3.15 cGPA/3.21 bcpm/29S MCAT

[recycledpaper]

Hi everyone,

I've asked this in the post-bac forum but I figured I could get some responded geared to my stats since this is the WAMC? section. Anyway, my ECs are as follows:

• Co-founded volunteer-based health/services organization at UC Irvine. In my 2 years there (3rd and 4th year) I held 2 board position, Director of Projects and Co-Chair (180+ hours of time spent working and volunteering).
• Currently volunteering at Hoag Hospital Newport. Patient interaction is stressed heavily in the program, so fortunately I'm not just filing papers. (280+ hours).
• Traveled to Ayacucho, Peru with Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) to volunteer at a medical clinic for a week (40 hours). Shadowed a cardiologist and pediatrician, one day each. Spent one day visiting local schools and orphanages to apply fluoride treatments and teach children the importance of good hygiene, healthy eating, and exercise.
• Started my own e-commerce company in July 2007 and is running profitable till this day. I am the sole employee, and I plan to run it until school starts, at which I will sell it or just close up shop. It has been my livelihood throughout college and has paid for ALL of my expenses (car, rent, food, luxury items, utilities, everything).
• Will be starting 1-2 food trucks this fall. My goal with these ventures is just to be involved with the recent food-truck culture in SoCal, gain some invaluable experience, interact with people outside of medicine, and make enough $ to actually pay my way through med school.
• Assisted my parents in pretty much all of their business obligations as a translator. Nothing really crazy here, just extremely time consuming and distracting. Don't know if this is worth bringing up.
• NO RESEARCH :
• Misc Notes: 2x Dean's Honors List (both during my 4th year), upward trend in GPA (best GPA was my 4th year, around 3.75).

Right now I do have in mind an SMP program before med school, but I'd like to test the field. If I feel like I have a chance of getting into a med school straight up, I'd like to take that chance. I am also planning to retake the MCAT in January. Unpredictable, but I'm aiming for a 35+.

Thank you in advance for any advice/tips/comments you guys leave!!

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[recycledpaper]

Oh and I'm from California!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

MD is out of the question. DO is pretty much out of the question unless you can get a DO letter quick and apply to every DO school. SMP is a possibility if you're ok with spending an extra year and 50k on a gamble to get into a medical school.

 

[recycledpaper]

MD is out of the question. DO is pretty much out of the question unless you can get a DO letter quick and apply to every DO school. SMP is a possibility if you're ok with spending an extra year and 50k on a gamble to get into a medical school.

Yeah I pretty much have to do an SMP then huh. I don't think my undergrad GPA is representative of what I can do at all so I fee like an SMP would really help. And also I will not be applying this cycle (wayy too late).

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Yeah I pretty much have to do an SMP then huh. I don't think my undergrad GPA is representative of what I can do at all so I fee like an SMP would really help. And also I will not be applying this cycle (wayy too late).

Actually your alternative is grade replacement for DO schools. Then applying next cycle. Or heck if you apply with a 3.2/29S in june you'll get in. SMP is going cost you a shiny penny, but it'll make you competitive for MD as long as you get a 3.7+ in one.

 

[MiCasaMD]

Yeah I pretty much have to do an SMP then huh. I don't think my undergrad GPA is representative of what I can do at all so I fee like an SMP would really help. And also I will not be applying this cycle (wayy too late).

I would certainly take Serenade's words of wisdom with a grain of salt. According to his profile he just turned 18. LOL You have a shot at DO schools and not all require a DO LOR. Some will also accept MD LOR.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I would certainly take Serenade's words of wisdom with a grain of salt. According to his profile he just turned 18. LOL You have a shot at DO schools and not all require a DO LOR. Some will also accept MD LOR.

The DO schools like LMU,LECOM, and VCOM require DO letters. Basically DO schools where his stats wouldn't be too low almost all require a DO letter ( to check go to Pre-DO and more specifically Chocolatebear's sig).
Anyways if you're interested in anymore of my information you and everyone are 'allowed' to enter my MDapp's. I mean I hid it pretty well for curious kitties to find .

 

[sphun65]

Hi everyone,

I've asked this in the post-bac forum but I figured I could get some responded geared to my stats since this is the WAMC? section. Anyway, my ECs are as follows:

• Co-founded volunteer-based health/services organization at UC Irvine. In my 2 years there (3rd and 4th year) I held 2 board position, Director of Projects and Co-Chair (180+ hours of time spent working and volunteering).
• Currently volunteering at Hoag Hospital Newport. Patient interaction is stressed heavily in the program, so fortunately I'm not just filing papers. (280+ hours).
• Traveled to Ayacucho, Peru with Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) to volunteer at a medical clinic for a week (40 hours). Shadowed a cardiologist and pediatrician, one day each. Spent one day visiting local schools and orphanages to apply fluoride treatments and teach children the importance of good hygiene, healthy eating, and exercise.
• Started my own e-commerce company in July 2007 and is running profitable till this day. I am the sole employee, and I plan to run it until school starts, at which I will sell it or just close up shop. It has been my livelihood throughout college and has paid for ALL of my expenses (car, rent, food, luxury items, utilities, everything).
• Will be starting 1-2 food trucks this fall. My goal with these ventures is just to be involved with the recent food-truck culture in SoCal, gain some invaluable experience, interact with people outside of medicine, and make enough $ to actually pay my way through med school.
• Assisted my parents in pretty much all of their business obligations as a translator. Nothing really crazy here, just extremely time consuming and distracting. Don't know if this is worth bringing up.
• NO RESEARCH :
• Misc Notes: 2x Dean's Honors List (both during my 4th year), upward trend in GPA (best GPA was my 4th year, around 3.75).

Right now I do have in mind an SMP program before med school, but I'd like to test the field. If I feel like I have a chance of getting into a med school straight up, I'd like to take that chance. I am also planning to retake the MCAT in January. Unpredictable, but I'm aiming for a 35+.

Thank you in advance for any advice/tips/comments you guys leave!!

You'll need that 35 to get into an MD school. As you stand, you have a solid shot at DO acceptance. Great EC's. Your GPA is a tad low, but isn't awful and you have an upward trend. The average MCAT score for DO schools is generally a 26 or 27, so you should be able to ride your score to at least one DO acceptance if you apply broadly (15-20 schools).

If you decide to retake, make sure you are hitting 35+ on practice tests before you take it. If not, you should postpone your early test date until you're ready. It's only sensible to retake if you are confident you can score at least 3-4 points better. Good luck.

 

[mmikey]

I think he has a good shot at DO schools, his ECs are pretty great, and it sounds like he is fluent in Spanish? MD would be a tougher sell with his GPA and average MCAT. Based on his raw stats and ECs, applying VERY early for either program would be highly advised... If he would only like to go MD then he surely needs to improve his GPA with a post-bacc or SMP, and advisably shoot for a higher MCAT since it will always help.

Best wishes

 

[Kevin Baker]

MD is out of the question. DO is pretty much out of the question unless you can get a DO letter quick and apply to every DO school. SMP is a possibility if you're ok with spending an extra year and 50k on a gamble to get into a medical school.

What the heck are you smoking, cause I don't want any of that. Unless, you're assuming OP is applying this year and hasn't started yet. Then I sort of agree.

OP, you have about a 20-25% shot, as is, at MD, according to that stats chart oft posted. But most of that comes from IS schools and California is competitive, so adjust accordingly.

You have a GOOD shot at DO, if you can manage to get a letter and shadow. Your MCAT is above the average at EVERY DO school, congrats, and that S shows me your secondaries and personal statement can be awesome. That's 90th + percentile. And while the GPA isn't stellar, an upward trend will help, but there are some schools (like the that tend to put less emphasis on GPA. Look for high MCAT, low GPA combinations.

Unless you want to only go MD, you don't need the SMP. Grade replacement works wonders and I bet you can get over a 3.35 sgpa pretty quickly, which is the average DO gpa. DO also doesn't use math in the BCPM so you might already be there. If you do go this route, a DO letter will work wonders, and shadowing is pretty important, though some schools only require you shadow a physician.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

What the heck are you smoking, cause I don't want any of that. Unless, you're assuming OP is applying this year and hasn't started yet. Then I sort of agree.

OP, you have about a 20-25% shot, as is, at MD, according to that stats chart oft posted. But most of that comes from IS schools and California is competitive, so adjust accordingly.

You have a GOOD shot at DO, if you can manage to get a letter and shadow. Your MCAT is above the average at EVERY DO school, congrats, and that S shows me your secondaries and personal statement can be awesome. That's 90th + percentile. And while the GPA isn't stellar, an upward trend will help, but there are some schools (like the that tend to put less emphasis on GPA. Look for high MCAT, low GPA combinations.

Unless you want to only go MD, you don't need the SMP. Grade replacement works wonders and I bet you can get over a 3.35 sgpa pretty quickly, which is the average DO gpa. DO also doesn't use math in the BCPM so you might already be there. If you do go this route, a DO letter will work wonders, and shadowing is pretty important, though some schools only require you shadow a physician.

Yes the first part of my post was directly addressing the possibilities of applying this cycle.

 

[sphun65]

What the heck are you smoking, cause I don't want any of that. Unless, you're assuming OP is applying this year and hasn't started yet. Then I sort of agree.

OP, you have about a 20-25% shot, as is, at MD, according to that stats chart oft posted. But most of that comes from IS schools and California is competitive, so adjust accordingly.

You have a GOOD shot at DO, if you can manage to get a letter and shadow. Your MCAT is above the average at EVERY DO school, congrats, and that S shows me your secondaries and personal statement can be awesome. That's 90th + percentile. And while the GPA isn't stellar, an upward trend will help, but there are some schools (like the that tend to put less emphasis on GPA. Look for high MCAT, low GPA combinations.

Unless you want to only go MD, you don't need the SMP. Grade replacement works wonders and I bet you can get over a 3.35 sgpa pretty quickly, which is the average DO gpa. DO also doesn't use math in the BCPM so you might already be there. If you do go this route, a DO letter will work wonders, and shadowing is pretty important, though some schools only require you shadow a physician.

Maybe you should, because your post is a little off in places.

The average matriculant MCAT score at some DO schools in 2010 is a 29, and for some has gone as high as 31 in past years. It is completely false to say he has a 90th percentile MCAT score (and PS?) for admission to any DO school. His score is above the average, yes, but it is not going to knock any ADCOM out of their seats.

OP's chance at MD admission, as it stands, is essentially zero. If he was URM or had a state school with absurdly low admissions standards, he might have a chance. Serenade was absolutely correct in saying that MD is out of the question right now.

 

[Kevin Baker]

Maybe you should, because your post is a little off in places.

The average matriculant MCAT score at some DO schools in 2010 is a 29, and for some has gone as high as 31 in past years. It is completely false to say he has a 90th percentile MCAT score (and PS?) for admission to any DO school. His score is above the average, yes, but it is not going to knock any ADCOM out of their seats.

OP's chance at MD admission, as it stands, is essentially zero. If he was URM or had a state school with absurdly low admissions standards, he might have a chance. Serenade was absolutely correct in saying that MD is out of the question right now.

I apologize if my post was unclear. The 90th percentile+ I referred to was "S" on the MCAT, not the total score in relation to anything.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the shot at MD. I am unsure how to correct for Ponce and Caribe and SMPers, but if you are making the URM argument and subtract them from the BIN he is in on the AMCAS chart, 21.9%, he drops 8% and still has a 15% chance. And he's at the top of that BIN, with a lot of clinical hours, shadowing, a great writing ability, lots of volunteer work, extensive leadership experiences, entrepreneurial experiences, and most of a year to work on his app. I doubt he has less than a 10% shot at MD, much less zero.

 

[Kevin Baker]

Maybe you should, because your post is a little off in places.

The average matriculant MCAT score at some DO schools in 2010 is a 29, and for some has gone as high as 31 in past years. It is completely false to say he has a 90th percentile MCAT score (and PS?) for admission to any DO school. His score is above the average, yes, but it is not going to knock any ADCOM out of their seats.

OP's chance at MD admission, as it stands, is essentially zero. If he was URM or had a state school with absurdly low admissions standards, he might have a chance. Serenade was absolutely correct in saying that MD is out of the question right now.

I apologize if my post was unclear. The 90th percentile+ I referred to was "S" on the MCAT, not the total score in relation to anything.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the shot at MD. I am unsure how to correct for Ponce and Caribe and SMP numbers, but if you are making the URM argument and subtract them from the BIN he is in on the AMCAS chart, 21.9%, he drops 8% and still has a 15% chance. And he's at the top of that BIN, with a lot of clinical hours, shadowing, a great writing ability, lots of volunteer work, extensive leadership experiences, entrepreneurial experiences, and most of a year to work on his app. I doubt he has less than a 10% shot at MD, much less zero. But maybe I am wrong, and if I am, I apologize.Maybe we just have a different definition of what essentially zero is

 

[recycledpaper]

Sorry I never checked back on this thread, but just wanted to say thank you for your responses. They have helped me a lot!

 

[yohji]

i don't agree with the comment about you not having a shot with MD schools as long as you can raise your mcat to around a 35 range. your ECs are good. personally, i wouldn't do a SMP.