MD & DO 3.6cGPA, 3.5sGPA, low MCAT

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DreamBig01

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Bio major/ Chem minor from a small Christian liberal arts school
3.6gpa
3.5sgpa
Upward trend
MCAT April- 123 (32%) Chem, 126 (70%)CARS, 123 (32%) Bio, 128 (86%) psych/soc
500 overall (51%)
90 hours shadowing MD- 50 in internal medicine clinic and 40 in wound care clinic
4 year varsity 3 sport athlete on scholarship (20-25 hours a week year round)
Top 15 at nationals each year
Member of Student Athlete Advisory Council for 2 years
Volunteered with Make-a-Wish for 2 summers (100 hours)
Tutored at my high school during the summer for 2 years (70 hours)
Involved in community outreach- 70 hours
Chemistry TA for a year- Biochemistry and General Chemistry- I will be responsible for 3 organic chem labs starting next semester
Full Time employment during school breaks with same company for 3 years
LORs- 3 science profs- One is my advisor who knows my story well (dad passed away during sophomore year) and can testify to my upward trend and extracurriculars
Another is from my organic prof who I will be the TA for
One from the company I worked for
One from the cross country coach more of a character reference
Michigan Resident
The low MCAT hurts me. Should I retake in July? Apps are submitted for verification for both MD and DO
Do I have a shot at DO? Should I try some of the in state Michigan MD schools?
I am planning on shadowing a DO and getting a LOR, will that boost my DO chances?

Thanks for any input!

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25-40 Chem
61-76 CARS
28-43 Bio
81-96 Psych
46-56% Overall
 
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I think you have a decent shot at DO, I would also apply to all state MDs as well.. prob not the big ones like umich, but what do I know.

do u mind sharing aamc practice fl scores?
 
You could apply to the 5 MD schools in Michigan (excluding U Michigan) but your chances are low for MD. You are competitive for some DO schools. Apply to at least 20 DO schools and you should receive several interviews.
 
I think you have a decent shot at DO, I would also apply to all state MDs as well.. prob not the big ones like umich, but what do I know.

do u mind sharing aamc practice fl scores?
the "...but what do i know." cracked me up. oh, sdn.
 
You are going to have problems with those science MCAT scores. That whole upward GPA trend rings rather hollow when a bio major is getting the 30th percentile on both science sections. Definitely not a good call to take the MCAT when your preliminary scores were that low. On top of the whole MCAT problem is there not much in the way of clinical exposure here; a killer for even applications with top stats. On the surface 3.6/50th percentile MCAT applicants get into DO school if they apply broadly but there are clear red flags here. It's worth noting you do have strengths; full time collegiate athletes who maintain solid grades always generate alot of respect in med school admission. But it's hard to recommend applying now even though unfortunately you already did and you are probably a while away from being ready to take the MCAT again(and by the time you do itll be too late in this cycle with the exception of some DO programs where applying in Nov/Dec is acceptable).

What I will say is you will do MUCH MUCH better in admission if you address your issues of MCAT science scores and lack of clinical exposure. It's hard to say what your target score for sciences should be but at the absolute bare minimum you need to be above the national average. If you can do well on the CARS there's a good chance you capable of doing alot better than 30th percentile on those sections. The issues you have are hardly unfixable.
 
DO and in-state schools are your best chance.
 
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