Apply to MD/DO schools or wait and get Masters?

[woozypoozy]

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Hi. I am wondering whether I should apply to a Masters program after my senior year to further my application or whether I should just apply to MD/DO schools this year. I am interested in going to a California MD/DO school and am a California resident. My GPA is average and my MCAT scores are pretty low...and I took them twice. 🙁 Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.65
Science GPA: 3.4
MCAT: P12 B10 V7 (1st time)
P11 B11 V6 (2nd time)

Volunteer: Over 200 hours volunteering at a hospital and shadowing physicians
Over 100 hours at an internship shadowing physicians

Research: 290 hours as an undergraduate researcher.
I contributed to and am getting published on a research paper

I have fair list of activities and leadership positions.

Please give me any thoughts that you have regarding my situation. They will be greatly appreciated 🙂 I am a junior so my GPA will probably go up after this semester. Also, should I consider retaking the MCAT again after taking a prep course over the summer? (if I do decide to pursue a Masters)

 

[229141]

Hi. I am wondering whether I should apply to a Masters program after my senior year to further my application or whether I should just apply to MD/DO schools this year. I am interested in going to a California MD/DO school and am a California resident. My GPA is average and my MCAT scores are pretty low...and I took them twice. 🙁 Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.65
Science GPA: 3.4
MCAT: P12 B10 V7 (1st time)
P11 B11 V6 (2nd time)

Volunteer: Over 200 hours volunteering at a hospital and shadowing physicians
Over 100 hours at an internship shadowing physicians

Research: 290 hours as an undergraduate researcher.
I contributed to and am getting published on a research paper

I have fair list of activities and leadership positions.

Please give me any thoughts that you have regarding my situation. They will be greatly appreciated 🙂 I am a junior so my GPA will probably go up after this semester. Also, should I consider retaking the MCAT again after taking a prep course over the summer? (if I do decide to pursue a Masters)

Damn verbal...I fear my scores will look like that. To be honest..up that verbal and your in. You could probably rock a DO school now...which I would do honestly; being a DO is still damn good man

 

[Mobius1985]

Getting a masters degree (other than a Special Masters Program) will not improve your candidacy for MD schools, and they are meant for the low-GPA individual. DO schools do factor the graduate school GPA into the application GPA, but a low GPA is not your problem. Assuming you would have mentioned any obvious moderating factors, you need a much higher MCAT score to have a reasonable chance at allopathic schools in California, and maybe three more points to have a good shot at out of state programs. You are fine as you are applying to DO schools now, but it's my understanding that the CA school is pretty selective, so I can't say you are a shoo-in there. Your ECs look fine as they are, and I'll assume you'll continue building them over the next year if you decide to wait until the '10 cycle.

 

[woozypoozy]

Would it look bad to take the MCATs again a 3rd time (but hopefully improve on my verbal score)? And also, does anyone have a list of some allopathic schools around the US that i have a reasonable chance of getting into?

 

[Mobius1985]

Would it look bad to take the MCATs again a 3rd time (but hopefully improve on my verbal score)?

It will only look bad if you fail to improve your score, so don't retake until you are consistently scoring in your target zone on practice tests.

And also, does anyone have a list of some allopathic schools around the US that i have a reasonable chance of getting into?

With a verbal score of 6 on the most recent test, I don't think you have a reasonable chance.