***2007-2008 Application Season*** Post Application Questions HERE! Part II

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Hello!
I was wondering if it was too late to begin the application process for a DO program. I am interested in PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM and they both have deadlines in March. If I begin the application process right now (completing AAMCOS, filling out secondaries, sending LORs, etc), I am still in a decent shape as far as the timeline is concerned? Or should I wait until next year to apply? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
you will be at a slight disadvantage since as you know the schools run on rolling admission and if you were to submit the primary today you would most likely recieve secondaries by early november and interviews by late decemeber or january. If your willing to spend the $ then go for it.

gl
 
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I'll join you in that boat. Ahoy! Set sail for DO school.
 
ClockworkDoc said:
I'll join you in that boat. Ahoy! Set sail for DO school.
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Yay. Glad to know I have someone in the same "boat" as me. Have you started working on AACOMAS yet? I haven't done anything and have a lot to do but I rather take my chances than have to wait another year to apply.
 
belichek said:
you will be at a slight disadvantage since as you know the schools run on rolling admission and if you were to submit the primary today you would most likely recieve secondaries by early november and interviews by late decemeber or january. If your willing to spend the $ then go for it.

gl
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Thanks for your reply. I'm going to apply anyway even though I may be at a disadvantage in term of timing. I just don't want to wait another year to apply.
 
Anyone submit their primary recently (within the last 6-8 weeks)?

If so...how long did it take AACOMAS to process your primary?

A recent thread...about a month ago...said it was taking only about 14 days due to being late in the application season and not as many apps coming in.

My primary has been with em for 4 weeks as of today...and my patience is wearing thin...when is it gonna be done!!!
 
Submitted 8/26, last transcript in 9/7, GPA calculation 10/1, mailed 10/7. So, it was about 4 weeks for me. I think that fall is their busy time, so it may be a bit longer.
 
Summer was pretty quick accoring to my friend, finished app on 6/20, mailed 7/2
 
What's the general consensus on the latest that you can feasibly submit your primary for osteopathic schools?
 
gary yoghurt said:
What's the general consensus on the latest that you can feasibly submit your primary for osteopathic schools?
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My best friend applied in February. She was waitlisted and eventually accepted in July.

I would not recommend this.
 
RockfordWF said:
My best friend applied in February. She was waitlisted and eventually accepted in July.

I would not recommend this.
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Wow.

In your friend's case for example, is it better to hold off your application and not run the (presumed) stigma of being a reapplicant? or just say to hell with it and try your luck?

The latter sounds better, as you may save a year of your precious life, but I guess it's not worth it if being a reapplicant is crippling.

FWIW, I've never really believed that being a reapplicant is crippling at all, but I may be very wrong.
 
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gary yoghurt said:
Wow.

In your friends case for example, is it better to hold off your application and not run the (presumed) stigma of being a reapplicant? or just say to hell with it and try your luck.

The latter sounds better, as you may save a year of your precious life, but I guess it's not worth it if being a reapplicant is crippling.

FWIW, I've never really believed that being a reapplicant is crippling at all, but I may be very wrong. Thoughts?
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I'm not sure how "not applying" is better than "applying." In ANY situation. That makes absolutely ZERO sense.

Either way, it is not February. There is no reason an application cannot be completed within the next week if started from scratch TODAY.
 
RockfordWF said:
I'm not sure how "not applying" is better than "applying." In ANY situation. That makes absolutely ZERO sense.
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Not applying would be better than applying when being a reapplicant is looked upon negatively by AdComs. Many say that it is looked upon negatively, but that doesn't make sense to me. If anything, it should make you be looked upon more favorably - but again, I don't know what the reality is.

RockfordWF said:
Either way, it is not February. There is no reason an application cannot be completed within the next week if started from scratch TODAY.
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I'm not applying RIGHT NOW for a reason, that's why I'm asking the question I'm asking: when is the latest.
 
Generally speaking I don't think reapplicants are looked upon unfavorably. The only time this might be true if that person has not done anything to improve their application. I spoke with a DO who does med school interviews and she says that reapplying shows determination on the part of the applicant to become a physician.
 
gary yoghurt said:
Not applying would be better than applying when being a reapplicant is looked upon negatively by AdComs. Many say that it is looked upon negatively, but that doesn't make sense to me. If anything, it should make you be looked upon more favorably - but again, I don't know what the reality is.



I'm not applying RIGHT NOW for a reason, that's why I'm asking the question I'm asking: when is the latest.
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I'm not sure how there is any reason to delay applying to medical school, but either way:

AdComs look less favorably upon absent applications than they do reapplicants....
 
So I have this "friend" who submitted their AACOMAS saying that they were planning on taking biochem. They did this because they were applying to some schools that required it. However, said "friend" has subsequently gotten into schools that do not require biochem. Do I...er.."friend" need to take biochem? (I'm guessing they do.) Thanks!
 
I would recommend asking the schools that have accepted your friend. I personally think your friend will be fine without it.
 
lackoftalent said:
So I have this "friend" who submitted their AACOMAS saying that they were planning on taking biochem. They did this because they were applying to some schools that required it. However, said "friend" has subsequently gotten into schools that do not require biochem. Do I...er.."friend" need to take biochem? (I'm guessing they do.) Thanks!
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A girl that I did research with last year has a sister that failed out of Medical School because of Biochem. Since she had no background in it and since the school did not specifically require it as a perquisite, the school allowed her to take it at an undergraduate college and then return to the medical school. She did fine after she was introduced to it on an undergraduate level. Apparently, her med school taught the course as if the students already had a background in biochemistry. Also, most med schools do not specifically require it, however, almost all schools do RECOMEND it. I'm not saying that if you don't have Biochem you will fail out of medical school but I also do not think that you want to be seeing it for the first time in med school neither. There will be a number of other things that you will be seeing for the first time. Why add Biochem to that? You should encourage your friend to take courses that are preparing him or her for medical school and not just taking the minimum requirements.
 
Seriously, anyone who is going to medical school who has the chance to take biochem and does not take it is ******ed.
 
If the school requires you take it prior to matriculation they would have sent you a letter telling you your acceptance is contingent upon successful completion (C or better) of the said course. Good luck. I've heard from some med school friends that biochem taught in undergrad covers only a small fraction (about a week or two's worth) of what is covered in medical school. You won't necessarily be at that great an advantage if you've already taken it.
 
The two-semester biochem course that I took in undergrad is supposed to give me a pretty good idea of the material that will be covered in medical school. The only difference is, I got a year for it in undergrad. In med school, you get like a couple months for it. Or in an integrated curriculum, they will feed it to you as it is relevant.
 
there's a significant difference between clinical biochem and undergrad biochem.

Seriously, anyone who is going to medical school who has the chance to take biochem and does not take it is ******ed.
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:laugh:
 
lackoftalent said:
So I have this "friend" who submitted their AACOMAS saying that they were planning on taking biochem. They did this because they were applying to some schools that required it. However, said "friend" has subsequently gotten into schools that do not require biochem. Do I...er.."friend" need to take biochem? (I'm guessing they do.) Thanks!
Click to expand...

HAHAHAH YES!!! Thank you ... I am so glad someone finally mocked the 'my friend got a 12 on the MCAT, I'm realy worried about him ... should I tell him to jump of a bridge or not??? Please help, my friend needs it ...now.' But in regards to your question, if the school doesn't require it, and you don't need it ... then I guess you don't have to take it. If they don't require it, then I don't think you'd be ******ed for not taking it bc obviously there are going to be other people who haven't as well. Best way to solve this problem is to call the school and ask. Only do this if your heart is set on there though ... because you could get in somewhere else that does require it.
 
Isoprop said:
there's a significant difference between clinical biochem and undergrad biochem.



:laugh:
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Yes, but its still the same general idea. It can only help to see some of the material. And biochem, depending on how it is taught and how you are tested, can be really tricky.
 
yes i agree biochemistry can help. so can taking physiology and embryology. (ive taken these courses). the truth is, taking these courses as an ugrad helps marginally in medical school, and it's unjustified to call someone "******ed" to not take these courses prior to med school.

there are nontrads in med school that felt behind for not taking biochem. this feeling typically goes away after a month.
 
Im having a similar problem. I recently go the secondary for VCOM and I realized I am going to need 2 more hours of "science" classes. Dang. I really wanted to be donw with classes in December, and just work from December to August.

So should I tell them I am going to be in classes either in the spring or first summer semester to get an interview, and if I get one/get in there take the classes? Have one of those contingent admission deals.
 
Yeah I don't see how being a reapplicant is crippling for several reasons.
  1. Doesn't reapplying when not getting in anywhere show perseverence and determination?
  2. The avg age of med school matriculation is older than 22, so I would assume that people aren't generally getting in right out of undergrad.
  3. I will probably be a reapplicant so it must be good lol
 
Doesn't reapplying when not getting in anywhere show perseverence and determination?

Yes, but I think the key here is you have to keep on trying, i.e. keep up with your clinical experience, retake the mcats. I think the stigma comes from re-applicants not doing anything else to pad their applications.
 
I am having a moment.. I swear I can't find it on the AACOMAS application page.. help? Thank you.
 
Top of the page, in the middle, immediately preceded by your name. Probably starts with 2008.
 
Just look at the top right of your screen like the previous poster said.
 
It should have brackets around it.
 
Great! Thank you so much. I thought that was it.. but I wanted to be sure since it didn't specifically say that it was my ID number.

THANK YOU!
 
gary yoghurt said:
I'm not applying RIGHT NOW for a reason, that's why I'm asking the question I'm asking: when is the latest.
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And what is the reason? If you could tell us why you're such a poor candidate right now, we could help you more easily.
 
I thought AMCAS had a deadline of like ... October 15th for submitting primary applications? Is this true? And if so, does AACOMAS not have one simliar.


(note: It is 2am and I have been up studying for days ... Im not sure if I used the right letters for the application services :scared:)
 
I was wondering if AACOM will count the gpa from my old college...I did not repeat any classes but received transfer credit.
 
It's based off all the college courses you've taken so I don't see why not.
 
yes they will
thats why they require you send transcripts from all undergrad institutions that you have attended
 
Waiting112 said:
Hello!
I was wondering if it was too late to begin the application process for a DO program. I am interested in PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM and they both have deadlines in March. If I begin the application process right now (completing AAMCOS, filling out secondaries, sending LORs, etc), I am still in a decent shape as far as the timeline is concerned? Or should I wait until next year to apply? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have a friend who applied in February and was accepted on a waiting list. No, it isn't too late to apply, however, you need to begin in the application now and get it done ASAP. There is no reason to procrastinate further.
 
JaggerPlate said:
I thought AMCAS had a deadline of like ... October 15th for submitting primary applications? Is this true? And if so, does AACOMAS not have one simliar.


(note: It is 2am and I have been up studying for days ... Im not sure if I used the right letters for the application services :scared:)
Click to expand...

No, since people apply in the spring every year.
 
If you decide to omit a transcript from a school you went to can the medical schools you are applying to find out?
 
Why risk it?
 
If you put it on your aacomas, than yes. If they find out, you will be kicked out of school.
 
Jpc984 said:
If you put it on your aacomas, than yes. If they find out, you will be kicked out of school.
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:thumbup: Yep, it's academic dishonesty and you will be kicked out of school if they happen to find out about it (even if you're in your 4th year).

They can also find out by searching the national student clearinghouse, which keeps track of all the schools you've been enrolled in.

I know it sucks. I listed and sent transcripts from a school where I took 1 lousy summer stats class and got an F in it . . . I STILL reported it. Just suck it up and do the right thing; be an adult.
 
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