DO School Chances - Bad undergrad with good MCAT and Masters program, URM

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username010203

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Hello All,

I got my AACOMAS verified today after submitting to one school and was waiting for my GPA calculation before submitting to the rest of the schools on my list. There are A LOT of different GPAs this year, so I will try and provide enough to paint a picture. If you need any others, please feel free to ask!

Undergrad cGPA: 3.18
Graduate cGPA: 3.86
Overall GPA: 3.29

Undergrad sGPA: 3.08
Graduate sGPA: 3.86
Overall Science: 3.30

AZ resident, URM
MCAT: 30Q - V11/PS9/BS10

Clinical Exp: 500hrs direct work with patients in a rehab clinic, 420 hrs paid work with patients, over 100 hours shadowing, currently shadowing a general surgeon and volunteering at a hospital
**no DO shadowing; I tried, but could not find one in my area :( I even emailed the entire list provided to me from AACOMAS

Other ECS: research(through my master's program) - hopefully will have a publication (not 1st author) by the end of the academic year (around 500 hours right now)
Graduate TAship
AmeriCorps - 1 year program
volunteering at high schools for college prep
various volunteering through various clubs during undergrad (i am now 3 years out) ^^ everything else is after undergrad, so I have kept current with activities

No story to tell about the low GPA beside being unfocused/immature/not putting in a reasonable amount of time and effort
Have excelled in a 30+ credit biomedical science master's program of actual upper division science work, not forums/journal clubs,etc. (PM me for more detail if needed!); take same classes as some of the MD/PhD students

LOR: I believe are solid

I would love to stay on west coast if I can! List:

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest
A.T. Still University - School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine–California
Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine

I took my MCAT in 2012, so for many schools, it will not be valid. If I retake in January 2016, would that be too late for:
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
does anyone know if they would consider me for a secondary and/or interview before receiving the new score?



Any insight is much appreciated!! :)

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You're golden. The late MCAT score will hurt, alas. You should think about having more schools on the list, like KCUMB.

What community do you represent? And don't say "Flagstaff".

IF SOMA or AZCOM are within driving distance, go visit and chat up the DO faculty. My own colleagues love it when people do that.
 
You're golden. The late MCAT score will hurt, alas. You should think about having more schools on the list, like KCUMB.

What community do you represent? And don't say "Flagstaff".

IF SOMA or AZCOM are within driving distance, go visit and chat up the DO faculty. My own colleagues love it when people do that.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Goro! Which school is KCUMB? The schools on my list are ones that thankfully will accept my current mcat (3 years out from app cycle vs 3 years out from matriculation). AZCOM and Rocky Vista are the ones that would have the late score. I will probably end up calling their admissions office to see if they will consider me conditionally for a secondary and/or interview.

I am Hispanic - Mexican.

**EDIT: am adding Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences :) am especially attracted to dual degree in healthcare leadership
 
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You really have nothing to worry about. Mexicans are under represented in medicine. It's probably worth taking a stab at your Arizona MD schools(both AZ schools interview a fairly high proportion of IS applicants) and probably some other lower tier MDs at least as well to see what happens.

Keep in mind given how late it is if you wanted to take an MD stab at some of your state schools and some other ones it would be much more advisable to do so until next cycle. But DO wise if that's your goal you are fine timeline wise.
 
You really have nothing to worry about. Mexicans are under represented in medicine. It's probably worth taking a stab at your Arizona MD schools(both AZ schools interview a fairly high proportion of IS applicants) and probably some other lower tier MDs at least as well to see what happens.

Keep in mind given how late it is if you wanted to take an MD stab at some of your state schools and some other ones it would be much more advisable to do so until next cycle. But DO wise if that's your goal you are fine timeline wise.

I am taking a 3rd "stab" at my state schools. :) only at Tucson though, due to the mcat issue. I am still waiting for verification and may add a couple other MD schools, although my AMCAS undergrad gpa will be lower without the grade replacement that AACOMAS does. I interviewed last year at UA Tucson, but when push comes to shove, my red flag undergrad GPA (under 3.0 in science) is probably too risky for most medical schools. Thus why I am applying to DO as well in what I am hoping to be my final app cycle! Are there any particular low tier MD schools you would recommend?
 
I am taking a 3rd "stab" at my state schools. :) only at Tucson though, due to the mcat issue. I am still waiting for verification and may add a couple other MD schools, although my AMCAS undergrad gpa will be lower without the grade replacement that AACOMAS does. I interviewed last year at UA Tucson, but when push comes to shove, my red flag undergrad GPA (under 3.0 in science) is probably too risky for most medical schools. Thus why I am applying to DO as well in what I am hoping to be my final app cycle! Are there any particular low tier MD schools you would recommend?

If you haven't gotten love from your state school after 2 cycles no unfortuantely I can't really recommend many OOS schools. And the old MCAT would have been a problem at many of them anyway. Take a shot at Tuscon this year but have a good DO list like Goro said. You should be fine but you will a) need a list of schools that would screen out your science GPA b) where your MCAT is too old for.

Also you listed your science uGPA as 3.08. Is it really under 3.0? 3.0 can be seen almost as a cut off number in some cases so it is key to clear that up
 
If you haven't gotten love from your state school after 2 cycles no unfortuantely I can't really recommend many OOS schools. And the old MCAT would have been a problem at many of them anyway. Take a shot at Tuscon this year but have a good DO list like Goro said. You should be fine but you will a) need a list of schools that would screen out your science GPA b) where your MCAT is too old for.

Also you listed your science uGPA as 3.08. Is it really under 3.0? 3.0 can be seen almost as a cut off number in some cases so it is key to clear that up

My AMCAS sGPA is under 3.0 but fairs better with AACOMAS because I have retaken ochem and calc III and get to toss out the 1st grade in AACOMAS. I also took a graduate level bio class as an undergrad that I did poorly in and have replaced as a grad student.
 
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