## 2008-2009 Application Season ## Post AACOMAS questions HERE!!!

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seven87 said:
How long did it take for them to be shown online after you requested them to be sent? It's been about ten days for me and still nothing.
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2 out of 3 posted after about a week (those were both requested online). The last one still hasn't posted, after 10 days, but it was a faxed request. I did verify that it was sent, so hopefully it will show up soon...
 
It still isn't clear to me....Can we submit a complete application now or do we still have to wait until June 1st?
 
Airlife91 said:
It still isn't clear to me....Can we submit a complete application now or do we still have to wait until June 1st?
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I believe you can submit your application now. As to weather or not AACOMAS will begin the verification process yet, you will have to call or email them and find out.

Even if you submit your application and are verified before the end of June, you have to remember that most schools will not begin even looking at 2009 applications and sending out secondaries until after the 2008 application season is over. This is usually after the class of 2012 has started classes and they are done with waitlists, etc.

Good Luck! :luck:
 
Kateb4 said:
I'd email AACOMAS on this one, not sure how they'd figure that one.
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yeah, my entire transcript is like this. but i'd be damned if i'm taking one more quarter of ochem and ochem labs (again).
 
Sorry if this has already been posted but I couldn't find any answers. I have been looking for directions for the application but can't seem to find a link for them either. If anyone has it please let me know.

I was wondering how much information to put in the description section of work experiences. I assume that you are just supposed to write a short paragraph describing what your responsibilities were. Should I go into more detail then that? I am only using a little more then half of the available space.

Thanks!
 
I always recommend to be as descriptive as possible. With thousands of applicants you need to figure out a way to set yourself apart from the others. If you remain vague and brief then you won't stand out. Use all of the space and detail as much as possible.
 
So..we send in the "first transcript" request now, and then if we are taking summer classes, at the end of the summer when grades are released we send in an "updated transcript" request form?
 
MichiganEMTInt said:
So..we send in the "first transcript" request now, and then if we are taking summer classes, at the end of the summer when grades are released we send in an "updated transcript" request form?
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Yeah. That way they verify your grades now, but have your new grades as soon as you get them.

I have never filled out AACOMAS before, so I don't know how to go about notifying them of updated grades. They probably need to know that the transcripts are coming...
 
Hello all, I have been reading a lot in this thread and am excited to join. There seems to be much contribution from everyone and I hope to soon do my part. If no one minds, I have a few questions to ask about the application first.

1) Under work experience, I am not sure if i should list all of the jobs i have held. It says list all meaningful jobs, and i have worked part time since high school at several locations, mostly food service, just so i can could afford to pay for college. These jobs are not meaningful in any medical/educational sense, just that i spent 20 hours a week working them. I decided to list the jobs together under one record, so I do not annoy them with like 5 job listings. Under that one record I just discussed one specific job for the job position and employer but under the description i mentioned that the dates expressed under start to end included multiple jobs. Do you think schools will mind that? Should i list them separately?

2)I have conducted research for the past two years and get paid for it. Of course I wrote this under work experience. under description i simply described what my research is all about. For this research I have done many presentations through out the country and have gotten many awards. I decided to re-list this research under "extracurricular activities" and discuss everything I have done extra for this research. Will DO schools mind the double listings, one discussing the work and another discussing the extracurricular activities?

3) Lastly, there seems to be much trouble with the coursework for many people. I want to join the problem: i have a questions on an AP credit class i took in high school. How do i write that in there? Do i write the highschool involved?

Anyways, I appreciate all of your help. And Prions, a friend of mine does research for California dairies and when he presents his research, under the "questions slide" he always uses that picture. It gets a LARGE laugh!
 
Schoolsucks said:
1) Under work experience, I am not sure if i should list all of the jobs i have held. It says list all meaningful jobs, and i have worked part time since high school at several locations, mostly food service, just so i can could afford to pay for college. These jobs are not meaningful in any medical/educational sense, just that i spent 20 hours a week working them. I decided to list the jobs together under one record, so I do not annoy them with like 5 job listings. Under that one record I just discussed one specific job for the job position and employer but under the description i mentioned that the dates expressed under start to end included multiple jobs. Do you think schools will mind that? Should i list them separately?

2)I have conducted research for the past two years and get paid for it. Of course I wrote this under work experience. under description i simply described what my research is all about. For this research I have done many presentations through out the country and have gotten many awards. I decided to re-list this research under "extracurricular activities" and discuss everything I have done extra for this research. Will DO schools mind the double listings, one discussing the work and another discussing the extracurricular activities?

3) Lastly, there seems to be much trouble with the coursework for many people. I want to join the problem: i have a questions on an AP credit class i took in high school. How do i write that in there? Do i write the highschool involved?
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1) Personally I'd list the jobs separately, so they know exactly what you were doing and when. This way they can precisely account for your time during multiple semesters.

2) I think a double listing for research is appropriate, since publications/presentations/awards are above and beyond typical job descriptions. Also if you had multiple research projects or multiple publications/presentations/awards, it would be hard to describe these achievements in the job description.

3) For AP classes you put them under the college where you received the credit for them, not the high school.

From AACOMAS Instructions for Completing Colleges and Coursework: Advanced Placement: Advanced credit granted by examination, including the College Level Equivalency Program (CLEP). The subjects and credit hours you received for these courses must appear on your official transcript. If these do not appear on the transcript, an official letter from the registrar is required. Advanced credit appearing on the transcript without subject or course names will be classified as non-science unless official documentation is received. If a letter grade is shown on the official transcript, the letter grade should be listed in the AACOMAS Grade column and included in your GPA calculations. If a grade is not shown on the official transcript or the course is indicated as being passed, then enter the semester hours and, under AACOMAS grade, select "Advanced Placement". If the AP credit was a special category, indicate.
 
I am not sure whether any one asked this question already.. but here goes.. when you submitted the DO application 2009 did anyone receive a confirmation to your email address or any email notification when you started working on the application. Because I did not receive any email….
Thanks much 🙂
 
BumbleBee09 said:
I am not sure whether any one asked this question already.. but here goes.. when you submitted the DO application 2009 did anyone receive a confirmation to your email address or any email notification when you started working on the application. Because I did not receive any email….
Thanks much 🙂
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Nope. Not for either.
 
Thanks...🙂 I called them.. they said they are not sending email confirmations this year..
 
How detailed are the descriptions about job and volunteer experiences supposed to be? Should I simply list the duties or write in paragraph form about the job?
 
aliDO said:
How detailed are the descriptions about job and volunteer experiences supposed to be? Should I simply list the duties or write in paragraph form about the job?
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I used "--" to bullet duties/meaningful points/things I learned for each particular job/ec/volunteer gig/etc. I'm not sure they want to read paragraphs.
 
Chocolate Bear said:
I used "--" to bullet duties/meaningful points/things I learned for each particular job/ec/volunteer gig/etc. I'm not sure they want to read paragraphs.
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Thanks! I did that too. I'm just being paranoid thinking that I might come across as lazy and not wanting to put effort into my application.
 
aliDO said:
Thanks! I did that too. I'm just being paranoid thinking that I might come across as lazy and not wanting to put effort into my application.
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Nah. I think they'll see your effort by having ECs, etc. Now you just need the best way to convey what you've done.
 
Chocolate Bear said:
I used "--" to bullet duties/meaningful points/things I learned for each particular job/ec/volunteer gig/etc. I'm not sure they want to read paragraphs.
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I do agree with the fact that I do not think they want to read paragraphs, but i can also see the upside of writing paragraphs. The MD application asks you to use 1350 characters, not just 750...which to me sounds like they want paragraphs. I dont know if D.O would be any different.

For example, when i wrote about my volunteer experience, i wrote a little extra about "how it jump started my desire for med school". There is only so much room on the application and i want to show them everything i got.

I dont know, thats just my philosophy. Any one else?
 
Schoolsucks said:
I do agree with the fact that I do not think they want to read paragraphs, but i can also see the upside of writing paragraphs. The MD application asks you to use 1350 characters, not just 750...which to me sounds like they want paragraphs. I dont know if D.O would be any different.

For example, when i wrote about my volunteer experience, i wrote a little extra about "how it jump started my desire for med school". There is only so much room on the application and i want to show them everything i got.

I dont know, thats just my philosophy. Any one else?
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If you have the substance to write paragraphs, then I'm sure they'll appreciate your explanations. I compared a few of my entries between paragraph form and bullets. Bullets ended up saying the same thing in fewer characters. That's just me.
 
I just wrote a very short, sweet, and concise description of what I did and what it taught me. I saved my heavy descriptions for my personal statement. It seemed to work well.
 
Schoolsucks said:
I do agree with the fact that I do not think they want to read paragraphs, but i can also see the upside of writing paragraphs. The MD application asks you to use 1350 characters, not just 750...which to me sounds like they want paragraphs. I dont know if D.O would be any different.

For example, when i wrote about my volunteer experience, i wrote a little extra about "how it jump started my desire for med school". There is only so much room on the application and i want to show them everything i got.

I dont know, thats just my philosophy. Any one else?
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i believe LizzyM recommends to always use bullet points and not paragraphs when doing descriptins.
 
Does AACOMAS verify your gpa once all of your transcripts are received or do they wait until you submit your application?
 
Chocolate Bear said:
They wait until you submit, or else you could potentially make changes while they were trying to verify.
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They will update it after you are verified if you send an updated transcript with your summer grades, right?
 
Schoolsucks said:
hate to sound like a noob but who is LizzyM?
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i believe she is an administrator for one of the MD schools ( i dont remember her exact title) but she is definitely involved with admission in some way or another at one of the schools....

anyways, she floats around the threads (i think i tend to see her more in the pre allo forum) and will give advice and comment on certain things that she reads....

i remember reading a post that said she preferred bullet points.
 
ryserr21 said:
i believe she is an administrator for one of the MD schools ( i dont remember her exact title) but she is definitely involved with admission in some way or another at one of the schools....

anyways, she floats around the threads (i think i tend to see her more in the pre allo forum) and will give advice and comment on certain things that she reads....

i remember reading a post that said she preferred bullet points.
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She's an Admissions Committee member. 👍
 
this isnt really an application question but i figured it fit best here and i didnt really wanna make a whole new thread for it....


does anybody know the DO schools that have the smallest class sizes? i've been realizing how much I enjoy the learning environment of a small institution and would love to continue that during medical school if at all possible...
 
ryserr21 said:
this isnt really an application question but i figured it fit best here and i didnt really wanna make a whole new thread for it....


does anybody know the DO schools that have the smallest class sizes? i've been realizing how much I enjoy the learning environment of a small institution and would love to continue that during medical school if at all possible...
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Interesting question. I would say NYCOM's DPC (PBL or problem based learning) tract. UNECOM also has a pretty small class. In the NYCOM class of 2011 only about 30 students ( I think they had 40-45 spots available) who chose to do it and they have there own curriculum and are mainly working in small groups on cases. In terms of who gets into the program depends on the class. In my class anyone who wanted it got it. But if many students want it they will do it based on grades, MCAT, people who have had similar learning experiences in college. Once you are accepted to NYCOM they go and send you packet asking you which tract you want to follow and answer like three or four essay questions for why you feel this would be the best way for you to learn.

DPC students do have to attend omm and anatomy labs and lectures with the whole class. They also have to take the first 6 week course with the rest of the class. But after that they are on there own for the next two years. They do have faculty facilitators who help guide the discussion to make sure all the key topics in medicine as well as the case were covered.
 
Kappy1 said:
Interesting question. I would say NYCOM's DPC (PBL or problem based learning) tract. UNECOM also has a pretty small class. In the NYCOM class of 2011 only about 30 students ( I think they had 40-45 spots available) who chose to do it and they have there own curriculum and are mainly working in small groups on cases. In terms of who gets into the program depends on the class. In my class anyone who wanted it got it. But if many students want it they will do it based on grades, MCAT, people who have had similar learning experiences in college. Once you are accepted to NYCOM they go and send you packet asking you which tract you want to follow and answer like three or four essay questions for why you feel this would be the best way for you to learn.

DPC students do have to attend omm and anatomy labs and lectures with the whole class. They also have to take the first 6 week course with the rest of the class. But after that they are on there own for the next two years. They do have faculty facilitators who help guide the discussion to make sure all the key topics in medicine as well as the case were covered.
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hmmm. sounds intriguing. i dont necessarily want to be on my own like you described, just wanted a small school w/ a small student body. does that not really exist??

edit: i guess you mentioned UNECOM, ill have to check it out.
 
GA-PCOM has been taking only 86 students per class. That played a major role in me closing up shop after I got my acceptance there.
 
ryserr21 said:
hmmm. sounds intriguing. i dont necessarily want to be on my own like you described, just wanted a small school w/ a small student body. does that not really exist??

edit: i guess you mentioned UNECOM, ill have to check it out.
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Check out page 14. 👍

http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Documents/cib2008.pdf

All of those numbers seem right, except AZCOM is doubling their class size this year.

Also, LMU DCOM's class size is 150. I'm not sure about RVU and PNWU.
 
Does anyone know how many employers are supposed to be listed? How far back it should go? 5 years, 7 years, lifetime?

Thanks
 
Chocolate Bear said:
I started mine from the beginning of college.
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Same here OCHO, I listed all my jobs from college. I can sympathize a little with you . . . I was in college for almost 7 years, so I had a lot of jobs too. 😉
 
I listed basically all of my jobs and even the one I had in high school; on and off from when I was 16 until 22. I thought it was good to showed that I worked throughout high school and college. I don't see how it could hurt.
 
Chocolate Bear said:
Haha yeah I thought that might be an issue for you. You might consider using only the "important" ones...
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prionsRbad said:
Same here OCHO, I listed all my jobs from college. I can sympathize a little with you . . . I was in college for almost 7 years, so I had a lot of jobs too. 😉
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t-funk said:
I listed basically all of my jobs and even the one I had in high school; on and off from when I was 16 until 22. I thought it was good to showed that I worked throughout high school and college. I don't see how it could hurt.
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Thank you all for your help. Out of curiosity how many entries? I am up to 8 (4 are current jobs) so far and can probably put another 10 up. Man, at 36 I have had a lot of jobs. Mostly part time second jobs to go along with my full time ones.
 
OCHO said:
Thank you all for your help. Out of curiosity how many entries? I am up to 8 (4 are current jobs) so far and can probably put another 10 up. Man, at 36 I have had a lot of jobs. Mostly part time second jobs to go along with my full time ones.
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9 for me. 2 are current--1 FT, 1 PT.
 
OCHO said:
Thank you all for your help. Out of curiosity how many entries? I am up to 8 (4 are current jobs) so far and can probably put another 10 up. Man, at 36 I have had a lot of jobs. Mostly part time second jobs to go along with my full time ones.
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I would list them all if you have room. 👍 I listed 10.
 
OCHO said:
Does anyone know how many employers are supposed to be listed? How far back it should go? 5 years, 7 years, lifetime?

Thanks
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I was asking the same question, and chocolate bear advised me to list all my jobs separately. I had all my part time job to help pay for school all on one record, none of them being significant (McDonalds, Round Table Pizza, Marie Calanders, Tutoring) but cumulatively adding up to help pay for school. C. Bear made a lot of sense with listing them separately, but it is right, you will get a long list of records! I am not sure if there is a cap on the amount of records, but if you plan to apply to MD, i know that there is a cap of 15 records.

Your case seems a special so i would recommend calling the school and asking them if they mind you showing only one record listing all the "small time jobs" and have more records listing the "important" jobs. Let us know, this is an interesting question.

Oh and thank you everyone for answering my LizzyM question. i am happy to hear what an admissions member thinks. I will also ask a personal friend of mine when i get the chance, he was also on the board of admissions for a few years. He has given me good insight thus far, i will take a lot of the questions we have here and ask him some time next week. stay tuned 🙂
 
I was putting my grades into AACOMAS application website(getting an early start) and was kind of stumped on the classification of a class I have taken. I took HERB 1000 "History of Herbalism" as an elective this past semester and don't know if this should be a science or non-science class. The class went into the history of allopathic and osteopathic medicine as well. On one hand, it is considered CAM so it might be a science, but on the other hand, I know CAM isn't popular with all medical institutions. I looked through the list on the instruction page for AACOMAS and didn't see anything similar. Maybe I'm just thinking about it too hard. Any ideas?
 
forge18 said:
I was putting my grades into AACOMAS application website(getting an early start) and was kind of stumped on the classification of a class I have taken. I took HERB 1000 "History of Herbalism" as an elective this past semester and don't know if this should be a science or non-science class. The class went into the history of allopathic and osteopathic medicine as well. On one hand, it is considered CAM so it might be a science, but on the other hand, I know CAM isn't popular with all medical institutions. I looked through the list on the instruction page for AACOMAS and didn't see anything similar. Maybe I'm just thinking about it too hard. Any ideas?
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Sounds like a history class to me, unless pharmacodynamics/kinetics where thoroughly discussed, or something explicitly scientific like that. If you are convinced it should be considered science, then mark it as such. The worst thing that can happen is they will change it. No harm, no foul.
 
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