VCOM Institutional Policy and Procedure Manual

VCOM Policy and Procedure

Policy #S001

Applicants who are selected to submit a Secondary Application will be required to submit only one Secondary Application fee, regardless of the number of campuses they designated on the AACOMAS application. The Secondary Application process consists of the VCOM Secondary Application, a non-refundable $50 processing fee, waiver/non-waiver statement, and a required letter of recommendation. VCOM requires a letter of recommendation from a pre-medical/pre-health committee or science faculty member who is the designated pre-medical advisor and/or who has taught the student and who is familiar with the academic work of the applicant. VCOM welcomes additional letters of support or recommendation from those who are acquainted with the student’s academic or professional ability. If an applicant has worked with a physician in their volunteer or previous work experience, then a letter of recommendation from that physician is strongly recommended. Letters of recommendation from other volunteer or shadowing experiences are a plus. VCOM will accept a personal letter of reference from a physician who is a family member; however, such letters will be counted as a personal reference and not as a formal physician letter of recommendation. Letters of recommendation must be submitted directly to VCOM from the author, must be written on professional letterhead and signed. Letters of recommendation that are included as part of the pre-medical/pre-health committee packet or from an official evaluation collection service recognized by VCOM (Interfolio, VirtualEvals, AACOMAS letter service, an official college/university service) will be accepted without signature or letterhead as long as the letters are sent directly from the author to the pre-med advisor or evaluation service as long as they accept them as authentic. VCOM provides evaluation forms as a courtesy for the osteopathic/allopathic physician, pre medical/pre-health committee or science faculty member. Applicants are welcome to submit letters of recommendation in lieu of the evaluation forms. The forms are provided as a resource and are not required. Once VCOM receives the Secondary Application, $50 processing fee, and letter of recommendation from a physician, and pre-medical/pre-health committee or science faculty member, the application is considered complete. VCOM will send an electronic notification indicating the application is complete. 4.2.1 Requirement to Report Charges or Arrests On the Secondary Application, and at any time during the application process up to the time of acceptance, applicants must report and explain any charges or arrests that have occurred prior to or during the application process, including, but not limited to, misdemeanors and felonies. Students should be aware that charges are generally found on the background check that is required prior to admission. Applicants who do not disclose prior arrests or criminal charges (except as excluded by law) will be considered as not acting in a professional or ethical manner and omission of such information may be cause to rescind the admissions offer for failure to disclose essential information. If such information is discovered after matriculation, it will result in a Professional and Ethical

VCOM Admissions Policy for the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program

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