DO Any schools I have no business applying to?

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yipyipyip

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3.35c, 3.19s, 32 (12/10/10), large public research undergrad university not on the east coast

Beyond the stats (very superficially):

- International medical mission trip
- 1.5 year research with scholarship award and presented at a conference
- Worked on several exec committees for different volunteer organizations for several years with a general focus on the underserved
- >100 hours shadowing MD and DO

My concerns:

- Schools that require a DO letter
- Schools that might prescreen my GPA

I will be applying broadly and early but would like to avoid wasting money at schools that either a) I have no shot at or b) are questionable for whatever reason. I know these threads are a dime a dozen but please help! Thank you.

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Only a few DO schools pre-screen at 3.2 s/cgpa so you should be good at most (definitely check at the ones you are interested in applying to). Your MCAT is really solid though which should help. I dont think that any are necessarily out of reach (just based on second hand knowledge from here and stats I have looked up). Maybe CCOM is one not to waste your time on... But I would definitely include a nice mixture of schools on your list. Have a couple schools like the original 5 that are the most competitive and have high scores (only pick a couple you are interested in). Then try and find like 10 schools that are not the original 5, that dont have major in-state bias (unless you are from that state), and that you would enjoy attending. There are a couple newer programs that would definitely take you though.

Surprisingly my bigger concern would be your lack of clinical exposure. DO schools in general tend to not focus on research. So while your experience will certainly not hurt you, it wont help you as much as if you had a year and a half of working with patients and physicians. Just my two cents.
 
To answer the title of your post.....No, you have plenty of business.

The research is certainly a plus.....any deficiencies in your app are well covered with your MCAT.
 
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You might get screened at KCUMB (3.25 minimum) but otherwise you're competitive everywhere. Fwiw I had a 3.2/3.4/30 and received interview invites to most schools I applied to.
 
- Schools that require a DO letter

Only a couple schools require a DO letter (OSU-COM is one), most will accept MD instead. Would you not be able to get one from the DO you shadowed?

TCOM and OSU have strong in-state preference each with about 10-15% OOS acceptance. Rowan and MSU may have similar preferences. Your MCAT and research may help you be one of the small OOS percentage if you are interested in any of those schools, though (has to be someone, right?). TCOM does have a separate application service, however. Some schools have a more regional (rather than state resident) bias.
 
3.35c, 3.19s, 32 (12/10/10), large public research undergrad university not on the east coast

Beyond the stats (very superficially):

- International medical mission trip
- 1.5 year research with scholarship award and presented at a conference
- Worked on several exec committees for different volunteer organizations for several years with a general focus on the underserved
- >100 hours shadowing MD and DO

My concerns:

- Schools that require a DO letter
- Schools that might prescreen my GPA

I will be applying broadly and early but would like to avoid wasting money at schools that either a) I have no shot at or b) are questionable for whatever reason. I know these threads are a dime a dozen but please help! Thank you.

You're lacking clinical volunteering. This is emphasized in apps to DO programs more than research from what I understand.
 
You'll be fine at any school, except those that require the DO LOR. So, apply broadly and you'll be in great shape.

3.35c, 3.19s, 32 (12/10/10), large public research undergrad university not on the east coast

Beyond the stats (very superficially):

- International medical mission trip
- 1.5 year research with scholarship award and presented at a conference
- Worked on several exec committees for different volunteer organizations for several years with a general focus on the underserved
- >100 hours shadowing MD and DO

My concerns:

- Schools that require a DO letter
- Schools that might prescreen my GPA

I will be applying broadly and early but would like to avoid wasting money at schools that either a) I have no shot at or b) are questionable for whatever reason. I know these threads are a dime a dozen but please help! Thank you.
 
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