Updated
AMCAS Application 2027: 9 Sections, $180 Fee and Key Dates
The AMCAS application is the AAMC's one application for every US MD school except Texas public schools. For the 2027 cycle it costs $180 with one school and $48 for each added school, per the AAMC. It opened May 5, 2026, took submissions from May 28 and first sent applications to schools on June 26.
Below are the nine sections in order with every limit, a sample Work/Activities entry we wrote and marked up, the dates, our fee totals and what you can still change after you submit. Facts come from the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide and AAMC pages, read November 3, 2026.
What is the AMCAS application?
The American Medical College Application Service is the AAMC's centralized application. You fill it in once, AMCAS checks your coursework against your transcripts, works out your AMCAS GPAs and sends the same file to every MD school you pick. To start medical school in fall 2027, you use the 2027 application.
Not every MD school uses it. Texas public schools use TMDSAS, DO schools use AACOMAS and Ontario schools use OMSAS. AMCAS does not check whether you meet a school's residency rules, and it cannot refund a school you were never eligible for. Check before you add a school.
What are the 9 sections of the AMCAS application?
In the order the Applicant Guide lists them. The first three are facts about you, the middle three are your record, and the last three are where you apply and what you write.
| Section | What it asks | Limit or rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Identifying Information | What it asks: Legal name, preferred and other names, ID numbers, birth date and birthplace | Limit or rule: Name fields fill in from your AAMC account |
| 2. Schools Attended | What it asks: Your high school and every college you attended, degrees and transcript requests | Limit or rule: One official transcript from each US or Canadian college |
| 3. Biographic Information | What it asks: Contact details, citizenship, legal residence, languages, family, military service, felonies and misdemeanors | Limit or rule: Legal residence is what state schools use |
| 4. Coursework | What it asks: Every course from every transcript, entered as it appears | Limit or rule: The AAMC checks it against your transcripts |
| 5. Work/Activities | What it asks: Jobs, clinical work, research, service, honors and other experiences | Limit or rule: Up to 15 entries, 700 characters each, up to 3 marked most meaningful with 1,325 more |
| 6. Letters of Evaluation | What it asks: Who is writing for you and which schools get each letter | Limit or rule: Up to 10 letter entries, not needed to submit |
| 7. Medical Schools | What it asks: The schools and program types you apply to, and Early Decision if you use it | Limit or rule: You can add schools after you submit |
| 8. Essays | What it asks: The Personal Comments Essay (MD-PhD applicants write two more) | Limit or rule: 5,300 characters including spaces, sent to every school |
| 9. Standardized Tests | What it asks: Your MCAT and AAMC PREview dates and scores, and any planned test dates | Limit or rule: MCAT scores release to AMCAS automatically |
The limits that trip people up
Work/Activities allows 15 experiences and four date ranges for a recurring one, 700 characters each, and up to three Most Meaningful entries with 1,325 more characters each. That section cannot be edited after you submit. The Personal Comments Essay is 5,300 characters including spaces, and the same essay goes to every school. You can list up to 10 letter entries, but the AAMC says that does not mean any school wants 10. Legal residence lets you pick only one state, even if you could claim two. Draft long answers in plain text first. Our character counter counts the way AMCAS does.
What does an AMCAS entry look like? A sample
Here is one Work/Activities entry we wrote for an invented applicant, with notes on why each part is there. The description is 545 characters, under the 700 limit.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Experience type | Entry: Community Service/Volunteer: Medical/Clinical |
| Title | Entry: Patient Navigator Volunteer, Eastside Free Clinic |
| Dates and hours | Entry: 09/2023 to present, 4 hours a week (520 total hours) |
| Contact | Entry: Clinic volunteer coordinator (name, title and email go here) |
| Description | Entry: I greet patients at a free clinic that serves mostly uninsured adults, help them fill out intake forms in English or Spanish, and walk them to their next stop: the lab, the pharmacy or a social worker. After noticing that many patients missed follow-up visits, I made a one-page reminder card in both languages with the clinic's phone number and the patient's next date. Our coordinator adopted it for every visit in 2024. I now train new volunteers on intake and on how to ask about transportation and work schedules before booking a follow-up. |
Why it is built this way:
- The experience type tells a reader what to expect before they read a word. Pick the most specific one.
- Hours and dates show commitment. Estimate honestly, because interviewers ask about them.
- The first sentence says what you did and for whom. No scene-setting.
- The middle shows one thing you noticed and changed, with a result someone else can confirm.
- The last sentence shows growth: from doing the job to teaching it.
If this were a Most Meaningful entry, the extra 1,325 characters would explain what it changed in you, not repeat what you did. Our Most Meaningful guide has examples, and the Work and Activities guide covers all 15.
When is the AMCAS deadline? The 2027 dates
AMCAS has no single deadline. Each school sets its own, and you must submit by 11:59 p.m. ET that day, per the AAMC's 2027 AMCAS slides. Transcripts are due 14 days later. Schools review on a rolling basis, so earlier is better.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| May 5, 2026 | What happens: The 2027 AMCAS application opened. |
| May 28, 2026 | What happens: First day to submit. |
| June 26, 2026 | What happens: First transmission of verified applications to medical schools. |
| August 3, 2026 | What happens: Early Decision deadline (August 1 fell on a Saturday, so it moved to the next business day). |
| September to December 2026 | What happens: Most schools' own AMCAS deadlines, 11:59 p.m. ET on the day. |
| 14 days after each deadline | What happens: Transcripts for that school must reach AMCAS. |
Early Decision, in short
The Early Decision Program lets you apply to one participating school and hear by October 1, leaving time to apply elsewhere if it says no. You cannot have sent any other application for that entering class, and you cannot apply anywhere else until you are released or rejected. It fits only applicants with one clear first choice that is a strong match.
How much does the AMCAS application cost?
$180 for the first school and $48 for each one after, paid by card when you submit. Secondary applications, charged by each school, come on top. An approved Fee Assistance Program award waives all AMCAS fees for up to 20 schools ($1,092 value), with $48 for each school after that. The award is not retroactive, so wait for it before you submit.
| Schools | AMCAS fees | With a fee waiver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMCAS fees: $180 | With a fee waiver: $0 |
| 10 | AMCAS fees: $612 | With a fee waiver: $0 |
| 15 | AMCAS fees: $852 | With a fee waiver: $0 |
| 20 | AMCAS fees: $1,092 | With a fee waiver: $0 |
| 25 | AMCAS fees: $1,332 | With a fee waiver: $240 |
| 30 | AMCAS fees: $1,572 | With a fee waiver: $480 |
| 40 | AMCAS fees: $2,052 | With a fee waiver: $960 |
What happens after you submit AMCAS?
AMCAS holds your application until every transcript arrives, then verifies it and sends it to your schools. Letters and MCAT scores follow as they come in. Then most schools send a secondary application, and some invite you to interview. Our secondary essays guide covers what they ask.
You can still add schools, letters (up to 10 in total), contact details and planned test dates after you submit. You cannot change your coursework entries, Work/Activities or essay. A school added later costs the same $48, so 15 schools come to $852 whether you add them at once or over time. Adding early still helps, since review is rolling.
Our AMCAS timeline for next cycle
Built from this cycle's AAMC dates. Move it when the AAMC posts the next one.
- January to April: draft your Personal Comments Essay and your 15 activities offline, in plain text, with character counts.
- Early spring: ask your letter writers and confirm how your school's advising office sends letters.
- May, when the application opens: enter coursework from your transcripts and send every transcript request.
- Late May or June: submit once everything is checked. You pay by card at submission, and a fee waiver must be approved first.
- Summer: prewrite secondary essays while AMCAS verifies your application, then answer each school within about two weeks.
- Fall: practice interviews while you wait for invitations.
Wondering how long the list should be? See how many medical schools to apply to, and check your numbers with the AMCAS GPA calculator.
Practice the question your activities set up
Every Most Meaningful entry is a story an interviewer can ask you to tell again. Practice saying one out loud before they do.
“Which experience on your application has mattered most to you, and why?”
You picked up to three Most Meaningful Experiences in AMCAS. Interviewers often ask you to talk about one, out loud and in more depth than the 1,325 characters allowed. Tell one story, say what you did and show what it changed in you.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
Volunteering at a free clinic, mostly because of one patient. He had missed two follow-up visits for his diabetes, and when I asked why, he said he had no way to get there on weekdays without losing pay.
That changed how I saw the job. I had been treating a missed visit as a patient forgetting. It was a schedule problem. I started asking every patient about work and transport before we booked anything, and I made a reminder card in English and Spanish that the clinic still uses.
It is the reason I want to practice primary care. The medicine matters, but so does the question nobody asked him: can you actually get here?
Sources: the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide, the AAMC's 2027 AMCAS slides, AMCAS FAQs, cost of applying and Fee Assistance benefits, all checked November 3, 2026. Fee totals, the sample entry and the timeline are ours.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the AMCAS application cost?
$180 for the first school and $48 for each school after that in the 2027 cycle. 15 schools come to $852 by our math, before secondary fees. An approved Fee Assistance Program waiver covers up to 20 schools ($1,092 value). See the AAMC's cost page.
When does the AMCAS application open?
For the 2027 cycle it opened May 5, 2026, submissions began May 28 and schools first received applications June 26. The AAMC had not posted 2028 cycle dates as of November 2026. Each school sets its own deadline, most between September and December. See the AAMC's 2027 AMCAS slides.
What are the sections of the AMCAS application?
Nine: Identifying Information, Schools Attended, Biographic Information, Coursework, Work/Activities, Letters of Evaluation, Medical Schools, Essays and Standardized Tests. Read the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide.
How long is the AMCAS personal statement?
The Personal Comments Essay can be up to 5,300 characters including spaces, about one page. The same essay goes to every school you apply to. See our character limit guide.
Can I add schools after I submit AMCAS?
Yes. Adding medical schools is one of the few changes allowed after you submit, subject to each school's deadline and the $48 fee. Your Work/Activities and essay cannot be changed. Read the post-submission rules.
Do my letters need to arrive before I submit?
No. Letters are not required to submit or to be verified. They go to your schools as they arrive. You can have up to 10 letter entries. See our letters guide.