A I getting ripped off?

[vbmith]

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I submitted my aacomas application in the beginning of november.
My first year of college I spent abroad at a foreign university. I transferred the credits and spent the next 3 years in the US( took my prereqs here too) and earned my BA.
I submitted all my transcripts to aacomas and they just sent me this message:
_________________________________________________________________
"Thank you for your recent submission to AACOMAS. Please note the following:
Other Foreign Transcripts: Course work taken at foreign institutions must be evaluated for U.S. equivalence by one of the following evaluation services and an official copy must be sent from the service directly to AACOMAS. You should also have a copy sent to you for completing the AACOMAS application. Request a course-by-course evaluation and list the courses, subject codes, semester hours, and grades on the AACOMAS Academic Record or Professional School Academic Record as per the instructions. Your application will not be complete without an official evaluation. Transfer credit appearing on U.S. institution transcripts, student copies of an evaluation, or other foreign evaluations will not be accepted. You should contact one of the following:
World Education Services, Inc
P.O. Box 745 Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
(212) 966-6311
http://www.wes.org

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc
International Educational Consultants
P.O. Box 248233
Coral Gables, FL 33124
(305) 273-1616
http://www.jsilny.com

Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc
P.O. Box 514070
Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470
(414) 289-3400
http://www.ece.org

International Education Research Foundation, Inc.
Post Office Box 3665
Culver City, CA 90231-3665
Phone: (310) 258-9451
http://www.ierf.org

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
Foreign Education Credential Services
One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 520
Washington, DC 20036-1135
(202) 296-3359
http://www.aacrao.org/credential/individual.htm
All institutions attended (including foreign institutions) must be listed on the Application Form. If there are extenuating circumstances inhibiting this evaluation, you may request a waiver of the requirement of this evaluation. The letter must state the reason why you are requesting a waiver of the evaluation and must include your signature and SSN. Be sure the reason is extenuating. Also note that transfer credit awarded at U.S. institutions for foreign courses will not be added to your applicant profile. Failure to submit a foreign evaluation or letter requesting a waiver (which is duplicated to your schools) will result in your file being incomplete. Questions should be directed to AACOMAS.


Thank you,

AACOMAS

AACOMAS staff"
_________________________________________________________________
I couldn't beleive it, I read all the instructions on the site I can't beleive I missed something like that. Aacomas stated that I might get a waiver but it would take 2 months due to overwhelming demand
Well, anyways I sent my transcript to be verified by WES (see above). They want to charge me $350. At this point I just want to move on so I can get accepted and not get bummed out by this. I realize that there are less spots each day so I just gave in.
I wanted to know if anyone could share a similar experience and if I now get bumped to the back of the line of apps.

 

[supersash]

definitly sucks. and $350 sounds a bit exorbitant. but what can you do? it does say they won't accept the credits just because they transferred to a US institution (although i think they should).

since you've gone ahead with it, forget about the aggrevation, cost, etc. you're doing all you can, hope it gets verified fast, so you can be complete everywhere fast!!

good luck, i had some bumps along the road, but i got everything settled and i am complete and waiting for an interview!

 

[HunterGatherer]

This is standard for foreign students who want to go into graduate programs.

It probably saves AACOMAS and graduate programs the headache of dealing with claims of unfair evaluations. the resources to properly handle evaluations from numerous countries probably makes this the best option.

 

[scpod]

I submitted my aacomas application in the beginning of november.
My first year of college I spent abroad at a foreign university. I transferred the credits and spent the next 3 years in the US( took my prereqs here too) and earned my BA.
I submitted all my transcripts to aacomas and they just sent me this...
I couldn't beleive it, I read all the instructions on the site I can't beleive I missed something like that...

I can't believe it either because it's quite clearly listed in the instructions:

https://aacomas.aacom.org/applicants2007/help/ins_gen_instructions.htm

This might sound a little harsh, but you need to kick yourself in the ass for not reading something this major and then move on. Looking around for someone else who has made a huge mistake like this is not the way to handle it. Hopefully, you'll be able to view this as a lesson learned and pay more attention to details. When you get into medical school, you'll need to keep this in mind.

 

[baylormed]

Yeah, my dad had to translate everything when he came here. He is a dentist from a foreign university, and he's had to pay quite a bit for the translator first, then for evaluation of credentials, and he still has to go through a residency program here.

Even with 20 years of experience in what he does he has to do that, but that's the way it works. 🙁

 

[Chunkeroni]

I had a few problems with a foreign transcript as well. I would def. E-mail aacomas and let them know your situation and they may expedite your application. That is what they did for me. I was finally verified and mailed out 11/26 and started receiving secondaries pretty quickly. I think the AACOMAS guy is named Jason. He is pretty understanding and very helpful; I actually think he e-mailed me to initiate the expediting of my app. Good Luck!!

 

[vbmith]

I can't believe it either because it's quite clearly listed in the instructions:

https://aacomas.aacom.org/applicants2007/help/ins_gen_instructions.htm

This might sound a little harsh, but you need to kick yourself in the ass for not reading something this major and then move on. Looking around for someone else who has made a huge mistake like this is not the way to handle it. Hopefully, you'll be able to view this as a lesson learned and pay more attention to details. When you get into medical school, you'll need to keep this in mind.

Well you're right but since you're such a stickler maybe you should have read my question. I do realize that I have made a mistake but I wanted to know how people have dealt with it. It's called asking for advice after you have made a mistake. Anyway I would like to thank you guys for sharing your helpful comments.

 

[DrBowtie]

$350 isn't much money compared to $2000 non-refundable deposits.

The question still remains: What can you do? Pay it and move on or Not pay it and withdraw your apps.

 

[scpod]

... but I wanted to know how people have dealt with it....

It makes absolutely no difference how other people have dealt with it. You either pay the fee so that you may one day become a doctor, or you don't. You're application sits in limbo until AACOMAS has your completed transcripts. It's that simple. You made a mistake; accept it and move on, or sit here and dwell on it until it's too late. It's your choice.

 

[vbmith]

It makes absolutely no difference how other people have dealt with it. You either pay the fee so that you may one day become a doctor, or you don't. You're application sits in limbo until AACOMAS has your completed transcripts. It's that simple. You made a mistake; accept it and move on, or sit here and dwell on it until it's too late. It's your choice.

Apparently you have not dealt with this issue and that is why your comment sounds so ignorant to me. Yes, people make mistakes and here it was I that made the mistake and I have no excuse....the only explanation I have is I overlooked it or confused it with amcas' requiremnts that do not require an external evaluation.
Be that as it may I am writing this to help benefit those in the same situation and not as any type of personal response to your post.(HOW HAVE PEOPLE DEALT WITH THAT PROBLEM)
First of all it is not that simple to move on... The nature of the evaluations requires that the credits received for the courses taken abroad match similar courses in the US. So now after filling out my application with the number of credit per course I may have to change my app. However, since that is not possible I may have to send an update letter to the colleges.
Secondly, the more pressing issue (at least to me) is the processing time. Do i get pushed to the back or is my spot reserved in the application que.(HOW HAVE PEOPLE DEALT WITH THAT PROBLEM)
Although this may seem like a one-dimensional problem there are still satellite issues that still require attention.
By dealing I am not asking whether you downed a gallon of Haagen Daaz or Edy's as some may think.
In order to understand what dealing with this situation means requires an understanding of what's involved and that is why I am asking how people who have gone through this situation have dealt with the challenges it poses.
Most people that have been helpful in this post and those that have even PMed have related their experiences and how they dealt with them. And I wanted to thank all of you for your help.