DO schools w/ hard sub 500 MCAT cut offs

[DO_or_Die]

I'm trying to come up with a list of DO schools for my friend to apply to. They have a 3.2-3.4x undergrad GPA, MS, several research posters and years of field research, 500 unbalanced MCAT (sub 125 in some sections; this is up from a prior unbalanced 499 MCAT). Also this 500 MCAT is 3 years old and I want to say I had read the MCAT expires after 3 years. This is their 3rd time applying after continuously revamping their app. I plan to have them apply to minimum 35 DO schools this year *hoping* for one final shot. Thank you, SDN!

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[catcatcat45]

Not sure if I'm in a place to be giving advice since I'm gonna be a low stat applicant due to GPA, but I feel like instead of spending money going through another app cycle, your friend should study their ass off and try to get a higher MCAT score. They will have much better success at DO when they apply that next cycle. GPA is great for DO, but the MCAT is going to be what holds them back. Take it a third time, but only after they score high on practice exams. Continuously revamping their app isn't really going to mean anything if they aren't addressing the MCAT problem. I mean no offense at all, because I'm in a similar position GPA wise, but I wanted to share based off advice others have given me.

 

[chilly_md]

35 DO schools is nearly all of them. Some like CUSOM won’t consider students with below a 40th percentile on any subsection. I would not recommend them applying to one of the new DO schools as those might not have the best support systems in place and the curriculum is likely to have kinks in it for the first few classes of students.

A higher MCAT score would open up more doors. It is hard to make more suggestions without knowing more about things like activities (outside of research), state of residence, gpa trends and prior school lists.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

Touro California and Nevada both required MCAT ≥ 500 when I applied.

 

[Faha]

Does your friend have any physician shadowing hours or clinical volunteering/employment with patient contact ?

 

[Osminog]

Your friend will probably not have much luck at the DO schools with relatively high MCAT averages (Touro-CA, both Westerns, KCU, CUSOM, DMU, CCOM, etc.), assuming your friend is a non-URM.

He or she should apply to nearly all the DO schools, and prepare for the possibility of having to take the MCAT a third time with better prep.

 

[deleted988803]

ICOM has a hard 50th percentile cut off but with a CI allowance.

 

[lilcheese_]

I don't know if this will help you, but here's a Google sheet with DO schools and minimum (if applicable) and average MCAT and GPAs! I found this on Reddit awhile ago, so I'm not sure how accurate it is. Was supposedly last updated in October.