3.6 cumulative, 3.3 science GPA

[GypsyHummus]

Hey everyone. I wanted to know what my chances are at MD schools and what mcat I would need to get to be considered for an acceptance into a program. I know my cGPA is borderline, and I realize my sGPA is low, but curious if it can still happen. Would a 30 be good enough?

Would also like to know about out of state, state supported DO programs as well, such as MSU or OSU or Ohio. If anyone has insight on them, please share

Strong extra curricular activities. Research at med school, undergrad research (name mentioned in thesis), organization of intramural sports teams, founder and leader of several clubs, tutor, all that jazz.

Thank you for all of your help in advance!

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[aspiring20]

Hey everyone. I wanted to know what my chances are at MD schools and what mcat I would need to get to be considered for an acceptance into a program. I know my cGPA is borderline, and I realize my sGPA is low, but curious if it can still happen. Would a 30 be good enough?

Would also like to know about out of state, state supported DO programs as well, such as MSU or OSU or Ohio. If anyone has insight on them, please share

Strong extra curricular activities. Research at med school, undergrad research (name mentioned in thesis), organization of intramural sports teams, founder and leader of several clubs, tutor, all that jazz.

Thank you for all of your help in advance!

your cGPA is fine. good job.

your sGPA is low for MD, but not prohibitively so

your MCAT will be your saving grace. and unfortunately, for someone in your situation, 30 is not enough. get a 35+

3.6/3.3, 35, and strong ECs should get you plenty of options.

good luck

 

[aspiring20]

Just look at your LizzyM score. I don't remember how you can do it with your cGPA and sGPA being so different. If you weight them 50:50, then you'd need a 33 MCAT score to reach average matriculant status. That would likely be good enough to get into your state school (if you have one). Good luck!

i believe the lizzym score only uses cGPA and MCAT. however, lizzym has stated that her formula doesnt work well if the gap between GPA and MCAT gets extreme.

regardless, OP still has a shot with the MDs...but he needs to smoke the MCAT. scoring only a 30, which would be fine normally, isn't going to cut it, i am afraid. 3.3 sGPA and 30 MCAT...maybe he will still have a shot? but regardless OP, aim for 35

 

[imhoping]

Those are almost exactly my stats with a 33 MCAT. I received 12 interview invites this season -- some to very highly ranked schools -- and have two admissions so far, one to one of my top choices. So do not despair OP.

 

[aspiring20]

Those are almost exactly my stats with a 33 MCAT. I received 12 interview invites this season -- some to very highly ranked schools -- and have two admissions so far, one to one of my top choices. So do not despair OP.

congrats! this is great to hear.

did you have really good ECs?

 

[GypsyHummus]

Those are almost exactly my stats with a 33 MCAT. I received 12 interview invites this season -- some to very highly ranked schools -- and have two admissions so far, one to one of my top choices. So do not despair OP.

Are you an Under represented minority, and were the acceptances at state schools?

 

[aspiring20]

OP

a lot of my friends/peers (all non-urm) had successful cycles with 3.6 cGPA/3.3 sGPA. but their MCAT is around the mid 30 mark.

so with your GPA, i would aim for a 35, not a 30.

 

[GypsyHummus]

OP

a lot of my friends/peers (all non-urm) had successful cycles with 3.6 cGPA/3.3 sGPA. but their MCAT is around the mid 30 mark.

so with your GPA, i would aim for a 35, not a 30.

would you recommend retakeing if the score is high 20s low 30's? like a 29 or 30?

 

[aspiring20]

would you recommend retakeing if the score is high 20s low 30's? like a 29 or 30?

see this is kinda tricky.

on one hand, a 29-30 should be enough to get you into an MD if you got a 3.7+ GPA, which unfortunately you don't have. but if you retake the MCAT and can't make major improvements (aka get that 35), then that would be a useless retake and you would waste a lot of precious time.

when are you taking the MCAT? the best thing to do is give yourself a lot of time and do well on your first try. take a prep course, use this forum, do whatever it takes to get as high as you can.

but with a 30 and 3.6/3.3 split, getting into MD is far from impossible, but a 35 will be a huge plus in your favor. and i am in a very similar situation as you are. i am taking the MCAT next May, and i need to get serious.

good luck

 

[aspiring20]

note OP

i have many friends with 3.8/3.8 and 29-31 MCAT scores this cycle who havent heard anything yet.

do not underestimate the MCAT. your GPA is mostly wherever it is now, the MCAT is still unknown. your number one priority right now is the MCAT, dont screw it up.

 

[JGimpel]

.

 

[imhoping]

Are you an Under represented minority, and were the acceptances at state schools?

I am not URM and applied to only one state school (my own) where I was put on hold. My ECs are good and have pretty significant research experience including three publications. Just sayin' that some great schools do look at the whole person and stats aren't everything!

 

[GypsyHummus]

Bump

Just found out that my grades dipped a bit after getting my official transcript. I have a 3.1s and a 3.4c GPA not a happy day.

I know it is not looking too good, is there still a chance at an MD school, or should I foucus my attention to getting into a DO school? Still have not taken the Mcat.

If yes to the former, what MCAT would I need?

 

[as1212559]

Hey everyone. I wanted to know what my chances are at MD schools and what mcat I would need to get to be considered for an acceptance into a program. I know my cGPA is borderline, and I realize my sGPA is low, but curious if it can still happen. Would a 30 be good enough?

Would also like to know about out of state, state supported DO programs as well, such as MSU or OSU or Ohio. If anyone has insight on them, please share

Strong extra curricular activities. Research at med school, undergrad research (name mentioned in thesis), organization of intramural sports teams, founder and leader of several clubs, tutor, all that jazz.

Thank you for all of your help in advance!

cGPA is okay for MD, good for DO. sGPA is low for MD, manageable for DO.

MCAT 28+ would make you competitive for DO programs. Not much you can do to be competitive for the DO schools you listed (good programs, will be attending one). The OoS thing is a funny issue. I got an interview at an OoS school (OSU) three months before I got one at my state school (ohio). Just throw your app out to them and see what happens I guess. If there is any way you can connect with the school's mission or something like that it might help. Also add in some of the strong private DO programs: DMU, KCUMB, CCOM etc. With a 28+ you would be a good candidate for them probably.

MCAT 32+ for MD I would guess, and apply broadly. You might be able to pull it off with a 30, but a 32+ would help make your app more visible.

 

[as1212559]

Bump

Just found out that my grades dipped a bit after getting my official transcript. I have a 3.1s and a 3.4c GPA not a happy day.

I know it is not looking too good, is there still a chance at an MD school, or should I foucus my attention to getting into a DO school? Still have not taken the Mcat.

If yes to the former, what MCAT would I need?

Should have read the whole thread, sorry.

Your GPAs will be practically identical to mine when applying. Unless you crush the MCAT (35+ I would say) your focus should be on DO schools. Although, if you have a state MD school send them an app assuming you score 30+.

I would seriously recommend you score 28+ to have a decent shot at good DO schools like you mentioned above. Use AAMC diagnostics to measure your progress. If you are hitting in the low 30s consistently, you should be certain of a bare minimum 28 unless you really choke.

I applied with a 3.15s/3.4c/29P. Ohio resident. Applied to AZCOM, OSUCOM, KCUMB, DMU, OUHCOM, both ATSUs, VCOM, PCOM, and Touro-NV. Secondaries from all but VCOM (pre-secondary hold). Returned 8/9 secondaries (no Touro-NV). Complete by Sept 1st. Interview at KCUMB first week of November. Interview at OSU-COM last week of November. Accepted to KCUMB mid-december (withdrew from all but OUHCOM/PCOM). Waitlisted at OSU-COM mid-december. Accepted of waitlist at OSU-COM mid-january. Interview invite to OU-HCOM day after OSU-COM acceptance. Invite politely declined. Withdrawn from PCOM. Will matriculate at OSU-COM.

As you can see it is a crapshoot with low GPAs. I had a f**king A awesome cycle from my perspective but a pre-secondary hold from VCOM, and several pre-interview holds (DMU, AZCOM) showed that you can't count on anything with a lower GPA. Retrospectively I applied a little top-heavy and might be counted as a little lucky. A strong MCAT is HUGE in my/your case. Also a strong upward grade trend if possible (I carried a 3.9 for the past two years essentially).

tl;dr strong DO programs are a possibility. Get a high MCAT and they are a real possibility. MD chances slim to none, sorry.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Should have read the whole thread, sorry.

Your GPAs will be practically identical to mine when applying. Unless you crush the MCAT (35+ I would say) your focus should be on DO schools. Although, if you have a state MD school send them an app assuming you score 30+.

I would seriously recommend you score 28+ to have a decent shot at good DO schools like you mentioned above. Use AAMC diagnostics to measure your progress. If you are hitting in the low 30s consistently, you should be certain of a bare minimum 28 unless you really choke.

I applied with a 3.15s/3.4c/29P. Ohio resident. Applied to AZCOM, OSUCOM, KCUMB, DMU, OUHCOM, both ATSUs, VCOM, PCOM, and Touro-NV. Secondaries from all but VCOM (pre-secondary hold). Returned 8/9 secondaries (no Touro-NV). Complete by Sept 1st. Interview at KCUMB first week of November. Interview at OSU-COM last week of November. Accepted to KCUMB mid-december (withdrew from all but OUHCOM/PCOM). Waitlisted at OSU-COM mid-december. Accepted of waitlist at OSU-COM mid-january. Interview invite to OU-HCOM day after OSU-COM acceptance. Invite politely declined. Withdrawn from PCOM. Will matriculate at OSU-COM.

As you can see it is a crapshoot with low GPAs. I had a f**king A awesome cycle from my perspective but a pre-secondary hold from VCOM, and several pre-interview holds (DMU, AZCOM) showed that you can't count on anything with a lower GPA. Retrospectively I applied a little top-heavy and might be counted as a little lucky. A strong MCAT is HUGE in my/your case. Also a strong upward grade trend if possible (I carried a 3.9 for the past two years essentially).

tl;dr strong DO programs are a possibility. Get a high MCAT and they are a real possibility. MD chances slim to none, sorry.

I appreciate the feedback, thanks!

Did you apply to any MD programs? I know Ohio has a couple of in state schools

 

[as1212559]

I appreciate the feedback, thanks!

Did you apply to any MD programs? I know Ohio has a couple of in state schools

I did not. My adviser seemed to think I could have had a not-good but non-zero shot at some of the lower tier ones (mostly due to MCAT and upward trend) but I didn't bother. My first choice school was a DO school and I will be matriculating there so I'm a happy camper having not tried my luck at MD. I'm also not interested in surgery, being a physician researcher, or academic medicine so going DO doesn't inhibit my career goals significantly. Up to you whether or not to try some MD programs if your MCAT turns out the way you want.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Did you have all of the extra curricular/volunteering bases covered?

 

[as1212559]

1) ~100-120hrs shadowing. ER and FM. All DO's (lolwut), lots of good perspective on the differences between FM and ER, discussed at length in interviews. KEY TO MY SUCCESS IMO
2) DO LOR. RELATIVELY IMPORTANT TO DO APP SUCCESS
3) Loads of paid research time. Awarded university grant for my individual research project. One first author poster and presentation at school research expo. No publications (might get one or two before too long). IMPORTANT TO MY SUCCESS
4) Lots of non-clinical volunteering. 2 years of solid leadership in large, highly active university volunteer group. Regular volunteer at soup kitchen. IMPORTANT
5) Abroad med mission trip. IMPORTANT, reason discussed later in this epic of a post
6) Leadership in pre-med club that is actually beneficial to members (I swear). MOSTLY IRRELEVANT
7) Couple part-time jobs in college. IRRELEVANT
8) LORs from orgo lab prof, micro prof, research advisor, DO who I've shadowed a bunch of FM with, and an english prof. RATHER IMPORTANT, of course

Nothing truly exceptional really, but somewhat well rounded.

No clinical volunteering or clinical work experience though other than 2 week med mission trip (came up in interviews, but mostly to discuss the state of healthcare in those countries. I would count those conversations in interviews as the real value of the trips in terms of ECs. I don't think ADCOMs see them as you being Mother Theresa or the gunner pre-med meme we all know and love, but if you can prove what you have learned/come to understand as a result of going on said trip then it will set you apart perspective-wise.)