3.0c/514 with strong EC’s, worth a read

[mrsug]

1. cGPA 3.0 and sGPA 2.9, I have done 100 credits post bacc (including 70 in the last 12 months alone) with a mix of university, online & community college courses with a 3.7 cGPA to get to the minimum 3.0 benchmark. I’ve done this while working full time & volunteering.
2. MCAT 514 126/130/127/131 on 4/25/25
3. Wisconsin (strong ties FL, ties to ME & OR as well)
4. White Woman, 28
5. Bowdoin College, Biology major & Religion minor
6. Clinical Work Experience/Volunteering Medical Asst. (4000 hours total) @ OB/GYN (1000 hours) Vein clinic (1500 hours) & Urgent Care (1500, during early days of COVID outbreak), currently a patient transport EMT (600 hours & counting), McMurdo Station Mass Casualty Unit 2021-2024 (150 hours), worked at a nursing home in high school as an activities/dining attendant…not sure how much that counts.
7. Research 600 hours ornithology, non-clinical, no pubs
8. Shadowing I have not shadowed. I am looking into it, would like to hear feedback on how much this could move my needle.
9. Non-Clinical Volunteering Senior Day Center (300 hours & counting), Volunteer ombudsman for the state of Wisconsin (200 hours & counting), led the Bowdoin Outing Club, Chaplain’s Assistant (100 hours)
10. Other extracurricular activities 1st place State of Florida rowing in HS & I continue to row at the club level, avid birder, very involved in local community particularly with the elderly, travelled to all seven continents including working experience abroad WWOOFing in Europe, New Zealand & Antarctica, Wilderness First Responder + EMT, and a lot of passion for & experience in the outdoors, Catholic
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    I had three successful deployments to Antarctica’s McMurdo Station with the United States Antarctic Program. One as a cook, then two subsequently as the Logistics Coordinator for the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (read about it here ITGC Thwaites Glacier). I have a very strong LOR from this experience and am walking away from Antarctica to pursue this career in medicine. There was some coordination with clinical providers making sure the forward deployed teams had everything they needed, but this was a non-clinical role. I did volunteer a lot at the McMurdo clinic.

Just looking for some honest feedback here on DO but possibly some MD schools. Obviously this is not a particularly strong application due to my poor undergraduate grades, but I’ve worked hard to remediate it as far as it can possibly be done. I won’t be applying until August so I have time to strengthen it a little bit more, so any ideas there would be appreciated.

It has been difficult to find good info that relates to my situation so I’m hoping for some good perspectives. Harshness is welcomed!

**Because this obviously identifies me I will be deleting this post later on and I would appreciate it if nobody would quote it, thank you.**

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Faha]

You have done a good job of increasing your cGPA, though you are still at 3.0 with a sGPA of 2.9. However, with a MCAT of 514 and excellent ECs you should receive attention at DO schools and possibly some MD schools.
I suggest these DO schools with your stats:
UNECOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
WVSOM
UP-KYCOM
MU-COM
DMU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
CCOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
BCOM (both schools)
WCU-COM
ACOM
LMU-DCOM (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
PCOM (all schools)
For MD schools l suggest these:
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Loyola
St. Louis
Ponce (St. Louis)
Creighton
TCU
Roseman
Alice Walton
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Methodist (when it opens)
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Georgetown
Drexel
Temple
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Maybe a little shadowing will help with credibility with seeing yourself as a physician, but with thousands of hours, you already have a lot of healthcare experience. Definitely the most recent courses will help you with academic readiness. I don't know if I would wait until August to apply unless you are doing just DO. I agree that some MD schools might knock on your door, depending on what your purpose as a physician is.

 

[Faha]

You mentioned that you will not be applying until August. August is fine for DO schools but is on the late side for MD schools. Prewrite your secondaries for MD schools and submit them as soon as possible, preferably by mid September.

 

[mrsug]

Thanks for the feedback guys. The list will certainly be pretty DO heavy. Unfortunately an August application is just a fact of life, to get to 3.0 requires one last push at the end here this summer.