Chances/ Gap year options

[badgers136]

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I'm having trouble with trying to figure out what I should do for my gap year as well as my chances for DO.
cGPA/sGPA- 3.27/3.2. A bit of an upward trend, I was an engineering major for two years which I was lost and miserable in, and ended up with a 2.7 after two years. Switched to Biochemistry my junior year and have averaged a 3.7 the last 3 semesters.
MCAT-509
Clinical Volunteering-200 hours
Non Clinical- 100 hours
Research- summer internship at Mayo Clinic- 1 publication, 2 years in dermatology research lab
Job- working quality control for a bio manufacturing company
Started a pre-osteopathic club at school + Plenty of other ECs
Should I think of doing a postbacc in my gap year or work a clinical job to get more experience?

 

[Doc_Ock]

I'm having trouble with trying to figure out what I should do for my gap year as well as my chances for DO.
cGPA/sGPA- 3.27/3.2. A bit of an upward trend, I was an engineering major for two years which I was lost and miserable in, and ended up with a 2.7 after two years. Switched to Biochemistry my junior year and have averaged a 3.7 the last 3 semesters.
MCAT-509
Clinical Volunteering-200 hours
Non Clinical- 100 hours
Job- working quality control for a bio manufacturing company
Started a pre-osteopathic club at school + Plenty of other ECs
Should I think of doing a postbacc in my gap year or work a clinical job to get more experience?

I doubt you’d get accepted tbh. I had slightly better stats grade wise and thousands of hours more EC’s and still needed an SMP. I doubt that quality control job will ring well with adcoms.


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[I'mJustCurious]

I think your stats look fine to at least get an interview. MCAT and cGPA looks solid, but you can take extra science classes to help out your sGPA and maybe become a scribe if you are interested in that. Other than that, make sure you have shadowing hours and you shall be good!

 

[de Ribas]

Your stats ar

I'm having trouble with trying to figure out what I should do for my gap year as well as my chances for DO.
cGPA/sGPA- 3.27/3.2. A bit of an upward trend, I was an engineering major for two years which I was lost and miserable in, and ended up with a 2.7 after two years. Switched to Biochemistry my junior year and have averaged a 3.7 the last 3 semesters.
MCAT-509
Clinical Volunteering-200 hours
Non Clinical- 100 hours
Job- working quality control for a bio manufacturing company
Started a pre-osteopathic club at school + Plenty of other ECs
Should I think of doing a postbacc in my gap year or work a clinical job to get more experience?

below average, but it is possible to get interviews. I don't see you mentioning shadowing. Shadowing is a must. I would bring up both, clinical and non-clinucal hours. If possible, either or both GPA to 3.3.
Your MCAT is great for DO schools


Try newer schools.

 

[badgers136]

Your stats ar

below average, but it is possible to get interviews. I don't see you mentioning shadowing. Shadowing is a must. I would bring up both, clinical and non-clinucal hours. If possible, either or both GPA to 3.3.
Your MCAT is great for DO schools


Try newer schools.

Sorry I forgot to add shadowing. I have about 60 hours of shadowing from 4 different doctors and I will probably get more throughout the rest of this semester. If I were to take post bacc classes in the summer to bump up my GPA, would I have to wait until they were over to send in my app or could I just send in an update and apply earlier in the summer?

 

[de Ribas]

Sorry I forgot to add shadowing. I have about 60 hours of shadowing from 4 different doctors and I will probably get more throughout the rest of this semester. If I were to take post bacc classes in the summer to bump up my GPA, would I have to wait until they were over to send in my app or could I just send in an update and apply earlier in the summer?

apply when you have courses done, not while they are in progress.

Apply when you are ready.

 

[Robin-jay]

You should be fine for DO.

Also, your job won't have a negative effect on the ADCOMs. Probably neutral.

 

[edgerock24]

I'm having trouble with trying to figure out what I should do for my gap year as well as my chances for DO.
cGPA/sGPA- 3.27/3.2. A bit of an upward trend, I was an engineering major for two years which I was lost and miserable in, and ended up with a 2.7 after two years. Switched to Biochemistry my junior year and have averaged a 3.7 the last 3 semesters.
MCAT-509
Clinical Volunteering-200 hours
Non Clinical- 100 hours
Job- working quality control for a bio manufacturing company
Started a pre-osteopathic club at school + Plenty of other ECs
Should I think of doing a postbacc in my gap year or work a clinical job to get more experience?

Chances look pretty good. Apply early next cycle to 15-20 schools, add in some physician shadowing, and get a DO letter if possible. I would be surprised if you didn't get a bunch of interviews.

Edit: Just saw that you have shadowing. So yeah, you look good. Try and grab a DO letter if you can, though.

 

[festivespartan]

Your GPA is definitely below average, but not insurmountable. MCAT is really good for DOs. If I were you, I would get a clinical job and/or continue shadowing and take a post bacc course or two (and do really well) to prove that you can succeed in upper level science courses. I don't think you necessarily need a full post bacc program rather than a few DIY courses.

Sorry I forgot to add shadowing. I have about 60 hours of shadowing from 4 different doctors and I will probably get more throughout the rest of this semester. If I were to take post bacc classes in the summer to bump up my GPA, would I have to wait until they were over to send in my app or could I just send in an update and apply earlier in the summer?

Ideally, you apply when you have the official grades for courses, but you also don't want to shoot yourself in the foot by applying too late. Maybe take 1-2 courses very early in the summer and apply once you have grades for those, assuming you do well, then another 1-2 (depending on how many you take initially) and send updates when you have results for those.

 

[Robin-jay]

I doubt you’d get accepted tbh. I had slightly better stats grade wise and thousands of hours more EC’s and still needed an SMP. I doubt that quality control job will ring well with adcoms.


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Your job almost never negatively impacts ADCOMs, they are either seen as positive or neutral.

There was just a thread the other day where people who were accepted did everything from CNA, to being a waitress, to being a miner directly before being accepted.

 

[badgers136]

Your GPA is definitely below average, but not insurmountable. MCAT is really good for DOs. If I were you, I would get a clinical job and/or continue shadowing and take a post bacc course or two (and do really well) to prove that you can succeed in upper level science courses. I don't think you necessarily need a full post bacc program rather than a few DIY courses.



Ideally, you apply when you have the official grades for courses, but you also don't want to shoot yourself in the foot by applying too late. Maybe take 1-2 courses very early in the summer and apply once you have grades for those, assuming you do well, then another 1-2 (depending on how many you take initially) and send updates when you have results for those.

Yeah that's what I was planning on doing. I've been taking all upper level/ grad level science classes this last semester and will continue that this semester, I'm just wondering if a couple more upper level classes post bacc will have any effect?

 

[Cath Up]

Very slightly lower GPAs with similar upward trend here. Same MCAT. I received 8 IIs to DO schools this cycle (accepted to 2/3 interviews attended). It can be done with your stats. I did have significantly more clinical, research, and volunteer experience (~1 year each of scribing + clinical research+bench research+lab research+other research, 600+ hours volunteering). You will really really want a DO letter. I think that helped me out at multiple schools, to be considered for an interview. I only shadowed 1 DO for 10 hours to get the letter.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions regarding an application with your/our stats. Good luck!

And yes, I do think if you continue to succeed in upper level undergrad courses it will only help. Hard to say how much. But of course it would look better to see a student who is still taking classes to constantly improve- it shows dedication.

When aiming for new/lower tier schools, please make sure you would be okay with the implications of attending those programs. I realized after applying to some programs that I would rather reapply then attend them. Avoid this.

 

[festivespartan]

Yeah that's what I was planning on doing. I've been taking all upper level/ grad level science classes this last semester and will continue that this semester, I'm just wondering if a couple more upper level classes post bacc will have any effect?

It might not have a huge effect on your cGPA but the upper level sciences are the most important that ADCOMs will look at specifically when reviewing your application. If you have high marks across the board in those, that'll give them another reason to view you favorably despite a lower GPA. The DO school I'm starting at next year suggested last year (reapplicant) that I take a post bacc course not because it would boost my GPA significantly, but to prove that I was capable of consistently succeeding in upper level courses because I lacked a wide variety of courses and most of my upper level sciences were very specific to my undergrad major.

 

[Doc_Ock]

Your job almost never negatively impacts ADCOMs, they are either seen as positive or neutral.

There was just a thread the other day where people who were accepted did everything from CNA, to being a waitress, to being a miner directly before being accepted.

I never said the job would hurt. It just won’t impress (so I guess “neutral” by your scale).


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[workaholic181]

apply when you have courses done, not while they are in progress.

Apply when you are ready.

Totally second this. Having your classes done when you submit your app will save you and the schools you applied to a ton of headache.

You’re not in bad shape OP but don’t fall into the trap of wanting to apply ASAP. There is nothing wrong with taking more time and going forward with your best app. That said, I think a wide app to DO schools will likely land you interviews.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Apply broadly OP and you will get numerous interviews, and don’t just apply to newer schools. Your app is in the gray area where you can’t predict who will be interested so apply to the established schools in addition to the newer/more rural schools.