What are my chances for a MD school and any suggestions that could help my application look better for MD schools?

[AnotherPre-med]

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[bluepeony]

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post ever, so I don't really know what to expect!

Anyways, I just wanted some input on what you all think about my credentials, and if you think I would have a chance for MD schools. I'm planning to apply in the upcoming cycle and I'm 23 years old. so I guess I would be a non-traditional student?

Bachelors Degree: Biology Major, Chemistry Minor
Masters Degree from Georgetown University: Systems Medicine
Just started my NIH: Research PostBacc (Hoping to get more publications here)

Graduate GPA: 3.91
Undergrad cGPA: 3.23
undergrad sGPA : 3.16
-I have a really good upward trend in undergrad (low gpa is solely due to lack of work ethic from freshman year).

MCAT: 514

Research:
- 4 different research projects, with one 3rd author publication so far
- Presented at one international conference and one regional conference
Volunteer:
- Around 350 hours combined
Clinical:
-Around 200 hours
EC:
-President of a pre-med medical club, vice-president of a fraternity, member of best-buddies, Georgetown University's tutor for underprivileged kids.

I know every medical school looks at different things, but I just had to ask to get a better idea of how my application stands for a MD school. I kept reading other posts of applicants with low gpa (similar to mine) and how they struggled to get into a medical school. Thank you all for reading this, and for using your valuable time!

Your graduate program wasn't a SMP right?

 

[AnotherPre-med]

Your graduate program wasn't a SMP right?

Hey! no it was not, it was a masters program focusing on bioinformatics and genetics. I was thinking about doing the SMP this following year. Do you think that would be worth it?

 

[Dr panda]

Hey! no it was not, it was a masters program focusing on bioinformatics and genetics. I was thinking about doing the SMP this following year. Do you think that would be worth it?

I would say you are fine for most DO schools, if you are set on MD do an SMP.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ?

 

[AnotherPre-med]

I would say you are fine for most DO schools, if you are set on MD do an SMP.

Okay thank you! Do you recommend any particular programs?

 

[AnotherPre-med]

Where is your state of residence ?

Pennsylvania!

 

[Dr panda]

Okay thank you! Do you recommend any particular programs?

Any except for LUCOM, LMU, Wm Carey, Touro-NY - these are on Goro's bad boys list.
OK COM and OUHCOM have strong regional preferences.
Not sure about AZCOM and CCOM since they are quite competitive.
Other than that basically any school. Faha and Goro will give you a list.
With your stats I would apply broadly to at least 10 programs.
And could you please share your GPA by year, if you have 2 solid years with 3.9+ I think it is worth to target some MD schools.
Good luck, you should be fine, and please if you will not forget in a year, come back and tell us how the cycle worked for you.

 

[AnotherPre-med]

Any except for LUCOM, LMU, Wm Carey, Touro-NY - these are on Goro's bad boys list.
OK COM and OUHCOM have strong regional preferences.
Not sure about AZCOM and CCOM since they are quite competitive.
Other than that basically any school. Faha and Goro will give you a list.
With your stats I would apply broadly to at least 10 programs.
And could you please share your GPA by year, if you have 2 solid years with 3.9+ I think it is worth to target some MD schools.
Good luck, you should be fine, and please if you will not forget in a year, come back and tell us how the cycle worked for you.

Hello, Thank you so much for your reply! If I were to aim for MD, are there any particular SMP programs you would recommend? Also, if I were to do well in the SMP program, how much do you think it will increase my chances for MD?

GPA:
Freshman year (the least amount of credits, and were the easiest / intro level classes):
cGPA : 2.3
sGPA : 2.4

Sophomore year:
cGPA: 3.0
sGPA: 2.6

Junior year:
cGPA: 3.5
sGPA: 3.45

Senior year (the irony: took the most amount of credits, and were the hardest / upper level bio/chem classes):
cGPA : 3.65
sGPA: 3.59

If I wanted to work towards a MD. Would this be a plausible desire? I really regret doing bad my freshman and sophomore year, but also grateful. Getting a C in "walk and jog" and other intro classes made me realize how important work ethic is. It is the reason I did reasonably better my junior, senior and my grad program (by far the hardest classes). I would love any advice on what my next steps should be if I was trying to focus on MD schools. Thank you all for taking your time, and I will for sure keep updating you all during the cycle.

 

[Faha]

Pennsylvania!

You could try these MD schools with your stats:
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Commonwealth-Geisinger
Seton Hall
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
New York Medical College
Albany
NOVA MD
George Washington
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
TCU-UNT
You are competitive for many DO schools and I suggest these:
PCOM (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
MU-COM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
ACOM
ARCOM
NYIT-ARKANSAS
TUNCOM

 

[Dr panda]

Hello, Thank you so much for your reply! If I were to aim for MD, are there any particular SMP programs you would recommend? Also, if I were to do well in the SMP program, how much do you think it will increase my chances for MD?

GPA:
Freshman year (the least amount of credits, and were the easiest / intro level classes):
cGPA : 2.3
sGPA : 2.4

Sophomore year:
cGPA: 3.0
sGPA: 2.6

Junior year:
cGPA: 3.5
sGPA: 3.45

Senior year (the irony: took the most amount of credits, and were the hardest / upper level bio/chem classes):
cGPA : 3.65
sGPA: 3.59

If I wanted to work towards a MD. Would this be a plausible desire? I really regret doing bad my freshman and sophomore year, but also grateful. Getting a C in "walk and jog" and other intro classes made me realize how important work ethic is. It is the reason I did reasonably better my junior, senior and my grad program (by far the hardest classes). I would love any advice on what my next steps should be if I was trying to focus on MD schools. Thank you all for taking your time, and I will for sure keep updating you all during the cycle.

I am not an expert in SMPs. Try to find program with a linkage to med school and a guaranteed interview (search forum for this). Or you can do a postbacc Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention
There are many schools that reward reinvention but it is hard, so be prepared and make sure you have a commitment to do it. Faha gave list above. Personally, if I were you I would try to apply next year and then, if this will not work out, do a postbacc. DO schools are still medical schools and you can shoot for many good specialties with a DO degree.

 

[AnotherPre-med]

I am not an expert in SMPs. Try to find program with a linkage to med school and a guaranteed interview (search forum for this). Or you can do a postbacc Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention
There are many schools that reward reinvention but it is hard, so be prepared and make sure you have a commitment to do it. Faha gave list above. Personally, if I were you I would try to apply next year and then, if this will not work out, do a postbacc. DO schools are still medical schools and you can shoot for many good specialties with a DO degree.

Hello, Thank you again for your reply! I will definitely apply to DO schools as well, as I believe it would be an amazing opportunity for me. I have two main reasons to why I have a passion for MD. The first one is that I have always wanted to practice outside the country . Unfortunately, I have not found a case where a DO was accepted to practice within the country where I hope to work. The second reason is that I love research. I have pretty much done research for the past 4 years, and I see that research is more prevalent within MDs than DOs (please correct me if I'm wrong). Lets say I took a SMP program, and did very well in it (greater than 3.7), do you think that will give me a fair chance? I also did the math for post-bacc undergraduate classes, and if I took a little more than a year worth of classes (around 32 credits) my GPA shoots up to a 3.4 for both science and cumulative. As of right now, I have a connection with NIH to do a research postbacc (this will not increase my GPA whatsoever, because I wouldn't be taking any classes), which will start the summer of next year. So I'm really confused on what to do next, and I would love any advice regarding which direction I should go in.

 

[AnotherPre-med]

You could try these MD schools with your stats:
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Commonwealth-Geisinger
Seton Hall
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
New York Medical College
Albany
NOVA MD
George Washington
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
TCU-UNT
You are competitive for many DO schools and I suggest these:
PCOM (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
MU-COM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
ACOM
ARCOM
NYIT-ARKANSAS
TUNCOM

Thank you so much Faha! I will definitely look into these schools!

 

[bluepeony]

I have two main reasons to why I have a passion for MD. The first one is that I have always wanted to practice outside the country . Unfortunately, I have not found a case where a DO was accepted to practice within the country where I hope to work.

You should ideally go to med school in the country where you want to practice in ultimately. Even if the MD degree is recognized in other countries, you are not as likely to be able to complete a competitive residency/ specialty.

 

[Dr panda]

1. The second reason is that I love research.
2. Lets say I took a SMP program, and did very well in it (greater than 3.7), do you think that will give me a fair chance?
3. I also did the math for post-bacc undergraduate classes

1) You will have an opportunity to do a research as a DO.
2) Yes.
3) It needs to be upper level bio classes to show that you can handle medical school.
In regard to your passion for practicing medicine in another country I 100% agree with above bluepeony's post.

 

[AnotherPre-med]

You should ideally go to med school in the country where you want to practice in ultimately. Even if the MD degree is recognized in other countries, you are not as likely to be able to complete a competitive residency/ specialty.

oh okay! That is good to know! Again, thank you taking your time to respond!

 

[AnotherPre-med]

1) You will an opportunity to do a research as a DO.
2) Yes.
3) It needs to be upper level bio classes to show that you can handle medical school.
In regard to your passion for practicing medicine in another country I 100% agree with above bluepeony's post.

Thank you so much for clarifying my doubts! Would you recommend that I take a SMP program or take upper level biology classes to boost my gpa during this upcoming year? I saw goro's post stating either programs will work but i'm really not sure which path to follow.

 

[Dr panda]

Thank you so much for clarifying my doubts! Would you recommend that I take a SMP program or take upper level biology classes to boost my gpa during this upcoming year? I saw goro's post stating either programs will work but i'm really not sure which path to follow.

If you are set on MD go for an SMP, if you just want to increase your chances of getting into medical school (MD as well!) do a postbacc. Either way you have a good chances of getting into MD program, but SMP will give you better outcomes - higher risk means better profit.

 

[AnotherPre-med]

If you are set on MD go for an SMP, if you just want to increase your chances of getting into medical school (MD as well!) do a postbacc. Either way you have a good chances of getting into MD program, but SMP will give you better outcomes - higher risk means better profit.

Thank you! You all have helped me a lot!

 

[ciestar]

Drexel has a few SMPs and i think they all have linkage.