DO 32 MCAT, 3.3 cGPA, 2.9 sGPA

[bae.area.premed123]

CA Resident

Applying to: Touro, Western, ACOM, PCOM, CCOM, AT Still, DMU, LECOM, LMU, EVCOM

Stats:
- 11 PS, 11 V, 10 BS (32, taken Aug 2013)
- 3.31 cGPA
- 2.92 sGPA
- 3.0 post-bacc GPA
- 2 DO LOR's (alum from Touro and Western)
- 2 W's in undergrad courses, but retook those and got B+ in both (Physics, ochem)
- currently taking anatomy on my own through BYU, taking the final in 2 weeks but currently have 92% in the course overall

Experience(s):
- 1 year in behavioral neuro lab, 6 months in cardiology lab (no publications)
- sole publication in literary journal, about alternative therapy/treatments
- TA for medical ethics course in post-bacc
- teaching 7th-12th grade kids at under-served schools in LA for 3 years (basic sciences, neuroscience)
- undergrad student govt committee chair for academic research funding (2 year)
- started club in undergrad about mental health awareness (1 year); is still running
- RA in college (2 years)
- shadowing (>100 hours) + hospital volunteering (>400 hours)
- president of club that did education about preventing domestic violence/sexual assault, both on campus and local charities/organizations (3 years; have an LOR from here because the advisor and I are pretty close)
- coordinated alternative spring break trip to NOLA for a week where we worked with local elementary school helping with schoolwork and teaching them basic hygiene/health/science (washing hands, what happens when you get sick, things like that)

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[NorthOfBroad]

Ill be honest, that sGPA and Post-Bacc GPA are not good. I am not well-versed in DO admissions, but with your activities you might be a good DO candidate.

 

[bae.area.premed123]

Ill be honest, that sGPA and Post-Bacc GPA are not good. I am not well-versed in DO admissions, but with your activities you might be a good DO candidate.

agreed for sGPA. rocky start to undergrad bc I assumed that acing AP bio and chem in HS (A's both semesters, 5 on AP exam) meant I didn't really have to try. got my ass kicked nicely and in ochem 1, but pulled it around near the end. B+ in neurbio, A- in behavioral neuro, B+ in physics both sems, A in ochem 2. didn't really fix the damage entirely, but pulled off a 3.5 GPA last 3 semesters of undergrad.

post-bacc, sem 1 was taking physiology/histology exams on same day. both classes, the grade was based on only two exams each. 8-9:15 AM for physio, 9:45 - 11:15 AM for histo. for some ****ed up reason, woke up at 8:35 AM and rush-sprinted to class by 8:45 AM.
didn't get much of a time extension (understandably, it was my mistake). rushed thru physio 8:45 AM - 9:30 AM and took histo right after with not much time in between. needless to say, did horrendously in both and while I tried to pull those grades up for the second exam, it was not enough to bring me up.

I know this is something I must address in a secondary/interview, and I'm trying to think of how. I focused my PS on why I am interested in medicine/osteo, learning to consider the big pictures and small details that make it up. medicine is an evolving science which demands a life-long commitment to education, something I'm passionate about which is evident through my experiences that are related and unrelated to medicine (shadowing, EC, meeting a DO vs. MD for herniated disc and sciatica).

In my PS, my intro was about a chance encounter with a certain retired but very famous journalist I met in the cafeteria of the hospital I was shadowing at (he was visiting a doctor he was close friends with). While this guy has no medical background, he's surprisingly very well-read on certain topics and we had a discussion on the importance of education in medicine. I kept this to a paragraph, but I talk about how our discussion connected/connects with my interests.

 

[GrapesofRath]

You can go ahead and apply this cycle and see what happens but I suspect the post-bacc GPA will be a pretty significant red flag. At the very least I would recommend to start taking classes during this next year to raise your GPA and have some kind of upward trend to prove to ADCOMs you can handle the rigor of a medical school course load(because you haven't yet through your transcript) so that if you have to re-apply you can have something right away that addresses your big weakness in your GPA rather than potentially having to sit here a year from now with no acceptances, the same GPA and an MCAT that is one year closer to expiring. I would also strongly recommend focusing on the newer DO schools; the Touro and Western types of the world are not where your focus should be with that post-bac GPA.

 

[bae.area.premed123]

You can go ahead and apply this cycle and see what happens but I suspect the post-bacc GPA will be a pretty significant red flag. At the very least I would recommend to start taking classes during this next year to raise your GPA and have some kind of upward trend to prove to ADCOMs you can handle the rigor of a medical school course load(because you haven't yet through your transcript) so that if you have to re-apply you can have something right away that addresses your big weakness in your GPA rather than potentially having to sit here a year from now with no acceptances, the same GPA and an MCAT that is one year closer to expiring. I would also strongly recommend focusing on the newer DO schools; the Touro and Western types of the world are not where your focus should be with that post-bac GPA.

Does it particularly matter where I retake some of these classes? As in online vs. CC vs. State school? I think I could benefit from retaking gen bio to raise those grades a bit to raise my sGPA.

And would the anatomy course I'm taking help with that?

 

[GrapesofRath]

Does it particularly matter where I retake some of these classes? As in online vs. CC vs. State school? I think I could benefit from retaking gen bio to raise those grades a bit to raise my sGPA.

And would the anatomy course I'm taking help with that?

I wouldn't focus on re-taking classes that much. The fact your post-bac GPA which is supposed to be an audition to medical school is so low is a big red flag. You need to take more classes to prove your worth, new classes that is. Re-taking classes and getting A's proves next to nothing in terms of showing you can handle the rigors of medical school. Re-taking is fine for those with upward trends who's numerical GPA is simply low; when you have a downward trend and haven't shown the performance ADCOMs want to see in school you need to correct that first.

Ultimately, it usually won't matter where you take it but given you did poorly in a post-bac, I'm not sure it's in your best interest to now start taking CC classes. Best bet is to try and see if you can take more classes at that school or a similar state U and ace them.

 

[bae.area.premed123]

I wouldn't focus on re-taking classes that much. The fact your post-bac GPA which is supposed to be an audition to medical school is so low is a big red flag. You need to take more classes to prove your worth, new classes that is. Re-taking classes and getting A's proves next to nothing in terms of showing you can handle the rigors of medical school. Re-taking is fine for those with upward trends who's numerical GPA is simply low; when you have a downward trend and haven't shown the performance ADCOMs want to see in school you need to correct that first.

Ultimately, it usually won't matter where you take it but given you did poorly in a post-bac, I'm not sure it's in your best interest to now start taking CC classes. Best bet is to try and see if you can take more classes at that school or a similar state U and ace them.

Any recommendation(s) on what I should consider taking?

Classes I did comparatively "better" on in my postbacc: immunology (A-), biochem (B), neuroscience (B+), nutrition (B), medical ethics (A).
Classes I did poorly in in the post-bacc: physiology, histology/microanatomy
Currently taking the anatomy course and that's at an A-/A right now, final slated to be completed in 2 weeks and preparing for that.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Any recommendation(s) on what I should consider taking?

Classes I did comparatively "better" on in my postbacc: immunology (A-), biochem (B), neuroscience (B+), nutrition (B), medical ethics (A).
Classes I did poorly in in the post-bacc: physiology, histology/microanatomy
Currently taking the anatomy course and that's at an A-/A right now, final slated to be completed in 2 weeks and preparing for that.

Take upper level science classes you can do well in. Period. Obviously you want some slant towards medicine(ie try to avoid plant biology or ecology of birds as an ex) but by and large the key is to do well. What your strengths and weaknesses are; that really only you can answer.

 

[Goro]

I can't sugar coat this...the post-bac alone would be lethal at my school and at all the Touros (and Western, KCUMB, CCOM, PCOM and DMU). You need to ace post-bacs...not Beese them.

You may have luck with LMU, VCOM and ACOM. Suggest adding BCOM, KYCOM, and the other two VCOMs.

Retake all F/D/C science coursework.

CA Resident

Applying to: Touro, Western, ACOM, PCOM, CCOM, AT Still, DMU, LECOM, LMU, EVCOM

- friend at ACOM currently in Y1 is family friends with one of the deans/someone on ad-com (one of the two, not sure). stayed at said-person's house when he visited for his interview, so my friend is putting in a word for me.
- my friend had a 28 MCAT (10, 8, 10), 3.1 cGPA (engineering major), 2.8 sGPA. Worked in biotech for 1 year, one publication from undergrad. some shadowing (not too much). applied in Jan/Feb, got interview in Apr/May and got in by mid-May.

Stats:
- 11 PS, 11 V, 10 BS (32, taken Aug 2013)
- 3.31 cGPA
- 2.92 sGPA
- 3.0 post-bacc GPA
- 2 DO LOR's (alum from Touro and Western)
- 2 W's in undergrad courses, but retook those and got B+ in both (Physics, ochem)
- currently taking anatomy on my own through BYU, taking the final in 2 weeks but currently have 92% in the course overall

Experience(s):
- 1 year in behavioral neuro lab, 6 months in cardiology lab (no publications)
- sole publication in literary journal, about alternative therapy/treatments
- TA for medical ethics course in post-bacc
- teaching 7th-12th grade kids at under-served schools in LA for 3 years (basic sciences, neuroscience)
- undergrad student govt committee chair for academic research funding (2 year)
- started club in undergrad about mental health awareness (1 year); is still running
- RA in college (2 years)
- shadowing (>100 hours) + hospital volunteering (>400 hours)
- president of club that did education about preventing domestic violence/sexual assault, both on campus and local charities/organizations (3 years; have an LOR from here because the advisor and I are pretty close)
- coordinated alternative spring break trip to NOLA for a week where we worked with local elementary school helping with schoolwork and teaching them basic hygiene/health/science (washing hands, what happens when you get sick, things like that)

 

[bae.area.premed123]

I can't sugar coat this...the post-bac alone would be lethal at my school and at all the Touros (and Western, KCUMB, CCOM, PCOM and DMU). You need to ace post-bacs...not Beese them.

You may have luck with LMU, VCOM and ACOM. Suggest adding BCOM, KYCOM, and the other two VCOMs.

Retake all F/D/C science coursework.

Thanks for your input. Does it matter where I retake the coursework or just that it is retaken with an A in place?

 

[Goro]

Nope. Just do well.

The key is to convince Adcoms that you can handle med school.

Thanks for your input. Does it matter where I retake the coursework or just that it is retaken with an A in place?