HELP! I have a minor predicament. Which schools sound I apply to?

[clc8503]

I retook 7 hours of science classes that I had originally made C's in. I made A's in all of them the second time, so that brought my cumulative and science GPA up a great deal. My cum. GPA is a 3.51 (with my repeats) and my science GPA is a 3.48 (with my repeats). My MCAT is 26. I have research experience in Microbiology, I lab assisted as an undergrad in Hematology, Clinical Chemistry and Biological Instrumentation labs. I've shadowed several physicians as an undergrad. I was a peer mentor as an undergrad, and I received my Bachelors degree in Medical Technology, which is essentially Clinical laboratory Science (Allied Health). I have been working as a Medical Technologist for the past year and a half in a clinical microbiology laboratory. I am currently finishing a minor in chemistry as well. I know my stats are okay, but here's the predicament; I LIVE IN LOUISIANA AND I DON"T KNOW WHERE I SHOULD APPLY! I'd like to go to PCOM but I heard that they prefer Pennsylvania residents, which I found to be absurd since they are a private institution, and are therefore not state funded. TCOM mainly accepts only Texas residents. Louisiana has 3 MD programs but I really want to be a DO because I am fascinated by the Osteopathic philosophy. I really don't care where I go as long as it is a DO med school. Does anybody know which schools I should apply to? DO's are not very well established in my state so my professors are really no help in terms of giving me advice. Most of them do not even see DO's as MD equivalents. I try explaining Osteopathy to them but it's basically like auguring with a brick wall. Of course I have researched this field extensively and know a great deal about it. I was just wondering which schools I should not bother applying to? Which schools will view a Louisiana resident just as any other state resident? PLEASE HELP!

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[Doc Henry]

I posted a link below that really helped me with starting a list of where to apply to. The sight is medschoolready.com. You can look at each schools profile and see stats on in/out state accepted etc. There is no garuntee that they are accurate, but its a good start.

PS hope the link works (i'm not so good with that sort of thing)

http://www.medschoolready.com/app/m...&iSO=GP&iST=&iCO=&cSU=++Refresh+School+Info++

 

[clc8503]

I posted a link below that really helped me with starting a list of where to apply to. The sight is medschoolready.com. You can look at each schools profile and see stats on in/out state accepted etc. There is no garuntee that they are accurate, but its a good start.

PS hope the link works (i'm not so good with that sort of thing)

http://www.medschoolready.com/app/m...&iSO=GP&iST=&iCO=&cSU=++Refresh+School+Info++

Thanks, the site was ok, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. That info is only taken from a small sample of students, so it is therefore inaccurate. It said the average MCAT for LECOM (Florida) was a 32! i know that's above average for that school. That's actually above average for most med schools (MD and DO alike) so I question that websites accuracy. Thanks anyway though...

Anyone else?

 

[clc8503]

bump

 

[clc8503]

Come on! Somebody must know something!

 

[NickRiviera]

Most DO schools are private so it doesn't matter that you're from Louisiana. Here are some percentages that show in state (IS) and out of state (OOS). The only exception is NJ where all matriculants are considered in state even if they aren't from NJ.

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5255/do2005nc1.jpg

 

[czanetti]

well if you are applying this cycle check the aacom website and see what schools still have there primary applications open. A lot of schools deadlines already past. From that point apply to the schools that are in a good location and affordable.

http://aacom.org/colleges/deadlines.asp

there are only 10 schools left that you can apply to if you havn't done you primary yet. 3 out of the ten you only have 2 to 3 days left so that will help round it down for you. That leaves 7 schools to apply for.

 

[Tiagao]

Check into the states from the Osteopathic Report. Understand that many of the stats for the "Accepted Applicant Profiles" are skewed to favor higher numbers than what the "Average Matriculant Stats" would be. The reason for this is that most schools will accept applicants with really high stats that will attend other schools. This raises the AAP stats will having so the school can toot their own horn.

I guess my point is, don't rule out a school just because your numbers seem a bit lower than what is published.

 

[clc8503]

Check into the states from the Osteopathic Report. Understand that many of the stats for the "Accepted Applicant Profiles" are skewed to favor higher numbers than what the "Average Matriculant Stats" would be. The reason for this is that most schools will accept applicants with really high stats that will attend other schools. This raises the AAP stats will having so the school can toot their own horn.

I guess my point is, don't rule out a school just because your numbers seem a bit lower than what is published.

I didn't think my numbers were on the low side! I thought they were the average for what is considered competitive. I know they are not stellar, but competitive none the less. I also have a ton of higher level science courses. I have a minor in chemistry, a bachelors in Medcial Technology, and I'm 3 classes away from having a second degree in Applied Biology as well, although I'm not interested in getting another degree, since I'm ready to just apply this summer and take a small break from school in the mean time. I hope that my healthcare experience, research, and EC's will come through for me in the end to make a notch higher in terms of competitiveness. I don't know if i helps but I also held down two part time jobs as an undergrad.

 

[Sailing Girl]

I do not believe Tiagao was putting you down. I was sort of surprised at your response to his.....anyways,

D.O.s are well recognized in California. So I would encourage you to apply to Western and Touro. D.O.'s are also well recognized up North, so those schools would be great. PCOM has a campus in Georgia so you may want to try there. There are more schools opening up in the South. LMU - DCOM is new and in Tn. Most of the people that have been accepted that I know of are from Texas, so the school must not discriminate based on residency. The school in West Virginia invited me up for an interview and I'm a TN resident. However their in state tuition may be lower than out of state tuition.

Not sure if that answered your question but I thought I would try. I'll be attending LMU - DCOM in the fall unless U.T. Memphis really wows me in my interview tomorrow.