*~*~Official AACOMAS Questions Thread 2022-2023~*~*

[PapaGuava]

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Please use this thread to ask any questions specific to the AACOMAS application for the 2022-2023 cycle.

Ask away and good luck!

 

[GettinAfterIt]

To my fellow vets out there, do you know if we have to send/enter our JST to AACOMAS? I know that it is required for AMCAS, but I don't see an option to send them to AACOMAS on the JST website.

The classes I have on my JST aren't academic; they are my classes from basic training and AIT/EMT as a medic, so these don't have letter grades.

 

[chilly_md]

From an old thread, it appears they don’t need them:

AACOMAS and JST transcripts for EY2019

So it seems that JST only sends transcripts electronically and when I search for a school using the term "AACOMAS" there are no results returned. If I search for "osteo" I get a few specific schools hits but no AACOMAS still. My question is, has anyone else submitted their JST to AACOMAS this...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[GettinAfterIt]

From an old thread, it appears they don’t need them:

AACOMAS and JST transcripts for EY2019

So it seems that JST only sends transcripts electronically and when I search for a school using the term "AACOMAS" there are no results returned. If I search for "osteo" I get a few specific schools hits but no AACOMAS still. My question is, has anyone else submitted their JST to AACOMAS this...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Awesome, thanks!

 

[hope2017]

I need help for GPA input in AACOMAS.
My school is quarter system school and each course is 100 'our school' unit.
In our School website: Our school 100 unit = 3 1/3 semester hours = 5 quarter hours.

I think we don't need to do any conversion when we add courses and credits into the AMCAS for quarter grades. so, I added 100 for the unit section. But for AACOMAS, it doesn't take 100 and change it to 1.0. But for Pre-requisite section, putting 1.0 'our school' credit unit doesn't look like meeting their credit requirements (in fact, if I convert it, it will be 10 Semester units or 15 quarter units). I think I need to convert my 1.0 credit based on the school website guideline, right?

In that case, should I put 100 unit or 1.0 'our school' credit to 3 1/3 semester credits or 5 quarter credits?
I think because I already mentioned that my school is quarter system school, so, I should put 5 in the credit section. I just need to double check.

 

[LiteralLungs]

How do you list non-continuous activities on AACOMAS? By that, I mean, activities that I do not consistently do every week. It asks for a start and end date, and then the number of weeks volunteered and number of hours per week. It automatically calculates total hours based on # of weeks volunteered x hours per week. There is no option for repeated activities, like in AMCAS.

 

[chilly_md]

How do you list non-continuous activities on AACOMAS? By that, I mean, activities that I do not consistently do every week. It asks for a start and end date, and then the number of weeks volunteered and number of hours per week. It automatically calculates total hours based on # of weeks volunteered x hours per week. There is no option for repeated activities, like in AMCAS.

You can list the full date range and then use the “per-diem” or “temporary” option to indicate it wasn’t done every week. You can also include in your activity description if you only did it during the summer or some other time frame.

 

[hockeypremed]

Can we add evaluators into AACOMAS after submission?

 

[chilly_md]

Can we add evaluators into AACOMAS after submission?

Yes

 

[hockeypremed]

Yes

Thanks! AACOMAS isn't clear on that

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

In terms of CEUs, what are they looking for here? Substantial CEU programs? As a nurse with many years of experience I have probably racked up hundreds of CEUs, an hour or two at a time. I'm sure I don't have the documentation for all of these CEUs over the past 13 years. What is the expectation for this section?

 

[chilly_md]

In terms of CEUs, what are they looking for here? Substantial CEU programs? As a nurse with many years of experience I have probably racked up hundreds of CEUs, an hour or two at a time. I'm sure I don't have the documentation for all of these CEUs over the past 13 years. What is the expectation for this section?

It is an optional section and is likely rarely filled out. If you have a substantial CEU program with readily available documentation, you could put that. It would probably be fine if you skipped it though, especially if you would be putting many smaller CEUs. Your role as a nurse should more than suffice in showing your clinical experience.

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

It is an optional section and is likely rarely filled out. If you have a substantial CEU program with readily available documentation, you could put that. It would probably be fine if you skipped it though, especially if you would be putting many smaller CEUs. Your role as a nurse should more than suffice in showing your clinical experience.

Thank you! Super helpful.

 

[LiteralLungs]

I got this question answered before, I was wondering how to list an activity on AACOMAS that was done non-continuously. Someone suggested I use the "per diem" feature to indicate that it wasn't done on a consistent basis.

The other issue now is how to list the hours in AACOMAS. Instead of just letting you enter your total hours, it asks like this:

Total number of weeks: x
Average hours per week: x
It automatically multiplies this to get total hours overall

My volunteering for this activity has been on and off since 2015, with some long and short breaks periodically interspersed between my participation, and so it would look like this:

Total number of weeks: 360 weeks
Average hours per week: 0.361
Total hours: 130 hours

However, it doesn't let you enter decimals.

Would it be okay to just make up a number for total weeks and number of hours per week so that the total hours comes out to 130?

This is a very frustrating format compared to AMCAS.

It is also very hard to explain this in the description box, because I am limited to 600 characters so only have space to put a description and not an explanation of why the hours appear the way they do.

 

[chilly_md]

The other issue now is how to list the hours in AACOMAS. Instead of just letting you enter your total hours, it asks like this:

Total number of weeks: x
Average hours per week: x
It automatically multiplies this to get total hours overall

My volunteering for this activity has been on and off since 2015, with some long and short breaks periodically interspersed between my participation, and so it would look like this:

Total number of weeks: 360 weeks
Average hours per week: 0.361
Total hours: 130 hours

However, it doesn't let you enter decimals.

Would it be okay to just make up a number for total weeks and number of hours per week so that the total hours comes out to 130?

This is a very frustrating format compared to AMCAS.

It is also very hard to explain this in the description box, because I am limited to 600 characters so only have space to put a description and not an explanation of why the hours appear the way they do.

Please keep AACOMAS questions to this thread. Don’t put 360 weeks. Put the approximate number of weeks you volunteered for the activity. It’s not meant to the number of weeks for the date range.

 

[LiteralLungs]

Please keep AACOMAS questions to this thread. Don’t put 360 weeks. Put the approximate number of weeks you volunteered for the activity. It’s not meant to the number of weeks for the date range.

Will it matter if it is a reallly rough approximation? I didn't keep track of which weeks I worked with this organization over the many years. I only have a single total number of hours, and the date span.

 

[chilly_md]

Will it matter if it is a reallly rough approximation? I didn't keep track of which weeks I worked with this organization over the many years. I only have a single total number of hours, and the date span.

How did you come up with the total hours? Was that tracked by the organization and not calculated by you? Rough approximation is fine, it is meant to just show how involved you were in the activity. Typical hospital volunteering for example is 4-5 hour shifts once a week so it would come out to around 26-32 weeks. It would be fine to pick a number in that range. I imagine your activity is similar.

 

[LiteralLungs]

For one organization I worked with, I assisted with 1.5 hour groups that were held multiple times a week, but I only did them sporadically. Sometimes I would do them multiple times a month, sometimes I wasn't doing so much. I also helped with other opportunities within the organization that were on a more consistent basis. So my time was not a consistent number of hours per week, and it is hard to estimate an average because there were some large random gaps where I didn't volunteer as much.

In addition, I have other activities (a phone call program) where the volunteering was random phone calls that can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. These calls were over the course of years, and were not consistent. It is difficult to say how many hours I volunteered per week, because I only kept track of the total minutes spent.

 

[chilly_md]

For one organization I worked with, I assisted with 1.5 hour groups that were held multiple times a week, but I only did them sporadically. Sometimes I would do them multiple times a month, sometimes I wasn't doing so much. I also helped with other opportunities within the organization that were on a more consistent basis. So my time was not a consistent number of hours per week, and it is hard to estimate an average because there were some large random gaps where I didn't volunteer as much.

In addition, I have other activities (a phone call program) where the volunteering was random phone calls that can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. These calls were over the course of years, and were not consistent. It is difficult to say how many hours I volunteered per week, because I only kept track of the total minutes spent.

I'd estimate the first one as 3 hours a week and put down 40 or 43 weeks (if this is the 130 hour activity you were talking about). That seems reasonable to me.

For the phone call program, it depends if you made just 1-2 calls when you volunteered or there was usually a longer list that you would go through. If was 1-2 calls, put down 1 hour a week and however many weeks it is to get to your total. If it was a longer list typically, perhaps go for 3 hours a week again and however many weeks gets you close to your total hours.

 

[LiteralLungs]

I'd estimate the first one as 3 hours a week and put down 40 or 43 weeks (if this is the 130 hour activity you were talking about). That seems reasonable to me.

For the phone call program, it depends if you made just 1-2 calls when you volunteered or there was usually a longer list that you would go through. If was 1-2 calls, put down 1 hour a week and however many weeks it is to get to your total. If it was a longer list typically, perhaps go for 3 hours a week again and however many weeks gets you close to your total hours.

Thank you. How would you write a program like this?

I was in the org for a total of 122 weeks
I volunteered for about 106 of those 122 weeks
Total hours = 140
Therefore, I have to say that I either volunteered for:
1 hour per week * 122 weeks = 122 hours (underestimate)
2 hour per week * 70 weeks = 140 hours (correct total hours, but wrong total weeks)

 

[chilly_md]

Thank you. How would you write a program like this?

I was in the org for a total of 122 weeks
I volunteered for about 106 of those 122 weeks
Total hours = 140
Therefore, I have to say that I either volunteered for:
1 hour per week * 122 weeks = 122 hours (underestimate)
2 hour per week * 70 weeks = 140 hours (correct total hours, but wrong total weeks)

I’d do 122 at 1 hour per week. It’ll be an underestimate but the 18 hours aren’t really a difference maker. It more accurately shows you were volunteering for roughly the full date range.

 

[deleted1089232]

I'm confused as I've never mailed things to a PO box before.

Does the PO Box go in address line 1? so like:

Name: AACOMAS CAS Transcript Processing Center
Address Line 1: PO Box: 9137
City: Watertown
State: MA
Zip: 02471
If not how do I do this right? Please help I don't want to mess it up because my school doesn't allow for electronic transcripts 🙁

 

[chilly_md]

I'm confused as I've never mailed things to a PO box before.

Does the PO Box go in address line 1? so like:

Name: AACOMAS CAS Transcript Processing Center
Address Line 1: PO Box: 9137
City: Watertown
State: MA
Zip: 02471
If not how do I do this right? Please help I don't want to mess it up because my school doesn't allow for electronic transcripts 🙁

I have moved your question to the main AACOMAS thread.

Follow the official instructions for paper transcripts below:

US and English-Canadian Transcripts

help.liaisonedu.com

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

The AACOMAS application doesn't appear to have a function for adding a meaningful hobby--or should I just put it under extracurricular activities?

 

[chilly_md]

The AACOMAS application doesn't appear to have a function for adding a meaningful hobby--or should I just put it under extracurricular activities?

Yes that would be fine. There are limited categorization options but it would be clear from your description and title that it is a hobby.

 

[eturch]

I noticed in my AACOMAS application the occupation for each of my evaluators for my letters of rec is N/A. When inputting their info I never noticed an occupation section. I should also mention I uploaded them from Interfolio. So now I am worried that the med schools won't know which letter is which and immediately reject me. Do you think this is a big deal or will I be ok?

 

[chilly_md]

I noticed in my AACOMAS application the occupation for each of my evaluators for my letters of rec is N/A. When inputting their info I never noticed an occupation section. I should also mention I uploaded them from Interfolio. So now I am worried that the med schools won't know which letter is which and immediately reject me. Do you think this is a big deal or will I be ok?

They’ll read the letters and determine it themselves.

 

[eturch]

They’ll read the letters and determine it themselves.

Thank you so much! Was really freaking out for a second there

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

Is there a way to view the application in PDF form to proofread the entire app at once?

 

[chilly_md]

Is there a way to view the application in PDF form to proofread the entire app at once?

Try the check status option:

Viewing and Downloading the Full Application PDF

help.liaisonedu.com

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

What is the most important thing to convey in the 600 character text box for Experiences and Achievements? I'm having a hard time adapting the short essays I wrote for AMCAS because the character limit in AACOMAS is so severe. Is it most important to describe the roles/responsibilities?Or what you learned from the experience? Or how it impacted your journey toward medicine? There's no way to include all of this. Thanks in advance!

 

[chilly_md]

What is the most important thing to convey in the 600 character text box for Experiences and Achievements? I'm having a hard time adapting the short essays I wrote for AMCAS because the character limit in AACOMAS is so severe. Is it most important to describe the roles/responsibilities?Or what you learned from the experience? Or how it impacted your journey toward medicine? There's no way to include all of this. Thanks in advance!

600 characters is about 1 sentence shorter than the 700 characters allowed by AMCAS. You will not be able to include the extra most meaningful remarks section. You likely do not have to describe your roles and responsibility much for well-known things that are evident from the title ( ie clinical jobs such as EMT, scribing).

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

600 characters is about 1 sentence shorter than the 700 characters allowed by AMCAS. You will not be able to include the extra most meaningful remarks section. You likely do not have to describe your roles and responsibility much for well-known things that are evident from the title ( ie clinical jobs such as EMT, scribing).

It sounds like you are saying that it is more important to describe key takeaways / learning points?

 

[chilly_md]

It sounds like you are saying that it is more important to describe key takeaways / learning points?

Somewhat, but don’t go overboard. It is fine if some activities have nothing to do with medicine, and you should not attempt to say you learned something that will help you (or is a skill needed) as a physician. Like trying to say being a member of a club sport taught you teamwork, which is also an essential part of providing care to patients.

 

[rommel]

Sorry if this topic was covered anywhere but I could not find it.

In Fall 2016, I took a Biology course and got a B. I decided to retake it (I know it’s a dumb mistake to make). In Fall 2018, I retook the class and got a B+. In my official transcript, the first attempt is marked as “XX”, while the second attempt is marked as “B+”. How should I enter the first attempt in the AACOMAS transcript entry? Should I mark the first one (Fall 2016) as “CR” or “B”? Because the website says “Everything must match the official transcript 100%”, but also it says “you must enter both attempts regardless of your school’s forgiveness policies”????? Thank you very much.

 

[autumn123]

I have 3 publications to put into AACOMAS. Should I put each publication individually (and then spend more of the space on research description) or should I put them inside 1 box? Thank you so much!

 

[chilly_md]

Sorry if this topic was covered anywhere but I could not find it.

In Fall 2016, I took a Biology course and got a B. I decided to retake it (I know it’s a dumb mistake to make). In Fall 2018, I retook the class and got a B+. In my official transcript, the first attempt is marked as “XX”, while the second attempt is marked as “B+”. How should I enter the first attempt in the AACOMAS transcript entry? Should I mark the first one (Fall 2016) as “CR” or “B”? Because the website says “Everything must match the official transcript 100%”, but also it says “you must enter both attempts regardless of your school’s forgiveness policies”????? Thank you very much.

I have moved your question to this main AACOMAS thread. Double check your transcript. If there is no mention of your original grade of a B (could be somewhere farther down the list where they zero’d out the credits), then you should likely put CR or give them a call. There will otherwise be a verification issue as they do not know what the exact grade you got on the first attempt.

I have 3 publications to put into AACOMAS. Should I put each publication individually (and then spend more of the space on research description) or should I put them inside 1 box? Thank you so much!

Grouping them is probably best. You can discuss the actual research in a separate box.

 

[GokuZ]

I transferred my letters of rec from interfolio to AACOMAS. Both the occupation and professional title for each evaluation is showing up as N/A in the pdf. The AACOMAS evaluations section never asked for this info. Is this normal?

 

[chilly_md]

I transferred my letters of rec from interfolio to AACOMAS. Both the occupation and professional title for each evaluation is showing up as N/A in the pdf. The AACOMAS evaluations section never asked for this info. Is this normal?

This question was asked above already a few days ago by a different poster. It’s fine, that information will be on the actual letter.

 

[winterfish21]

In my freshman year Fall semester I took Algebra and Calculus I, and in the Spring semester I took Algebra and Calculus II and got Ds in both. In my school, when you take both of these courses, it counts as Calculus I. I retook this course in the form of the regular one semester Calculus I because of my low grades in those courses.

When filling out the AMCAS and AACOMAS, when it asks to mark courses that you retook, do I mark these courses since they have different names and course codes?

 

[Syriano]

Basically, I submitted my application to 7 schools. I had 3 schools left to submit my application to (they had some questions I had to answer so I left them for later). Before submitting my app for those 3 schools, I wanted to add a new experience. Halfway through writing my experience, I clicked save so I could come back to it later and finish writing it. Turns out when you click save on an experience and your app was already submitted to other schools you can't go back and edit the experience or delete it. So now I am stuck with leaving the experience on there with half a description. Any suggestions on what to do?? Should I just create a new experience tab with the same information and continue the description there?

 

[Sn00pygrrl]

What counts as shadowing? I've been in a unique clinical role where I've worked side-by-side with physicians, including a DO, for 8+ years. Some of the time we have shared patient visits where my role is to listen in on the conversation between physician and patient/family, then stay after the MD/DO visit is done and debrief with the patient/family, after which I then go and debrief with the physician about the conversation. Qualitatively this feels a lot like shadowing to me since I'm able to directly observe the physician's interactions with patient/family, then debrief with them afterwards. However, it's not shadowing in the traditional sense where I used my family network or cold-called a physician and asked if I could observe them for a day. (The DO I've worked most closely with has kindly written me an LOR.) I asked one of my intended DO schools if I could reasonably classify this as shadowing, but haven't heard back from their office yet (I will follow up soon, just don't want to bug). But I wondered if people here had thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

[chilly_md]

What counts as shadowing? I've been in a unique clinical role where I've worked side-by-side with physicians, including a DO, for 8+ years. Some of the time we have shared patient visits where my role is to listen in on the conversation between physician and patient/family, then stay after the MD/DO visit is done and debrief with the patient/family, after which I then go and debrief with the physician about the conversation. Qualitatively this feels a lot like shadowing to me since I'm able to directly observe the physician's interactions with patient/family, then debrief with them afterwards. However, it's not shadowing in the traditional sense where I used my family network or cold-called a physician and asked if I could observe them for a day. (The DO I've worked most closely with has kindly written me an LOR.) I asked one of my intended DO schools if I could reasonably classify this as shadowing, but haven't heard back from their office yet (I will follow up soon, just don't want to bug). But I wondered if people here had thoughts. Thanks in advance!

If it want to make it clear, you can set aside some hours from this activity and put them in a separate shadowing slot on AACOMAS.

 

[Scribe2MD2018]

Hello, do we get a notification when our complete/verified applications have been transmitted? I went onto AACOMAS and didn't see any changes, also not sure what change I should be looking for. Thank you very much!

 

[E2RXN]

How should I classify a completed master’s thesis? If I put this under experiences, would you recommend that I put it under extracurricular( I don’t think this is appropriate as the thesis was a part of my degree requirement), healthcare experience, non-healthcare volunteer or community enrichment?

If I put the experience under achievements how do you recommend I classify the experience?

Under the achievements section, and with regard to publications, what should I list as the "presenting organization?" The place where I did research or the journal who published my research?

Thank you so much for helping me navigate this application!

 

[chilly_md]

How should I classify a completed master’s thesis? If I put this under experiences, would you recommend that I put it under extracurricular( I don’t think this is appropriate as the thesis was a part of my degree requirement), healthcare experience, non-healthcare volunteer or community enrichment?

If I put the experience under achievements how do you recommend I classify the experience?

Under the achievements section, and with regard to publications, what should I list as the "presenting organization?" The place where I did research or the journal who published my research?

Thank you so much for helping me navigate this application!

You could likely put it as a publication under the achievements category.

For the paper, use the journal who published the research. If it was related to your master's thesis, mention that in the description. AACOMAS does not have the more refined categories that AMCAS uses, so readers will go off of titles and the description.

Hello, do we get a notification when our complete/verified applications have been transmitted? I went onto AACOMAS and didn't see any changes, also not sure what change I should be looking for. Thank you very much!

You should receive an e-mail when they have verified it. Give it some time.

 

[GokuZ]

Do schools receive the most recently updated application today (June 15th)? Or is their a risk that a school will receive a more recent version.

So lets say someone was verified May 31st and then updated their application with a new EC on June 5th. Will the June 5th updated application be sent to schools today?

 

[chilly_md]

Do schools receive the most recently updated application today (June 15th)? Or is their a risk that a school will receive a more recent version.

So lets say someone was verified May 31st and then updated their application with a new EC on June 5th. Will the June 5th updated application be sent to schools today?

You can’t add a new EC after submitting I believe. And as seen in the below poster who was asking for advice, it is best not to touch your application even if you do see an option to as it could end up creating mistakes.

 

[chilly_md]

Basically, I submitted my application to 7 schools. I had 3 schools left to submit my application to (they had some questions I had to answer so I left them for later). Before submitting my app for those 3 schools, I wanted to add a new experience. Halfway through writing my experience, I clicked save so I could come back to it later and finish writing it. Turns out when you click save on an experience and your app was already submitted to other schools you can't go back and edit the experience or delete it. So now I am stuck with leaving the experience on there with half a description. Any suggestions on what to do?? Should I just create a new experience tab with the same information and continue the description there?

I have merged your post. You could try to add a new experience tab and do it in full there but AACOMAS is not meant to be edited after submission usually.

 

[GokuZ]

I have merged your post. You could try to add a new experience tab and do it in full there but AACOMAS is not meant to be edited after submission usually.

Good point. I was asking for a friend, and he luckily wrote the new experience in full on June 5th and then hit save. His PDF thus shows the entire new experience without any mistakes/errors. I had thoughts of adding a new experience since my friend did it, but I will play it safe and won't even bother. Thanks for the feedback!