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Advice on how to proceed?
- Thread starter dimemag
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If those are all of your science grades, that means you have roughly a sGPA of 3.86(!) with grade replacement assuming each course is 4 credits (3.72 assuming each course is 3 credits). If that's the case, you are in great position to apply to most, if not all, DO schools, obviously pending your MCAT score. (I know my school would very likely interview you, especially if you are a northeast-area applicant, so long as your MCAT is at least a 26).
Take the MCAT sooner if you can. Ideally sometime in the spring, but before May, that way you'll have your score back in time so you can apply early (or you can save your money and not apply at all if you don't end up doing well on your first MCAT attempt). Applying early is a huge, huge, plus to admission committees. Ask anyone who had a less-than-stellar application if they think applying early helped them get in, I could guarantee >90% would say it definitely did.
Doing an SMP or post-bacc is a good idea for the year that you spend applying and (hopefully) interviewing. It will give you a great foundation to work off of when you start medical school and it will also look great when you get to applying for residency (assuming you earned a Master's degree from it).
If I were in your shoes:
- I would plan to take the MCAT in late April, at the latest.
- I would also begin studying for the MCAT now, making sure to study diligently, yet leisurely (to prevent burnout) and to take a lot of practice tests between now and the test date.
- And I would start to apply to 1 -year SMP's now, especially ones that focus on med school material and not undergrad pre-reqs (I went to USF's program and am so glad I did b/c I wouldn't be doing nearly as well as I am now without it.)
Your extracurriculars look great, and your life/work experience is definitely a plus for most DO schools. Keep shadowing DO's any chance you get. You'll want to get a letter of recommendation from one by the time you apply.(<- Highly recommended).
Also, I'd refrain from mentioning your previous failures were due to undiagnosed depression, I'm very sorry you had to go through that, but I'm fairly certain mental illness is not something that admissions committees like to see, regardless of it's severity. To better market your mistakes, I would suggest saying something along the lines of how you were "unprepared/immature/lacked the appropriate study skills to do well at such an early stage of your academic career".
Hope that helps
(FYI, this will probably be moved to the Pre-DO forum soon, if it hasn't already.)
Take the MCAT sooner if you can. Ideally sometime in the spring, but before May, that way you'll have your score back in time so you can apply early (or you can save your money and not apply at all if you don't end up doing well on your first MCAT attempt). Applying early is a huge, huge, plus to admission committees. Ask anyone who had a less-than-stellar application if they think applying early helped them get in, I could guarantee >90% would say it definitely did.
Doing an SMP or post-bacc is a good idea for the year that you spend applying and (hopefully) interviewing. It will give you a great foundation to work off of when you start medical school and it will also look great when you get to applying for residency (assuming you earned a Master's degree from it).
If I were in your shoes:
- I would plan to take the MCAT in late April, at the latest.
- I would also begin studying for the MCAT now, making sure to study diligently, yet leisurely (to prevent burnout) and to take a lot of practice tests between now and the test date.
- And I would start to apply to 1 -year SMP's now, especially ones that focus on med school material and not undergrad pre-reqs (I went to USF's program and am so glad I did b/c I wouldn't be doing nearly as well as I am now without it.)
Your extracurriculars look great, and your life/work experience is definitely a plus for most DO schools. Keep shadowing DO's any chance you get. You'll want to get a letter of recommendation from one by the time you apply.(<- Highly recommended).
Also, I'd refrain from mentioning your previous failures were due to undiagnosed depression, I'm very sorry you had to go through that, but I'm fairly certain mental illness is not something that admissions committees like to see, regardless of it's severity. To better market your mistakes, I would suggest saying something along the lines of how you were "unprepared/immature/lacked the appropriate study skills to do well at such an early stage of your academic career".
Hope that helps
(FYI, this will probably be moved to the Pre-DO forum soon, if it hasn't already.)
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Aim for July, not August if you can. Also, will your cGPA be >3.0 by the time you apply? If not I'd only apply to one school, then add the rest when your MCAT score comes in and a retake or course gets you above a 3.0 (to meet a lot of the cutoffs).
As it stands, as long as you get your GPAs above 3.0, and do well on the MCAT, you'll be fine.
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You have tackled the weak spots of your application by proactively improving your grades, doing shadowing, and research. This is great for applying to DO schools. I suggest you continue shadowing. Also, make sure you have atleast 3 LOR (1 from a science professor, and 1 from a DO). Other than that try to get a 28+ on your MCAT. It is important you take the test early so that you can apply early int he cycle and have the best chance of getting accepted since many schools are rolling admissions. I would say take the mcat in June if possible so that you can get secondary applications sent to you in July/August and you will be waiting for interviews in September.
