AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines: DO Deposit Deadlines

AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines: DO Deposit Deadlines

AACOM's traffic guidelines give a DO applicant accepted before November 15 until December 14 to send a deposit, 30 days if accepted November 15 to January 14, 14 days if accepted January 15 to April 30, and possibly an immediate deposit from May 1. Before May 1 you should hold a seat at one college only.

DO deposits are a price for time, not a free hold. The MD side lets you keep several acceptances into April under the AMCAS calendar. On the DO side, a November acceptance buys you until mid-December, the six schools below ask $400 to $2,000, and four of them say in writing that the money does not come back. If you are applying to both systems, you pay for every month you keep a DO seat while waiting on MD.

AACOM's guideline page and every school page below were checked on November 7, 2026. AACOM's page states no year, so the dates in it repeat each cycle; the worked dates in the second table are our arithmetic for the class entering in 2027.

The AACOMAS deposit schedule, verbatim

From AACOM's AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines:

"Applicants will be asked to submit necessary matriculation documents, including a deposit, according to the following AACOMAS traffic guideline schedule:

Those accepted prior to November 15 will have until December 14. Those accepted between November 15 and January 14 will have 30 days. Those accepted between January 15 and April 30 will have 14 days. Those accepted on or after May 1 may be asked for an immediate deposit."

The same page adds: "After May 1 of the year of matriculation, each medical college may implement college-specific procedures for accepted students who hold one or more seats at other medical colleges."

Here is what that schedule means for the class entering in 2027. The deadline column is our arithmetic, counting calendar days from the acceptance date. The guideline does not say whether the acceptance day counts, so the date in your acceptance letter controls.

The schedule rewards early acceptances with the longest wait and gives late ones almost none. Schools repeat it word for word: Xavier University's DO program says "XUCOM follows the AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines as stated below" and lists the same four lines, and its 2026-2027 timeline adds "May 2027: Final decisions (candidates can only hold one seat)".

What AACOMAS reports and when

The guideline is also a reporting rule. Verbatim:

"Starting April 1, osteopathic medical colleges are asked to report to AACOMAS the names and identification of candidates who have paid a deposit, hold a position at an osteopathic medical college entering class or both."

"After May 1, AACOMAS reports to each institution the names and candidates for its entering class who hold an acceptance(s) at additional institutions."

And the consequence:

"An osteopathic medical college may rescind an offer of admissions to a candidate who has paid deposits to or holds positions at multiple institutions. If the osteopathic medical college chooses to rescind their offer of admissions to a candidate, the college must give the candidate notice in writing. If the candidate does not respond after receiving the rescinded offer of admissions, their deposit is forfeited, and the seat may be given to another candidate. Therefore, prior to May 1, applicants need to withdraw from any college(s) which they do not plan to attend and only hold a position at one COM to avoid having positions withdrawn."

Two things this text does not say. It does not say AACOMAS sees MD acceptances, and nothing else we retrieved says so. It also does not define "positions", so it does not settle whether a waitlist place counts. Where the guideline is silent, the college's own procedures after May 1 control.

What DO deposits cost, school by school

These are the deposit terms DO schools state on their own pages:

None of the six pages says its deposit is refundable. Swarthmore's health sciences office describes the DO pattern from the applicant's side: osteopathic schools "will require a hefty (often more than $1,000) to reserve that seat", and "If you later are accepted at a preferred school and you accept the offer, you will forfeit your deposit at school #1." (Swarthmore HPO)

Our arithmetic on what holding costs: an applicant who deposits at ACOM in December and at KCU in January has $3,500 on the table by February, and under both schools' terms none of it returns if they leave.

Holding a DO seat while waiting on MD

The two systems measure different things. AMCAS counts acceptances on fixed spring dates; AACOMAS prices each acceptance from the day it arrives.

AAMC's own protocol pages refused automated retrieval on November 7, 2026, so the MD column quotes school pages; the AMCAS traffic rules 2027 dates page has the MD calendar in full, and the Plan to Enroll vs Commit to Enroll guide covers the MD options.

Our view: deposit at a DO school only if you would attend it over every seat you are still waiting on, and by April 30 hold one seat across both systems. The basis is the text: the AACOMAS rescission clause says "multiple institutions", not "multiple COMs", and the AMCAS calendar asks for one acceptance by April 30. The countercase: an applicant whose only MD option is a waitlist place holds one acceptance, the DO seat. The guideline does not say whether a waitlist place is a "position", so that applicant reads the COM's own procedures or asks the COM in writing before May 1.

The deposit decision, step by step

1. On each DO acceptance, write down the due date from your letter, using the schedule above.
2. Ask one question: would I attend this college over every school I am still waiting on? If no, decline it by email now and keep your money. The declining a DO acceptance guide has the email.
3. If yes, pay by the date. Treat the amount as the price of the time until your next decision, and add it to your application budget.
4. When a better acceptance arrives, choose within the days you have. Then withdraw from the other college in writing. Never keep a seat you have decided against.
5. Before May 1, hold one COM seat, and if an MD acceptance is in play, settle on one seat across both systems by April 30.

Questions about DO deposits and the AACOMAS guidelines

Are DO school deposits refundable?

Not at the schools we checked. Four of the six say non-refundable in writing, and the other two do not state a refund.

Can you hold multiple DO acceptances?

Until May 1, yes, if you pay each deposit by its window. Before May 1, AACOM says applicants "only hold a position at one COM".

Do DO schools know if you hold an MD acceptance?

The guideline does not say. It says AACOMAS reports candidates who "hold an acceptance(s) at additional institutions" after May 1, without saying whether MD schools are included, and no page we retrieved says they are.

When is the DO deposit due if you are accepted in March?

Within 14 days. Acceptances from January 15 to April 30 get 14 days under the guideline.

Is the DO calendar the same as the MD calendar?

No. Duke's page puts it plainly: "The AAMC and AACOM have different traffic rules so you may need to review both." For how the degrees compare beyond deadlines, see the MD vs DO comparison.

Review the writing you send next

The next thing you write is a letter of intent to the one college you would attend, or a withdrawal email to the colleges you release. Get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent: it checks that the letter ties a named feature of the college to your reason for attending and states your commitment at the strength you mean, for MD or DO letters. For news since your interview, use the update letter rubric. More DO guides are on the medical school essays hub, including using one essay for AACOMAS and AMCAS. The 14-day window is also your window for negotiating a DO scholarship before the deposit.

For the other grounds schools publish, see rescinded acceptances.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines (no year stated): deposit schedule, reporting dates, rescission and the one-COM rule.
• Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Admissions FAQs (no year stated): $2,000 first seat deposit due December 14; non-refundable.
• Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2026-2027 tuition and fees: $2,000 non-refundable seat deposit.
• Western University of Health Sciences, WesternU HCOM: Alternate Candidates (no year stated): $2,000 non-refundable acceptance deposit.
• Kansas City University, Acceptance Deposit Payment (no year stated): $1,500, non-refundable regardless of the reason.
• Xavier University College of Medicine, D.O. Decision and Deposit Timelines (2026-2027 timeline): $1,500; schedule repeated; one seat in May 2027.
• University of Northern Colorado College of Osteopathic Medicine, Application Process, Catalog 2026-2027: $400 deposit in two parts.
• Swarthmore College Health Sciences Office, Multiple Acceptances (no year stated): DO deposits "often more than $1,000"; forfeiture.
• Duke University Prehealth Advising, Managing Acceptance to Medical Schools & Traffic Rules (no year stated): what MD schools see under Plan to Enroll; separate AAMC and AACOM rules.
• University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Application Process (AY2026-2027): no deposit.
• Not retrieved: AAMC, Application and Acceptance Protocols for Admission Officers (automated retrieval refused, November 7, 2026). Its deposit recommendation is not quoted.