DO Schools - Minimums for Secondaries

[hopeful-student]

Hey All,

So as the primary application date arrives I'm narrowing down the schools to apply to. One thing that I just can't seem to find is the minimum requirements for Secondaries to be released from DO Schools.

I know that most schools have a cutoff of about 2.75 - 3.0 in terms of GPA and about 24 (8-8-8) on MCAT, but are there any schools that have higher cutoffs. Any input would be helpful. I don't want to apply to schools that will deny me even with a high upward trend just because my overall sGPA doesn't meet their minimum.

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[chizledfrmstone]

http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Documents/2015cib/2015_CIBfull-web.pdf

There is a supplemental application requirements section for each school.

You can also check out the websites for each school. Here are the requirements for KCUMB: http://www.kcumb.edu/admissions/medical-students/requirements/

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

With the exception of KCUMB's pick 2 out of 3 ( 3.25, 3.25, 25 ( No score under 7) most DO schools borderline do not screen ( We're talking 2.75/no lower limit mcat).

 

[darklordzzz]

With the exception of KCUMB's pick 2 out of 3 ( 3.25, 3.25, 25 ( No score under 7) most DO schools borderline do not screen ( We're talking 2.75/no lower limit mcat).

I thought KCUMB now u have to satisfy all 3 requirement

 

[Dr Turkelton]

.

 

[Shen924]

With the exception of KCUMB's pick 2 out of 3 ( 3.25, 3.25, 25 ( No score under 7) most DO schools borderline do not screen ( We're talking 2.75/no lower limit mcat).

you mean 24 mcat right? I believe they still do the 2 out of 3 @darklordzzz

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

you mean 24 mcat right? I believe they still do the 2 out of 3 @darklordzzz

I thought it was 25 tbh.

 

[darklordzzz]

you mean 24 mcat right? I believe they still do the 2 out of 3 @darklordzzz

why do they never make this specific so we do not have to second guess ourselves?

just somewhere on this post, someone said a new Dean on KCUMB required all 3 sections now?....

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

why do they never make this specific so we do not have to second guess ourselves?

just somewhere on this post, someone said a new Dean on KCUMB required all 3 sections now?....

Potentially, KCUMB has an abundance of qualified candidates that fit the criteria. Hell, if they dropped their attendance policy they'd easy be getting 3.5/28s by now.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

why do they never make this specific so we do not have to second guess ourselves?

just somewhere on this post, someone said a new Dean on KCUMB required all 3 sections now?....

Give them a call tomorrow and ask about this.


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[darklordzzz]

Potentially, KCUMB has an abundance of qualified candidates that fit the criteria. Hell, if they dropped their attendance policy they'd easy be getting 3.5/28s by now.

what is this attendance policy you are talking about?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

what is this attendance policy you are talking about?

70% of non-lab classes must be attended to remain in good standing.

 

[Lost Vagus]

You need all 3 now for KCUMB and the attendance policy issue has been beaten to death. It's a sign in sheet once a day. You can always sign it and leave. It's really not very difficult. It's probably going away in the fall anyways.

Also, supposedly the average mcat of the upcoming around 28/29. The new dean of KCUMB is the former TCOM and RVU dean. He is a huge numbers junky. He wants high gpa/mcats and is very big into board scores. The average gpa and mcat are only going to continue to increase. It's a really great school with a phenomenal reputation. Good luck to everyone applying!

*make sure you have at least 40 hours of shadowing as well as volunteer hours. In the past, interviews were given out based on a point scale from a rubric. ( You get a certain amount of points for gpa, mcat, volunteer, shadowing, research.. among other things.)

 

[Goro]

Mine is more like 3.2 and 25 MCAT, but as of right now, it's a tad lower. Earlier is always better. GPA >3.0 is fine most everywhere.

Hey All,

So as the primary application date arrives I'm narrowing down the schools to apply to. One thing that I just can't seem to find is the minimum requirements for Secondaries to be released from DO Schools.

I know that most schools have a cutoff of about 2.75 - 3.0 in terms of GPA and about 24 (8-8-8) on MCAT, but are there any schools that have higher cutoffs. Any input would be helpful. I don't want to apply to schools that will deny me even with a high upward trend just because my overall sGPA doesn't meet their minimum.

 

[ortnakas]

I thought KCUMB now u have to satisfy all 3 requirement

It was all 3 last cycle. I got screened at KCUMB with my original MCAT of 25 because of a 6 subscore (GPA ~ 3.75).

 

[darklordzzz]

It was all 3 last cycle. I got screened at KCUMB with my original MCAT of 25 because of a 6 subscore (GPA ~ 3.75).

if possible, do you mind sharing ur stats and EC and what school u apply and get in with that subscore?
much appreciate it

 

[ortnakas]

if possible, do you mind sharing ur stats and EC and what school u apply and get in with that subscore?
much appreciate it

I sent you a PM.

 

[studentp0x]

You need all 3 now for KCUMB and the attendance policy issue has been beaten to death. It's a sign in sheet once a day. You can always sign it and leave. It's really not very difficult. It's probably going away in the fall anyways.

Also, supposedly the average mcat of the upcoming around 28/29. The new dean of KCUMB is the former TCOM and RVU dean. He is a huge numbers junky. He wants high gpa/mcats and is very big into board scores. The average gpa and mcat are only going to continue to increase. It's a really great school with a phenomenal reputation. Good luck to everyone applying!

*make sure you have at least 40 hours of shadowing as well as volunteer hours. In the past, interviews were given out based on a point scale from a rubric. ( You get a certain amount of points for gpa, mcat, volunteer, shadowing, research.. among other things.)

Can you clarify how the point system works? Do you know any specific details on it?

 

[GypsyHummus]

Mine is more like 3.2 and 25 MCAT, but as of right now, it's a tad lower. Earlier is always better. GPA >3.0 is fine most everywhere.

When you say "fine" when talking about the ability to receive a secondary at a school, do the people around the minimums have a reasonable chance to be accepted if they apply before the competition hits in late October, early November?

 

[kl0117]

Which schools will not look at a 7 verbal ? I have 11s in the other sections and a 3.83

 

[ortnakas]

Which schools will not look at a 7 verbal ? I have 11s in the other sections and a 3.83

I think all the DO programs will at least look at the 7, especially since your overall score is good. Some MD schools likely screen for it, though.

 

[Lost Vagus]

Can you clarify how the point system works? Do you know any specific details on it?

I'm not sure how it works anymore, especially with the new dean. I just know that you need all three of the minimum requirements to get a secondary. In the past, exceptions were made but there has been a huge increase in number of applicants and the screening process has become a lot tougher. There used to be a kind of point system, where you got certain points based on how high your mcat and gpa were, as well as shadowing, mission trips, research, patient contact hours, leadership roles as well as other things. You needed a certain amount of "points" to get an interview. But I think this system has gone away. If you don't have a 3.25 in science as well as cumulative gpa with an mcat score of 24 with at least 7 in every section, I would not apply. Maybe if you are Missouri resident they will give your app a second look, but from what I understand they don't even look at letters of rec or personal statements in depth until interviews are offered.

 

[Goro]

Many schools will send out secondaries, no matter what the qualifications of the applicant. They're kind of like a tax on the hopelessly naive or unrealistic. When I say "fine" I mean "competitive".

I would say that people around the minimums have chances that are reasonable for an II if they apply early. There is always a risk that an Adcom member will say "nice guy/gal, but I'm worried about that low sGPA", and onto the wait list they go.

When you say "fine" when talking about the ability to receive a secondary at a school, do the people around the minimums have a reasonable chance to be accepted if they apply before the competition hits in late October, early November?

Mine will, especially if it's VR.

Which schools will not look at a 7 verbal ? I have 11s in the other sections and a 3.83

 

[csx]

I sent you a PM.

Since you're an accepted MS . I got a question for you guys! When you did your application last year (or whatever # of years ago), under the description for work/EC's, I'm assuming you listed what it was you did/responsibilities. Did you also list what skills you took from the job? I feel it isn't quite clear what we are supposed to write. Like if you were working at Mcdonald's and you also wrote you learned to work as a team and to maintain a sanitary environment which is an important facet to medicine. I don't want to extrapolate if that's not what we are supposed to do then I'd feel really stupid.

+ @Goro what do you think??

 

[Goro]

What I see is a mere list of jobs. Mention anything important that you learned from them in either the PS or the secondary.

Since you're an accepted MS . I got a question for you guys! When you did your application last year (or whatever # of years ago), under the description for work/EC's, I'm assuming you listed what it was you did/responsibilities. Did you also list what skills you took from the job? I feel it isn't quite clear what we are supposed to write. Like if you were working at Mcdonald's and you also wrote you learned to work as a team and to maintain a sanitary environment which is an important facet to medicine. I don't want to extrapolate if that's not what we are supposed to do then I'd feel really stupid.

+ @Goro what do you think??

 

[csx]

What I see is a mere list of jobs. Mention anything important that you learned from them in either the PS or the secondary.

What about for EC's?

Im slightly confused because you said this earlier:
I always see the descriptive style (it's the nature of the AACOMAS app form), and prefer it.

In response to this comment (found in application FAQ thread, page 5, ~1/4 way down):
↑
I have heard that a good format is in a sentence or two say what it is/what you did. Then in a sentence or two say what you learned from it (and commonly refer back to how it will make you a better physician, when applicable).

But I have also heard of a lot of people say to go bullet. So who the heck knows, unless I hear it from an adcom, I'm going with a more descriptive style rather than bullet. Maybe@@Goro or someone can answer

 

[hopeful-student]

@Goro please correct me if I'm wrong but after speaking to friends who got accepted last year, I decided to use each description as an opportunity to explain what my responsibilities were and give a few sentences on what I gained/learned from the job.

Ex. Although my responsibilities at a part time job working at a mcdonalds didn't really translate into the healthcare field, I did get amazing customer service experience working with people and that translated into me having a better line of communication with patients when I became an EMT. It helped make speaking to new patients/people very natural and not forced, which translated into the patient having more trust in me as a health care provider.

 

[Goro]

Your call.


What about for EC's?

@Goro please correct me if I'm wrong but after speaking to friends who got accepted last year, I decided to use each description as an opportunity to explain what my responsibilities were and give a few sentences on what I gained/learned from the job.

Ex. Although my responsibilities at a part time job working at a mcdonalds didn't really translate into the healthcare field, I did get amazing customer service experience working with people and that translated into me having a better line of communication with patients when I became an EMT. It helped make speaking to new patients/people very natural and not forced, which translated into the patient having more trust in me as a health care provider.

 

[hopeful-student]

Well since ECs were something I chose to do because of interest, I took a sentence or two to explain what it was and why I chose it. I then went into what I learned specifically from the EC.

So if the EC was a shadowing experience, I started with an explanation of what type of doctor he/she was and then went into specific things I learned about the DO profession through the experience and why it got me into Osteopathic medicine. I was lucky enough to speak to patients while shadowing and I saw how they reacted to OMM and that really motivated me to pursue the career.

Basically I wanted to give a solid description in a sentence or two but I wanted to focus on what I gained from each experience and how it pushed me in one direction over a another. At the end of the day everybody has their own reason(s) they want to be a doctor and specifically a DO. My reasons mainly come from my ECs so I really wanted to explain why in the description.

 

[csx]

Your call.


What about for EC's?

My question is basically what @hopeful-student has said in terms of what he wrote under his work experience and EC's. He wrote the basic description of each job/EC...then (where my question comes in), he wrote what he took from the experience and what skills he acquired. The latter is what I am wondering about.

Working at Mcdonalds doesn't intuitively sound useful in terms of acquiring skills however there is a lot you can take out of it as @hopeful-student said. Are these things we should be talking about under "description" on the application for work/EC's?

 

[Goro]

If you have room for a short description, that's fine for either volunteer or work experiences.

My question is basically what @hopeful-student has said in terms of what he wrote under his work experience and EC's. He wrote the basic description of each job/EC...then (where my question comes in), he wrote what he took from the experience and what skills he acquired. The latter is what I am wondering about.

Working at Mcdonalds doesn't intuitively sound useful in terms of acquiring skills however there is a lot you can take out of it as @hopeful-student said. Are these things we should be talking about under "description" on the application for work/EC's?