Another school selection question :)

[debbidala]

Hi everyone!

Just got my MCAT score today, so I finally have real numbers to plug into the school selection spreadsheet! Quick background - I'm a nontrad with an unfortunate ugrad GPA. I have a 4.0 since returning to school, but that's only brought my sgpa up to 3.29 and cgpa to 3.22. My MCAT is 34R (12P, 10V, 12B). I'm a Maryland resident and I have a big family, so I have to consider my husband's career (he's an IT director, so we need urban-ish areas) and my kids' stability (prefer to stay on east coast to be near family) when looking at schools. That said, here's my tentative list so far. Any thoughts? Thanks for looking!


University of South Carolina
Virginia Commonwealth
EVMS
Drexel
NYMC
GWU
Temple
Jefferson
Georgetown
Penn State
SUNY Downstate
University of Maryland
Hopkins (I know it's a joke, but I'm in Baltimore, so I can't not try!)

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[canjosh]

Osteopathic?? Your life story seems to fit the bill. You do have a strong upward GPA trend, and an MCAT score to be proud of. Clinical experience?

 

[debbidala]

Thanks for the post! I have about 300 hours of clinical volunteering (at a Trauma PACU) plus a bunch of other non-clinical ECs (president of the board of a nonprofit preschool, community supported agriculture coordinator, society of physics student club, etc). I'm sort of on the fence about DO schools. I don't know why, but the holistic philosophy and IMM (is that what it's called?) don't really seem to suit me (not saying they're bad at all! Just not for me). I was sort of hoping for a better MCAT score so I could be a little more confident about Maryland - it's definitely my #1 choice - but since it is what it is, I'm trying to figure out where to apply a little more broadly without too badly disrupting my family. Thanks again for the input!

 

[Appless]

Seems like a good list to me now that you took out hawaii. I know your in baltimore but if money is an issue i would take off hopkins (and replace it with something else) becuase honestly you have no chance unless you are a URM and even then...long shot. But I understand you want to stay at home...im applying to UCSF and UCLA even though I know I have absolutely no chance....lol

 

[debbidala]

Yeah, I do know I have zero chance at Hopkins, but it's not THAT much money to keep it on the list, and I'd always wonder if I didn't try. Don't worry, though, I'm already expecting the rejection!

 

[sarahl86]

With an MCAT score like that, well-balanced and a very strong upward GPA trend, I wouldn't count yourself anywhere near out for Maryland. That said, I also wouldn't waste the money on Hopkins either...GWU gets a TON of applications as well but who knows, a non-trad would stick out pretty well I think you should definitely apply to more schools though. 15+ to be on the safe side.

Though I don't think you necessarily have to apply to DO, I would consider PCOM - its right around the corner from Drexel and would be a good option of things don't pan out in your favor for allopathic schools. It's called OMM, by the way: and as for the holistic philosophy, if you had a DO who didn't use OMM (as many don't) vs MD as a care provider and couldn't see their degree on a jacket or ID card I bet you $50 you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. I suggest you shadow a couple DOs and make your own decisions independent of what you see/read on here.

PS - Hopkins doesn't even sign their rejection letters. Laser printer all the way.

 

[Appless]

With an MCAT score like that, well-balanced and a very strong upward GPA trend, I wouldn't count yourself anywhere near out for Maryland. That said, I also wouldn't waste the money on Hopkins either...GWU gets a TON of applications as well but who knows, a non-trad would stick out pretty well I think you should definitely apply to more schools though. 15+ to be on the safe side.

I think you should apply to more also i forgot to say that. But also just a side note about drexel, georgetown, and gwu. These 3 schools get more apps then any other med school basically (10k-13k). I dont know how you feel about that but me personally, with so many applicants I wonder if its almost a waste of time to even apply to these schools. I dont know why everyone applys to georgetown, but the other 2 have some of the lowest stats for any med school (Im not counting PR schools or schools that only accept bascially black students such as howard). So everyone who has either a poor gpa or mcat applies there. I dont know just something to think about I guess. If applications werent free for me I would think about taking them off my own list.

 

[canjosh]

I certainly don't want to persuade you to apply DO if you don't want to...but, as the other person said, you really can't tell the difference in the day-to-day practice of medicine. Again, you have to listen to your heart, but make sure you're making a well-informed decision. Good luck.

 

[debbidala]

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I don't know what I'd do without SDN - even though I don't post much, it's nice to know there are others out there!

I'll start looking for a DO to shadow today, you all make excellent points. I just took another quick look at the selection spreadsheet and I don't see any other obvious adds. I guess I COULD work on my genetics paper, since it's due in an hour and AMCAS isn't even open yet....

 

[debbidala]

I'm procrastinating again.... I think I'm going to add Chicago schools to my list and hope I can talk my husband into moving that far west if that ends up being where I'm accepted. So, new list is:

rosalind franklin
u vermont
loyola
rush
u illinois
commonwealth
stony brook
univ sc
virginia commonwealth
evms
drexel
nymc
gwu
temple
u hawaii
jefferson
georgetown
penn state
SUNY downstate
maryland
hopkins

Why is looking at lists of schools so much more fun than studying?