Need Advice: When to submit AMCAS - After Summer Session?

[Live4Life]

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I am a post-bac student who graduated in May 2007 and I intend to apply this year for entry in 2009. I have completed all of the prerequisite course except Organic Chem I & II and Physics II. Currently my science GPA is 3.29 and my cumulative GPA is a 3.48. I am registered for Orgo I & II this summer (only taking the lecture, I will take the lab during the school year when I am not so rushed because I work full-time as well). My less than stellar GPA is the result of a horrendous freshmen year (2.9 cGPA and a 2.0 science GPA). I transfered from a top 20 school to another top 20 school after freshmen year becuase the first school just wasn't a fit for me. Since then my GPA has been >3.8.

I need advice on when to submit my AMCAS application because I don't want to submit it too late. I am fairly certain that I will be able to obtain A's in both Orgo I & II, which would bring my science GPA to a 3.38 and my cumulative GPA to a 3.49. Should I wait until after second summer session to submit my AMCAS application (Grades will be available July 28th, after which I can Fed-ex straight from the school to AAMC) or should I submit it earlier? Also I am contemplating taking Physics II at the same time as Orgo II. If I manage an A in Physics, my cGPA would be a 3.5 and my science GPA would be a 3.40. Would you recommend that I take physics II and Organic II during the same summer session or would that be torture considering the condensed nature of summer courses? Also, I will be taking the MCAT in June which I hopefully expect to score approximately a 34 because I have been scoring 34-38 on the AAMC practice exams.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, I don't want to push back applying another year so I am definitely going to apply this year. So should I wait or submit early? and, is taking orgo II and Physics II at the same time over the summer a bad idea? Thanks!

 

[fireflygirl]

I am a post-bac student who graduated in May 2007 and I intend to apply this year for entry in 2009. I have completed all of the prerequisite course except Organic Chem I & II and Physics II. Currently my science GPA is 3.29 and my cumulative GPA is a 3.48. I am registered for Orgo I & II this summer (only taking the lecture, I will take the lab during the school year when I am not so rushed because I work full-time as well). My less than stellar GPA is the result of a horrendous freshmen year (2.9 cGPA and a 2.0 science GPA). I transfered from a top 20 school to another top 20 school after freshmen year becuase the first school just wasn't a fit for me. Since then my GPA has been >3.8.

I need advice on when to submit my AMCAS application because I don't want to submit it too late. I am fairly certain that I will be able to obtain A's in both Orgo I & II, which would bring my science GPA to a 3.38 and my cumulative GPA to a 3.49. Should I wait until after second summer session to submit my AMCAS application (Grades will be available July 28th, after which I can Fed-ex straight from the school to AAMC) or should I submit it earlier?

I would submit before the end of summer session II and just have your additional grades added on later. You want to get in line to be complete ASAP so I would have everything that you can submit no later than July 4th. I did that and was considered complete by end of August or beginning September (can't remember exactly) but I was pretty early.

Also I am contemplating taking Physics II at the same time as Orgo II. If I manage an A in Physics, my cGPA would be a 3.5 and my science GPA would be a 3.40. Would you recommend that I take physics II and Organic II during the same summer session or would that be torture considering the condensed nature of summer courses?

I took Physics II and Organic II together but NOT during a summer session. Depending on your school, summer sessions can be incredibly hectic and overwhelming and I would hate to see you ruin a GPA that may already give you some difficulty. I would see how summer session one goes first with Orgo I and then see if you can handle two classes depending on how you do. Also, I thought Orgo I was far easier than Orgo II and with a class like Physics II on top of that, you might be putting yourself in a difficult position

Also, I will be taking the MCAT in June which I hopefully expect to score approximately a 34 because I have been scoring 34-38 on the AAMC practice exams.

I'm glad to see that you are scoring well on the practice exams despite not having some important pre-reqs. Just bear in mind that some people fall a few points from their practice tests so you may want to have a back-up plan in case things don't go as you expect.

 

[Bond8204]

I would submit before the end of summer session II and just have your additional grades added on later. You want to get in line to be complete ASAP so I would have everything that you can submit no later than July 4th. I did that and was considered complete by end of August or beginning September (can't remember exactly) but I was pretty early.

I agree, and would say you should submit even earlier than this...as in...early June. The advantage of having your application complete early will outweigh the advantage of having those grades available.

The course of events would go like this, then:

--Summer session/submit AMCAS/MCAT studying in June
--Summer session/MCAT/Secondaries receiving in July.
--Complete Secondaries/Submit all letters of recommendation/Submit complete grades in August.

This way you're looking at everything into the schools, your MCAT score being submitted to them, and your updated grades/gpa submitted to them by late August at the latest. You do that you're still in the game.

You wait until September and every week that passes is going to start to hurt you.

 

[Live4Life]

I will wait for my summer session I grades to be released (June 20th) and submit that transcript immediately thereafter. I will have my other two transcripts sent in way before that date. I'm hoping then that my application will be verified by July 15th when the June 13th MCAT scores have been released.

 

[Bond8204]

Good plan. You're probably looking at a verification that's slightly later (i.e. July 20th, late July, early August at worst).

Either way, that's around the time secondaries would be sent anyway. As a general point, make sure you burn through those secondaries (it's a tough thing to do, because you want to spend so much time make sure every one is perfect and is the best it can be). Make sure all letters of rec are received by the time you're submitting those secondaries.

 

[SgtDoc]

Just to clarify, AMCAS will complete your transcript verification if you have classes in progress? I was planning on sending in transcripts at the end of May, when Spring grades come in. By that point I will already be in the first session of summer school, but I don't want to wait for those grades to be final...

 

[SketchLazy]

Just to clarify, AMCAS will complete your transcript verification if you have classes in progress? I was planning on sending in transcripts at the end of May, when Spring grades come in. By that point I will already be in the first session of summer school, but I don't want to wait for those grades to be final...

If your classes are in progress and you indicate that they are in progress on your AMCAS application, then they will put your application on hold until they get official transcripts for the semester. This will make your application really late. You should just go with your spring grades.

 

[SgtDoc]

If your classes are in progress and you indicate that they are in progress on your AMCAS application, then they will put your application on hold until they get official transcripts for the semester. This will make your application really late. You should just go with your spring grades.

Okay, so instead of "in progress," should I mark them as future/planned courses?

 

[SketchLazy]

Okay, so instead of "in progress," should I mark them as future/planned courses?

That's it. I was taking a class over the summer, and had to wait until my transcripts were in because I put in progress. I was verified and complete late August even though the class ended early July.

 

[SilkyDelicious]

Definitely DO NOT WAIT. That's the worst mistake you can make when applying.

Submit your AMCAS in early June, within a week or two of the first date if you want to be in the first group AMCAS sends to Med Schools. Then just update the AMCAS when you get your grades.

If you wait til late july you probably wouldn't be verified by AMCAS until late August and wouldn't be able to access any secondaries. You'd basicially be screwed.

If you apply early you'll be in the system at schools and they won't really look at your application utnil everything is submitted anyways so you can wait on the secondaries or payments until after you have your grades. Even then you'll know how your classes are going and can wait on submitting secondaries at some of your 'reach' schools to get the higher GPA, and submit secondaries at some lower tier schools, we are only talking a difference of a 0.09 science GPA.

And... you could get a 38 on that MCAT and could probably pull some decent interviews even with the slightly lower GPA.

There's no negative to applying early, accept you might waste a little money on primary apps if you end up not submitting all the secondaries based on your GPA and MCAT, but an extra $200 is nothing in this whole process...and this is worst case scenario for applying early. Whereas, if waiting to apply, worst case you get no interviews, you waste $1000+ on primaries and secondaries AND have to reapply next year 😱

 

[SilkyDelicious]

Depending on your lifestyle taking Physics II and Orgo over the summer could be a really bad idea especially at a top 20 school. You'll also be working full time, and completing applications.

I was at a top school as well and took both Orgo I & II over consecutive summers (after Freshman and Soph years) and it was pretty easy, but it was my only class so I could dedicate all my energy to it. I worked about 20 hrs/wk and partied a lot, but that was exactly what I wanted to do and how I planned it. You seem a bit more on top of things, so you should be fine, though I wouldn't 100% expect A's cause those are generally speaking 2 very difficult courses at any top school.

 

[copingmethods]

If your classes are in progress and you indicate that they are in progress on your AMCAS application, then they will put your application on hold until they get official transcripts for the semester. This will make your application really late. You should just go with your spring grades.

I was under the impression that if you indicate that your classes are "In progress or future," then they don't verify those ones at all.

I mean, if someone is applying at the end of their junior year, they have an entire year of "In progress or future" classes, and they obviously don't put your app. on hold until they receive those.

I might have just misunderstood you though 😳

 

[SketchLazy]

I was under the impression that if you indicate that your classes are "In progress or future," then they don't verify those ones at all.

I mean, if someone is applying at the end of their junior year, they have an entire year of "In progress or future" classes, and they obviously don't put your app. on hold until they receive those.

I might have just misunderstood you though 😳

You're right. My problem was unique because I was taking a class over the summer at a cc and they required a transcript from the cc even though it was in progress. I had to wait until I had grades, otherwise my transcript would have been blank.

 

[Live4Life]

So I got a message from someone on this board named premedcoach after this posting. They wrote,

"I have read through your question and the answers you've received. Let me point out to you that without org chem and physics, you do not meet the admission requirements for any medical school (i'm surprised you are doing so well on practice mcats without them too). So you're asking when is good for AMCAS to verify your application with half the pre-reqs missing.
As a private pre-medical advisor, it is my recommendation that you submit your AMCAS when you have met all the requirements. Yes that means you won't be early, but even if you were early, they wont look at you. You might be fooled into thinking the medical schools are ok with your application not being complete if they send you secondaries (or this may be true of posters on sdn), but the truth is many medical schools send out secondaries without any filter - they send them to everyone!
To summarize: submit amcas when all courses are complete, even if that is the end of the summer.
If you'd like to get any further help, please feel free to contact me.
Beth Justin
Private Premedical Advisor
www.premedadvisor.com"


I knew one person who completed the process application process without finishing the pre-requisite courses and was admitted, but this person is basically telling me that I don't stand a chance if I don't complete these courses first. I need some opinions, has anyone been admitted without completing all of the prerequisite courses? Clearly I will complete them before the end of 2008, but apparently, according to premedcoach, that is too late and I don't stand a chance.

 

[Bond8204]

whoa whoa whoa. But your grades will be available by August, right?

So you list them as future/current courses, and send those grades to the schools immediately when they come out. They'll look at you when that happens. Maybe stay on top of the schools to which you've applied.

Edit: Waiting to submit AMCAS until that's happened will result in your verification in october. you are royally focked at that point.

 

[LizzyM]

I know of one wildly successful applicant who applied before taking Bio II. However, that applicant had a gpa >3.9 BCPM >3.9 and an MCAT >32.

I tend to agree with the post above that states that missing half of the pre-reqs and having a less than stellar performance in general is going to get you passed over for interview at many, many schools. You may think that you don't want to wait a year but you may be re-applying in 2009 which means not only do you wait out a year but you do it poorer than you would be if you sat out the year.

 

[Live4Life]

I know of one wildly successful applicant who applied before taking Bio II. However, that applicant had a gpa >3.9 BCPM >3.9 and an MCAT >32.

I tend to agree with the post above that states that missing half of the pre-reqs and having a less than stellar performance in general is going to get you passed over for interview at many, many schools. You may think that you don't want to wait a year but you may be re-applying in 2009 which means not only do you wait out a year but you do it poorer than you would be if you sat out the year.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I definitely appreciate the honest advice. Its always nice to have a healthy dose of honesty. I guess my only option is to take all three courses and wait until after the grades have posted to submit my application. Looks like its time to get my rear into high gear and ace these classes! Hopefully the classes won't be too difficult because I have been working through the Orgo and Physics books used by my university for the last six months, which is why I have been able to do so well on the practice exams.

LizzyM, I am slightly confused by what you meant when you said, "You may think that you don't want to wait a year but you may be re-applying in 2009 which means not only do you wait out a year but you do it poorer than you would be if you sat out the year". Are you saying that reapplying puts me at a distinct disadvantage over applying for the first time even if I have made significant improvements in my GPA over that time?

 

[LizzyM]

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I definitely appreciate the honest advice. Its always nice to have a healthy dose of honesty. I guess my only option is to take all three courses and wait until after the grades have posted to submit my application. Looks like its time to get my rear into high gear and ace these classes! Hopefully the classes won't be too difficult because I have been working through the Orgo and Physics books used by my university for the last six months, which is why I have been able to do so well on the practice exams.

LizzyM, I am slightly confused by what you meant when you said, "You may think that you don't want to wait a year but you may be re-applying in 2009 which means not only do you wait out a year but you do it poorer than you would be if you sat out the year". Are you saying that reapplying puts me at a distinct disadvantage over applying for the first time even if I have made significant improvements in my GPA over that time?

What I meant is that if you pay the application fees in 2008 and don't get any interviews (a distinct possibility) then you are out the $$$ and still end up applying in 2009 rather than saving the application fees this time around and waiting unitl 2009 to make an application.

There is also the emotional heartbreak associated with no interviews or a few late-season interviews or interviews that all lead to waitlists. There are circles upon circles of hell here.

 

[Live4Life]

Thanks LizzyM! I appreciate the advice, and since I am unfortunately not independently wealthy, I might heed your advice.

 

[cadingcading]

FYI-I would assume that many schools don't worry if you don't complete the pre-reqs before the application, you just need to complete them before matriculation. Anyway, waiting a year wouldn't hurt.

 

[Live4Life]

FYI-I would assume that many schools don't worry if you don't complete the pre-reqs before the application, you just need to complete them before matriculation. Anyway, waiting a year wouldn't hurt.

What makes you assume that most schools don't care if the pre-reqs aren't completed before the application because that is the assumption that I was under; however, it seems that the two pre-med advisors on the site think differently.

 

[cadingcading]

What makes you assume that most schools don't care if the pre-reqs aren't completed before the application because that is the assumption that I was under; however, it seems that the two pre-med advisors on the site think differently.

I emailed several of the schools that I would be very interested in attending because I am in somewhat of a similar boat. It ultimately depends on the school though, as some will only allow biochem to be taken before matriculation. Good luck.

 

[bUBBA gUMP]

I will wait for my summer session I grades to be released (June 20th) and submit that transcript immediately thereafter. I will have my other two transcripts sent in way before that date. I'm hoping then that my application will be verified by July 15th when the June 13th MCAT scores have been released.

4health:

i was going to ask a question that you've answered now--thanks a bunch!

my order of operations—for someone currently taking a course or more and wanting to include it on the amcas but also send the amcas asap—is following:

1) request OTs from all but one school (using official amcas form) this month of may
2) receive grade from that "one school"
3) submit AMCAS 6/4 (day one amcas) with that grade in hand
4) request transcript from "that one school"
5) go on vacation

 

[Excelsius]

I was wondering, does the advice of submitting AMCAS application only after transcripts are ready (summer) applicable even if the courses you take are not pre-reqs? Particularly, if they are upper division science courses that are going to help a low overall and BCPM GPA. Maybe there is a general consensus as to how much it must increase your GPA to make it worth applying later (maybe +0.05 or something)?

 

[Excelsius]

Anyone has any idea?