MD & DO White male 3.67 cGPA 3.58 sGPA multiple MCAT reapplicant

[reaver2323]

Hi all,

I've read over some of the threads on this site for a couple of years now, but never thought to actually ask for help with my application process. Here's some of my information:

- 2014 undergrad degree, 3.67 cGPA 3.58 sGPA
- 2013 MCAT 24, 2014 MCAT 29
- several hundred hours volunteering medical/non-medical settings
- 1 year of research assistance to biomechanics PhD candidate with publication acknowledgements, abstract coauthor
- undergraduate fraternity president
- involvement with several campus organizations
- current elementary school afterschool program volunteer/tudor
- currently working as MA/scribe in an orthopaedic practice (have worked for almost 2 years since graduating undergrad, probably a couple thousand working/shadowing hours)

So, here's my current situation:
I was waitlisted at one MD program (Mercer University) for the entering class of Fall '14, took some time off to improve my application, and was waitlisted a second time for Fall '16. Given the time of year, it does not seem that I'll be picked off the list this time either. In both cases, I was asked to interview almost immediately after submitting my secondary applications. In my opinion the interviews went well and there wasn't anything I was concerned about. I applied 20 different schools of varying tiers and geographic location in both application cycles (all MD programs) and only interviewed at one school.

So, should I apply to a few MD schools and focus my efforts into DO programs? I guess I don't really know what to expect at this point, as I thought I had drastically improved my overall application before. Due the change in MCAT format I'm required to take the new MCAT before re-applying, which I am taking in June. My oldest MCAT score will have aged-out, so hopefully that will help my case somewhat. Any advice would be helpful, as it seems that I thought I knew about this process is not necessarily true.

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[gyngyn]

Hi all,

I've read over some of the threads on this site for a couple of years now, but never thought to actually ask for help with my application process. Here's some of my information:

- 2014 undergrad degree, 3.67 cGPA 3.58 sGPA
- 2013 MCAT 24, 2014 MCAT 29
- several hundred hours volunteering medical/non-medical settings
- 1 year of research assistance to biomechanics PhD candidate with publication acknowledgements, abstract coauthor
- undergraduate fraternity president
- involvement with several campus organizations
- current elementary school afterschool program volunteer/tudor
- currently working as MA/scribe in an orthopaedic practice (have worked for almost 2 years since graduating undergrad, probably a couple thousand working/shadowing hours)

So, here's my current situation:
I was waitlisted at one MD program (Mercer University) for the entering class of Fall '14, took some time off to improve my application, and was waitlisted a second time for Fall '16. Given the time of year, it does not seem that I'll be picked off the list this time either. In both cases, I was asked to interview almost immediately after submitting my secondary applications. In my opinion the interviews went well and there wasn't anything I was concerned about. I applied 20 different schools of varying tiers and geographic location in both application cycles (all MD programs) and only interviewed at one school.

So, should I apply to a few MD schools and focus my efforts into DO programs? I guess I don't really know what to expect at this point, as I thought I had drastically improved my overall application before. Due the change in MCAT format I'm required to take the new MCAT before re-applying, which I am taking in June. My oldest MCAT score will have aged-out, so hopefully that will help my case somewhat. Any advice would be helpful, as it seems that I thought I knew about this process is not necessarily true.

"Old" MCAT's remain on the record. While they may no longer be useful, they are still visible and are taken into consideration.

 

[Faha]

You are a good candidate for DO schools so apply to at least 10 and you should receive some interviews. You may need a DO LOR for some schools. Your chances for MD depend somewhat on how well you do on the MCAT. Let us know what your MCAT score is in July and we can give more accurate advice for MD schools

 

[reaver2323]

"Old" MCAT's remain on the record. While they may no longer be useful, they are still visible and are taken into consideration.

Thanks for clearing that up. I attended a few meetings for Mercer and a few where I was rejected and was told that scores before January 2014 wouldn't be considered in the upcoming application, but I wasn't sure if they were off the books completely. I figured they would still play some role.

 

[gyngyn]

Thanks for clearing that up. I attended a few meetings for Mercer and a few where I was rejected and was told that scores before January 2014 wouldn't be considered in the upcoming application, but I wasn't sure if they were off the books completely. I figured they would still play some role.

Sometimes we are unclear when we say "not considered."
Old MCAT's, like herpes, are there forever.

 

[reaver2323]

You are a good candidate for DO schools so apply to at least 10 and you should receive some interviews. You may need a DO LOR for some schools. Your chances for MD depend somewhat on how well you do on the MCAT. Let us know what your MCAT score is in July and we can give more accurate advice for MD schools

I hadn't considered different letters for DO program, thank you for the advice. And yes, I will be sure to check back. Right now I am testing at around 510 but have no idea how that will relate on test day.

 

[reaver2323]

Sometimes we are unclear when we say "not considered."
Old MCAT's, like herpes, are there forever.

That's an unfortunate truth I was not told by my pre-med advisor. The MCAT, I mean - not the herpes. *Shudder*

 

[smr]

A 23 at any junction is fatal for white applicants to MD applications.

Scoring a 29 originally would not have been fatal, but a 29 is well below the median for matriculants.

I don't think you can really say this for certain. Obviously some adcoms care about past MCAT scores but I also know at least one that came to our school and said she only cared about the highest score. She did not say this like it was unusual either, so I imagine there are others who are less concerned with past scores.

 

[reaver2323]

@smr I Would like to think that, but you can never be sure!

 

[smr]

@smr I Would like to think that, but you can never be sure!

Yep nothing is for sure, but I would say you should apply to as many schools as you can afford that have average stats similar to yours. Unless you don't mind taking a gap year and doing an SMP or improving your app in some way. Check out the LizzyM application assistant and put your data in. There are a number of MD schools that have average MCAT scores of 29 and many with average scores of 3o.

 

[gyngyn]

I don't think you can really say this for certain. Obviously some adcoms care about past MCAT scores but I also know at least one that came to our school and said she only cared about the highest score. She did not say this like it was unusual either, so I imagine there are others who are less concerned with past scores.

We all use the highest score when we publish school stats! At that point, we only care about the highest score.
Sometimes we are unclear about the effect of multiple scores in the evaluation process, though.