Unsure where to apply, help!

[Cornbreaded]

First off, I am new to the community so I apologize if I make any mistakes with posting and so forth.

I achieved a 3.5 cGPA & 3.5ish BCMP GPA at a large state University, scored a 28 on the MCAT, and have been working full time as a medical scribe for the majority of the summer. I'm not particularly interested in Family Practice. I currently live in South Carolina and would prefer to stay somewhere warm, but I would strongly consider cold weather for a good school.

I am currently applying to the 3 MD schools in my state but are there any other schools that I should be looking into? Cheers.

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[WedgeDawg]

DO Schools might be worth a look

 

[Cornbreaded]

DO Schools might be worth a look

I agree, I am currently applying to DO schools as well

 

[md-2020]

I achieved a 3.5 cGPA & 3.5ish BCMP GPA at a large state University, scored a 28 on the MCAT, and have been working full time as a medical scribe for the majority of the summer. I'm not particularly interested in Family Practice. I currently live in South Carolina and would prefer to stay somewhere warm, but I would strongly consider cold weather for a good school.

I agree, I am currently applying to DO schools as well

Be aware that more DO grads (about 2/3 as compared to 1/3 for MD) enter general practice rather than specialization. Atleast for the moment, before the Match merges.

If you could score higher on the MCAT you should be competitive for allopathic schools. Do you think you can conceivable get 510+ (~30-31+)? SC isn't terrible for IS options so even with a 28 if your ECs are solid you may have a chance.

 

[Cornbreaded]

Be aware that more DO grads (about 2/3 as compared to 1/3 for MD) enter general practice rather than specialization. Atleast for the moment, before the Match merges.

If you could score higher on the MCAT you should be competitive for allopathic schools. Do you think you can conceivable get 510+ (~30-31+)? SC isn't terrible for IS options so even with a 28 if your ECs are solid you may have a chance.

Yeah, I believe I could score above a 30 on the MCAT if I was to retake it. When I scored a 28, I only studied for roughly under a month due to unforeseen family issues. I have not retaken it due to fiscal constants, but if I do not do well during this application cycle I will definitely retake it.

It's worth noting that I applied during the last cycle and received an interview at USC-SOM Columbia. That was without a 4.0 semester of college and the medical scribe work I have been doing since.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Too late to add any MDs, still a fair amount of time to add DO's for which you'll be very competitive. Given you are already a re-applicant, you really don't want to be a third time applicant. At this point, I would strongly consider forgetting about any MCAT re-takes and just going all in on trying to get accepted this cycle and start med school next year by including more DO's.

South Carolina is one of the luckiest states out there, you do have some chance at SC, Greenville and MUSC. But if you are a re-applicant at these schools already, it can complicate things. If you already interviewed at USC Columbia and didn't get accepted, there's a fair chance they simply didn't think you were a good fit for the school or didn't like something about you. I definitely wouldn't bank on anything from that school this cycle.

I wouldn't worry about specialities at this point, worry about getting in first and realize how much people's ideas change of what they want to do over the course of being a pre-med until finishing 3rd year rotations. While there are things DO's can face that make things somewhat more challenging for them, fields such as neurology, EM, pathology, anesthesiology amongst others are doable as a DO and there's been a solid track record of DO's specializing in these type of fields.

 

[Cornbreaded]

Thanks for the reply Grapes. Do you have any tips on which DO schools I should look at?

 

[GrapesofRath]

Thanks for the reply Grapes. Do you have any tips on which DO schools I should look at?

Goro can help with that alot better than me. VCOM is a good place to start. My guess though is you'll be competitive for a large number of them, biggest thing is to check which ones have significant IS biases.

 

[Cornbreaded]

Goro can help with that alot better than me. VCOM is a good place to start. My guess though is you'll be competitive for a large number of them, biggest thing is to check which ones have significant IS biases.

Sorry, Goro? And yes, I was looking at applying to at least LECOM (Bradenton and Erie campuses) and VCOM.

 

[NotWayneBrady]

Sorry, Goro? And yes, I was looking at applying to at least LECOM (Bradenton and Erie campuses) and VCOM.

@Goro is an AdCom at a DO school who frequents the forums.

 

[sovereign0]

You're competitive for DO schools and perhaps some of the lower-tier MD schools. For MD, purchase an MSAR subscription (not sure when comes out for next cycle) and look for schools where you are close to the median stats.

 

[candbgirl]

He's reapplying MD this cycle I think.