- Joined
- Apr 30, 2009
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 0
Please no comments on the ethics or your opinions on disabilities and accommodations. I'm simply seeking information about the PROCESS of accommodations requests to the AAMC.
I have ADHD and Dyslexia. The lit by the AAMC recommends documention from before age 7 (per DSM criteria), and incidentally, I do have an event from that age (though I was not diagnosed until much later) when I was placed in the advanced reading class for my general intelligence but removed because of reading specific difficulties. However, I doubt my elementary school has an record of this, and the teacher who demoted me might be dead for all I know! How have others demonstrated long-term proof of a disability?
The AAMC also mentions "family history" and incidentally I do have a couple immediate family members with pretty salient cognitive abnormalities, but they are otherwise healthy and have been able to hold a job, and were of an era that when teachers recommended they repeat grades their parents refused because it was considered embarassing. Anyway, I just throw that out there because the AAMC doesn't elaborate on "family history" and I've always just been curious what their test results would look like, lol.
There's a definite chronological or temporal aspect, b/c it isn't enough to prove a diagnosis, but also to prove that it will still effect you during the MCAT test. So if you take medication for a psychiatric illness, and it alleviates most of the diagnostic symptoms, then I imagine you request will be denied since they will tell you just to take your medication. However, it should be noted that some medications have relevant side effects like low latent inhibition (hearing), which may warrant, say, separate testing rooms but not necessarily extended time.
How do adcoms view the asterisk? I understand that they do not divulge specifics on the type of disability, and IIRC they do not even divulge the exact accommodations, but I could be wrong. Anybody know if the second point is correct or not?
Finally, I will have to be retested since the AAMC requires documentation to be under 3 years old (from date of MCAT). Obviously the sooner the better, since you need to submit it 60 days before the test and you might have to submit appeals and so forth if initially rejected. But I'm also wondering how people schedule their testing for documentation, in light of the fact that they may want to apply for accommodations for future exams (USMLE) and I imagine they also have 3 year limits.
Well, I think that's it. I will not take the MCAT for almost another 2 years, but seriously there is so much paperwork that I would not be surprised if many people feel it is not worth applying for since the chance of getting accommodations is so slim.
If you have experience and information regarding this, perhaps private message is the best way to have a conversation about it.
I have ADHD and Dyslexia. The lit by the AAMC recommends documention from before age 7 (per DSM criteria), and incidentally, I do have an event from that age (though I was not diagnosed until much later) when I was placed in the advanced reading class for my general intelligence but removed because of reading specific difficulties. However, I doubt my elementary school has an record of this, and the teacher who demoted me might be dead for all I know! How have others demonstrated long-term proof of a disability?
The AAMC also mentions "family history" and incidentally I do have a couple immediate family members with pretty salient cognitive abnormalities, but they are otherwise healthy and have been able to hold a job, and were of an era that when teachers recommended they repeat grades their parents refused because it was considered embarassing. Anyway, I just throw that out there because the AAMC doesn't elaborate on "family history" and I've always just been curious what their test results would look like, lol.
There's a definite chronological or temporal aspect, b/c it isn't enough to prove a diagnosis, but also to prove that it will still effect you during the MCAT test. So if you take medication for a psychiatric illness, and it alleviates most of the diagnostic symptoms, then I imagine you request will be denied since they will tell you just to take your medication. However, it should be noted that some medications have relevant side effects like low latent inhibition (hearing), which may warrant, say, separate testing rooms but not necessarily extended time.
How do adcoms view the asterisk? I understand that they do not divulge specifics on the type of disability, and IIRC they do not even divulge the exact accommodations, but I could be wrong. Anybody know if the second point is correct or not?
Finally, I will have to be retested since the AAMC requires documentation to be under 3 years old (from date of MCAT). Obviously the sooner the better, since you need to submit it 60 days before the test and you might have to submit appeals and so forth if initially rejected. But I'm also wondering how people schedule their testing for documentation, in light of the fact that they may want to apply for accommodations for future exams (USMLE) and I imagine they also have 3 year limits.
Well, I think that's it. I will not take the MCAT for almost another 2 years, but seriously there is so much paperwork that I would not be surprised if many people feel it is not worth applying for since the chance of getting accommodations is so slim.
If you have experience and information regarding this, perhaps private message is the best way to have a conversation about it.
