When to submit AACOMAS?

[SailorHg]

I feel like I took one step forward today (shadowed a DO - and loved it!) and two steps back (didn't get the straight A's I wanted this quarter).

I'm looking for advice on when/if I should apply this year. All my pre-req's would be done by early June, but I am doing some more repeats for my AACOMAS cGPA, and one upper level bio course over the summer.

EC's:
- 253 hours non-clinical volunteering (Big Brothers Big Sisters, tutoring & teaching gymnastics to under-privileged inner city children)
- 219 hours clinical volunteering with direct patient contact.
- Probably about 40 hours of shadowing by the time I apply.
- Work experience as a programmer in a healthcare setting.

If I submit in June, my grades would look like this:
pbGPA: 3.53, cGPA: 3.01, sGPA (cum): 3.43

If I submit in early August, I would get bumped up slightly:
pbGPA: 3.62, cGPA: 3.1, sGPA (cum): 3.46

My MCAT is 513.

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrMikeP]

Might as well apply early as possible, assuming you have all the classes you need..9 isn't going to help that much. Apply broadly and to newer schools and then in Aug you can add the classes/update the GPA. It will be tight, any way to retake any FDCs over the summer?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[igor_raptor]

August isn't late. You'll be fine submitting then.

 

[brotherbanjo]

Even through September is still okay if your fairly competitive. I've heard of people applying as late as December and getting in, but I think you're chances do go down some if you start to wait too long. Earlier is better if you can though, and you can always update your application.

The one thing is that some schools may have a cutoff for the GPA they consider when they screen the primary applications, so I would just make sure you are reasonably close to the average GPA for specific schools. I bet you will be fine for most DO schools with your stats as they are now though. You could research the average GPA for schools to verify that.

If it is too low for the schools you want to apply to, you could consider waiting until you get your grades back to submit the primary application. School admission offices would probably be able to give you more specifics on what GPAs are competitive for their schools too.

Keep up the hard work!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[SailorHg]

@DrMikeP I will be doing some F/D/C retakes over the summer (and one upper level bio) but they wouldn't apply to AACOMAS' academic update policy because I'm doing them at another school. So I guess the grades would look good in that they would increase my upward trend, but they wouldn't impact my gpa much.

Thank you guys for the info! I get the feeling on SDN that August isn't really late for AACOMAS.

 

[cassis_Cake]

@DrMikeP I will be doing some F/D/C retakes over the summer (and one upper level bio) but they wouldn't apply to AACOMAS' academic update policy because I'm doing them at another school. So I guess the grades would look good in that they would increase my upward trend, but they wouldn't impact my gpa much.

Thank you guys for the info! I get the feeling on SDN that August isn't really late for AACOMAS.

Yes, but just keep in mind that submitting earlier do give you better chances so seriously aim for earlier submission if possible. Don't shoot yourself in the leg if you don't have to, like I did previous cycle.

 

[DrMikeP]

@DrMikeP I will be doing some F/D/C retakes over the summer (and one upper level bio) but they wouldn't apply to AACOMAS' academic update policy because I'm doing them at another school. So I guess the grades would look good in that they would increase my upward trend, but they wouldn't impact my gpa much.

Thank you guys for the info! I get the feeling on SDN that August isn't really late for AACOMAS.

The retakes with grade replacement will only buy you .9 of a point? It's a risk with the low GPA as a 3.25 would be better but the MCAT will help. You might get caught by a few filters but those often get worse as time passes. August is closer to on time vs early.

Your GPA is low either way so apply early or wait a year.

 

[SailorHg]

The retakes with grade replacement will only buy you .9 of a point? It's a risk with the low GPA as a 3.25 would be better but the MCAT will help. You might get caught by a few filters but those often get worse as time passes. August is closer to on time vs early.

Your GPA is low either way so apply early or wait a year.

Yep, I've been doing a few retakes already and the next round over the summer buy me 0.9 of a point. I have 130 credits from undergrad at a 2.35 (I know it's bad) and another 94ish credits in my DIY post-bacc.

@Goro would you mind offering your wisdom on this issue? Apply in June with 3.01 cGPA or mid August with a 3.1?

 

[Goro]

Mid August. 3.01 is circling the drain for Do schools. 3.1 can net you some IIs, even at schools whose names don't rhyme with "PUCOM"

Yep, I've been doing a few retakes already and the next round over the summer buy me 0.9 of a point. I have 130 credits from undergrad at a 2.35 (I know it's bad) and another 94ish credits in my DIY post-bacc.

@Goro would you mind offering your wisdom on this issue? Apply in June with 3.01 cGPA or mid August with a 3.1?