2013-2014 Underdawgs Thread ( Lets get it)

[graduate2be]

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3.18 science / 3.45 Cumulative
25 S MCAT (6 PS, 9 VR, 10 BS); retook the MCAT on 4/26 and I feel confident that I added 3 points to my PS score
12 years active duty Army and Air Force; all my time was spent as a medic
Currently work as a public health educator but have a fair amount of civilian healthcare experience (CNA, MA, Poison Control and EMT)
Participated in several high-speed undergraduate research internships
Overcame a serious illness to finish undergrad really strong

Just got accepted to Western Universities MSMS and was accepted last month to Touro-Nevada MS MHS. I'm deciding which to attend now.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I'll give it try!

3.32 cGPA
3.56 sGPA
23 MCAT 6PS/9VR/8BS
URM

What do you guys think?

Yah, the low mcat will hurt. Consider retaking.

 

[user3]

3.18 science / 3.45 Cumulative
25 S MCAT (6 PS, 9 VR, 10 BS); retook the MCAT on 4/26 and I feel confident that I added 3 points to my PS score
12 years active duty Army and Air Force; all my time was spent as a medic
Currently work as a public health educator but have a fair amount of civilian healthcare experience (CNA, MA, Poison Control and EMT)
Participated in several high-speed undergraduate research internships
Overcame a serious illness to finish undergrad really strong

Just got accepted to Western Universities MSMS and was accepted last month to Touro-Nevada MS MHS. I'm deciding which to attend now.

as long as you went up on the retake, you shouldn't even need to attend either of those programs. With a 3.45/3.18/25, you probably would have gotten in this year if you applied broadly.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

3.18 science / 3.45 Cumulative
25 S MCAT (6 PS, 9 VR, 10 BS); retook the MCAT on 4/26 and I feel confident that I added 3 points to my PS score
12 years active duty Army and Air Force; all my time was spent as a medic
Currently work as a public health educator but have a fair amount of civilian healthcare experience (CNA, MA, Poison Control and EMT)
Participated in several high-speed undergraduate research internships
Overcame a serious illness to finish undergrad really strong

Just got accepted to Western Universities MSMS and was accepted last month to Touro-Nevada MS MHS. I'm deciding which to attend now.

Honestly, you'll be wasting 20k while you don't need to. Your stats. would get you in somewhere. Improving your mcat will make your chances even better. No need for the SMP.

 

[graduate2be]

Perhaps but the feedback that I got last admissions cycle was that a post bac or some grade replacement coupled with a higher MCAT score would serve me well. Western may offer a 15K scholarship that would significantly reduce the cost (22K tuition and a grand for fees).

Honestly, you'll be wasting 20k while you don't need to. Your stats. would get you in somewhere. Improving your mcat will make your chances even better. No need for the SMP.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using SDN Mobile

 

[Dr Dazzle]

Honestly, you'll be wasting 20k while you don't need to. Your stats. would get you in somewhere. Improving your mcat will make your chances even better. No need for the SMP.

3.18 science is on the low side...ideally should all be 3.4 ish with MCAT 25ish with nothing below 7.

 

[graduate2be]

This is on par with what I've been told by several med school admissions directors. In partucular, I've been told that my science GPA needs wirk (hence me attending post bac) and that 6 in physical sciences needs to come up to at least a 7 (Folks at Rocky Vista told me this) though an 8 would be better (heard this from Ohio Heritage COM). Final piece of advice that I got was apply early and broadly.

3.18 science is on the low side...ideally should all be 3.4 ish with MCAT 25ish with nothing below 7.

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[TXKnight]

I'm in too.

cGPA 3.18
sGPA 3.15

MCAT 29 (PS/VR/BS) 11/7/11

I'm a reapplicant BTW

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I'm a reapplicant BTW

For reference sakes, what do you think were reasons why you didn't get in

 

[SLC]

3.18 science / 3.45 Cumulative
25 S MCAT (6 PS, 9 VR, 10 BS); retook the MCAT on 4/26 and I feel confident that I added 3 points to my PS score
12 years active duty Army and Air Force; all my time was spent as a medic
Currently work as a public health educator but have a fair amount of civilian healthcare experience (CNA, MA, Poison Control and EMT)
Participated in several high-speed undergraduate research internships
Overcame a serious illness to finish undergrad really strong

Just got accepted to Western Universities MSMS and was accepted last month to Touro-Nevada MS MHS. I'm deciding which to attend now.

Have you applied to the DO school in your hometown? Because your stats are somewhat competitive there, especially if you got what you think you got on your retake! GPA will be a bit low, but they seem somewhat forgiving for the right people. It's a very "fit" oriented school.

 

[LaughingMan]

Man I am getting more nervous/stressed with the MCAT coming up by the day.

My current AAMC avg is a 29, with no section below 8. Hoping for at least a 27 on the real thing. Requesting prayers and good wishes please!

 

[user3]

This is on par with what I've been told by several med school admissions directors. In partucular, I've been told that my science GPA needs wirk (hence me attending post bac) and that 6 in physical sciences needs to come up to at least a 7 (Folks at Rocky Vista told me this) though an 8 would be better (heard this from Ohio Heritage COM). Final piece of advice that I got was apply early and broadly.






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Where did you apply besides RVU and OU?

 

[graduate2be]

I didn't apply ladt year but I did get a 'Hometown' endorsement in the early spring and I'll be applying this year. When I spoke w/ Ricky Nussel (admissions counselor) he said that the 6 PS on my MCAT was problematic but if I had a 'Hometown' endoresment along with an early application, I would have stood a decent chance at getting in. MWU-Glendale AZCOM was a no-go because of my science GPA and MCAT but I feel with an increased MCAT and science GPA, I will have a decent shot there...

Have you applied to the DO school in your hometown? Because your stats are somewhat competitive there, especially if you got what you think you got on your retake! GPA will be a bit low, but they seem somewhat forgiving for the right people. It's a very "fit" oriented school.

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[SLC]

I didn't apply ladt year but I did get a 'Hometown' endorsement in the early spring and I'll be applying this year. When I spoke w/ Ricky Nussel (admissions counselor) he said that the 6 PS on my MCAT was problematic but if I had a 'Hometown' endoresment along with an early application, I would have stood a decent chance at getting in. MWU-Glendale AZCOM was a no-go because of my science GPA and MCAT but I feel with an increased MCAT and science GPA, I will have a decent shot there...

Hometown endorsement is a big deal! The school is catching on and it's getting more and more competitive each cycle, but like I said they're really big on "fit" and nothing says "fit" to SOMA like a hometown endorsement.

I'd say that especially if your MCAT retake is good, you'll have an excellent shot.

And MWU-AZCOM seems to be an MCAT heavy school. If you earned a 28+ things will turn around in a hurry there too.

 

[rafterman]

cum is 3.05, sci 3.33, 28 mcat (10/8/10), research exp, shadowing and will be able to get letters from DO's. Little weak on the clinical volunteering, but I have some other volunteering experience. Work two jobs so it's tough to squeeze anything in. We'll see what happens. Trying to go northeast, PCOM would be so money.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

What's hometown advantage exactly...

 

[graduate2be]

The ATSU Hometown applicant program is this deal where you spend significant time developing a relationship with one of the Community Health Centers that their students rotate thru. If you get a letter of rec from the Director of the CHC, you are called a "Hometown" applicant and it gets you additional consideration as far as the admissions process. Once you start, you already have an established relationship with the CHC and thats where you do your second thru fourth year rotations.

I shadowed a D.O. at North Country Health Care and the Director of North Country is my former undergrad advisor and I wrote an HIV intervention for North Country. He wrote me a great Hometown letter of rec so now, I just have to get that MCAT up and I have a very strong chance of getting into ATSU SOMA.

What's hometown advantage exactly...

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[SLC]

What's hometown advantage exactly...

http://www.atsu.edu/soma/admissions/hometown.htm

And to add to/correct some of what Graduate2Be wrote, it's not required to get a letter from one of SOMA's CHC affiliation sites, and you aren't assigned/required to rotate in the place that gives you your letter. Any Community Health Center anywhere in the country can endorse a student as a Hometown Applicant.

SOMA is officially affiliated with 11 specific Community Health Centers scattered throughout the country, and those are the "areas" where SOMA students are sent to do their rotations. But there are over 1000 CHC's nationwide, and there are even CHC's in US territories like Guam and American Samoa.

I got an endorsement from a homeless clinic that I spent 3 years working/volunteering at in undergrad. They are not affiliated officially with SOMA, and they aren't even near a SOMA CHC area; but they are a member of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and as such are allowed to "endorse" SOMA applicants who they feel have a strong commitment to the underserved and who have a high likelihood of returning to the CHC system when they enter practice.

I'm doing a pair "away rotations" there in 3rd year, but they were set up at my request, not because of any requirement on the part of the school.

A huge component of SOMA's mission is training students who will work in/with community health centers, in fact, SOMA was built at the request of the NACHC. So it makes sense that students who have been endorsed by NACHC affiliates are given special consideration for admission. It's not a guarantee of admission, but it does go a long way to increasing the chance that you'll get an interview.

SLC

 

[TXKnight]

For reference sakes, what do you think were reasons why you didn't get in

Yeah, well, there are a few pointsI believe were pretty detrimental:

1) originally applied with sub 3.0 sGPA

2) I am non-trad and my last classes were taken a few years back -- and my last 2 semesters (especially last) were FAR from stellar (thanks to calculus 1, 2 and 3 and a few more). This point here I believe killed my chances.

3) applied later than I wanted to (sep/oct)

I think I have good clinical experience, avg volunteer, well above average research/ publications/community exp. and solid letters.

 

[TXKnight]

Man I am getting more nervous/stressed with the MCAT coming up by the day.

My current AAMC avg is a 29, with no section below 8. Hoping for at least a 27 on the real thing. Requesting prayers and good wishes please!

You'll be alright man...just work fast and sharp, which are qualities gained through all those FL's you are working on, right?

Just as a reference, I never got below 9 for my VR in the last 7 FL's i took ( i took 14 total) and I scored a 7 (which was the same score I got on my very first FL, not to be repeated again ntil the real thing) Why am I telling you this? well I went into the test with the mindset that I could handle VR to easily get a 9 minimum and 11 max. i got too confident, wasted time and did not follow the test-day plan (strict passage timing) which had worked for me great in the past. Do not make the same mistakes.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

bump

 

[LaughingMan]

You'll be alright man...just work fast and sharp, which are qualities gained through all those FL's you are working on, right?

Just as a reference, I never got below 9 for my VR in the last 7 FL's i took ( i took 14 total) and I scored a 7 (which was the same score I got on my very first FL, not to be repeated again ntil the real thing) Why am I telling you this? well I went into the test with the mindset that I could handle VR to easily get a 9 minimum and 11 max. i got too confident, wasted time and did not follow the test-day plan (strict passage timing) which had worked for me great in the past. Do not make the same mistakes.

Will keep my head up high. Scored a 32 on AAMC 8--very excited about that. Hopefully I can keep the momentum up. I'd be happy with anything 27 and up.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Will keep my head up high. Scored a 32 on AAMC 8--very excited about that. Hopefully I can keep the momentum up. I'd be happy with anything 27 and up.

You seem to be doing hot haha.

 

[LaughingMan]

You seem to be doing hot haha.

I dunno man, seeing all the MCATers from 3/23, 4/26, and 4/27 is seriously scaring me.

People saying it's nothing like the AAMCs is just

I dunno--wish me luck serenade. You're taking a gap year right? So you won't be applying?

Edit: I am also aware I am partially neurotic 😀

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I dunno man, seeing all the MCATers from 3/23, 4/26, and 4/27 is seriously scaring me.

People saying it's nothing like the AAMCs is just

I dunno--wish me luck serenade. You're taking a gap year right? So you won't be applying?

Edit: I am also aware I am partially neurotic 😀

No, my gap year is next year. I'm applying in a month. The question is whether I want to retake my mcat or not haha.

 

[coolingglasses]

Anyone who's interested can join the FB underdogs group from last year. A number of applicants from last cycle are still posting in it including myself, and we're happy to help.

But I can understand anonymity being an issue. Just thought I'd offer.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

No, my gap year is next year. I'm applying in a month. The question is whether I want to retake my mcat or not haha.

What are your stats?

 

[LaughingMan]

More and more desis each day.

 

[coolingglasses]

I found you lol. I didn't know you were brown 😎

I keep 'em guessing 😉

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Stats? You may not need to.

3.7C/3.65S/26 ( 7/9/10)

I want to retake it because I know I could do better. But at the time being there's a good chance that I'll be fine without but meh.. I'll check out my AAMCs over the next week and debate it.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

3.7C/3.65S/26 ( 7/9/10)

I want to retake it because I know I could do better. But at the time being there's a good chance that I'll be fine without but meh.. I'll check out my AAMCs over the next week and debate it.

You're stats are good as is. I wouldn't retake. Perhaps you should read the latest MCAT threads and see for yourself the disappointments people have after scoring 30+ on AAMC FL's. Your GPA is well above average (3.48) and your mcat is right on average. Unless you are sure that you can boost your mcat by another 4 points, I wouldn't recommend going through the painful process again.

BTW, you are NOT an underdog!

 

[Temperature101]

A 3.25 cut off is a bit harsh, but I guess they assume that with grade replacement it's not that hard to get there.

I don't see any underdog list in the first page... You must be busy.....

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I don't see any underdog list in the first page... You must be busy.....

Honestly, I don't see any underdog stats in this thread.

These "underdog" threads have turned into another "what are my chances?" threads.

When HockyDr09 created the original "underdog" thread, the intention was to give people with seemingly no chance some hope. Someone with 3.1 and 28+ is not an underdog. Stats. may be lower than average, but they still fall within the SD.

That's my $0.02

 

[Owl1414]

Stats:

3.33c
3.42s
MCAT 21 :/

 

[Temperature101]

Honestly, I don't see any underdog stats in this thread.

These "underdog" threads have turned into another "what are my chances?" threads.

When HockyDr09 created the original "underdog" thread, the intention was to give people with seemingly no chance some hope. Someone with 3.1 and 28+ is not an underdog. Stats. may be lower than average, but they still fall within the SD.

That's my $0.02

Disagree.... 3.1 gpa and 28 mcat is slightly an underdog.... 3.2 and 28 is not IMO.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I don't see any underdog list in the first page... You must be busy.....

I'll update it soon haha. I need to write a review on a proposal for my grad class in neuroethology.

 

[Temperature101]

I'll update it soon haha. I need to write a review on a proposal for my grad class in neuroethology.

Ok.....

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

You're stats are good as is. I wouldn't retake. Perhaps you should read the latest MCAT threads and see for yourself the disappointments people have after scoring 30+ on AAMC FL's. Your GPA is well above average (3.48) and your mcat is right on average. Unless you are sure that you can boost your mcat by another 4 points, I wouldn't recommend going through the painful process again.

BTW, you are NOT an underdog!

Yah, that's what I'm thinking of. Well I'll see whats up by the 11th I guess. And yah, I'm not an underdog, but I am probably going to be fighting for a position in one of the top DO schools.

 

[coolingglasses]

Apparently you're on imdb too. Didn't know we had a celebrity on SDN

hahaha, yeah, I used to play around in the local film industry. then I eventually realized I wasn't all that good at it, and people in the area seemed to be on two extremes: taking themselves too seriously, or not seriously at all.

great experiences though 👍

 

[user3]

honestly, i don't see any underdog stats in this thread.

These "underdog" threads have turned into another "what are my chances?" threads.

When hockydr09 created the original "underdog" thread, the intention was to give people with seemingly no chance some hope. Someone with 3.1 and 28+ is not an underdog. Stats. May be lower than average, but they still fall within the sd.

That's my $0.02

+1

3.00+/3.00+/27+ is not an underdog.

 

[Anicetus]

+1

3.00+/3.00+/27+ is not an underdog.

We can't keep using the LizzyM style of determining if someone is an underdog.

A cGPA 3.8 and a 30 (5/13/12) should be an underdog because of the 5 subsection score.

 

[SLC]

We can't keep using the LizzyM style of determining if someone is an underdog.

A cGPA 3.8 and a 30 (5/13/12) should be an underdog because of the 5 subsection score.

A score like that will probably get someone screened most places. I think the absolute minimum is often a 6.

If not, then no, that won't put someone in as an underdog because if a school is willing to consider the 5, everything else will absolutely overshadow that subscore.

 

[NurWollen]

Honestly, I don't see any underdog stats in this thread.

These "underdog" threads have turned into another "what are my chances?" threads.

When HockyDr09 created the original "underdog" thread, the intention was to give people with seemingly no chance some hope. Someone with 3.1 and 28+ is not an underdog. Stats. may be lower than average, but they still fall within the SD.

That's my $0.02

Yeah, I don't know where the real underdogs went. The first two years, the thread just worked... then I guess it got popular and everyone wanted to be in it. It's a hard question, because the whole point of the underdogs threads is to be inclusive and encouraging, so you don't really want to exclude anyone. I don't really have a solution to offer. Part of the problem is that the difference between an underdog and an above-average applicant is so razor thin in the DO world, with retakes etc.

 

[Anicetus]

A score like that will probably get someone screened most places. I think the absolute minimum is often a 6.

If not, then no, that won't put someone in as an underdog because if a school is willing to consider the 5, everything else will absolutely overshadow that subscore.

The only DO school that says they screen below an 8 is PCOM.

RVU-COM says they screen below 6.

Other than that, they either have said they don't or that they are just stretching the truth.

Nevertheless, it is still unknown whether certain schools do it or not, so I STILL think that someone with one low subscore is an underdog despite how high their GPAs and other subsections are.

 

[coolingglasses]

+1

3.00+/3.00+/27+ is not an underdog.

If your GPA is close to the 3.00 edge and you're not over a 30 on your MCAT, you are an underdog. I may have gotten several interviews, but at the two I attended, it was made clear that my GPA was a concern and, in one form or another, I had to explain myself.

 

[Temperature101]

Yeah, I don't know where the real underdogs went. The first two years, the thread just worked... then I guess it got popular and everyone wanted to be in it. It's a hard question, because the whole point of the underdogs threads is to be inclusive and encouraging, so you don't really want to exclude anyone. I don't really have a solution to offer. Part of the problem is that the difference between an underdog and an above-average applicant is so razor thin in the DO world, with retakes etc.

The moderator (serenade) should set a parameter and everyone outside of it will not be included in the list of underdogs.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

The moderator (serenade) should put a parameter and everyone outside of it will not included in the list of underdogs.

Well previously I held the notion that an underdog is someone with severely low chances. Potentially 10%, meaning being over an average of 1.5 to 2 standard deviation from the mean as compared to the average.
That being said I now think if you're .5+ std away from an average in two categories or more (Sgpa,Cgpa,mcat) then you're a valid underdog. Likewise being above 1 or having a 6 subscore in a single cat is valid.

 

[discowisco]

OP, revise your initial post with requirements for underdogs. And then continue adding the people
Thanks

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Stats:

3.33c
3.42s
MCAT 21 :/

You're going to almost certainly need to retake, you're almost 2 standard deviations away from the mean. I recommend changing study habits and spending a solid month at minimal.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

Yah, that's what I'm thinking of. Well I'll see whats up by the 11th I guess. And yah, I'm not an underdog, but I am probably going to be fighting for a position in one of the top DO schools.

A DO = DO...which schools do you want?