When to apply for pod school

[imetu]

Hello everyone,

I'm confused about when is the right time to apply for podiatry school. Looking at the threads, most recommend applying as soon as the application is available (August) if you are just average or below average student.

I see that these people have interviews around Sept./Oct. But another podiatry student I've talked to personally said they interviewed for most schools during April. She took her MCAT (27 score) September so I think she applied early as well and has decent GPA (3.3) and recs, so I don't know why her interviews were much later than users here.

I can say that I'm an average student GPA wise and extracurriculars. I'm planning on taking the MCAT September but if I do not do well (below 22) then I would like to take it in January.
Should I just apply in January then or is it possible to apply around August/September but mention the possibility of retaking MCAT even if I don't know my score by then? Is that possible to say on the application?

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[SLCpod]

Most people just want to make sure to get a seat at the school they want. Since it is rolling admissions you never know when spots might get taken. The smaller schools have less than 50 seats so it can get competitive.

In your situation you have to wait for your MCAT no matter what and I am sure you'll get above a 22 with another month of prep. Get your app filled out and submit it when you have your score. Assuming that your GPA is above a 3.0 you will get invites.

 

[hughesn2]

Keep in mind the change in that the MCAT format WILL CHANGE come January. Just keep that in mind.

When you get your score and assuming it is a 21 or higher and your cGPA is above a 3.20 then just apply then. I bet from the middle of October to the middle of February the amount of seats left at most schools goes from 95% to somewhere from 25% to 40%. From what I have heard is that if your GPA is good, but your MCAT is a 20 to 22 they may just ask you if you are willing to take the MCAT again if you are in an earlier interview invite. Again, with the MCAT changing that may not be happening anymore.

During the interviews just say "I plan on taking the MCAT again" if they make it sound like your MCAT and GPA don't correlate...but at the same time that decision to bring that up is up to you.

 

[YeastyMan]

Wait, people are getting interviews around April when they submit application around September?
Because I am also applying to DO schools, and their interviews come a lot later.
So I don't want to lock myself to a POD schools too early, since POD schools seem to have very fast application-interview-acceptance process.

When do schools usually have their interviews when you submit around September?
And can we postpone interview to late April?

 

[PsychPod]

Wait, people are getting interviews around April when they submit application around September?
Because I am also applying to DO schools, and their interviews come a lot later.
So I don't want to lock myself to a POD schools too early, since POD schools seem to have very fast application-interview-acceptance process.

When do schools usually have their interviews when you submit around September?
And can we postpone interview to late April?

Theoretically, if you have the grades for D.O school or even to be considered..
Then you will probably have the numbers for Pod schools.
And most Pod schools are still accepting people till late Spring semester (April/May).

So you could apply to D.O. school, if you get in great, if not (either rejected or waitlisted), then you could apply to Pod schools late Fall, early Spring.

But honestly, if you want D.O. why not apply, if rejected then take a Gap Year and get better grades/MCAT/whatever and then reapply to D.O.
If you don't you'll always think back to how you might've been able to get in to D.O.

 

[hughesn2]

Wait, people are getting interviews around April when they submit application around September?

Who said that?? If you are submitting an application in early September and you don't hear back from a single school by mid October (if you have your MCAT scores in) then you better check up on that immediately because something got lost. It should only take 10 to 16 days for you to get your application verified by the AACPM. And then the waiting process for the schools to give you an invite. There are people that don't start applying till later in the cycle and still get in.

For you, if you think you will be a borderline DO reject at the worst then you are going to be getting a podiatry school acceptance (in my opinion). If you do apply early to podiatry schools the issue (like you stated) would be that some schools may not be so hesitant to give you such a long time to choose your backup plan.

Have you shadowed a podiatrist or did you just stumble upon podiatry and think to yourself "Hey, at least I could still be called a Doctor."?

 

[YeastyMan]

Who said that?? If you are submitting an application in early September and you don't hear back from a single school by mid October (if you have your MCAT scores in) then you better check up on that immediately because something got lost. It should only take 10 to 16 days for you to get your application verified by the AACPM. And then the waiting process for the schools to give you an invite. There are people that don't start applying till later in the cycle and still get in.

For you, if you think you will be a borderline DO reject at the worst then you are going to be getting a podiatry school acceptance (in my opinion). If you do apply early to podiatry schools the issue (like you stated) would be that some schools may not be so hesitant to give you such a long time to choose your backup plan.

Have you shadowed a podiatrist or did you just stumble upon podiatry and think to yourself "Hey, at least I could still be called a Doctor."?

Thanks for the advice man! I have shadowed 2 podiatrists.
Also, do you think it is possible to postpone interview to April when application is submitted around September?

 

[PsychPod]

Thanks for the advice man! I have shadowed 2 podiatrists.
Also, do you think it is possible to postpone interview to April when application is submitted around September?

Without some extremely good reason no. If you were abroad or something... "maybe" but still prob not.. I think they would assume you are trying for Allo/Osteo & Pod and not waste a spot in their class for you or scholarship money for someone who would dip first chance.

You can't get the best of everything, sorry.

 

[hughesn2]

If you apply in September and call or email them back "Hey, I am currently in the country but I don't want to interview until April. Would that be okay?"
Their response will be something like "Oh, so podiatry is not a serious plan to you? We are your backup plan?"

If your grades are good enough for you to feel confident in getting into a DO school then it is most likely good enough to get into a podiatry school (like I already said).

 

[torontopharm]

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[LittleMopeHead]

Hey @hughesn2 wouldn't DO GPA be higher for an applicant who used the grade forgiveness policy?
Do POD schools care at all if you have an upward trend in your GPA? My current cGPA/sGPA is at a shameful 2.5/2.7 with 33 more credits to go before i graduate. I plan on applying next cycle to POD schools, but i highly doubt i'll be able to bring that cGPA up to 3.0, and that is frightening me.

You may have a decent chance if you bring both of your gpa up to 2.8 and a good MCAT score, but 2.5 and 2.7 is not good. Having an upward trend is definitely good and can be stated on the personal statement. Admissions committee like read up on that. You may have to do a postbac. to bring up your gpa but right now concentrate on getting A's in all of your courses. It's the GPA that matters right now. MCAT will come later.

 

[hughesn2]

I don't want to sound like a d*** (but many people on this forum do think my constructive criticism is a little too harsh...at least when I was talking to a kid on the pre-PA side) but if you have a 2.5 GPA through 3yrs of your degree it is going to be hard to get the good grades in the higher level science courses. For me, my gen chem, bio, physics, and orgo courses were a complete joke in comparison to my biochem and physio courses I took my final 3 semesters. At least your science GPA is higher than your cumulative GPA. Don't do what I did and cram 22 credits of the high level/400+ level science courses into two semesters. I screwed up my degree because I signed up for too many PA school pre-req courses my junior year and first semester of my senior year and it led to me just getting a minor in Humanities and Philosophy of Science because I only had 7 credits to graduate in my 9th semester so I got a minor. I doubt that minor will ever be worth the $12,000 I spent in tuition and room & board for that semester. But at the same time had I cared to spread out my science courses better I could have had a more balanced senior year and unfortunately I went from a 3.35 GPA to a 3.20 GPA in two semesters since I packed 5 420+ level physio and biochem courses into one semester. Think smart about your senior year and look into the Post Bacc option because you may need that. The reason this is relevant is that I entered my senior year with just 32 credits from graduating and at first had it scheduled to graduate in my spring semester but my advisor told me about how even though it wasn't that hard a few years ago to have 16 credits a semester it would be very challenging to do it when you are taking 5 science courses and 1 senior seminar to get that degree. I have been in your shoes thinking that you can easily get those 32 credits in two semesters, but it turned into a living hell for those two semesters.

Like LittleMopeHead stated, you would need a great MCAT to make up for that GPA...and most likely need to take a post baac course. The issue is that people think "Hey I can do great on the MCAT like no problem," then they don't realize that there are people that are 3.8 GPA students who get a 24 on their MCAT. If you have just two semesters left I assume you didn't do so well on your general science courses. Take the GRE and apply for a post bacc program.

Having an upward trend is good to have obviously. I don't know how the admissions committee works, but I would take a guess that if you applied for the Fall 2015 and you take the MCAT sometime you will should wait-listed until they get your final semester grades in May. Even if you got a straight 4.0 (and lets be realistic that probably isn't happening, but you gotta reach for that goal as much as possible!!!) your cGPA would be around a 2.75 and that is if you are only at 90 credits entering this upcoming semester. And then just doing the basic math I used from the last GPA calculation a straight 4.0 the next semester (assuming 16 credits) you would still be at a 2.85 to 2.90 cGPA.

Best of lucky. Study and prepare well for those last courses, study well for the MCAT, and look into a Post Baac.

 

[torontopharm]

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