* * 2011-2012 Application Season * * Post AACOMAS Questions HERE!!!

[ManBroDude]

Should work fine. Just designate your old second semester o-chem lecture AND lab as R01 or R14 or whatever number you use, and then make this semester's o-chem inclusive class as L01 or L14 or whatever. That make sense?

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[TriagePreMed]

Should work fine. Just designate your old second semester o-chem lecture AND lab as R01 or R14 or whatever number you use, and then make this semester's o-chem inclusive class as L01 or L14 or whatever. That make sense?

Makes sense, but will it work? I would call AACOMAS first to verify. You never know if they have some weird policy against that. They do for quarters being replaced by semester units.

 

[pb9123]

Hey everyone, I have a few questions about the AACOMAS/DO grade replacement policy, everyone in my other thread was so helpful that I figured it would be a good idea to ask these questions here aswell .

1. How long has this policy in place? Is there any talk about them wanting to change it?

2. Is there a limit to how many classes you can use the replacement on?

3. Since there are fewer DO schools than MD, wouldnt that make it harder to get in there? Or am I missing something.


My fear is that their policy will change right before I start applying, and that I will be stuck with a major that I chose to boost my GPA so I could focus on the pre-reqs and be screwed at the end of the day.

 

[ManBroDude]

So you want Lecture as R01 and Lab as R01, and this semester (your Last retake) you want Lecture/Lab combo as L01.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Hey everyone, I have a few questions about the AACOMAS/DO grade replacement policy, everyone in my other thread was so helpful that I figured it would be a good idea to ask these questions here aswell .

1. How long has this policy in place? It's been there since I first applied in 1999 Is there any talk about them wanting to change it? Doubt it,

2. Is there a limit to how many classes you can use the replacement on? Don't think so. I think did 25 grade replacements minimum, maybe more.

3. Since there are fewer DO schools than MD, wouldnt that make it harder to get in there? Or am I missing something. Theroretically, yes, it is still hard to get in whether MD or DO. I think you are over worrying about what you cannot change.

My fear is that their policy will change right before I start applying, and that I will be stuck with a major that I chose to boost my GPA so I could focus on the pre-reqs and be screwed at the end of the day.

Highly unlikely things are going to change in order to screw you. I suggest you focus on what you need to an quit worrying about things you cannot control, cannot change, and odds are will not be pertinant anyway.

 

[wmudoc]

Hi everyone, I have a dilemma!! I talked to an adviser at msucom and she thought that in order to be competitive, i need to take a few more bio classes (i am not a bio major and my sgpa is 3.1 ) But she said that doing so might put a hold on my application since I would take the classes in the summer and the fall (2012)
I guess my question is what does "hold" on your application mean? that they wont look at it until they have the grades from the classes? since I know a lot of schools do rolling admissions and you are supposed to apply early
Also, I am taking the mcat in early june and if I do well enough on it could that make up for my low sgpa? (I have been studying my butt off and I am taking the Kaplan course)

 

[dntke1518]

Hi everyone, I have a dilemma!! I talked to an adviser at msucom and she thought that in order to be competitive, i need to take a few more bio classes (i am not a bio major and my sgpa is 3.1 ) But she said that doing so might put a hold on my application since I would take the classes in the summer and the fall (2012)
I guess my question is what does "hold" on your application mean? that they wont look at it until they have the grades from the classes? since I know a lot of schools do rolling admissions and you are supposed to apply early
Also, I am taking the mcat in early june and if I do well enough on it could that make up for my low sgpa? (I have been studying my butt off and I am taking the Kaplan course)

Yes if you are on hold pending fall grades they will not look at your app until you update AACOMAS, at least this is my understanding. You are correct that it is best to apply early, so yes you are in a slight dilemma. There is really no telling how well your app will fly until you have your MCAT score in July. It may just be best to wait until the next cycle (summer 2013) as you will need these bio courses for most schools, but it is worth it to see if you meet the requirements for other schools. As far as the MCAT making up for your sGPA, there is still room for improvement by taking more science courses, but it is my understanding that schools will look at sGPA and MCAT and less at cGPA (I could be completely off...).

Then again on the other hand you could kick butt in your classes and rock the MCAT and be good to go...

Best of luck either way.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

it basically means, "with a 3.1 gpa, we aren't comfortable accepting you right away and we need to see good grade in sciences." Basically, they will hold you until you update them with summer and fall grades. They won't look at your app extensively. This is assuming you get held and not rejected.

Edit: dntke1518 beat me to it.

 

[dntke1518]

it basically means, "with a 3.1 gpa, we aren't comfortable accepting you right away and we need to see good grade in sciences." Basically, they will hold you until you update them with summer and fall grades. They won't look at your app extensively. This is assuming you get held and not rejected.

Edit: dntke1518 beat me to it.

Yeah the crappy deal is that you will be taking classes into the fall semester which will result in your AACOMAS update to come out somewhere around late December and won't really be seen until mid-Jan. The chances of bagging an acceptance with at or below average stats at that point in the cycle get pretty slim.

 

[DocGodfather]

I'm in almost the same situation as well. I decided to take an extra year, and fill in my time with volunteering and extra MCAT studying, rather than rush everything, and have my app on hold. This way, I can also comfortably take extra science classes and improve my sGPA and cGPA. Just depends if you're in a serious rush to go to med school.

 

[wmudoc]

Well, I've thought about it today and I think that I'm going to apply for some post bac programs (pcom and vcom). If I don't get acceptances to those I'll probably just take a few more bio classes at my university in town. Does anyone have any opinions of pcom or vcom postbacs? I think they sound like good options but I really don't want to waste my time and money if they aren't worth while...

 

[dntke1518]

Well, I've thought about it today and I think that I'm going to apply for some post bac programs (pcom and vcom). If I don't get acceptances to those I'll probably just take a few more bio classes at my university in town. Does anyone have any opinions of pcom or vcom postbacs? I think they sound like good options but I really don't want to waste my time and money if they aren't worth while...

Honestly I think you would be better served taking your classes and getting your application ready. There are mixed opinions of post-baccs and SMPs here on SDN. One thing to think about is you will be more in debt once it is all done...

 

[pancakesyrup]

Ok, here's the deal with me:

I am graduating this spring, and considering applying this summer, but first I want to retake a couple of classes. One of my classes is a family science class which finishes June 15. That won't be a problem for me.

But the other two courses are biochemistry and physics II.

A local university will likely offer its biochemistry course in its first session, ending July 6.

On the other hand, any physics II course I take will not be finished until mid-August, regardless of where I take it.

As for how my GPA will turn out, if I get all A's from now on, then my AACOMAS GPA (both sci and cumulative) will be in the 3.40-3.45 range without the physics II retake. With the physics II retake, my cGPA would be nearly 3.5, and sGPA nearly 3.6. MCAT is 28.

So my question is, if all goes well and I get great grades from now until this summer, should I submit my AACOMAS right after the biochem retake (and then update later after physics II), or should I wait until I'm done all my retakes?

Even if I choose the earlier option, will I still be late in the game?

 

[Iliketoytles]

Ok, here's the deal with me:

I am graduating this spring, and considering applying this summer, but first I want to retake a couple of classes. One of my classes is a family science class which finishes June 15. That won't be a problem for me.

But the other two courses are biochemistry and physics II.

A local university will likely offer its biochemistry course in its first session, ending July 6.

On the other hand, any physics II course I take will not be finished until mid-August, regardless of where I take it.

As for how my GPA will turn out, if I get all A's from now on, then my AACOMAS GPA (both sci and cumulative) will be in the 3.40-3.45 range without the physics II retake. With the physics II retake, my cGPA would be nearly 3.5, and sGPA nearly 3.6. MCAT is 28.

So my question is, if all goes well and I get great grades from now until this summer, should I submit my AACOMAS right after the biochem retake (and then update later after physics II), or should I wait until I'm done all my retakes?

Even if I choose the earlier option, will I still be late in the game?

What's your GPA without the physics II and biochem retake? I honestly think you should apply June 1st, and submit your biochem and physics II retake afterwards. The reason is because it will take a while for your grades to show up on your transcript, so if you end up waiting for the summer courses to show up on your new transcript it will take a while... right?

The thing is, if your GPA is decent without retaking physics II or biochem, then you might as well not retake either of them. The only reason to retake is because you failed, and it will significantly raise your current GPA.

Your MCAT is good, so you don't need to worry about retaking that monster of an exam.

 

[pancakesyrup]

What's your GPA without the physics II and biochem retake? I honestly think you should apply June 1st, and submit your biochem and physics II retake afterwards. The reason is because it will take a while for your grades to show up on your transcript, so if you end up waiting for the summer courses to show up on your new transcript it will take a while... right?

The thing is, if your GPA is decent without retaking physics II or biochem, then you might as well not retake either of them. The only reason to retake is because you failed, and it will significantly raise your current GPA.

Your MCAT is good, so you don't need to worry about retaking that monster of an exam.

My GPA without those two retakes would be 3.32 (cGPA) and 3.23 (sGPA) (again, assuming I ace this semester). In other words, not very good for someone with a sub-30 MCAT.

If I submit my app with those stats, then will the DO schools be evaluating me right after verification (which I assume means that the app has been processed and received by the schools), or is there some way for them to receive everything and keep me on hold at least until the biochem retake is done?

The reason I am asking is because I fear getting rejected from some DO schools with a 3.3/3.2, before I have a chance to be looked at with a 3.5/3.6.

 

[Dr Feel Guud]

Hey all,

I just had a question regarding the primary application. If I have already submitted my primary application to a few schools back and my primary was verified and released back in October, if I were to apply to more schools right now, what do you think the turn around time would be to release the application to the other schools? Basically, is it worth it to try and apply to schools with deadlines coming up (2/1, 2/15, 3/1, etc)?

 

[blackbird]

I believe it should only take a few days to release the application to the newly added schools once it is verified. Yes they will receive your primary application before the deadline (e.g. 3/1), but I don't know if it is worth it at this point.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

if you submit after verification, adding schools would take very little time. day or two.

 

[dntke1518]

if you submit after verification, adding schools would take very little time. day or two.

Yeah shouldn't take too long. But are your stats strong enough to justify the extra money? Just something to think about.


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[Ochemlover45]

Do I need to use AACOMAS' transcript request form or can I just send my transcripts directly to AACOMAS?

 

[dntke1518]

Do I need to use AACOMAS' transcript request form or can I just send my transcripts directly to AACOMAS?

You need a request sheet that you give to the registrars to send in with your transcripts. It has a barcode on it, when in doubt just follow the rules.

 

[blueparrot88]

Hi. I am looking for some advice on when to apply.

Not too long ago, like January, I decided that I wanted to apply for medical school. I graduated December 2009 and have a 3.3 cgpa, B.S. in bio. No MCAT yet, I'm taking my MCAT next month. I started volunteering at the hospital and helping kids with homework in February. I'm still trying to find a job, maybe in a doctor's office or the hospital. After some research, it seems like I could potentially apply later this year for Fall 2013. But I haven't done any research, volunteering, etc so I'm not sure right now. Should I build up my application and apply May 2013, or take my chances and apply later this year?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dntke1518]

Hi. I am looking for some advice on when to apply.

Not too long ago, like January, I decided that I wanted to apply for medical school. I graduated December 2009 and have a 3.3 cgpa, B.S. in bio. No MCAT yet, I'm taking my MCAT next month. I started volunteering at the hospital and helping kids with homework in February. I'm still trying to find a job, maybe in a doctor's office or the hospital. After some research, it seems like I could potentially apply later this year for Fall 2013. But I haven't done any research, volunteering, etc so I'm not sure right now. Should I build up my application and apply May 2013, or take my chances and apply later this year?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Might be in your best intrest to get some shadowing and other clinical experience in before you decide to apply.