Osteopathic: AACOMAS
Osteopathic medicine is very different from the traditional M.D. degree. It brings a much more modern take to medicine, looking at the patient as a whole person, and evaluating how a disease or condition affects the entire individual. D.O.s are licensed all throughout the United States, and can be employed through private practice, military, and in all types of specialties for health care companies. The major distinction between a D.O. and M.D. degree is that an individual studying osteopathic medicine, will focus much more on primary care and will receive a specialized training in osteopathic practices and hands on diagnosis and treatment through osteopathic manipulative medicine.
A degree in osteopathic medicine requires four years of study: two years dedicated to sciences, and two to clinical rotations. After graduating, a student may receive a 12-month internship approved by the American Osteopathic Association, and may then enter either a M.D. or D.O. residency that may last an additional three to eight years depending on the specialty the student wishes to pursue.
DISCLAIMER
Cal State Fullerton does not have an Osteopathic Medicine Program. this page serves as a resource for students.
Before You Begin
-
AACOMAS website
-
AACOMAS Application Guide
- The application will be available for viewing as early as May 3, 2013. The application cycle will open on June 1, 2013 and ends on April 1, 2014.
- Deadlines vary by college, so confirm deadlines for the schools to which you are applying.
- AACOMAS recommends students submit at least six weeks before school deadlines.
- July 15, 2013is the last day the HPAO will upload committee packets. In order to meet this deadline you are required to submit:
- A copy of your AACOMAS application
- Any additional letters of evaluation not previously received
- Please remember to be professional when interacting with AACOMAS and college staff members.
- APPLY EARLY! Remember, the earlier you apply the more seats schools will have available. Applying late in the application cycle means that you are competing with a few hundred applicants for one or two spots versus applying early and competing for 80+ spots (varies per school).
Pre-requisite Courses
| Major | Pre-Reqs | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | One Year of Coursework with Lab (dependent on your major) | BIOL 151 & BIOL 152 |
| Chemistry | One Year of Coursework with Lab | CHEM 120A & CHEM 120B |
| Organic Chemistry | One Year of Coursework with Lab | CHEM 301A & CHEM 301B (LAB: 302) |
| Physics | One Year of Coursework with lab Please note: Undergraduate major may determine physics requirement |
PHYS 211 (LAB : 211L) & PHYS 212 (LAB: 212L) |
| Mathematics | At least one semester of Math is generally required. Some schools require no math, whereas some require calculus, while others require calculus & statistics. *Statistics is highly recommended for the MCAT. |
#1) MATH 150A & MATH 150B (Calculus 1 & 2) #2) MATH 130 & MATH 338 (short course Calc & Stats) **for stats: OR stats courses offered by your department for your major |
| Biochemistry | One semester is strongly recommended but may be required by other Medical Schools. *A full year sequence of Biochemistry is highly recommended for the MCAT. |
Biology majors: CHEM 421 (LAB: CHEM 422) Biochem majors: CHEM 423A & CHEM 423B (LAB: CHEM 422) |
| English | One year is required for most medical schools in the country. Please note: one year can be integrated in upper-division science courses that fulfill writing requirements for major. | ENGL 101 & ENGL 301 |
| Social and Behavioral Science | Introductory psychology and sociology are highly recommended for the MCAT. |
PSYC 101 SOCI 101 |
| Major | Pre-Reqs | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular Biology, Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, Immunology | Advanced level sciences courses are desirable. Performing well in upper division sciences further demonstrates your ability to handle the rigorous science based curriculum found in medical school. *Physiology is recommended to prepare you for the MCAT. |
Molec Bio: BIOL 309 Genetics: BIOL 273 Physiology: BIOL 310 (LAB: BIOL 310L) Microbio: BIOL 302 Immunology: BIOL 424 |
Letters of Evaluation
- AACOMAS does not process letters of evaluation or recommendations, or forward letters of evaluation to the colleges. All letters of evaluation and other such materials should be sent to the individual colleges that one applies to using VirtualEvals or Interfolio, or sent via mail.
- The HPAO utilizes VirtualEvals to transmit letter or committee packets to the professional schools you apply to.
- The maximum number of letters accepted is determined by each school, please check requirements for each school to which you are applying.
Essay/Personal Statement
- There is no prompt for the essay/personal statement portion of the application. The application states: "Personal Statement goes here," and requests it to be 4500 characters (including spaces).
- The HPAO advisor is available to review personal statements if you desire her input on it. If you would like to do this please schedule a 40 minute personal statement review appointment with her online.
- The Writing Center in the Pollack Library is also another wonderful resource to aid students in composing and editing their personal statements. The Career Center can provide you with an additional review of your personal statement by their professionally trained counselors. Only current CSUF students are able to utilize the assistance of the Writing Center. Current students and recent alumni (less than one year since graduation) can utilize the experienced counselors of the Career Center.
Submitting Your Application
- Please keep in mind that processing begins when your application is submitted and your payment is received by AACOMAS. You may update your application at any time prior to the ending of the cycle on April 1st, 2014. All updates other than coursework are to be completed by the applicant via the application.
- PROOFREAD EVERYTHING BEFORE SUBMISSION!!
- Please note that Michigan State does not participate with the AACOMAS application cycle and requires a little more information.
Monitoring the Status of Your Application
- To view the status of your application, you can go to the right side of the homepage of your application.
- Check this page often; it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is your responsibility to make sure AACOMAS and your designated schools have received all your materials.
Reapplying
To become a succeed as a re-applicant, you must first determine why you were not accepted. It is very important to apply early, and to apply to schools match your GPA and MCAT scores. Double check the GPA and MCAT requirements for each medical school to which you plan to apply. Strengthening your application is going to take some time, so make sure to plan ahead. You may want to retake the MCAT, increase your clinical or community experience, take on a leadership role, receive stronger letters of recommendation, rewrite you essay, strengthen your communication, reading, and writing skills, and reapply early!
Those who applied for the 2012/2013 cycle and are reapplying this upcoming 2013/2014 cycle will need to follow the instructions on the login page for creating a new application using data from your prior application. If you haven't completed additional coursework, you may be able to recycle your transcripts from the previous application cycle. However, if you took any courses since the previous application cycle, you will need to reenter your course information in the application and submit new transcripts verifying the new coursework.
MCAT scores submitted to AACOMAS within the last three years will be kept on file and will automatically transfer to your application.
If your application was NOT submitted and verified, you must request the complete set of official transcripts be forwarded directly to AACOMAS by the registrar of each U.S. institution you have attended.
Website
The AACOMAS website has many resources posted for its users. Please take a moment to explore the site to become familiar to the application process
.
Additionally, students can call 301.968.4100 and speak to an AACOMAS representative about specific questions pertaining to their applications. We strongly encourage you to always remain polite and professional when speaking to any member of AACOMAS (and HPAO) staff.
Students can address questions concerning the application process to the AACOMAS Application Service Department at, aacomas@aacom.org
Information provided in this document was retrieved from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
on April 4, 2013.
Transcripts & Coursework
- AACOMAS will calculate your GPA and credit hours according to the following rules: GPAs and credit hours will be calculated for Science, Non-Science and All Coursework. Science GPAs include Biology/Zoology, Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Other Science, and Physics. Non-science GPAs include Behavioral Science, English, Math, and Other Non-science.
- Courses with AACOMAS grades of pass, non-pass, and advanced placement (AP) are not included in GPA calculations. Only the last instance of a repeated course is included in the GPA calculation.
- The colleges and coursework section of the application includes the option to print transcript request forms. While not required, submitting this form with each transcript will expedite the processing of your application.
- Transcripts should be mailed directly from the registrar's office of each institution attended, regardless of whether the courses appear on another transcript you submitted. Official transcripts must be mailed to:
AACOMAS Transcripts
1900 L. St. NW, Ste 603
Washington, DC 20036
- If you are currently enrolled in the spring 2013 term, you may not submit your transcript(s) until your spring 2013 grades are posted on your transcript.
- Submit official copies of your transcripts to AACOMAS directly from the registrar's office of each college. We recommend you request or make additional copies of transcripts for your own use in completing the academic record/coursework section of the application.
Coursework taken at a foreign institution must be evaluated for U.S. equivalence by one of the following evaluation services:
- World Education Services
- Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
- Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc
