Getting nervous, where to go from here?

[arrowslinger]

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I am looking for advice on my current situation. I have a 2.8 sGPA and a 3.5 cGPA with a major in nutrition. I have yet to take my MCAT and am looking primarily into DO schools as pediatrics and primary care are my passions. ECs include 250+ shadowing local primary care and a summer internship at MD. Anderson in Houston. How competitive am I? What would be best to do if I don’t get accepted for reapplying? Lastly would it be better to retake classes or pursue a post-bac. Also what about a STEM MBA?

 

[radian313]

Forget the MBA, take a few upper level science classes, make sure you ace them. Get above a 3.0 science gpa, get a 510+ mcat.

You are looking at atleast one year before you can barely say you are competitive....even with a 3.0/3.5/510, you will be screened for schools that want a 3.25 science.

 

[Robin-jay]

Forget the MBA, take a few upper level science classes, make sure you ace them. Get above a 3.0 science gpa, get a 510+ mcat.

You are looking at atleast one year before you can barely say you are competitive....even with a 3.0/3.5/510, you will be screened for schools that want a 3.25 science.

There's only one or two schools that screen a sGPA that high right? KCU.

I think OP would be fine 3.0+/3.5/500+ MCAT. A lot of DO schools average around 500.

Personally, I'd ditch the STEM MBA, and figure out another way to increase your sGPA.

 

[Darkness2018]

There's only one or two schools that screen a sGPA that high right? KCU.

I think OP would be fine 3.0/3.5/500+ MCAT. A lot of DO schools average around 500.

Personally, I'd ditch the STEM MBA, and figure out another way to increase your sGPA.

I don't think a lot of DO schools average around 500. I think most average ~504-505. LMU average is 502 or 27 old scale average and they are a newer school with lower stats. TCOM's average is 506 or 29 on the old scale.
The DO school MCAT averages have been creeping up and 500 is pushing your luck with those gpa numbers.

 

[Robin-jay]

I don't think a lot of DO schools average around 500. I think most average ~504-505. LMU average is 502 or 27 old scale average and they are a newer school with lower stats. TCOM's average is 506 or 29 on the old scale.
The DO school MCAT averages have been creeping up and 500 is pushing your luck with those gpa numbers.

I think the MCAT average these days is roughly 502 between all DO schools. So a lot are scoring around 500 and are doing fine. I agree that scoring something like 505 would be a lot safer though.

 

[Magus5454]

OP still hasn't taken the MCAT or indicated that they have taken any practice ones
Other schools also screen for 3.2 sgpa

 

[Robin-jay]

OP still hasn't taken the MCAT or indicated that they have taken any practice ones
Other schools also screen for 3.2 sgpa

Which ones, I saw that VCOM may, and that KCU does.

 

[Magus5454]

Which ones, I saw that VCOM may, and that KCU does.

CUSOM, some are 3.0 screeners as well like NOVA

 

[Robin-jay]

CUSOM, some are 3.0 screeners as well like NOVA

I was talking exclusively around 3.2. Some also do 3.0 as well.

 

[Magus5454]

Well, CUSOM is definitely 3.2

 

[Robin-jay]

Well, CUSOM is definitely 3.2

So CUSOM and KCU are 3.2 screeners. Is VCOM a 3.2 screener? Its hard to tell based on their website. Seems like less than 5 DO schools screen for 3.2 or higher.

 

[Magus5454]

So CUSOM and KCU are 3.2 screeners. Is VCOM a 3.2 screener? Its hard to tell based on their website. Seems like less than 5 DO schools screen for 3.2 or higher.

By their page on the AACOMAS app they sound like it. /thread hijack. Sorry OP!

 

[Blanky]

Fix the science GPA before you consider an MCAT.

 

[Osminog]

Something sounds very off. Are you sure your GPA calculations are correct, OP? Is it possible that you overlooked the fact that nutrition classes count in your sGPA for DO application purposes?

Let's say you took 120 credits total to get your degree, and let's say 60 of those credits were nutrition classes for you major. In order to have gotten a ~2.8 average in those nutrition classes while maintaining a 3.5 GPA overall, you would have needed to have >4.0 in your non-science classes.

The above is just an example scenario, and there are certainly ways you could have pulled off a 3.5 cGPA/2.8 sGPA as a science major... but it's highly unlikely.

 

[Goro]

I am looking for advice on my current situation. I have a 2.8 sGPA and a 3.5 cGPA with a major in nutrition. I have yet to take my MCAT and am looking primarily into DO schools as pediatrics and primary care are my passions. ECs include 250+ shadowing local primary care and a summer internship at MD. Anderson in Houston. How competitive am I? What would be best to do if I don’t get accepted for reapplying? Lastly would it be better to retake classes or pursue a post-bac. Also what about a STEM MBA?

You're DOA at my school and a good deal of others. Even LUCOM has standards.

Read this:
Goro’s advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

An MBA is worthless for candidates to med school.

 

[Robin-jay]

Something sounds very off. Are you sure your GPA calculations are correct, OP? Is it possible that you overlooked the fact that nutrition classes count in your sGPA for DO application purposes?

Let's say you took 120 credits total to get your degree, and let's say 60 of those credits were nutrition classes for you major. In order to have gotten a ~2.8 average in those nutrition classes while maintaining a 3.5 GPA overall, you would have needed to have >4.0 in your non-science classes.

The above is just an example scenario, and there are certainly ways you could have pulled off a 3.5 cGPA/2.8 sGPA as a science major... but it's highly unlikely.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. It may be that nutrition courses aren't considered science courses in the AACOMAS sGPA.

 

[Osminog]

I was kind of thinking the same thing. It may be that nutrition courses aren't considered science courses in the AACOMAS sGPA.

They are, though. See: http://help.unicas.com:8888/aacomas...-history-2/aacomas-course-subjects/index.html

 

[Robin-jay]

They are, though. See: http://help.unicas.com:8888/aacomas...-history-2/aacomas-course-subjects/index.html

Then yea, the calculations here don't seem to add add in the way you would expect.

 

[Deecee2DO]

Forget the MBA, take a few upper level science classes, make sure you ace them. Get above a 3.0 science gpa, get a 510+ mcat.

You are looking at atleast one year before you can barely say you are competitive....even with a 3.0/3.5/510, you will be screened for schools that want a 3.25 science.

lol a 510 really is not necessary for DO. he/she wants to go into Peds and do DO route. yes his GPA is low but if he gets it over 3.0 and gets a 504-505 with a strong bio subsection to be safe he/she should be fine and get in somewhere if he/she applies broadly

 

[radian313]

lol a 510 really is not necessary for DO. he/she wants to go into Peds and do DO route. yes his GPA is low but if he gets it over 3.0 and gets a 504-505 with a strong bio subsection to be safe he/she should be fine and get in somewhere if he/she applies broadly

LOL here we go again.

What he wants to go into is irrelevant at this point, it all depends on board scores which frankly we all are far away from at this point.

Try messing around with the Lizzy M scale, youll see many med schools (DO) average around a 502-505 for acceptance with an average acceptance GPA. Some low, but many are around that if not higher, given that his science GPA is below par, he or she will need to offset that by a bit more. Maybe not a 510 but def. more than a 506+.

I hope he or she gets in, if we lived in a utopian world, we would get into our first choice medical school, get our first choice residency, and practice 5 miles away from home, but guess what? We dont hence its best to give the realistic advice possible.

The bottom line is, a subpar GPA will need to be compensated with a above average MCAT.

 

[Deecee2DO]

LOL here we go again.

What he wants to go into is irrelevant at this point, it all depends on board scores which frankly we all are far away from at this point.

Try messing around with the Lizzy M scale, youll see many med schools (DO) average around a 502-505 for acceptance with an average acceptance GPA. Some low, but many are around that if not higher, given that his science GPA is below par, he or she will need to offset that by a bit more. Maybe not a 510 but def. more than a 506+.

I hope he or she gets in, if we lived in a utopian world, we would get into our first choice medical school, get our first choice residency, and practice 5 miles away from home, but guess what? We dont hence its best to give the realistic advice possible.

The bottom line is, a subpar GPA will need to be compensated with a above average MCAT.

Yeah what he wants to go into is irrelevant, but simultaneously is sort of relevant when you think about going into peds. By this I mean he doesn't need to go MD and can probably suffice with any DO school in the US established or not, since peds is not competitive at all. Therefore, I dont think he needs a 510 to get into a DO school. 505-506 is slightly above avg for MOST DO schools (including the ones that are not well established), and would probably get him some IIs somewhere if he applied VERY broadly and got his GPA at or preferrably above 3.0 (some schools have cutoffs for sGPA). I just don't want to scare OP into thinking he needs a 510 to land a spot in med school.

 

[radian313]

Yeah what he wants to go into is irrelevant, but simultaneously is sort of relevant when you think about going into peds. By this I mean he doesn't need to go MD and can probably suffice with any DO school in the US established or not. Therefore, I dont think he needs a 510. 505-506 is above avg for DO MCAT scorers, like you stated yourself, and would probably get him some IIs somewhere if he applied broadly and got his GPA at or preferrably above 3.0 (some schools have cutoffs for sGPA). I just don't want to scare OP into thinking he needs a 510 to land a spot in med school.

Fair enough. I understand your point and you care for him or her. Folks like you and I have unique backgrounds hence I feel the trends are changing in DO schools being more accepting towards non-traditional folks like you and I.

 

[arrowslinger]

If my nutrition courses calculate into my sGPA then my calculations are off base as the original scores do not include them and I have received nearly all A's in those courses. Looks like this is the next thing for me to research.