## 2008-2009 Application Season ## Post AACOMAS questions HERE!!!

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SimpleMe

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Hello DO land~~

I am so glad to be here, chatting with my fellow peers~~ studying hard to get into DO schools =) just so you know.. you really rock!!

Just a few questions, your opinion would be highly wanted and appreciated.

1. I am taking the MCAT in August, if the application is going to be post on June 4th, when should I apply?
2. Can I send in primary without giving my MCAT score?
3. I have got C and BC in my first biology and chemistry class, should I retake these classes before or after the primary?

Thanks for viewing!!!
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Well, it seems that time is upon us again. The new folks are wanting earlier information, so let's start the ball rolling. Post all questions relating to AACOMAS etc. here for the 2008-2009 application season.

Good luck y'all!

-ShyRem
 
1,2. Yes you can do your primary without an MCAT score, so ASAP.
3. I'm not sure what a "BC" is, I'm guessing a B-? C+? Either way, if you haven't retaken them by now and you are applying in a month I wouldn't bother retaking at all, I'd save it as something to do if you were unable to get in this cycle.
 
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If anyone has links or copies of secondaries would they mind posting them? I will be on vacation from mid june-mid july and would love to get an early start before I leave.
 
I have a quick questions for those people who have viewed their AACOMAS Profile.

In the table, where they break down the course record gpa by subject (Biology, Inorganic Chem, Organic Chemistry, Physics), do they avg. the GPA in of a course that was retaken? For example if you took OChem twice once with a C and then A, is the GPA for OChem 4.0 or 3.0??

I am asking this becuse I know that there is grade forgiveness in the Overall GPA and Overall Science GPA, but I am wondering if there is grade forgiveness in the table where the grades for the science courses are brokent down by bio, chem, ochem, physics.

Thanks!
 
francais7979 said:
I have a quick questions for those people who have viewed their AACOMAS Profile.

In the table, where they break down the course record gpa by subject (Biology, Inorganic Chem, Organic Chemistry, Physics), do they avg. the GPA in of a course that was retaken? For example if you took OChem twice once with a C and then A, is the GPA for OChem 4.0 or 3.0??

I am asking this becuse I know that there is grade forgiveness in the Overall GPA and Overall Science GPA, but I am wondering if there is grade forgiveness in the table where the grades for the science courses are brokent down by bio, chem, ochem, physics.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

They will forgive your retakes (thank goodness). 4.0 for you
 
In the case of submitting applications while waiting on a MCAT retake score to come back:

Will the schools wait to make any decision until they see the MCAT score?
Or will they reject based on the stats of the initial application?

I'm thinking it's the first but need someone who's been in it to let me know. This isn't something I want to speculate about.

****

Also, on the AACOMAS website, when entering grades, if we retook a class do we enter both classes and the site weeds out the one to be 'forgiven'? Or do we pick through our transcript and enter just the retakes?

K. I think that's it for now.
 
vols_girl78 said:
In the case of submitting applications while waiting on a MCAT retake score to come back:

Will the schools wait to make any decision until they see the MCAT score?
Or will they reject based on the stats of the initial application?

I'm thinking it's the first but need someone who's been in it to let me know. This isn't something I want to speculate about.

****

Also, on the AACOMAS website, when entering grades, if we retook a class do we enter both classes and the site weeds out the one to be 'forgiven'? Or do we pick through our transcript and enter just the retakes?

K. I think that's it for now.
Click to expand...

They definitely won't reject your application if you're waiting for an MCAT score to come in.

Also, enter every single class that shows up on your transcript, even the ones that had to be retaken.

Hope that helps!
 
vols_girl78 said:
In the case of submitting applications while waiting on a MCAT retake score to come back:

Will the schools wait to make any decision until they see the MCAT score?
Or will they reject based on the stats of the initial application?

I'm thinking it's the first but need someone who's been in it to let me know. This isn't something I want to speculate about.

****

Also, on the AACOMAS website, when entering grades, if we retook a class do we enter both classes and the site weeds out the one to be 'forgiven'? Or do we pick through our transcript and enter just the retakes?

K. I think that's it for now.
Click to expand...


They won't just automatically put your app on hold until they get the new score. You will need to contact the schools and let them know that you would prefer they wait to go over your app with the new score. On AACOMAS, and this is very important, you have to specify your repeat courses because they won't just figure it out. There are instructions for how to list repeat courses. Essentially it will be like this: say you took Chem 1 your first semester of freshman year with a C then took it again second year and got an A.

Chem 1 C Repeat 01
Chem 1 A Last Repeat 01

That's roughly how I remember it being. You will list both the original and the retake and you have to specify both. Hope that helps!
 
I want to apply early and was wondering if the Late July MCAT will be consider applying late. I was planning to take the June MCAT, but I feel I might need more time. However, I was wondering if June would be considered late. Thanks, trying to apply for 2009.
 
You will be fine. Once the app opens just fill everything out and submit as soon as you can then have your MCAT score sent to AACOMAS when it comes out. You could also be working on secondaries in the meantime.
 
EEL08 said:
You will be fine. Once the app opens just fill everything out and submit as soon as you can then have your MCAT score sent to AACOMAS when it comes out. You could also be working on secondaries in the meantime.
Click to expand...

Yep. This is what I did. I took the July 24th MCAT, prepared my primary app., submitted. Received secondaries and had some interviews scheduled as early as September. Good luck to you! :luck:
 
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At some point, Francais, you've got to relax about this. It's not like you can do anything about it even if there were no grade forgiveness. Start writing your personal statement and write your EC descriptions if you have extra energy to burn. Your GPA will turn out on AACOMAS how it turns out.
 
Doc Henry said:
thanks prions. btw, did you see my post in some other random thread about the whole prisons vs prions thing?
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I do remember something about people calling me "prisons" a while ago . . . or thinking my name was "prisonsRbad". :laugh: I'll have to go back and look! :D
 
Sorry guys - I was just very curious. I really appreciate everyones help!
 
prionsRbad said:
Hmmm, I do remember something about people calling me "prisons" a while ago . . . or thinking my name was "prisonsRbad". :laugh: I'll have to go back and look! :D
Click to expand...

yea, it was me...I'm trying to remember what thread it was in...I think I'll just have to look it up
 
Hi people. I was wondering if anyone could clue me in to how the Osteopathic App is laid out; i.e., is it a copy of the AMCAS online app? Or do they do things completely differently?
 
...Why does it matter?
 
for AMCAS/ACOMAS......at what point do you send personal statement? what about LOR? i imagine they are the same for both.
 
Maxwell Edison said:
Hi people. I was wondering if anyone could clue me in to how the Osteopathic App is laid out; i.e., is it a copy of the AMCAS online app? Or do they do things completely differently?
Click to expand...

they are similar, you have to enter in all your personal info, your classes, awards/recognitions, your personal statement etc. you send your transcripts and your grades you reported get verified and then it gets sent off. they're different enough to be distinct, but nothing is tricky about it.
 
ryserr21 said:
for AMCAS/ACOMAS......at what point do you send personal statement? what about LOR? i imagine they are the same for both.
Click to expand...

the LORs are part of the secondary application process. The personal statement is usually part of both.
 
ryserr21 said:
for AMCAS/ACOMAS......at what point do you send personal statement? what about LOR? i imagine they are the same for both.
Click to expand...

like what Jpc said, you're required to have a personal statement at the primary application for both, one page long essentially addressing the prompt "tell us about yourself/catch our attention/why should we pick you and why do you think you're ready".

when the secondaries come around, they will vary in length and complexity. some will be easy and just ask "why did you apply here?", others will ask you to comment more specifically about your experiences, but again, you'll be writing more and more about yourself.

i think the trick to your secondaries is making sure that you haven't spilled ALL the beans in your personal statement, so when questions come around in your secondary about your motivations, experiences, etc, you still have fresh things to write about. you don't want your answers to secondary prompts to sound EXACTLY like your personal statement.
 
i think the trick to your secondaries is making sure that you haven't spilled ALL the beans in your personal statement, so when questions come around in your secondary about your motivations, experiences, etc, you still have fresh things to write about. you don't want your answers to secondary prompts to sound EXACTLY like your personal statement.
Click to expand...

Agreed...I think there's also an inclination to hang onto secondaries too long--you want to make everything perfect because it could be the last communication you get from the school. Try to fight that inclination and get your secondaries in as soon as humanly possible. I never thought "I wish I had hung onto that secondary longer" but I've definitely thought "I wish I had gotten that secondary in sooner."
 
Does aacomas roll over our information from this cycle? As I applied this year and will be reapplying in the fall.
 
saylorsdad said:
Does aacomas roll over our information from this cycle? As I applied this year and will be reapplying in the fall.
Click to expand...

No, sorry. You will also have to re-request your transcripts even if nothing's changed. :(
 
saylorsdad said:
Does aacomas roll over our information from this cycle? As I applied this year and will be reapplying in the fall.
Click to expand...
No, you have to fill it out again.
 
I know it opens up June 1st but why do they tease us on the website by saying sometime in May??
 
Cp22kjer said:
I know it opens up June 1st but why do they tease us on the website by saying sometime in May??
Click to expand...

I know! That annoyed the crap out of me last year!

Don't worry, It will come soon enough. Then you'll be so busy and broke from filling our secondaries that you'll wish you could still be enjoying the summer and what life was like before the application year started.

Good Luck! It's the beginning of the the wildest ride of your life! ;) :luck:
 
our time is over!

looks like i don't have to check this thread anymore!
 
how long did it take you to write your personal statement?
 
Completely, start to finish, including re-writes and proofreading? ****ing forever.
 
He's not kidding. I'm in this app cycle too. Started mine in Sept sometime I think...I worked on it four hours and hours, then finally made myself stop because it wasn't going anywhere. Have had a few ppl look over it, gotten some good feedback, but still a long way to go. As of right now I just look at it in disgust. I'm sick of it, read it too many times...it is starting to feel like I'll never get it as good as I want. Grrr...I think you touched on a nerve lol

But seriously, I think it will take another solid few weeks of work. Which would amount to close to 3-4 months of writing and revising.
 
I just had someone on this board read mine and the criticism was extremely constructive. That being said, I have a hell of a lot of overhaul to do because I didn't realize a few things.

That being said, the character limit for AACOMAS is 3000 characters, correct?
 
ahaydt said:
I just had someone on this board read mine and the criticism was extremely constructive. That being said, I have a hell of a lot of overhaul to do because I didn't realize a few things.

That being said, the character limit for AACOMAS is 3000 characters, correct?
Click to expand...

I believe it's 5000, not 3000.
 
MedStudentWanna said:
I believe it's 5000, not 3000.
Click to expand...

I thought it was 4500 characters including spaces? I had read that the AMCAS PS gives you a limit of 5300 characters including spaces? Could someone please confirm both these numbers?
 
lsk87 said:
how long did it take you to write your personal statement?
Click to expand...

I wrote a crappy first draft in about an hour and a half. Had my mom read it (she's gentle and teaches English). Revised it. I then gave it as collateral to my letter writers and got their feedback. Had my shadow docs review it. Then I spent about another 3 hours and tidied it up.

I was relieved that nobody argued with what I was trying to say. The best feedback I got was to not say "I" too much and to make sure the flow was solid.
 
simbalimba said:
I thought it was 4500 characters including spaces? I had read that the AMCAS PS gives you a limit of 5300 characters including spaces? Could someone please confirm both these numbers?
Click to expand...

AACOMAS is 4500 characters (including spaces) and AMCAS is 5300 characters (including spaces). :thumbup:
 
Hello, I understand that AACOMAS calculates your GPA given your highest grade in each class (although all grades still appear on the transcript).

But here is my situation: I got an F in French 105, which was an accelerated course covering the material of both French 101 and French 102. Six years later, I took the actual courses French 101 and French 102 and got A-'s in both.

Will AACOMAS know that even though French 105 isn't the exact same course title (Accelerated Elementary French) as French 101 and 102 (Intensive Elementary French), that the F should be replaced by the A-'s in calculating the GPA? Is there any way to petition them to look into it so that it will end up being calculated this way?
 
In the AACOMAS app, you can assign a repeat bucket (a "classification") to a set of courses. So for me, for example, over the course of 20 years, I took 1st quarter genchem 3 times. These all got marked "Repeat 01" and only the highest grade is included in GPA calcs.

You might want to try to ask about your situation though, because your F'd class has a lot more units than either class you can designate as a repeat, and you can only pick one. You can't designate "classes B and C replace the grade for class A."

Best of luck to you.
 
hey hey guys. i plan on applying to both do and md schools. I was just wondering if the do schools and md schools talk to eachother. if i have an aacms and aacoms apps going, will that hurt me either way. i'd rather go to md school but honestly i do not care i just wanna be a doctor. will do schools resent it or be able to find out if i have md apps going at the same time? thanks for all your help.

also, if i took the mcat in 2004 and got a 32s, should i just go with it or retake for all those school that require "recent" mcat scores. i've been in the workforce for a few years now and i am not sure i can score so high again.
 
MCAT scores usually expire after 3 years. There are very few schools that will take an MCAT older than 3years - check around but I'm afraid you'll probably have to retake. Check with each school that's high on your list.

med schools really don't care that you applied to both. Most folks do these days.
 
quick question....i just got a real good research position that starts in august...am i allowed, and does it let me put this on accomas even though ill send out the primary in june?
 
schussboarder said:
quick question....i just got a real good research position that starts in august...am i allowed, and does it let me put this on accomas even though ill send out the primary in june?
Click to expand...

I think I remember something about not being able to put future dates down on the AACOMAS activities section, but I'm not positive. :confused:

I guess you could list it as current?

You might have to wait for the application to open in order to see if you can list it.

Good Luck :luck:
 
Can I take the MCAT again even though I already have 1 acceptance? It'll be my plan B. The school is not my top choice school. Will this be frown upon by this school or any other schools that I plan to apply again in the next cycle?
 
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