AACOMAS FAQ 2014-2015 Application Cycle

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How much does the primary app cost per school.

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How much does the primary app cost per school.

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Dude, read the AACOMAS guide... its free, online

Seriously I have noticed in the past couple of weeks with the application opening that there is a massive increase in people spamming questions on here that could be answered by a 5 min search on google or a 1 min search on the AACOMAS guide.


seriously I just typed "how much does each school cost on aacomas" into google and found the answer in like 30 seconds.

Youths
 
Well I guess for anyone else who thought to look here for the answer. It is 195 for the first and 35 for each afterword. The reason I asked is because a few websites had different numbers and my phone doesn't have a PDF reader and I wasn't near a computer. So I apologize.

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Well I guess for anyone else who thought to look here for the answer. It is 195 for the first and 35 for each afterword. The reason I asked is because a few websites had different numbers and my phone doesn't have a PDF reader and I wasn't near a computer. So I apologize.

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well done, good man, not only did you find your information, you are helping future applicants by posting in here so it is easier to find via google.

sorry if I came off like a prick, just as I suggested earlier, these things keep coming up repeatedly.
 
Well I guess for anyone else who thought to look here for the answer. It is 195 for the first and 35 for each afterword. The reason I asked is because a few websites had different numbers and my phone doesn't have a PDF reader and I wasn't near a computer. So I apologize.

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Also... to reiterate for anyone else, the financial assistance waiver is still available. That takes off the 195 and the first 3 -- 35$ fees. At that point it is just 35/school after the first 3 schools.
 
Also... to reiterate for anyone else, the financial assistance waiver is still available. That takes off the 195 and the first 3 -- 35$ fees. At that point it is just 35/school after the first 3 schools.

Would you know if the waiver is available for international students?
 
sorry if I missed it earlier, but first day to actually submit AACOMAS application is june 3rd, correct? That's what it says on the AACOMAS application instructions, but I've also seen from multiple sources June 1st, which date is it?
 
sorry if I missed it earlier, but first day to actually submit AACOMAS application is june 3rd, correct? That's what it says on the AACOMAS application instructions, but I've also seen from multiple sources June 1st, which date is it?
Honestly unless several people confirm it with people from AACOMAS, no one will know. On the AACOMAS instructions (I believe page 6) it states June 3rd. When you actually go to submit your application now, it says June 1st. So at the moment it is unclear.

I just shot them an email, so we should know by tomorrow. They are usually pretty fast at getting back to me.
 
AACOMAS finally replied to my email: "The application opens at noon on June 3rd." But let us know what you hear as well to confirm please!
 
I am still stuck on deciding exactly which schools to apply to as an international student. I want to apply broadly to maximize my chances. Can everyone check out my thread " International Applicants for 2014-2015 cycle" and give me some opinions?
 
Do you guys know what we should do if we're going to doing something a week after June 3rd? I'm shadowing a doctor and obviously that's something I want on my application.

So is it ok to include a planned event?
 
Do you guys know what we should do if we're going to doing something a week after June 3rd? I'm shadowing a doctor and obviously that's something I want on my application.

So is it ok to include a planned event?
Since it is only a week after, I do not think it could hurt. By the time they even get to the application, you will have been finished shadowing. Everything else I have heard though, if it is 1+ month out (basically in the time that they will verify your app, not to put it on.
 
Since it is only a week after, I do not think it could hurt. By the time they even get to the application, you will have been finished shadowing. Everything else I have heard though, if it is 1+ month out (basically in the time that they will verify your app, not to put it on.


Cool. That works great for my sakes because any extra shadowing is a plus.
 
Cool. That works great for my sakes because any extra shadowing is a plus.
Yea I mean, if crap hits the fan, I dont think you could be like "but Saucy told me I could do it!" But if it was me... I dont think a week could hurt, I would put it on. Now two or three weeks, and I would start to get too nervous, I dont know what type of witchcraft they use to confirm activities and such haha. Heck this is your second rodeo right? I have never even applied before... just stalked on SDN and talked to friends in med school a lot.
 
This is why I prefer getting LORs from my ECs. Obviously that way I didn't fake my **** then.
 
This is why I prefer getting LORs from my ECs. Obviously that way I didn't fake my **** then.
Yea I dont know how people do it.... like besides the moral issues, but seriously, cheating on ECs or lying about a letter would make the whole cycle that much more stressful to me. Especially if I was applying to like a top 10 school, I am sure they dig a little harder than most schools...
 
For anyone who has AP credits listed on their transcripts, what are you putting in under the "prefix and number" portion? I have all of the other info (course name, credits earned, etc.) but not sure what to put in that spot... Sorry if this has been answered already, couldn't find it on this thread or in the AACOMAS instructions.
 
Since the pre req requirements are a bit vague when it comes to labs (8 semester hours of lecture+lab), would 2 semester hours of organic chem lab (with over 8 semester hours of lecture) satisfy the organic chem requirement? It satisfies the requirement for my biology related major, so I wouldn't want to take the next lab course if I didn't have to (which is for chem/biochem majors).
 
Since the pre req requirements are a bit vague when it comes to labs (8 semester hours of lecture+lab), would 2 semester hours of organic chem lab (with over 8 semester hours of lecture) satisfy the organic chem requirement? It satisfies the requirement for my biology related major, so I wouldn't want to take the next lab course if I didn't have to (which is for chem/biochem majors).
I was under the impression that the point was to get it so you have organic I lecture and organic I lab, followed by organic II lecture and organic II lab. I think the idea is that you have lab and lecture with each of the science pre-reqs.
 
For anyone who has AP credits listed on their transcripts, what are you putting in under the "prefix and number" portion? I have all of the other info (course name, credits earned, etc.) but not sure what to put in that spot... Sorry if this has been answered already, couldn't find it on this thread or in the AACOMAS instructions.
I would contact AACOMAS. Shoot them an email using the support tab at the top of the page. They are usually pretty fast and should be able to give you a definitive answer. And if they dont, pressure them until they give you the answer haha... sometimes their answers can be vague, so I really make sure to confirm it as clearly as possible with them.
 
Do you guys know what we should do if we're going to doing something a week after June 3rd? I'm shadowing a doctor and obviously that's something I want on my application.

So is it ok to include a planned event?

Yes, I think that's fine.

Also, you can edit your AACOMAS after it's been submitted (other than verified grades). I was an applicant last cycle and retook my MCAT in January 2014. I added an additional activity and award before my score was back so they could be seen when my app was re-reviewed and/or before interviews.
 
Going along with the theme, what about a gap year job? It doesn't start until July, but it seems significant enough to include in the work experience section. Thoughts?
 
Going along with the theme, what about a gap year job? It doesn't start until July, but it seems significant enough to include in the work experience section. Thoughts?
That I would be less tempted... not only because it is in July (this is if you are submitting your app in June), but also because you never know exactly what your job is about until a month or so in. You get more of a feel for it with time... What I would do is either update your AACOMAS (if this is possible... not 100%), or send updates to the schools that you are interested in. Like after they send you secondaries and/or interview, you send them a little notice suggesting your interest in the school and some of the things you have been working on. I have heard of people getting interviews this way. One guy on here said he had not heard anything, then a day after he told the school he has been working a research job and just got published he got an interview invite.
 
Do you guys know what we should do if we're going to doing something a week after June 3rd? I'm shadowing a doctor and obviously that's something I want on my application.

So is it ok to include a planned event?
I've heard to not include future events. I guess it depends if you finish the event and the duration of it? In your case, it seems fine to add it and then update it since you probably won't be verified a week later. For bigger events, it seems that you shouldn't add it and should just send in an update to schools (as previous posts have mentioned).
 
So we can edit our application anytime after submitting, no matter the school? And the schools just receive the updated information? I would love to add some shadowing experiences I have lined up starting in July...

Additionally, I take my MCAT June 21st. If I score low, will I have time to retake it in this cycle?
 
So we can edit our application anytime after submitting, no matter the school? And the schools just receive the updated information? I would love to add some shadowing experiences I have lined up starting in July...

Additionally, I take my MCAT June 21st. If I score low, will I have time to retake it in this cycle?


Depends whether you can schedule a follow up in your state. August will probably be packed.
 
Depends whether you can schedule a follow up in your state. August will probably be packed.

Sorry for my noobness, but what exactly is my follow up, and how does it work?
 
Would a course with the same but higher course number count as a retake? I know the manual says they must be the same level, but I don't know if they mean undergrad vs. grad or 200 level vs 400 level.

I'm trying to retake PSY290 Physiological Psychology, with a course called PSY4210 "Physiological Psychology"
 
If I will be working again with a previous employer in which I took a 4 year hiatus (college) and will not be starting again there for another 3 months however I have the position...how do I list this? Do I list that I don't work there anymore? Do I list that I will begin working again soon? advice???
 
So we can edit our application anytime after submitting, no matter the school? And the schools just receive the updated information? I would love to add some shadowing experiences I have lined up starting in July...

Additionally, I take my MCAT June 21st. If I score low, will I have time to retake it in this cycle?

I took my MCAT last year on May 11th and screwed up horribly. Thank god I walked out of there and registered the next day for an MCAT at the end of July. I got my scores back and sent the secondaries in at the end of August/beginning of September. I was accepted to PCOM by the end of October. Honestly I thought to my self I was a little on the late side, I didn't get as many ii as I thought I should have. But PCOM was my number 1 choice so it didn't matter to me.
 
How do you list the # of hours participated if you are in a sorority? There are weekly-biweekly meetings, community service events, fundraising, rush, etc...

Best to leave no number?
 
Would a course with the same but higher course number count as a retake? I know the manual says they must be the same level, but I don't know if they mean undergrad vs. grad or 200 level vs 400 level.

I'm trying to retake PSY290 Physiological Psychology, with a course called PSY4210 "Physiological Psychology"

They do not care about the course number. They care about whether it is the same course or not (i.e. the course name and description being fairly similar). Also, the credits for the retake need to be the same or more than the original course for it to count as a retake.
 
How do you list the # of hours participated if you are in a sorority? There are weekly-biweekly meetings, community service events, fundraising, rush, etc...

Best to leave no number?


take a rough guess, that's the best thing you can do. Worst comes to worst start the description with a little note. Like for instance I added a little note of "time varied between seasons" etc.





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Hi guys, i was only able to receive a few hours of shadowing with a DO because in Canada, it is legally restricted for an undergrad student to shadow a doctor for more than a day or so. Do you think I should include that in my application as a description for why I have low hours ? I want the schools to realize that it's not that I did not want to shadow a DO more, it's due to the legal restrictions.
 
Hi guys, i was only able to receive a few hours of shadowing with a DO because in Canada, it is legally restricted for an undergrad student to shadow a doctor for more than a day or so. Do you think I should include that in my application as a description for why I have low hours ? I want the schools to realize that it's not that I did not want to shadow a DO more, it's due to the legal restrictions.

Save it for the interview.
 
Save it for the interview.

That's assuming I get an interview. I thought by adding that note in, it gives then an idea that I am dedicated to shadowing, but I was restricted legally.
 
Is anyone else worried about the order to which AACOMAS sorts out the EC's? I have some EC's that are very important, but fall towards the end or the middle of the list. I am afraid that the admissions committee won't have time to go through everything and just look at the first few, and miss some important ones diluted in between the rest. Unfortunately, seems like we can't do anything about it because it is sorted out automatically by aacomas...
 
Is anyone else worried about the order to which AACOMAS sorts out the EC's? I have some EC's that are very important, but fall towards the end or the middle of the list. I am afraid that the admissions committee won't have time to go through everything and just look at the first few, and miss some important ones diluted in between the rest. Unfortunately, seems like we can't do anything about it because it is sorted out automatically by aacomas...

I asked AACOMAS about this the other day and they said it will be sorted out in chronological order.
 
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