DO acceptance for low MCAT score?

[doctry23]

Can people who have received interview invites/acceptance with an MCAT score below 495 comment which schools they've heard back from! Thank you!

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[Angus Avagadro]

Can people who have received interview invites/acceptance with an MCAT score below 495 comment which schools they've heard back from! Thank you!

It's possible and some do get accepted. Certain factors go into it. URM status, socioeconomic status, legacy, etc..a sub 495 mcat is 35 % tile or less. A significant red flag for course and or board failures in med school.Probably better to take a year and improve your score. Depending on GPA, and consider a SMP too. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[StudentDOcter]

I had a 496 MCAT with a 3.71 cGPA and 3.64sGPA. I entered a special masters program with VCOM that is fully online. I ended up getting a 4.0 and updated my aacomas application and the interview invites started rolling in. I got 6 interview invites in total from:

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lincoln Memorial University - Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine
A.T. Still University SOMA
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

I ended up choosing VCOM (VA) since I was already in their SMP and have seen many of their classes and professors and know a few people that are current medical students there. For more information regarding my application I had 4000+ hours working as an associate scientist helping to develop pharmaceutical drugs like CAR-T cell therapy for cancer patients (leukemia and lymphoma). 150 hours of shadowing a family physician. 150 hours volunteering at the Emergency department at a nearby hospital. I also had 1,000+ hours of being president of my fraternity where we did many philanthropic events and volunteer work around the community which I'll leave out. I received a chapter president excellency reward, earned provost scholar my sophomore year, and graduated Magna Cum Laude (Dean's list in 6 out of 8 semesters). While working as an associate scientist I was promoted to our team lead overseeing many experiments and earned a spotlight award during my time working there. I hope this helps!

 

[hopefull!!]

have a buddy that got into my DO school with a 490. unfortunately he had to remediate first year and is struggling yet again this time around. Would recommend changing study methods and trying again for MCAT to see if you have the endurance and grit to make it in med school. Dont push yourself if youre not ready, take a masters if you need it. Its okay to be late to the game! best of luck 🙂

 

[Mr.Smile12]

have a buddy that got into my DO school with a 490. unfortunately he had to remediate first year and is struggling yet again this time around. Would recommend changing study methods and trying again for MCAT to see if you have the endurance and grit to make it in med school. Dont push yourself if youre not ready, take a masters if you need it. Its okay to be late to the game! best of luck 🙂

For future lurkers, a TL/DR summary:

Take your SMP year to learn how to study vs. remediate while in medical school to avoid failing out (and never becoming a doctor). In this situation the SMP is cheaper than the inability to pay off medical school debt with a wrecked career as a doctor.

 

[aamber]

have a buddy that got into my DO school with a 490. unfortunately he had to remediate first year and is struggling yet again this time around. Would recommend changing study methods and trying again for MCAT to see if you have the endurance and grit to make it in med school. Dont push yourself if youre not ready, take a masters if you need it. Its okay to be late to the game! best of luck 🙂

what DO school did he get into? I also have the same MCAT score with a 3.7 gpa and a 3.5 science gpa.

 

[dochopeful2025]

I had a 496 MCAT with a 3.71 cGPA and 3.64sGPA. I entered a special masters program with VCOM that is fully online. I ended up getting a 4.0 and updated my aacomas application and the interview invites started rolling in. I got 6 interview invites in total from:

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lincoln Memorial University - Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine
A.T. Still University SOMA
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

I ended up choosing VCOM (VA) since I was already in their SMP and have seen many of their classes and professors and know a few people that are current medical students there. For more information regarding my application I had 4000+ hours working as an associate scientist helping to develop pharmaceutical drugs like CAR-T cell therapy for cancer patients (leukemia and lymphoma). 150 hours of shadowing a family physician. 150 hours volunteering at the Emergency department at a nearby hospital. I also had 1,000+ hours of being president of my fraternity where we did many philanthropic events and volunteer work around the community which I'll leave out. I received a chapter president excellency reward, earned provost scholar my sophomore year, and graduated Magna Cum Laude (Dean's list in 6 out of 8 semesters). While working as an associate scientist I was promoted to our team lead overseeing many experiments and earned a spotlight award during my time working there. I hope this helps!

Did you get any II before your smp? A 4.0 is really impressive. Does that usually take precedence over the mcat?

 

[DrFutureDO]

Many DO schools don’t even look at those below 498 so a 4.0 in an SMP won’t even get you looked except for the brand new schools begging for applicants.

 

[TwoDogMed]

FAHA posted this last year.

"The GPA-MCAT grid for DO applicants shows that ~40% of applicants matriculated to a DO school with your stats. That percentage will be higher for the 2025 class since there have been at least 8 DO schools that have opened since that data was released 5 years ago. The schools do need to fill their classes."

OP had a 495 MCAT.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

FAHA posted this last year.

"The GPA-MCAT grid for DO applicants shows that ~40% of applicants matriculated to a DO school with your stats. That percentage will be higher for the 2025 class since there have been at least 8 DO schools that have opened since that data was released 5 years ago. The schools do need to fill their classes."

OP had a 495 MCAT.

Yeah, I would agree with that statement. I've seen students in FB groups with <498 MCAT getting multiple interviews

 

[StudentDOcter]

Did you get any II before your smp? A 4.0 is really impressive. Does that usually take precedence over the mcat?

I had 0 interview invites but when I updated my transcript with my 4.0 for the first semester in the SMP all the interview invites started rolling in. MCAT is supposed to be an indicator of how well prepared you are for medical school but nothing is a better indicator than literally taking the same classes as medical students and doing well. I would definitely say your performance in an SMP stands out more than an MCAT score. Its possible some schools care more about MCAT scores but overall an SMP is a stronger indicator. That's typically why if you do bad in an SMP you shatter your chances of getting into any med school. Personally, I got a 496 on my MCAT which isn't considered a good score but a 4.0 in my SMP. I'm at the end of my first year in medical school now and I also have a 4.0 GPA now. Just something to think about

 

[StudentDOcter]

Many DO schools don’t even look at those below 498 so a 4.0 in an SMP won’t even get you looked except for the brand new schools begging for applicants.

Generally it depends on the linkage of the SMP program with other schools as well as the requirements of the program itself. I had a 496 MCAT and out of the 6 II invites I got, 3 were from established DO schools.

 

[dial1010usa]

Mine was between 498-500 MCAt score, and took 3 times with exact same score. Done SMP and accepted at the same school and I'm a 3rd year resident. Just passed my American Board exam this week. It's doable but I'm not a good test taker and that is my problem.