Compilation thread of DO schools that still practice grade recalculation for the 2017-2018 cycle

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MareNostrummm

MareNostrummm

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I'll start (updated):


1. AZCOM:
2. PCOM (as per Goro)


Links:

1. AZCOM:

"To allow our applicants time to adjust to the removal of the AACOMAS grade recalculation policy, Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine will still consider grade recalculation for those seeking entrance into the Fall 2018 class. To be considered applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Submitted AACOMAS application
  • Submitted AZCOM supplemental application
  • Verified MCAT score of 507/29 or greater
  • Science and Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater
Applicants will need to submit their request for grade recalculation to the Office of Admissions via email to [email protected] on or before March 1st, 2018."

https://www.midwestern.edu/programs_and_admission/az_osteopathic_medicine.html#Fast Facts

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2. PCOM (under the FAQ section for the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine -PA Campus)

How will the change to the AACOM Grade Replacement Policy affect application review?
The Faculty Committee on Admissions follows a holistic approach in reviewing applications for the DO program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Georgia Campus - PCOM. Our committee members look not only at grades and test scores when evaluating applications, but also read the entire application as submitted by the applicant, along with the letters of recommendation and personal statements. There are no cutoffs or minimums. We send supplemental applications to all of our AACOMAS applicants. Our admissions process will continue to be what it has been and will be unaffected by the change in the AACOMAS policy.


http://www.pcom.edu/academics/progr...opathic-medicine-philadelphia-campus/faq.html
 
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MareNostrummm said:
I'll start:

1. AZCOM:

To allow our applicants time to adjust to the removal of the AACOMAS grade recalculation policy, Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine will still consider grade recalculation for those seeking entrance into the Fall 2018 class. To be considered applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Submitted AACOMAS application
  • Submitted AZCOM supplemental application
  • Verified MCAT score of 507/29 or greater
  • Science and Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater
Applicants will need to submit their request for grade recalculation to the Office of Admissions via email to [email protected] on or before March 1st, 2018.

https://www.midwestern.edu/programs_and_admission/az_osteopathic_medicine.html#Fast Facts
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Hey thanks for this! I didn't know anyone was! Just got nail that 507 I guess

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Yhorm the Giant said:
Hey thanks for this! I didn't know anyone was! Just got nail that 507 I guess

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Yeah they want you to have a slightly higher than average AZCOM matriculant MCAT score in order to qualify for their grade recalculation, which they are doing by hand lol.
 
MareNostrummm said:
Yeah they want you to have a slightly higher than average AZCOM matriculant MCAT score in order to qualify for their grade recalculation, which they are doing by hand lol.
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Oh for sure it totally makes sense and is a good call on their part, just puts on the pressure

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Yhorm the Giant said:
Oh for sure it totally makes sense and is a good call on their part, just puts on the pressure

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Click to expand...

They gotta leverage lower matriculant cGPA/sGPA stats with a higher MCAT when they publish their class cohort data lol!
 
Went to verify this but don't see it on the site...
 
WOW this is awesome news! I wonder if other schools will follow suit?
 
Do you need to have a 3.0 before the recalculation to be considered?
 
balston82 said:
Do you need to have a 3.0 before the recalculation to be considered?
Click to expand...

Yup, they will not even bother recalculating your grade if you aren't above a 3.0 in cGPA and sGPA.

To be considered applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Submitted AACOMAS application
  • Submitted AZCOM supplemental application
  • Verified MCAT score of 507/29 or greater
  • Science and Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater
Applicants will need to submit their request for grade recalculation to the Office of Admissions via email to [email protected] on or before March 1st, 2018."
 
Seems like a fair trade off, maybe more schools such as CCOM will follow suit.
 
This is awesome news lol. I hope more schools participate. Do you think schools will extend grade recalculation to the 2018-2019 cycle?
 
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Yhorm the Giant said:
Right? Or they would really be the most applied to school this next year I'd think

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I really think we are over exaggerating the amount of applicants using heavy grade replacement. The average pre-postbac undergrad gpa for applicants last year was 3.45 and the average overall GPA (including grad work which was at an average of 3.55 for applicants) was only 3.47. After factoring in postbac GPA AND grade replacement (assuming grade replacement was not heavily used pre-postabc) the total GPA only went up 0.02 points and that's even counting the 3.55GPA from graduate work. Since most of grade replacement is used during a postbac, the entire 0.02 point difference is not even entirely from grade replacement. I imagine the overall applicant cGPA is only going to drop 0.01 points from the removal of grade replacement.

It would be a different story if grade replacement was being used heavily during undergrad (pre-postbac). The postbac GPA (3.60) and graduate GPA (3.55) are higher than the pre-postbac gpa (3.45) so that 0.02 difference in pre-postbac and total GPA is most likely coming from graduate work and postbac work and little from grade replacement. The GPA differences are the same for matriculates so the 0.02 difference is not a result of star MD applicants throwing in a DO app and inflating the applicant data.

http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-s...riculant-profile-summary-report.pdf?sfvrsn=10
 
Idk if I believe aacom when they say the gpa will only drop .01... it seems like BS to me

bears1992 said:
I really think we are over exaggerating the amount of applicants using heavy grade replacement. The average pre-postbac undergrad gpa for applicants last year was 3.45 and the average overall GPA (including grad work which was at an average of 3.55 for applicants) was only 3.47. After factoring in postbac GPA AND grade replacement (assuming grade replacement was not heavily used pre-postabc) the total GPA only went up 0.02 points and that's even counting the 3.55GPA from graduate work. Since most of grade replacement is used during a postbac, the entire 0.02 point difference is not even entirely from grade replacement. I imagine the overall applicant cGPA is only going to drop 0.01 points from the removal of grade replacement.

It would be a different story if grade replacement was being used heavily during undergrad (pre-postbac). The postbac GPA (3.60) and graduate GPA (3.55) are higher than the pre-postbac gpa (3.45) so that 0.02 difference in pre-postbac and total GPA is most likely coming from graduate work and postbac work and little from grade replacement. The GPA differences are the same for matriculates so the 0.02 difference is not a result of star MD applicants throwing in a DO app and inflating the applicant data.

http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-s...riculant-profile-summary-report.pdf?sfvrsn=10
Click to expand...
 
Fuji Agar said:
Idk if I believe aacom when they say the gpa will only drop .01... it seems like BS to me
Click to expand...
I was just using the data from AACOMAS website on applicants and matriculates. I'm not referring to the AACOMAS announcement letter where they say the removal of grade replacement will only drop overall applicant GPAs by 0.01 points. If you actually look at the applicant data, you can see that postbacs and graduate classes are only improving GPAs by 0.02. Saying that half of that 0.02 GPA boost came from grade replacement actually looks to be accurate.

I highly doubt AACOMAS would fudge the applicant/matriculate data from 2016 for the sake of downplaying grade replacement. As a non-trad who took an entire semester of retakes and has a great upward trend, it is actually good to hear that low gpas with upward trends are not as common as you would think browsing this site. When I look at the DO stats for applicants in my GPA range (3.0-3.2) I see that the odds of acceptance are not good BUT seeing that very few applicants used grade replacement or did a postbac, it is easy to assume that the majority of the 3.0-3.2 applicants did not have a massive upward trend. For me and most of the other students that were hurt with the removal of grade replacement, our massive and long sustained upward trends are actually not very common among applicants so the admission rates for our low GPA may not be an accurate reflection of our odds of getting an acceptance.
 
Fuji Agar said:
Idk if I believe aacom when they say the gpa will only drop .01... it seems like BS to me
Click to expand...

Random conjecture but I think it's going to have a disproportionate impact on the matriculant GPA and not the applicant GPAs. For me personally, my sGPA will suffer a .2 (3.35-->3.15) drop and my cGPA will drop about .1 (3.42-->3.34) from a single F that was replaced. However, my MCAT should still keep my in contention at any DO school (513)

I would imagine DO schools are filled with applicants that have ~3.2-3.5 GPA without grade replacement. I doubt they have that many people in the 3.2-3.5 cGPA range and high MCAT scores. I think you'll see schools sacrifice a little bit on the GPA number to keep their MCAT numbers close to what they have been historically.

This obviously depends on the assumptions that those who took the strongest advantage of grade replacement tend to be those with the highest MCAT scores which isn't necessarily true. I would however venture that the vast majority with both major factors in their favor tend to end up in MD. I think the biggest thing that grade replacement being taken away will have is that it will make the MCAT an even bigger deal in admissions.

Again this is just my hunch and I have no evidence to back this up. I'm also probably working under the false consensus bias where I am over-estimating the number of applicants like myself (high MCAT; low-ish GPA).
 
DogsGottaEat said:
Random conjecture but I think it's going to have a disproportionate impact on the matriculant GPA and not the applicant GPAs. For me personally, my sGPA will suffer a .2 (3.35-->3.15) drop and my cGPA will drop about .1 (3.42-->3.34) from a single F that was replaced. However, my MCAT should still keep my in contention at any DO school (513)

I would imagine DO schools are filled with applicants that have ~3.2-3.5 GPA without grade replacement. I doubt they have that many people in the 3.2-3.5 cGPA range and high MCAT scores. I think you'll see schools sacrifice a little bit on the GPA number to keep their MCAT numbers close to what they have been historically.

This obviously depends on the assumptions that those who took the strongest advantage of grade replacement tend to be those with the highest MCAT scores which isn't necessarily true. I would however venture that the vast majority with both major factors in their favor tend to end up in MD. I think the biggest thing that grade replacement being taken away will have is that it will make the MCAT an even bigger deal in admissions.

Again this is just my hunch and I have no evidence to back this up. I'm also probably working under the false consensus bias where I am over-estimating the number of applicants like myself (high MCAT; low-ish GPA).
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The GPA difference for maltriculants is the same 0.02. The only way I could see it affecting applicant/maltriculate GPA is if a large amount of students failed a class or two and had to retake. That would hide the grade replacement boost within the pre-postbac GPA. For the students that did heavy grade replacement after graduation (postbac), the data says those students are rare. The data even suggests postbacs themselves are rare amoung maltriculants and applicants because even though the average postbac GPA is high, it is barely budging the overall average GPAs.
 
With grade replacement I would've been at 3.7+ cGPA and 3.5+ sGPA. Now I'll drop to 3.5+ cGPA and 3.25 sGPA.

That's a pretty significant change for me, and as a reapplicant who was told by the interviewers to retake classes if I didn't get in a year ago, it stinks
 
Shammyguy3 said:
With grade replacement I would've been at 3.7+ cGPA and 3.5+ sGPA. Now I'll drop to 3.5+ cGPA and 3.25 sGPA.

That's a pretty significant change for me, and as a reapplicant who was told by the interviewers to retake classes if I didn't get in a year ago, it stinks
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That's still a good DO GPA. With an above average MCAT, your academic stats and upward trend would make you competitive for all DO. What was your MCAT when you applied?
 
bears1992 said:
That's still a good DO GPA. With an above average MCAT, your academic stats and upward trend would make you competitive for all DO. What was your MCAT when you applied?
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25 on old scale
 
Shammyguy3 said:
25 on old scale
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I don't think your GPA is really holding you back. An above average MCAT 505+ would easily make your stats competitive without grade replacement. Applying last year with grade replacement giving you a 3.7 and 3.5, I think its hogwash that your GPA was the problem. Could you have a bad LOR, low volunteering/shadowing, bad essays? A 500 MCAT, 3.5 cGPA, 3.25sGPA & upward trend is not going to keep you out of DO school if you've checked all your boxes and apply to 20+ DO schools.
 
bears1992 said:
I don't think your GPA is really holding you back. An above average MCAT 505+ would easily make your stats competitive without grade replacement. Applying last year with grade replacement giving you a 3.7 and 3.5, I think its hogwash that your GPA was the problem. Could you have a bad LOR, low volunteering/shadowing, bad essays? A 500 MCAT, 3.5 cGPA, 3.25sGPA & upward trend is not going to keep you out of DO school if you've checked all your boxes and apply to 20+ DO schools.
Click to expand...
I applied in summer of 2015 to start fall of 2016. Didn't apply this current cycle to repair my GPA. Had I known I would've applied and simply done updates. But now my mcat expires so I'll retake it, hopefully do better, and be able to apply to more established DOs

Edit: When I applied I had a 3.4+ cGPA and 3.0 sGPA with that 25 mcat
 
Shammyguy3 said:
I applied in summer of 2015 to start fall of 2016. Didn't apply this current cycle to repair my GPA. Had I known I would've applied and simply done updates. But now my mcat expires so I'll retake it, hopefully do better, and be able to apply to more established DOs
Click to expand...
For 2016 matriculates, the averages for GPA and MCAT were:
cGPA: 3.56 SD: 0.24
sGPA: 3.50 SD: 0.27
MCAT: 502 SD 5.56
postbac cGPA: 3.70
postabc sGPA: 3.68

Without grade replacement, your cGPA is average, your sGPA is within 1 SD and your MCAT is also withing 1 SD. With all your retakes, I'm assuming your postbac GPA is above the postbac GPA averages. I just like to use average postbac GPAs to see how your upward trend compares to other students doing GPA repair. Shoot for a 505+ MCAT and I think you'll do fine. You'd have an above average MCAT, below average sGPA, above average upward trend along with an average cGPA. I think that should balance you out and make your stats competitive with other matriculates stats.
 
bears1992 said:
For 2016 matriculates, the averages for GPA and MCAT were:
cGPA: 3.56 SD: 0.24
sGPA: 3.50 SD: 0.27
MCAT: 502 SD 5.56
postbac cGPA: 3.70
postabc sGPA: 3.68

Without grade replacement, your cGPA is average, your sGPA is within 1 SD and your MCAT is also withing 1 SD. With all your retakes, I'm assuming your postbac GPA is above the postbac GPA averages. I just like to use average postbac GPAs to see how your upward trend compares to other students doing GPA repair. Shoot for a 505+ MCAT and I think you'll do fine. You'd have an above average MCAT, below average sGPA, above average upward trend along with an average cGPA. I think that should balance you out and make your stats competitive with other matriculates stats.
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Yeah post bac is 4.0 through 21 credits (12 of which were retakes). I agree that if I do well on the MCAt I will get in somewhere, but with my fiancé needing a job in a very particular field it would be a lot easier if it's not a rural school
 
Shammyguy3 said:
Yeah post bac is 4.0 through 21 credits (12 of which were retakes). I agree that if I do well on the MCAt I will get in somewhere, but with my fiancé needing a job in a very particular field it would be a lot easier if it's not a rural school
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Does your fiancé have a problem with raising cattle in a rural area for (4) years?
 
This is great news! Glad a lot of people will still have a chance to pursue their dreams. Would have been nice to extend it to lets say 2019 or 2020 as I am sure there are some students who have retaken classes but will not be ready to apply when this expires.
 
Are they only doing this for the 2017-2018 cycle? Because Im applying next year 🙁
 
Salmanium Chloride said:
Are they only doing this for the 2017-2018 cycle? Because Im applying next year 🙁
Click to expand...

So far they are the only school that is doing it, so it may be advantageous for them to continue it into for an extra cycle if it means picking up excellent applicants that would otherwise be rejected.
 
Add PCOM to the list.

MareNostrummm said:
I'll start:

1. AZCOM:

"To allow our applicants time to adjust to the removal of the AACOMAS grade recalculation policy, Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine will still consider grade recalculation for those seeking entrance into the Fall 2018 class. To be considered applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Submitted AACOMAS application
  • Submitted AZCOM supplemental application
  • Verified MCAT score of 507/29 or greater
  • Science and Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater
Applicants will need to submit their request for grade recalculation to the Office of Admissions via email to [email protected] on or before March 1st, 2018."

https://www.midwestern.edu/programs_and_admission/az_osteopathic_medicine.html#Fast Facts
Click to expand...
 
Where did you find that information @Goro?
I talked to an ACOM rep last week and he said they just had a workshop on a program that will allow them to do grade replacement as well

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hopefuldoctor93 said:
Sorry I see it now!

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Do you have a link?

edit: Nvm found it

PCOM:

How will the change to the AACOM Grade Replacement Policy affect application review?
The Faculty Committee on Admissions follows a holistic approach in reviewing applications for the DO program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Georgia Campus - PCOM. Our committee members look not only at grades and test scores when evaluating applications, but also read the entire application as submitted by the applicant, along with the letters of recommendation and personal statements. There are no cutoffs or minimums. We send supplemental applications to all of our AACOMAS applicants. Our admissions process will continue to be what it has been and will be unaffected by the change in the AACOMAS policy.
 
Anyone know of any other schools still honoring it besides AZCOM and PCOM?
 
I e-mailed PCOM admissions, and this was the response:

"Thank you for your email. The Faculty Committee on Admissions follows a holistic approach in reviewing applications for the DO program at all PCOM campuses Our committee members look not only at grades and test scores when evaluating applications, but also read the entire application as submitted by the applicant, along with the letters of recommendation and personal statements. There are no cutoffs or minimums. We rely on the GPA received from AACOMAS. We send supplemental applications to all of our AACOMAS applicants. Our admissions process will continue to be what it has been and will be unaffected by the change in the AACOMAS policy."

The GPA entered on AACOMAS, will be received as so, without grade replacement?

Does this mean, PCOM will look at the GPA (w/o grade replacement) and re-calculate our GPA with grade replacement at their institution, when considering a student?
 
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