cGPA 3.4, Mcat 26

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fingerscrossedd

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Undergrad -
*top LAC
*cGPA - 3.4
*sGPA - 3.2
*MCAT - 26T (9PS, 9VR, 8BS, T)
*hundreds of shadowing hours; Orthopedic Oncologist, Orth Surgeon, ENT, Internist
*hundred or so hours volunteering in Hospital ER
*tutor, nanny, Deans List in college
*intern; clinical research at Clinical Research Firm
*intern; research at Tufts Molecular Oncology Research Institute (developed melanomal mouse models for cell cycle dysregulation)
*research; original research on tobacco usage in college students accepted to NEPA conference
*on a ton of clubs and committees, etc

Graduate -
*Ivy League MPH program

How do my chances look at DO schools? Thank you guys so much for your help! Also...any suggestions on schools to look at? Thanks in advance!

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Undergrad -
*top LAC
*cGPA - 3.4
*sGPA - 3.2
*MCAT - 26T (9PS, 9VR, 8BS, T)
*hundreds of shadowing hours; Orthopedic Oncologist, Orth Surgeon, ENT, Internist
*hundred or so hours volunteering in Hospital ER
*tutor, nanny, Deans List in college
*intern; clinical research at Clinical Research Firm
*intern; research at Tufts Molecular Oncology Research Institute (developed melanomal mouse models for cell cycle dysregulation)
*research; original research on tobacco usage in college students accepted to NEPA conference
*on a ton of clubs and committees, etc

Graduate -
*Ivy League MPH program

How do my chances look at DO schools? Thank you guys so much for your help! Also...any suggestions on schools to look at? Thanks in advance!

Orthopedic Oncologist? That's a new one for me.
 
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Orthopedic Oncologist? That's a new one for me.

haha, it was for me too! I had to do a double take when I first saw it, but it's a really neat sub...sub speciality? ha, really cool shadowing experience though
 
apply broadly, take advantage of regional bias, etc and you have a shot id say. your ecs are good, your gpas are only very slightly below average and your mcat is right around average. get your primary submitted now if it isnt already

school suggestions depend on your state of residence
 
apply broadly, take advantage of regional bias, etc and you have a shot id say. your ecs are good, your gpas are only very slightly below average and your mcat is right around average. get your primary submitted now if it isnt already

school suggestions depend on your state of residence

Hi, thank you so much for your help and insight- I really appreciate it. I live in Massachusetts, though I don't think there are any DO state schools around here (UNE is the closest, I think?). Though I hate to be redundant as I am sure someone else has asked before me, a letter from a D.O. is strongly recommended, right?

some schools I have been looking at are:
Arizona
Pacific U
Chicago
MSU
PCOM

Thank you again for your help!
 
id get a DO letter, certainly wouldnt hurt. some schools require it, and others just like seeing it. Just do a week shadowing with a DO and have him write you a last minute letter if you need to.

Things to consider...MSU is very competitive and has an extremely high OOS tuition, I would not recommend it. Id say pacific, azcom, and pcom are all worth a shot. Chicago is pretty competitive as well. Chicago and MSU may be reaches but if you really like them for some reason then go for it.

Add some of the more low tier schools, consider adding a new school like marian as a safety, look into the touros, maybe lecom once you get the DO letter. Overall you have a decent shot at most schools, but schools like DMU chicago and MSU might be a bit more challenging.
 
id get a DO letter, certainly wouldnt hurt. some schools require it, and others just like seeing it. Just do a week shadowing with a DO and have him write you a last minute letter if you need to.

Things to consider...MSU is very competitive and has an extremely high OOS tuition, I would not recommend it. Id say pacific, azcom, and pcom are all worth a shot. Chicago is pretty competitive as well. Chicago and MSU may be reaches but if you really like them for some reason then go for it.

Add some of the more low tier schools, consider adding a new school like marian as a safety, look into the touros, maybe lecom once you get the DO letter. Overall you have a decent shot at most schools, but schools like DMU chicago and MSU might be a bit more challenging.

Thank you for the quick reply! I will ask the DO I am shadowing for a letter since, as you said, it wouldn't hurt (unless he really hates me...:xf:) and thank you for the info on the schools!

Also, I forgot to throw Western in there, but I'm really, really interested in going there. I know it's a pretty competitive place, but do you think I'd have a decent shot there? Again, thanks a lot for the help!
 
I don't think I would say that any school is beyond your reach, but for a couple of those, you better have an amazing PS. But you will get in. Choose schools from all over the spectrum. MSU's tuition is like $70k/year for OOS, so if you aren't a Michigan resident, forget about that. Ohio requires a 5 year contract for OOS matriculants. A few are super biased. But if you apply to a broad number of schools, you should get numerous interview invites. You may get rejections from your DMUs, CCOMs, and Westerns (schools with high numbers), but don't worry too much because you will get an acceptance if you have good essays and don't screw up your interviews. Get a DO letter because it opens up more doors. Some schools require a DO letter.

Like I said, don't be a tool and you will get numerous acceptances. Understand you will likely end up in a "middle tier" DO school, but you are definitely within the realm of an "upper tier" DO school. Good luck.
 
I don't think I would say that any school is beyond your reach, but for a couple of those, you better have an amazing PS. But you will get in. Choose schools from all over the spectrum. MSU's tuition is like $70k/year for OOS, so if you aren't a Michigan resident, forget about that. Ohio requires a 5 year contract for OOS matriculants. A few are super biased. But if you apply to a broad number of schools, you should get numerous interview invites. You may get rejections from your DMUs, CCOMs, and Westerns (schools with high numbers), but don't worry too much because you will get an acceptance if you have good essays and don't screw up your interviews. Get a DO letter because it opens up more doors. Some schools require a DO letter.

Like I said, don't be a tool and you will get numerous acceptances. Understand you will likely end up in a "middle tier" DO school, but you are definitely within the realm of an "upper tier" DO school. Good luck.

Thank you very much for your reply; I actually did not know about the Ohio contract, but that definitely helps narrow down my search (not that I have any problems with living in Ohio!). I think that applying broadly will definitely help out - I think that I have a pretty strong PS, and my application overall seems to be in pretty solid shape. Though I know that I probably fall short of the stats at DMU, CCOM, and Western, do you think there is anything I can do to help my chances? One of the biggest sources of motivational support on SDN has been reading about those with stats that were "below average" finding success in applications; any advice you have on how to make my app as strong as it can be would be greatly appreciated. Again, thank you very much for your time! (and congrats on DMU!!)
 
Great link - thank you very much! A bit off topic, but how did you go about asking for a LOR? I am just hesitant about coming across as a mooch! Thanks for the help again!


i asked after i got to know her better and gave her a parting gift- they know why you're there.
 
Thank you very much for your reply; I actually did not know about the Ohio contract, but that definitely helps narrow down my search (not that I have any problems with living in Ohio!). I think that applying broadly will definitely help out - I think that I have a pretty strong PS, and my application overall seems to be in pretty solid shape. Though I know that I probably fall short of the stats at DMU, CCOM, and Western, do you think there is anything I can do to help my chances? One of the biggest sources of motivational support on SDN has been reading about those with stats that were "below average" finding success in applications; any advice you have on how to make my app as strong as it can be would be greatly appreciated. Again, thank you very much for your time! (and congrats on DMU!!)

Nothing you can do at this point. For the essay secondaries that say "why this school" get specific. For CCOM I cherry picked from there stats and mission statement. One example would be something like "One reason is that I am an older applicant and the average age at X school is 28, so I will be confident I will meet people I can connect with." Obviously don't say this, but use specific info to show you looked specifically into their school.
 
Nothing you can do at this point. For the essay secondaries that say "why this school" get specific. For CCOM I cherry picked from there stats and mission statement. One example would be something like "One reason is that I am an older applicant and the average age at X school is 28, so I will be confident I will meet people I can connect with." Obviously don't say this, but use specific info to show you looked specifically into their school.

Ah ok, gotcha - great tip! Again, thanks a lot for all of the help - means a lot!
 
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