WAMC? DO and MD. High GPA, Low MCAT - Where to apply?

[drm5t]

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster.

1. cGPA: ≈3.9 and sGPA: ≈3.9
2. Took MCAT yesterday: took official MCAT practice test from website 2 days before exam: 124/127/123/125 = 499 - final assessment consistent with previous practice tests.
3. CA resident, foreign born (now a citizen)
4. Hispanic, first college grad in family, 26 y.o.
5. 4 year degree: BSU
6. Working as respiratory therapist at major Trauma I hospital (~3,120 clinical hours).
7. Research experience: worked as research assistant (data gathering only) at Trauma II emergency dept in under-served community (~456 hours), part of in-patient research group at current hospital with topics: tracheostomy breakdown, low tidal volume strategy, clinician fatigue, etc. (hours tied to ~3,120 clinical hours). Literature review PowerPoint presentation at hospital on CPAP vs oxygen (45 minutes).
8. No official shadowing per say (except 1 day with anesthesiologist in operating room), but works for and alongside (mostly) trauma, orthopedic, cardiothoracic, neuro, and general surgery as well as every other in-patient specialty you can think of.
9. Volunteer activities: American Lung Association - taught about asthma and air pollution at under-served community in Central Cali to 3rd-4th graders, parents, and teachers (~228 hours)
10. Student body president for 2 terms at small, private 2-year college in Central Cali.
11. Class valedictorian (from AS degree at 2-year college), National Technical Honor Society (NTHS), Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society, Magna Cum Laude at 4 year university.

I just took the MCAT yesterday so I don't have my results yet, but my practice tests have been consistently showing me the same numbers (used EK books, did a lot of GS practice tests). I am naturally strong in VR portion, but my weaknesses stem from PS and BS. Hopefully, I get a better score on the real thing, but if not, the ~499 score (according to AAMC, 49 %ile) is probably the best indicator. I work three 12-hour night shifts a week and have a lot of side projects at work so it was really hard for me to dedicate a lot of time to study. I also had to self-teach o chem, gen. bio, and biochem (see below).

Reading previous threads, the common suggestion I see for people in my situation is to "apply broadly" in terms of osteopathic schools. For my case, what does this mean? How many schools should I apply to and which ones will give me the best shot of getting in?

As far as allopathic schools go, I was looking at this link..

https://www.aamc.org/download/321512/data/factstablea24-1.pdf

.. and looking at the grid, my old MCAT score is most likely in the 23 - 24 range, and it seems like I would fall into the 70% chance of getting in. Should I even bother applying to MD schools with my stats as my "reach" schools, or should I just forget it? If yes, are CA schools out of my league (applying as in-state resident)? What about TX schools via TMDSAS? Which schools throughout the country will give me the best shot of getting in?

I don't have my test results yet, but I would just like to start compiling my list of schools to apply.

I would very much like to apply this year so I can start in 2017, but if I don't get in anywhere at all, there's always next year to apply if I retake the MCAT.

Thanks in advance to everyone who replies. I'll post updates as I get my test results and as I'm going through the application process.

Some other info..
Science prerequisites completed:
Physics I: A
Physics II: taking Spring 2017 (will have by matriculation)
Inorganic Chem I & II: both A's
Biology I & II: taking both this summer (will have by matriculation)
O Chem I & II: taking Fall 2016, Spring 2017 (will have by matriculation)
Biochem: taking Spring 2017 (will have by matriculation)

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[Faha]

Which Hispanic community are you from? If you score poorly on the MCAT it may be due to the fact that you have not yet taken some of the science courses.

 

[drm5t]

Which Hispanic community are you from? If you score poorly on the MCAT it may be due to the fact that you have not yet taken some of the science courses.

I am of Mexican / Spanish (and some Portugese mixed in there - according to family history) origin, but grew up in the Philippines and immigrated here to the United States in 2010. I'm actually multilingual, as I speak Spanish, Filipino, and English.

I think that's why I was so weak in the BS and PS sections too, although to be fair to all the other test takers, I do have an edge (classes taken wise) on Human Anatomy and Physiology as those are the classes my major required me to take. I am not opposed to retaking the MCAT after prerequisites if I don't get in anywhere. I saved up a sizable portion of my current income for applications.

 

[Faha]

I think you would be better off to apply a year from now when you have completed all your prerequisites. If your MCAT score is at least 500 you should be able to receive some interviews since you have a good GPA. If your MCAT is less than 500 then it would be a good idea to retake it next spring after you have completed all your prerequisites since that may help you increase your science scores. When you receive your MCAT score next month post it on this thread and I can give you more advice.

 

[drm5t]

I think you would be better off to apply a year from now when you have completed all your prerequisites. If your MCAT score is at least 500 you should be able to receive some interviews since you have a good GPA. If your MCAT is less than 500 then it would be a good idea to retake it next spring after you have completed all your prerequisites since that may help you increase your science scores. When you receive your MCAT score next month post it on this thread and I can give you more advice.

Thank you for your advice. Do you think I would really have no shot if I attempt to apply to DO and MD schools with this MCAT score? I will post my MCAT score as soon as it comes out for sure! Hopefully it reaches the 500 threshold. Thankfully, I felt better about the real MCAT test than my official practice test 3 days ago. This one had more stuff I knew how to answer than the other.

Do you think it matters if I get to 500 with some sections being lower than the others? Say, 124/128/123/125, or 124/127/123/126? The best chance for my score to get to that 500 is probably from my verbal or psych/socio portion being above average, which I think may be possible.

 

[gyngyn]

Do not take the MCAT until you are confident that you are going to get your best score.

 

[drm5t]

Do not take the MCAT until you are confident that you are going to get your best score.

Thank you for the advice. I realize that now, and I probably should've backed out of taking it yesterday seeing how I had been scoring in my assessments.

I'll do my best if I have to retake it next year.

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you for the advice. I realize that now, and I probably should've backed out of taking it yesterday seeing how I had been scoring in my assessments.

I'll do my best if I have to retake it next year.

I'm so sorry.
I should have read more carefully.
I hope you do better than projected.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

So yeah you shouldn't have taken the MCAT without taking some of those pretty key pre-requisite classes. How long did you study for? Hopefully you do better than predicted but I would just plan for a retake after you have taken all those basic classes so that when your score comes out you aren't blindsided by that possibility. If you get over a 500 then maybe apply to some of your state MD schools (seeing as you are URM) and broadly to DO schools. Above a 500 would be good for DO.

Edit: just saw you are from CA. If you score around your indicated score then I would only focus on DO if you feel like you have to apply this cycle, IMO best option would be to retake MCAT after your pre-reqs are done after dedicated study and apply firing a later cycle.

 

[drm5t]

So yeah you shouldn't have taken the MCAT without taking some of those pretty key pre-requisite classes. How long did you study for? Hopefully you do better than predicted but I would just plan for a retake after you have taken all those basic classes so that when your score comes out you aren't blindsided by that possibility. If you get over a 500 then maybe apply to some of your state MD schools (seeing as you are URM) and broadly to DO schools. Above a 500 would be good for DO.

Edit: just saw you are from CA. If you score around your indicated score then I would only focus on DO if you feel like you have to apply this cycle, IMO best option would be to retake MCAT after your pre-reqs are done after dedicated study and apply firing a later cycle.

Thank you for your suggestions! Do you mean forget about my state schools, even if I score over 500? From what I understand, CA schools are notoriously difficult to get into, even the DO ones.

To answer your question, I studied on and off for about 6 months. The first three months was about learning the material I had never encountered before because I hadn't taken the prerequisites. I know it's not the best excuse, but it's been difficult for me to balance work and studying just because my job demands a lot of time commitment from me.

If I were to take the MCAT again next year, I would definitely take a considerable amount of time off from work to maybe enroll in a prep class. Hopefully, I get over the 500 hump so I'll have a shot at the DO schools.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thank you for your suggestions! Do you mean forget about my state schools, even if I score over 500? From what I understand, CA schools are notoriously difficult to get into, even the DO ones.

To answer your question, I studied on and off for about 6 months. The first three months was about learning the material I had never encountered before because I hadn't taken the prerequisites. I know it's not the best excuse, but it's been difficult for me to balance work and studying just because my job demands a lot of time commitment from me.

If I were to take the MCAT again next year, I would definitely take a considerable amount of time off from work to maybe enroll in a prep class. Hopefully, I get over the 500 hump so I'll have a shot at the DO schools.

Yeah forget about state MD unless you somehow pull a 508+. If that somehow happens then come back and we can give you a better MD list.

Don't use work as an excuse, remember there are always people who are way busier than you that score really well. Schools will just see it as poor decision making because you took a high stakes test, hadn't taken the pre-reqs for it, and didn't prepare all that well.

If you score over 500 then apply broadly to DO, starting with Western and TUNCOM. Come back when you get your score and we can probably help you a lot better than we can now.

 

[drm5t]

Yeah forget about state MD unless you somehow pull a 508+. If that somehow happens then come back and we can give you a better MD list.

Don't use work as an excuse, remember there are always people who are way busier than you that score really well. Schools will just see it as poor decision making because you took a high stakes test, hadn't taken the pre-reqs for it, and didn't prepare all that well.

If you score over 500 then apply broadly to DO, starting with Western and TUNCOM. Come back when you get your score and we can probably help you a lot better than we can now.

You are absolutely right about "busy" as a poor excuse to get a bad score on a high-stakes test. I know I want to go to medical school and become a doctor, but there was always this nagging fear in the back of my mind that I wouldn't get accepted, so I kind juggled studying for the MCAT and doing extra stuff at work (in hopes of a promotion down the road) that I didn't have to do. Now I'm paying for my indecision and should've just gave studying for the MCAT my everything instead of entertaining the fear that I might not get accepted.

On another note, my in-state status at the moment is somewhat fluid. I moved from CA to VA 11 months ago for this job I have now and will be eligible for in-state tuition here at the community college I'm attending in VA on the first week of June. So technically, if I wait to turn my application in to AACOMAS and AMCAS when I switch from OOS to in-state tuition in June, I can call myself a VA resident.

Do you think I should apply now as CA resident, or wait a few more weeks to apply as VA resident?

Again, thanks for your reply.

 

[gyngyn]

Do you think I should apply now as CA resident, or wait a few more weeks to apply as VA resident?

Again, thanks for your reply.

VA matriculates 21% IS. CA matriculates 14%. https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf

 

[drm5t]

VA matriculates 21% IS. CA matriculates 14%. https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf

VA seems like a smart choice then. Thank you!