I just took the MCAT and I need some advice

[flaminghotswedishfish]

I am studying molecular biology/biochemistry at UCSB. My cGPA is 3.34 and my science GPA is probably around a 3.3. I still have one more year to go so I hope to bring my GPA up to 3.4 at least. I have 3 C's, in Gen Chem (Thermo), intro bio 1 (C+), and intro to bio lab (C+). I actually took upper division thermodynamics and got a B+. My GPA was awful my sophomore year since I got my first job that year and had trouble with the workload at first but now I've been consistently getting 3.5+ GPAs every quarter while maintaining that job, doing research, and volunteering.

I was consistently getting 30+ (30-36) on my MCAT practice tests and I have a feeling I got closer to a 36 than a 30 on the actual test.

I've been doing research in a molecular biology lab for a year now and we hope to get published soon. I have been interning at 2 hospitals for over 2 years and I have traveled to other countries set up clinics as well. I have plenty of letters of Rec from science professors, doctors that I've volunteered with (all MD's however, I don't know how this will affect my chances at a DO school), and the manager of my internship program.

At the end of the day, I just want to practice medicine in the US, whether it be DO or MD. What is the best path to take at this point with my resume? Do I even stand a chance applying with these stats (assuming I did well on the MCAT) or should I consider a postbac? I would like to avoid doing a postbac if possible. It seems like a lot of money to relearn things I feel like I know pretty well and I'm afraid that it will take too long and my MCAT score will no longer be valid. I have basically no background in psych or soc so I don't feel comfortable taking the new 2015 MCAT.

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[Mx300]

I think that you are good for DO schools if you score a 27+. Also its not a good idea to have a certain score in your head, I know several people who were scoring mid to high 30's on the practice tests and ended up with a score in the high 20's. Not to freak you out but its a weird test, I recently got my score back and when i walked out of the test I thought I did well in verbal but struggled in bio, turns out I did really well in bio and average in verbal. If you do score in the 30's then I think you might be ok even for your state MD school depending on where you live. If you dont want to do a post bac then dont, I think your GPA is ok for alot of DO schools. Your EC's look good, try to get a DO letter if you can, it will open more doors. Some schools say its not required but I didnt get any attention from TCOM last cycle even though I was above their average stats and I think it was because I had no DO shadowing or letter. Try to show that you have exposure to osteopathic medicine if you can, try to shadow a doctor who uses it so you can have something to talk about in your essays and secondaries.

 

[OsteopathicHopeful]

I completely agree with @Mx300. I was scoring a range of scores on my AAMC FLs and ended up scoring the lowest score I scored on FLs on the real deal. I too thought I rocked it and, didn't. Again not saying that to "kick you down" but it helps to have a realistic expectation. Trust me, the day they release your scores and your expecting something much higher, it won't feel good at all.

As far as applying MD do a post bacc and get a 4.0. As far as DO you have an ok gpa. Due to the holistic approach of DO admissions, which I tend to wholeheartedly agree with, I would shadow a DO and work on tightening up the rest of your app.

 

[hallowmann]

You're fine. Apply early and broadly DO & MD. If you got >27, you're ok for DO, >30 you might be able to stay in CA, >33/34 you might have a shot at MD if you apply broadly (i.e. don't just apply in CA or the UC system).