Help Needed with Timing of Application

[Trapper_John]

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Hello! I was hoping to get some help/advice. Below is information about my situation and a list of questions at the bottom.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give!

Undergraduate Institution: Private University (known for grade deflation)
Major: BS Mechanical Engineering
Graduation Year: 2018
cGPA: 2.93
sGPA: 3.07
MCAT: Scheduled for August of 2026
State of Residence: Wisconsin
Citizenship: United States
Ethnicity: ORM

DIY Post Bacc Institution: Public State University
Courses: Fall 2025 - Organic Chemistry 1 w/ Lab + Biology 1 w/ Lab
Planned Courses Spring 2026: Organic Chemistry 2 w/ Lab + Biology 2 w/ Lab + Biochemistry
Current Post Bacc GPA: 4.0
cGPA w/ Post Bacc Work (as of Fall 2025): 2.97
sGPA w/ Post Bacc Work (as of Fall 2025): 3.22

MBA Institution: Public State University
Anticipated Graduation: Spring 2027
GPA: 3.95 (20 out of 44 credits completed)

Clinical Experience

• Supervisor at High Acuity Behavioral Adult Family Home (6,000 hours)
  • Oversaw operations of adult family homes serving ID/DD individuals with high acuity behavioral needs (basically a step down program from our state mental institution).
  • Lots of work with social workers/guardians/funding sources but also tons of hands-on experiences with individuals.
• ED Medical Scribe (230 hours, increasing)

Non-Clinical Experience

• Engineering Jobs (10,000 hours)
  • Mainly manufacturing with a bit of product development, project management, and operations management/supervision.

Volunteering

• Reception Desk/Rooming Patients at Surgery Center (126 hours, increasing)
• Mobile Hospice Visitor (53 hours, increasing)

Shadowing

• General Surgery OR (8 hours)

Questions

• If I continue to get A’s in my DIY post bacc classes and take another 12-ish credits in the fall of 2026 (28 credits total) do I have a reasonable chance at an MD acceptance in the 2027-28 cycle? I’m weighing the option of applying DO only after getting my MCAT score in fall 2026 vs. waiting to apply DO/MD in spring 2027. I’d really like to stay in Wisconsin (only MD schools) but I don’t want to delay applying if there isn't a real chance of an MD acceptance.
• If an MD acceptance in 2027-28 is a possibility what MCAT score should I be targeting?
• Is there anything I should be doing to strengthen my application? I’m planning to continue with my current volunteering and scribe position and to find a non-clinical volunteer opportunity. I wasn’t sure if I should be trying to get research or some other experience before applying.