Requirements
Institutional Enrollment Requirements
In addition to the Programmatic Admissions Requirements below, the following general conditions must be met by each candidate prior to consideration for Provisional Enrollment into ACA:
Age:
Be at least 18 years of age evidenced by means of an official English translated (where applicable) and fully legible government issued form of identification at the time of initial signing of school enrollment documents.
Previous Education:
Must have graduated from high school and possess an official English translation of (where applicable) a high school diploma, a General Equivalency Diploma (GED), or a high school proficiency examination, while ACA waits to receive your official English translation of the high school transcript. Exceptions to this policy will be made for prospective students who possesses and provides a notarized proof of a higher degree (i.e. Medical Doctorate, Masters, Bachelors).
U.S. Immigration:
Must be a legal resident or citizen of the United States if completing any portion of the college when residing in the United States. We accept all visas except for B, C, M, J and F2. Advanced Colleges of America does not currently sponsor visas, and I-20’s may not be transferred into Advanced Colleges of America. Students have an ACA acceptable immigration status in order to be eligible to do externships regardless of the track you have enrolled in. Students are admitted to Advanced Colleges of America with the full intention of graduation and program relevant job placement. The online portion of ACA programs are geographically neutral by design, so legal U.S. immigration status is not a requirement for admission. However since students must complete the clinical externships portion of ACA programs within the U.S., and U.S. border entry can never be guaranteed, notarized proof of legal U.S. immigration status (U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency, or all visas except for B, C, M, J and F2) must be secured prior to enrollment. Alternatively, prospective students may apply to have their clinical externship experiences transferred after completing them at any of the following approved organizations prior to enrollment:
> Any ACGME accredited medical residency program; or
> AmeriClerkships Medical Society
Hybrid Online Education Pre-qualification:
Must pass the ACA Distance Education Questionnaire with a score of 50 or better.
Internet and Computer Skills:
Every student will need basic computer and technical skills to participate in all ACA track programs. These skills include but are not limited to the ability to use a mouse and successfully scroll up and down on a web page, as well as right click; and good keyboarding/typing skills; and familiarity with Windows PC or Apple Mac environments; and the ability to resize, minimize, and close windows; and the ability to surf the net, use online chat and video-telephone conference (using a progam such as Skype or Google Talk).
Computer Equipment:
In addition to computer skills, every student will also need adequate hardware and software to participate in their online course work:
> Must have Internet connection (high speed recommended), a computer (preferably a laptop with moble broaddband access), and
> Access to Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), or Google Documents (online document management), and
> Have a seb browser software with certain plug-ins like Adobe Flash, in order to view scanned materials or to play audio or video when necessary.
Programmatic Enrollment Requirements:
In addition to the Institutional Admissions Requirements above, the following specific conditions must be met by each candidate prior to consideration for Provisional Enrollment into an ACA program:
Advanced Medical Assisting – Medical Specialty Track (AMA – MST):
Institutional requirements only.
Advanced Medical Assisting – Medical College Track (AMA – MCT):
In addition to the above Institutional Eligibility Requirements, prospective candidates must have completed a minimum of 60 UNITS of college credit with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
Advanced Medical Assisting – Medical Residency Track (AMA – MRT):
In addition to the above Institutional Eligibility Requirements, prospective candidates must have:
> Graduated from a medical school that appears in Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) International Medical School Directory (IMED – https://imed.faimer.org/), or be ECFMG Certified;
> Graduated no more than 7 years from date of entry into ACA, or 10 years with proof of meaningful patient contact (minimum 40 hours/week for a total of 6 months) in the 3 years prior to ACA entry.
> Maximum of 5 attempts total to pass USMLE Step 1, 2CK and CS and be ECFMG certifiable with no more than 1 attempt on more than one USMLE exam;
AMA – MST to MCT Transfer:
Should a student who has completed between more than 30 UNITS, but less than 59 UNITS of college credit through an approved school not meet the minimum 3.0 GPA requirement for direct admission into AMA – MCT, the student may first enroll in the AMA – Medical Specialty Track. Upon successful completion of 9 UNITS within AMA – Medical Specialty Track with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, the student may become eligible for transfer into AMA – Medical College Track. Transfer approval from MST to MCT will be applicable to a student who has completed and met one of the following criteria:
> Completion of 9 UNITS of online didactics with an overall GPA of 3.0 or above
> Successful completion and graduation from AMA – MST with an overall GPA of 3.0 or above (applicable to those who have completed 29 UNITS of college credit or less from an approved school, or those who do not fulfill the minimum GPA requirement upon completion of 9 UNITS of online didactics within AMA – MST).
AMA – MST to MRT Transfer:
Should a prospective AMA – MRT student with a qualifying MD degree have:
> Graduated from medical school no more than 17 years from date of entry into ACA or 20 years if had meaningful patient contact (minimum 40 hours/week for a total of 6 months) in the 3 years prior to ACA entry, and or
> Passed USMLE Step 1, 2CK, and CS, or be ECFMG certifiable with no more than 3 attempts on each USMLE exam, then
that prospective AMA – MRT student may first enroll in the AMA – Medical Specialty Track. Upon successful completion of 9.0 UNITS within AMA – Medical Specialty Track with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, as well as meeting one of the following two Transfer Eligibility Requirements, the student may become eligible for transfer into AMA – Medical Residency Track:
> Completion of 9 units of online didactics with an overall G.P.A of 3.0, or
> Completion of 6 units of online didactics (AMA 111 and AMA 131) + 1 (3 units; 144 hours) Clinical Externship block with an overall G.P.A. of 3.0.
If a student does not meet one of the above two criteria for AMA – MST to MRT Transfer Approval, the student will continue in the Medical Specialty Track program and will finish up with only 13 weeks of the clinical externships in the primary care specialties.
Upon meeting the above conditions, prospective students will complete an interview with an Enrollment Specialist. Although unlikely, ACA reserves the right to request an in-person interview in Irvine, California.
