Yes, you can list an activity you have not started yet on AMCAS. The current AMCAS Work and Activities section allows applicants to enter entirely new future experiences using anticipated dates and anticipated hours, even when they have completed zero hours at the time they submit their primary application.

That answer surprises some applicants because you can still find older premed forum posts saying that AMCAS does not allow future activities. That advice used to be correct, but the application changed several years ago. For the 2027 application cycle, the AAMC specifically provides instructions for entering a planned new activity that has not yet started, so there is no ambiguity about whether the application technically permits it.

The more useful question is whether you should use one of your limited AMCAS Work and Activities entries on something you have not actually done yet.

In many situations, I would not.

An accepted clinical job beginning two weeks after you submit AMCAS can be reasonable to include, particularly if it will be a major part of your gap year. A volunteer opportunity you are thinking about joining but have not applied to yet is much weaker. A research position you have formally accepted for the upcoming year is different from writing that you “plan to find research.”

That distinction matters because anticipated activities tell medical schools what you intend to do, while completed activities show what you have already demonstrated through your actions.

In this guide, I will walk through exactly how future AMCAS activities work, how to enter an activity you have not started, when I think anticipated activities are worth including, when I would leave them off, and how medical schools are likely to interpret projected hours.

Can You Put a Future Activity on AMCAS?

Yes. The AAMC explicitly allows future activities in the Work and Activities section.

For the 2027 AMCAS cycle, the official AAMC Work and Activities Guide defines anticipated experiences as activities that an applicant has not yet started but plans to participate in after application submission. An anticipated activity can either be an entirely new experience or a continuation of something you have already been doing.

That gives applicants three basic situations:

Situation	How AMCAS treats it
Activity completely finished before submission	Completed experience
Activity already started and continuing after submission	Completed + anticipated experience
Activity has not started but is formally planned	New anticipated experience

The third category is the one we are talking about here.

Imagine you submit AMCAS on June 5 and have accepted a medical assistant position scheduled to begin June 20. You have completed zero medical assistant hours when you submit, but the job is real, you have accepted the position, and you know your expected schedule.

AMCAS allows you to include that position as an anticipated activity.

If you are still learning how Work and Activities fits into the larger primary application, my AMCAS Activities Section guide walks through the structure of the section and the information you need for each experience.

The Most Important Distinction: Allowed Does Not Mean Valuable

This is the part I think gets lost when applicants ask whether they “can” put something on AMCAS.

AMCAS allowing an anticipated experience does not mean admissions committees will give 300 projected clinical hours the same weight as 300 clinical hours you have already completed.

They shouldn’t.

Completed hours demonstrate that you actually showed up, interacted with patients, worked in the laboratory, served the community, taught students, or performed whatever role you are describing. You can reflect on what happened, discuss challenges, explain what you learned, and talk about the experience during an interview.

Anticipated hours represent your current plan.

Plans can change.

A job can fall through. Your schedule can change. A research project can take a different direction. A volunteer organization may give you fewer shifts than expected. You could discover after three weeks that the activity is not a good fit.

That does not make anticipated hours dishonest or useless. AMCAS created the fields specifically so applicants can communicate what they expect to do throughout the application year.

It simply means that completed and anticipated hours serve different purposes.

I would use completed activities to establish the foundation of your application and anticipated activities to show medical schools what you expect to continue building during the year.

What Does the AAMC Say About Activities You Haven’t Started?

The current AAMC instructions are unusually clear about this.

For a planned activity that has not started yet, AMCAS requires you to first complete the Completed Hours portion of the entry using the current month as the start and end date and entering 0 completed hours.

You then indicate that you anticipate completing future hours and fill out the Anticipated Hours section with the dates you expect to participate and the number of hours you expect to complete.

For applicants applying to enter medical school in 2027, anticipated experiences can extend through August 2027, which is the matriculation/following year for the current cycle.

The AAMC also makes another important restriction clear: an anticipated experience cannot be designated as a Most Meaningful Experience.

That makes sense when you think about what the Most Meaningful designation asks you to discuss. The AAMC encourages applicants to consider the impact they made, what they learned, and how they grew through the experience. You cannot meaningfully evaluate the impact or growth from an activity you have never actually begun.

How to Enter an Activity You Haven’t Started Yet on AMCAS

For an entirely new future experience, the current AMCAS process essentially requires you to create a zero-hour completed portion so that the anticipated section becomes available.

For the 2027 cycle, I would enter it like this:

Completed Hours Section

Start Date: Current month and year when you submit AMCAS
End Date: Same current month and year
Completed Hours: 0

Then answer Yes when AMCAS asks whether you anticipate completing hours for the experience in the future.

Anticipated Hours Section

Start Date: The month/year you actually expect the activity to begin
End Date: The month/year you expect it to end, no later than August 2027 for the current cycle
Anticipated Hours: Your reasonable estimate of how many hours you expect to complete

For example, imagine you submit AMCAS in June 2026 and have accepted a full-time clinical research coordinator position beginning July 2026.

You could enter:

Field	Example
Completed start	June 2026
Completed end	June 2026
Completed hours	0
Anticipated start	July 2026
Anticipated end	August 2027
Anticipated hours	Reasonable projected total

That formatting may initially look strange because you are entering June as the completed date despite not actually working in June, but that is the method the AAMC currently instructs applicants to use to access the anticipated section for a new future experience.

Can an Activity With Zero Completed Hours Go on AMCAS?

Yes. A legitimate future activity can have zero completed hours when you submit AMCAS.

The key word is legitimate.

I would be comfortable including a future activity if the position is sufficiently established that you have a reasonable expectation it will actually happen.

Examples could include:

• A job you have formally accepted
• A research position with a confirmed start date
• A volunteer role where you have completed onboarding and received a schedule
• A structured service program you have been accepted into
• A teaching or tutoring position you have formally committed to
• A clinical role beginning shortly after submission
• A confirmed gap-year fellowship
• A planned continuation of an existing experience

I would be much more hesitant about including something that exists mostly as an intention.

For example, writing that you anticipate 200 hours of hospice volunteering because you plan to apply for hospice volunteering next month is very different from having completed orientation and already receiving your first shift schedule.

The first is an aspiration.

The second is a planned activity.

AMCAS gives you a place to report planned activities, not a place to predict everything you hope your application will eventually contain.

How Certain Should a Future AMCAS Activity Be?

My general rule would be: you should be confident enough that you would feel comfortable explaining the activity to an interviewer several months later.

If an interviewer said, “I saw that you planned to begin volunteering at a free clinic in July. How has that been going?” you should reasonably expect to have an answer.

That does not mean circumstances can never change.

Admissions committees understand that future plans are not contracts. A laboratory could lose funding, an employer could change your start date, you could move unexpectedly, or an organization could discontinue a program.

What I would avoid is reporting activities that were speculative from the beginning.

If your entire plan consists of “I emailed three doctors about shadowing and hopefully one responds,” I would not create an AMCAS activity for 50 anticipated shadowing hours.

Once a physician has agreed, you have scheduled dates, and the experience is genuinely planned, the situation becomes much more defensible.

Should You List an Activity You Haven’t Started Yet?

Sometimes.

I think future activities are most useful when they communicate a substantial, confirmed part of your upcoming application year that a medical school would otherwise have no way of knowing about.

Suppose you graduate in May, submit AMCAS in June, and begin a full-time research position in July that you have already accepted.

If you leave the job off AMCAS entirely, admissions committees reviewing your primary may have no idea what you are doing during your gap year.

Including the position as anticipated gives them useful context.

The same could apply if you are beginning a full-time medical assistant, EMT, scribe, AmeriCorps, teaching, laboratory, or other major position shortly after submission.

I am less enthusiastic about using an entire AMCAS slot for a small anticipated activity that will contribute relatively little to the overall application.

Remember that AMCAS gives you up to 15 Work and Activities entries, not unlimited space.

I would not push out a meaningful completed experience so that I could list a future 20-hour shadowing opportunity.

When I Would Definitely Consider Listing a Future Activity

There are several situations where I think an anticipated-only activity can make sense.

You Have Accepted a Major Gap-Year Job

This is probably the clearest example.

Imagine you graduate in May and have accepted a full-time clinical research coordinator position beginning in July. You submit AMCAS in early June.

Your application could otherwise make it appear as though you have no plans between college graduation and medical school.

The anticipated activity tells admissions committees what you will be doing during the application year and can help explain the progression of your experiences.

The same logic applies to a full-time medical assistant, scribe, research assistant, teacher, public health worker, or another substantive position.

You Have Been Accepted Into a Structured Service Program

Programs such as AmeriCorps or other structured service opportunities can represent a major commitment during a gap year.

If you have formally been accepted and know approximately what you will be doing, listing the future position can help medical schools understand how you plan to spend the year.

A Research Position Is Confirmed

If a PI has officially offered you a laboratory position beginning after you submit AMCAS, including it as anticipated research can be reasonable.

However, do not write about results, publications, responsibilities, or accomplishments that have not happened.

You can describe the planned role and research area without pretending you already know what the experience will teach you.

You Have a Confirmed Clinical Position

Suppose you completed your CNA certification, applied for jobs, accepted an offer, completed onboarding, and are starting at the hospital next month.

That is a legitimate anticipated activity.

The fact that your completed hours are zero should still be obvious, but the experience communicates that clinical involvement will be part of your upcoming year.

When I Would NOT List a Future Activity

There are also situations where I think leaving an activity off is better.

You Have Not Actually Been Accepted or Hired

If you applied for a research position but have not heard back, do not list it as though it is happening.

The same applies to employment.

Sending an application to a hospital does not turn “medical assistant” into an anticipated experience.

Wait until the opportunity becomes real.

You Are Still Looking for the Opportunity

Writing that you plan to shadow, volunteer, conduct research, or find clinical employment is not the same thing as having a planned activity.

Most applicants have goals for what they hope to accomplish during the application year.

AMCAS does not need a list of intentions.

The Activity Exists Mainly to Fix an Application Weakness

This is where I would be particularly cautious.

Imagine you submit AMCAS with only 25 hours of nonclinical community service and simultaneously list 300 anticipated hours at a homeless shelter that you have not started.

Technically, AMCAS allows you to list that future activity if it is genuinely planned.

Strategically, however, I would not expect admissions committees to treat those 300 anticipated hours as though you already have a strong history of community service.

You currently have 25 completed hours.

That is what you have demonstrated at submission.

The future position may show that you recognized an area you wanted to develop and are taking action, which is positive, but it does not erase the difference between someone who has served consistently for two years and someone beginning service after submitting the application.

This distinction becomes particularly important with clinical experience.

If your application has almost no completed clinical exposure, hundreds of anticipated clinical hours beginning after submission may not fully solve the concern because medical schools are evaluating whether you already understand healthcare and patient interaction well enough to make an informed decision about becoming a physician.

Can Anticipated Hours Make Up for Low Clinical Hours?

They can help provide context, but I would not rely on anticipated hours to compensate for a major lack of completed clinical experience.

Suppose Applicant A has:

350 completed clinical hours + 300 anticipated hours

while Applicant B has:

20 completed clinical hours + 630 anticipated hours

Both applications technically show 650 combined completed and future hours.

They are not equivalent.

Applicant A has already spent hundreds of hours around patients and can discuss those experiences in the personal statement, Work and Activities section, secondary essays, and interviews.

Applicant B is mostly telling schools what they plan to do.

That does not mean Applicant B has no chance of admission. The rest of the application matters, and experiences are evaluated in context.

However, if I were advising someone before the application cycle, I would much rather see meaningful clinical exposure completed before submitting than rely on projected hours to make the application look more developed.

If you are still building this part of your application, my Clinical Experience Guide for Premeds goes through the types of experiences you can pursue and how I think about building meaningful patient exposure.

Can Anticipated Hours Make Up for Low Volunteer Hours?

The same general principle applies to nonclinical service.

Future volunteering is better than no plan to volunteer, particularly if you are genuinely committed to the organization.

However, 200 anticipated hours do not prove the same sustained commitment as 200 completed hours.

Service is one of those areas where consistency can tell admissions committees quite a bit about an applicant. Showing up every week for a year demonstrates something that cannot be recreated simply by projecting a large number of hours into the future.

If you notice during application preparation that service is a weakness, I would certainly encourage you to start meaningful service rather than doing nothing because the application is approaching.

I just would not assume the anticipated-hours box magically turns a new activity into a long-term commitment.

Can You List a Future Medical Assistant Job on AMCAS?

Yes, if the job is actually confirmed.

Suppose you have received an offer, accepted the position, and are scheduled to begin in July after submitting AMCAS in June.

That is exactly the type of future experience the anticipated-hours system can accommodate.

Your description should make the status clear.

You might write that you have accepted a position as a medical assistant in an internal medicine practice and briefly describe the responsibilities you are expected to perform.

What you should not do is write the description in past tense as though you have already roomed patients, taken vital signs, assisted physicians, or developed relationships with patients.

You haven’t done those things yet.

Once the experience begins, you may eventually have meaningful stories and lessons to discuss during secondaries, interviews, or an update letter.

Can You List a Future Scribe Job on AMCAS?

Yes, assuming the position is confirmed.

A future medical scribe job can be particularly relevant for gap-year applicants because it explains how you plan to remain involved in clinical medicine while applying.

You can list zero completed hours and your reasonable anticipated total.

If you have already completed some scribing and will continue after submission, the situation is even simpler because the same entry can contain both completed and anticipated hours.

If you need help deciding how the actual entry should be written, I have a separate guide with medical scribe AMCAS and TMDSAS description examples.

Can You List Future Research on AMCAS?

Yes, when the research position is confirmed.

I would be particularly careful with the description because research outcomes are unpredictable.

You can say what laboratory you will join, the broader research question, your expected role, and the techniques or responsibilities the position is designed to involve.

You should not claim that the research will produce a publication, abstract, poster, or presentation.

Even if your PI tells you that publication is the goal, research does not always progress according to plan.

A planned manuscript is not a publication.

A project you expect to present is not yet a presentation.

A future research role is simply a future research role until those additional accomplishments actually occur.

If research later produces something meaningful after submission, that can become a good reason to consider an application update where schools accept them. My guide to medical school update letters, letters of interest, and letters of intent explains how I approach those later communications.

Can You List Future Shadowing on AMCAS?

You can list legitimate planned shadowing as anticipated hours, but I would rarely dedicate a completely separate AMCAS entry to a small future shadowing experience unless you have a particular reason.

If you already have a Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation entry and know you will continue shadowing, anticipated hours can fit naturally within the broader entry.

If you have shadowed several physicians, it is usually cleaner to consolidate those experiences rather than creating multiple small entries. My guide on how to list multiple doctors in one AMCAS shadowing entry goes deeper into how I would organize the physician names, specialties, contacts, and individual hours.

If you have zero completed shadowing and one confirmed physician has agreed to let you shadow for 20 hours later in the summer, you technically can report it.

However, I would again remember the difference between planned and completed exposure.

Medical schools evaluating your application at submission will see that you have not yet completed those hours.

Can You List Future Volunteering on AMCAS?

Yes, assuming the volunteer commitment is genuinely established.

For example, imagine you completed an application and background check with a hospice organization, finished orientation, and received a July start date.

That is a credible anticipated activity.

If you merely intend to contact hospice organizations after submitting AMCAS, I would not include it yet.

I would rather see an applicant begin the service, gain some actual experience, and potentially discuss it later in secondaries, interviews, or an appropriate update than fill an AMCAS slot with a speculative commitment.

Can You List a Job You Accepted but Haven’t Started?

Yes. In fact, I think a confirmed future job is one of the strongest reasons to use an anticipated-only AMCAS entry.

This is especially true when it explains your gap year.

Admissions committees may reasonably want to understand what you are doing after graduation, and an accepted full-time position provides meaningful information even though your completed-hours total is still zero.

Make sure your projected hours are reasonable.

If you expect to work 40 hours per week for approximately 50 weeks, you can estimate accordingly, but account for holidays, time off, interviews, the actual start date, and whether the job will realistically continue until matriculation.

There is no advantage to creating an enormous projected-hours number that does not make sense mathematically.

How Should You Calculate Anticipated AMCAS Hours?

Use a reasonable estimate based on your actual planned schedule.

Suppose you will volunteer four hours per week from July through the following May.

You could estimate:

4 hours/week × approximately 44 weeks = 176 anticipated hours

You do not need to pretend that you know the exact final number.

Plans change, school breaks happen, people get sick, schedules shift, and medical school interviews may interfere with work or volunteering.

The goal is reasonable accuracy.

For a full-time job, your calculation could look something like:

40 hours/week × 48 working weeks = 1,920 anticipated hours

If you know you will only work three days per week, calculate from that schedule instead.

I would rather report a thoughtful 1,700-hour estimate than automatically type 2,080 because that is the theoretical number of hours in a 40-hour, 52-week work year.

You can keep these calculations organized alongside the rest of your application using my free premed spreadsheets for tracking hours, MCAT scores, and applications.

Should You Inflate Anticipated Hours Because They Are Only Estimates?

No.

Anticipated hours are estimates, but an estimate should still reflect what you genuinely expect to complete.

If you volunteer three hours every other week, projecting 300 hours over the next year would obviously raise questions.

The easiest way to keep the number defensible is to calculate it from your expected schedule.

Think about how you would answer if an interviewer asked:

“You projected 500 hours with this organization. What schedule were you expecting?”

If you can explain that you planned approximately 10 hours per week for 50 weeks, your estimate makes sense.

If the answer is that you simply chose 500 because it sounded impressive, you have a problem.

What if Your Anticipated Hours Change After You Submit AMCAS?

That can happen.

Anticipated hours are inherently projections, and medical schools understand that a future schedule can change.

You do not need to panic because you estimated 200 future hours and ultimately completed 175.

There is a meaningful difference, however, between a reasonable estimate changing and an activity never happening at all.

If a significant future experience falls through and a medical school later asks about it, be straightforward.

You can explain what changed and what you did instead.

I would not attempt to preserve the appearance of an activity that never happened.

Honesty is more important than making every projection on your primary application come true exactly as planned.

Can You Change Anticipated Hours After Submitting AMCAS?

Your ability to edit AMCAS becomes very limited after submission, and you should not assume that you can continually revise Work and Activities entries throughout the cycle.

This is another reason to make your projections thoughtfully before submitting.

My AMCAS application timeline and deadline guide goes through what happens before and after submission, including the importance of reviewing the application carefully before certification.

If something genuinely important changes later, individual medical schools may provide opportunities through secondary applications, applicant portals, interviews, or update letters.

Always follow the school’s specific update policy because not every medical school accepts the same types of post-submission communication.

Should You Save a Future Activity for an Update Letter Instead?

Sometimes, yes.

Imagine you already have 15 strong AMCAS activities and are scheduled to begin a new volunteer position in July.

I would probably not remove a meaningful completed experience merely to make room for something you have not done yet.

You could begin the new activity, accumulate real hours and experiences, and potentially discuss it later if a school accepts updates.

By that point, instead of saying:

“I plan to volunteer at a food pantry.”

you may be able to say:

“Since submitting my application, I have completed 75 hours at the food pantry, where I now coordinate Saturday distribution shifts.”

The second update is much more substantive because something has actually happened.

That does not mean update letters should become a dumping ground for every minor activity after AMCAS. A good update should contain genuinely meaningful new information.

My guide to medical school update letters explains when I think an update becomes worthwhile and how to combine several developments into one useful communication.

Should You Save a Future Activity for Secondary Applications?

This can also make sense.

Many secondary applications ask what you will be doing during the upcoming year, particularly if you have graduated or are taking a gap year.

If your future position is not important enough to deserve one of your 15 Work and Activities slots but is still relevant to your upcoming plans, a gap-year secondary essay may give you a better place to explain it.

The advantage is that some time will also have passed between AMCAS submission and secondary completion.

If you submitted the primary in early June and started the activity in late June, by the time you write a July secondary you may actually have experiences to discuss.

My medical school essays guide includes my secondary application resources if you are trying to decide how information from the primary should carry forward into later essays.

Can an Anticipated Activity Be Most Meaningful?

No, not if the experience is entirely anticipated.

For the current AMCAS application, the AAMC specifically states that an anticipated experience cannot be a Most Meaningful Experience.

This makes sense because you cannot meaningfully discuss personal growth, impact, or lessons from something that has not happened yet.

The situation is different for an activity you have already started and plan to continue.

If you have volunteered at a free clinic for two years and will continue through your gap year, you have completed experience on which to reflect. The entry can contain both completed and anticipated hours, while your Most Meaningful discussion can focus on what has actually happened so far.

Do not write your Most Meaningful essay around accomplishments you expect to have later.

Can You Put Future Publications on AMCAS?

Not as anticipated hours.

The AAMC specifically excludes Publications from the experience types for which anticipated hours can be entered. Honors/Awards, Conferences, and Presentations are also excluded from anticipated hours.

More importantly, I would never list a manuscript as a publication simply because you expect it to become one.

There are meaningful differences between:

• Research in progress
• Manuscript in preparation
• Manuscript submitted
• Manuscript under review
• Manuscript accepted
• Published article

Describe the status accurately.

If you are actively conducting research that may eventually lead to a paper, the research itself can be listed under Research/Lab. If the manuscript later reaches a meaningful milestone, you may have an opportunity to communicate that development separately.

Can You Put a Future Conference or Presentation on AMCAS?

The anticipated-hours feature is not available for the Conference or Presentation/Posters experience categories under the current AMCAS guidance.

I would also be careful about listing something that has not actually been accepted.

Being scheduled to give an accepted presentation is different from hoping that an abstract you submitted will be selected.

As with publications, describe what has actually happened rather than giving yourself credit for an outcome that remains uncertain.

Continuing Activity vs. Brand-New Future Activity

This distinction is worth understanding because anticipated hours are much more persuasive when they extend an established commitment.

Suppose you have volunteered at a free clinic since September 2024 and submit AMCAS in June 2026.

You have already completed 250 hours and expect to complete another 150 during the upcoming year.

Your entry can communicate:

Completed hours: 250

Anticipated hours: 150

That tells the admissions committee that you already have a substantial record of involvement and intend to continue it.

Compare that with someone who reports:

Completed hours: 0

Anticipated hours: 400

The second applicant may eventually complete more total hours, but at the moment of submission there is no demonstrated history with that organization.

This is why I would generally put more weight on anticipated hours that extend a meaningful existing activity than on an enormous projection attached to something brand new.

Example: New Clinical Job You Haven’t Started

Imagine you have accepted a full-time patient care technician job beginning one month after submission.

Your entry might look roughly like this:

Experience Type: Paid Employment – Medical/Clinical

Experience Name: Patient Care Technician

Completed Hours: 0

Anticipated Hours: 1,600

Description:

I accepted a full-time Patient Care Technician position on the medical-surgical unit beginning July 2026. I expect to assist with mobility, activities of daily living, vital signs, and other delegated patient-care responsibilities while working alongside nurses and the broader inpatient team. This role will be my primary employment during my gap year.

Notice what this description does not say.

It does not claim that you developed meaningful relationships with patients.

It does not say you learned how to manage difficult clinical interactions.

It does not provide a touching patient story.

You haven’t started yet, so those things would be invented.

The description explains the confirmed position, expected responsibilities, and role in the upcoming year without pretending the anticipated activity is already completed.

Example: Future Research Position

Imagine you have accepted a laboratory position beginning after graduation.

You might write:

Experience Type: Research/Lab

Experience Name: Research Assistant – Cancer Biology Laboratory

Completed Hours: 0

Anticipated Hours: 1,800

Description:

I will join Dr. Smith’s cancer biology laboratory full time beginning July 2026, studying mechanisms involved in colorectal cancer progression. My anticipated responsibilities include cell culture, PCR, data collection, and participation in weekly laboratory meetings. I accepted this position as my primary gap-year role and expect to continue through matriculation.

Again, the wording remains prospective.

You are explaining what the position is expected to involve rather than manufacturing insights from an experience you have not had.

Example: Future Volunteer Activity

Suppose you completed hospice volunteer orientation and have confirmed your first regular shift.

A reasonable entry could say:

Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer – Medical/Clinical

Experience Name: Hospice Volunteer

Completed Hours: 0

Anticipated Hours: 120

Description:

Following volunteer training and onboarding, I am scheduled to begin weekly hospice visits in July 2026. I expect to provide companionship to patients and respite support for families under the direction of the volunteer coordinator. I plan to volunteer approximately three hours per week throughout the application year.

This description establishes why you believe the activity will actually happen.

I would be much less comfortable with an entry saying you “hope to begin hospice volunteering” without having actually joined a program.

Example: Existing Activity With Future Hours

Now imagine that you already have 180 hours at a community clinic and expect another 150 after submission.

That is a different situation:

Completed Hours: 180
Anticipated Hours: 150

Your normal 700-character description can focus primarily on the 180 hours you have already experienced.

You can discuss your role, responsibilities, interactions, growth, and impact because those things have actually occurred.

There is usually no need to spend much of the description explaining that you will continue unless your future role will change significantly.

Should You Write About What You Hope to Learn?

A small amount of prospective context is reasonable, but I would avoid building an anticipated activity description around predictions about your personal growth.

Statements such as “This experience will teach me empathy, strengthen my communication skills, and confirm my desire to practice medicine” sound strange when you have not begun.

You do not know exactly what the experience will teach you yet.

Describe the role and why it fits into your upcoming plans.

Then actually have the experience.

If it becomes meaningful, you can eventually speak about it authentically in interviews or later application communications.

How Medical Schools May View Anticipated Hours

There is no universal formula saying that medical schools count anticipated hours at a specific percentage of completed hours.

Admissions committees review applications differently.

The safest assumption is simply that they can see the distinction between hours you completed and hours you anticipate completing.

The AMCAS system separates those categories specifically so medical schools can understand what you have already done versus what you plan to do.

That is why I would never approach the Work and Activities section as though:

100 completed hours + 400 anticipated hours = 500 completed hours

It doesn’t.

Your application instead says:

I have completed 100 hours, and I currently plan to complete another 400.

That is still useful information, but it is much more accurate.

Will Medical Schools Verify Anticipated Activities?

You should write every part of AMCAS as though someone could ask you about it.

The Work and Activities section includes contact information for experiences, and medical schools can ask questions about activities during the admissions process.

More importantly, interviewers may naturally ask how an anticipated experience has progressed.

If you listed a major clinical job beginning in July and interview in October, it would be completely reasonable for someone to ask what you have learned since starting.

You should be able to answer honestly.

This is another reason I would not list speculative activities merely because anticipated hours make the application look stronger on paper.

What if a Future Activity Falls Through?

If a legitimate plan changes after submission, that does not automatically mean you did something wrong.

Suppose you accepted a research assistant position, but the laboratory unexpectedly lost funding before your start date.

That is very different from inventing a research position that was never confirmed.

If a school asks what happened, explain the situation honestly and describe what you did instead.

Applicants sometimes become overly worried that every anticipated-hour estimate must come true exactly. Admissions committees understand that future plans can change.

Your responsibility is to make your original estimate honestly and avoid intentionally misleading schools.

Can You Add an Activity to AMCAS After Submitting?

This is one reason the decision matters before submission.

You generally should not assume you can simply go back into the Work and Activities section and add new entries after your primary has been submitted.

AMCAS limits what can be changed after submission, so the activity section should be reviewed carefully before certification.

If something significant begins afterward, other opportunities may exist through secondary applications, school-specific portals, interviews, or update letters depending on the medical school’s policies.

This is similar to other pieces of the primary application that become largely fixed once you submit. My AMCAS application timeline guide explains what happens during submission, verification, and the remainder of the application cycle.

Should You Delay AMCAS Until an Activity Starts?

Usually, I would not delay a strong, otherwise-ready application simply so you can accumulate a handful of hours in a newly starting activity.

For example, if your application is ready on June 5 and your confirmed new research job starts July 1, waiting an entire month merely so you can write “40 completed hours” instead of “0 completed hours” probably does not accomplish much.

You can list the activity as anticipated if it deserves an entry.

However, the answer changes if the reason you are waiting is that your application lacks an essential component.

Suppose you have essentially no clinical experience and plan to begin your first patient-facing role in July.

The concern is no longer whether you should wait three weeks so AMCAS lets you move a number from anticipated to completed.

The bigger question is whether you are ready to apply this cycle at all.

If the application is missing meaningful evidence that you understand patient care, community service, or another fundamental area of preparation, several months of genuine involvement may strengthen your candidacy much more than rushing to apply and projecting everything into the future.

Timing decisions should therefore be made in the context of the entire application.

Future Activities Should Support Your Application, Not Create It

This is probably the main point I would want a premed to take away from this article.

Anticipated activities are excellent for explaining what comes next.

They are much less useful for creating the appearance that an experience already exists.

A student with several years of clinical exposure who starts a new full-time medical assistant job during a gap year has an easy story to understand. The anticipated job continues an established interest.

A student with virtually no clinical exposure who adds 1,500 future medical assistant hours two weeks before submission has a very different application.

The future role may eventually become incredibly valuable, but admissions committees are still reviewing what the applicant has actually done at the time of application.

I would use the anticipated-hours section to show continuity and upcoming commitments rather than treating it as a way to retroactively fill holes.

My Recommendation

Yes, list an activity you have not started yet on AMCAS when it is a confirmed, meaningful future commitment and adds useful information about what you will be doing during the application year.

A full-time gap-year job, confirmed research position, structured service program, established volunteer role, or other substantial commitment can be completely reasonable to include with zero completed hours and appropriately calculated anticipated hours.

I would leave the activity off when it is speculative, when you are merely hoping to find the opportunity, when it would displace a much stronger completed experience, or when you are primarily using projected hours to make a weak area of your application look stronger.

Remember that medical schools can see the difference between completed and anticipated hours.

That is actually a good thing.

You do not need to pretend that every important part of your development happened before you pressed Submit. Applicants continue learning, working, volunteering, researching, and growing throughout the year.

Use AMCAS to accurately show where you have been and what you have genuinely committed to doing next.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you list an activity you haven’t started yet on AMCAS?

Yes. The current AMCAS Work and Activities section allows applicants to enter entirely new future experiences that they have not started yet.

For a future-only activity, you enter zero completed hours and then provide separate anticipated dates and anticipated hours. The experience should represent a legitimate planned commitment rather than something you merely hope to pursue.

Can you put zero completed hours for an AMCAS activity?

Yes. For an entirely new anticipated experience, the AAMC instructs applicants to enter the current submission month as the start and end date in the Completed Hours section and enter 0 completed hours.

You then indicate that you anticipate future hours and complete the separate Anticipated Hours section.

What are anticipated hours on AMCAS?

Anticipated hours are hours you reasonably expect to complete after submitting your application.

They may represent continued participation in an activity you have already started or an entirely new planned experience that will begin after submission.

They are reported separately from completed hours so medical schools can distinguish what you have already done from what you plan to do.

How far into the future can you list AMCAS activities?

For the 2027 AMCAS cycle, anticipated experiences can extend through August 2027.

The exact rules can change between application cycles, so applicants in later years should always review the current AAMC Applicant Guide and Work and Activities Guide rather than relying on instructions from an older cycle.

Can a future activity be a Most Meaningful Experience on AMCAS?

No. The current AAMC Work and Activities Guide specifically states that an anticipated experience cannot be designated as a Most Meaningful Experience.

That makes sense because the Most Meaningful discussion focuses on impact, learning, and personal growth, which you cannot evaluate from an experience you have not yet begun.

Can an ongoing activity with anticipated hours be Most Meaningful?

An activity you have already completed meaningful hours in and plan to continue is different from an entirely future activity.

You can discuss the completed portion of an established experience and indicate anticipated future hours separately. Your reflection should focus on what you have actually experienced rather than predicting what the future portion will teach you.

Do medical schools care about anticipated hours?

Anticipated hours can provide useful context, particularly when they show what you will be doing during a gap year or demonstrate that a meaningful existing commitment will continue.

However, I would not assume that schools view anticipated hours as equivalent to completed hours. AMCAS deliberately displays them separately.

Do anticipated hours count the same as completed hours?

No. You should think of them as different information.

Completed hours document experience you have already accumulated, while anticipated hours communicate your reasonable plans for the future.

A student with 300 completed clinical hours and 200 anticipated hours has demonstrated substantially more clinical exposure at submission than someone with zero completed hours and 500 anticipated hours.

Can anticipated hours make up for not having enough clinical experience?

They can show that you are working on gaining more experience, but I would not rely on projected hours to replace meaningful completed clinical exposure.

Medical schools want applicants to have enough real exposure to patients and healthcare to make an informed decision about pursuing medicine. If nearly all of that exposure is scheduled to occur after you submit, it may be worth considering whether applying later would produce a stronger application.

Can anticipated volunteering make up for low service hours?

Future volunteering can show continued development, but hundreds of projected service hours are not the same as hundreds of hours you have already completed.

Longitudinal community involvement demonstrates commitment through actual behavior, so I would not depend on a newly planned volunteer position to completely compensate for very limited completed service.

Can I list a future medical assistant job on AMCAS?

Yes, particularly if you have formally accepted the job and have a confirmed start date.

Enter zero completed hours if you have not started, calculate a reasonable number of anticipated hours, and describe the expected responsibilities without writing as though you have already performed them.

Can I list a future research position on AMCAS?

Yes, if the research position is confirmed.

You can describe the laboratory, research topic, expected responsibilities, start date, and anticipated hours. Do not claim anticipated publications, posters, presentations, findings, or accomplishments that have not occurred.

Can I list future shadowing on AMCAS?

Yes, confirmed future physician shadowing can be reported using anticipated hours.

However, I would generally combine shadowing experiences rather than dedicating multiple AMCAS entries to short future opportunities. Planned shadowing should also not be treated as equivalent to completed exposure.

Can I list future volunteering on AMCAS?

Yes, when the volunteer position is actually established.

Completing onboarding, being accepted into the program, receiving a start date, or having scheduled shifts makes the anticipated experience much more concrete than simply planning to search for a volunteer opportunity.

Can I list a job I applied for but haven’t gotten yet?

I would not.

Applying for a job does not mean you will receive it. Wait until the position is sufficiently confirmed before representing it to medical schools as an anticipated activity.

The same logic applies to research positions, volunteering, internships, and other future opportunities.

Can I list a research position if I am waiting to hear back?

I would wait until the position is confirmed.

You can always discuss a meaningful new activity later through a secondary application, interview, or update if the medical school accepts updates.

Can I list a publication that I expect to have later?

Do not list an expected publication as though it is already published.

Research projects can be described according to their current status, but a manuscript in preparation, submitted manuscript, accepted manuscript, and published article are different accomplishments.

The current AMCAS system also does not allow anticipated hours for the Publications experience type.

Can you enter anticipated hours for presentations or conferences?

The current AAMC Work and Activities Guide does not allow anticipated hours for Honors/Awards, Conferences, Publications, or Presentations.

Applicants should report accomplishments according to their actual status rather than projecting outcomes that have not occurred.

What if I list anticipated hours and don’t complete all of them?

Anticipated hours are estimates, so reasonable differences can happen.

Your schedule may change or circumstances outside your control may affect the experience. The important thing is that your original estimate was made honestly and reasonably.

A modest difference between projected and completed hours is very different from deliberately listing an activity you never actually intended to pursue.

What if the future activity completely falls through?

If a legitimately planned experience falls through after you submit, be honest if a medical school asks about it.

You can explain what changed and what you did instead. Applicants are not expected to control every future circumstance, but they are expected to represent their plans truthfully when they submit.

Can I update AMCAS after I start the activity?

You should not assume that you can edit the Work and Activities section freely after submitting AMCAS.

If an important activity begins or develops after submission, individual schools may allow you to discuss it through their secondary application, applicant portal, interview, or an update letter.

Always check each medical school’s update policy.

Should I wait to submit AMCAS until my new activity starts?

Usually not if your application is otherwise strong and ready.

Waiting several weeks merely to convert a small number of anticipated hours into completed hours is unlikely to transform the application.

However, if the new experience is meant to address a major weakness such as almost nonexistent clinical exposure, the more important question may be whether you would benefit from gaining substantial experience before applying at all.

How many anticipated hours should I list on AMCAS?

Calculate anticipated hours from the schedule you genuinely expect to maintain.

For example, four hours per week for approximately 40 weeks would equal around 160 anticipated hours.

Build in reasonable time for holidays, travel, interviews, vacations, and other interruptions rather than automatically projecting the maximum theoretical number.

Can I have more anticipated hours than completed hours?

Yes. This is common for new gap-year activities.

Someone beginning a full-time job shortly after AMCAS submission might have zero completed hours and more than 1,000 anticipated hours.

The numbers are displayed separately, so medical schools can see that most of the involvement is expected to occur in the future.

Is it bad to have an AMCAS activity with zero completed hours?

Not automatically.

A confirmed full-time gap-year job with zero completed hours can provide useful information about your plans.

I would be more concerned if several major parts of your application consisted entirely of anticipated experiences because that could indicate that you are applying before you have actually developed enough experience in those areas.

Should I use one of my 15 AMCAS activities on a future experience?

Use the slot when the future commitment is substantial enough that medical schools would benefit from knowing about it.

I would prioritize meaningful completed experiences over small future activities. A confirmed year-long gap-year position may deserve an entry, while a planned 10-hour shadowing experience probably does not need to displace something significant you have already done.

Is the advice saying you cannot list future AMCAS activities outdated?

Yes, if the advice says AMCAS categorically prohibits activities that have not started.

The current AMCAS Work and Activities system explicitly supports entirely new anticipated experiences. Older forum discussions may reflect the structure of earlier versions of the application and should not override the current AAMC instructions.

What is the best way to use anticipated activities on AMCAS?

I would use anticipated activities to show what you have genuinely committed to doing next, particularly during a gap year, rather than using projected hours to make your current application appear stronger than it is.

Completed activities should establish the experiences and qualities you already bring to medical school. Anticipated activities can then show how you plan to keep building on that foundation throughout the admissions cycle.