Getting apps ready for next cycle?

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Who is all getting ready for the next cycle to open? Anyone taking the MCAT in late August or early September?

Originally Posted by footfan34

Who is all getting ready for the next cycle to open? Anyone taking the MCAT in late August or early September?

I'll be applying once it opens.... in terms of getting apps ready..... not so much. I guess I have gotten my LoRs lined up. My personal statement and all my other documents are not quite as ready as they are non-existent at this point...

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

I'll be applying once it opens.... in turns of getting apps ready..... not so much. I guess I have gotten my LoRs lined up. My personal statement and all my other documents are not quite as ready as they are non-existent at this point...

lol, I seem to be in the same position! haaa Once I get passed the mcat, however, most of that will change..

Just finished the final interview I will be attending.

Good luck to you guys, you're definitely getting a jump on the cycle.

Originally Posted by bmhsacosta

Just finished the final interview I will be attending.

Good luck to you guys, you're definitely getting a jump on the cycle.

I hope to have my decision and everything figured out by early October.

I have my LORs lined up, and my resume written.

I'm taking the MCAT August 10th. I still have yet to write my personal statement much to the dismay of my pre-health advisor. My school has an intense revision process for their students that normally runs for the first half of the summer. The deadline to submit to this was like a week ago, but I never got around to it because I've been so busy.

So I'll be writing it cold turkey....

My advisor couldn't stress enough how important it was to apply early so I'll at least have my transcript submitted on August 1st.

Originally Posted by frankcfromny

I have my LORs lined up, and my resume written.

I'm taking the MCAT August 10th. I still have yet to write my personal statement much to the dismay of my pre-health advisor. My school has an intense revision process for their students that normally runs for the first half of the summer. The deadline to submit to this was like a week ago, but I never got around to it because I've been so busy.

So I'll be writing it cold turkey....

My advisor couldn't stress enough how important it was to apply early so I'll at least have my transcript submitted on August 1st.

I think podiatry school is more of a numbers game than most other schools. If your stats are above average the PS and applying in september probably isn't a big deal.

writing my personal statement and my LORs are all lined up taking the mcat sep 11

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

I think podiatry school is more of a numbers game than most other schools. If your stats are above average the PS and applying in september probably isn't a big deal.

i've been wondering about this. whether there a significant advantage of applying in august rather than september. cause i am retaking a g-chem class and i want the grade to be on my official transcript before i send it and that class ends mid-september.

Get started getting those letters!

I know a lot of people that have waited for a few weeks to get them in, best bet is to get started and ask for them as soon as possible.

It's easier to ask them early and give them a "too early" deadline that they may miss than be behind in a cycle, and have that awkward conversation where you ask them to speed up what they already said they'd do...

Probably not a difference between the two. But I dunno if there is a difference with your gen chem class grade though either. Never once on these forums have I seen someone who didn't get I into a pod school (the numbers say that I'm wrong, but I've never heard of it), but if you're shooting for a specific school, you'll want he best app... I'd say apply in August then if you don't get any bites, update the schools on your new GPA

Edit: New thought, why are you retaking a general chemistry course? Have you taken orgo? (unless your school does that weird gen chem 1, orgo, gen chem 2 course progression). Unless you got a D+ or lower in gen chem, I wouldn't bother retaking it. Take an upper level chem course like biochem.

Originally Posted by andrew3

i've been wondering about this. whether there a significant advantage of applying in august rather than september. cause i am retaking a g-chem class and i want the grade to be on my official transcript before i send it and that class ends mid-september.

AACPMAS does not count retakes as anything other than another class you took, it does not hide your previous grade (I know this for a fact, I got asked about a Philosophy Logic class I got an F in, I answered, well flip to the next semester and you will see I retook it and got an A, that seemed to work).

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

Probably not a difference between the two. But I dunno if there is a difference with your gen chem class grade though either. Never once on these forums have I seen someone who didn't get I into a pod school (the numbers say that I'm wrong, but I've never heard of it), but if you're shooting for a specific school, you'll want he best app... I'd say apply in August then if you don't get any bites, update the schools on your new GPA

Edit: New thought, why are you retaking a general chemistry course? Have you taken orgo? (unless your school does that weird gen chem 1, orgo, gen chem 2 course progression). Unless you got a D+ or lower in gen chem, I wouldn't bother retaking it. Take an upper level chem course like biochem.

i want to get into western u. cause its close by home and its says all prereqs need to be c and better. i got a c-

Originally Posted by RockFoot

AACPMAS does not count retakes as anything other than another class you took, it does not hide your previous grade (I know this for a fact, I got asked about a Philosophy Logic class I got an F in, I answered, well flip to the next semester and you will see I retook it and got an A, that seemed to work).

im not retaking the class to boost my gpa.

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

Probably not a difference between the two. But I dunno if there is a difference with your gen chem class grade though either. Never once on these forums have I seen someone who didn't get I into a pod school (the numbers say that I'm wrong, but I've never heard of it), but if you're shooting for a specific school, you'll want he best app... I'd say apply in August then if you don't get any bites, update the schools on your new GPA

Edit: New thought, why are you retaking a general chemistry course? Have you taken orgo? (unless your school does that weird gen chem 1, orgo, gen chem 2 course progression). Unless you got a D+ or lower in gen chem, I wouldn't bother retaking it. Take an upper level chem course like biochem.

i've take a year worth of ochem and ochem lab. physics and physics lab. i've already taken bio chem, molecular bio, infectious diseases, human physio, and im doing an ecology class and an ecology lab right now.

i was talking to an admission counselor and she just told me to apply, but then i was telling her my concerns over having a c- in the g-chem prereq. and she said since i seemed so concerned about it that i should just wait till i receive my grade in the class before applying. i just don't want to get rejected just cause i got a c- in a prereq class, i know when i retake it will do much better. stupidity of freshman year sigh...

sorry for posting so much but i was wondering if i could get advice. throughout my college career i have had 3 really bad grades. writing i got a c- but i retook that and got a b+. and there one g-chem class and one calc class. i got a c- in the g chem and a d in calc. I am planning to retake them both this summer to show the schools that i can do better and i just got bad grades through undeveloped and stupid habits during freshman year. do you guys think i should retake the calc class?

honestly if you cum gpa isn't crap and your other science grade are generally Bs and As then you will do fine, they wont hold 1 C- against you but do what you feel you need to.

Originally Posted by RockFoot

honestly if you cum gpa isn't crap and your other science grade are generally Bs and As then you will do fine, they wont hold 1 C- against you but do what you feel you need to.

i'm probably just going to retake it i already signed up and paid for it and i figure it'll be good review before i take my mcat

I would only retake classes that I failed or did not meet the competency requirement. Don't worry too much. Although I will probably get flamed for saying this, pod school is not very competitive. Sure I don't have any solid evidence to back that up, but my advisor was quite frank in saying that virtually everyone who applies with at least a 2.75 and 20+ on their MCAT will get into at least one school. My school keeps a database of everyone who applies to grad school and there's not one applicant who got rejections across the board from a pod school in there (submission to the database is required). Some kids had some pretty uninpressive stats. He specifically named two schools that will literally take anyone with a pulse. Now, I'm sure that's a huge exaggeration but you get the idea.

Originally Posted by andrew3

sorry for posting so much but i was wondering if i could get advice. throughout my college career i have had 3 really bad grades. writing i got a c- but i retook that and got a b+. and there one g-chem class and one calc class. i got a c- in the g chem and a d in calc. I am planning to retake them both this summer to show the schools that i can do better and i just got bad grades through undeveloped and stupid habits during freshman year. do you guys think i should retake the calc class?

If this were medical school my advice would be: Don't retake calc, take calc II and get an A- or better in it. That being said, this is pod school so.......... you could probably retake calc, but seriously make sure you at LEAST get a B+.

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

If this were medical school my advice would be: Don't retake calc, take calc II and get an A- or better in it. That being said, this is pod school so.......... you could probably retake calc, but seriously make sure you at LEAST get a B+.

do you think it'd be better to take an upper div bio course and get an a- or a instead of retaking the calc class and getting at least a b+. this is in reference to summer school. i'm only going to do one or the other cause i want to have time to study for my mcat still

Originally Posted by frankcfromny

I would only retake classes that I failed or did not meet the competency requirement. Don't worry too much. Although I will probably get flamed for saying this, pod school is not very competitive. Sure I don't have any solid evidence to back that up, but my advisor was quite frank in saying that virtually everyone who applies with at least a 2.75 and 20+ on their MCAT will get into at least one school. My school keeps a database of everyone who applies to grad school and there's not one applicant who got rejections across the board from a pod school in there (submission to the database is required). Some kids had some pretty uninpressive stats. He specifically named two schools that will literally take anyone with a pulse. Now, I'm sure that's a huge exaggeration but you get the idea.

thanks for the advice and reassurance

Originally Posted by andrew3

do you think it'd be better to take an upper div bio course and get an a- or a instead of retaking the calc class and getting at least a b+. this is in reference to summer school. i'm only going to do one or the other cause i want to have time to study for my mcat still

Why are you thinking of taking of taking an upper division bio course to cover up a math grade? Am I missing something here?

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

Why are you thinking of taking of taking an upper division bio course to cover up a math grade? Am I missing something here?

i was just wondering what the schools would have preferred. whether to retake the calc class to get a better grade. or a take a upper div bio and get a good grade. because calc isn't even a pre req.

Originally Posted by andrew3

i'm probably just going to retake it i already signed up and paid for it and i figure it'll be good review before i take my mcat

Western does care about the C- and will make you retake before you can matriculate. I know because they told me the same thing.

Originally Posted by bmhsacosta

Western does care about the C- and will make you retake before you can matriculate. I know because they told me the same thing.

thats good to know thanks. ill make sure to retake it this summer

Originally Posted by andrew3

i was just wondering what the schools would have preferred. whether to retake the calc class to get a better grade. or a take a upper div bio and get a good grade. because calc isn't even a pre req.

I see what you're saying now. I guess it depends on what you're trying to do. Do all of your other bio classes have good grades? If so, I wouldn't take another.

The idea of taking Calc II or Calc I over is to show the adcoms that your D was a fluke and you are capable of understanding the information - in this instance that information is calculus

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

I see what you're saying now. I guess it depends on what you're trying to do. Do all of your other bio classes have good grades? If so, I wouldn't take another.

The idea of taking Calc II or Calc I over is to show the adcoms that your D was a fluke and you are capable of understanding the information - in this instance that information is calculus

i emailed all the admission asking this question. so far one responded today they told me to just take a upper div bio instead of retaking calc. i have no idea what to do now lol all my upper div bio class are good grades my lower div not the greatest but decent mixture of a/b/c. actually make that two responses now.

My sophomore year, I got a C in bio, physics and inorganic chem parts 1, A C in bio part 2 with Bs in the other part 2s.

They take into account a lot of things when looking at a GPA.

Those were the lowest grades I had in my tenure, and I had a pretty good health-related reason. After those, I didn't make below an A in a science again, and I had a lot of math my first year to boost those up as well.

It will always look better to take a new hard (ideally harder) class instead of retaking the old one. Well....yeah....you'd better be able to get an A when you're on your second helping.

Doing well in a new class shows the ability to perform academically, and the motivation to work (it doesn't take nearly as much work to grab an A in a second time around class...).

If you want to boost your GPA, do it with upper level sciences. Take note, though...be sure you actually boost it.

Originally Posted by bobdolerson

My sophomore year, I got a C in bio, physics and inorganic chem parts 1, A C in bio part 2 with Bs in the other part 2s.

They take into account a lot of things when looking at a GPA.

Those were the lowest grades I had in my tenure, and I had a pretty good health-related reason. After those, I didn't make below an A in a science again, and I had a lot of math my first year to boost those up as well.

It will always look better to take a new hard (ideally harder) class instead of retaking the old one. Well....yeah....you'd better be able to get an A when you're on your second helping.

Doing well in a new class shows the ability to perform academically, and the motivation to work (it doesn't take nearly as much work to grab an A in a second time around class...).

If you want to boost your GPA, do it with upper level sciences. Take note, though...be sure you actually boost it.

thanks for the advice. i just dropped the calc class for the summer and added an upper div bio class.

In the end, they really don't give a crap if you know math.

Will start to get my LORS lined up, although I have the persons lined up to do them. I will be applying August 1st, taking the MCAT May 19, in less than two weeks. Hopefully I can get into Barry, that would be my numero uno being from Florida and all.

I got my LORs lined up, I'm scheduled to take the mcat on july 14th, have scores by august 5th, and will apply that day. Hopefully get into temple, since I'm from PA and it's close to my undergrad as well. Hopefully i'll have everything lined up by october and can know what i'm doing with my life before all of my friends!

Dude! Get outta penn! Try California! It's only four years of your life!

(says the minnesota raised, probably going to attend scholl or dmu guy)

I'm definitely not excluding anywhere else from my list. It will all depend on where i interview and get in. California would be nice!! haha