End of Grade Replacement?

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cantcatchme said:
"He or she might of failed"

The person who wrote this probably needed grade forgiveness for the English class they failed.
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Seeing as this was written by Della Mbaccha, there is a possibility English was not their first language.
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redsox93 said:
Seeing as this was written by Della Mbaccha, there is a possibility English was not their first language.
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Fair enough, but if this is what people want to present to AACOMAS, they could have at least gotten a friend to proof read it.

How can they be expected to be taken seriously with such a poorly written petition. Would anyone submit a personal statement of this quality and reasonably expect success?
 
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cantcatchme said:
Fair enough, but if this is what people want to present to AACOMAS, they could have at least gotten a friend to proof read it.

How can they be expected to be taken seriously with such a poorly written petition. Would anyone submit a personal statement of this quality and reasonably expect success?
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They were probably banking on replacing their poorly written petition and having only the new and improved petition considered.


Too soon?
 
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Frogger27 said:
They were probably banking on replacing their poorly written petition and having only the new and improved petition considered.


Too soon?
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I had to laugh out loud for this one.
 
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So, with this new policy, would a special masters program be better as opposed to retaking classes during a post-bacc, for an applicant who needs to raise their science GPA?
 
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Jennifer A said:
So, with this new policy, would a special masters program be a better as opposed to retaking classes during a post-bacc, for an applicant who needs to raise their science GPA?
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That seems to be the general consensus from all the adcoms on here.
 
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Does anybody know how retaken courses will now be evaluated?

If you take a 3 credit course and get an F, then retake and get an A do you get 3 credits of F and 3 credits of A? This would average to 6 credits of C... Or do you get 3 credits of the average? This would still average to C, but would only be counted as 3 credits...

This matters because as you rack up more and more credits it becomes difficult to raise your GPA significantly...
 
100% true at my school and many others.
HMtoDO said:
Based on everything I've read preclinical grades were MUCH more correlated to board scores than MCAT scores.
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The new MCAT is way too new for anyone to have assessed it yet. Give people about 2-3 years of data points first.
HMtoDO said:
Interesting read however I would be interested in data that is more recent (new MCAT particularly) though. Even based on this study they even say it has small to medium validity which is far from a "strong" correlation. Based on all the advice on here it still seems that preclinical grades are more indicative of board performance @Goro any input?


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It will be handled exactly the way MD schools do it. Retaken grades are averaged.



09kseljaas said:
Does anybody know how retaken courses will now be evaluated?

If you take a 3 credit course and get an F, then retake and get an A do you get 3 credits of F and 3 credits of A? This would average to 6 credits of C... Or do you get 3 credits of the average? This would still average to C, but would only be counted as 3 credits...

This matters because as you rack up more and more credits it becomes difficult to raise your GPA significantly...
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kovalchuk71 said:
Is there a master SMP list somewhere (DO SMPs)?
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I think the AACOM DO handbook pdf (which is free) details each DO school and discusses whether the program offers an SMP, and if so if there is an automatic admissions offer if certain GPA is reached, etc.
 
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Are SMP's covered by financial aid? It's a masters program, after all....
 
09kseljaas said:
Does anybody know how retaken courses will now be evaluated?

If you take a 3 credit course and get an F, then retake and get an A do you get 3 credits of F and 3 credits of A? This would average to 6 credits of C... Or do you get 3 credits of the average? This would still average to C, but would only be counted as 3 credits...

This matters because as you rack up more and more credits it becomes difficult to raise your GPA significantly...
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You'd have 3 credits with an F and 3 more with an A. So 6 credits. It's just taking more classes. And yes, it will be harder to raise your GPA significantly. The upward trend and the crushing of the MCAT will be more important than ever.
Some slacker that took 2 years to fail out of school, joined the marines, got his **** together and came out with an improved understanding of the importance of school and got a ~3.7 over another 3 years and does well on the MCAT will still get in. Even with a cumulative ~3.0 GPA.
Just do what we've been doing over in allopathic school and crush the MCAT.


--
Il Destriero
 
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If possible, please redirect to the stickied thread in order to have a more cohesive discussion in one thread as opposed to having several disjointed discussions going on at the same time. It'll be more constructive for everyone in this situation.
 
FutureD.O said:
If possible, please redirect to the stickied thread in order to have a more cohesive discussion in one thread as opposed to having several disjointed discussions going on at the same time. It'll be more constructive for everyone in this situation.
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But this was the original
 
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I'm one of the people it crushes. I shouldn't have messed around 9 years ago, basically failed a whole year of college. 4 years later started at a new school, retook everything, had a 3.52 cGPA, now it's a 3.01. Taking the MCAT in June. Kinda discouraging, not knowing if it will matter even if I crush it. Only redeeming thing I have is some good extracurricular stuff and a 3.62 sGPA, even without replacement. I was a criminal justice major before, so when I wasn't doing well luckily I didn't take any science classes. 3.8 for the last 5 semesters, worst grade was a B+ in ochem 1 and 2, but A in physics and gen chem and biochem. Didn't think I'd need an SMP, but now....
 
Yhorm the Giant said:
I'm one of the people it crushes. I shouldn't have messed around 9 years ago, basically failed a whole year of college. 4 years later started at a new school, retook everything, had a 3.52 cGPA, now it's a 3.01. Taking the MCAT in June. Kinda discouraging, not knowing if it will matter even if I crush it. Only redeeming thing I have is some good extracurricular stuff and a 3.62 sGPA, even without replacement. I was a criminal justice major before, so when I wasn't doing well luckily I didn't take any science classes. 3.8 for the last 5 semesters, worst grade was a B+ in ochem 1 and 2, but A in physics and gen chem and biochem. Didn't think I'd need an SMP, but now....
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I'm no expert but that's a very solid science gpa, is that your BCP or BCPM? AACOMAS uses BCP only. Combined with a good MCAT it seems that you'd have a shot, I have no experience to rely on yet though, just my opinion.
 
This leaves me having a few questions. Is it even remotely possible that AACOMAS offers a "grace period" for those applying into this upcoming cycle? How do you think the schools will view grades because of the spontaneity of this new policy? Did the grade replacement policy(before it was taken away) really affect the GPA's of the applicants and if so, wouldn't there be a decrease in the GPAs of the applicant pool?

This completely sucks btw and i expected better :shrug::shrug::(
 
youngandambitious1 said:
This leaves me having a few questions. Is it even remotely possible that AACOMAS offers a "grace period" for those applying into this upcoming cycle? How do you think the schools will view grades because of the spontaneity of this new policy? Did the grade replacement policy(before it was taken away) really affect the GPA's of the applicants and if so, wouldn't there be a decrease in the GPAs of the applicant pool?

This completely sucks btw and i expected better :shrug::shrug::(
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Anything is possible but from the sounds of it there was a grace period given to AACOMAS, it just wasn't passed to us. I wouldn't get your hopes up.
 
Yhorm the Giant said:
I'm one of the people it crushes. I shouldn't have messed around 9 years ago, basically failed a whole year of college. 4 years later started at a new school, retook everything, had a 3.52 cGPA, now it's a 3.01. Taking the MCAT in June. Kinda discouraging, not knowing if it will matter even if I crush it. Only redeeming thing I have is some good extracurricular stuff and a 3.62 sGPA, even without replacement. I was a criminal justice major before, so when I wasn't doing well luckily I didn't take any science classes. 3.8 for the last 5 semesters, worst grade was a B+ in ochem 1 and 2, but A in physics and gen chem and biochem. Didn't think I'd need an SMP, but now....
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Honestly man I think you're still on pretty good shape. Your sGPA is awesome. Make sure you have good DO LoRs and a good MCAT, apply broadly and I really think you're gonna get in.
 
metoo said:
Is it the last 20 credits they look at?
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Obviously that's not a hard and fast rule, but many DO schools tend to reward reinvention even if it's not technically reflected in your GPA.
 
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Someone at AACOMAS & Liaison International definitely complained and was like... I don't want to verify these kids transcripts anymore. lol
 
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I'm happy with this change I believe it needs to happen.
 
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Freibergs Infarction said:
I'm no expert but that's a very solid science gpa, is that your BCP or BCPM? AACOMAS uses BCP only. Combined with a good MCAT it seems that you'd have a shot, I have no experience to rely on yet though, just my opinion.
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Yeah that's my BCP, so here is to hoping... nothing to do but nail that test. Yeah my sGPA is my redeeming quality, I'm just lucky that 9 years ago when I decided to take college classes for the heck of it none of those were science classes
 
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psu228 said:
Honestly man I think you're still on pretty good shape. Your sGPA is awesome. Make sure you have good DO LoRs and a good MCAT, apply broadly and I really think you're gonna get in.
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Thanks I really hope so! I just hope they look at that 3.62 sGPA and that I've had a 3.8 for the last 6 semesters. I just need to not get down and be glad my 3.01 is above most screen lines
 
Yhorm the Giant said:
Yeah my sGPA is my redeeming quality, I'm just lucky that 9 years ago when I decided to take college classes for the heck of it none of those were science classes
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Fortunately, I am also in this exact situation. Although, It does feel odd that my course selection from 2007 is having such a drastic impact on me now.
 
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cptnjack said:
Curious as to what is your reasoning?
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I think the DO philosophy is the superior philosophy in medicine and stigmas associated with Osteopathy undermine how great it's foundation is so anything done to lessen the stigma I feel will help bring this philosophy to more patients and result in better care.
Additionally, I recognize it may be ignorant, but I don't understand how you can do so poorly in so many classes to need grade replacement. The gpa requirements aren't insane. I bombed a whole semester due to mono and I fought my way back. After one bad semester, personally I learned a lot about myself and how I work best which set me up to succeed later on in undergrad even through kidney failure and a concussion during a very critical finals week. So I just feel that if someone cannot take an introspective look at themselves after doing poorly in one semester that maybe they should consider other career paths.
 
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DOCzilla15 said:
I think the DO philosophy is the superior philosophy in medicine and stigmas associated with Osteopathy undermine how great it's foundation is so anything done to lessen the stigma I feel will help bring this philosophy to more patients and result in better care.
Additionally, I recognize it may be ignorant, but I don't understand how you can do so poorly in so many classes to need grade replacement. The gpa requirements aren't insane. I bombed a whole semester due to mono and I fought my way back. After one bad semester, personally I learned a lot about myself and how I work best which set me up to succeed later on in undergrad even through kidney failure and a concussion during a very critical finals week. So I just feel that if someone cannot take an introspective look at themselves after doing poorly in one semester that maybe they should consider other career paths.
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It's easy to come back after a poor semester especially if while you are in school you already know you want to pursue medicine. The people that were truly taking advantage of this policy to its full effect were people who damn near finished a BA/BS without a thought of medicine and then a decade worth of life experience later realized they wanted to practice medicine. Much more difficult in that scenario which is the majority of the people who are getting frustrated (rightfully so) by being blindsided.


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HMtoDO said:
It's easy to come back after a poor semester especially if while you are in school you already know you want to pursue medicine. The people that were truly taking advantage of this policy to its full effect were people who damn near finished a BA/BS without a thought of medicine and then a decade worth of life experience later realized they wanted to practice medicine. Much more difficult in that scenario which is the majority of the people who are getting frustrated (rightfully so) by being blindsided.


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And I can understand that but they still can retake the class it's just that if they initially got a C and later got an A it averages to a B. Which is the way it should be. If they have all that life experience they should understand that life doesn't work on the grade replacement principle where you can forget about your past mistakes and re do the work entirely. Not to mention if you take a class twice it's going to be far easier since you've seen everything before. Those applicants in that post bacc situation can retake classes, better their gpa without grade replacement and then take a masters in medical sciences and be competitive if they do well in that. I just think there are other ways, sure they aren't as easy but this is medicine it isn't supposed to be easy.
 
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DOCzilla15 said:
And I can understand that but they still can retake the class it's just that if they initially got a C and later got an A it averages to a B. Which is the way it should be. If they have all that life experience they should understand that life doesn't work on the grade replacement principle where you can forget about your past mistakes and re do the work entirely. Not to mention if you take a class twice it's going to be far easier since you've seen everything before. Those applicants in that post bacc situation can retake classes, better their gpa without grade replacement and then take a masters in medical sciences and be competitive if they do well in that. I just think there are other ways, sure they aren't as easy but this is medicine it isn't supposed to be easy.
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I agree somewhat. I can guarantee you the Gen Chem or Bio class I took in 2004 did not help me whatsoever when I took it more than 10 years later. It was not as you say, far easier because 10 years later I couldn't even tell you what a mole was lol! I don't think the change in policy is a bad thing, just implemented poorly. People with life experience make their decisions based on what path is the most fruitful given the efforts, time and money you put in. To plan in advance then get blindsided only to spend more time and money is a low blow.


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HMtoDO said:
I agree somewhat. I can guarantee you the Gen Chem or Bio class I took in 2004 did not help me whatsoever when I took it more than 10 years later. It was not as you say, far easier because 10 years later I couldn't even tell you what a mole was lol! I don't think the change in policy is a bad thing, just implemented poorly. People with life experience make their decisions based on what path is the most fruitful given the efforts, time and money you put in. To plan in advance then get blindsided only to spend more time and money is a low blow.


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I can understand that it was implemented poorly.
 
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It seems like all of the recently accepted students seem to be happy about this policy being implemented. I wonder if their opinions were different if they were still applicants?

Hmm.............
 
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kovalchuk71 said:
It seems like all of the recently accepted students seem to be happy about this policy being implemented. I wonder if their opinions were different if they were still applicants?

Hmm.............
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I agree. I would be devastated after prepping and planning for a couple years and when you are FINALLY ready to apply get shut down. The ****ty part is realizing you are gonna have to wait another year or two just to get ready to apply again. The move as a whole is a move in the right direction, but more finesse during the implementation or notification should have been present.

I hope all you guys get positive results and this won't delay you any further!


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kovalchuk71 said:
It seems like all of the recently accepted students seem to be happy about this policy being implemented. I wonder if their opinions were different if they were still applicants?

Hmm.............
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I wouldn't say it's the fact that they/we are accepted, it's that quite a few of us didn't use grade replacement. None of us are saying that the timing and implementation is fair because it absolutely isn't.
 
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HMtoDO said:
I agree. I would be devastated after prepping and planning for a couple years and when you are FINALLY ready to apply get shut down. The ****ty part is realizing you are gonna have to wait another year or two just to get ready to apply again. The move as a whole is a move in the right direction, but more finesse during the implementation or notification should have been present.

I hope all you guys get positive results and this won't delay you any further!


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Pretty much my deal. Worked from a 1.9 to a 3.1, now I have a 2.4 lmfao. I wouldn't have put years of work in if I had known my chances were going to get swiped out from under me with no warning. I don't even know if I can get into an SMP at this point. :/
 
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RamsFan&FutureDO said:
I wouldn't say it's the fact that they/we are accepted, it's that quite a few of us didn't use grade replacement. None of us are saying that the timing and implementation is fair because it absolutely isn't.
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This^
 
RamsFan&FutureDO said:
I wouldn't say it's the fact that they/we are accepted, it's that quite a few of us didn't use grade replacement. None of us are saying that the timing and implementation is fair because it absolutely isn't.
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OK, fair enough. I've just seen the attitude on here go from super encouraging to snide "Oh, since I'm in now, I don't want you here with me."

I'm not trying to point any fingers either. It's just a general observation I've witnessed. :)
 
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kovalchuk71 said:
OK, fair enough. I've just seen the attitude on here go from super encouraging to snide "Oh, since I'm in now, I don't want you here with me." I'm not trying to point any fingers either. It's just a general observation I've witnessed. :)
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Was your expectation that everyone was going to be super encouraging about AACOMAS resolving a highly exploitable feature?

Sudden variance by nature is bound to create polarizing stances.
 
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