Sections 1-3 of the AMCAS® Application: Your Background Information

Here you will enter your basic background information including name, birthday, schools attended, citizenship, ethnicity and race, and more.

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Section One: Identifying Information

This section of the application prompts you to enter basic information about yourself, such as your name, birth, gender, and any ID numbers that may appear on transcripts sent to the AMCAS program by any of the schools you have attended.

Section Two: Schools Attended

Here you will enter information about the high school from which you graduated. You can find specific instructions for applicants who received a GED certificate, were homeschooled or attended high school in a foreign country in the AMCAS Applicant Guide.

You will also list every post-secondary institution where you were enrolled for at least one course, even if credits have been transferred, no credits were earned, or you withdrew.

• This section also requires you to supply information about any institutional actions you have received that resulted from unacceptable academic performance or a conduct violation, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment, require you to withdraw, or does not appear on your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition.
• Transcripts: One official transcript is required from each U.S., U.S. Territorial, or Canadian post-secondary institution at which you have attempted coursework, regardless of whether credit was earned.
  • The AMCAS program has difficulties matching applications to official transcripts that are not accompanied by the AMCAS Transcript Request Form. Problems with transcripts are the number one cause of processing delays and missed application deadlines.
  • The AMCAS program strongly recommends that you request a personal copy of your official transcript(s) for your use in completing the Coursework section of your application.

  Section Three: Biographic Information

  In the Biographic Information section, you will enter basic information regarding your contact information, citizenship, legal residence, languages spoken, ethnicity and race, parent(s) or guardian(s), siblings, military service, military discharge, and criminal convictions.

  Contact Information: Email is the primary mode of communication between the AMCAS program, medical schools, and you. If your contact information changes at any point, be sure to update it within the application.

  If you have already submitted your application, you can make changes to your contact information by clicking the Update Application button on the Main Menu and re-certifying your application.

  Felonies and Misdemeanors: These sections of the application give you the opportunity to disclose and explain any felonies or misdemeanors that may appear on your record.

  If you are convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to a felony or misdemeanor crime after you submit your AMCAS application and prior to your medical school matriculation, you must inform the admissions office of each medical school to which you have applied. This communication to each medical school must be in writing and occur within 10 business days of the occurrence of the conviction.

  Other Impactful Experiences: This question is designed to give applicants the opportunity to provide additional context about the challenges they may have experienced during their lives.

  This question is intended for those applicants who have had impactful life experiences and who have faced or overcome challenges in a variety of areas such as family background, financial background, community setting, education, religion, or other life experiences. The experiences described can be from any point in an applicant’s lifetime and do not need to be related to the field of medicine or health care. Medical schools do not expect all applicants to answer “yes” to this question and providing an essay to this question is optional. Some applicants may not have experiences that are relevant to this question. Other applicants may not feel comfortable sharing this level of personal information in their application. Learn more about the Other Impactful Experiences question.