Pre-PA considering going MD/DO. Should I even bother?

[cparker]

Hey all,

I am currently going through the interview process to potentially begin PA school in 2017. Throughout all of this, I have had a constant battle over whether or not I truly want to go to PA school, and whether or not I should defer my interviews to focus on medical school applications.

Really, the only thing stopping me currently are the flagrant outstanding pre-reqs I have yet to do for med school -- namely the MCAT and 2 courses (Organic II and biochem). Realistically, I feel as though I would not be comfortable applying until the 2018-2019 cycle, as I would want to dedicated 3-6 months solely studying for the MCAT.

Additionally, I am dreading the idea of having to secure a pre-med committee letter. The 4-year college I would be planning to take organic II and biochem at do not have a pre-med committee.

Given my current stats... should I even bother attempting for MD/DO?

STATS...
First generation Asian American from the southeast
B.S. Psychology
cGPA: 3.62
sGPA: 3.51 (I have yet to take Biochemistry or Organic II)
MCAT: Have yet to take...

Research/Experience
1200+ hours as a medical scribe in ED
100+ hours as a RA in a neuroscience lab, no publications
100+ hours as a RA in a behavioral neuro-imaging lab, 2 poster presentations

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[Faha]

Take your MCAT after you have taking Organic 2 and Biochemistry. If your MCAT is 500 or higher you would be competitive for many DO schools. If it is 508 or higher you would be competitive for some MD schools.

 

[WWolf646268]

Agree with what @Faha said. Also I recommend shadowing to see what the profession is really like before you make any real decisions. You'll need shadowing for app anyways.

My undergrad didn't have a pre-med committee either and it's not a big deal. If there is a pre-med advisor all you have to do is ask him/her to email the school and explain this. Then you usually get 2 science/1 non-science recommendations. I think non-committee letters are better anyways, as they are more personalized. Good luck!

 

[Gurby]

FWIW, Ochem 2 is no longer required by the vast majority of schools, and is not necessary for success on the MCAT.

 

[hawthorn9797]

FWIW, Ochem 2 is no longer required by the vast majority of schools, and is not necessary for success on the MCAT.

Respectfully disaageee... as a MCAT 2015 guinea pig I can attest that orgo 2 was extremely beneficial on my exam (perhaps not crucial but it's like taking an algebra test after passing calculus, your in much better shape)

 

[chemguy79]

Respectfully disaageee... as a MCAT 2015 guinea pig I can attest that orgo 2 was extremely beneficial on my exam (perhaps not crucial but it's like taking an algebra test after passing calculus, your in much better shape)

In addition, Orgo 2 is usually a prerequisite for Biochem at most universities.

I tutored 3 students for the MCAT this summer and 2 of them said that their versions were relatively Orgo heavy (~20% or so) while the other student said that he had maybe 2 Orgo questions on his exam with tons of Biochemistry.

 

[Gurby]

I scored 515+ on the MCAT without taking Orgo 2 and have friends who scored 520+ without it, but it's certainly possible that all of my n=3 data points lucked out with Orgo-light exams. I did put in a modest effort to learn the important Orgo2 topics from the EK book but I was definitely not as solid on that stuff as I would have been had I taken a class.

 

[hawthorn9797]

I scored 515+ on the MCAT without taking Orgo 2 and have friends who scored 520+ without it, but it's certainly possible that all of my n=3 data points lucked out with Orgo-light exams. I did put in a modest effort to learn the important Orgo2 topics from the EK book but I was definitely not as solid on that stuff as I would have been had I taken a class.

thats a great score! I'm not sure, but my test definitely was orgs-intensive and the more familiar you are with the subject the better imo

 

[WWolf646268]

My 0.02, my exam had maybe 2 orgo questions on it and I probably didn't need it for the exam. However, yes orgo 2 is a prereq for biochem at my school, and there was a LOT of biochem on my exam!