MD & DO Be real with me- can I apply in June?

[Conflagration]

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Hello, everyone! I've been here since my senior year of high school. It feels weird to post a WAMC thread...

Alright, so here's a fact sheet about me.

20, White female, FL resident for the cycle;
BS Mathematics (conferred May 2016);
cGPA- Estimated to be 3.4.
sGPA (AMCAS)- Estimated to be 3.48.
sGPA (AACOMAS)- Estimated to be 3.42.
MCAT- Yet to take. I'm probably going to take it April 18, 2015.

ECs;
2 years for a Honors Thesis-like project dealing with my major. I will have presented this content three times by June.
Founded a quiz bowl team with classmates freshman year and competed for two years by June.
Member of the Math Club, two years.
I tutor a low-income family, and I have since September. I also free-tutor college students.
I have a Calculus TA position that I'm taking in January.
Dean's List, one semester.

Work (I forgot to add these, whoops.);

4 months as a Math tutor in a K-12 center.
1 month as a cake decorator in a grocery store.

For those of you that haven't read my posts, I have a bit of an odd story. You see, I was diagnosed with Asperger's at 3 and a half, and I was presenting some pretty serious symptoms at the onset. (I went mute for a year and a half, I had sensory issues, among other things...)

If my mom didn't ask for a second opinion, I may not be able to type this now. Her pediatrician was my own, and he told my mom that "it was just a phase". A lot of my motivation behind wanting to be a physician is because I want to give parents like my mom was back then answers, and to tell them that with the right therapy- this condition can be lived with, and quite a few people go on to live normal lives. (I know that not everyone has such a happy conclusion, but I think that going down this path may be able to help those who are like me in that regard, and that makes me hopeful.)

So, yeah, I'm really lacking shadowing hours... I'm working on it, I promise. I have some leads for PCP hours.

My tentative list is all FL schools, CUSOM, and Louisville. I have some ties to Louisville, and CUSOM is the medical school for my UG, which it can't hurt to try.

My questions:

1.) Would I have a feasible shot of being accepted to a medical school in June given what I have here now?
2.) I have an option to take another science class next semester, which would bump the sGPA in both calculations to 3.5. Would that change your answer to number 1?
3.) Do you know of any schools that would consider me, given my stats? I'm open to both MD and DO. Also, if one of the schools above is a pipe dream, I'd like to know that too.

Thanks for reading, folks! Merry Christmas!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

You should be fine for DO if the MCAT is good, but I suggest applying to at least 8 DO schools to be safe.

 

[Conflagration]

You should be fine for DO if the MCAT is good, but I suggest applying to at least 8 DO schools to be safe.

I'll try to discern what other five I should pick. CUSOM, LECOM-B, and Nova are already on my tentative list. Thanks! 🙂

 

[deleted480308]

I'll try to discern what other five I should pick. CUSOM, LECOM-B, and Nova are already on my tentative list. Thanks! 🙂

I second addind DO schools....the newer ones tend to have lower stats. Alabama/william carey/liberty/lincoln memorial etc

 

[candbgirl]

Do you have any clinical hours? You really need those and the shadowing before you apply!

 

[Conflagration]

Do you have any clinical hours? You really need those and the shadowing before you apply!

I have some hours for shadowing planned. I'm working with my PCP for those and he's got his friends. That should get me at least 50 by the June cycle (but I didn't want to say that I already had them, since sometimes such things fall through, and to say them like I had them would be a bit dishonest).

Is that what you mean by clinical hours? There's a hospital close by, it couldn't hurt to see if they're willing to take volunteers.

 

[candbgirl]

I don't mean shadowing! I mean working in volunteer or even paid positions where you actually deal with patients. How do you know you want to be a doc if you haven't spent considerable time interacting with them? This doesn't have to be a hospital. Places like hospice etc are possibilities too!

 

[Conflagration]

I don't mean shadowing! I mean working in volunteer or even paid positions where you actually deal with patients. How do you know you want to be a doc if you haven't spent considerable time interacting with them? This downtown have to be a hospital. Places like hospice etc are possibilities too!

Fair point- there's a hospital around a half an hour from me. I'll submit a volunteer application and see if they'll bite.

 

[Goro]

Your GPA is weak for MD schools, but not lethal is you apply strategically. MSAR Online is your friend. You're fine for any DO school.

1.) Would I have a feasible shot of being accepted to a medical school in June given what I have here now?

Raising your sGPA will always help.
2.) I have an option to take another science class next semester, which would bump the sGPA in both calculations to 3.5. Would that change your answer to number 1?

NYMC, Albany, the Philly triplets, all new MD schools, for starters.
3.) Do you know of any schools that would consider me, given my stats? I'm open to both MD and DO. Also, if one of the schools above is a pipe dream, I'd like to know that too.

 

[Omppu27]

You should try very hard to get shadowing and clinical volunteering in ASAP. Also, I think you'd be fine for any DO school as long as your mcat is competitive. You many even have a shot at some MDs as well depending on your score.

 

[Conflagration]

You should try very hard to get shadowing and clinical volunteering in ASAP. Also, I think you'd be fine for any DO school as long as your mcat is competitive. You many even have a shot at some MDs as well depending on your score.

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement! I'm getting some things lined up now to start when I get back to my apartment.

I'm taking classes next semester, but they're relevant to the MCAT. Organic II, two biology classes, and General Psychology. So, that should at least help a lot with content.

Any particular schools that you know of? I'm committing to trying the Florida schools since they're all my in-state institutions.

 

[Omppu27]

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement! I'm getting some things lined up now to start when I get back to my apartment.

I'm taking classes next semester, but they're relevant to the MCAT. Organic II, two biology classes, and General Psychology. So, that should at least help a lot with content.

Any particular schools that you know of? I'm committing to trying the Florida schools since they're all my in-state institutions.

I didn't know you haven't taken Orgo2 or psych yet... Have you thought about pushing the test back to late May/early June? Also mid April is pretty close to finals at my university, so you might be really crammed. Really think about whether or not you will have enough time to truly study for this big exam. You don't want to have to take this thing twice. Trust me, i know from experience. I strongly suggest pushing back to late May or early June if possible.

 

[Conflagration]

I didn't know you haven't taken Orgo2 or psych yet... Have you thought about pushing the test back to late May/early June? Also mid April is pretty close to finals at my university, so you might be really crammed. Really think about whether or not you will have enough time to truly study for this big exam. You don't want to have to take this thing twice. Trust me, i know from experience. I strongly suggest pushing back to late May or early June if possible.

Well, I haven't paid and scheduled it yet, so if it'd be better to take it in May, that's fine.

Would that throw a monkey wrench into applying? After all, I may not get my score until mid-June or even later.

My finals are the last week of April, but my professors are lenient with students taking professional exams. I know a lot of them allowed pre-pharmacy people to excuse the absence for the PCAT.

Thanks for your candid responses!

 

[Omppu27]

Well, I haven't paid and scheduled it yet, so if it'd be better to take it in May, that's fine.

Would that throw a monkey wrench into applying? After all, I may not get my score until mid-June or even later.

My finals are the last week of April, but my professors are lenient with students taking professional exams. I know a lot of them allowed pre-pharmacy people to excuse the absence for the PCAT.

Thanks for your candid responses!

Well, either way you're gonna be studying during the semester, but I just think it'd be better if you had some time to solely devote to studying. If you take it at the end of May/beginning of June, then you'll have at least a month of time where the only thing you'll be doing is studying. I took my retake the first week of June. Having that month of just studying was amazing compared to doing it all while in classes.

Taking the test the first week of June is perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure you can submit your primary without the score (not 100% sure, so i'd double check that).

Also, with regards to schools you should apply to, get a copy of the online MSAR from AAMC. Use that to see schools that are in your GPA and expected MCAT range, in a location you like, have favorable OOS %s, etc. You might even want to just submit your primary to your state schools at first, then add additional schools once you get your score back.

 

[Conflagration]

Well, either way you're gonna be studying during the semester, but I just think it'd be better if you had some time to solely devote to studying. If you take it at the end of May/beginning of June, then you'll have at least a month of time where the only thing you'll be doing is studying. I took my retake the first week of June. Having that month of just studying was amazing compared to doing it all while in classes.

Taking the test the first week of June is perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure you can submit your primary without the score (not 100% sure, so i'd double check that).

Also, with regards to schools you should apply to, get a copy of the online MSAR from AAMC. Use that to see schools that are in your GPA and expected MCAT range, in a location you like, have favorable OOS %s, etc. You might even want to just submit your primary to your state schools at first, then add additional schools once you get your score back.

Alright! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂

I didn't know that you could add schools after submitting the primary.

 

[Omppu27]

Alright! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂

I didn't know that you could add schools after submitting the primary.

You absolutely can!

Feel free to PM me whenever you'd like if you have any specific questions about the application process. I know it can be very intimidating if you've never been through it before.

 

[Reinvented_Virginian]

DO - fine for June.
MD - take a year to do a SMP or DIY Post-Bacc for best results.

 

[Conflagration]

DO - fine for June.
MD - take a year to do a SMP or DIY Post-Bacc for best results.

Thank you for your reply!

I'm actually am a junior, so next year I would be a senior with a gap-year if I were to apply the cycle after this one.

I'm open to both, and I have a lot of in-states, so I'm probably going to give it a shot.