicants the Audit tab will probably not integrate well into the process, though it may be interesting to view occasionally AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 28

29 Remember, an application can only be in one status at a time. The Audit tab can be very useful at the end of the year, when all actions should be final actions. By clicking any categories not in the Final Action Submitted row a school can find applications they have missed. Please Note: Changed Data and Changed Applications refer to applications or preliminary applications that have been updated by either AMCAS staff or the applicant (i.e. address changes, name changes). This categorization is not a result of user activity within School Tools. New applications are those that have never been viewed or exported by School Tools user. New does not mean new that day or that the applicants have never applied before, it also does not always mean that the applicant was recently processed. As soon as ANY School Tools user views an application OR exports a list containing that application the Audit Tab will change that application s category. This has made it impossible for some schools to allow more than one user to simultaneously review and track applications. For example, a viewed application might be new to one admissions officer and old to another. Another scenario is that Status Assigned covers almost the entire applicant pool by mid-season. The only rows in the Audit Tab that represent cumulative statistics are those listed in rows or columns that state Total. If the Audit Tab is used for statistics it should be noted that it is up to the moment AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 29

30 Reviewing Applicant Information After filtering applicant data you can use the Admissions Processing (AP) Tab to view, manage, and update applicant data. Overview of the Admissions Processing (AP) Tab The Admissions Processing tool allows you to easily search, review, verify, and manage applicants and applicant data. In this tab you can also evaluate interviews, view letters of evaluation, and communicate with applicants via . Data Tabs and Sub-Tabs The various sections of the student application are organized into different tabs and sub-tabs. By default, the Summary data tab is displayed when you select an applicant to review. Individual users may not see all of the tabs or sub-tabs depending on their granted permissions. Some tabs are school-defined and may not appear unless the school has chosen to activate them. Primary Applicant Information Information about the current applicant such as name, application type, AAMC ID, status, and latest action appears at the top of the screen. School Comments and School-Specific Display The bottom left area of the screen displays comments regarding the selected tab. Comments are schoolspecific and cannot be viewed by other schools or AMCAS. There is a Comment History tab that allows you to view, edit, or delete any comment, regardless of where it was entered. The bottom-right area of the screen displays any school-specific information specified in AP Setup. Refer to Section 6 (inserting school comments) for more information regarding inserting comments. Summary Tab The Summary tab provides a general overview of applicant information. The Summary tab has three sub-tabs: Summary, Miscellaneous, and Change History. Summary Sub-Tab This sub-tab summarizes information contained on other data tabs, including general biographic information, primary undergraduate school, highest degree school, GPA, and MCAT scores. In addition, this tab can display a picture of the applicant if your school has loaded an image. Notes: After June 1 of each year, use the GPA and MCAT Comparison buttons to compare your current applicant pool, the current AMCAS applicant pool, your school s accepted applicant pool from prior years, or your school s matriculants from prior years AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 30

31 MCAT Scores are broken out with and without the Writing Sample scores because the writing sample was added in 2003 and subsequently removed in Some applicants may not have a score for that section. You can create search criteria for both types of scores. Adding an Applicant Photo Some schools may want to display a picture of the applicant on the Summary tab. The photo is schoolspecific and is not a required part of the application. It will not be displayed unless your school adds the photo. Note: You will not be able to view a linked photo using a Mac; you must use IE, Chrome, or Firefox on a PC to use this functionality. To load an applicant photo: 1. Save the applicant s picture to the shared storage location specified in AP Setup. 2. Find and display the applicant on the screen. This automatically displays the Summary tab with the Summary sub-tab activated. 3. Click Add Photograph, then click Browse to find the applicant s image file in the appropriate drive/folder. 4. Select the file and click the Open button. The image will appear in the Upload Applicant Photo window. Click Save. 5. To view the photo, copy the file path displayed in the Applicant Photo box, then paste the file path into a new browser tab or window and press Enter. Difficulty viewing the picture may signify that you do not currently have access to the shared storage location. Contact your network administrator. To delete an applicant photo click the Change/Delete Photograph button. Miscellaneous Sub-Tab This tab displays the applicant s explanation if they responded Yes to the Institutional Action, Felony, Misdemeanor, Military Discharge, or Previous Matriculation questions. Institutional Action This field displays the applicant s explanation of any institutional action that has been taken against him or her because of unacceptable academic performance or conduct violation. The applicant is asked: Were you ever the recipient of any institutional action by any college or medical school for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violation, even though such action may not have interrupted your enrollment or required you to withdraw? If Yes is checked, an explanation is required for each instance, along with the date(s) of the occurrence (MM/YYYY), even if the action does not appear on or has been deleted or expunged from the applicant s official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition. Felony Explanation This field displays the applicant s explanation of any felony convictions. The applicant is asked: Have you ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Felony crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you we adjudicated as a juvenile or 2) convictions which have been expunged or sealed by a court (in states where applicable)? An explanation is required if Yes is checked AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 31

32 Misdemeanor Explanation This field displays the applicant s explanation of any applicable Misdemeanor convictions. The applicant is asked: Have you ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Misdemeanor crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, 2) any convictions which have been expunged or sealed by a court, or 3) any misdemeanor convictions for which any probation has been completed and the case dismissed by the court (in states where applicable)? An explanation is required if Yes is checked. Military Discharge Explanation This field displays the applicant s explanation of a Military Discharge. The applicant is asked: Have you ever been discharged by the Armed Forces of the United States? An explanation is required if Yes is checked. Previous Matriculation This field displays the applicant s explanation of any previous matriculation. The applicant is asked: Have you ever matriculated at or attended any medical school as a candidate for a medical degree? An explanation is required if Yes is checked. Investigation This field displays any confirmed official Investigation Reports issued about the applicant by AMCAS. Schools can view, save or print a PDF image of the report. The Report Types include: Inauthentic Transcript MCAT Inauthentic Letter of Evaluation Institutional Action False Biographic Information Previous Application Previous Matriculation Early Decision Fee Assistance Program Racial/Ethnic Self-Description Other Change History Sub-Tab This screen lists all changes to the applicant's Biographic, GPA and MCAT data after receipt by the school. For each change, the AP displays the field and value modified, the date/time modified, and the user who made the modification. Biographic Tab This screen displays the applicant's biographic contact, and childhood information organized on three different sub-tabs. Biographic Information Sub-Tab This sub-tab displays the biographical information that the applicant self-reported on his/her application, such as birthplace, legal residence, race and ethnicity, siblings, languages, and parents/guardians AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 32

33 Additionally, the Socioeconomic Status Disadvantaged Indicator is provided here. Most of these fields are self-explanatory, although please note the following details: Rural Indicators for Birthplace and Place of Legal Residence Birthplace and place of legal residence data also include information on whether the area is considered rural or medically underserved (as defined by the federal government). Rural and Underserved fields are based on the rural urban continuum in the Areawide Resource File (ARF) as published by the United States Government. ARF data is based on census data and is updated annually to reflect changes in population estimates. The rural urban continuum is based on a classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan counties by size and non-metropolitan counties by degree of urbanization or proximity to metropolitan areas. Refer to Appendix E for more information. Racial and Ethnic Self-Description All self-identification fields are optional. Applicants may select more than one self-description. If an applicant has not answered the question in the web application, both the Racial Self-Description and Ethnic Self-Description boxes will display Declined to Respond. If the applicant has selected any of the following: Hispanic/Latino/or of Spanish origin, Argentinean, Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican/Chicano, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, Hispanic/Latino/or of Spanish Origin Other, then the Ethnic Self-Description box will display Hispanic/Latino/or of Spanish Origin. However if the applicant has selected any descriptor other than: Hispanic/Latino/or of Spanish origin, Argentinean, Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican/Chicano, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, Hispanic/Latino/or of Spanish origin Other, then the Ethnic Self-Description box will display Not Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin. Language Applicants are asked to indicate their lingual proficiency and the use of each language in their childhood home. Use in the childhood home is described using the following terms: Never, Rarely, From time to time, Often, or Always. Proficiency levels are described as follows: Basic I speak the language imperfectly and only to a limited degree and in limited situations. I have difficulty in or understanding extended conversations. Fair I speak and understand well enough to have extended conversations about current events, work, family, or personal life. Native speakers notice many errors in my speech or my understanding. Good I speak well enough to participate in most conversations. Native speakers notice some errors in my speech or my understanding, but my errors rarely cause misunderstanding. Advanced I speak very accurately, and I understand other speakers very accurately. Native speakers have no problem understanding me, but they probably perceive that I am not a native speaker AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 33

34 Native/Functionally native I converse easily and accurately in all types of situations. Native speakers may think that I am a native speaker, too. Socioeconomic Status (SES) Disadvantaged Indicator The SES Disadvantaged Indicator is a tool that medical schools can use to identify applicants who may come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and is intended to assist you in putting this application information in context as part of a holistic process. This indicator is derived from information the applicant provides about his/her parents and guardians occupation and education levels using the schema represented in the graphic below. For more information about this indicator, please visit the Admissions Hub: PARENT/GUARDIAN OCCUPATION Executive, managerial, professional position Service, clerical, skilled, and unskilled labor Doctorate/ professional degree Master s degree SES Disadvantaged Indicator: No SES Disadvantaged Indicator: Yes, EO-2 PARENT/GUARDIAN EDUCATION Bachelor s degree Less than Bachelor s SES Disadvantaged Indicator: No SES Disadvantaged Indicator: No SES Disadvantaged Indicator: Yes, EO-1 SES Disadvantaged Indicator: Yes, EO-2 SES Disadvantaged Indicator: Yes, EO-2 SES Disadvantaged Indictor: Yes, EO-1 Contact Information Sub-Tab This tab displays the applicant s legal name, preferred name, identification numbers if included, and contact information. Please note that applicants are asked not to include their Social Security Number (SSN) or Social Insurance Number (SIN) in the AMCAS application. For the Names and Contact areas, selecting Legal, Preferred, or Permanent from the View Name dropdown list to indicate which option you would like displayed. There is also an area on this tab to add school-defined contact information that may be different from that submitted in the AMCAS application. Contact Information 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 34

35 The applicant, via the AMCAS application, authorizes schools to release information about the applicant s processing and admissions status to the alternate contact. The applicant is informed that medical schools may or may not choose to release information to an applicant s alternate contact. Permanent: This displays the address that the applicant considers permanent. It is often the address of a parent or guardian. If correspondence to the applicant is returned by the postal service when using the applicant s preferred address, then correspondence should be sent to the applicant s permanent address. Preferred: This displays the applicant s preferred name, mailing address, address, and phone numbers. All correspondence from AMCAS and medical schools should be sent to this address. For reports and exports designed by AMCAS, this contact information is the default selection. Alternate: If an applicant believes s/he might be unreachable by the preferred and permanent contact information, an alternate contact person s information is provided. This information should be used only when correspondence is returned by the postal service after attempting to mail to the preferred and permanent contact addresses. School-Defined Contact This area is designated for schools to enter and maintain contact information that may be different from that submitted on the AMCAS application. For example, an applicant may be staying at a hotel in town to interview with a school. The applicant s contact information at the hotel can be entered here. Use the Add/Edit Contact button to add or change the school-defined contact information. Childhood Information Sub-Tab This sub-tab captures information related to an applicant s upbringing. All information in this section of the application is self-reported. Childhood Home This area displays the location details of the applicant s childhood home. It also delineates whether it was a rural neighborhood, and whether the applicant deemed it underserved. In this context, an area is considered underserved if the there was an inadequate number of available health care providers; this may include physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare services. Applicant/Family Economic Circumstances This area displays information about the applicant s family and the applicant s economic circumstances, including the number of people who lived in the childhood household, whether the family received state or federal assistance, whether the applicant contributed to the family income and was employed before the age of 18, and the overall family income level. Educational Finance This area denotes whether the applicant has ever received financial assistance in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, or other contributions AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 35

36 Experiences Tab This tab displays any post-secondary experiences, awards, honors, or publications that the applicant would like brought to the attention of the medical schools. Applicants may enter a maximum of 15 experiences; however the applicant can enter up to 4 occurrences for each experience. Applicants may include a description of their experience for most entry types. A contact or phone number is required based on the experience type entered. The record indicator in the upper-right area of the Experiences section will display which record the mouse is hovering over (e.g., Showing 1 of 12). Schools can sort experiences Chronologically, by Experience Type, or by Most Meaningful using the radio buttons next to Sort. Applicants must indicate the start date of all of their experiences but an end date is not required for all entry types. The end date can be any date up until August of the matriculation year. Up to four date ranges may appear for each experience. Most Meaningful Experience If the experience has been designated as a meaningful experience, the text Meaningful Experience: Yes will appear directly above Experience Type. Applicants can view this explanation of the most meaningful indicator: When determining which of your entries are your most meaningful, you might consider the transformative nature of the experience: the impact you made while engaging in the experience and the personal growth you experienced as a result of your participation. Experience Type This displays the applicant s experience type. Applicants may pick only one type for each experience, even if more than one type applies. The application instructs them to choose the best one. This is a required field. The experience types are as follows: Artistic Endeavors Community Service/Volunteer Medical/Clinical Community Service/Volunteer Not Medical/Clinical Conferences Attended Extracurricular Activities Hobbies Honors/Awards/Recognition Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere Military Service Other Paid Employment Medical/Clinical Paid Employment Not Medical/Clinical Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation Presentations/Posters 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 36

37 Publications Research/Lab Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant Essays Tab This tab displays the Personal Comments essay that all applicants are required to complete on the AMCAS application. M.D.-Ph.D. applicants must complete two additional essays: the M.D.-Ph.D. Essay and the Significant Research Essay which also appear on this tab. Personal Comments Essay Applicants are provided 5,300 characters for the Personal Comments essay. Please note that the application does not include formatting functionality. For the Personal Comments essay, applicants are given the following instructions: Use the Personal Comments essay as an opportunity to distinguish yourself from other applicants. Some questions you may want to consider while writing this essay are: Why have you selected the field of medicine? What motivates you to learn more about medicine? What do you want medical schools to know about you that hasn't been disclosed in other sections of the application? In addition, you may wish to include information such as: Special hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits. Commentary on significant fluctuations in your academic record that are not explained elsewhere in your application. M.D.-Ph.D. Essay Applicants have 3,000 characters to use for their M.D.-Ph.D. essay and are given the following instructions: The M.D.-Ph.D. program(s) to which you are applying has requested that you provide two essays in addition to your Personal Comments. Your responses will only be forwarded to your designated M.D.-Ph.D. program(s). Significant Research Essay Applicants to M.D.-Ph.D. programs have 10,000 characters for their Significant Research essay and are given the following instructions: Please describe your significant research experiences. In your statement, please specify your research supervisor's name and affiliation, the duration of the experience, the nature of the problem studied, and your contributions to the project. The available space is 10,000 characters. If your research resulted in a publication on which you were an author, please provide the full citation in the Work/Activities section of your application AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 37

38 Academics Tab The Academics tab displays all schools attended by the applicant, all courses taken by the applicant, and the applicant's GPA and MCAT data. Schools Sub-Tab The Schools sub-tab displays the list of post-secondary institutions that the applicant has attended. The bottom portion of the screen displays the high school from which the applicant graduated and the graduation year. This information is self-reported by the applicant. This tab also has space for schools to indicate whether the final official transcript (OT) was received and to load an image. The applicant is instructed to list every post-secondary institution where he or she has enrolled for at least one course, even if credits have been transferred or if no credits were earned. In addition, any U.S. or Canadian institution-sponsored study abroad program in which the applicant participated will be listed as a separate program. Please note that the Attendance fields displays the inclusive dates that the applicant was enrolled at a particular school. The applicant may not have been enrolled continuously during this time. Use the following radio buttons to sort the list of post-secondary schools. The Ascending and Descending options sort by the Attendance Date field. The Degree option sorts the list from highest degree to lowest. The School option sorts the list alphabetically by school name. School Name and Location This displays the name and location of the school attended. If the applicant s school was not listed as a choice on the web application, the applicant may have selected Other (Not Listed). If this is the case, the applicant is requested to enter a Modified School Name. Text entered here by the applicant is displayed as the modified school name in the School listing. The School Name is also a link. Clicking on the school name will present the user with additional information about the school. Accreditation Indicator Beginning with the 2017 application cycle, this indicator is no longer provided by AMCAS. All schools displayed in School Tools will have an Accreditation Indicator that appears blank (i.e., REF_COLLEGE_INSTITUTION. ACCREDITED_IND= null). Degrees and Degree Date This field displays any degrees the applicant earned or anticipates earning while attending the school. If no degree was granted or expected, No Degree Expected appears in the Degree field. The month and date the degree was granted is displayed in the date field next to the degree name. A future date indicates that a degree is expected. If no degree was granted, no date appears in the Date field AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 38

39 Majors and Minors This field displays the applicant s self-reported major(s) and minor(s). If the applicant s major or minor was not listed as a choice on the web application, the applicant may have chosen Other. If this is the case, the applicant is requested to enter a modified name. If the applicant did not declare a major or minor then No Major or No Minor is displayed. Final Official Transcripts The Final OT Received field is provided for the schools to indicate whether the applicant s official transcript has been received from the listed school. Schools enter this information, not AMCAS. This field is optional. Some schools may want to load a scanned image of an applicant s official transcript after receipt. If you would like to include an image of an official transcript, use the OT Load button to load an image of the transcript. View the document with the OT View button. To load a scanned image of an Official Transcript: 1. Scan and save the applicant s official transcript to the shared storage location specified in AP Setup. 2. Find and display the applicant in the AP and navigate to the Schools sub-tab (under Academics). 3. Click the OT Load button in the record for which you want to load an image. This displays the Upload Scanned Images window. From this window, multiple images can be loaded for the applicant. 4. Click the Browse button to view the shared storage location and select a scanned transcript file. Click Open and then Add to insert the image into the applicant s profile. Click Save Changes. 5. To view an uploaded transcript, click OT View. Copy the file path displayed and paste it into a new browser tab or window, then press Enter. If you would like to delete a transcript image, click OT View in the record for which you want to delete a transcript image and click the button next to the file to remove the image. Courses Sub-Tab This tab displays a detailed view of the applicant s coursework history including college(s) attended, academic status, course classification, academic year, term, course name, course number, course type, official transcript grade, semester hours, and AMCAS grade. The coursework can be sorted by up to three fields. The system will sort the information first by Primary Sort, then by Secondary Sort, and then by Tertiary Sort. Courses appearing in red with a strikeout line have been deleted by AMCAS. Hovering over the strikeout line shows the tool tip Course deleted by AMCAS. Blue items indicate those classes that have been changed or added by AMCAS. Hovering over the blue items will show a tool tip with an explanation of the change. Hovering over a changed item displays a tool tip that shows the original information submitted by the applicant AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 39

40 School Name If you click on the School Name, you will see comparison data for other applicants who attended that school. Academic Status The applicant s level in school when the class was taken. The levels are High School (HS), Freshman (FR), Sophomore (SO), Junior (JR), Senior (SR), Post-baccalaureate Undergraduate (PB), and Graduate (GR). Each undergraduate status year includes approximately semester hours. HS is used for college-level courses taken while the applicant was in high school, regardless of the physical location of the coursework. Academic Year The school year in which the applicant took the course. For AMCAS purposes, the academic year begins with the summer term and ends with the spring term. Term The term in which the applicant took the course. This is represented by a code. The codes are as follows: Calendar System Code Description Semester System SS Summer Session(s) S1 Fall/1 st Semester S2 Spring/2 nd Semester Trimester System TS Summer Session(s) T1 Fall/1 st Trimester T2 Winter/2 nd Trimester T3 Spring/3 rd Trimester Quarter System QS Summer Session(s)/4 th Quarter Q1 Fall/1 st Quarter Q2 Winter/2 nd Quarter Q3 Spring/3 rd Quarter 4-1-4/4-4-1 System SS Summer Session(s) S1 Fall/1 st Semester SM January/May Mini Session S2 Spring/2 nd Semester OT Other Course Classification A four-letter abbreviation for the type of course taken by the applicant, based strictly on the primary content of the course. Course classification is used to determine the applicant s BCPM and AO GPAs, as described in the GPA Data section of this user manual. AMCAS does not verify course classifications but may change them if the classification assigned by the applicant clearly does not apply. Course classification codes are as follows: Behavioral & Social Sciences (BESS) Biology (BIOL) Business (BUSI) 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 40

41 Chemistry (CHEM) Communications (COMM) Computer Science/Technology (COMP) Education (EDUC) Engineering (ENGI) English Language and Literature (ENGL) Fine Arts (ARTS) Foreign Languages/Linguistics/Foreign Literature (FLAN) Government/Political Science/Law (GOVT) Health Sciences (HEAL) History (HIST) Mathematics (MATH) Natural/Physical Sciences (NPSC) Other (OTHR) Philosophy/Religion (PHIL) Physics (PHYS) Special Studies (SSTU) BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, and MATH designated classes are included in the calculation for BCPM GPA. Courses marked with BCPM indicate an undergraduate-level academic status. For a detailed view of what types of courses are included in each classification, refer to Appendix A. Type Indicates a special designation given to some courses. Type would include such designations as Advanced Placement, Audit, CLEP, Current and Future Coursework, Deferred Grade, Exempt, Honors, Incomplete, No Record, Pass/Fail, Repeat, and Withdrawal. Courses may be classified as more than one type. In the event a course has multiple types, commas separate the types. For more details on each of these types, see Appendix B. OT and AMCAS Grades The OT Grade appears on the applicant s official transcript for the selected class. The AMCAS Grade is a standardized conversion of the OT Grade; this grade allows you to compare applicant coursework from different institutions. Semester Hours The number of course credits that the school granted to the applicant for the selected class. This number is usually based on the number of hours spent in class per week. Quarter and other credit systems are converted to semester equivalencies. AMCAS Use This field shows how the grade was verified by AMCAS. Below are the various symbols that may be displayed with a description of each: / Any course verified without correction. X Any course verified with any correction AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 41

42 O Any course listed on the Academic Record but not reflected on an official transcript; format corrections were not required. Any course listed on the Academic Record but not reflected on an official transcript; format corrections have been made. Any course not intended to be verified by AMCAS. In addition to the symbols, information changed by AMCAS is formatted differently. Blue information indicates that AMCAS added or changed the data. Red information indicates that AMCAS deleted the data. If deleted, the information is also formatted with a strikeout line. A tool tip appears for all AMCAS-modified data so schools can see the original information entered by the applicant. Generating the Pre-Requisite GPA Report This report calculates a GPA for courses on the Academic Record that you mark as meeting prerequisites for your program. It displays the applicant s Pre-requisite, Elective (not a pre-requisite), and Total GPA scores for each academic status. To generate the Pre-requisite GPA Report: 1. Find and display the applicant on the screen. 2. In the Courses sub-tab, mark the Pre-requisite courses by selecting the appropriate checkboxes. 3. Click the Prereq GPA button. The report opens in a new Acrobat Reader window. GPA/MCAT Sub-Tab This tab displays the applicant s GPAs, hours, MCAT scores, and other applicant-reported test scores. The Other applicant-reported test scores are not verified by AMCAS. GPA Information BCPM information applies to Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math courses for each academic status. All courses outside of these categories are classified as All Other (AO). Supplemental hours are the number of semester hours that were not included in the Total GPA. Examples of credits that fall into the supplemental hours category are Pass/Fail, AP or CLEP credits. MCAT Scores Starting in 2003, all MCAT scores are automatically released to AMCAS. The MCAT scores are broken down by Total with WS and Total without WS. Scores are also broken down by each section of the MCAT. For MCAT scores prior to 2003, the applicant must have released the scores to AMCAS in order for them to display. Starting in 2013, applicants no longer have a WS section or score. The Total MCATs Taken field displays the total number of scored MCAT exams since The Next MCAT Date field shows the next date on which the applicant is expected to take the MCAT, if applicable AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 42

43 Other Applicant-Reported Test Scores The information displayed includes Test Name (such as the GRE or LSAT), Subject, Scores, and Test Date. These scores are not verified by AMCAS. Printing Applications To print applications, first select an applicant or a group of applicants and then select Print applications for from the Perform Group Action drop-down list. The application data will print in the order specified in the AP Setup by your system administrator. If you select ten or more applications to print they will post to your AAMC File Server space. If your search or filter returns more than 10 applicants, select the Show entire result option to display the complete Applicant List in one window. Select the checkboxes for the applicants you wish to include in the group action. Click Constrain to condense your search results to only the selected applicants. This may help you to confirm that you have selected the correct applicants. To select all of the applicants, click Select All. Printing within an Applicant s Application You can also print from Summary Sub-Tab when viewing an applicant s individual application. To print an applicant s individual application: 1. Search for desired applicant with criteria from the School Tools Search function. 2. Select applicant you wish to view and from the summary sub-tab, click Print: 3. A pop-up window will be available to edit and choose which sections of the application you wish to print. Click Print to generate a printable PDF of the application. Actions Tab and Sub-Tab The Actions tab displays the applicant's current application status, current admission action, and a transaction history for all previous application statuses and admission actions. The Actions sub-tab allows you to assign application statuses and admission actions for individual applicants. This tab also displays a transaction history of application statuses and admission actions for an individual applicant. Set Application Status You can assign preliminary application statuses such as secondary application received or evaluations missing based on the information you have received. Applicant statuses can be assigned to a single applicant or a group of applicants. The application status drop-down lists are customizable in AP Setup. See Section 6 for instructions on how to set an Application Status. Set Admission Action This area allows you to enter, view, and change admission actions. As with application statuses, you can customize the admission action drop-down lists in AP Setup. See Section 6 for instructions on how to set an Admission Action. Set File Status 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 43

44 This user-initiated field allows you to mark an applicant s file as complete. Set Alternate List Background Check Status This checkbox allows schools who are participating in the AAMC CBC service to initiate criminal background checks on alternate list applicants and is only available after May 15th. Transaction History The Transaction History displays two kinds of changes: the changes AMCAS makes to an application record and the application status or admission action changes schools make to an applicant record. When changes are made, the AP stores the date of change, the AP User ID for the person who made the change, and a transaction description of the change. Comment & History Sub-tab This tab displays all school comments entered for an applicant, as well as an history log. All Comments Use this area to view, edit, and delete all comments associated with the applicant record. For each comment, the system displays the date the comment was created, the user who created it, and the tab on which the comment was entered. To enter a new comment, click Enter New Comment. History This area displays the date, user name, and subject of each sent to the applicant from within the system. Clicking the subject line of an will display the full text of the message. Deadline History Sub-Tab This page displays an applicant's AMCAS application and transcript deadline extension history, if applicable, in chronological order by the extension date. For each extension, the system displays the date the extension was made, the user who extended it, and current AMCAS application and transcript deadlines AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 44

45 Working with Optional and School-Defined Data During AP Setup, you can choose to activate up to five optional tabs: a Letters tab, an Interview tab, and three school-defined tabs. School-defined tabs can include custom fields for storing school-specific data. You may choose to use all, some, or none of these optional tabs. AMCAS Letters Service AMCAS accepts Letters of Evaluation for participating medical schools. This service enables medical schools to receive all letters electronically via AMCAS, and enables letter writers to send all letters to AMCAS rather than to each school. AMCAS: Collects all letters of evaluation on behalf of participating medical schools. Makes letters available to medical schools in PDF format. Accepts letters submitted through: o AMCAS Letter Writer Application (free) o Interfolio o U.S. Mail o VirtualEvals (NAAHP members only) Schools participating in the AMCAS Letters service agree to: Accept all letters provided via AMCAS, regardless of the program to which the applicant has applied. We ask that you ensure this solution works for all of your programs prior to signing up as this service is provided to the school and is not available for only individual programs within the school. Create and/or maintain a web page that details your letter requirements, and provide the URL of this page to AMCAS. AMCAS, in turn, will provide the URL to applicants in the AMCAS application. AMCAS makes letters available to medical schools in the following ways: Admissions Processing (AP) software: View or download letters within an individual applicant s record or print letters as a component of the print application function. Delivery to your schools AAMC File Server space: Schedule batch delivery of letters of evaluation to the AAMC File Server; similar to the transfer of DADF and TAMF flat files. School Tools Document Download: Download and or view letters of evaluation under the Data Transfer, Documents tab. Filter for applicants using AMCAS Letter criteria: Use the AP Filter sub-tab to search for applicants using the following criteria: o All Letters Received (Yes or No) o AMCAS Letters Received (Yes or No) 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 45

46 o Total Evaluation Score o Original Receipt Date For detailed instructions on creating filters and advanced filters, see Section 3. Use the AP Advanced Filter sub-tab to search using multiple search criteria, including (but not limited to): o AMCAS Letter Type (Individual, Committee, or Packet) o Current Receipt Date o Distributor (VirtualEvals, Interfolio, AMCAS Paper, or Letter Writer Application) o Primary Author/Contact Using the Letters Tab If activated during AP Setup, the Letters tab allows schools to view, upload, and display multiple letters of evaluation for each applicant. It consists of two sections, AMCAS Letters and Non-AMCAS Received Letters. Schools NOT participating in the AMCAS Letters Service do not have access to this section. Letter Receipts The AMCAS Letters Received field displays whether or not ALL AMCAS Letters have been received by AMCAS and made available to the school. The Letters Received/Completed checkbox is user-initiated and is designed for use by schools who accept letters outside of the AMCAS Letters service to indicate if All letters have been received. Committee/Letter Packet/Individual Letter Applicants can define letter entries as either a committee letter, a letter packet, or an individual letter. Committee Letter A committee letter is a letter authored by a pre-health committee or pre-health advisor and intended to represent your institution's evaluation of you. A committee letter may or may not include additional letters written in support of your application. Letter Packet A packet or set of letters assembled and distributed by your institution, often by the institutions career center. A Letter Packet may include a cover sheet from your pre-health committee or advisor; however, in contrast to a Committee Letter, a Letter Packet does not include an evaluative letter from your pre-health committee or advisor. Individual Letter An individual letter refers to a letter authored by, and representing, a single letter writer. If you have already included an individual letter within either a committee letter or a letter packet, you should not add a separate entry for the individual letter. Receipt Dates The Original Receipt Date field displays the date that the original letter of evaluation was received by AMCAS. The Current Receipt Date field displays the date of the most recent letter receipt for a 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 46

47 particular letter entry. The current receipt date and original receipt date will be identical if only the original letter version is received. Letter Subject Type Use this option to classify the AMCAS letter. The options are: Science, Non-Science, Combine Science/Non-Science, and Other. Scores The Score field can be used to record a score for the letter of evaluation. This score can be a total or an average. The Total Evaluation Score shows the total score for all evaluations. Viewing Letters The View AMCAS Letters button allows schools to view the corresponding AMCAS Letter image in PDF format. The button will remain grayed out for a letter entry until the actual letter is received by AMCAS. The View Letter History button allows schools to view the receipt date history for a letter entry. The View All AMCAS Letters button allows schools to view All AMCAS Letters available for the applicant. This option is only available when all identified AMCAS Letters have been received. Non-AMCAS Received Letters In order to view Non-AMCAS Received Letters, you must have access to the shared storage location on which they are house from the computer you are using. Loading Letter of Evaluation Images To load a scanned image of a letter of evaluation not delivered by AMCAS, scan and save it in an electronic file format. In order to load images, you must have access to the shared storage location specified in AP setup. To load a Letter of Evaluation image: 1. Save the applicant s letter of evaluation to the shared storage location specified in AP Setup. 2. Find and display the applicant on the screen and click the Letters tab. 3. Click Add and complete the information in the pop-up window. Click Add, then Choose File. 4. Select the desired file (in the folder specified in AP Setup), click Add, then click Save. 5. Alternatively, you can add more images to an existing file by clicking Upload Images and following steps 3 and To view a letter, click View Evaluation and copy the path displayed. Paste the path into a new browser tab or window and press Enter. To delete a Letter of evaluation image, click View Evaluation in the Letters tab which will display the Scanned Documents List window. Click delete next to the file to be deleted. Printing AMCAS Letters of Evaluation To include AMCAS letters when printing applications: 1. In the AP Setup tab click on the Printing tab and select the Default Sections sub-tab 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 47

48 2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and check the View AMCAS Letters box and click Save. Using the Interview Tab After an interview has taken place, notes, scores, and non-cognitive variable scores can be entered on the Interview tab if it is enabled in AP Setup. For each entry you or the interviewer may select their name from the interviewer drop-down list. This list is defined in the School Tools Security tab. Refer to Section 2 for details on adding interviewers. Adding Interview Notes After an interview has been conducted, interviewer notes and scores can be entered for the applicant. To add Interview Notes: 1. Find and display the applicant on the screen and click the Interview tab. 2. Click the Add button and select an Interviewer Name and Interview Date/Time from the appropriate drop-down lists. 3. Enter the Interview Score, Non-Cognitive Variables, load a scanned image if desired, and any comments about the applicant. Click Save. To load an Interview Note image: 1. Scan and save the applicant s interview notes to the shared storage location specified in AP Setup by your system administrator. 2. Find and display the applicant on the screen and click the Interview tab. 3. Click Add. In the Scanned Documents box, click Add, then click Load Scanned Images on an Existing Entry. 4. Click Browse to view the shared storage location and select a scanned file. 5. Click Open and add the file to the Images to be uploaded list. Click OK. 6. Add information for Name, Interview Date/Time, and Interview Score, then click Save. 7. To view interview notes, click View Image and copy the path displayed. Paste the path into a new browser tab or window and press Enter. Using the Custom Tab During AP Setup, you can choose to activate up to three school-defined tabs, see Section 2 for reference. School-defined tabs appear as sub-tabs under the AP Custom tab. Each school-defined tab can include custom fields for storing school-specific data. The Custom tab data that is created on the school-defined tabs is only stored locally in the schools Local Database. AMCAS cannot restore this data if lost. Therefore, we recommend that you periodically backup your database AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 48

49 Updating Applicant Information This section explores features that can be applied to individual applicants or groups of applicants, such as setting group actions, setting application statuses, and setting deadline extensions. Editing and Saving Data Most of the information displayed in the AP is taken directly from the official AMCAS application and cannot be altered. There are, however, some functions that allow users to update information. These functions include modifying school-defined contact information, inserting comments into an applicant record, and setting application statuses. When one of these functions is performed, the applicant record is modified, and can be permanently saved using the save changes button. Setting Application Statuses As applications are received, you can assign application statuses, such as Secondary Application Received or Interview(s) Scheduled. Applicant statuses can be assigned individually or collectively to a selected group of applicants using the Group Actions feature of the system. Below are the standard application statuses provided by AMCAS. Through AP Setup, you can customize the list of application statuses. See Section 2 for instructions on customizing application statuses in AP Setup. AMCAS Provided Application Statuses: No Status (Initial default status) Secondary Application Requested Secondary Application Received Secondary Application Reviewed - Complete Secondary Application reviewed - Missing Evaluations(s)/Recommendation(s) - Requested Evaluations(s)/Recommendation(s) - Received Evaluations(s)/Recommendation(s) Missing Info Evaluations(s)/Recommendation(s) - Complete Preliminary Screening Completed Interview(s) Scheduled Interview(s) Confirmed Interview(s) Completed Interview(s) - Interviewer Noted Requested Interview(s) - Interviewer Notes Completed Admissions Committee Review Scheduled Admissions Committee Review - Committee Notes Req. Admissions Committee Review - Committee Notes Comp Admissions Committee Review Completed 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 49

50 To set an Application Status(s): 1. Find and display the applicant or use the Search of Filter functions to display a group of applicants. To select a group, check the corresponding box for each applicant who you wish to include. 2. Click the Actions tab. Ensure the Actions sub-tab is selected. 3. Select the appropriate status from the Set Application Status drop-down list. 4. Click the Calendar icon and select the status date and time and click Save Changes. The application status and the current date are automatically entered into the Transaction History log. The current application status is displayed in the Primary Applicant Information area of each tab. Assigning Applicants to Interviewers or Committee Members The Group Actions feature of the system allows you to assign an interviewer or committee member to multiple applicants based on the current search or filter. To assign an Interviewer to an individual applicant or a group of applicants: 1. Find and display a group of applicants by using the Search or Filter function. 2. Check the corresponding box for each applicant to be included in the group action. 3. Select Assign Interviewer(s) or Assign Committee Member(s) from the Perform Group Action drop-down list. 4. Select an interviewer from the Interviewer drop-down list or a committee member from the Committee Member drop-down list. Only users that have been identified as an interviewer or a committee member on the School Tools Security tab will appear in the drop down list, see Section 2 for adding interviewers and setting permissions. 5. Click Save and OK. If the interviewer or committee member has restricted access, he/she will only be able to view those students assigned to him/her. Setting Admission Actions Assign an admission action for an applicant or a group of applicants such as accepted or rejected/not accepted through the AP. Admission actions can be assigned individually or collectively to a selected group of applicants who have completed AMCAS processing and have met your specified AMCAS deadlines. Actions given must meet the AMCAS dependency rules. For a brief description of each action and the AMCAS dependency rules, see Appendix C. Only the specified AMCAS-defined admission actions are considered final actions. Medical Schools should also be aware that admissions actions are provided to Pre-Health Advisors via the AMCAS Advisor Information Service provided the applicant has authorized the release of the data. AMCAS Admissions Actions and Codes Accepted (AC)* Alternate List (AL)* Defer to Regular Pool (DR) 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 50

51 Defer to Future Class* Hold for Information (HO)* Matriculated (MA)* No Action (NA) Initial default action only Passive Withdrawal (PW)* Other (OT) - Custom school-defined action* Preliminary Rejection (PR)* Rejected (RJ)* Withdrawn After Acceptance (WA) Withdrawn Before Acceptance (WB) Rescinded Acceptance (RA)* Early Matriculation (EM)* Interview (IN)* Request Secondary (RS)* *Provided to Pre-health Advisors with access to the Advisor Information System (AIS) following a two week delay, all others provided in near real time. Setting Admission Actions: 1. Find and select the applicant or select a group of applicants by using a Search or Filter and checking the corresponding box for each applicant to be included in the group. 2. Click the Actions tab and select the appropriate action from the Set Admission Action dropdown list. 3. Click the Calendar button and select the action date and click Save Changes. Program is required for Accepted and Matriculated actions AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 51

52 AAMC-facilitated Criminal Background Check Service (CBC) The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends that all US medical schools procure a national background check on applicants upon their initial, conditional acceptance to medical school. The rationale for performing criminal background checks on accepted medical school applicants is based on a number of issues, including the need to enhance the safety and well-being of patients and, in so doing, to bolster the public's continuing trust in the medical profession, and to ascertain the ability of accepted applicants to eventually become licensed physicians. In June 2006, the AAMC approved the recommendations and best practices developed by the AAMC Criminal Background Check Advisory Committee. In 2007, after careful consideration, the AAMC contracted with Certiphi Screening, Inc. to conduct the Criminal Background Checks on accepted applicants. A pilot was conducted during the 2008 and 2009 AMCAS application cycles. Beginning with the 2010 application cycle, the CBC Implementation Advisory Committee approved the AAMC facilitated CBC service for all member medical schools that choose to participate. Participating in the Criminal Background Check Service In December of each year AMCAS will invite medical schools to participate in the centralized CBC Service for the upcoming application cycle. To enroll in this service, the medical school must first sign a service agreement with Certiphi Screening, Inc. To ensure adequate communication with prospective applicants and to prepare the AMCAS application, AMCAS will require service agreements to be signed by April 15 for each application cycle. A template of the CBC agreement can be found on the AAMC Admissions Hub ( Your legal team can work with Certiphi Screening, Inc. to modify this template prior to signing. Currently, fees associated with the AAMC Facilitated Criminal Background Checks are included in AMCAS application fees. The medical school contact at Certiphi Screening, Inc is: Suzi Arant Business Developer Phone , ext 2012 Fax sarant@certiphi.com See Appendix J for a list of State-Specific Notifications of Criminal Background Checks. See the AMCAS for Admissions Officers site for full details on the AAMC-facilitated Criminal Background Check Service. Initiating Background Checks on Accepted Applicants Criminal background checks will be conducted for applicants reported as accepted (AC action) by CBC participating schools. Participating schools initiate this process by submitting the Accepted (AC) action 2016 AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 52

53 to AMCAS via School Tools/AP, direct insertion into local database, or via the Admission Action Upload Utility (AAUU). Applicants for which you have submitted an Accepted (AC) action will automatically be sent to Certiphi through AMCAS: o Early Decision Program acceptances at the time of action submission o All Other Applicants after January 1st You do not need to take any additional action on your accepted applicants as they will automatically be sent to Certiphi at the appropriate time, however you should be cognizant of the fact that Certiphi will contact the applicant with an AC as soon as the action is received (after January 1st for all but EDP applicants). You should be sure to provide timely notification of acceptance to your applicants. Setting Alternate List Background Checks Beginning on May 15th of the matriculation year, participating medical schools can request CBCs on a subset of their alternate list applicants (AL action). The size of this subset should be no more than 50% of the size of the school s entering class. You will then be able to view this report once the AC action is submitted. Setting CBC Requests for Alternate List Applicants via the AP Tab: 1. Find and select the applicant. 2. Click the Actions tab and check the Perform Alternate List Background Checkbox. Click Save Changes. Alternate list CBC requests can also be set using the School Tools AAUU Tool or via direct insertion into a school s local AMCAS database. See Appendix I for the direct insertion specifications. Using the Admission Action Upload Utility (AAUU) Schools may submit admission actions and CBC requests for alternate list applicants via a text file uploaded to AMCAS using this utility. See Appendix F for the AAUU Text Action File Specifications. See Appendix G for the AAUU Text CBC Request Specifications. To submit Admissions Actions via the AAUU: 1. On the School Tools homepage, click the AAUU tab. 2. Select the application year (entering class) that this file represents. 3. Click Browse to locate an action or CBC request file to upload, select a file and click Next. Any errors in the file will be indicated in the Validation Results screen. 4. Actions or CBC requests will be uploaded and a receipt will appear on screen. 5. You have the option to Download Receipt or to click Finish to return to the AAUU screen AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 53

54 Sending Messages The system allows you to send messages to individual applicants or groups of applicants. When ing a group, the recipients will not be able to see the names and addresses of the other individuals included in the . The From address is the one you listed in the AP Setup tab. To send to an individual or a group of applicants: 1. Search for a group of applicants using the Search, Filter, or Advanced Filter function. 2. Check the corresponding box for each applicant to be included in the group action. 3. Select from the Perform Group Action drop-down list. 4. Enter any CC recipients. It may be a good idea to send a carbon copy to your school in order to maintain a record of what was sent, when it was sent, and to whom it was sent. You may also want to establish standardized subject lines to easily identify the nature of the communication. Each you send will also be available on the Comment & History sub-tab in each applicant s record. To use a pre-defined template, select the template from the Saved dropdown list. The system will replace the Subject and Message fields with the template text. 5. Enter a subject and a message of up to 4,000 characters. Click Send. Granting Applicant Pre-Approvals The Applicant Pre-approval Tab within the AP allows you to make specific programs available to selected applicants, such as BA/MD, Deferred/Delayed, and Early Assurance. The AMCAS web application will automatically apply special program pre-approval restrictions according to the response provided by each school in the annual AMCAS Medical School Reference Information. To grant a Pre-Approval: 1. Under the AP Search tab, click on Applicant Pre-approval sub-tab. 2. Select the applicable Pre-approval Year, click Submit, and then click the Add button. 3. Enter up to 5 AAMC IDs, separated by commas. 4. Select applicable Program Type from the drop-down menu and click Continue. 5. In validation window, check the box next to each entry you want to submit. 6. Once the pre-approval(s) is submitted you will be taken back to the Applicant Pre-approval list where you may add more applicants. Setting Deadline Extensions The AMCAS application and official transcripts must be received by your specified deadline dates. During the year, application and transcript deadline dates may be modified for specific programs, for individual applicants, or groups of applicants. You must contact AMCAS Medical School Relations to request a change to one or more of your program deadlines AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 54

55 Extending Deadlines for Existing Applicants You can extend deadlines to an individual or group of applicants who have already applied to your school by performing a group action. To extend deadlines for an applicant or a group of existing applicants: 1. Search for a group of applicants using a Search, Filter, or Advanced Filter and check the corresponding box for each applicant to be included in the group action. Find an individual applicant by searching for their AAMC ID number. 2. Select Extend deadline for from the Perform Group Action drop-down list. 3. Select the School Program for which the deadline date will be extended and modify the Application and/or Transcript deadline dates by clicking the calendar. Click Save Changes. 4. To revert back to the previous deadlines, click Revert and then select the correct deadline from the Revert Deadline Extension window. Click Set to save the reversion. Running GPA and MCAT Comparison Reports The GPA and MCAT Compare buttons display GPA Comparisons and MCAT Comparisons between the selected applicant(s) and other groups of applicants. After June 1 of each year, you can view GPA and MCAT information on your current applicant pool, the current national applicant pool, your school s accepted applicant pool from the previous year, and your school s matriculants from the previous year. To run a GPA/MCAT Comparison Report: 1. Select an applicant or a group of applicants using the Search or Filter function. Check the corresponding box for each applicant to be included in the group action. 2. Select either Run GPA comparison report for or Run MCAT comparison report for from the Perform Group Action drop-down list. 3. Click Go to display the Multiple GPA Comparison window or the Multiple MCAT Comparison window. Exporting Mailing Label Data The Mail Merge Tool exports name and address information into a delimited text file that can then be opened in a word processing application and used as the data source for a mail merge. The file can also be opened in other applications that accept text files, such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access. To generate a Name and Address File: 1. Select an applicant or a group of applicants using the Search or Filter function. Check the corresponding box for each applicant to be included in the group action. 2. If your search or filter returns more than 10 applicants, select the Show entire result option to display the complete Applicant List in one window. Select the checkboxes for the applicants you wish to include in the group action. Click the Constrain button to condense your search results to only the selected applicants. This may help you to confirm that you have selected the correct applicants. To select all of the applicants, click Select All. 3. Select Mail Merge Tool from the Perform Group Action drop-down list. Click Go and select the Save this file to disk option AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 55

56 The applicants preferred names and addresses will be exported into a text file. This file can be opened in any word processing program or any other program (e.g., Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access) that can accept text files. Most word processing programs can perform mail merges directly using a text file. If you would prefer to use something other than the applicants preferred names and addresses, you must create an advanced filter and use the export feature found there AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 56

57 Reports A number of School and National reports are made available to AMCAS and Non-AMCAS medical schools via the School Tools Software and publicly through the AAMC's FACTS page ( AAMC Reports Available to the Public Comprehensive year-end data is available on the AAMC's FACTS: Information on Applicants, Matriculates, Graduates, and Residency Applicants Data page. The AAMC FACTS tables comprise the most comprehensive and objective data on U.S. medical school applicants, matriculates, enrollment, graduates, Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) applicants, and M.D.-Ph.D. students available to the public free of charge. Unlike AMCAS Reports, which are designed to provide data during the admissions process and often contain only AMCAS-specific data, FACTS represents year-end data for both AMCAS-participating schools and those schools that do not participate in AMCAS. AMCAS Reports Available Through School Tools Software School and National level reports are accessible via the homepage ('Reports' tab) of the School Tools software. Access to these reports is dependent on your security permissions. A description of all available reports can be found on the Admissions Hub: Generating AMCAS School and National Reports All reports are in PDF format, therefore, each user that is expected to view or print reports will need Adobe Reader installed on his/her computer. To generate any report, click on the report you wish to view and select the Application Year. Select Export to generate a pipe-delimited text file which you can save or open on your computer, or select Generate Report to create a printable PDF of the data AAMC. May not be reproduced without permission. 57