MD & DO c3.35 / s3.28 / 26 MCAT

[2wheel]

---

Members don't see this ad.

23yo, southern white male, no hardship (yep, I'm screwed )
Primarily interested in DO, but will happily go to MD if possible. Will be applying as soon as my transcripts are released from summer semester - approx. 1st week of Aug.

• Biology major, chem minor
• AACOMAS GPA is in the title: c3.35 s3.28
• AMCAS GPA is only slightly different: c3.31 s3.23
• 5th-year senior, graduating in Dec, changed major from business to bio halfway through
• 6 dropped/withdrawn classes
• MCAT is a 26 (8,8,10)
• No clinical volunteering
• 50hrs shadowing (ortho, vascular surg, neurosurgery, physical med & rehab, pediatrics)
• 1 sem. genetics research, senior year (unpublished)
• Excellent LOR from science faculty & a DO letter
• Worked 20hrs/wk for my university's nursing dept, past 3 years
• Excellent ECs: university choir, ran Div II men's cross country for 2 years, collegiate triathlon, president of my fraternity, IFC chief justice (greek judicial), officer positions in other campus groups
• Little non-clinical volunteering: approx 80hrs/yr (most of it greek-related)
• Competitive road cyclist (my 'fun time')

AL resident. Applying MD for my two in-state schools:
UAB
South Alabama

Casting a wide net with my DO choices, arranged in no particular order:
ACOM
VCOM (Virginia Campus)
LMU-DCOM
RVUCOM
DMU-COM
KCUMB-COM
AZCOM
CCOM (my DO letter is from an alumnus here)
NYIT-COM
GA-PCOM
PNWU-COM

So... assuming you didn't fall asleep reading all of that, what are my chances??
And are there any schools that I should be including/excluding from my current list? My DO list is not set in stone & I would like to add another MD school if I can.

Thanks!!!🙂

 

[frannylydon]

Grades are a little sub-par for DO schools.
Lack of clinical hours may hurt you.
6 withdrawn classes doesn't look too pretty.
Not a bad app, also not a strong one but never say never!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Clinical experience is severely lacking, which is what puts your chances low. Otherwise, I would have said you'd be fine with that school list. CCOM, NYIT and DMU are unrealistic though. You are also way far from PNWU, so unlikely for a school with regional bias.

 

[Goro]

Stick with UAB for the sole MD school. That 26 is lethal anywhere else.
For DO schools, CCOM might be a tad selective. Suggest adding the two FL schools, Pikesville, VCOM-SC, NYIT-COM-AR, and VCOM-AL.
ACOM
VCOM (Virginia Campus)
LMU-DCOM
RVUCOM
DMU-COM
KCUMB-COM
AZCOM
CCOM (my DO letter is from an alumnus here)
NYIT-COM
GA-PCOM
PNWU-COM

 

[2wheel]

Should be starting a new job within the month at the local hospital & hope to include that either in my PS or slip it into a secondary. Hopefully it will appear like I'm attempting to address one of my application's pitfalls. I've just been SO busy up until now! (I'm sure of all people, yall understand that here.)

Stick with UAB for the sole MD school. That 26 is lethal anywhere else.

So that's a 'no' recommendation on USA? I was under the impression that they were equally or less selective than UAB?

And in general, is it a good idea to apply to a brand spanking new DO school like VCOM-AL? Even though it's a part of the Edward Via group, it leaves a TON of unanswered questions in my mind about attending. I'll do a search in the meantime but if anyone has some insight here, I'd much appreciate it.

Thanks!!

 

[kthxbai]

Am I missing something here? Wouldn't the lack of clinical exposure be the kiss of death to this application regardless of MCAT?

I'd recommend to save your money and effort and reapply when you're ready, and not when you're trying to scramble an application together.

 

[Goro]

Correct, unless you have killer ECs or a compelling life story. A 26 is < the 10th %ile at USA. UAB has more wiggle room.


So that's a 'no' recommendation on USA? I was under the impression that they were equally or less selective than UAB?

It has both good and bad sides. A new school can fix something broken really fast, whereas an older and more established school might say "but that's the way we've always done it!" There's something unique about being a pioneer, so if you're intrepid, and like taking part in actually building something from nothing (which is what members of founding classes typically do) then it's worth a shot.

A suggestion: when considering any new school, inquire as to the experience of the people who are running 3rd and 4th year education, as well as those people responsible for post-grad work. You want to know that the guy helping you get into residency knows what he's doing, because you own't have any upperclassmen to help you.


And in general, is it a good idea to apply to a brand spanking new DO school like VCOM-AL? Even though it's a part of the Edward Via group, it leaves a TON of unanswered questions in my mind about attending. I'll do a search in the meantime but if anyone has some insight here, I'd much appreciate it.