AACOM Hosts Third Online Recruitment Fair

On August 13, 2019, AACOM hosted its third Medical School Online Fair for member schools and prospective students. The event provided faculty, staff, and current students at AACOM member institutions the opportunity to engage with prospective students across the country. The live event was held from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET.

AACOM member institutions—including 34 main and branch campuses of colleges of osteopathic medicine—participated. AACOM hosted several sessions throughout the day highlighting Financial Aid, Acing your AACOMAS Application, Chat with Dr. Cain, AACOM’s new President & CEO, in addition to question and answer periods with health professions advisors, physicians, and current medical students. U.S. Army Healthcare Recruiting was a participating sponsor of the fair. At the close of the event, there were 4,905 registrants and 2,219 attendees. These numbers reflect a 31 percent increase in registrants and a 17 percent increase in attendees from the January 2019 Virtual Fair.

When attendees were surveyed at the conclusion of the fair, 54 percent of respondents self-identified as graduate students, 32 percent self-identifying as undergraduate students, and 37 percent of all respondents had not yet initiated an AACOMAS application.

The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with 96.37 percent of respondents rating the fair as “excellent,” “very good,” or “good.” This is roughly the same response as that of the second Online Fair in January. When asked prior to the fair how likely they were to attend a college of osteopathic medicine, 60 percent of respondents said “very likely.” After attending the fair, participants’ likelihood of attending a college of osteopathic medicine increased another 15 percent.