Advice for Reapplicant

[westsidestoryz]

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So after a few weeks of sulking, I am ready to re-apply for next year.

Major: Finance (Graduated), switched to pre-med during my senior year. Completed my pre-reqs in about a year.

Asian, California resident

Here are my numbers:

MCAT:
502. 125, 124, 127, 126 (Already registered for a retake for April. I was scoring 511-512 on the practice but failed on the real thing. Should have voided)

GPA:
oGPA: 3.35
sGPA: 3.39
Post-bacc GPA: 3.79 (19 units, all pre-req courses)

ECs:
ER department: 220+ hours continuing
Shadowing: 40 hours all MDs (Planning to shadow at least 1 DO)
Research: 1 year, no publication. Ended in August 2017
Medical clinic in Mexico: 84+ hours continuing
Free tutor for underserved students: 38+ hours continuing
Soup kitchen: 40+ hours continuing
Mission trip to Africa: 336+ hours
Couple leadership positions
Employment with a company that works with adults with mental disabilities.

MD schools I applied to:
Central Michigan: Nothing yet
Cooper: Nothing yet
Loma Linda: Nothing yet
Loyola: Nothing yet
Wisconsin: Nothing yet
Oakland Beaumont: Nothing yet
Rosalind: Nothing yet
UAB: Nothing yet
Arizona: R
UCD: Nothing yet
UCR: Nothing yet
South Carolina: Nothing yet
Wayne State: Nothing yet

(Completed in August-September)

DO schools I applied to:
PCOM: Nothing yet
Arizona: Waitlisted pre II
Lake Erie: Nothing yet
NYITCOM: Nothing yet
Pacific Northwest: Nothing yet
Chicago: Nothing yet
Rocky Vista: R
Touro Cali: Nothing yet
Western-Pomona: Nothing yet

(Completed in August-October)

Gameplan:

MCAT: No excuses for the poor performance. Started studying now. Hoping for a 512-516 range to compensate for the first MCAT and low GPA.

GPA: Was thinking taking extra classes at my local CC. With how many units I have, it will not increase my overall, just my BCPM. I do not plan to enroll in an SMP.

ECs: Will continuing with my current activities. I do not plan to participate in more since I am working two jobs at the moment.

List of schools: I feel like I need to add more school. I did not for the first cycle because my MCAT was so low and I was limited to certain schools. But with a higher MCAT score, I plan to add plenty more, both MDs and DOs.

Timing: I need to submit my secondaries earlier. I feel like I was 1-3 months behind what it should have been.

Shadowing: I need to shadow a DO physician for my AACOMAS application.

Essays: Looking back on my essays, I know there are plenty of room for improvement. I did not utilize SDN as much, but I plan to consult SDNers for help.

Anything input on my gameplan? @LizzyM @Goro @gyngyn
I know I haven't received an official R for the schools but at this point, I need to plan for a retake. Any advice on anything you see here is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[MareNostrummm]

I'm not sure if 19 units of a 3.79 post bacc is enough to make your 3.3 GPAs competitive for MD. You would have needed a 515+ to compensate for the lower GPA.

 

[westsidestoryz]

I'm not sure if 19 units of a 3.79 post bacc is enough to make your 3.3 GPAs competitive for MD. You would have needed a 515+ to compensate for the lower GPA.

Hence the local cc classes. I can’t raise the 3.3 any higher with 180+ units. And yes, a high mcat is what I’m shooting for. What I was interested in was if my game plan was solid...

 

[MareNostrummm]

Hence the local cc classes. I can’t raise the 3.3 any higher with 180+ units. And yes, a high mcat is what I’m shooting for. What I was interested in was if my game plan was solid...

But are CC classes enough to impress adcoms? DIY post bacc of some upper division bio classes at a local 4 year (Genetics, Anatomy, Physiology, etc) would be more costly but more impressive. You really just need to get over a 3.5 gpa, or if that's not possible maybe 2 more full quarters of straight A's.

That being said I had a 4.0 post bacc and went from a 3.3 GPA to a 3.55 (from taking pre-reqs and upper division classes. Also have a 512 MCAT (no retakes). 0/38 MD II so far but 1/2 DO. Schools might also average your MCAT scores if you retake. You may even want to do a SMP if it looks more official.

 

[Lawpy]

I'd probably suggest retaking the MCAT (aim for around 508-510) and focusing your reapplication exclusively on DO schools. Not sure whether going for MD is a practical strategy.

 

[MareNostrummm]

I'd probably suggest retaking the MCAT (aim for around 508-510) and focusing your reapplication exclusively on DO schools. Not sure whether going for MD is a practical strategy.

Yup, MD schools are much less forgiving.

 

[tiramisucheese]

How did you pick your schools? Did you subscribe to MSAR? Almost all of the schools you picked are way out of the range of your stats and/or heavily favor in-state applicants. I agree with the others that you'll most likely need to focus on DO schools next cycle.

 

[stickgirl390]

I agree with above. Add DO shadowing and apply to more DO schools, specifically newer ones like NYIT-AR. Your ECs are impressive! I think if you do well on your MCAT retake and shadow DO you should be good to go next cycle.

 

[westsidestoryz]

What do you guys think about SMPs? It was either SMP or genetics and/or microbio course at my undergraduate through a post-bacc. MCAT will be retaken no matter my decision.