Help me figure out which schools to apply to? (High MCAT, low uGPA)

[highmcatlowhopes]

Hello everyone. So I am re-applying to medical school this year after not casting nearly a wide enough net last year. I am a non-traditional student with a master's degree in molecular biology. My graduate GPA was a 3.9. I now work full-time as a researcher.

My undergraduate GPA was a 2.7, unfortunately, due to significant and weird circumstances which I have thoroughly explained in my personal statement. I just took the MCAT this year and got a 516.

Here is a list of the schools that I have applied to:
Georgetown
George Washington University
Rosalind Franklin
UConn
Quinnipiac
University of Arizona - Phoenix
University of Colorado
Ohio State
University of Oregon
Penn State
University of Vermont
Temple University
St. Louis University
University of Washington (rejected)
University of Utah (rejected)
Morehouse (never got a secondary)
UCLA (never got a secondary)
UCSF (never got a secondary
UC Irvine (never got a secondary)

Am I reaching too high? Are there any schools I should add? So far I have one II. I'm not sure about DO schools because I've never shadowed a DO.

Edit: I have thousands of hours of research experience (obvs., I work in a lab), several hundred hours of shadowing, and several hundred hours of clinical volunteering. Four very strong letters of recommendation, and a real desire to not have to do this again next year!

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[Goro]

Did you have a rising GPA? The MS won't count for MD, but will for DO.

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

I did have a rising GPA. So you don't think it's worth applying to MD schools at all then?

 

[gyngyn]

Undergraduate gpa is used to measure sustained ability to perform (at MD schools).

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

Yeah, that's the unfortunate part. After I graduated, I spoke to an adviser who told me that the best thing to do is to keep attending undergraduate classes--but obviously I didn't do that. I figured that getting my master's degree in a really rigorous, hard science program would show my ability to not only learn that material, but also apply it in a meaningful way. So gyngyn, you don't think it's worthwhile to apply to MD programs at all unless I do some sort of post-bacc? Even with strong ECs, MCAT, and a proven track record in grad school?

 

[gyngyn]

Yeah, that's the unfortunate part. After I graduated, I spoke to an adviser who told me that the best thing to do is to keep attending undergraduate classes--but obviously I didn't do that. I figured that getting my master's degree in a really rigorous, hard science program would show my ability to not only learn that material, but also apply it in a meaningful way. So gyngyn, you don't think it's worthwhile to apply to MD programs at all unless I do some sort of post-bacc? Even with strong ECs, MCAT, and a proven track record in grad school?

Did you get any interviews last cycle?
How many times have you taken the MCAT?

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

Did you get any interviews last cycle?
Hoe many times have you taken the MCAT?

I had two interviews last cycle from my IS schools. I've taken the MCAT twice.

 

[gyngyn]

I had two interviews last cycle from my IS schools. I've taken the MCAT twice.

Most state public schools tend to be more forgiving of IS applicants.
OOS schools where you are a re-applicant are going to wonder why your IS schools didn't take you (unless your first MCAT was really low).

 

[Goro]

You'll be fine at DO schools. If you're boning for the MD, then ace (3.7+ GPA) a DIY post-bac or an SMP.

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

What's your advice about this cycle? Is it too late to apply to DO schools? Last year I applied to a few and got totally rejected right off the bat, so do you have any suggestions for which ones are more friendly to non-traditional students? I've heard that they don't like it when you have been out of school for more than three years prior to matriculation, and unfortunately I graduated in 2014 so I will be four years out by the time I'm starting medical school.

 

[boogiecousins94]

Why did you apply to so many public schools OOS if you aren't IS there?

 

[Faha]

What's your advice about this cycle? Is it too late to apply to DO schools? Last year I applied to a few and got totally rejected right off the bat, so do you have any suggestions for which ones are more friendly to non-traditional students? I've heard that they don't like it when you have been out of school for more than three years prior to matriculation, and unfortunately I graduated in 2014 so I will be four years out by the time I'm starting medical school.

It is not too late to apply to DO schools this cycle. These are schools where you could receive interviews with your stats:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
NYIT-Arkansas
RVU-Utah
Idaho (new school)
PCOM (Georgia)
LECOM (all schools)
MU-COM
Your high MCAT should attract attention at some schools.

 

[workaholic181]

It is not too late to apply to DO schools this cycle. These are schools where you could receive interviews with your stats:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
NYIT-Arkansas
RVU-Utah
Idaho (new school)
PCOM (Georgia)
LECOM (all schools)
MU-COM
Your high MCAT should attract attention at some schools.

I think you should also take into account OP's GPA in grad school. DO schools will put credence to that performance. In light of that I think OP could be competitive at all DO schools. I'd especially recommend his applying to AZCOM

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

It is not too late to apply to DO schools this cycle. These are schools where you could receive interviews with your stats:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
NYIT-Arkansas
RVU-Utah
Idaho (new school)
PCOM (Georgia)
LECOM (all schools)
MU-COM
Your high MCAT should attract attention at some schools.

Thanks for the list! So where is this aiming in terms of DO school rankings? I know that there is no "official" list, but I am not really familiar with the DO half of things.

 

[Faha]

Thanks for the list! So where is this aiming in terms of DO school rankings? I know that there is no "official" list, but I am not really familiar with the DO half of things.

These are the newer schools and schools with lower MCAT medians and lower GPA medians for the admitted classes.

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

These are the newer schools and schools with lower MCAT medians and lower GPA medians for the admitted classes.

With a 94th percentile score on the MCAT and working full-time as a scientist at a healthcare company, the best I can do for medical school is some of the lowest ranked DO schools? Is that really true?

I don't want to come across as ungrateful for your advice, because I am really thankful that you took the time to give your honest opinion to an internet stranger. I just can't believe that in one part of my life I am literally discovering new developmental pathways and on the other, I can barely convince an adcom that I'm worth the time of day to interview. This is my dream, and I want it so bad. Like I said, I'm a non-traditional applicant because of a really significant tragedy I experienced in undergrad, but I have spent the last several years focused on getting spectacular ECs and recommendations for medical school. I feel ready!

 

[precisiongraphic]

With a 94th percentile score on the MCAT and working full-time as a scientist at a healthcare company, the best I can do for medical school is some of the lowest ranked DO schools? Is that really true?

I don't want to come across as ungrateful for your advice, because I am really thankful that you took the time to give your honest opinion to an internet stranger. I just can't believe that in one part of my life I am literally discovering new developmental pathways and on the other, I can barely convince an adcom that I'm worth the time of day to interview. This is my dream, and I want it so bad. Like I said, I'm a non-traditional applicant because of a really significant tragedy I experienced in undergrad, but I have spent the last several years focused on getting spectacular ECs and recommendations for medical school. I feel ready!

The below information is for MD only - I'm much less knowledgeable about DO. Your MCAT shows that you can handle medical school. Your GPA doesn't show that you can handle medical school. (Grad school programs don't convince ADCOMS, sorry, that's just the way it is. There's a reason for that but it probably doesn't make much sense to you.)

You would need - as Goro says above - a do-it-yourself post-bacc (undergrad classes) of at least a year of as close to a 4.0 as you can get or excellent, top-notch performance in an SMP from a program that is known to give second chances to people like you who show promise but whose undergrad GPAs don't show the ability to make a success of medical school. Only you can decide if that's worth it for you or not. Best of luck in your decision.

 

[Cardboard101]

With a 94th percentile score on the MCAT and working full-time as a scientist at a healthcare company, the best I can do for medical school is some of the lowest ranked DO schools? Is that really true?

I don't want to come across as ungrateful for your advice, because I am really thankful that you took the time to give your honest opinion to an internet stranger. I just can't believe that in one part of my life I am literally discovering new developmental pathways and on the other, I can barely convince an adcom that I'm worth the time of day to interview. This is my dream, and I want it so bad. Like I said, I'm a non-traditional applicant because of a really significant tragedy I experienced in undergrad, but I have spent the last several years focused on getting spectacular ECs and recommendations for medical school. I feel ready!

Faha listed ~half the DO schools in the country. Not all of them are low ranked. You could apply now to those schools and probably get into a few and start class next year. The only thing your research does for you is show that you can do research. It's a great talking point at interviews though.

If you don't want to go to those DO schools, you can do a DIY Postbacc over the next few months, get the gpa over 3.0 and apply to MD and any DO next year. It's up to you if this is worth delaying another year.

 

[highmcatlowhopes]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am working on the DO application right now. Geographically I would prefer schools that are not in the south, so I am only loosely following Faha's list. I am calling each school individually to make sure that they will be okay with my low GPA (many of them have stated cutoffs, so I don't want to spend the money to be automatically rejected).

I see a lot of people on these forums who are in a similar situation, so I'll keep this thread updated with how my cycle goes. So far I have one MD interview from a school in a state where I have close ties. I interviewed there last year, received feedback from the adcom and was told that the only glaring problem with my application was my MCAT score, so we'll see how everything shapes up.

 

[Faha]

You do have a chance for MD acceptances. The GPA-MCAT grid shows a 30% acceptance rate with your MCAT and a GPA within 2.6 and 2.79. However, some of those accepted may be from states where the state public schools accept a large percentage of instate applicants, veterans , legacies, etc. .

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thanks for the list! So where is this aiming in terms of DO school rankings? I know that there is no "official" list, but I am not really familiar with the DO half of things.

With a 94th percentile score on the MCAT and working full-time as a scientist at a healthcare company, the best I can do for medical school is some of the lowest ranked DO schools? Is that really true?

Absolutely not, you do need to apply broadly however as it will be impossible to predict who will bite. I suggest:
KCU
RVU (both campuses)
CCOM
AZCOM
LECOM-Erie
Touro-CA
Touro-NV
DMU
OSU (yes it's a state school but they like good stories and high MCATs for their OOS)
KCOM
ATSU-SOMA
Western
PCOM (both)
WVSOM
MUCOM
LMU-DCOM
ACOM