Can I Be Done By October?

[deleted407021]

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Hey y'all!

After initially planning on applying for the 2016-2017 cycle, I've determined to apply this cycle instead. Here's a link to my WAMC thread. However, I have yet to even open AACOMAS and I really don't have any idea how long this process is, since I'm sort of jumping in near the last minute.

If I open the application system this weekend, is there a chance for me to be verified by October? What all does the system entail? I guess I'm asking for a crash course on AACOMAS lol. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[deleted407021]

I'm also yet to get my letters in, although I have one lined up to be done by the middle of next month.

 

[echo87]

Definitely not. End of October maybe.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

With your stats, yes.

Compared to the old MCAT vs new MCAT, which one was easier for you?

 

[deleted407021]

With your stats, yes.

Compared to the old MCAT vs new MCAT, which one was easier for you?

I didn't take the old MCAT.

Have you applied, yet?

 

[echo87]

With your stats, yes.

Compared to the old MCAT vs new MCAT, which one was easier for you?

OP asking if they'll get verified before next Wednesday, not if they'll be ok applying.. His stats have nothing to do with the fact that he 99.9% will not get verified by October.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

I didn't take the old MCAT.

Have you applied, yet?

I had the impression you did? Sorry. Anyways, good job on the 510!

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

OP asking if they'll get verified before next Wednesday, not if they'll be ok applying.. His stats have nothing to do with the fact that he 99.9% will not get verified by October.

Im a future "User3" I believe he will get at least 1 acceptance even if he applied in March 2016. I know a few people with lower stats applying late and getting in.

 

[deleted407021]

OP asking if they'll get verified before next Wednesday, not if they'll be ok applying.. His stats have nothing to do with the fact that he 99.9% will not get verified by October.

I mean by at least the end of Oct.

 

[Ahii]

Hey y'all!

After initially planning on applying for the 2016-2017 cycle, I've determined to apply this cycle instead. Here's a link to my WAMC thread. However, I have yet to even open AACOMAS and I really don't have any idea how long this process is, since I'm sort of jumping in near the last minute.

If I open the application system this weekend, is there a chance for me to be verified by October? What all does the system entail? I guess I'm asking for a crash course on AACOMAS lol. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

You will want to start an account then request your transcripts to be sent from schools immediately. That'll take at least 2 weeks. You should be able to complete the rest of your application (except references) in that time and will want to submit and pay immediately. The verification process will likely take another 4 weeks, so you're looking at being AACOMAS complete 6 weeks from now. While your application is verifying, pre-write your secondary essays (you'll find them in the individual threads in the school-specific discussion section). If you submit them and pay as soon as they're requested, your applications may be complete (at your schools, different from AACOMAS complete) about 2 months from now. I think most schools require LORs with your secondary, so try to have them ready & submitted 2 months from now tops so they're not holding anything up. This timeline will still get you interviews. You will likely get waitlisted at some schools, and be early enough to get off the waitlists before next summer.*

*Disclaimer: These are pretty much all educated guesses, but I believe them to be fairly accurate.

 

[deleted407021]

You will want to start an account then request your transcripts to be sent from schools immediately. That'll take at least 2 weeks. You should be able to complete the rest of your application (except references) in that time and will want to submit and pay immediately. The verification process will likely take another 4 weeks, so you're looking at being AACOMAS complete 6 weeks from now. While your application is verifying, pre-write your secondary essays (you'll find them in the individual threads in the school-specific discussion section). If you submit them and pay as soon as they're requested, your applications may be complete (at your schools, different from AACOMAS complete) about 2 months from now. I think most schools require LORs with your secondary, so try to have them ready & submitted 2 months from now tops so they're not holding anything up. This timeline will still get you interviews. You will likely get waitlisted at some schools, and be early enough to get off the waitlists before next summer.*

*Disclaimer: These are pretty much all educated guesses, but I believe them to be fairly accurate.

So, if I start now (I just opened the application system), get my transcript sent, my MCAT scores sent in and my list of schools selected, I might be good to go for this cycle even pending my committee letter? I need to scrap together a DO LOR so I can apply to VCOM and ACOM, as well.

Can I go ahead and select schools with a letter requirement even though I don't yet have said letter?

 

[TrueWolverine]

Get off SDN and start the application process! Your stats seem plenty good to apply at this point but every minute you spend on here you could be working on AACOMAS and getting things rolling.

If you will have your letters ready to go by the time you will start receiving secondaries then you should go ahead and apply to those schools. You won't need to submit letters until you turn in secondaries (I would get the letters sent before then but that's just me). Just make sure you know who you are asking for letters and make sure you will meet the reqs for the schools you're applying to.

 

[Ahii]

So, if I start now (I just opened the application system), get my transcript sent, my MCAT scores sent in and my list of schools selected, I might be good to go for this cycle even pending my committee letter? I need to scrap together a DO LOR so I can apply to VCOM and ACOM, as well.

Can I go ahead and select schools with a letter requirement even though I don't yet have said letter?

Yeah you're not too late yet 🙂 Go ahead and request your transcripts to be sent today, as that takes the longest (it needs to be done by "snail mail"). Here's the instructions:

http://help.unicas.com:8888/aacomas...-and-canadian-official-transcripts/index.html

Your MCAT score should only take up to a week to be sent because it happens electronically. Try to do that by Monday.

You can go ahead and apply to schools without the required LORs yet. Once you're verified, if you still don't have the LORs you can call and ask if they need them to send a secondary or just for the interview invite. It may vary by school.

You need your personal statement and most other info on AACOMAS to be finalized before you submit, but you can still add new LORs and experiences after.

 

[Ahii]

Thanks for the help, y'all! I'm turning in my transcript request now. @altered Scale , what do you think? Am I still in good shape? What should I be focusing on to make sure I'm still "early"?

You're not going to be "early" imo, but you're not going to be late either.

 

[deleted407021]

Thanks for the help, y'all! I'm turning in my transcript request now. @AlteredScale , what do you think? Am I still in good shape? What should I be focusing on to make sure I'm still "early"?

 

[Ahii]

Now I look like a time traveler 😀

 

[deleted407021]

@Ahii , thanks for the help. The registrar's office at my UG is sending my transcripts to AACOMAS, I've linked my MCAT scores from AAMC and I've inputed all my biographical info. My school list now is :
PCOM-GA
VCOM - all 3 campuses
LECOM-Bradenton
NOVA
ACOM
DMU

I should have letters on the way rather soon. My question is -- if you can hopefully answer it -- if I get a letter from a physician, and it is added as an appendix to my composite committee letter, will the physician LOR letter requirements be met at the schools which have such requirements, or must it be sent separately?

Also, if I work at a clinic but have filled multiple roles during my time there, does there need to be a separate "experience" entry for each role?

Thanks!

 

[Ahii]

@Ahii , thanks for the help. The registrar's office at my UG is sending my transcripts to AACOMAS, I've linked my MCAT scores from AAMC and I've inputed all my biographical info. My school list now is :
PCOM-GA
VCOM - all 3 campuses
LECOM-Bradenton
NOVA
ACOM
DMU

I should have letters on the way rather soon. My question is -- if you can hopefully answer it -- if I get a letter from a physician, and it is added as an appendix to my composite committee letter, will the physician LOR letter requirements be met at the schools which have such requirements, or must it be sent separately?

Also, if I work at a clinic but have filled multiple roles during my time there, does there need to be a separate "experience" entry for each role?

Thanks!

You're quite welcome 🙂 I'm glad things are coming along.

Other people have mentioned fulfilling physician or DO requirements with a committee letter so I believe that would be fine, but I'm not 100% sure because my school doesn't have a pre-medical committee so it's a little alien to me.

As long as all the roles fall into the same categories (healthcare experience and volunteer) I would put them in the same experience and just list/describe them in the "title" and "description" sections.

It wouldn't hurt to get 2nd opinions on both of those though.

 

[deleted407021]

@AlteredScale , second opinion?

 

[Poro]

Hi. I recommend sending all transcripts with rush order. Might cost a bit more but will be worth it in the end.

Only thing left is immediate sending of letters and finishing that personal statement asap.

If you took a lot of courses or college courses in high school it make take a bit longer to fill out everything.

Good luck!

 

[StudyLater]

What'd you get on the MCAT again? I thought it was pretty high and yet you're only doing AACOMAS?

Frankly it seems like you've got a reasonable chance anywhere that's not 80%+ IS.

IS MD would probably be worth applying to as well, even if you don't wanna do other OOS schools.

I'm basically doing the same thing as you, dude. Thought I'd do a gap but screw that! It's time to study me some medicine 😉

 

[deleted407021]

What'd you get on the MCAT again? I thought it was pretty high and yet you're only doing AACOMAS?

Frankly it seems like you've got a reasonable chance anywhere that's not 80%+ IS.

IS MD would probably be worth applying to as well, even if you don't wanna do other OOS schools.

I'm basically doing the same thing as you, dude. Thought I'd do a gap but screw that! It's time to study me some medicine 😉

My AMCAS sGPA would be like 3.1 or so, since it would include 2 extra Cs in math. Therefore, I'm going for AACOMAS, plus the cycle is longer.

MCAT = 510, 126/129/127/128

 

[Mad Jack]

@Ahii , thanks for the help. The registrar's office at my UG is sending my transcripts to AACOMAS, I've linked my MCAT scores from AAMC and I've inputed all my biographical info. My school list now is :
PCOM-GA
VCOM - all 3 campuses
LECOM-Bradenton
NOVA
ACOM
DMU

I should have letters on the way rather soon. My question is -- if you can hopefully answer it -- if I get a letter from a physician, and it is added as an appendix to my composite committee letter, will the physician LOR letter requirements be met at the schools which have such requirements, or must it be sent separately?

Also, if I work at a clinic but have filled multiple roles during my time there, does there need to be a separate "experience" entry for each role?

Thanks!

I would recommend adding at least four more schools to minimize your chances of doing two cycles, if only because many schools have rolling admissions so your app might fall late in the pile. If your multiple roles had large numbers of hours between them, I would recommend listing them as separate activities, much as one would do if you worked at the same place but in drastically different jobs (i.e. I was a respiratory equipment tech, an ED tech and a respiratory therapist at the same hospital, so they were three separate entries).

 

[deleted407021]

Thanks MJ.

Also, I can't seem to find a field for shadowing...is it listed under "experiences"?

 

[deleted407021]

And, is it worth putting "President's List" (4.0 semester) for Fall '14 and Spring '15 in the achievements section?

 

[Mad Jack]

Thanks MJ.

Also, I can't seem to find a field for shadowing...is it listed under "experiences"?

I haven't done the AACOMAS in a while, so I have no idea what the current one looks like, as it has supposedly changed substantially for this application cycle (thank god, the old format was awful).

 

[Mad Jack]

And, is it worth putting "President's List" (4.0 semester) for Fall '14 and Spring '15 in the achievements section?

I believe this used to be covered in the application guide. If I recall correctly, you should only list Dean's List, President's List, or similar once, followed by all semesters in which you received the designation.

 

[Mad Jack]

Looks like you do shadowing under experiences.

http://help.unicas.com:8888/aacomas...supporting-information/experiences/index.html

 

[Mad Jack]

Brief Description
If the achievement is not clear based on its title, please include a brief description of your achievement, or any special circumstances surrounding it. If your achievement was awarded multiple times, (i.e. Dean’s List) you may use this space to explain and that one entry may cover all instances of the award. You have 600 characters per achievement to provide this description.

^in regard to the President's List question

 

[deleted407021]

I haven't done the AACOMAS in a while, so I have no idea what the current one looks like, as it has supposedly changed substantially for this application cycle (thank god, the old format was awful).

Yeah, it's actually pretty slick.

 

[StudyLater]

My AMCAS sGPA would be like 3.1 or so, since it would include 2 extra Cs in math. Therefore, I'm going for AACOMAS, plus the cycle is longer.

MCAT = 510, 126/129/127/128

Ah ok. Fair enough.

 

[deleted407021]

Ah ok. Fair enough.

And I like DO, as well.

Derail my own thread a bit lol. I'm curious as to what specialities you're interested in, right now.

 

[StudyLater]

And I like DO, as well.

Derail my own thread a bit lol. I'm curious as to what specialities you're interested in, right now.

I mean I don't know. Honestly for me, osteopathy's med school. I don't view it any different, really, besides the addition of OMM, which, sure, I'll use if it actually ends up being helpful for my patients. So at that point, it's a division of med school that generally has slightly lower stat requirements, therefore preventing the penalization of those that may have diverted their attentions to activities other than academics. Which I am totally for, considering we know that it doesn't take a 3.8+ and 80th+ %ile to do well in med school.

FMEMFMEMFMEMFMEMFMEMFMEMFMEM. But EM is the preference.

Say that 10 times fast.

 

[deleted407021]

I mean I don't know. Honestly for me, osteopathy's med school. I don't view it any different, really, besides the addition of OMM, which, sure, I'll use if it actually ends up being helpful for my patients. So at that point, it's a division of med school that generally has slightly lower stat requirements, therefore preventing the penalization of those that may have diverted their attentions to activities other than academics. Which I am totally for, considering we know that it doesn't take a 3.8+ and 80th+ %ile to do well in med school.

FMEMFMEMFMEMFMEMFMEMFMEMFMEM. But EM is the preference.

Say that 10 times fast.

Exactly how I feel, although I do like the institutional emphasis on the psychosocial side of things.

After shadowing two surgeons, that kind of work doesn't strike my fancy. But I don't know if the bread and butter of primary care is something I'd get fired up about, either. Idk, time will tell.

 

[StudyLater]

After shadowing two surgeons, that kind of work doesn't strike my fancy. But I don't know if the bread and butter of primary care is something I'd get fired up about, either. Idk, time will tell.

Same. Frankly, even if I go FP (which would require step performances on my part which simply have no way in hell of qualifying me for EM) then I'd probably get BCEM after the first five years and work as an EP wherever I could (FL? But I feel like I've seen groups in other states [TN] that recognize it) before actually settling on doing FP work in the long run.

 

[deleted407021]

Same. Frankly, even if I go FP (which would require step performances on my part which simply have no way in hell of qualifying me for EM) then I'd probably get BCEM after the first five years and work as an EP wherever I could (FL? But I feel like I've seen groups in other states [TN] that recognize it) before actually settling on doing FP work in the long run.

My childhood PCP was an FM emergency doc. A needle stick infected him with Hep B

 

[StudyLater]

My childhood PCP was an FM emergency doc. A needle stick infected him with Hep B

Learn from his mistakes. Get vaccinated.

 

[deleted407021]

Hmmm, what if I can't recall the exact number of weeks I engaged in an activity? I suppose that necessitates estimating as accurately as possible?

 

[StudyLater]

Hmmm, what if I can't recall the exact number of weeks I engaged in an activity? I suppose that necessitates estimating as accurately as possible?

I'm just underestimating to the nearest 10s place.

 

[deleted407021]

I'm just underestimating to the nearest 10s place.

Yeah, I've hacked out the numbers, and they're close enough to my recorded totals.

Are you filling out the app as well? I feel like what I'm writing in the "description/key responsibilities" section is always awkward...

 

[StudyLater]

Yeah, I've hacked out the numbers, and they're close enough to my recorded totals.

Are you filling out the app as well? I feel like what I'm writing in the "description/key responsibilities" section is always awkward...

Yeah getting through it. I feel it's less awkward than just short. I mean, I figured I'd get like 250 words. It's more like <100 though.

 

[Ahii]

Thanks MJ.

Also, I can't seem to find a field for shadowing...is it listed under "experiences"?

I called AACOMAS about this and was advised to put it under "experiences" -> "healthcare experience" -> "volunteering" then write in the description that I understand it wasn't actually volunteer work. If you received academic credit for your shadowing, you could just select that instead of volunteer.

 

[deleted407021]

I called AACOMAS about this and was advised to put it under "experiences" -> "healthcare experience" -> "volunteering" then write in the description that I understand it wasn't actually volunteer work. If you received academic credit for your shadowing, you could just select that instead of volunteer.

Ya! That's what I figured. Vielen dank.

 

[AlteredScale]

Thanks for the help, y'all! I'm turning in my transcript request now. @AlteredScale , what do you think? Am I still in good shape? What should I be focusing on to make sure I'm still "early"?

Def make sure you have your LOR's ready to go before you apply. I would ask for more than what you need for LOR's because there will be some who will delay the process. Also as the time goes by when asking you'll realize who will give you a strong letter vs an OK letter.

Create a checklist of all the things you need ready by next June.

Start reseraching the schools you really want to get into and start thinking about howyou fit into their mission.

Other than that I think you're in good shape!!!

 

[deleted407021]

Def make sure you have your LOR's ready to go before you apply. I would ask for more than what you need for LOR's because there will be some who will delay the process. Also as the time goes by when asking you'll realize who will give you a strong letter vs an OK letter.

Create a checklist of all the things you need ready by next June.

Start reseraching the schools you really want to get into and start thinking about howyou fit into their mission.

Other than that I think you're in good shape!!!

Thanks! I'm actually applying this cycle. I've sent in my transcripts and my MCAT to AACOMAS last Friday, but they've yet to be received. All my biographical info has been entered as well as my "experiences". I selected "professional transcript entry" so they'll enter my coursework when they get my transcripts. This is all to say that what I have left to do is have my letters sent in and complete my personal statement.
I'm applying to :
PCOM-GA
VCOMs
ACOM
LECOM-B
NOVA
DMU-COM
LMU-DCOM

I do, however, have a question re: how I've entered my "experiences". In the "description/key responsibilities" field, should I only briefly describe each activity as I would on a CV (e.g. "Worked individually with students to foster an understanding of scientific concepts and develop critical thinking skills...") or should I be more descriptive, perhaps something more personal (1st person) like, "I tutored students in a Title 1 school, where the majority of students came from disadvantaged backgrounds. In fact, all of the kids I worked with came from such a background, many of whom had individual education plans...etc, etc."?

I have 600 characters for each, so...

 

[Ahii]

Thanks! I'm actually applying this cycle. I've sent in my transcripts and my MCAT to AACOMAS last Friday, but they've yet to be received. All my biographical info has been entered as well as my "experiences". I selected "professional transcript entry" so they'll enter my coursework when they get my transcripts. This is all to say that what I have left to do is have my letters sent in and complete my personal statement.
I'm applying to :
PCOM-GA
VCOMs
ACOM
LECOM-B
NOVA
DMU-COM
LMU-DCOM

I do, however, have a question re: how I've entered my "experiences". In the "description/key responsibilities" field, should I only briefly describe each activity as I would on a CV (e.g. "Worked individually with students to foster an understanding of scientific concepts and develop critical thinking skills...") or should I be more descriptive, perhaps something more personal (1st person) like, "I tutored students in a Title 1 school, where the majority of students came from disadvantaged backgrounds. In fact, all of the kids I worked with came from such a background, many of whom had individual education plans...etc, etc."?

I have 600 characters for each, so...

I tried to use the full 600 characters (which go pretty fast). I briefly described the experience and what made it unique, then mentioned what I learned from it with any remaining space. It'll end up as a single short paragraph.