grade replacement

[Stephanopolous]

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@MajorUnderDog

So your example is appropriate for both classes taken at the same institution and those repeated at different institutions.

@IDK22

 

[Stephanopolous]

You know, a while back one of the techs in our ER was talking about how AACOMAS was changing this year and not allowing re-takes. Maybe this is what she meant.

 

[IDK22]

Again, I can't speak for re-takes at different institutions, in my case it was a BIO II course which I re-took at the same university, but that university changed the prefix between my first and second attempt.

Do you mean they changed it to a different course number or prefix? I feel like those are two different things. Which change is not acceptable? (Bio131 to Bioscience 131 or Bio 131 to Bio 140)?

 

[Stephanopolous]

In my case it went from ABIO 111z to ABIO 121 and ABIO 123z so for me it was the course number, though on the phone the manager told me it was the "prefix".

Which makes me think that "prefix" to AACOMAS means the prefix and the number.

 

[IDK22]

In my case it went from ABIO 111z to ABIO 121 and ABIO 123z so for me it was the course number, though on the phone the manager told me it was the "prefix".

Ok now I'm really confused as to how they are giving you trouble for a retake at the same school. I took all my retakes at another school (all under physics/bio/chem), but different course numbers...this would mean that the whole retaking your courses at community college is useless since getting the course numbers to be exact with your original institution is hard to come by...

 

[Abraxas65]

This has to be due to the recent change and is simply a very large miscommunication between the application company and AACOMAS/Med schools. I mean are they seriously only going to allow retakes at the same university with the same prefix number?! I think at this point people who are being affected by this need to start calling their top schools and speak with administration. Maybe @Goro or one of the other administrators can come in and at least let us know if AACOMAS actually did intend to make such a huge change to the retake policy. I just can't see how they could make this big of a change and not have it bolded front and center on their webpage.

 

[Stephanopolous]

This has to be due to the recent change and is simply a very large miscommunication between the application company and AACOMAS/Med schools. I mean are they seriously only going to allow retakes at the same university with the same prefix number?! I think at this point people who are being affected by this need to start calling their top schools and speak with administration. Maybe @Goro or one of the other administrators can come in and at least let us know if AACOMAS actually did intend to make such a huge change to the retake policy. I just can't see how they could make this big of a change and not have it bolded front and center on their webpage.

I agree 100% I am also going to try and contact someone from AACOM on Monday to investigate this more.

 

[Major]

Well, I waited on the phone for over an hour to just be told that nothing can be done until I send in an email. I was trying to get the customer service lady to share anything about new policies being changed but she said my newest grades SHOULD have replaced the old grades.

She said the only way I retake wouldn't count is if I didn't select "Repeated" next to the course.

So she said I need to write out an email and line by line list All the courses I retook with all the details about them...

 

[Elleiram]

I just read the previous posts, and I think this kind of change should have been outlined and communicated very clearly WAY in advance, as in a cycle in advance not only to avoid confusion and uproar, but also so that people like me don't waste their time and money with retakes if it's not going to impact GPA significantly.

With that said, I don't think policies have changed and all this is a result of MAJOR miscommunication.

 

[Abraxas65]

I agree 100% I am also going to try and contact someone from AACOM on Monday to investigate this more.

The more I think about this what might be happening is the contract between AACOMAS/Med Schools and this new company might have been poorly written and AACOMAS inadvertently charged their forgiveness policy. That or the company has no idea what it is doing.

 

[IDK22]

I just read the previous posts, and I think this kind of change should have been outlined and communicated very clearly WAY in advance, as in a cycle in advance not only to avoid confusion and uproar, but also so that people like me don't waste their time and money with retakes if it's not going to impact GPA significantly.

With that said, I don't think policies have changed and all this is a result of MAJOR miscommunication.

I completely agree- there is no way they could just propose a whole set of changed rules a month before we all submit our applications with the impression over the last full year that retake policies are still the same- "same course title/units/description"

 

[Stephanopolous]

I just read the previous posts, and I think this kind of change should have been outlined and communicated very clearly WAY in advance, as in a cycle in advance not only to avoid confusion and uproar, but also so that people like me don't waste their time and money with retakes if it's not going to impact GPA significantly.

With that said, I don't think policies have changed and all this is a result of MAJOR miscommunication.

I wish that were the case but after speaking with the Manager and corresponding with the Director and having them tell me this, I feel 100% confident now that it's not a miscommunication, as much as I wish that were the case.

 

[Stephanopolous]

For anyone looking for confirmation, I would encourage you to call and ask to speak with either Cassandra, Vicky, or Nicole.

 

[Abraxas65]

I wish that were the case but after speaking with the Manager and corresponding with the Director and having them tell me this, I feel 100% confident now that it's not a miscommunication, as much as I wish that were the case.

I think there has been a major miscommunication between this company and AACOMAS. That or AACOMAS knowingly made a huge change to their forgiveness policy without telling anyone.

 

[Stephanopolous]

I think there has been a major miscommunication between this company and AACOMAS. That or AACOMAS knowingly made a huge change to their forgiveness policy without telling anyone.

This seems more likely, and hopefully is true...

 

[Abraxas65]

This seems more likely, and hopefully is true...

Yeah, given you were talking to managers and directors I think the company is following the contract to the letter and AACOMAS just did a bad job of writing the contract.

 

[Abraxas65]

Jesus I haven't even submitted yet and my stomach is already in knots.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

From AACOM:

Please be aware that application procedures are subject to change year to year and regretfully, this change you requested cannot be accommodated. Please feel free to contact us via our customer service help desk should you have additional questions. Thanks again.

 

[Major]

I mean this is what doesn't make any sense to me.

When I originally started my application back in early May, I called AACOMAS and talked to a very friendly lady. I explained my situation with all the retakes I have how many of them are at different universities. She said it shouldn't be a problem at all, and as long as I selected the course as "repeated" then only the newest grade would count towards my gpa. She said the course being taken at a different college isn't a problem, the description not totally matching isn't a issue either. So she repeated that I shouldn't worry at all and the "verification teams" realize classes at different schools will be described differently but are essentially the same...



Welp, so much for that!

 

[Abraxas65]

From AACOM:

Please be aware that application procedures are subject to change year to year and regretfully, this change you requested cannot be accommodated. Please feel free to contact us via our customer service help desk should you have additional questions. Thanks again.

While this is true, this is a HUGE change in their application process and it has never been relayed to any applicant. So either this is a very big screw up and will get fixed or AACOMAS has done a horrible job of keep applicants uptodate on the changes they are making to their application system.

 

[Major]

Well if this change is official and they won't allow my retakes to go through...Then soo long folks! I'm off to the sunny Caribbean!

 

[IDK22]

From AACOM:

Please be aware that application procedures are subject to change year to year and regretfully, this change you requested cannot be accommodated. Please feel free to contact us via our customer service help desk should you have additional questions. Thanks again.

Could you elaborate specifically what your situation is and the request that you made?

 

[TheoryOfEverything]

Just sharing my experience, but I found the above to be INCORRECT.

I took BIO II three times, the first two semesters spring 2007 and spring 2008 it was designated as ABIO111z, a 4credit course which included biology lecture and biology lab

The final attempt was in Spring of 2012, at the same university, same class name Bio II, but the university had changed the prefix (course description stayed the same) and split the class into a 3cr lecture and 1cr lab (I took both). I am now appealing a decision by AACOMAS to not count this as a repeat, their reason being that the PREFIX CHANGED and therefore they will not accept the course.

I'm 99.9% sure the reason they didn't count it for you is because it was at the same university. If it's at the same uni it's gotta be the same prefix. If it's at another uni it doesn't, because obviously that would be highly unlikely because every school uses slightly different prefixes.

Did you do really bad the second time you took it? If not I would try and get that to replace the initial attempt. Otherwise, maybe you could get some course descriptions sent from the registrar or something to prove it's the same.

 

[Major]

I'm 99.9% sure the reason they didn't count it for you is because it was at the same university. If it's at the same uni it's gotta be the same prefix. If it's at another uni it doesn't, because obviously that would be highly unlikely because every school uses slightly different prefixes.

Did you do really bad the second time you took it? If not I would try and get that to replace the initial attempt. Otherwise, maybe you could get some course descriptions sent from the registrar or something to prove it's the same.

Not true. AACOMAS is doing this also for classes taken at different universities. Source? Me cause its happening to me right now

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Could you elaborate specifically what your situation is and the request that you made?

No reversing/grandfathering in of exclusion of professional coursework in GPAs this cycle. I reasoned that is was not pre-announced in the
Official AACOMAS 2016 Application Annoucement and that it was the policy for the previous 2 decades.

I was pleading with the woman from phone support at AACOMAS that my GPA would be absolutely ruined and all I got was awkward silence.

I hope and pray, you guys get different results.

 

[IDK22]

No reversing/grandfathering in of exclusion of professional coursework in GPAs this cycle. I reasoned that is was not pre-announced in the
Official AACOMAS 2016 Application Annoucement and that it was the policy for the previous 2 decades.

I was pleading with the woman from phone support at AACOMAS that my GPA would be absolutely ruined and all I got was awkward silence.

I hope and pray, you guys get different results.

Man, I'm really sorry to hear that. Which courses did you take that fall under "professional coursework?

 

[TheoryOfEverything]

Not true. AACOMAS is doing this also for classes taken at different universities. Source? Me cause its happening to me right now

Yeah just read that in the other thread. So basically AACOMAS doesn't allow grade replacement anymore. Cool.

 

[Major]

Yeah just read that in the other thread. So basically AACOMAS doesn't allow grade replacement anymore. Cool.

Yeah. I mean I don't want to overreact yet or be dramatic, but so far it isn't looking good.

BIG change from all previous cycles if all these new policies hold true

 

[Major]

41 cr of Optometry.

That is some major BS man.

I really don't know what to make of all this

 

[Abraxas65]

I just heard back from a school and they stated they knew of no major changes to grade replacement and directed me to the FAQ at AACOMAS. So I guess we just sit and wait for now. Hopefully this will be explained/fixed come next week.

 

[Chubaka31]

Optometry being graduate level/professional coursework, but does this rule of grandfathering apply to replacing pre-reqs that are classified as undergrad/post-bac courses for this cycle?

On another note, that's incredible that they're not letting you count that...

 

[TheoryOfEverything]

Yeah. I mean I don't want to overreact yet or be dramatic, but so far it isn't looking good.

BIG change from all previous cycles if all these new policies hold true

Crazy.
Just to double check. Did any of you retakes count, or did all coursework you imputed as 0 cred get changes to >0 cred? Also, did you definitely mark every course as repeated. So if you retook 4 classes, you would've marked 8 classes (or more if you retook something multiple times) as repeated in the "review and finalize transcript" section.

 

[Goro]

Haven't a clue.

This has to be due to the recent change and is simply a very large miscommunication between the application company and AACOMAS/Med schools. I mean are they seriously only going to allow retakes at the same university with the same prefix number?! I think at this point people who are being affected by this need to start calling their top schools and speak with administration. Maybe @Goro or one of the other administrators can come in and at least let us know if AACOMAS actually did intend to make such a huge change to the retake policy. I just can't see how they could make this big of a change and not have it bolded front and center on their webpage.

 

[Giovanotto]

Although I'm not affected by this, I really feel for you guys. Fingers crossed things haven't changed this year and your retakes are counted. It would be crazy for them not to, when they are an honest repeat. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Optometry being graduate level/professional coursework, but does this rule of grandfathering apply to replacing pre-reqs that are classified as undergrad/post-bac courses for this cycle?

On another note, that's incredible that they're not letting you count that...

Actually, I don't want it counted, but this yr it is. I had some problems back then.

 

[Abraxas65]

Haven't a clue.

Hopefully with a little time this will be cleared up.

 

[Major]

Crazy.
Just to double check. Did any of you retakes count, or did all coursework you imputed as 0 cred get changes to >0 cred? Also, did you definitely mark every course as repeated. So if you retook 4 classes, you would've marked 8 classes (or more if you retook something multiple times) as repeated in the "review and finalize transcript" section.

The only retakes that DID count/work/replace the old grade with most recent was a math class and Spanish class that I retook at the Same University with the same Prefix, Course description, & Credits.

None of my other retakes are working, even the one's at the Same university but with a different prefix...

 

[torontopharm]

Well that's just great.
I've re-taken 7 of my failed university courses in a college, and the course codes/prefixes of all those courses in college were different than the one's taken in the university. When i returned to my university, they did allow grade replacement and updated my transcript accordingly. But if AACOMAS is hell-bent on prefixes/same level/same institution etc. i guess i'm screwed as well.

Perhaps it's time to start reading those weekly recruitment pitch e-mails from SGU/Ross etc.

 

[Major]

Well that's just great.
I've re-taken 7 of my failed university courses in a college, and the course codes/prefixes of all those courses in college were different than the one's taken in the university. When i returned to my university, they did allow grade replacement and updated my transcript accordingly. But if AACOMAS is hell-bent on prefixes/same level/same institution etc. i guess i'm screwed as well.

Perhaps it's time to start reading those weekly recruitment pitch e-mails from SGU/Ross etc.

Yeah, I want to laugh but it might come down to that.

Please let us know what happens when you get verified and if your retakes went through or not

 

[torontopharm]

Yeah, I want to laugh but it might come down to that.

Please let us know what happens when you get verified and if your retakes went through or not

Definitely. I'm hoping to have all my documents sent in by the end of July.
If you don't mind me asking, how many courses did you re-take? I'm assuming this change in policy would cause a major ruckus once everyone finds out about it. Might even have an affect on # of applicants if this policy persists.

And to make this even sweeter...i was planning to re-take 2 of my old failed courses at my university but i've taken them so long ago that the course-code has since been changed, along with the title. While i can take "almost the same" course at my uni or other universities, and my uni will do the grade replacement for me, i'm 99% sure AACOMAS will screw me on this.
On the "bright side" (if there is one), primary care isn't out of the question coming from the Caribbean

 

[Stephanopolous]

Has anyone ever even heard of a university amending a transcript ?

 

[ClassicJandT]

Has anyone ever even heard of a university amending a transcript ?

Unfortunately, no. Wow, this is terrible. Is there another contact for aacomas besides the liasoncas number?

 

[mathnerd88]

Has anyone ever even heard of a university amending a transcript ?

To be honest? No. I've never heard of amended transcripts. Transcripts are amended only by professors if they made a mistake in grading or submission.

The school can provide documentation about the courses to AACOMAS but in my opinion it would be extremely difficult to change the course name in a transcript. That sounds like opening a whole can of worms for any school.

 

[Stephanopolous]

That's what I thought too. Well we'll see on Monday.

 

[yes_sir_44]

So far that seems correct. For example at my current university, it used to be called the "Zoology Department". Then last year they changed the name of the whole department to "Biology".

So this genetics course went from being called ZOO333 to BIO333. Same professor and everything, only thing that changed was the prefix. So AACOMAS is NOT giving it credit as a retake. Instead they are just throwing in the original grade along with the second attempt instead of the newest attempt replacing the old attempt.

Part 2:

Now I retook most of my poor grades at my current unversity and I made sure that I signed up for courses that are the same level, credits, and descption

So AACOMAS is not replacing this:

University 1: BIO303 Microbiology 3 Credits F

Unversity 2: MBIO383 Microbiology 3 Credits A



So they are still giving the old F grade 3 credits instead of the zero. So different university, different prefix, BUT Same amount of Credits and Course Level and AACOMAS is NOT counting it as a retake.

Sorry if this confusing everyone. I am very stressed right now, to say the least

Maybe they mean that you took class under different prefix name at 2nd university that is why they are not counting? I feel like if it was BIO383 they would have counted. The "M" might change things for them?

 

[NonTrad16]

@Everyone!

This sucks. A lot of time goes into applying, so it's incredible that if a change occurred they wouldn't make it more obvious...

 

[Gandyy]

I can't wait to see my results. 11 transcripts, 15 marked as repeats. I might get a 5.0 GPA!

11 TRANSCRIPTS????? mother of god

 

[mathnerd88]

Haha...he loves to go to many different schools!

 

[darkeon]

Folks posting on other threads here that they got their replacements granted despite the fact that their retakes were taken at different schools.
Sadly, it seems bad mojo for you guys. But do fight on, because if others are getting their retakes granted, then you afflicted ones are in your right to demand the retake grant.

 

[swollcat]

So it looks like this dilemma is affecting two types of grade replacement

A. If you retook a course at the same university, but the second take had a change in code or title, it is now being interpreted as a different course altogether and therefore disqualified from being grade replaced.

This sounds like Something that can be solved. You obviously DO NOT seek a trancript ammendment since that is just not reasonable. if you call X department at your school, they should be able to submit an addendum stating how the courses are commensurate, which AACOMAS would accept in turn coming directly from the birds mouth.

What is most disturbing is B. Courses taken at different schools such as community colleges are being rejected from being grade replaced because they obviously fail due to having unique course codes and titles.

If anyone else was successful in having a grade from a DIFFERENT school replaced please let us know so that it can be said that this is just an isolated incident that can be fixed upon review