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You have an excellent chance for an MD or DO acceptance based on your stats.Hey guys I am sorry to post a similar message as I have before, but this one concerns something a little different. Would I be wasting my time applying to DO schools due to averageish clinical/volunteer work and would my research background turn off DO admissions committees?
Male, non-URM, Maryland resident but went to school at a large public university in the rust belt. 3.88 cGPA, 3.86 BCPM. 35r MCAT (retook from a 31q).
Been out of school for a few years, did a post-bac research fellowship at NIH. 4 total papers - one small first author paper from NIH, one 3rd author review paper from NIH, and two 3rd author publications from my research involvement as an undergrad (also won research award at my college for poster presentation).
Did undergrad research for 3 years and was a teaching assistant for a lab class for 2 years. Also did various other small things like intramural sports, etc.
Will have approx 180 hours of ER volunteering by the time I apply. Limited shadowing of pathologist, primary care, and infectious disease specialist.
Do you think I have a chance at DO schools as well? I do not care about prestige much, I just want to be a doctor - I would be thrilled with a DO or MD acceptance.
Thanks!
From my understanding, DO schools choose a more holistic view of the applicant, not just simply based on test scores and/or GPA but life experiences as well. I would assume that's why DO schools receive a higher number of applications from older individuals.Thanks for your reply! Please forgive my naivety (as I have tried to find this information elsewhere but was unable) - there must be some reason why DO schools are less competitive in terms of GPA/MCAT... Is this due to more focus on volunteer hours? (in which case, I might be in trouble with applying DO)
Thanks!