DO/MD school list+questions - 3.5gpa, 27 MCAT

[brownmagic]

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Hi. TX resident here been reading up on this site for the past two years and it's finally my time to give everything I got to adcoms everywhere. So I'm asking for your help.

My stats:
BS in Biology, minor in psych
MS (completed upon matriculation: Biotechnology with focus on healthcare managment)

cGPA: 3.5
sGPA: 3.4
MCAT: first=8,7,8 (23) second=7,10,10 (27), exactly a year apart, second one was september 2014

Question: When schools say they do not consider professional level coursework that only applies to PhD course right? Masters is still considered undergrad?

Employment:

• Worked as personal care assistant for 10 yr old kid with brain tumor for 2 years. Helped him with hw, helped him read at higher level, math, some social skills, general baby-sitting
• Work currently as a ER Scribe at Parkland hospital, Dallas (6 months)
• Worked as teaching assistant for biology 1, body systems (lower level A&P), molecular biology, and genetics

ECs:

• volunteer coordinator for HOSA (health occupation students of america) for 3 years/member for 1, gotten 300-500 volunteering hours from anything from ronald mcdonald house to race events to salvation army
• member of AED (premed honor society, min gpa 3.5) for 2.5 years, 25hrs of service/semester
• Worked in molecular biology lab for 6 months, might continue for another semester
• I bike, play a lot of pool (some competitively), and sculpt.
• SERV program at Texas health presbyterian hospital for 8 months in various hospital departments

LORs:

one from each professor I TA'ed for (hopefully 3, but maybe 2)
One DO in Parkland ED, worked with, but not really shadowed. (pending)
Possibly one from PhD student from lab I worked in? (Being a only a student will it be taken seriously? PI likely won't write me a good one as we didn't know each other well enough)


Here is my school list (it's a little short only because I'm somewhat financially restricted):

All Texas schools:

• UTSW
• UTMB
• UT Houston
• UT San Antonio
• Texas Tech Lubbock
• Texas Tech El Paso
• Texas A&M HSC
• UNT-HSC TCOM
• Not applying to Baylor as outside of TMDSAS and I likely would be wasting money.

Question: Would it be ok to not even apply to UTSW and UT Houston? I know almost 95% sure that I'm simply not high enough stats-wise for those schools, but do adcoms frown upon that?

OOS schools (mainly DO):

• A.T. Still SOM Arizona
• ACOM Midwestern
• Chicago Rosalind Franklin
  
• Des Moines COM
• PCOM - Georgia
• Hofstra
• LECOM Eerie + Bradenton
• Nova Southeastern COM
• OSU COM
• Pacific NW COM
• Penn State COM
• PCCOM - Philadelphia
• Tuoro COM - NY
• U South Carolina

Question: Do I really have to list all the other schools I'm applying to on the TMDSAS?

I found an excel sheet to see stats of all schools and their in state vs out of state acceptances and so I tried to tailor my list around that.

I would love any input as to whether this is an appropriate list of schools for someone on a budget and if I have a decent shot at getting into at least 2-3 of these schools. Really any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Cawolf]

Question: When schools say they do not consider professional level coursework that only applies to PhD course right? Masters is still considered undergrad?

Masters work is graduate level work, not undergrad.

Being a only a student will it be taken seriously? PI likely won't write me a good one as we didn't know each other well enough

You should have the graduate student write the letter on the PI's letter head and have the PI sign the letter. Letters from a student will not be valued as much.

Question: Would it be ok to not even apply to UTSW and UT Houston? I know almost 95% sure that I'm simply not high enough stats-wise for those schools, but do adcoms frown upon that?

UTSW has a free secondary and UTH has no secondary, so why not?

Question: Do I really have to list all the other schools I'm applying to on the TMDSAS?

Why lie?

ACOM Midwestern = AZCOM? then your MCAT is slightly low.

South Carolina will favor in-state students.

PNWU is slightly biased towards regional applicants.

Your list is very scattered, but I will leave it to more informed people to help you there.

 

[AlteredScale]

Question: When schools say they do not consider professional level coursework that only applies to PhD course right? Masters is still considered undergrad?

Nope. Masters work counts as graduate work and will stratified as such.

Being a only a student will it be taken seriously? PI likely won't write me a good one as we didn't know each other well enough

Try a post-doc instead of a PhD student. For either the PhD student of post-doc letter...be sure to have the PI read and co sign the letter.

Would it be ok to not even apply to UTSW and UT Houston? I know almost 95% sure that I'm simply not high enough stats-wise for those schools, but do adcoms frown upon that?

With your stats I don't think it'd be smart to. I'd try the new Dell Medical School instead. But since your IS then it will not hurt to shotgun all those schools.

• 
  

  [*]A.T. Still SOM Arizona
  [*]ACOM Midwestern (ACOM or Midwestern? two different schools, I'd go with ACOM)
  
  [*]Chicago Rosalind Franklin
  [*]Des Moines COM
  [*]PCOM - Georgia
  [*]Hofstra
  
  [*]LECOM Eerie + Bradenton
  
  [*]Nova Southeastern COM
  [*]OSU COM (IS bias)
  
  [*]Pacific NW COM (WWAMI/NW bias)
  
  [*]Penn State COM (Remove. You're about 4 points lower than the average matriculating class and your GPA is lower as well, http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/alumni/2014-class-profile)
  
  [*]PCCOM - Philadelphia (WWAMI/NW bias)
  
  [*]Tuoro COM - NY
  [*]U South Carolina (IS bias?)

See comments in red.

 

[brownmagic]

Thanks for the quick reply Cawolf.

Thanks for advice on the letter from the graduate student, I will suggest that to him and see what he thinks. If not should I'm guessing I'll just skip that letter.

Also I did see that no one from Texas has gone to PNWU, so I might reconsider that. I really liked that area it is in so I added it to the list.

And yes the scattered-ness due to the lack of being able to pay for multitudes of applications.

Thanks for the tips o the schools. Appreciate it.

 

[Cawolf]

Yes, skip it unless the PI signs off. I doubt your student has an official letterhead.

@AlteredScale made good school suggestions.

 

[brownmagic]

Thank you Altered scale. I realized the Post-doc may be willing to write me a letter of rec. I will keep the revision by PI in mind when asking her.

Also...
Are there any schools that I should add, or would I have a decent shot with this many?

I was also looking at Midwestern stats and they seemed at or very slightly above mine, is it worth a shot?
By ACOM you mean Alabama COM correct?

And thank you for the biases for each school, it's a little harder to find those in these forums.

 

[AlteredScale]

Thank you Altered scale. I realized the Post-doc may be willing to write me a letter of rec. I will keep the revision by PI in mind when asking her.

Also...
Are there any schools that I should add, or would I have a decent shot with this many?

I was also looking at Midwestern stats and they seemed at or very slightly above mine, is it worth a shot?
By ACOM you mean Alabama COM correct?

And thank you for the biases for each school, it's a little harder to find those in these forums.

I would add KCU, ATSU-KCOM, CUSOM, BCOM of NMSU, VCOM-Auburn, CC, and VC for DO programs.

EDIT: Nix Quinnipac (Netter) SOM. Their avg. MCAT was 31.

Midwestern (CCOM and AZCOM) are very competitive. Last I heard AZCOM is not considering applicants below a 29 MCAT.

Yes by ACOM I mean Alabama-COM.

You're welcome!

 

[brownmagic]

Hey Altered scale I can't seem to find the "CC" you referred to? Does it have another part to the name?

And also I'm not able to see Dell Medical school in the TMDSAS. Last I read it was still undergoing accreditation, but also claimed they would be accepting students for 2016 entering class.

I likely won't be applying then to Netter SOM. Would you agree?