3.45 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA, 501 MCAT Asian CA Resident: What DO Schools???

[daveed2]

Hello all,

I just received my MCAT score. My stats are: 3.45 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA, 501 MCAT
I'm a CA resident, Asian male, Biomedical Engineering.
Have ~150 hours of hospital volunteering, two research (no publication), MD shadowing experience, no DO shadowing yet.
What are my chances and can you recommend what DO schools I should apply? I am thinking to turn in my app soon in this week or early next week.
Also, I am applying to MD schools as well (~15 schools with fee waiver).

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[zukunft195]

Your stats are slightly below those of the average Asian DO matriculant. Get a DO letter, and apply as broadly as possible to DO programs.

Don't apply to MD programs. You have fee waivers, but it would still be a massive waste of time; this is time you could spend on your DO applications. The average Asian MD matriculant has a 511 MCAT and 3.7 GPA. Don't waste your time; you're not going to become an MD with your current stats, unless (1) you go to an international medical program, or (2) you are fluent in Spanish and get into a Puerto Rican MD program.

If you don't play your cards right, you may end up having to re-apply next cycle after retaking the MCAT; that 501 is going to hurt you.

 

[mfrey28]

Obviously don't apply to the schools that favor high MCAT scores. AZCOM is the one that readily comes to mind. Your GPA is definitely competitive but like the poster above said you may need to retake the MCAT. Target the newer schools and you should be fine.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

Your stats are slightly below those of the average Asian DO matriculant. Get a DO letter, and apply as broadly as possible to DO programs.

Don't apply to MD programs. You have fee waivers, but it would still be a massive waste of time; this is time you could spend on your DO applications. The average Asian MD matriculant has a 511 MCAT and 3.7 GPA. Don't waste your time; you're not going to become an MD with your current stats, unless (1) you go to an international medical program, or (2) you are fluent in Spanish and get into a Puerto Rican MD program.

If you don't play your cards right, you may end up having to re-apply next cycle after retaking the MCAT; that 501 is going to hurt you.

Question. What if he had a slightly lower GPA or even the same GPA, but high trending GPA, would that not matter?

 

[DoctorCrush]

What's your Asian ethnicity? I believe @gyngyn said that Cambodian, Somoan etc are URM for Keck and UCD...? I don't know if it's worth it or not, I'm gonna leave that to gyngyn to help you.

 

[Grannywang]

Get health related work experience. My stats are pretty similar to yours with an mcat of 504/retake 503. Only applied to 7 DO schools and ended up with one II which I'm waitlisted at right now. Apply to as many schools as you can because I'm already in the process of reapplying if I don't get in.

 

[zukunft195]

Question. What if he had a slightly lower GPA or even the same GPA, but high trending GPA, would that not matter?

Even with an upward trend, a 3.45 GPA would generally be unacceptable for MD admissions, and it would still be average-ish for DO admissions. But the main issue for OP isn't his GPA; rather, it's his 50th percentile MCAT score.

 

[gyngyn]

What's your Asian ethnicity? I believe @gyngyn said that Cambodian, Somoan etc are URM for Keck and UCD...? I don't know if it's worth it or not, I'm gonna leave that to gyngyn to help you.

And Filipinos are UiM at UCI.
Hmong are UiM at some CA schools.

 

[edgerock24]

Hello all,

I just received my MCAT score. My stats are: 3.45 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA, 501 MCAT
I'm a CA resident, Asian male, Biomedical Engineering.
Have ~150 hours of hospital volunteering, two research (no publication), MD shadowing experience, no DO shadowing yet.
What are my chances and can you recommend what DO schools I should apply? I am thinking to turn in my app soon in this week or early next week.
Also, I am applying to MD schools as well (~15 schools with fee waiver).

KYCOM, WCUCOM, RVU-Utah, VCOM (all 3), LECOM (both), ARCOM, NYIT-AR, ACOM, UIWSOM, BCOM, LUCOM, LMU-DCOM.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

And Filipinos are UiM at UCI.
Hmong are UiM at some CA schools.

Are Hmong UiM for most schools?

 

[gyngyn]

Are Hmong UiM for most schools?

No. Many have never heard of them.

 

[daveed2]

Your stats are slightly below those of the average Asian DO matriculant. Get a DO letter, and apply as broadly as possible to DO programs.

Don't apply to MD programs. You have fee waivers, but it would still be a massive waste of time; this is time you could spend on your DO applications. The average Asian MD matriculant has a 511 MCAT and 3.7 GPA. Don't waste your time; you're not going to become an MD with your current stats, unless (1) you go to an international medical program, or (2) you are fluent in Spanish and get into a Puerto Rican MD program.

If you don't play your cards right, you may end up having to re-apply next cycle after retaking the MCAT; that 501 is going to hurt you.

Thanks for your response! yeah.. I should then just apply to DO schools only. I am not interested in international since I heard that it's really hard to come back to the U.S.

 

[daveed2]

What's your Asian ethnicity? I believe @gyngyn said that Cambodian, Somoan etc are URM for Keck and UCD...? I don't know if it's worth it or not, I'm gonna leave that to gyngyn to help you.

I am Korean, which will not be going to help me at all.

 

[daveed2]

Get health related work experience. My stats are pretty similar to yours with an mcat of 504/retake 503. Only applied to 7 DO schools and ended up with one II which I'm waitlisted at right now. Apply to as many schools as you can because I'm already in the process of reapplying if I don't get in.

Do you think that working as Medical Assistant will help? Also, how many schools do you think that I should apply? What was the reason that you only applied to 7 schools?

 

[daveed2]

KYCOM, WCUCOM, RVU-Utah, VCOM (all 3), LECOM (both), ARCOM, NYIT-AR, ACOM, UIWSOM, BCOM, LUCOM, LMU-DCOM.

Do any of those school have a regional preference, if you know?

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

You should have applied like yesterday...

If it doesn't work out.

Go PA or go RN --> CRNA.

seriously.

Good luck.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

You should have applied like yesterday...

If it doesn't work out.

Go PA or go RN --> CRNA.

seriously.

Good luck.

I disagree. If it doesn't work out, retake MCAT and/or boost GPA or SMP

 

[MADD!!!]

KYCOM, WCUCOM, RVU-Utah, VCOM (all 3), LECOM (both), ARCOM, NYIT-AR, ACOM, UIWSOM, BCOM, LUCOM, LMU-DCOM.

Throw out KYCOM and WCUCOM. I just applied this past cycle and KYCOM has a bias for their region, while WCUCOM was literally the only school I didn't receive a secondary from. Also avoid AZCOM, CCOM, DMU, NOVA (Don't apply here with less than 504/503), OSU, Rowan, and MSU b/c these schools prefer high MCAT (first 2) or are state schools that don't want you unless you have a high MCAT as an OOS applicant. I'd avoid applying to UNE too for various reasons, but it's up to you. And just trash LUCOM, not because you can't get in, but you know... SDN Bias.

Also, apply to MUCH more schools than that. How is WesternU (Both campuses), Touro's, ATSU-SOMA/KCOM, PNWU-COM, PCOM, CUSOM, MUCOM, and so many others not listed here?!

 

[Grannywang]

Do you think that working as Medical Assistant will help? Also, how many schools do you think that I should apply? What was the reason that you only applied to 7 schools?

That would be great. I work as a scribe/nurse right now and I've been exposed thousands of hours of patient interactions now. The first cycle I really struggled with writing essays but i was able to use my experience to get through it much easier this cycle.

I applied to like 10 schools but only wrote 7 of the secondaries because my MD letter was sent in around mid November which was really late. I was honestly surprised I got a II.

Get your app in early and retake MCAT if you can improve your score. Don't be like me and do worse the second time haha.

 

[DoctorCrush]

I think he's within striking distance for a lot of DO schools. There are people (lots from the underdog thread) who have gotten in with stats similar to him. If I was in your position, I would focus on DO schools.

 

[California Bear]

And Filipinos are UiM at UCI.
Hmong are UiM at some CA schools.

Filipinos are UiM at UCI?

 

[gyngyn]

Filipinos are UiM at UCI?

Last time I checked.

 

[Neurodoct]

Throw in Touro-NV, WVSOM, PCOM-GA and Western since ur IS.

 

[joeception]

Would you be completely against retaking the mcat? Retaking and scoring higher will open way more doors

 

[IdealNFP]

If I were you since it's only June, I would definitely retake the MCAT in August, you'd receive your score in September, but you'd already send out your application in. It still would be considered 'on time', and within the next 7 weeks you could have DO shadowing experience, bump up the MCAT a few points, and would be a better candidate for admission.

 

[daveed2]

Would you be completely against retaking the mcat? Retaking and scoring higher will open way more doors

My science scores are okay. (c/p:129, b/b:125) But it was CARS (123) and P/S (124) that lowered my score. I am almost 1st generation Korean, so I don't think studying for another 2 months will help my CARS much. Also, I figured that P/S is another section of CARS, pretty much... Do you think I have really low chance of getting in, even for the new DO schools, if I do not retake MCAT?

 

[daveed2]

Stats are probably too low for RVU-Utah, and BCOM is MCAT heavy as well. I'd replace those two with CUSOM and UIWSOM. Add PCOM-Ga too.

ACOM loves Cali residents, so that should help you.

Do you know admission stats for RVU-Utah? It's a new school so I wasn't able to find it online. Also, I think the average MCAT for ACOM is about 500. Do you know if that's right?

 

[pseud0]

Plenty of DO schools have avg MCATs in the 500-503 range.
Find a DO to shadow tomorrow (literally) if you're serious about trying to apply this cycle.

 

[SLU Student]

Applying this cycle would for sure be a gamble, especially since you are an ORM in Cali. Your GPAs and your MCAT score are also below the average for 2016 D.O. Asian matriculants.

Your best shot would be at all the newer D.O. schools. It'll also help if you're into rural general practice; that would align with many of the new D.O. school's missions.

I also think you would be fine for BCOM. Their average stats were 3.45/3.39/500 last year.

Good luck.

 

[DoctorCrush]

OP, even if being ORM, you're still within striking distance for all the DO school. You have a shot at all the schools with those stats alone. I don't know how good of a shot, but you're literally in the ball park. Hwaiting!!!

 

[daveed2]

Plenty of DO schools have avg MCATs in the 500-503 range.
Find a DO to shadow tomorrow (literally) if you're serious about trying to apply this cycle.

Yes, I started shadowing two DO doctors last week. Do you think it matters if I shadow two different DO doctors? Or will it be better if I get shadowing hours from one doctor?
One is doing OMM and the other is doing family practice.

 

[Neurodoct]

Yes, I started shadowing two DO doctors last week. Do you think it matters if I shadow two different DO doctors? Or will it be better if I get shadowing hours from one doctor?
One is doing OMM and the other is doing family practice.

Shadow both. Make good relationships and get letters.

 

[Hirola]

I'm in a similar situation, I am an international student at an American College and I got 505 on my MCAT (c/p:128, b/b:128, cars: 124, b/s:125). CARS just killed me. I have a 3.9GPA and 3.91sGPA. I have more than 100 hours of shadowing and I'm about to get more and I have 100+ hours of volunteering. I played collegiate basketball for 2 years and I have been doing research for 3 years (mostly at my school + summer at MD Anderson). I presented my research at a national conference and I won many awards for my dedication to science. I realized that I can take the MCAT again but my CARS skills will not improve over the next month, and since DO schools are rolling admission I figured I might just as well apply early. I submitted my application yesterday and applied to: MSU, PCOM, LECOM, Marian, KCUMB, Rowan, Tuoro-NY, and CCOM. At MSU and PCOM I am applying to joint DO-PhD programs. I am hoping that being international will bring the school some diversity.

What do you guys think, will some of these be able to look over my low MCAT score? Also is the scene for the DO schools different since I'm international (I know that for MD international median accepted MCAT is 512)?

 

[gyngyn]

I'm in a similar situation, I am an international student at an American College and I got 505 on my MCAT (c/p:128, b/b:128, cars: 124, b/s:125). CARS just killed me. I have a 3.9GPA and 3.91sGPA. I have more than 100 hours of shadowing and I'm about to get more and I have 100+ hours of volunteering. I played collegiate basketball for 2 years and I have been doing research for 3 years (mostly at my school + summer at MD Anderson). I presented my research at a national conference and I won many awards for my dedication to science. I realized that I can take the MCAT again but my CARS skills will not improve over the next month, and since DO schools are rolling admission I figured I might just as well apply early. I submitted my application yesterday and applied to: MSU, PCOM, LECOM, Marian, KCUMB, Rowan, Tuoro-NY, and CCOM. At MSU and PCOM I am applying to joint DO-PhD programs. I am hoping that being international will bring the school some diversity.

What do you guys think, will some of these be able to look over my low MCAT score? Also is the scene for the DO schools different since I'm international (I know that for MD international median accepted MCAT is 512)?

You really need your own thread. This one is for OP.

 

[Mr. Babe]

I'm in a similar situation, I am an international student at an American College and I got 505 on my MCAT (c/p:128, b/b:128, cars: 124, b/s:125). CARS just killed me. I have a 3.9GPA and 3.91sGPA. I have more than 100 hours of shadowing and I'm about to get more and I have 100+ hours of volunteering. I played collegiate basketball for 2 years and I have been doing research for 3 years (mostly at my school + summer at MD Anderson). I presented my research at a national conference and I won many awards for my dedication to science. I realized that I can take the MCAT again but my CARS skills will not improve over the next month, and since DO schools are rolling admission I figured I might just as well apply early. I submitted my application yesterday and applied to: MSU, PCOM, LECOM, Marian, KCUMB, Rowan, Tuoro-NY, and CCOM. At MSU and PCOM I am applying to joint DO-PhD programs. I am hoping that being international will bring the school some diversity.

What do you guys think, will some of these be able to look over my low MCAT score? Also is the scene for the DO schools different since I'm international (I know that for MD international median accepted MCAT is 512)?

I agree, you should get your own thread......but that being said a 505 MCAT is not that low. I think you are worrying too much. The only school that wouldn't offer you anything based on that is AZCOM....they're only giving interviews to 506+. I got 2 interviews last cycle with much less than 505. Apply as soon as you can because your stats are above average and if you can set yourself apart from everyone else, I don't see why you won't get accepted to a DO school. If you're looking for the MD route, then yes a 505 might be a little low.

 

[Mr. Babe]

My stats last cycle were 3.38 sGPA and 499 MCAT. I was pretty annoyed that I did so bad on the MCAT because my practice tests were much better. I went ahead and only sent out 5 secondaries and got 2 interviews out of it. I think the main reason I wasn't accepted was that I has a immature vision of being an osteopathic physician. I never shadowed a DO and I didn't have a letter from one. I have fixed that now and I think it'll make a big difference. I wouldn't worry too much about your stats unless you're worried about your experiences. If you're going to apply DO then you should consider shadowing DO's and getting a letter from one. I have 300+ hours volunteering, 700+ research hours, 100+ shadowing hours. I have shadowed 6 physicians, done 2 research groups, and 4 different volunteer opportunities for long periods of time. In then end, it's your decision whether to apply or not. The only thing you might lose with applying is some money, but you might be surprised with some interviews. Let me know if you have further questions.

 

[Mr. D.O.five]

OP, even if being ORM, you're still within striking distance for all the DO school. You have a shot at all the schools with those stats alone. I don't know how good of a shot, but you're literally in the ball park. Hwaiting!!!

Not all schools. Most of the more established schools most likely will screen out by MCAT score. Also, OP has below average stats for almost all of the DO schools. Not a very impressive EC set either. Let's be realistic with OPs situation, he does have some shot at new DO schools, but he is still below average. Also, since when was a 3.4 competitive for DO schools? Most DO schools have an average GPA of 3.4-3.5. An average GPA, coupled with a below average MCAT, makes OP a sub-par applicant. Also, this will be made worse due to removal of grade replacement.
I suggest OP retake MCAT, send out his AACOMAS with his old score and a new score pending, and shoot for a late Aug MCAT date.

 

[DoctorCrush]

Not all schools. Most of the more established schools most likely will screen out by MCAT score. Also, OP has below average stats for almost all of the DO schools. Not a very impressive EC set either. Let's be realistic with OPs situation, he does have some shot at new DO schools, but he is still below average. Also, since when was a 3.4 competitive for DO schools? Most DO schools have an average GPA of 3.4-3.5. An average GPA, coupled with a below average MCAT, makes OP a sub-par applicant. Also, this will be made worse due to removal of grade replacement.
I suggest OP retake MCAT, send out his AACOMAS with his old score and a new score pending, and shoot for a late Aug MCAT date.

Never once I did said OP was competitive. His GPA is within the average as you pointed out. It's not an insane idea to apply to a school that has 3.5 GPA average when you have a 3.4. 501 MCAT indicates that OP can potentially pass medical school and boards within 4 years as LizzyM has stated in the past when it comes to mcat prediction and medical school performance.

I think that if OP is happy with the idea of being a DO, throw a couple of apps out there and see what this year can bring him.

 

[daveed2]

My stats last cycle were 3.38 sGPA and 499 MCAT. I was pretty annoyed that I did so bad on the MCAT because my practice tests were much better. I went ahead and only sent out 5 secondaries and got 2 interviews out of it. I think the main reason I wasn't accepted was that I has a immature vision of being an osteopathic physician. I never shadowed a DO and I didn't have a letter from one. I have fixed that now and I think it'll make a big difference. I wouldn't worry too much about your stats unless you're worried about your experiences. If you're going to apply DO then you should consider shadowing DO's and getting a letter from one. I have 300+ hours volunteering, 700+ research hours, 100+ shadowing hours. I have shadowed 6 physicians, done 2 research groups, and 4 different volunteer opportunities for long periods of time. In then end, it's your decision whether to apply or not. The only thing you might lose with applying is some money, but you might be surprised with some interviews. Let me know if you have further questions.

What was the reason of just sending 5 secondaries only? How many primaries did you send?