Chances, school list & gap year advice, please!

[oitangerine]

Here are my stats right now as a fourth year undergrad student...

GPAs
MD calculation
year-by-year, sGPA: 3.00, 3.03, 4.00
year-by-year, cGPA: 3.01, 3.21, 3.74
running, sGPA: 3.01, 3.17, 3.08
running, cGPA: 3.10, 3.15, 3.27
DO calculation
year-by-year, sGPA: 2.53, 3.03, 4.00
year-by-year, cGPA: 2.97, 3.21, 3.74
running, sGPA: 2.53, 2.80, 3.04
running, cGPA: 3.07, 3.13, 3.26
(please note- forgot my physics grades, so numbers are different from original post)

MCATs
None; plan on taking it this March. Aiming for 29-30, current tests are ~ 24-6.

Clinical Volunteer Activities (210 hours)
3 semesters: general hospital and a children's hospital (2-3 hours/week)
1 year: volunteer to assist someone who is blind and diabetic with BSL readings & exercise, mostly did weekend mornings (0.5-1.5 hours/week)
1 semester: health coach/volunteer at local clinic in a mostly medically underserved poupulation; involved going over medications with patient and following up with them [called to see if they improved/worsened] after a few weeks; noted their health history and talked to their doctor of any changes (2 hours/week)

Physician Shadowing (67 hours)
MD:
Pediatrics - 9 hours
Primary Care - 13 hours
Internal Medicine - 18 hours
Developmental Pediatrics - 18 hours
Sports Medicine & Rehab - 9 hours
DO:
none; have contacted physicians around my area and have not heard from them yet... OB/GYN, Primary care, geriatrics, sports med.

Research
3 years: intern at a research lab focusing on wood chemistry (10-15 hours/week)
1 year: student worker at a tissue bank (10-15 hours/week)

Non-Clinical Volunteer Activities
6 years: volunteer at local homeless center

Leadership
As a student peer mentor, I met with a class of 16-20 students and led/co-led discussion activities
Co-chair of communications committee in pre-med org for at least 1 year

Employment
Summer 2012, 2013: summer counselor for bioscience department; in 2013 was given duties as an outreach coordinator and was a part of an interviewing panel for a coordinator position for a "science-themed" dorm
1 year: student worker at a tissue bank (10-15 hours/week)
1 year (still employed): secretary for a blind researcher for his various projects, grants, etc.; assisted in finding research articles for his research, which involves lowering costs for chronically ill patients while

Other
4 years active member in an Asian-American student org
1.5 years active member in pre-health student org; co-chair in one of the committees for 1 year
2 semesters as student peer mentor for intro biology course for freshmen
in April 2012- public research presentation at science symposium
Conversational Spanish
Piano player for 15 years
WI resident in state school

LORs
Science professor (physics) - possibly good
Employer who hired me as a camp counselor - excellent
Classics professor - very very good, if not excellent
Research Lab PI - excellent

updated 19/01/14
=====

Looking into MD and DO schools and even the Carribbean, my gut is telling me that it's a far stretch for MD, possible for DO and/or Carrib if I re-take my C courses (scattered across chem, bio, and non-sci courses) or do post-bacc/grad. DO schools are my preference, and I'm open to the Carribbean. Overall I feel like I should focus more on courses and study well for the MCAT than on ECs... I was thinking of focusing on maintaining the upwards GPA trend and MCAT this year, graduate in the fall, apply/do post-bacc, and then apply for med school. Somewhere in-between is DO shadowing and continuing volunteering. An advisor told me that DO schools might look down on research because it's more MD-oriented. :/

What is my current stance, and what else would you recommend to make me a stronger applicant? Should I look more heavily into the gap year, apply straight to grad school, or go apply for this cycle's med school applicants? Does research experience downplay a DO application a lot? Should I also retake courses I've withdrawn (one biochem, one physiology [the latter due to family emergency])? When all's said and done, which schools should I look into?

Thank you in advance for the input and advice!

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[Catalystik]

Here are my stats right now as a fourth year undergrad student...

GPAs
MD - cGPA 3.31, sGPA 3.09
DO - cGPA 3.37, sGPA 3.06

MCATs
None; plan on taking it this March.

Clinical Volunteer Activities (210 hours)
3 semesters: general hospital and a children's hospital (2-3 hours/week)
1 year: volunteer to assist someone who is blind and diabetic with BSL readings & exercise, mostly did weekend mornings (0.5-1.5 hours/week)
1 semester: health coach/volunteer at local clinic in a mostly medically underserved poupulation; involved going over medications with patient and following up with them [called to see if they improved/worsened] after a few weeks; noted their health history and talked to their doctor of any changes (2 hours/week)

Physician Shadowing (67 hours)
MD:
Pediatrics - 9 hours
Primary Care - 13 hours
Internal Medicine - 18 hours
Developmental Pediatrics - 18 hours
Sports Medicine & Rehab - 9 hours
DO:
none; have contacted physicians around my area and have not heard from them yet... OB/GYN, Primary care, geriatrics, sports med.

Research
3 years: intern at a research lab focusing on wood chemistry (10-15 hours/week)
1 year: student worker at a tissue bank (10-15 hours/week)

Non-Clinical Volunteer Activities
6 years: volunteer at local homeless center

Leadership
As a student peer mentor, I met with a class of 16-20 students and led/co-led discussion activities
Co-chair of communications committee in pre-med org for at least 1 year

Employment
Summer 2012, 2013: summer counselor for bioscience department; in 2013 was given duties as an outreach coordinator and was a part of an interviewing panel for a coordinator position for a "science-themed" dorm
1 year: student worker at a tissue bank (10-15 hours/week)
1 year (still employed): secretary for a blind researcher for his various projects, grants, etc.; assisted in finding research articles for his research, which involves lowering costs for chronically ill patients while

Other
4 years active member in an Asian-American student org
1.5 years active member in pre-health student org; co-chair in one of the committees for 1 year
2 semesters as student peer mentor for intro biology course for freshmen
in April 2012- public research presentation at science symposium
Conversational Spanish
Piano player for 15 years
WI resident in state school

=====

Looking into MD and DO schools and even the Carribbean, my gut is telling me that it's a far stretch for MD, possible for DO and/or Carrib if I re-take my C courses (scattered across chem, bio, and non-sci courses) or do post-bacc/grad. DO schools are my preference, and I'm open to the Carribbean. Overall I feel like I should focus more on courses and study well for the MCAT than on ECs... I was thinking of focusing on maintaining the upwards GPA trend and MCAT this year, graduate in the fall, apply/do post-bacc, and then apply for med school. Somewhere in-between is DO shadowing and continuing volunteering. An advisor told me that DO schools might look down on research because it's more MD-oriented. :/

What is my current stance, and what else would you recommend to make me a stronger applicant? Should I look more heavily into the gap year, apply straight to grad school, or go apply for this cycle's med school applicants? Does research experience downplay a DO application a lot? Should I also retake courses I've withdrawn (one biochem, one physiology [the latter due to family emergency])? When all's said and done, which schools should I look into?

Thank you in advance for the input and advice!

DO schools are not going to "look down" on your research activities, and it will not have a negative effect on a DO application.

Your ECs are very good in general and other than getting in enough DO shadowing to get a good LOR, I have no suggestions.

It's difficult to give the best advice without knowing if your MCAT score will help compensate for the negative perception that your low sGPA will give. We also don't know if your most recent year-by-year GPAs constitute an "upwards GPA trend" already.

Retaking the lower science grades and any dismally low nonscience classes, plus Biochem and Physiology, seems a good way to go to better appeal to DO schools (being sure the credits are the same or greater to invoke the grade forgiveness policy). For MD, considering an SMP would be the most time efficient, if you can afford it, as getting your sGPA into a reasonable range with postbac undergrad coursework would take a long time. Of course for the investment to be worthwhile, you'd need to earn a 3.7+ GPA.

 

[oitangerine]

DO schools are not going to "look down" on your research activities, and it will not have a negative effect on a DO application.

Your ECs are very good in general and other than getting in enough DO shadowing to get a good LOR, I have no suggestions.

It's difficult to give the best advice without knowing if your MCAT score will help compensate for the negative perception that your low sGPA will give. We also don't know if your most recent year-by-year GPAs constitute an "upwards GPA trend" already.

Retaking the lower science grades and any dismally low nonscience classes, plus Biochem and Physiology, seems a good way to go to better appeal to DO schools (being sure the credits are the same or greater to invoke the grade forgiveness policy). For MD, considering an SMP would be the most time efficient, if you can afford it, as getting your sGPA into a reasonable range with postbac undergrad coursework would take a long time. Of course for the investment to be worthwhile, you'd need to earn a 3.7+ GPA.

Okay, thank you!

The very first time I took a practice MCAT was really below average. Now that I'm taking the time to study and prepare, the practice test scores were 24-26. I'm aiming for a 29-30 on the real thing, hopefully. As soon as I get home from work I'll update this post and the main one with for the trends.

Would I have to retake the same courses I withdrew/dropped/C'd at the same institution, or would it be possible to take it at another college? I was thinking of extending my graduation to next fall or spring if only to replace my o-chem C/BCs as well as re-try biochem and physiology, both of which I had dropped. I want to take an anatomy and physiology course (2 semesters, with lab) that was offered at a different school but fulfills the two courses that would help out with MCAT [physiology] and was appealing to DO schools [anatomy = recommended].

 

[Catalystik]

Would I have to retake the same courses I withdrew/dropped/C'd at the same institution, or would it be possible to take it at another college? I was thinking of extending my graduation to next fall or spring if only to replace my o-chem C/BCs as well as re-try biochem and physiology, both of which I had dropped. I want to take an anatomy and physiology course (2 semesters, with lab) that was offered at a different school but fulfills the two courses that would help out with MCAT [physiology] and was appealing to DO schools [anatomy = recommended].

Retakes need not be at the same institution as the original class.

 

[oitangerine]

Retakes need not be at the same institution as the original class.

Does that apply for getting letters of recommendation from science/non-science professors as well?

Here are my GPA trends:
MD calculation
year-by-year, sGPA: 3.00, 3.03, 4.00
year-by-year, cGPA: 3.01, 3.21, 3.74
running, sGPA: 3.01, 3.17, 3.08
running, cGPA: 3.10, 3.15, 3.27
DO calculation
year-by-year, sGPA: 2.53, 3.03, 4.00
year-by-year, cGPA: 2.97, 3.21, 3.74
running, sGPA: 2.53, 2.80, 3.04
running, cGPA: 3.07, 3.13, 3.26


Thank you for your advice; I truly appreciate it!!

 

[Catalystik]

Does that apply for getting letters of recommendation from science/non-science professors as well?

Here are my GPA trends:
MD calculation
year-by-year, sGPA: 3.00, 3.03, 4.00
year-by-year, cGPA: 3.01, 3.21, 3.74
running, sGPA: 3.01, 3.17, 3.08
running, cGPA: 3.10, 3.15, 3.27
DO calculation
year-by-year, sGPA: 2.53, 3.03, 4.00
year-by-year, cGPA: 2.97, 3.21, 3.74
running, sGPA: 2.53, 2.80, 3.04
running, cGPA: 3.07, 3.13, 3.26


Thank you for your advice; I truly appreciate it!!

LORs can come from either school.

That is a nice very upward grade swing. Is the running sGPA MD calculation correct? It's funny it dropped down the last year when you got a 4.00 sGPA. And the running cGPA first year might have some numbers reversed?