Low GPA, MCAT 32, MPH, Lots of EC

[j-son]

Here's what I have:

- cGPA 3.35, sGPA 3.34, MCAT 32
- Leadership in campus activities (Pres of an organization for 3 years and held Board/Chair positions in 2 other organizations)
- Research experience for all years of UG (Presented a poster, wrote an abstract)
- Volunteered (100 hrs), Shadowed 4 doctors
- Just graduated UG and will be entering a public health school next year, so planning to apply in 2015 application cycle​

I've been told that my resume looks great other than the GPA. I'm shooting to apply to 25-30 schools (MD and DO) to be safe, and I want to become a PCP.

Sooo here are my questions:

- I want to stay away from DO because I've heard that it becomes difficult to get into a residency program. Is that true? (I want to be able to choose a location near my family.)
- Will March 2014 MCATs be valid for most/all schools when I apply in Aug 2015?
- As a PA resident, what are my chances of getting into 1. Drexel, 2. Jefferson, 3. Penn State, 4. Temple, 5. Pitt, 6. Penn, or 7. Commonwealth Medical College? (These are the 7 MD schools in PA and I understand that some of these are definitely reach schools.)
​

Thanks in advance for all the help and input! I truly appreciate it.

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[itsthat1guy]

If you want to do primary care, going to an osteopathic school shouldn't be a problem for you--as far as I'm aware they only have difficulty in matching competitive specialties. Also, the MCAT will be valid for 2/3 years, depending on the school. It's not going to suddenly expire because they're introducing a new MCAT.

 

[WillburCobb]

DOs have the most issues getting into the über competitive specialties and residencies that are generally fairly competitive for MDs as well. If you want to do FM, IM, EM, Ob/Gyn, Neuro, Psych, Gas, General Surgery, etc your fine. Rad, Derm, surgery sub specialties are still possible going the DO route it'll just be somewhat harder.

 

[j-son]

Thanks a ton for the feedback!
Do you still think that I would have a chance at MD schools? Obviously, I wouldn't mind going to a DO school if it leads me to my goal, but I would rather go to an MD school than a DO if I can (just because of the stigma).

 

[itsthat1guy]

Thanks a ton for the feedback!
Do you still think that I would have a chance at MD schools? Obviously, I wouldn't mind going to a DO school if it leads me to my goal, but I would rather go to an MD school than a DO if I can (just because of the stigma).

If you want to go MD, you have a skim chance right now because of that GPA. you would need need to do a post bacc or something

 

[WillburCobb]

Thanks a ton for the feedback!
Do you still think that I would have a chance at MD schools? Obviously, I wouldn't mind going to a DO school if it leads me to my goal, but I would rather go to an MD school than a DO if I can (just because of the stigma).

Statistically you have around a 50% chance of getting an acceptance to an MD school with your stats. FWIW I have the same MCAT and sGPA, my cGPA is only a tenth higher, and I'm not URM. I received 3 MD and 3 DO acceptances this cycle and was able to turn down some IIs. I realize I'm somewhat of an outlier, but it's definitely possible. There are several other users on here that I'm aware of with lower stats who also received MD acceptances.

 

[Goro]

You heard wrong. And, you're not even in medical school yet, so you shouldn't be worrying about residencies.

- I want to stay away from DO because I've heard that it becomes difficult to get into a residency program. Is that true? (I want to be able to choose a location near my family.)

Yes

- Will March 2014 MCATs be valid for most/all schools when I apply in Aug 2015?



- As a PA resident, what are my chances of getting into

1. Drexel, Decent


2. Jefferson, 3. Penn State,4. Temple,
OK at best


5. Pitt, 6. Penn, No chance


Commonwealth Medical College? Very good
LECOM and PCOM: Excellent


​

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Here's what I have:

- cGPA 3.35, sGPA 3.34, MCAT 32
- Leadership in campus activities (Pres of an organization for 3 years and held Board/Chair positions in 2 other organizations)
- Research experience for all years of UG (Presented a poster, wrote an abstract)
- Volunteered (100 hrs), Shadowed 4 doctors
- Just graduated UG and will be entering a public health school next year, so planning to apply in 2015 application cycle​

I've been told that my resume looks great other than the GPA. I'm shooting to apply to 25-30 schools (MD and DO) to be safe, and I want to become a PCP.

Sooo here are my questions:

- I want to stay away from DO because I've heard that it becomes difficult to get into a residency program. Is that true? (I want to be able to choose a location near my family.)
- Will March 2014 MCATs be valid for most/all schools when I apply in Aug 2015?
- As a PA resident, what are my chances of getting into 1. Drexel, 2. Jefferson, 3. Penn State, 4. Temple, 5. Pitt, 6. Penn, or 7. Commonwealth Medical College? (These are the 7 MD schools in PA and I understand that some of these are definitely reach schools.)
​

Thanks in advance for all the help and input! I truly appreciate it.

You are a shoo-in for DO. Your chances are ok for MD...

 

[WillburCobb]

Also, if you want to stay in the PA area PCOM is a solid school with an excellent reputation. Srsly, don't write off the DO option.

 

[Dr Turkelton]

Also, if you want to stay in the PA area PCOM is a solid school with an excellent reputation. Srsly, don't write off the DO option.

Is your avatar that doctor that killed like 100 patients?

 

[WillburCobb]

Is your avatar that doctor that killed like 100 patients?

Yuparenos. Those tinted aviators are ballin'!

 

[j-son]

You heard wrong. And, you're not even in medical school yet, so you shouldn't be worrying about residencies.

- I want to stay away from DO because I've heard that it becomes difficult to get into a residency program. Is that true? (I want to be able to choose a location near my family.)

Yes
​

Goro, thanks for the reply! I'm a little confused though... I heard what wrong? You're saying that it's true that getting into a good residency with a DO is difficult? Sorry, I feel like I'm missing something.

Also, if I get straight A's in public health school, will that help by much? Will my MPH in general look "good" in applications?

 

[j-son]

I received 3 MD and 3 DO acceptances this cycle and was able to turn down some IIs.

Wow -- that's awesome! Congrats! Were your EC's somewhat similar to mine?

I'm definitely still keeping the DO option open. Do you by any chance know if AOA requires you to do a TRI year before entering an allopathic residency in PA? Or do PCOM and LECOM integrate that into their 4 years?

 

[gyngyn]

Goro, thanks for the reply! I'm a little confused though... I heard what wrong? You're saying that it's true that getting into a good residency with a DO is difficult? Sorry, I feel like I'm missing something.

Also, if I get straight A's in public health school, will that help by much? Will my MPH in general look "good" in applications?

He's saying that DO's do get into good residencies and even have "competitive" specialties that have historically been reserved for them. He also wanted you to know that all residencies will have a unified certification body by the time you apply to them. He also implied that your degree, while pertinent, is not as important as your accomplishments and Step 1 scores when applying to residencies. And degrees mean very little at the fellowship level.

An MPH is a good way to spend your time if you are interested in public health and and the way that tax money is distributed for medicine in the US. You must get A's in an MPH! Everyone does. Anything less would be worrisome. Your MPH grades will do nothing to remediate your undergraduate gpa, however. Don't do it because you think it will look good. If you would be happy that you spent the time doing it whether you get into medical school or not, then do it.

Apologies to @Goro if I misspeak!

 

[WillburCobb]

Wow -- that's awesome! Congrats! Were your EC's somewhat similar to mine?

I'm definitely still keeping the DO option open. Do you by any chance know if AOA requires you to do a TRI year before entering an allopathic residency in PA? Or do PCOM and LECOM integrate that into their 4 years?

Your ECs are probably better than mine, though kinda similar. The one thing I had that helped a lot was working as an aide for a little over 4 years (half psych, half med/surg). I was able to draw a lot from those experiences for my PS, secondaries, and interviews. As far as the second question, I'm pretty sure PA is one of the 4 goofy states that requires the TRI, which you would have to do after graduating med school and prior to starting your residency, if going the allo route.

Edit - Thanks @gyngyn I completely spaced out the merger, which will very likely negate the TRI issue.

 

[Goro]

A good DO student can get into good residency programs, either via AOA or ACGME (MD). With the merger of the two, it will be easier, not harder. Also keep in mind that the really competitive residency programs are hard for MD students to get into as well. My grads have gotten into anaesthsiology, opthalmology, cardiology, pathology, neurology, orthopedics, and surgery. I've met numerous DO nephrologists, and the Dean of TUCOM-NV is a rheumatologist.

. I heard what wrong? You're saying that it's true that getting into a good residency with a DO is difficult? Sorry, I feel like I'm missing something.

Yup
Also, if I get straight A's in public health school, will that help by much? Will my MPH in general look "good" in applications?[/QUOTE]

And as usual, my sage colleague gyngyn is 100% on the mark!

 

[j-son]

I'm still shooting to get into an MD school (because MD residencies are more numerous and widespread). I'd really like to choose the location that I do my residency in. Although the merger might make it easier, it still isn't a unified match system for DO's, so applying to both residency programs while trying to shoot for a specific location might get stressful. This is as per my knowledge, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

I added a couple schools to my application list:
1. LECOM
2. PCOM
3. George Washington
4. Georgetown
5. Howard
6. Oakland
7. U of M
8. Univ. at Buffalo, SUNY
9. Wright State
10. Cincinnati
11. Drexel
12. Jefferson
13. Penn State
14. Temple
15. Commonwealth
16. UPitt
17. VCU
18. Virginia Tech
19. Marshall
20. WVU

I understand that a handful are reaches, but please let me know what my chances are and if I should add/take out any schools on this list.
Thank you so much!!