Chances of getting into DO programs?

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kfox926

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Hi everyone! I'm a nontraditional student; married with a 4 year old and working full time as a pharm tech for 8 years. I have over 100 hours of shadowing multiple doctors (MD and DO). I'm doing research in my undergrad, participated in my health science club for 2 years now and I have a cgpa of 3.14 and a sgpa of 3.07. I still have two semesters remaining with all upper division sciences. And I took 3 semesters of classes at a community college with a cgpa of 3.8. I'm not sure how heavily those grades weigh in the whole picture since it's a community college. I'm taking the MCAT spring 2018 after I graduate since Bio chem will be in my last semester.
Based on this information, do I seem like a decent applicant for DO programs?

Thanks!!!


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Might find some luck with newer schools if your MCAT performance is strong, but overall, I'd say it's a poor application. The sGPA is barely over a 3 and it comes after a huge GPA drop from community college.
 
I didn't take any science at the community college as I was advised from the college I transferred to. It was all gen eds


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Thanks for the input. Hopefully I can continue to get As for my next two semesters until I graduate.


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Unfortunately @AlbinoHawk DO is right, it's not a strong set of stats as they stand. Community college grades are weighed just the same as 4-year when it comes to GPA. A 3.14c / 3.0s is going to put you far below the average applicant, and two semesters of As is not going to bring it up terribly much.

Did those community college classes come first and you went from a 3.8 there to a 3.1 at a 4-year? I'm a little unsure with your wording.
 
Yes, I started part time at a community college after I had my son and once I felt back in the swing of school, I transferred to a 4 year university. I have met with admissions staff at osteopathic colleges for their input on me personally, also bringing with me a personal statement which they told me is very moving. I may not have the best grades but I'm hoping they can come up a little and at the schools that I have met with, they know somewhat of my back story and that will help me.


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I would say you need a strong MCAT (507+) and need to do excellent in your next several semesters. I agree with @AlbinoHawk DO that the drop from a community college to a university does not look that well. However, provided your MCAT is stellar (and balanced) and the rest of your application is strong, you stand a chance. I would apply at the newer D.O. schools as they may be more forgiving of the lower cGPA. I am not an expert, so my advice should not be taken all the way to the bank. Do you know why your sGPA is so low? (As in why did you do bad in the science pre requisites).
 
When I transferred to my university I took my first biology course and I earned a C. That semester I also had my gallbladder removed. (I intend on retaking that my last semester). My other two Cs are gen chem. It was just very tough for me bc I never took chemistry in high school (another part of my back story explained in my personal statement). So, I still have two semesters full of science credits 18 credits next semester and 17 credits my last semester, all for my major.


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Also, I've been working full time and on call at my pharmacy to help contribute financially to my household. This past semester I was able to cut back tremendously on my working and focus on school and my son and I'd really showed in my grades.


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Were you aware of the DO grade replacement policy? If you retake any course for equal or greater credits, DO schools will only consider the second grade earned. It might take you a little longer, but if you retook enough poor-grade courses to bring up your cGPA and sGPA to the average you'd have a shot.
 
I do know about that. And I am retaking a bio course my last semester. But why about a post-bacc program like what LECOM offers? If I don't get in my first round I was thinking about doing their program because if I maintain a 3.0 in that program they guarantee you an interview at LECOM.


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Grade replacement will give you more bang for your buck. It's a faster route to becoming a physician.
 
Thank you for your advice. I plan on retaking a gen chem and a bio which were two Cs. I only have 4 Cs on my transcript, so that will leave only 2. And one is a history gen ed.


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I also have a GPA app that I found and I uploaded all of my grades and it compiled a cgpa of all my classes and that is a bit higher at a 3.34. I know aacomas makes their own GPA once they get all transcripts so I was trying to get a feel of what that would look like.


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kfox926 said:
I do know about that. And I am retaking a bio course my last semester. But why about a post-bacc program like what LECOM offers? If I don't get in my first round I was thinking about doing their program because if I maintain a 3.0 in that program they guarantee you an interview at LECOM.


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Click to expand...

kfox926 said:
Thank you for your advice. I plan on retaking a gen chem and a bio which were two Cs. I only have 4 Cs on my transcript, so that will leave only 2. And one is a history gen ed.


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Click to expand...

kfox926 said:
I also have a GPA app that I found and I uploaded all of my grades and it compiled a cgpa of all my classes and that is a bit higher at a 3.34. I know aacomas makes their own GPA once they get all transcripts so I was trying to get a feel of what that would look like.


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Click to expand...
kfox926 said:
I do know about that. And I am retaking a bio course my last semester. But why about a post-bacc program like what LECOM offers? If I don't get in my first round I was thinking about doing their program because if I maintain a 3.0 in that program they guarantee you an interview at LECOM.


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Click to expand...

I don't personally see the point of spending 30k for a chance an an interview when you could do grade replacement and apply broadly with likely more success. Did your cGPA fall from 3.8 to 3.34 just on account of four Cs?

Someone improved on an old AMCAS/AACOMAS calculator in this thread https://forums.studentdoctor.net/th...s-aacomas-gpa-calculator-spreadsheet.1231830/ Put your classes in there and then see what grade replacements do for you.
 
For the majority yes, all my other grades are mostly As and Bs. I will use that calculator today and I will post what it said.


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The cgpa is 3.34 and sgpa is 3.18 according to that calculator. If I retake the two classes that I said, it will change to a cgpa of 3.47 and sgpa of 3.42 and I still have two semesters to go.


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kfox926 said:
The cgpa is 3.34 and sgpa is 3.18 according to that calculator. If I retake the two classes that I said, it will change to a cgpa of 3.47 and sgpa of 3.42 and I still have two semesters to go.


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Click to expand...

According to the AACOM report for the 2015 entering class, mean GPA was 3.47 for applicants (same for entering 2016 report there) and 3.55 for matriculants. Mean of 3.38 sGPA for 2016 applicant pool. http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2015_mat.pdf?sfvrsn=8

Assuming you do your grade replacement and continue to do well to bring up that science GPA as much as possible, it looks like you'd be in range already without a post-bac. Mean MCAT score for 2016 entering class is 499 (median 500), so that's the hurdle to go after now. With that and a strong application you should have your shot. Good luck to you.
 
Thank you so much for your guidance! I will work as hard as I can to achieve my dream to be a physician!!!


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Eccesignum said:
According to the AACOM report for the 2015 entering class, mean GPA was 3.47 for applicants (same for entering 2016 report there) and 3.55 for matriculants. Mean of 3.38 sGPA for 2016 applicant pool. http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2015_mat.pdf?sfvrsn=8

Assuming you do your grade replacement and continue to do well to bring up that science GPA as much as possible, it looks like you'd be in range already without a post-bac. Mean MCAT score for 2016 entering class is 499 (median 500), so that's the hurdle to go after now. With that and a strong application you should have your shot. Good luck to you.
Click to expand...

I'm interested to see what happens with DO applicant/matriculant stats after the policy shift. Certainly they're going to go down - but by how much? My guess is a lot.
 
Miami_Postbac said:
I'm interested to see what happens with DO applicant/matriculant stats after the policy shift. Certainly they're going to go down - but by how much? My guess is a lot.
Click to expand...
I just don't understand people in other threads that think this will have no affect. Narrowing the applicant field and opening new schools in droves is going to be a disaster for admission stats. Do you really think Lucom is going to attract high quality MD borderline applicants lol.
 
Miami_Postbac said:
And to top it off, DO has done something a) underhanded and b) that increases uncertainty in working with them. That's going to drive some people off.

Stats are gonna go down. By at least a quarter point, maybe more.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. I have been really put off by this almost to the point I rather take another year and only apply MD. I really think DO schools have signed their death warrants. Stats will prob be close to podiatry GPA with a higher mcat.
 
There are some amazing nontrads I know (with impressive former careers) that would have barely over a 3.2 without the grade replacement. I really hope DO schools will still take close consideration to these applicants, who in my opinion are usually some of the best.
 
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