Taking the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is the first step you need to take to begin the trajectory to becoming a medical practitioner. The second step is applying to schools and, to do that, you’ll need to send your MCAT scores.
When you’re applying to any American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOMAS), you’ll be prompted to provide a personal statement and information, and your academic and extracurricular history, all in addition to your MCAT scores. This is a process, but reporting on your scores became much more seamless thanks to the internet.
It differs slightly from applying to American Medical Colleges. These colleges all collect your applications from a centralized location: AAMC. When you apply to any AAMC that is affiliated with and recognizes the MCAT, the school will automatically receive your test scores. No matter how many schools you apply to, you only have to fill out one application that will be accessible by them all online. MCAT scores will automatically be sent to these schools. This step is a breeze, giving you the space to work on the rest of the application to make sure they get to see the best, most well-rounded you.
For AACOMAS, there are a few extra steps involved. There are two options for sending MCAT scores to these schools. The first, easier option is to submit online through the Score Reporting System. The second is to access your scores and have them printed and sent via the postal service.
Sending Scores to Osteopathic Medical School
Scores can be easily sent to medical schools that are not AAMC, including AACOMAS, CASPA, or SOPHAS, via the AAMC website. You will have a login for the site when you register for the test. This is the same information you’ll use to access your scores and have them sent to selected schools.
Just like the automatic process for AAMC schools, this will send the results of every test you’ve taken in the past, good, bad, or ugly.
There is also the option to send hard-copies via the postal service.
Which test scores will AACOMAS see?
If you took the test recently, that score will be listed in the report received by the school in addition to previous attempts. This might make you nervous, but really it shouldn’t. Admissions councils know what they’re looking for, and few different test scores aren’t enough to dump you in the denial pile.
Admissions councils look at your test results as a whole. They may consider the average of these scores, proving that your true results are an amalgamation of the tests. This would gauge the final score of each test as opposed to individual section results.
Some schools may consider your most recent scores with the most focus. This can be a reflection–ideally–of how you’ve improved upon your knowledge since a previous exam where you didn’t do quite as well. On the flip side, some schools may just look at all of your scores and gauge you based on the best results.
Best case scenario, they’ll focus on the highest score you’ve received for each section amongst all of your tests.
Applying to affiliate schools makes sending MCAT scores easy, but you’ll have to put a little more energy into applying to a select few other schools focused on osteopathic medicine.
Final Thoughts
Gathering the materials to apply for medical school is so much easier thanks to the internet. All it takes is a few clicks to have your scores sent off to your goal schools. Even if you opt to do it the old-fashioned way, the AACM is easy to access to retrieve the scores of this milestone exam. Once it’s on its way to the admissions committee, you’re on your way to beginning your career!
Sources:
- https://magoosh.com/mcat/how-do-i-send-my-mcat-score-report/
- https://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/about-om
- http://www.hpplc.indiana.edu/medicine/med-res-twokinds.shtml
- https://magoosh.com/mcat/sending-mcat-scores-aacomas/
- https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/apply-to-med-school-with-amcas/