MD & DO DO or MD Apply? WAMC

[Shosty0]

First post here, just really unsure of whether I'm competitive for MD's or not. My stats feel pretty cookie cutter. Should I be looking for DO schools mostly? I go to University of Toronto by the way, if that affects things. Also, I will be taking a gap year, and would be happy for advice on how to shore up my application during then. Thanks for your suggestions.
1. CGPA: 3.77
2. MCAT: 515
3. PA resident, Asian
4: Clinical: 220 hrs as surgery reception and children's hospital
5. Research: 2 summers of research, ~200 hrs, no pubs, hate it so didn't do much
6. ~50 hrs , shadowed general surgeon, sports medicine, pm&r, orthopaedic
7. Nonclinical: 50 hrs as friendly visitor at nursing home, 75 hrs tutoring underprivileged high school kids and am now running the program for a year, 200 hrs at school orchestra, 75 hours volunteering at toronto film festival
8. Accomplishments: school scholarships, photography competition prizes
9. Extracurriculars: play a bunch of instruments, photography, film

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[Engrailed]

First post here, just really unsure of whether I'm competitive for MD's or not. My stats feel pretty cookie cutter. Should I be looking for DO schools mostly? I go to University of Toronto by the way, if that affects things. Also, I will be taking a gap year, and would be happy for advice on how to shore up my application during then. Thanks for your suggestions.
1. CGPA: 3.77
2. MCAT: 515
3. PA resident, Asian
4: Clinical: 220 hrs as surgery reception and children's hospital
5. Research: 2 summers of research, ~200 hrs, no pubs, hate it so didn't do much
6. ~50 hrs , shadowed general surgeon, sports medicine, pm&r, orthopaedic
7. Nonclinical: 50 hrs as friendly visitor at nursing home, 75 hrs tutoring underprivileged high school kids and am now running the program for a year, 200 hrs at school orchestra, 75 hours volunteering at toronto film festival
8. Accomplishments: school scholarships, photography competition prizes
9. Extracurriculars: play a bunch of instruments, photography, film

I would say your stats/ECs are pretty average/good. You might be competitive for some MD schools but given your international status (yes?), you’d have a steeper hill to climb.

given the new step score change, and plus other reasons, aim for MD >>>> DO. Aim high!

 

[Faha]

You should receive MD interviews with your stats . I suggest all these schools:
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Commonwealth Geisinger
Seton Hall
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Hofstra
New York Medical College
Albany
George Washington
NOVA MD
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
TCU UNT
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
West Virginia
Apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July.

 

[candbgirl]

I would say your stats/ECs are pretty average/good. You might be competitive for some MD schools but given your international status (yes?), you’d have a steeper hill to climb.

given the new step score change, and plus other reasons, aim for MD >>>> DO. Aim high!

I think OP is a US citizen. He said he is a Pennsylvania resident.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

First post here, just really unsure of whether I'm competitive for MD's or not. My stats feel pretty cookie cutter. Should I be looking for DO schools mostly? I go to University of Toronto by the way, if that affects things. Also, I will be taking a gap year, and would be happy for advice on how to shore up my application during then. Thanks for your suggestions.
1. CGPA: 3.77
2. MCAT: 515
3. PA resident, Asian
4: Clinical: 220 hrs as surgery reception and children's hospital
5. Research: 2 summers of research, ~200 hrs, no pubs, hate it so didn't do much
6. ~50 hrs , shadowed general surgeon, sports medicine, pm&r, orthopaedic
7. Nonclinical: 50 hrs as friendly visitor at nursing home, 75 hrs tutoring underprivileged high school kids and am now running the program for a year, 200 hrs at school orchestra, 75 hours volunteering at toronto film festival
8. Accomplishments: school scholarships, photography competition prizes
9. Extracurriculars: play a bunch of instruments, photography, film

Interesting that you wound up at U of T. Presuming you majored in a biomedical science, that GPA is going to be impressive for those who really don't realize Canadian schools don't curve much (as far as I know). I hope you do some networking with the schools you have strongest affinity for so that when your application crosses their desktops they will have gotten some insight exactly how hard your curriculum was. I think you would be fine with MD apps only though you could include a DO school that you may want to attend due to proximity to family (the school has to really impress you IMO).

That said, I will just nitpick and wonder how much of your shadowing you did in the US vs. Canada. This isn't as huge an issue compared to clinical experience in the US vs. other parts of the world, but it would be nice to allay any odd notions, especially since there are different systems involved with health care.

A little more insight into your EC's, hours, and other things you do for fun. I can infer that your photography and film interests are pretty serious. When you mean 200 hours in your school orchestra: do you mean at U of T?

 

[Shosty0]

Interesting that you wound up at U of T. Presuming you majored in a biomedical science, that GPA is going to be impressive for those who really don't realize Canadian schools don't curve much (as far as I know). I hope you do some networking with the schools you have strongest affinity for so that when your application crosses their desktops they will have gotten some insight exactly how hard your curriculum was. I think you would be fine with MD apps only though you could include a DO school that you may want to attend due to proximity to family (the school has to really impress you IMO).

That said, I will just nitpick and wonder how much of your shadowing you did in the US vs. Canada. This isn't as huge an issue compared to clinical experience in the US vs. other parts of the world, but it would be nice to allay any odd notions, especially since there are different systems involved with health care.

A little more insight into your EC's, hours, and other things you do for fun. I can infer that your photography and film interests are pretty serious. When you mean 200 hours in your school orchestra: do you mean at U of T?

I did all my shadowing in the US haha, there's a lot more legal hoops in Canada to do so. For school orchestra, yes I mean at U of T. I didn't think that going to a Canadian school would be a bonus in adcoms' eyes, is that true? Thanks for your input.