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- Oct 12, 2016
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EDIT: ugh I think I should have posted this in the DO forum. Sucks being extremely new here, but any advice is more than welcome 
Hi. I am a long time lurker but a first time poster on sdn. I figured that I should finally post because my pre med mind has been a mess off late, and some sound advice from other knowledgable pre meds/med students could only help or at least give me some direction. Also, this might be a tad wordy but please read all of it before sharing any insight thanks.
So a little about me (please don't be so harsh to judge)...I graduated from college in 2014 with a 3.41 gpa and 23 mcat. I have over 100 hours of volunteering at a hospital and some extracurriculars. I took that year off to make my resume stronger as well as apply to a few DO schools later that year. I, however, did not get accepted into any of them, which I think was because I applied extremely late in the 2015 cycle (around Feb!) with my strictly average stats. But something good did come out of it because I also applied to a masters program at an out of state DO school and got in. I spent 2 semesters (2015-2016) and graduated with a Master of Science degree. After I got back from the program this summer, I went straight to hitting the mcat books again, hoping I'd improve my score a little bit and couple that with my masters degree so I'd be fit to reapply this cycle again. I went ahead and reapplied to a few schools this August while studying for the mcat. Unfortunately, I got back my new mcat scores today and got a 495 and I am bummed. I'm taking it okay though, just thinking that the mcat is just not meant to be for me after a few attempts already.
The big question that's plaguing my mind now is WHAT NEXT? I've gotten all my secondaries in last month and I'm still waiting to hear back from the DO schools I applied to. I think the advantage I pose in reapplying this time around is that I'm an early applicant which can somewhat compensate for my not so great stats. And another one is completing a master's program that essentially was the first year of med school. But what do you think are my chances with a 23/495, honestly speaking? I mean the score isn't ridiculously bad for DO schools, as I know some people have gotten in with a lower gpa/score than me. What I'm thinking right now is that my stats aren't so horrible that I should quit my thought of becoming a doctor right? The flip side is that I don't have as much time to pursue it as say a person in their senior year of college. Right now, I'm thinking of other options, in the case that I don't get accepted into a DO school this year (praying to God that's not the situation come next year!). So I was thinking I could apply to a few Opto schools as well. I've always had a special interest in the field of vision. It also seems more doable while I'm waiting for these schools to get back to me. I'm aware of the flak that ODs get on this forum, but isn't it better than sitting around with a worthless bachelors degree in biomedical sciences??? All the ODs I've seen, carry themselves as respectable "Drs" and are a far cry from being jobless as some people on this forum like to perceive. OR should I go ahead and apply to 1-2 Caribbean schools?? Which would be the more secure option in my situation? Any sensible and unbiased advice would be appreciated. I think it is high time for me to take a decision and determine my future...
Hi. I am a long time lurker but a first time poster on sdn. I figured that I should finally post because my pre med mind has been a mess off late, and some sound advice from other knowledgable pre meds/med students could only help or at least give me some direction. Also, this might be a tad wordy but please read all of it before sharing any insight thanks.
So a little about me (please don't be so harsh to judge)...I graduated from college in 2014 with a 3.41 gpa and 23 mcat. I have over 100 hours of volunteering at a hospital and some extracurriculars. I took that year off to make my resume stronger as well as apply to a few DO schools later that year. I, however, did not get accepted into any of them, which I think was because I applied extremely late in the 2015 cycle (around Feb!) with my strictly average stats. But something good did come out of it because I also applied to a masters program at an out of state DO school and got in. I spent 2 semesters (2015-2016) and graduated with a Master of Science degree. After I got back from the program this summer, I went straight to hitting the mcat books again, hoping I'd improve my score a little bit and couple that with my masters degree so I'd be fit to reapply this cycle again. I went ahead and reapplied to a few schools this August while studying for the mcat. Unfortunately, I got back my new mcat scores today and got a 495 and I am bummed.
I'm taking it okay though, just thinking that the mcat is just not meant to be for me after a few attempts already.The big question that's plaguing my mind now is WHAT NEXT? I've gotten all my secondaries in last month and I'm still waiting to hear back from the DO schools I applied to. I think the advantage I pose in reapplying this time around is that I'm an early applicant which can somewhat compensate for my not so great stats. And another one is completing a master's program that essentially was the first year of med school. But what do you think are my chances with a 23/495, honestly speaking? I mean the score isn't ridiculously bad for DO schools, as I know some people have gotten in with a lower gpa/score than me. What I'm thinking right now is that my stats aren't so horrible that I should quit my thought of becoming a doctor right? The flip side is that I don't have as much time to pursue it as say a person in their senior year of college. Right now, I'm thinking of other options, in the case that I don't get accepted into a DO school this year (praying to God that's not the situation come next year!). So I was thinking I could apply to a few Opto schools as well. I've always had a special interest in the field of vision. It also seems more doable while I'm waiting for these schools to get back to me. I'm aware of the flak that ODs get on this forum, but isn't it better than sitting around with a worthless bachelors degree in biomedical sciences??? All the ODs I've seen, carry themselves as respectable "Drs" and are a far cry from being jobless as some people on this forum like to perceive. OR should I go ahead and apply to 1-2 Caribbean schools?? Which would be the more secure option in my situation? Any sensible and unbiased advice would be appreciated. I think it is high time for me to take a decision and determine my future...
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