About VSAS
The Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) is an AAMC application
designed to streamline the application process for senior "away"
electives at U.S. LCME medical schools and independent academic
medical centers that are members of the Council
of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems (COTH). This service
requires students to submit just one application for all institutions,
effectively reducing paperwork, miscommunication, and time. VSAS
also provides a centralized location for managing offers and tracking
decisions. It was created at the request of two GSA committees:
Committee on Student
Records (COSR) and Committee
on Student Affairs (COSA).
VSAS Host Institutions
The following medical schools are VSAS host institutions during
the 2009-2010 academic year and will accept visiting student applications
through this software. Students (and their home school) will ONLY
use VSAS if they are enrolled at a U.S.
LCME medical school and are applying to any of the following:
If students are not applying to one of these institutions,
they should use the Extramural
Electives Compendium (EEC) for visiting student application
information.
Canadian, International and Osteopathic Students
VSAS is not yet available for international, osteopathic, or students
enrolled at Canadian medical schools to use. Those students should
use the Extramural
Electives Compendium (EEC) for visiting student application
information.
VSAS benefits for Home Schools
VSAS provides home schools the ability to:
- grant, or remove, student access to VSAS
- verify
data about the student (e.g., they are in good academic standing)
- upload transcripts
- release applications to host institutions
- review students' away schedules
- create staff users
VSAS Fees
Home schools will pay an annual flat fee of $500 to be assessed
each Fall, beginning Fall 2009. To allow home schools the opportunity
to scale up to this flat fee, it will be discounted 50 percent for
the first year (2009), giving an introductory flat fee of $250.
Data Policy
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Visiting
Student Application Service (VSAS) recognize the importance of responsibly
collecting and guarding the information we receive from our users.
The AAMC has developed data
policy guidelines to prevent the exposure of personal data without
prior permission of the individual.
Browser Requirements
When using VSAS, the preferred browser for both PC and Mac users
is Firefox 3.0.
For PC Users, VSAS supports the following browser versions:
- Internet Explorer 7.0
- Firefox 3.0
- Firefox 2.0
For Mac users, VSAS supports the following browser versions:
Failure to use supported browsers may result in application delays,
lost data or other technical problems while using the software.
Applicants can obtain a correct browser version of Internet Explorer
at www.microsoft.com
or Firefox at www.firefox.com.
Questions or Concerns?
Review our Frequently Asked Questions, Online
Tutorials and VSAS Home
School User Manual (PDF, 126 pages) for additional
information.
You may also contact VSAS at vsas@aamc.org
or 202-478-9878, Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
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