2007-2008 "what are my chances"/"what should I do"/"where to apply" Thread

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I had schools ask me where I applied on interviews. Some just asked where else I interviewed at. No one at a DO school phrased it like "so, did you apply to MD programs" They really do not care...if you are from the tri-state area and apply to PCOM, they almost assume that you applied to Temple, Jeff, Drexel, etc. As long as you have an honest reason for why you applied DO, it will not be a big deal. I told them I applied to some MD programs and was accepted. There are bigger things to worry about.
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I attended only 3 of my many interviews and I got asked if I applied to MD at 2 of them. I answered honestly and they moved on, it didnt hinder an acceptance. No sweat. ;)
 
It would look kinda odd if you applied to like 15 MD schools and only 1 DO school (because the DO school was instate)

If they asked you about this and you do tell them the truth (which I believe is the right thing to do), man they might actually grill you and flat out tell you that your only picked this DO program becuase its your "safety net"

On the other hand, if you applied evently (say 6 MD and 4 DO), they "shouldn't" complain or say anything negative, because your showing interest in both degrees
 
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Hi! I am a new member of SDN and I wanted to get some educated opinions on my chances of getting into a program.....

I am a 23 year old caucasian male.
My GPA was 3.3 overall, 3.0 sceince, 3.4 post-bacc
I took the MCAT last June and scored a 31O (9 PS, 10 BS, 12 VR)
I have about 400 hours of hospital volunteer work, a year of shadowing a DO, and the rest of the ECs are pretty balanced.

I am applying to:
Western
Kirksville
PCOM
NYCOM
Midwestern- Chicago
MSUCOM

I just recieved my first secondary today, so I feel like I am a little late in the application process after reading about everyone's acceptances. I would love any feedback you could offer. Thanks!
 
RoyalFB said:
Hi! I am a new member of SDN and I wanted to get some educated opinions on my chances of getting into a program.....

I am a 23 year old caucasian male.
My GPA was 3.3 overall, 3.0 sceince, 3.4 post-bacc
I took the MCAT last June and scored a 31O (9 PS, 10 BS, 12 VR)
I have about 400 hours of hospital volunteer work, a year of shadowing a DO, and the rest of the ECs are pretty balanced.

I am applying to:
Western
Kirksville
PCOM
NYCOM
Midwestern- Chicago
MSUCOM

I just recieved my first secondary today, so I feel like I am a little late in the application process after reading about everyone's acceptances. I would love any feedback you could offer. Thanks!
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I think you definitely have a good shot of at least getting interviews. My suggestion is, don't wait until you get the secondaries. Find the essay questions for all the schools you have applied to and get them finished now.
 
That's a good idea, thanks for the tip. Anywhere you know of that psots them?
 
RoyalFB said:
That's a good idea, thanks for the tip. Anywhere you know of that psots them?
Click to expand...

There's a secondaries thread where you might be able to find some of them at least. After you check there you can let me know if there are others you couldn't find and I can see if I have them.
 
Here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=417296

It's several pages long but it might help. Which secondary did you already receive?

And/or you could even go to each school's discussion thread and ask there. I didn't apply to Western, NYCOM or MSUCOM so I don't know about those.
 
RoyalFB said:
Hi! I am a new member of SDN and I wanted to get some educated opinions on my chances of getting into a program.....

I am a 23 year old caucasian male.
My GPA was 3.3 overall, 3.0 sceince, 3.4 post-bacc
I took the MCAT last June and scored a 31O (9 PS, 10 BS, 12 VR)
I have about 400 hours of hospital volunteer work, a year of shadowing a DO, and the rest of the ECs are pretty balanced.

I am applying to:
Western
Kirksville
PCOM
NYCOM
Midwestern- Chicago
MSUCOM

I just recieved my first secondary today, so I feel like I am a little late in the application process after reading about everyone's acceptances. I would love any feedback you could offer. Thanks!
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I think you have a good chance to be accepted somewhere. NYCOM only sends a secondary to applicants they interview. With other secondaries I would see if they send them to you via e-mail or snail mail or if they are posted on the schools website. Last year UMDNJ had their secondary on their website. I hope you are accepted to the school of your choice. Good Luck!!!!:luck::luck::luck:
 
Kappy1 said:
I think you have a good chance to be accepted somewhere. NYCOM only sends a secondary to applicants they interview. With other secondaries I would see if they send them to you via e-mail or snail mail or if they are posted on the schools website. Last year UMDNJ had their secondary on their website. I hope you are accepted to the school of your choice. Good Luck!!!!:luck::luck::luck:
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I have heard that Western only sends secondaries to interviewed applicants as well. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.... Oh well, thanks for your post, I hope you are right!
 
RoyalFB said:
I have heard that Western only sends secondaries to interviewed applicants as well. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.... Oh well, thanks for your post, I hope you are right!
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Nope, Western does NOT only send secondaries to interviewed applicants.
 
Hey everyone. I'm wondering about what schools to apply to. I have a bunch of withdrawels on my transcript. I have like 12 withdrawels all together. At least one every year but my gpa is a 3.83. There was one semester were I just droped all my classes since I was sick. I have an excuse for the semester when I was sick but not for the other w's. If I get at least a 25 on the MCAT were should I apply? I'm a texas resident so I will be applying to all the texas schools. But what other schools should I consider.
 
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Are you talking about this year? You've already missed the TCOM deadline.

I know VCOM is big on a high GPA, but not too concerned with MCAT.
 
HyperSpace said:
Hey everyone. I'm wondering about what schools to apply to. I have a bunch of withdrawels on my transcript. I have like 12 withdrawels all together. At least one every year but my gpa is a 3.83. There was one semester were I just droped all my classes since I was sick. I have an excuse for the semester when I was sick but not for the other w's. If I get at least a 25 on the MCAT were should I apply? I'm a texas resident so I will be applying to all the texas schools. But what other schools should I consider.
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You'll have a tough time with 25 anywhere in Texas but your GPA is solid. As Tex said earlier, you are too late for Texas this year. I would suggest retaking the MCAT and apply early and broadly in Texas and you should to well.
 
No I am not planning on applying this year. I am applying next year. I am just trying to get an idea of what schools I can apply to next year if I were to get a 25 on the MCAT. How hard is it to get a 25 on the MCAT? I am just barely starting to study for the MCAT and I've been getting 19's so I'm a little worried. I hoping to get a 25 at least eventually.
 
Nasem said:
It would look kinda odd if you applied to like 15 MD schools and only 1 DO school (because the DO school was instate)
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Thats what I did. I only applied to the 2 instate DO schools as safeties and a bunch of MD schools.

Also suprisingly a lot of people ask where you applied to or where you interviewed at. If you have an honest desire to go to their school, then it shouldn't matter if its a safety or not.
 
DO schools do not know if u applied MD, and they have no way of finding out. when i interviewed at western, they were very interested in finding out which MD schools i applied to. i was honest, and it in my opnion, it hurt me in this specific sitiation. i applied to both DO and MD and got interviewed and accpeted to all without waitlist, except for western. western was my top choice at the time.

western tradiotonally gets a crapload of cali apps who are using them as a backup, so they have a right to be weary. but i am sure they waitlisted me because i was honest in telling them that i had applied to numerous other allo schools even after telling them they were my top choice, which they were. by the time i got off the waitlist, i had already settled in at another school which was well under way.

so, sometimes honesty is not the best policy. if u have a specific DO school in mind that is truely your to choice, i would not disclose the fact that u applied allo. it can only hurt u.
 
The above post makes the most sense to me.

I love how everyone thinks that interviewers are human lie detectors and will "see right through you" give me a break.
 
That's not the issue. I've heard of people getting something along these lines too:

Interviewer: did you apply to any MD schools, or just DO schools?

Applicant: Just DO schools.

Interviewer: why? I thought you wanted to be a doctor. You're from _________ . Your state school is a great MD school.

The thing is, your interviewer is not an SDN pre-med poster who either loves all things DO and hates all things MD, or vice-versa. He or she has probably worked with many MD's and DO's alike, and might even be an MD.

The issue is more with stumbling all over yourself, trying to tell the interviewers what you think they want to hear, when, in reality, you don't know what that is. It will look like insecurity, and that will certainly count against you.
 
I finally submitted my aacomas app this morning at like 2am. Applied to NSU-COM, NYCOM, MSUCOM, AZCOM, and UNECOM. How long does it take for them to mail it out? Do you usually have to wait for verification to get the secondary sent?
 
AACOMAS has to verify your app, so your looking at a couple of weeks at least.
 
be honest and say you apply to MD schools also, I even said several names when they asked specifically, they don't care and it does not affect your candidacy
 
Work on the secondaries in the meantime so you can be ready to submit once they have your primary app.
 
so do i need to have lor's sent in before i can get the secondary or just wait till verification?
 
Unless the website said specifically not to (and I can't think of any that did off the top of my head), I sent in my LOR's as soon as I got them all on Interfolio.
 
Hey Folks, I'm new to SDN and wanted a little advice. I am a junior at UNC-CH and am planning on applying in May for admission for August 2009. I just recently decided to pursue the osteopathic medical field and therefore my stats aren't as high as they could be. It looks like I will be applying in May/June with:

-3.2 Cumulative (sharp increase in trend starting Fall 2007)
-3.01 Science GPA
-More than 2,500 Clinical Hours as an EMT
-Shadowing D.O. for couple of months
-Random service events throughout college
-Public Service Scholar at UNC
-EMT-Basic Instructor for local community college

I am taking the MCAT in April but on the practice one I scored a 28.

Any thoughts on the competitiveness of my application and which schools I would be exceptionally competitive at.

Thanks-

Cam
 
If you can match or improve upon your practice MCAT score, you will have quite a few options.

Start getting your letters of rec together now. I've seen too many people on here getting held back because they waited too long, only to have their letter-writers drag their feet on it. Give them plenty of time to drag their feet. Set up an interfolio account as soon as you read this post, and start getting that together now.
 
HyperSpace said:
Hey everyone. I'm wondering about what schools to apply to. I have a bunch of withdrawels on my transcript. I have like 12 withdrawels all together. At least one every year but my gpa is a 3.83. There was one semester were I just droped all my classes since I was sick. I have an excuse for the semester when I was sick but not for the other w's. If I get at least a 25 on the MCAT were should I apply? I'm a texas resident so I will be applying to all the texas schools. But what other schools should I consider.
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Hey HyperSpace. I feel like I must be honest when I say you are going to have a really hard time because of all of the withdraws. I really hate to be negative but I want you to be prepared for what you are getting into. I would talk to a pre-med adviser at your school to figure out options like going to graduate school before applying to DO school. You should demonstrate that you can make it through some tough semesters without withdrawing because otherwise med schools may not want to take a chance on you. There are no withdraws in med school and schools don't want to risk it on someone that might quit. Not saying that you ever would but that would be their logic. A couple of friends of mine as well as people I have met during interview days have had horror stories about either being grilled heavily in interviews or straight up rejected because of a couple of W. Talk to an adviser who can look at your whole file and give you options. Best of luck to you!
 
ctlamber said:
Hey Folks, I'm new to SDN and wanted a little advice. I am a junior at UNC-CH and am planning on applying in May for admission for August 2009. I just recently decided to pursue the osteopathic medical field and therefore my stats aren't as high as they could be. It looks like I will be applying in May/June with:

-3.2 Cumulative (sharp increase in trend starting Fall 2007)
-3.01 Science GPA
-More than 2,500 Clinical Hours as an EMT
-Shadowing D.O. for couple of months
-Random service events throughout college
-Public Service Scholar at UNC
-EMT-Basic Instructor for local community college

I am taking the MCAT in April but on the practice one I scored a 28.

Any thoughts on the competitiveness of my application and which schools I would be exceptionally competitive at.

Thanks-

Cam
Click to expand...


I agree with Texas. You will have a lot of options with those credentials. If you want to stay somewhat close to NC, you would have a good shot at VCOM or WVSOM. You already meet the cut-off for CCOM (2.75 GPA). You would probably be a good candidate for PCOM even though I heard they are really competitive. Those are the only schools I have researched heavily so I can't speak for other schools. Best of luck!
 
OK so I have gotten 3 interview invites so far (WVSOM, KCOM, MSUCOM). My brother who applied to medical school in 2000 also received interview invites from LECOM, WVSOM, KCOM, and MSUCOM. He chose MSU as it was instate and closer, although he did get accepted to all the schools I just mentioned. So was this just a coincidence that I was also invited to the same schools for interviews? or do schools keep track of any siblings that have applied before? I was just curious.

Well lets hope I get acceptances from them also :smuggrin:
 
markboonya said:
DO schools do not know if u applied MD, and they have no way of finding out. when i interviewed at western, they were very interested in finding out which MD schools i applied to. i was honest, and it in my opnion, it hurt me in this specific sitiation. i applied to both DO and MD and got interviewed and accpeted to all without waitlist, except for western. western was my top choice at the time.

western tradiotonally gets a crapload of cali apps who are using them as a backup, so they have a right to be weary. but i am sure they waitlisted me because i was honest in telling them that i had applied to numerous other allo schools even after telling them they were my top choice, which they were. by the time i got off the waitlist, i had already settled in at another school which was well under way.

so, sometimes honesty is not the best policy. if u have a specific DO school in mind that is truely your to choice, i would not disclose the fact that u applied allo. it can only hurt u.
Click to expand...

OMG! I'm freaking out here. I had an interview at Western yesterday and they asked me the same question. I was honest, and said 30 MD schools and 3 DO. But I also told them I want to stay local and I love the area and the osteopathic philosophy etc etc. I hope they don't waitlist me just for this reason :( :eek:
 
TexasTriathlete said:
....honesty is the best policy. They will smell the BS if you try to fling it on them....
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Probably the best advice of all. Tell them the truth. Besides, we have DOs, MDs and PhDs all interviewing at our school. I imagine other schools do too. You are introduced to them all as "Doctor so and so" and you really have no idea which one they are. Telling the MDs and PhDs that you've wanted to be a DO all your life because of the (insert worn out dogma here) would be a silly thing to do. Be honest and you have a better shot.
 
This might be a stupid question, but I was just wondering if it is necessary to withdraw from the application process at the schools I do not intend to send a secondary to? I figure that they don't go any further with your application until they receive a secondary. Most schools sent me a secondary and I have not heard from them since and there are a few that keep sending me notices about the status of my missing secondary. So should I inform all the schools that I am not planning on attending, just the schools that keep contacting me, or just leave it alone and let them figure out that I don't want to go to their school? Thanks! Hope everyone is doing well and getting through the semester with as little stress as possible!
 
so far i have been put on some version of a pre-interview waitlist at AZCOM, WVCOM, and VCOM. the fact that i haven't been flat out rejected by anyone yet tells me that the adcoms see at least something in my application. it is more than clear that the one thing holding me back is my less than stellar mcat score. however, i really don't want to think about retaking it at this point.

apparently the adcoms will keep reviewing my file throughout the cycle, but i am no longer in school, so it is not like i can update them with a semester transcript full of A's. so, should i send a letter in a few weeks updating them on my job (research) and reiterating my interest in their program? given that i work for a university and can take a few courses for free, i am also thinking about taking a biology course at night starting in january. short of retaking the mcat, what can i do to get an interview? anybody have any success stories/suggestions?
 
So I've been told that w's look really bad on your transcript. If everything else looks good on a persons application will adcoms be afraid to admit a student with 10 or more w's on their transcript?
 
It all depends...as usual.

I withdrew during my 2nd year of undergrad (had a handful of W's) because I was not doing well, took a couple years off of school, and then got back into it and eventually finished my degree. So with me I had the early blemish on my record, but from there on out it was an upward curve of doing better and better, etc.... And it turned out ok for me in the end. Talking with some adcoms it seems to be who looks at your app and when, and how much importance they place on those early grades. I know some were turned off by my early grades, while others were willing to "take a chance" and looked at what I was capable of.

Be willing to explain why though. If these W's are all spread out among multiple semesters because you never could get caught up in class and just decided to drop the class then that'll be harder to explain away.
 
I second nlax30.
despite your w's, if you have upward trend transcript finishing close to 3.5, you should be A O K.
Of course, you have to have overall stong application, ECs and stuff.
it will def. be your intereview question, though.
I forgot about my w's until I was asked to explain them at the interview:laugh::laugh:
it turned out ok, though.
Good Luck:luck:
 
Ws in the beginning are more acceptable than Ws later in your college career.
 
Oh I geuss I really am going to have a heard time applying since I have w's all through out my transcript. It sucks having to work and go to school at the same time! Well I'm hoping my 3.83 gpa will count for something. I dont have an upwards trend. My gpa was a 4.0 for the first two years (with a few w's here and there) since I was only taking basic courses but towards the end of my education my gpa began to take a hit and I started withdrawing from some classes about every other semester. So what MCAT score should I shot for to have a decent chance at geting in?
 
Please, take a look at your quote here:

profstudent said:
it is more than clear that the one thing holding me back is my less than stellar mcat score...
Click to expand...

Then, take a look at this:

profstudent said:
....short of retaking the mcat, what can i do to get an interview?
Click to expand...

I wish I could tell you there are magic words that will make it all better, but that would be a lie. Do you want support right now or honesty? If you REALLY want to get an interview then honesty is the best thing for you, even if it stings a little.

Once you are no longer in school, the single easiest way to improve your chances is to improve your MCAT score. It seems apparent to you already that the reason why you are having problems getting interviews is your MCAT....then why aren't you doing it?

If your MCAT is holding you back, then that's what you need to improve. Extra classes or volunteer opportunities or ECs just won't do it. Think about how badly you really want to enter medicine and just what you are willing to do to make it work.

Yet, there is hope. There are thousands of people who will get interviews this year and not get an acceptance. As of yet, you aren't even getting interviews. Call the places you applied and ask them why it is so that you will know for sure. Find out if it really is your MCAT....and if it is, then do something about it. Anything else would be a waste of time, money and effort....wouldn't it?

That said, I wish you all the luck in the world. Maybe you will get a miracle after all, but you gotta do what you can to make it happen :luck::luck::luck:
 
How less than stellar is your MCAT. I think it would help to know more about your GPAs and ec's also. I don't think it could hurt to send update letters as the interview season goes on.
 
Someone else asked this same question about a week ago. I'll post exactly what I posted in that thread :)

I had about 14 W's on my transcripts. Some of them were from over 15 years ago when I thought I dropped out of a semester but didn't so got F's in them. The college made them retroactive W's since I actually still had the drop form signed by the professors. About 6 W's were from the CC I went to part time and were spread over a 4 year period. 3 of them were from one semester when I had surgery mid-way through the semester and withdrew from school. The other 3 were just from classes I was doing crappy in from lack of effort. I wasn't asked about any of them at any interviews. I'm not sure on the exact number of W's, I would have to look, but it was a lot and this gives you an idea of how devastating your 1 W will be.

Good luck! :)

Edit--I forgot the two W's that I had at the University I got my BA from. I had two, one in pathobiology, and one in gen. chem I. I of course retook Chem. I and did fine in it (A-) even with it being a requirement for medical school, I wasn't asked about it. To summarize: I certainly wouldn't worry too much about a few W's. ;)
 
Anyone fail a med school prereq and haven't retaken but still got an interview/admission?
 
Most D.O./M.D. schools require no less than a C in any prereq.
 
I know. And I'm planning on retaking teh one i failed next semester. Just wanted to know if anyone still got atleast an interview before they started to retake. I want to know before i spend anymore on applying to schools. It's not about if the odds are greater or not but just want to know if the possibility of that happening exists.:D
 
which one was it? just so u know med schools usually look at orgo first when going through transcripts, so an F in orgo wont look so hot. however if ur GPA and MCAT are good, (>27 >3.4) u should be in OK shape.
 
belichek said:
which one was it? just so u know med schools usually look at orgo first when going through transcripts, so an F in orgo wont look so hot. however if ur GPA and MCAT are good, (>27 >3.4) u should be in OK shape.
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mcat 28S, gpa 3.21 but definitely going up as so far i got nothing lower than B+ and 18 credits. I had a D in orgo 2 over 3 semester ago and a C- in phys 1, although i technically passed cuz i'm in phys2 now and have an A so far. Everything else was ok. I know some schools i specifically called said a C- is failing while others said it was ok but I'm just worried that I won't even get an interview with those two grades. I'm sure if I can get an interview I could nail it. Oh and thx belichek for your replies, although I live in miami and belichek = patriots lol. :eek:
 
belichek said:
which one was it? just so u know med schools usually look at orgo first when going through transcripts, so an F in orgo wont look so hot. however if ur GPA and MCAT are good, (>27 >3.4) u should be in OK shape.
Click to expand...

Odd, I withdrew from Orgo. and it hasn't been brought up by any med. school yet. Granted a W isn't an F, but if med schools look at it first I'm amazed I've gotten any interviews. :rolleyes:
 
belichek said:
which one was it? just so u know med schools usually look at orgo first when going through transcripts, so an F in orgo wont look so hot. however if ur GPA and MCAT are good, (>27 >3.4) u should be in OK shape.
Click to expand...

What if you got a D+, retook, got an A and took orgo 2 and got an A plus a good LOR? Will it still be a death sentence????:eek:
 
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