AOA crit

[bvmajik]

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Hi,

I'm curious if any of you guys happened to know the criteria for AOA elections/nominations. I know you have to be ranked pretty high but does it differ from school to school? Also, does it make that much of a difference when applying for residencies?

 

[DizzyNT]

It does vary from school to school on how they choose to elect Jr. and Sr. members. It 'should' be the top 15% of the class. However it varies from school to school as to how they are elected. Some schools may have more politics involved with election while others may be more objective. Check with AOA rep from your school or upperclassmen to see how it is at your school.

As far as applying for residencies it might open a few more doors for you (as far as getting interviews) especially if you are lacking in other areas but I would think after the interview their ranking will be based more on how well you presented yourself overall.

 

[bvmajik]

Sweet, so pretty much do well in academics and suck up? ;]

 

[njbmd]

Hi,

I'm curious if any of you guys happened to know the criteria for AOA elections/nominations. I know you have to be ranked pretty high but does it differ from school to school? Also, does it make that much of a difference when applying for residencies?

Hi there,
Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) selection criteria varies from chapter to chapter. For most, it is a combination of academics and leadership (read political). It really opened doors for me when I applied for residency but I am not sure that it made that much of a difference. Some program directors commented; most did not.

If you have it, that great! If not, good grades and high Board scores can open plenty of doors too. AOA was not something that I strived to achieve and I was rather surprised at my nomination but what the heck? The fellowship is good and the lecture programs are interesting. It's not that expensive to keep up with dues and I have a little key (Pharos) that I wear on my labcoat.

njbmd 🙂

 

[fang]

I don't know exactly how they do it at our school-- I know the top 15% eventually get in, and they select a few from that group to be inducted in the spring (ie, before residency applications go out). Good grades can't hurt, and neither can getting involved in whatever interests you at school-- research, community service, etc.

On a related note though, for you aoa people, could you share what you wound up getting for an insignia/certificate? I don't know if I'd ever wear anything on my lab coat (no one does that here at least.) On the other hand, maybe I should pin it to SOMETHING so I don't lose it...

 

[edmadison]

Top 25% is eligible, school can induct no more than 16% of a class. How they choose which out of the top quartile make the cut is entirely up to the school.

Ed

 

[Hawkeye Kid]

On a related note though, for you aoa people, could you share what you wound up getting for an insignia/certificate? I don't know if I'd ever wear anything on my lab coat (no one does that here at least.) On the other hand, maybe I should pin it to SOMETHING so I don't lose it...

We actually just had our induction ceremony last night. You'll get a certificate that looks very much like a diploma. You can have it put in an AOA frame for a "nominal" fee but most people here didn't do that. You can also buy the pin/key, but I don't know many people that did that, either.

As to selection criteria, Ed is right on. Top 1/4 eligible, no more than 1/6 of graduates can be inducted. Some schools take the top 1/6 and call it good, others (mine included) take service, leadership, and even classmate opinion into consideration.

 

[DizzyNT]

4 Jr's elected at my school then when they are in last year they select remaining students from their grade to be elected as Sr's. Class above chooses Jr's below.
Politics come into play like this as it's peer selection.

 

[bigfrank]

4 Jr's elected at my school then when they are in last year they select remaining students from their grade to be elected as Sr's. Class above chooses Jr's below.
Politics come into play like this as it's peer selection.

some schools are not like yours. Be careful not to overgeneralize.

 

[DizzyNT]

some schools are not like yours. Be careful not to overgeneralize.

didn't mean to generalize at all, most schools are nothing like mine!

 

[sga814]

At our school it's 50% step 1 50% grades for jr. and 25/25 step 1/grades and 50% clinical grades for sr.

(may I also add- the first (alpha) chapter of AOA was formed at my school 🙂 )