cGPA:3.5, sGPA:3.3, MCAT:25

[smith7685]

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What are my chances for UC Davis?

To clarify, I got a 10 in Bio and 10 verbal and 5 in physical sciences, with an S on the written .

I also hold a masters in human physiology from university of oregon and PhD in exercise physiology from ohio state. Through these degrees I have 3 first author manuscripts in high impact physiology journals and 3 currently in peer review. I worked as a clinical exercise physiologist in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitatiom for 3 years and a cardiology technician for 2 at my local hospital. My letter writers are my former adviser and two committee members who are well known DVM/PhDs. I'm applying to medical schools because I miss clinical interaction and believe a medical degree will highly complement my current biomedical research agenda.

What are my chances at UC Davis and UC San Diego? I'm also thinking of the following DO schools: Touro, WesternU and Pacific Northwest.

I'm currently 32 and have just been hired as human physiology faculty at a division 1 school here in the west. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[Ironmandoc]

Exactly zero.

 

[Ironmandoc]

You have no chances of getting into an MD program with your low gpa and extremely low MCAT, even less chance at tough UC schools. Your best shot is DO schools. Don't waste your time or money applying MD. Unfortunately that's all that you'd be doing...

 

[NonTraditional3]

You have no chances of getting into an MD program with your low gpa and extremely low MCAT, even less chance at tough UC schools. Your best shot is DO schools. Don't waste your time or money applying MD. Unfortunately that's all that you'd be doing...

Damn, pretty harsh.

 

[moneytree]

Exactly zero.

Maybe not exactly zero, but probably under 1%? And a little higher if you're a URM.

I just screened MDapps for you, to look for people that were accepted to UCD with <28 MCAT and <3.5 sGPA. Excluding all the bogus results, there are only 2 people with those stats that were accepted. And one was a black male (URM). The other didn't state her race/ethnicity, but I'd guess she's also a URM.

Good luck.

 

[Ironmandoc]

Maybe not exactly zero, but probably under 1%? And a little higher if you're a URM.

I just screened MDapps for you, to look for people that were accepted to UCD with <28 MCAT and <3.5 sGPA. Excluding all the bogus results, there are only 2 people with those stats that were accepted. And one was a black male (URM). The other didn't state her race/ethnicity, but I'd guess she's also a URM.

Good luck.

Also, a 5 subsection score will get an applicant AUTOMATICALLY screened out pre-secondary.

 

[moneytree]

&#8192;

 

[iforget2]

Exactly zero.

To be frank, he is correct. Maybe retake the mcat if possible.

 

[flodhi1]

With a 5 on PS, I would agree with the rest your chances for MD are < 1 %

 

[MedPR]

You have no chances of getting into an MD program with your low gpa and extremely low MCAT, even less chance at tough UC schools. Your best shot is DO schools. Don't waste your time or money applying MD. Unfortunately that's all that you'd be doing...

+1

Damn, pretty harsh.

Facts are facts.

Maybe not exactly zero, but probably under 1%? And a little higher if you're a URM.

I just screened MDapps for you, to look for people that were accepted to UCD with <28 MCAT and <3.5 sGPA. Excluding all the bogus results, there are only 2 people with those stats that were accepted. And one was a black male (URM). The other didn't state her race/ethnicity, but I'd guess she's also a URM.

Good luck.

You missed the part where the OP has a 5 in a section.

Also, a 5 subsection score will get an applicant AUTOMATICALLY screened out pre-secondary.

+1

 

[BigBlueBear]

No offense, but how in the world does someone get a Ph.D. if they can only get a 5 in PS? Seems like even an hour or two of studying could get you above that...

 

[NonTraditional3]

No offense, but how in the world does someone get a Ph.D. if they can only get a 5 in PS? Seems like even an hour or two of studying could get you above that...

Agree. It probably be more acceptable at a DO school, if that 5 was in VR instead of PS or BS. In any case; retake retake retake. S2NED has an acclaimed study schedule. I don't have the link, as I am on a mobile, but it's pretty god damn comprehensive, so I'd check it out. Retake MCAT, destroy it. feel free to PM me for advice; I've just about abandoned my social life since New Years to Study for this exam, so I have lotttttttts to give haha

 

[Temperature101]

No offense, but how in the world does someone get a Ph.D. if they can only get a 5 in PS? Seems like even an hour or two of studying could get you above that...

That says a lot about non-science Ph.D degrees...That is why most people put no value on these degree anymore.

 

[flodhi1]

That says a lot about non-science Ph.D degrees...That is why most people put no value on these degree anymore.

Science is the end all be all right? as long as you know science who cares about anything else....you really need to open your horizons. Science is important but that does not DEVALUE non-science degrees.

OP in my opinion PS is the easiest section, you need to look into SN2ed's study guide. He uses the Berkeley review books which are great for the PS section. I went from a 5 on my diagnostic to a 12 on the real deal.

 

[Temperature101]

Science is the end all be all right? as long as you know science who cares about anything else....you really need to open your horizons. Science is important but that does not DEVALUE non-science degrees.

OP in my opinion PS is the easiest section, you need to look into SN2ed's study guide. He uses the Berkeley review books which are great for the PS section. I went from a 5 on my diagnostic to a 12 on the real deal.

I am not against non-science Ph.D but I am just saying that I know many who don't give respect to non-science Ph.D specially if it is not from a reputable university.

 

[smith7685]

No offense, but how in the world does someone get a Ph.D. if they can only get a 5 in PS? Seems like even an hour or two of studying could get you above that...

You must realize I haven't had physics in over 6 years. I was never good at it to begin with.

My PhD was in exercise physiology, but my research is biomedical in nature as was my dissertation and publications. So it is far from a "non-science" PhD.

I'm just going to apply for DO schools. I do have a full time job that would preclude my studying for the time it takes to change the score, and I'd rather not have to deal with that test again. If anything, I'll just have to settle on being a non-physician scientist.

Thanks for the frank advice!

 

[chachabing]

You must realize I haven't had physics in over 6 years. I was never good at it to begin with.

My PhD was in exercise physiology, but my research is biomedical in nature as was my dissertation and publications. So it is far from a "non-science" PhD.

I'm just going to apply for DO schools. I do have a full time job that would preclude my studying for the time it takes to change the score, and I'd rather not have to deal with that test again. If anything, I'll just have to settle on being a non-physician scientist.

Thanks for the frank advice!

I think you can be a "physician-scientist" without the letters MD after your name. DOs aren't physicians in the traditional sense of having a medical degree, yet still help their patients in the same way as traditional MDs. Plus, the gap between capabilities of MDs and DOs is narrowing from what I've read online (someone feel free to correct me on this). I think the DO will greatly contribute to your research, as having more knowledge about how the human body works can only give you more insight. Also, I think your PhD in exercise phys. meshes well with the DO philosophy of "holistic" care and focusing on the musculoskeletal system. I really think there's not a huge difference other than not being able to represent yourself as MD/PhD. just my (a little more than) 2 cents!

 

[Ost3oclast]

I think you can be a "physician-scientist" without the letters MD after your name. DOs aren't physicians in the traditional sense of having a medical degree, yet still help their patients in the same way as traditional MDs. Plus, the gap between capabilities of MDs and DOs is narrowing from what I've read online (someone feel free to correct me on this). I think the DO will greatly contribute to your research, as having more knowledge about how the human body works can only give you more insight. Also, I think your PhD in exercise phys. meshes well with the DO philosophy of "holistic" care and focusing on the musculoskeletal system. I really think there's not a huge difference other than not being able to represent yourself as MD/PhD. just my (a little more than) 2 cents!

DO's have medical degrees man. They go through med school, residency and many take the USMLE to get into allo residency at that. Dont spread misinformation. There is enough of it on these forums.

 

[MedPR]

I think you can be a "physician-scientist" without the letters MD after your name. DOs aren't physicians in the traditional sense of having a medical degree, yet still help their patients in the same way as traditional MDs. Plus, the gap between capabilities of MDs and DOs is narrowing from what I've read online (someone feel free to correct me on this). I think the DO will greatly contribute to your research, as having more knowledge about how the human body works can only give you more insight. Also, I think your PhD in exercise phys. meshes well with the DO philosophy of "holistic" care and focusing on the musculoskeletal system. I really think there's not a huge difference other than not being able to represent yourself as MD/PhD. just my (a little more than) 2 cents!

Lol wut

DO's have medical degrees man. They go through med school, residency and many take the USMLE to get into allo residency at that. Dont spread misinformation. There is enough of it on these forums.

+1.

 

[LPpostbacc]

You have no chances of getting into an MD program with your low gpa and extremely low MCAT, even less chance at tough UC schools. Your best shot is DO schools. Don't waste your time or money applying MD. Unfortunately that's all that you'd be doing...

Set aside the 25 composite score, the 5 on a section will take you out of the running. Can't have that.

 

[Temperature101]

What are my chances for UC Davis?

To clarify, I got a 10 in Bio and 10 verbal and 5 in physical sciences, with an S on the written .

I also hold a masters in human physiology from university of oregon and PhD in exercise physiology from ohio state. Through these degrees I have 3 first author manuscripts in high impact physiology journals and 3 currently in peer review. I worked as a clinical exercise physiologist in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitatiom for 3 years and a cardiology technician for 2 at my local hospital. My letter writers are my former adviser and two committee members who are well known DVM/PhDs. I'm applying to medical schools because I miss clinical interaction and believe a medical degree will highly complement my current biomedical research agenda.

What are my chances at UC Davis and UC San Diego? I'm also thinking of the following DO schools: Touro, WesternU and Pacific Northwest.

I'm currently 32 and have just been hired as human physiology faculty at a division 1 school here in the west. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

That 5 in PS will basically kill your application. You should be able to increase your score substantailly if you retake since PS is arguablely the easiest section in the MCAT.

 

[411309]

lol I wouldnt call a 25 an "extremely low score" since its the average mcat score. some people need to remove the stick from their butts...

and i like how that one guy said DOs dont get medical degrees...lol...

 

[NonTraditional3]

lol I wouldnt call a 25 an "extremely low score" since its the average mcat score. some people need to remove the stick from their butts...

and i like how that one guy said DOs dont get medical degrees...lol...

They don't.

MD. Medicin&#230; Doctor. Latin. Eons old.

DO. Doctor of Osteopathy. Centuries at best.

So technically, they don't get medical degrees.

 

[Docility]

They don't.

MD. Medicinæ Doctor. Latin. Eons old.

DO. Doctor of Osteopathy. Centuries at best.

So technically, they don't get medical degrees.

Right. 🙄

 

[occams_razor]

That says a lot about non-science Ph.D degrees...That is why most people put no value on these degree anymore.

just because someone has a non-science Ph.D and performed poorly on the MCAT doesn't really say a lot about non-science PhDs in general; that would be a huge generalization. there are many brilliant people in non-science PhD programs. my girlfriend is getting a non-science PhD from an Ivy. her program is very competitive and she could have easily gotten into a top med school if that's the route she had pursued. she had a 4.0 from a top 20 undergrad uni (she took a fair amount of science classes too, A's in all of them..) and is by far the smartest person I know.

edit: I just saw that the OP actually does have a science PhD

 

[occams_razor]

They don't.

MD. Medicinæ Doctor. Latin. Eons old.

DO. Doctor of Osteopathy. Centuries at best.

So technically, they don't get medical degrees.

dude, no, haha

 

[coolingglasses]

I think you can be a "physician-scientist" without the letters MD after your name. DOs aren't physicians in the traditional sense of having a medical degree, yet still help their patients in the same way as traditional MDs. Plus, the gap between capabilities of MDs and DOs is narrowing from what I've read online (someone feel free to correct me on this). I think the DO will greatly contribute to your research, as having more knowledge about how the human body works can only give you more insight. Also, I think your PhD in exercise phys. meshes well with the DO philosophy of "holistic" care and focusing on the musculoskeletal system. I really think there's not a huge difference other than not being able to represent yourself as MD/PhD. just my (a little more than) 2 cents!

They don't.

MD. Medicinæ Doctor. Latin. Eons old.

DO. Doctor of Osteopathy. Centuries at best.

So technically, they don't get medical degrees.

No, it's Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. That is a medical degree.

lol I wouldnt call a 25 an "extremely low score" since its the average mcat score. some people need to remove the stick from their butts...

and i like how that one guy said DOs dont get medical degrees...lol...

The reason a 25 sucks for him is because he's got a 5 PS. People have a tough enough time getting away with a low verbal score, that's probably not gonna fly lol. Generally speaking a 25 isn't bad for DO. But with that GPA it's quite bad for MD.

 

[ValentineLissar]

+1
People who get into DO schools with a 25 have a balanced MCAT with the subsection scores greater than 5.
An example might be 8, 8, 9 or something.

But think of it this way... you got a 25 with one subsection being 5. That means for your other two sections you had to get 10. If you can just boost that 5 to a 7 you're golden for a lot of the DO schools out there.

 

[Skeeks]

I really think there's not a huge difference other than not being able to represent yourself as MD/PhD. just my (a little more than) 2 cents!

There really is NO difference other than the alphabet considering you can get a DO/PhD at many Osteopathic Schools. Physician scientist is just as much an option as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine as it is for a Medical Doctor, and you can get into the same residencies.

 

[user3]

You are fine even with the 5 PS for DO schools!

 

[Arijos0222]

You are fine even with the 5 PS for DO schools!

An acquaintance of mine got into three DO schools with a 5 in PS too

 

[prindlks]

They don't.

MD. Medicin&#230; Doctor. Latin. Eons old.

DO. Doctor of Osteopathy. Centuries at best.

So technically, they don't get medical degrees.

WOW!!!! That quote is not only way off base but is totally insulting to DO's that take the same courses, may take the same boards (or equivalent) and residencies.

Back on topic, def possible for a DO school and maybe an MD if they actually look at your application without being screened out. Good luck 🙂