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[deleted1043520]

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[sparkysparkyboomman]

Have you applied to any DO schools?

 

[Mad Jack]

Have you applied to any DO schools?

If the answer is no, pride would seem to be OP's biggest weakness.

Your GPA is very low and probably your biggest weakness overall. You are probably falling below the screens at most schools early on in the cycle and are outshined by others in your GPA range with more unique applications (since you're usually looking at intangibles once you get that low)

 

[Kardio]

GPA = 3.316, sGPA = 3.362

Your GPAs are not competitive.

2015 score: 503 (129/123/126/125)
2017 score: 508 (127/123/128/130)

Low in this subsection.

I’d recommend purchasing the MSAR to get a better feel for the academic standards of the schools you’re interested in.

 

[deleted859689]

Sorry to be frank, but I feel like you wasted so much money on 3 cycles without considering DO. GPA is lethal and so is subsection under 125 for MCAT. Shoulda come sooner 🙁

being from california is like kicking you while your down.

edit: before you pull the trigger again, has anything changed in your application since last year? If not, consider a gap year to beef your application.

 

[DokterMom]

I think @Mad Jack about nailed it... Definitely apply DO if you haven't. Rumor has it that UCLA is a grade deflator, so that was an unfortunate choice in this regard.

But - that said, if you're not even getting any interviews, you should also re-examine your personal statement and LORs. Your work experiences and research should merit a decent look...

 

[Mad Jack]

Sorry to be frank, but I feel like you wasted so much money on 3 cycles without considering DO. GPA is lethal and so is subsection under 125 for MCAT. Shoulda come sooner 🙁

being from california is like kicking you while your down.

edit: before you pull the trigger again, has anything changed in your application since last year? If not, consider a gap year to beef your application.

A gap year is going to be less useful than applying DO, since OP has already had at least two gap years

 

[deleted859689]

A gap year is going to be less useful than applying DO, since OP has already had at least two gap years

Unless they’re boning for the MD

 

[deleted1043520]

Have you applied to any DO schools?

I can't say I haven't thought about it. I think the main reason I haven't applied DO is my doubts that a DO degree is competitive enough for the field of medicine I'm looking to practice in the future.

 

[m1redsox]

I can't say I haven't thought about it. I think the main reason I haven't applied DO is my doubts that a DO degree is competitive enough for the field of medicine I'm looking to practice in the future...beggars can't be choosers it seems! I am likely going to apply DO as well as MD!

After three unsuccessful cycles of applying MD, and unless you have significantly changed something in your application since your last attempt, a fourth attempt would be a waste of time.

You need to widely, and probably exclusively, pursue DO schools at this point. If you look at many of the top-tier DO schools, they match into competitive specialties (ortho, derm, ENT) just as well as low-tier MD schools.

 

[deleted1043520]

Sorry to be frank, but I feel like you wasted so much money on 3 cycles without considering DO. GPA is lethal and so is subsection under 125 for MCAT. Shoulda come sooner 🙁

being from california is like kicking you while your down.

edit: before you pull the trigger again, has anything changed in your application since last year? If not, consider a gap year to beef your application.

It was a waste of money and more importantly time! I was just confident I'd get an interview and nail it. Planning to take some classes and the MCAT again since that seems to be the best determinate of success in medical school 🙄

I thought being from california would be more competitive! Seems I was dead wrong?!

Main things that have changed is publishing a few papers, getting more hands on clinical experience with work/volunteering, but I won't apply without taking courses and improving on the MCAT. Back to grinding!

Edit: totally "boning" for the MD but applying DO next time concurrently with MD.

 

[Mad Jack]

Hi Mad Jack,

Thank you for taking the time to provide me with this constructive criticism!

My goal of practicing in a competitive field of medicine is the main reason I haven't applied DO! I will be applying DO next time around.

There is no question my GPA is low, going to take some courses (e.g. anatomy/physiology/immunology etc) to show an upward trend.

Surprisingly, I received secondary applications from most schools, including California schools (e.g. UCLA, UCSD) whom don't send secondaries unless there is a chance of interview.

Warm regards,
neurojosh

Eh, secondaries are largely meaningless. At the end of the day you need to ask yourself, do I want to be *particular specialty* or do I want to be a physician. You haven't even done enough medicine to know what the hell you want to do. Nor have you proven you have the board scores to do so, DO or MD. Three cycles, sure. You pushed hard for the MD spot. But clearly, they aren't biting. So ask yourself if you could practice in another specialty, and if so, apply DO. If not, continue on your exercise in futility or seriously rework your app by picking up a graduate degree or extra qualification

 

[Faha]

The GPA-MCAT grid shows you have only a 1/3 chance for a MD acceptance. Those odds would be lower for a CA resident. Apply broadly to DO schools in June and submit all your secondaries by July. I suggest these schools:
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA
TUNCOM
AZCOM
PCOM
MU-COM
DMU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
CUSOM
VCOM (all 4 schools)
ACOM
UIWSOM

 

[DrStephennmnm]

My goal of practicing in a competitive field of medicine is the main reason I haven't applied DO! I will be applying DO next time around.

Not to roast you too hard but what in the world makes you think you will even be able to land a competitive specialty if you can't even get accepted to an MD school? To be frank, you sound very naive and similar to those students freshman year who want to be a "pediatric neurosurgeon" and then switched to pre-PA after taking ochem. If your goal is to be a doctor, then I hope you succeed, but it seems to be that your goal is to be a doctor WITHIN a competitive specialty. If that's the case I hate to burst your bubble but if you don't get into a decent MD your chances are very slim. Otherwise, if you want to be a doc, it's still very possible

 

[m1redsox]

do you think doing excellently in a post-bacc and improving the MCAT score would be enough of a rework? Got any examples of qualifications?

Dude, you are focusing on the wrong advice. Every single person has said to apply DO, and you should do it this cycle. I don’t think you should retake the MCAT OR do a post-bac. I think you should just apply to DO schools and get into medical school. It really won’t limit you like you think it will. You’ve been applying to med school for FIVE. YEARS. You could be in residency by now!

Doing a post-bac and an MCAT retake seems like a huge waste of time and money all to save your pride. And a 4th attempt will look extremely fishy to almost every single MD program. BUT! You’ve never applied DO! You still have a shot!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Your GPA and MCAT I think are decent for DO schools. You've wasted enough time and money for futile results rather than smartly investing it in your medical education. You've baked yourself as a non-viable applicant to many MD schools that you may have already applied to more than twice. If your pride is preventing you from considering the DO option, maybe you aren't really motivated to be a doctor but "the right doctor".

 

[deleted480308]

do you think doing excellently in a post-bacc and improving the MCAT score would be enough of a rework? Got any examples of qualifications?

The qualification you need right now is certified in being smart enough to actually apply to DO like you should have done 3 years ago.

You just gave up $600k in hubris