MD & DO 3.43 sGPA, 3.57 cGPA, 516 MCAT

[mouster]

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Hey guys, just wondering about how my school lists look for both MD & DO. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Demographics: 26, F, CO resident.

GPAs: sGPA 3.43, cGPA 3.57 according to AMCAS calculator. Undergrad GPA wasn't so hot, sGPA was around 3.24, but I have a Master's degree with a 3.82 sGPA (all upper level science classes) which tugged it up slightly.

MCAT: old MCAT 31 (2011, so expired), new MCAT 516 (2016, score breakdown 127/131/128/130)

Non-Clinical Volunteering
~400 hours as student tour guide over three years
~30 hours with activism group helping with various functions around campus (condom handouts, etc)
~20 hours as Vagina Monologues performer to raise money for local women's shelter
~100 hours with my sorority doing various philanthrophy projects
Currently volunteer at rabbit shelter in my area (mainly cleaning cages and baking treats), will have about 80 hours at time of submission but continuing to volunteer there.


Clinical Experience

• Volunteer at hospital for ~20 hours in ED and Surgical Services (had to quit because of my job at the time)
• Caregiver for end-of-life dementia patients (paid, around 1400 hours)
• Currently work at clinic with underserved population (demographic is either largely monolingual Spanish-speaking, low-income, or trans* patients). I do translating for providers, take patients back, draw blood/do hematocrits/give injections, and assist with whatever procedures we have that day, including sterilizations. ~2800 hours here according to my boss.

Work Experience: Tons. I held a job all through undergrad from fall of sophomore year on, usually working anywhere from 20-30 hours a week.

Research

• Worked at a respiratory lab in graduate school doing sequencing on different bacterial species. No publications, did a poster presentation over my findings at graduate school.
• Conducted research study at graduate school through my physiology class (had to get IRB approval, etc). Was primary investigator, so I wrote most of the paper and did most of the IRB-wrangling.

Leadership: not much. I held a couple of positions in my sorority but that's about it.

Other ECs: Played an unusual club sport for my college(~1 year), traveled to a bunch of tournaments.

Special Considerations: My education hasn't been constant. I took a semester off and transferred home to finish my degree to take care of a relative with a terminal disease. I graduated with my Master's in 2014 and have taken a couple years off to rebuild my finances/pay down my student loan debt and get more clinical experience.

Shadowing: mainly DOs, I've shadowed two different DOs in the last year for about 100 hours. I've also shadowed a pediatrician in my home state.

LORs: physiology professor from graduate school, evolutionary biology professor from undergrad, genetic professor from grad school, DO that I shadow the most, the Operations Manager at my clinic, and the Clinical Director at my clinic. All pretty good.

Here's my list:
MD
Albany MC
Central Michigan
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
Eastern VA
Quinnipac
Loyola
CU
MSU
Rush
Tulane
NYMC

DO
LMU-DCOM
CUSOM
DMU
KCU-COM
LECOM-Erie
AZCOM
MUCOM
RVU
KYCOM
KCOM
BCOM

Sorry about the novel, and thanks for helping!

 

[7331poas]

Pretty sure graduate GPA doesnt affect your undergrad GPA

 

[Turkishking]

Pretty sure graduate GPA doesnt affect your undergrad GPA

Nice Poas! You had to only chime in for that comment?

 

[GrapesofRath]

US MD schools except in specific exceptions do not weigh masters grades as part of their GPA calculation. Are those numbers a combination of your undergrad grades and masters grades? If they are they dont serve as a realistic or accurate interpretation of how US MD schools will evaluate your application.

If the numbers you have posted in your title in fact are what AMCAS will calculate your GPA as target OOS friendly schools with an MCAT median around 32-33. Your current MD list has about 5 target schools: that's not nearly enough in Colorado.

The schools for you target are those that get <10k apps per year are preferable. Colorado isnt a great state for MD admission so having a good list of target type schools most likely to interview(theyll fit the criteria I listed above) is imperative.

 

[7331poas]

Nice Poas! You had to only chime in for that comment?

First off why are you commenting to me?

Second, OP is trying to combine his grad and undergrad GPA into an overall GPA which is not correct, so I made the comment. Bye

 

[Turkishking]

First off why are you commenting to me?

Second, OP is trying to combine his grad and undergrad GPA into an overall GPA which is not correct, so I made the comment. Bye

Bye!

 

[Faha]

You are fine for DO schools and should receive several interviews from you list. Form your MD list you can remove Central Michigan since they accept very few OOS applicants with your GPA. Other MD schools you can add include:
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
GW
Georgetown

 

[mouster]

US MD schools except in specific exceptions do not weigh masters grades as part of their GPA calculation. Are those numbers a combination of your undergrad grades and masters grades? If they are they dont serve as a realistic or accurate interpretation of how US MD schools will evaluate your application.

If the numbers you have posted in your title in fact are what AMCAS will calculate your GPA as target OOS friendly schools with an MCAT median around 32-33. Your current MD list has about 5 target schools: that's not nearly enough in Colorado.

The schools for you target are those that get <10k apps per year are preferable. Colorado isnt a great state for MD admission so having a good list of target type schools most likely to interview(theyll fit the criteria I listed above) is imperative.

Yeah that's a combo of my undergrad and grad GPA...I used the AMCAS calculator and that's what it gave me. Undergrad sGPA was 3.24, and my cGPA in undergrad was like a 3.5. I'm attempting to figure out if it's even worth it to apply MD...I really don't want to waste thousands of dollars if there's a snowball's chance of me getting in somewhere. I'm perfectly happy going DO (that's what I wanted to do to begin with), I just got my MCAT score back and didn't know if that changed things slightly.

 

[7331poas]

Dont get too discouraged. Assuming you are white, the fact tables list that applicants with your GPA and MCAT have around a 50-50 shot of getting an acceptance which is pretty good. I would also say your ECs are decent so maybe even a bit better chances than that.

I say go for it with your school list (including DO).

 

[mouster]

Dont get too discouraged. Assuming you are white, the fact tables list that applicants with your GPA and MCAT have around a 50-50 shot of getting an acceptance which is pretty good. I would also say your ECs are decent so maybe even a bit better chances than that.

I say go for it with your school list (including DO).

Thanks! I'm kinda discouraged, but what the heck, I might as well apply.