I am an Illinois resident...and 800 hours since high school??? I didn't know we could list high school activities and even soI have like 200 in college and 100 in highschool. 800??? That is a lot of hours of volunteering....Well what about CCOM? ...i'll also be applying to PCOM, LECOM, Des Moines, Kirksville, Virginia, Ohio state....what do you think my chances are at those schools?
* *2009-2010 "What Are My Chances/Where Should I Apply/What Should I Do" * *
- Thread starter kj22
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A
AdemTD
You don't list high school activities on AACOMAS, MSUCOM's secondary asks for it. They don't just mean clinical volunteering. They're talking about any kind of volunteering you've done where someone or some organization has benefited from the giving of your time. I would definitely say your MCAT and GPA are competitive for those schools, and even for MSUCOM, it just might be harder for you to gain admission at MSU because of your volunteer hours. But it doesn't hurt to try.
A
AdemTD
usnews.com has a lot of this information for their subscribers, I believe they publish a book with this info in it too. However, some schools don't publish this information. For those schools, you might find this info. on their website or by emailing them.
So you think with my stats and ec's, I have a good shot at getting into one of eight schools I'm applying to? Or with my stats should I apply a little more broadly?
Also, I didn't put down Kansas city because I have heard that it is extremely boring in that city and there is absolutely nothing to do. I love playing basketball and a student that is going there next year says all they have is one half court. I have nothing against the school itself, but what have you guys heard about Kansas city's program?
Also, I didn't put down Kansas city because I have heard that it is extremely boring in that city and there is absolutely nothing to do. I love playing basketball and a student that is going there next year says all they have is one half court. I have nothing against the school itself, but what have you guys heard about Kansas city's program?
I just graduated this may and my cum gpa is 3.28 which I knw is low for medical school but I am really concerned about the ups and downs of my gpa. The trend of my gpa is 3.62, 2.87,2.67, 3.55,3.2, 3.64, 3.25, 3.5, 3.33! At my later semester I tried equally to do well but my transcript probably says different. So my question is will this trend definitely hurt my application? I heard that inconsistency in your grade is negative, is it true??
please share ur opinion
please share ur opinion
Hello everybody, I have a 3.5 cgpa, 3.3 sgpa with lots of volunteering both clinical and nonclinical, alot of work experience, NO research, solid LORs (shadow letter from both MD and DO) school involvement, I applied to 13 MD schools and 5 DO schools but I'm pretty much going DO if accepted at DO, (just applying to 13 MD schools IN CASE I don't get a DO school), my question is do you guys think 5 DO schools is too little?
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Does anyone know the DO cut off for verbal. I have a 6 on verbal but a 3.5+ gpa and 10s on the science sections. Will I still have a chance at DO schools or will they reject me due to the 6 alone?
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A few have a minimum (or minimum avg.) of a 7 for each section...but I have heard of many exceptions.
A
AdemTD
Does anyone know the DO cut off for verbal. I have a 6 on verbal but a 3.5+ gpa and 10s on the science sections. Will I still have a chance at DO schools or will they reject me due to the 6 alone?
I know all that MSUCOM requires is a 4 to get a secondary.
I kind of have the same story as a lot of people posting on this forum and am just kind of curious what my chances are of being accepted to a DO school.
I really wished I would have waited a couple years before I started my undergrad college career, I really was not ready for college at all and this resulted in some Cs in some of my premed science classes. I graduated from the University of Kansas with a BS degree and an undergrad GPA of 3.08 and a science GPA of 2.5. I received a C in chem. 1, physics 1 & 2, and in a couple bio classes. I did receive As and Bs in most of my upper level bio courses such as anatomy and physiology. My transcript is tough to look at today because I know I could have done so much better and my focus and dedication just wasn't what it is now.
Since then I have worked 2 years full time at a regional 300bed hospital as a phlebotomist and took classes last year at a local college. The classes that I have taken are Microbiology, Genetics, Orgo Chem 1 &2 and Labs, and Biochem and received As in all of them. This bumped my GPA up to about a 3.18 and my science GPA up to a 3.0. I also took my mcat during this period and scored a 33p.
I also have some good ECs including...
A semester internship in the cardiology department at the hospital that I currently work at during this time I got to shadow lots of different doctors in different areas of the hospital performing a lot of different procedures and even observed an open heart surgery.
By the time that I apply I will have worked in a direct patient care position for about 2 and ½ years.
I have done some volunteer work during my undergrad with organizations just as habitat for humanity and Boys and Girls club.
Just curious what my chances of being accepted into a DO program would be should I wait a year and take some more science classes to help out my GPA and work on some more ECs, maybe retake my mcat, or should I go ahead and apply. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I really wished I would have waited a couple years before I started my undergrad college career, I really was not ready for college at all and this resulted in some Cs in some of my premed science classes. I graduated from the University of Kansas with a BS degree and an undergrad GPA of 3.08 and a science GPA of 2.5. I received a C in chem. 1, physics 1 & 2, and in a couple bio classes. I did receive As and Bs in most of my upper level bio courses such as anatomy and physiology. My transcript is tough to look at today because I know I could have done so much better and my focus and dedication just wasn't what it is now.
Since then I have worked 2 years full time at a regional 300bed hospital as a phlebotomist and took classes last year at a local college. The classes that I have taken are Microbiology, Genetics, Orgo Chem 1 &2 and Labs, and Biochem and received As in all of them. This bumped my GPA up to about a 3.18 and my science GPA up to a 3.0. I also took my mcat during this period and scored a 33p.
I also have some good ECs including...
A semester internship in the cardiology department at the hospital that I currently work at during this time I got to shadow lots of different doctors in different areas of the hospital performing a lot of different procedures and even observed an open heart surgery.
By the time that I apply I will have worked in a direct patient care position for about 2 and ½ years.
I have done some volunteer work during my undergrad with organizations just as habitat for humanity and Boys and Girls club.
Just curious what my chances of being accepted into a DO program would be should I wait a year and take some more science classes to help out my GPA and work on some more ECs, maybe retake my mcat, or should I go ahead and apply. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
A
AdemTD
I would say you've got a great shot at DO programs. You've really shown your maturity with the upward trend. You can also retake some bad grades from your earlier years and AACOMAS will actually replace those bad grades with your more recent one so getting your GPA much higher is definitely possible if you want to increase your chances (If your current financial situation allows it of course). Your MCAT is awesome as well and you've had some valuable experiences.
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I'm kind of a similar story, although I may have gotten some mileage out of the fact that I took my post-bac courses at the university, and lit it up, rather than at community college. The same university where I had previously done poorly, in a much easier program.
On the other hand, your overall numbers are higher. I think I got the axe by the 3.0 cutoff at some places. Our MCAT scores are the same.
Apply broadly. The DO schools will like your experience.
On the other hand, your overall numbers are higher. I think I got the axe by the 3.0 cutoff at some places. Our MCAT scores are the same.
Apply broadly. The DO schools will like your experience.
A
AdemTD
Being all over the place, your 3.28 GPA is certainly less desirable than someone who has a steady or an upward trend especially since you started out so well. But I think you could still get into some DO programs especially with a strong MCAT score. Are you applying this year?
Thank you so much for your reply.My science grades are all B+ to A but i have few Cs in humanities classes! yes I am applying this year and I took MCAT last year but but did bad in verbal, so I am studying for it now to take it in august and and will apply in august/september. What MCAT score do you think will make me competitive? previously i had 10,4,9 but i wasnt really prepared but my parents pushed me to take it anyway but i should have never taken it without feeling ready at least for verbal!
Thank you again
p.s : are u med student or applicant?
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Does anyone know the DO cut off for verbal. I have a 6 on verbal but a 3.5+ gpa and 10s on the science sections. Will I still have a chance at DO schools or will they reject me due to the 6 alone?
I have that exact same score...10's on science, 6 in verbal. (i actually took it once before and got an 8, then went down to a 6). I applied yesterday!
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cgpa: 3.5
sgpa: 3.6
mcat: 25R (10P, 7V, 8B). retaking this summer to hopefully raise a few points.
EC: volunteer at hospital 3yrs. part-time as nursing assistant 1yr. research 1yr. involved in many leadership/volunteer groups throughout undergrad. shadowing.
LOR: i believe them to be pretty good/solid. have DO letters as well.
what are my chances at DO? i'm looking at msucom, pcom-philly, nsu, ccom right now.
any advice/thoughts would be great! thanks.
sgpa: 3.6
mcat: 25R (10P, 7V, 8B). retaking this summer to hopefully raise a few points.
EC: volunteer at hospital 3yrs. part-time as nursing assistant 1yr. research 1yr. involved in many leadership/volunteer groups throughout undergrad. shadowing.
LOR: i believe them to be pretty good/solid. have DO letters as well.
what are my chances at DO? i'm looking at msucom, pcom-philly, nsu, ccom right now.
any advice/thoughts would be great! thanks.
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So I can't really speak from experience about KC but seeing as they have a football team and baseball team they must be a pretty large city. Also from looking at wikitravel it looks like a fun place to live: http://wikitravel.org/en/Kansas_City
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It's a city of half a million people. The metro area has two million people. What do you mean there's nothing to do?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri
A
AdemTD
You're competitive for all DO schools based on numbers...however, numbers alone are not enough to get you into any medical school 🙂
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So I have been a Paramedic/Firefighter for 6 years and 2 years ago I finally took the leap of faith and went all in for medical school. I take the MCAT on July 17th and will be applying as soon as I get the results. BUT, I don't have the picture perfect grades. cgpa is 2.8 and science gpa is 3.4. I have what I think is a great personal statement and 5 strong LOR's from 3 DO's and 2 MD's, I recently spent a month in Africa volunteering in a medical clinic treating patients (I was actually registered in the Ghananian healthcare system and give a prescription pad and hospital rights.... but I was NOWHERE near a hospital haha). My question is how will the DO schools look at me? I am nervous as can be. I know I need to kill my MCAT and have an awesome interview, but do you think I will even get the interview?? Guess fulltime jobs (yes plural) may not have been the best choice during my undergrad.
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I think you'd have a good shot at interviews given you get a solid mcat score. That 2.8 cGPA is a bit low, not sure if any schools have a 2.9/3.0 cutoff (maybe someone else on here knows?), but you'd have a problem there if that school did. You're sGPA is solid. Also, make sure you get the required number of academic LORs (science, non-science), because those doc letters are only clinical. Good Luck!
I have the required LOR's I am just heavy on the clinical letters side for sure. Plus I have some science GPA "boosters" coming up here that will get my GPA back where it should be for sure. I graduate in December so I have 31 credits still technically "in progress" and they are all upper 300 and above. And they are all my research classes which I am very strong in. I am just worried about this application time because I don't want to take the extra year off! Thanks for the vote of confidence though!
Your cgpa and sgpa are slightly lower than the 'average' for the applicant pool...but your strong MCAT score makes up for it...as does your impressive list of extracurriculars. Don't worry about it too much...you'll most likely get mutiple interviews. Good luck!
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So here is my history What are my chances getting in to a DO school and where should I apply and why? THanks
-3.27 Cum GPa (Nonscience 3.5 sci 3.1)
MCAT in a week, prob mid 20's (all even)
-President and founder of the Case Biology Society
-Member of AMSA
-AEPi fraternity
-School Newspaper
-Jewish Student Group
-Red cross First Aid and CPR certified
-200 hours volunteer work (pediatric hospital)
-40 hours shadowing
-Several research positions (Cleveland Clinic and NIH)
-Former jobs (dining hall cook, chemistry tutor, online chem tutor)
-Earthday coalition intern (mercury fish awareness program
-Zoo intern
-3.27 Cum GPa (Nonscience 3.5 sci 3.1)
MCAT in a week, prob mid 20's (all even)
-President and founder of the Case Biology Society
-Member of AMSA
-AEPi fraternity
-School Newspaper
-Jewish Student Group
-Red cross First Aid and CPR certified
-200 hours volunteer work (pediatric hospital)
-40 hours shadowing
-Several research positions (Cleveland Clinic and NIH)
-Former jobs (dining hall cook, chemistry tutor, online chem tutor)
-Earthday coalition intern (mercury fish awareness program
-Zoo intern
Hi just wondering what schools people think i would have the best shot at... i have a 3.55 gpa with a 3.65 science gpa i just got my mcat results back got a 10 7 9 - 26Q. I did start of college with a 1.76 cuz of some extreme circumstances but iv had a strong upward trend since then. Lots of volunteering and shadowing experience family practioner, and Emergency medicine. I dont have research and am about to start shadowing a DO. I do have other extracurriculars that i put down on my app i just dont know exactly what schools I want to apply to since i dont have a DO letter.
I was thinking maybe nyit, tuoro-ny, ccom, nsu-com, and azcom so far. Any other schools that I think I should apply to that dont have a large instate preference. I greatly appreciate anyones help
I was thinking maybe nyit, tuoro-ny, ccom, nsu-com, and azcom so far. Any other schools that I think I should apply to that dont have a large instate preference. I greatly appreciate anyones help
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Hi I was wondering if anyone could tell me what are my chances. So my science gpa is around a 3.46 and a cumulative gpa is around 3.5X. My mcat score the first time around was a 27N (9,9,9). i decided to retake it to further improve it, but i just got back my scores and it dropped by 2 points 25 M (9P 8V 8B) 🙁 How bad will this look?
I also have 2 years of research, and lots of clinical and volunteer activities. I'm planning to apply to western and touro-ca since i live in california. But will add more to the list.
Thanks in advance!
I also have 2 years of research, and lots of clinical and volunteer activities. I'm planning to apply to western and touro-ca since i live in california. But will add more to the list.
Thanks in advance!
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I just got done my 4th year at a decent state university (and have completed 122 credits).
My current gpa stats:
cGPA: 2.73
sGPA: 2.70
In my freshmen year I got C's in gen chem 1 and 2.
Then, in my sophomore year, I took three of the pre-reqs simaltaneously and got all C's or C - in all of them (Gen Bio 1 & 2, Gen Physics 1 & 2, and Orgo 1 & 2).
If i retake these courses, and essentially re-do my sophomore year , by the end of next year (by May 2010) I will have these stats assuming next year I get a 3.6 (this is what I can reasonably expect to obtain):
cGPA: 3.21
sGPA: 3.26
So, I will obviously change my GPA a whole lot by retaking courses. Taking new upper level sciences will not affect my GPA in the same way, however. I have seen a few threads of people who retook 8 or more classes, but I want to know what you all think of this. Would you rather retake 8 courses and end up with a 3.21 cGPA/3.26 sGPA or take 8 new courses (including probably 5 upper level science courses) and end up with a 2.79 cGPA/2.78 sGPA? (these numbers are assuming I get a 3.6 in my 8 classes next year, which we should all assume will happen for this conversation)
Other information in my application:
MCAT: 32O ( 9P, 12B, 11V)
- 200 hours volunteering at three different locations (2 hospitals, 1 private practice center)
- have shadowed various physicians in different specialties
- good upward trend: fresh/soph year gpa = 2.2, jr/sr year gpa = 3.2
My current gpa stats:
cGPA: 2.73
sGPA: 2.70
In my freshmen year I got C's in gen chem 1 and 2.
Then, in my sophomore year, I took three of the pre-reqs simaltaneously and got all C's or C - in all of them (Gen Bio 1 & 2, Gen Physics 1 & 2, and Orgo 1 & 2).
If i retake these courses, and essentially re-do my sophomore year , by the end of next year (by May 2010) I will have these stats assuming next year I get a 3.6 (this is what I can reasonably expect to obtain):
cGPA: 3.21
sGPA: 3.26
So, I will obviously change my GPA a whole lot by retaking courses. Taking new upper level sciences will not affect my GPA in the same way, however. I have seen a few threads of people who retook 8 or more classes, but I want to know what you all think of this. Would you rather retake 8 courses and end up with a 3.21 cGPA/3.26 sGPA or take 8 new courses (including probably 5 upper level science courses) and end up with a 2.79 cGPA/2.78 sGPA? (these numbers are assuming I get a 3.6 in my 8 classes next year, which we should all assume will happen for this conversation)
Other information in my application:
MCAT: 32O ( 9P, 12B, 11V)
- 200 hours volunteering at three different locations (2 hospitals, 1 private practice center)
- have shadowed various physicians in different specialties
- good upward trend: fresh/soph year gpa = 2.2, jr/sr year gpa = 3.2
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Personally, I would do a combination of retakes and new classes. Your sGPA of 2.7 is the bare minimum for most schools and while you have a solid MCAT you still have an uphill battle.
I am pretty sure that C- have to be retaken for schools. Hopefully someone else can comment on that. It may depend on the specific school.
I am pretty sure that C- have to be retaken for schools. Hopefully someone else can comment on that. It may depend on the specific school.
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You need to retake. All of your pre-requisites are a C or C-. I would not accept you into any medical school. The Adcoms will feel the same way. Sorry to be blunt, but your low grades in the pre-requisites suggest you are not very well adapted for scientific curricula, which med school is, or you just don't give a damn (this might not be true, but only your application talks for you). You must retake if you want to get in.
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I agree, I would want to retake a lot of those courses so I got my GPA up to at least 3.2 or so and along the way maybe add in a few upper level science courses to show that you can handle them. Best of luck!
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Find out which is cheaper between a SMP and retaking all of your classes and I would go for that. You would essentially finish both around the same time but at least the SMP would be new crap instead of proving that you know basic sciences like gen chem (which your mcat kind of already shows).
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Retake! The second time around you'll do much better and have a better chance at earning an A. Taking new and possibly more difficult courses could leave the door open for another B or C depending on your load. I think you'll have a better shot getting all/more A's by retaking....which is your goal.
Goodluck!
Goodluck!
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Definitely retake, your GPA is too low right now and you would basically be gambling with any money you put forth to apply.
Where in Ghana did you work? I worked in Abokobi at a clinic. Anyways, good luck! I think that you will be just fine. 👍
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In your situation I would go for a masters' degree and get an awesome GPA while doing it. However, that's more time-consuming and only useful if there's a subject that you would like to study more in-depth. To me, however, it's more useful to go out and get a higher degree which deepens your knowledge rather than retake a bunch of classes. It might not be your thing.
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So here is my history What are my chances getting in to a DO school and where should I apply and why? THanks
-3.27 Cum GPa (Nonscience 3.5 sci 3.1)
MCAT in a week, prob mid 20's (all even)
-President and founder of the Case Biology Society
-Member of AMSA
-AEPi fraternity
-School Newspaper
-Jewish Student Group
-Red cross First Aid and CPR certified
-200 hours volunteer work (pediatric hospital)
-40 hours shadowing
-Several research positions (Cleveland Clinic and NIH)
-Former jobs (dining hall cook, chemistry tutor, online chem tutor)
-Earthday coalition intern (mercury fish awareness program
-Zoo intern
-3.27 Cum GPa (Nonscience 3.5 sci 3.1)
MCAT in a week, prob mid 20's (all even)
-President and founder of the Case Biology Society
-Member of AMSA
-AEPi fraternity
-School Newspaper
-Jewish Student Group
-Red cross First Aid and CPR certified
-200 hours volunteer work (pediatric hospital)
-40 hours shadowing
-Several research positions (Cleveland Clinic and NIH)
-Former jobs (dining hall cook, chemistry tutor, online chem tutor)
-Earthday coalition intern (mercury fish awareness program
-Zoo intern
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 402
- Reaction score
- 9
So here is my history What are my chances getting in to a DO school and where should I apply and why? THanks
-3.27 Cum GPa (Nonscience 3.5 sci 3.1)
MCAT in a week, prob mid 20's (all even)
-President and founder of the Case Biology Society
-Member of AMSA
-AEPi fraternity
-School Newspaper
-Jewish Student Group
-Red cross First Aid and CPR certified
-200 hours volunteer work (pediatric hospital)
-40 hours shadowing
-Several research positions (Cleveland Clinic and NIH)
-Former jobs (dining hall cook, chemistry tutor, online chem tutor)
-Earthday coalition intern (mercury fish awareness program
-Zoo intern
-3.27 Cum GPa (Nonscience 3.5 sci 3.1)
MCAT in a week, prob mid 20's (all even)
-President and founder of the Case Biology Society
-Member of AMSA
-AEPi fraternity
-School Newspaper
-Jewish Student Group
-Red cross First Aid and CPR certified
-200 hours volunteer work (pediatric hospital)
-40 hours shadowing
-Several research positions (Cleveland Clinic and NIH)
-Former jobs (dining hall cook, chemistry tutor, online chem tutor)
-Earthday coalition intern (mercury fish awareness program
-Zoo intern
- Joined
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- 716
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While your cGPA is fine, your science is still a bit low. DO schools seem to be getting more and more competitive. If you have a low science GPA, you are definitely going to want to have a higher MCAT score. Do you have any real low sciences classes that pulled down your GPA? If so, you might want to consider retaking it (them).
Have you done any resesarch into any of the DO schools? If you check out the AACOMAS website, they have a guide of the schools with their links so you can get more information.
Good luck!
Have you done any resesarch into any of the DO schools? If you check out the AACOMAS website, they have a guide of the schools with their links so you can get more information.
Good luck!
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Even though your MCAT is really good, your GPA, especially sGPA stinks and chances are you will be screened right out of the running.
I would strongly suggest that you 1) retake those low science prereqs and get an A in each one, and 2) take upper levels to show the adcoms that you will be able to handle the basic sciences in med school. Also, don't take upper levels until you do well in the prereqs.
What classes did you take in your jr/sr year that would show this upward trend? While 3.2 is definitely better than 2.2, it still isn't what I would consider a major upward trend...having a 3.5 or greater would be more convincing.
So I would hold of in applying as you will only be throwing your money away.
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The OP wouldn't even get into a SMP with her current GPAs..I think they are looking for a minimum of a 3.0 in the sciences.
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Moving to what are my chances.
i am also wondering if i should apply..
i have a 3.8 GPA overall and a 3.8 science GPA
my MCAT score is a 23Q
i have 150 hrs volunteer work at a hospital
24 hours shadowing
a year job as a pharmacy tech
do i stand a good chance of getting in??????
i have a 3.8 GPA overall and a 3.8 science GPA
my MCAT score is a 23Q
i have 150 hrs volunteer work at a hospital
24 hours shadowing
a year job as a pharmacy tech
do i stand a good chance of getting in??????
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