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

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CB, as it has been said before, You Rock! 😍 Thanks for answering all of my questions. I am really hoping that they look mostly at my overall. My cGPA has gone up every year, I just only took a few science prior to my post-bacc and had mixed results. I may retake a few things so I can improve those areas, but I'm not sure yet if it can happen.
 
Yeah so I'm going to kill my professor.

I'm missing one grade which is preventing me from sending out my transcript. Its my senior thesis class. There was no actual final, no real grades to speak of. We made our final presentations at the end of the semester (before finals week), and that was the end of the semester, we pick up with more research next semester.

The grade still isn't up. I've had this woman several times previously. Shes just so flakey about this kind of stuff. I made the mistake of asking her for a LOR for the applications. Even though she should in theory be able to provide me with a damn good one because I've done a lot for her/the program (shes the chair of my major) it took weeks and weeks and weeks of me reminding her and sending e-mails which I'm sure were never read until finally the office manager took pity on me because she understood that I needed this letter, and she basically wrote it for her and she just had to sign it.


I have six grades back, all As, this was a damn good semester and I want to show the schools which haven't rejected me because upward GPA trend is a big part of my app. I handed in assignments on time when they were due for class, why can't this woman post the grades in a reasonably timely fashion? EIGHT PEOPLE in the class, no final, is it really that difficult to stick something into the online grade form?



Sorry for the rant, I'm just annoyed right now.
 
Yeah so I'm going to kill my professor.

I'm missing one grade which is preventing me from sending out my transcript. Its my senior thesis class. There was no actual final, no real grades to speak of. We made our final presentations at the end of the semester (before finals week), and that was the end of the semester, we pick up with more research next semester.

The grade still isn't up. I've had this woman several times previously. Shes just so flakey about this kind of stuff. I made the mistake of asking her for a LOR for the applications. Even though she should in theory be able to provide me with a damn good one because I've done a lot for her/the program (shes the chair of my major) it took weeks and weeks and weeks of me reminding her and sending e-mails which I'm sure were never read until finally the office manager took pity on me because she understood that I needed this letter, and she basically wrote it for her and she just had to sign it.


I have six grades back, all As, this was a damn good semester and I want to show the schools which haven't rejected me because upward GPA trend is a big part of my app. I handed in assignments on time when they were due for class, why can't this woman post the grades in a reasonably timely fashion? EIGHT PEOPLE in the class, no final, is it really that difficult to stick something into the online grade form?



Sorry for the rant, I'm just annoyed right now.

No kidding! Geez--some people!

Hey, in your school catalog, what does it say is the deadline for online grade submission?
 
Find the proof in the catalog and call the dean. That's absolutely ridiculous.

Grades for courses in which no final examination is given are due within forty-eight weekday hours of the last scheduled class if seventy-five or fewer students are enrolled

Last class = 12/12. 48 weekday hours later = 12/16. 8 < 75 I believe. 😡
 
Yeah so I'm going to kill my professor.

I'm missing one grade which is preventing me from sending out my transcript. Its my senior thesis class. There was no actual final, no real grades to speak of. We made our final presentations at the end of the semester (before finals week), and that was the end of the semester, we pick up with more research next semester.

The grade still isn't up. I've had this woman several times previously. Shes just so flakey about this kind of stuff. I made the mistake of asking her for a LOR for the applications. Even though she should in theory be able to provide me with a damn good one because I've done a lot for her/the program (shes the chair of my major) it took weeks and weeks and weeks of me reminding her and sending e-mails which I'm sure were never read until finally the office manager took pity on me because she understood that I needed this letter, and she basically wrote it for her and she just had to sign it.


I have six grades back, all As, this was a damn good semester and I want to show the schools which haven't rejected me because upward GPA trend is a big part of my app. I handed in assignments on time when they were due for class, why can't this woman post the grades in a reasonably timely fashion? EIGHT PEOPLE in the class, no final, is it really that difficult to stick something into the online grade form?



Sorry for the rant, I'm just annoyed right now.

Isn't it amazing how incompetent some professors seem sometimes? 😡 They claim they understand yet they have no idea what it's like for us during this time. I had a lot of problems with my pre-med advisor and her assistant, who were quite flaky with the simplest of requests as well.

Do whatever you have to to get that grade! Good luck! 👍
 
I ended up talking to the office manager for the major first, and she agreed that it was completely rediculous that the grade was taking so long, and she said the registrar kept calling her complaining about it, so she went to the prof and sat there until she entered the grades.

4.0 😀. I'll be driving out tomorrow to submit the transcript request forms in person.
 
I ended up talking to the office manager for the major first, and she agreed that it was completely rediculous that the grade was taking so long, and she said the registrar kept calling her complaining about it, so she went to the prof and sat there until she entered the grades.

4.0 😀. I'll be driving out tomorrow to submit the transcript request forms in person.

👍👍👍
 
I know that aacom replaces an old grade with the new one when they calculate the gpa. I am planning to retake speech and college algebra because I took'm at a community college and scored C on both of them. Since that college has a policy that I can't retake any course which I've scored in it a C or higher, I am planning to retake them at a different community college. The problem is that at one college the speech class called ( spch 100, humman communication) and at the other it's called ( spch 100, public speaking). My question is: Will aacom recognize that both titles refer to the same course and the second score will be calculated toward the gpa, or will aacom treat them as if they were two different courses?
 
If they're not taken at the same college, AACOMAS will likely see them as different classes and count their grades separately unless you're able to transfer the credits through the original community college or something...and even then the grades would likely be counted separately.
 
I know that aacom replaces an old grade with the new one when they calculate the gpa. I am planning to retake speech and college algebra because I took'm at a community college and scored C on both of them. Since that college has a policy that I can't retake any course which I've scored in it a C or higher, I am planning to retake them at a different community college. The problem is that at one college the speech class called ( spch 100, humman communication) and at the other it's called ( spch 100, public speaking). My question is: Will aacom recognize that both titles refer to the same course and the second score will be calculated toward the gpa, or will aacom treat them as if they were two different courses?

I would suggest contacting AACOMAS directly about your situation. Otherwise, I think they might count them as different classes.

Why are you retaking non-science classes though? Just curious.
 
I know that aacom replaces an old grade with the new one when they calculate the gpa. I am planning to retake speech and college algebra because I took'm at a community college and scored C on both of them. Since that college has a policy that I can't retake any course which I've scored in it a C or higher, I am planning to retake them at a different community college. The problem is that at one college the speech class called ( spch 100, humman communication) and at the other it's called ( spch 100, public speaking). My question is: Will aacom recognize that both titles refer to the same course and the second score will be calculated toward the gpa, or will aacom treat them as if they were two different courses?

There were many instances of this, this application cycle. AACOMAS tends to give you the benefit of the doubt and a lot of leeway, if you mark a course as a retake. In my experience, they are VERY likely to count the differently named course as a legitimate retake, if you mark it as a retake on the application.

However, you can call/email them to verify. But I wouldn't worry too much. If they deny, you can appeal with the course description, but I really doubt you'll need to do that.

Moving to the AACOMAS Questions thread.
 
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I took a CNA class through my school's Continuing Education department. There was no grade, I took a test to be state licensed. Does this need to be put on my application. I know in the AMCAS information book their was a section about entering CE credits, I am just wondering if there is a section on the AACOMAS that I will need to put this in.

Also, for this class we had to do so many hours of hand's on experience, I plan on including this in the volunteer/EC section. While I never got a paid job doing this and was unable to renew my license, I was able to do as much as I have at my volunteer position in a clinic because of the class.

Thanks!
 
I took a CNA class through my school's Continuing Education department. There was no grade, I took a test to be state licensed. Does this need to be put on my application. I know in the AMCAS information book their was a section about entering CE credits, I am just wondering if there is a section on the AACOMAS that I will need to put this in.

Also, for this class we had to do so many hours of hand's on experience, I plan on including this in the volunteer/EC section. While I never got a paid job doing this and was unable to renew my license, I was able to do as much as I have at my volunteer position in a clinic because of the class.

Thanks!

You should put it into your primary; you can just simply indicate that it had no grade.

And definitely put it into your EC section. Good luck!
 
This is for next cycle, but I am gearing up (hopefully for success). Will it matter if it is not on any transcript?
 
This is for next cycle, but I am gearing up (hopefully for success). Will it matter if it is not on any transcript?

A quick scan through the AACOMAS instructions didn't answer this question. They say they want ALL courses to be listed, but they're assuming all courses will be on a transcript. Your course(s) may not need to be listed, but I'd definitely call AACOMAS about it. You'll be very happy you did all this work before apps come out in May. 🙂
 
congrats on being accepted to NYU-COM, i was wondering when the aacomas state that your application is verified, how long does it take for dates to appear next to the schools to which you applied.
 
congrats on being accepted to NYU-COM, i was wondering when the aacomas state that your application is verified, how long does it take for dates to appear next to the schools to which you applied.

If you don't see dates after two weeks post-verification, I'd shoot em an email.
 
oh thanks chocolate bear...

So I am retaking the mcat january 31st, my mcat was a 25 🙁, but hopefully i can spruce up the score before primaries are due for the other schools i have applied for......:scared:

should i still take it???
 
oh thanks chocolate bear...

So I am retaking the mcat january 31st, my mcat was a 25 🙁, but hopefully i can spruce up the score before primaries are due for the other schools i have applied for......:scared:

should i still take it???

Are you already verified?

(I know you asked about the dates showing up, but I wanted to be sure before I attempted to respond to whether or not you should apply.)
 
yes i have already been verified, but the dates haven't been posted...

i was verified about three or four days ago, i did include that i was re-taking my mcat in january......
 
yes i have already been verified, but the dates haven't been posted...

i was verified about three or four days ago, i did include that i was re-taking my mcat in january......

I see. I'd say that it's fine to retake it--if nothing else, you'll have the score for next cycle. It's late this season, and you won't have your score until right around the first of March.

Your chances are already lower at this point in the season. Having a 25 doesn't help you much, as it's right around the average of many schools. An increased score will help, but it'll be so late when they see it that most spots will be filled already.

This isn't meant to discourage--I'm just stating the reality of the situation. If you're willing to spend a little money in hopes of not waiting another year, I wish you the best of luck. Either way, you will be well prepared for next cycle, and a year off isn't the worst thing in the world. 😀
 
So I am still trying to make up my mind about taking classes summer 09, and I have a few questions for how that would play into me applying "early".

Could I, May 1st (or when the system opens) begin my application, enter everything and if I am taking classes that summer just state that they will be completed the end of July. Send in transcripts, except summer stuff, and be verified. Then at the end of July have new transcript sent in to update my application. I guess then schools would see my different GPA's which could be very different as I would probably be retaking 2 classes that I did poorly in years ago (and one new upper level bio).

OR would it be better to just start and complete my application ASAP at the end of July so they only see my GPA's after they have included the retakes?

Is the end of July still considered early(verified mid-Sept)?

How long does it take to complete the application?

Thanks!!!!
 
So I am still trying to make up my mind about taking classes summer 09, and I have a few questions for how that would play into me applying "early".

Could I, May 1st (or when the system opens) begin my application, enter everything and if I am taking classes that summer just state that they will be completed the end of July. Send in transcripts, except summer stuff, and be verified. Then at the end of July have new transcript sent in to update my application.

Yes you could do this.

I guess then schools would see my different GPA's which could be very different as I would probably be retaking 2 classes that I did poorly in years ago (and one new upper level bio).

OR would it be better to just start and complete my application ASAP at the end of July so they only see my GPA's after they have included the retakes?

I'd probably go with the first option above (apply in May). I say this so that you can get secondaries ASAP and have them submitted as early as possible. You'll probably get them submitted around the time when they get your new July grades, so the timing seems perfect if you apply in May.👍

Is the end of July still considered early(verified mid-Sept)?

Yes, it's slightly early, but it will be October before you have secondaries submitted.

How long does it take to complete the application?

5-20 hours, depending on your proofreading. This doesn't include the time it will take to write your personal statement. You'll have to request transcripts and get them sent in, too. Do this as soon as you register for the application, as it takes a while for schools to send them sometimes, and this will hold up your app from being verified.

Thanks!!!!

Sure thing! 😀

Above
 
Thanks!

I'm still torn because I know that each school will see my entire list of classes--so they will know that I have 2 retakes; however, I imagine when they are first looking at apps that they look primarily at the numbers (GPAs and MCAT) so I want to have my best numbers be the first impression if that makes sense. I'm trying to balance that with applying early though.
 
Thanks!

I'm still torn because I know that each school will see my entire list of classes--so they will know that I have 2 retakes; however, I imagine when they are first looking at apps that they look primarily at the numbers (GPAs and MCAT) so I want to have my best numbers be the first impression if that makes sense. I'm trying to balance that with applying early though.

They will not even GLANCE at your primary until they have your secondary and LORs in hand, as well. Which, again, would be right around the time when you get the upgraded grades. You could even hold off like 2 weeks on the primary if you want. 👍
 
I see. I'd say that it's fine to retake it--if nothing else, you'll have the score for next cycle. It's late this season, and you won't have your score until right around the first of March.

Your chances are already lower at this point in the season. Having a 25 doesn't help you much, as it's right around the average of many schools. An increased score will help, but it'll be so late when they see it that most spots will be filled already.

This isn't meant to discourage--I'm just stating the reality of the situation. If you're willing to spend a little money in hopes of not waiting another year, I wish you the best of luck. Either way, you will be well prepared for next cycle, and a year off isn't the worst thing in the world. 😀

So i called a couple of schools, and some said that if indicated on my aacomas i was planning to take the jan mcat , that they would still consider the new score the granted it's edging final class pick time. :xf:
I hope I can pull the extra points, I am trying to get hold of some D.O.'s to shadow until then. I need a LOR from a D.O for pikeville and Lake Erie.
 
I'm wondering about this grade replacement practice with DO schools. Can I retake say orgo I & II, at another university (B) and have it replace my grades from University A? Or do they have to be from the same institution that granted you the grade in the first place.

The reason I'm asking is I'm moving away and don't want to pay $700 dollars a credit at my current university.
 
I'm wondering about this grade replacement practice with DO schools. Can I retake say orgo I & II, at another university (B) and have it replace my grades from University A? Or do they have to be from the same institution that granted you the grade in the first place.

The reason I'm asking is I'm moving away and don't want to pay $700 dollars a credit at my current university.

Your plan will work just fine, as long as your retakes are >/= credit hours as the first attempts.

If you do a search for 'grade replacement' in this forum, you'll see this question has been answered many times before.

Moving to the AACOMAS Questions thread.
 
Alright, I've read different responses to this question so I would like to settle it once and for all.

Does your graduate GPA calculate into your overall GPA when applying?

I have a horrible 2.4 undergraduate GPA from years ago, but a recent 4.0 graduate GPA. I am now in the process of retaking 18 undergraduate hours to raise my overall GPA.

However, I've read a few posts from people stating things like, "I tried to get high grades in my graduate courses to raise my overall GPA when I applied."

Statements like this confuse me since I'm pretty sure graduate courses aren't figured in with undergraduate courses.

If they are figured in, someone please tell me so I don't have to retake any more undergraduate courses!
 
Alright, I've read different responses to this question so I would like to settle it once and for all.

Does your graduate GPA calculate into your overall GPA when applying?

I have a horrible 2.4 undergraduate GPA from years ago, but a recent 4.0 graduate GPA. I am now in the process of retaking 18 undergraduate hours to raise my overall GPA.

However, I've read a few posts from people stating things like, "I tried to get high grades in my graduate courses to raise my overall GPA when I applied."

Statements like this confuse me since I'm pretty sure graduate courses aren't figured in with undergraduate courses.

If they are figured in, someone please tell me so I don't have to retake any more undergraduate courses!

I believe I answered this question here.
 
No, graduate GPA doesn't count as part of your undergraduate GPA.
 
Does your graduate GPA calculate into your overall GPA when applying?

What? His question is whether or not graduate courses are part of undergrad GPA. The answer is no.

I think you misread the question. He's asking about gradGPA factoring into the OVERALL GPA, which it does. Look at your PDF AACOMAS sent to the schools.
 
I think you misread the question. He's asking about gradGPA factoring into the OVERALL GPA, which it does. Look at your PDF AACOMAS sent to the schools.

So they calculate overall GPA in addition to cumulative undergrad GPA that doesn't include graduate GPA? I didn't take any grad courses so I didn't realize they break it down like that.
 
So they calculate overall GPA in addition to cumulative undergrad GPA that doesn't include graduate GPA? I didn't take any grad courses so I didn't realize they break it down like that.

Exactly. It's weird. But if you have Grad courses, there's an OVERALL GPA that includes everything and is listed as the bottom line. Thus, I think it's easy for adcoms to look there for your overall performance and Grad courses could help a substantial amount if one does well.
 
Exactly. It's weird. But if you have Grad courses, there's an OVERALL GPA that includes everything and is listed as the bottom line. Thus, I think it's easy for adcoms to look there for your overall performance and Grad courses could help a substantial amount if one does well.

Gotcha! My mistake.
 
I believe I answered this question here.

Bear,

Thanks for the link and nice chart by the way... but still not clear on it.

Let me make my situation a bit clearer...

I have an undergraduate degree in sociology with a cumulative GPA of 2.4
I had only one geology and one geography course to satisfy science reqs.

I have a masters degree in education with a cumulative GPA of 4.0
Obviously no science courses here either.

So now I am taking my 4 Chems, 3 Bios, and 2 Phys at the undergraduate level.

My question is... will my graduate 4.0 GPA and undergraduate 2.4 GPA be caculated together as an "overall GPA"?

Jesus I'm confused!!

So I'll have the following on my final application ?????????

Undergraduate GPA 2.4 (will increase with UG science courses)
Science GPA Whatever
Graduate GPA 4.0
Overall GPA Whatever (so right now my Overall GPA would be a 3.2 including UG and G gpa's?)

Basically, am I wasting my time retaking undergraduate courses to try and raise my overall GPA since I have a 4.0 in graduate my overall GPA will be raised to a 3.2 already?


I know the adcom's are going to look at my science GPA, but is my 2.4 UG GPA going to be meaningless since I have a 4.0 graduate and a 3.2 "overall" GPA.
 
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Your UG GPA is not going to be meaningless, but it won't be weighed as heavily since you have a better "overall" and a good "Graduate GPA."

I don't know how to tell you if you're wasting your time or not. Are you taking other UG classes to try and increase your GPA too or just the sci pre reqs? If it's just the pre reqs, then you have to take those anyway and "wasting time" really isn't an issue. If you're taking additional UG classes in hopes of boosting your UG GPA, then I'd figure out exactly how much of an improvement you can make and then weigh that vs. cost and time of taking said classes. Any improvement you can make will help, though.

Just b/c "overall" and "UG GPA" are separate doesn't mean adcoms won't even care about UG GPA. They will care. They just won't care as much, since you're obviously not the same student as you used to be, and you have solid grad performance to show.

Oh, and lastly...your sci pre reqs are being taken AFTER you got your Bachelor's degree, I think (right?). That means that those course will go under your PB GPA (post bac). So If you get all A's in the sci pre reqs, you'll have yet another 4.0 listed on your GPA chart. This will further prove that you're not the same 2.4-level student you used to be. 👍

Are there still points that need clarification?

Edit: Yes your PB GPA gets factored into your "Overall GPA" too.
 
Your UG GPA is not going to be meaningless, but it won't be weighed as heavily since you have a better "overall" and a good "Graduate GPA."

I don't know how to tell you if you're wasting your time or not. Are you taking other UG classes to try and increase your GPA too or just the sci pre reqs? If it's just the pre reqs, then you have to take those anyway and "wasting time" really isn't an issue. If you're taking additional UG classes in hopes of boosting your UG GPA, then I'd figure out exactly how much of an improvement you can make and then weigh that vs. cost and time of taking said classes. Any improvement you can make will help, though.

Just b/c "overall" and "UG GPA" are separate doesn't mean adcoms won't even care about UG GPA. They will care. They just won't care as much, since you're obviously not the same student as you used to be, and you have solid grad performance to show.

Oh, and lastly...your sci pre reqs are being taken AFTER you got your Bachelor's degree, I think (right?). That means that those course will go under your PB GPA (post bac). So If you get all A's in the sci pre reqs, you'll have yet another 4.0 listed on your GPA chart. This will further prove that you're not the same 2.4-level student you used to be. 👍

Are there still points that need clarification?

Edit: Yes your PB GPA gets factored into your "Overall GPA" too.


Perfect... thanks, that cleared it up!

I didn't mean that my UG gpa would be meaningless... just like you said, wouldn't be looked at as much.

As you stated, that's what I'm trying to figure out as far as if it's worth retaking an additional year of undergraduate courses I made D's in in order to raise my UG gpa from a 2.4 to say a 2.7 or 2.8)

What do you think?

My main goal was to get my "looked at" GPA to around a 3.0... BUT APPARENTLY I'M ALREADY ABOVE THAT with my "overall gpa"

Also, thanks for pointing out that my science pre-reqs will not be counted as part of my undergraduate GPA, rather as a "post-bac" GPA. I did not know that...

This also means now that my undergraduate GPA won't go up as much as I thought because I was figuring in the science courses I'm taking now into the future undergraduate GPA calculation.

(For the record I have a pretty good explaination for my low UG gpa. My wife was killed in a car accident while we were in UG school. I was left to raise our newborn by myself...while continuing to go to school full-time and work full-time. Needless to say I had a lot on my plate and I'm assuming the admissions committee will take that into account.)
 
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Perfect... thanks, that cleared it up!

I didn't mean that my UG gpa would be meaningless... just like you said, wouldn't be looked at as much.

As you stated, that's what I'm trying to figure out as far as if it's worth retaking an additional year of undergraduate courses I made D's in in order to raise my UG gpa from a 2.4 to say a 2.7 or 2.8)

What do you think?

Hmmm....I know exactly what you mean and I see your dilemma. I'm really not an authority though, on that exact issue.

If it were me, I'd call my 4 or 5 favorite schools and speak with an admissions counselor. They're usually glad to help with this kind of question, and should be the authority on the issue.

Also, thanks for pointing out that my science pre-reqs will not be counted as part of my undergraduate GPA, rather as a "post-bac" GPA. I did not know that...

This also means now that my undergraduate GPA won't go up as much as I thought because I was figuring in the science courses I'm taking now into the future undergraduate GPA calculation.

Well, the sci pre reqs will go into your "Cum UG" GPA, but NOT your "Total" (UG) GPA. Check my previous link to a screenshot of an Excel page I made to see what I'm talking about.

Basically your "traditional" years of college (Fr/So/Jr/Sr) are averaged as your "Total" GPA. Your PB work goes under a heading underneath that, which is then averaged with the "Total" GPA to form the "Cum UG" GPA. This basically encompasses all non-Grad school work. So there are technically 2 big averages that happen before your "Grad" GPA and "Overall" GPA.
 
Hi all!

I have a question...So my undergrad university was a quarter system and my post bacc university is a semester system. I am planning on retaking organic chemistry because i did not do well in my undergrad and was wondering how the semester system classes would replace the quarter system classes when I do the applications since DO classes replace the grades.

Thanks!
 
Hi all!

I have a question...So my undergrad university was a quarter system and my post bacc university is a semester system. I am planning on retaking organic chemistry because i did not do well in my undergrad and was wondering how the semester system classes would replace the quarter system classes when I do the applications since DO classes replace the grades.

Thanks!

I assume that a conversion would be made from quarter credits to semester credits (you can usually find the conversion rate on the official transcript itself). If your retake is worth more than or the same amount of credits as your undergrad class, it will be replaced.
 
Yeah, there's a 3:2 quarter:semester conversion. However, there aren't the same class levels, since you need, for example, 3 quarters of Ochem or 2 semesters of it. Thus, I assume AACOMAS will still replace the grade (since they're pretty lax about these issues sometimes, and you're going from Q --> S), but I'd definitely call them ASAP.

Moving to the AACOMAS thread.
 
I had my college transcripts sent to the AACOMAS and was wondering how long they will be on file?

Obviously this is the 2009 application session and I will not be applying until the 2010 session.

Will I have to resend them all since it will be a new application year or do they remain on file for a certain period of time/years?

Thanks
 
There is already a thread for this, but yeah you'll have to resend.
Can I ask why you sent it in if you weren't gonig to be applying?
 
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