High GPA/ No MCAT

[Hoping2makeit]

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I am interested in applying to DMU, Scholl, AZpod, and Kent. I have a 3.8 cGPA, 3.9sGPA, 200 hours of research, 150 hours shadowing 4 different Pods in clinic and OR, +850 volunteer hours including two medical missions to Senegal, I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology with 2000+ work hours, I have good LORs, and I teach an undergraduate course at the university I graduated from.

The catch: I am non-traditional, I have NO MCAT score, and I am finishing up my physics courses. I would like to start in the Fall of 2014, but I am not sure that is possible. I am going to take the MCAT in Jan, but DMU flat out told me that they wouldn't even review my app until they have a score.

Should I apply now? Wait until next year? Thoughts?

Help please

 

[AACPMCP]

Hoping, we accept applications up until June 30 so you can certainly apply now and wait for your score to come in, but none of the schools will consider your application complete until after the MCAT score is in. I would go ahead and do your application now and then send your scores when they are ready and hopefully you'll get a slot. If not, as you said, there's always next cycle as well.

 

[jonod1107]

I am interested in applying to DMU, Scholl, AZpod, and Kent. I have a 3.8 cGPA, 3.9sGPA, 200 hours of research, 150 hours shadowing 4 different Pods in clinic and OR, +850 volunteer hours including two medical missions to Senegal, I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology with 2000+ work hours, I have good LORs, and I teach an undergraduate course at the university I graduated from.

The catch: I am non-traditional, I have NO MCAT score, and I am finishing up my physics courses. I would like to start in the Fall of 2014, but I am not sure that is possible. I am going to take the MCAT in Jan, but DMU flat out told me that they wouldn't even review my app until they have a score.

Should I apply now? Wait until next year? Thoughts?

Help please

You have tons of time to start fall 2014!!!!

Most people don't apply until spring and it has always been this way. The reasoning being that a lot of applicants start looking at pod school after being rejected from md or dental, which they don't hear back until late nov-jan.

If you look at this past year, scholl still had seats open all the way until June. Azpod had someone drop out 2 weeks before classes start and was scrambling for an applicant to fill that spot.

Basically, take your time to study the mcat. DO NOT RUSH IT!!! You can take it in march and get a 27+ you will get a full ride with that gpa of yours. I know several schools that give half or full rides for a 28 mcat and 3.7 science gpa

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

You have tons of time to start fall 2014!!!!

Most people don't apply until spring and it has always been this way. The reasoning being that a lot of applicants start looking at pod school after being rejected from md or dental, which they don't hear back until late nov-jan.

If you look at this past year, scholl still had seats open all the way until June. Azpod had someone drop out 2 weeks before classes start and was scrambling for an applicant to fill that spot.

Basically, take your time to study the mcat. DO NOT RUSH IT!!! You can take it in march and get a 27+ you will get a full ride with that gpa of yours. I know several schools that give half or full rides for a 28 mcat and 3.7 science gpa

No school gives full rides.


OP:
Based on your stats, don't bother studying too hard for the MCAT and waiting until until March to take it. In podiatry land there is no difference between you getting a 26 or a 45. And honestly, if you take it in January, get to a score of 20, you'll still be fine and probably get into your school of choice. Your goal right now is to get a score, regardless of what it is.

Contrary to what other people are telling you, you do NOT want to wait until June to apply if you want to go to your school of choice.

Also, many pod schools will interview you without an MCAT, so there's that too.

 

[hughesn2]

What he said ^^^^^^^^^^^

Most people asking "What are my chances?" are people that actually need to ask that question, but you are one of the few where a school will most likely take little observations at your MCAT score if your cumulative and science GPA are both over a 3.80.
To these schools the extreme honors high GPA will be an automatic interview.

People with that high of a GPA tend to be those that really don't need that much time for the MCAT as well. Most of my classmates that are 3.70 GPA students or higher take the MCAT during the school year and do fine...and they are applying to MD or DO school which has much stricter cut-offs.
Best of Luck to what you decide to do, but waiting till June just so you can get those extra 2pts to most likely an already high 20 score is pointless for Podiatry school. It also depends on if Pod school is your only option. I do believe that attempting to be a perfectionist for the MCAT score has more chances of taking risks at getting an interview scheduled before some of these schools begin to have single digit seats left.

 

[Snowman211]

I agree with not waiting to take the MCAT. I am a non-trad as well and wanted to start pod school a year earlier rather than later. I took the MCAT without even taking ochem at the time. Granted, the MCAT is more physics heavy than Ochem heavy, I think with self-study out of some of the exam prep books, you will do well enough to get into the school of your choice. I applied in October, and got into my first choice.

 

[jonod1107]

No school gives full rides.


OP:
Based on your stats, don't bother studying too hard for the MCAT and waiting until until March to take it. In podiatry land there is no difference between you getting a 26 or a 45. And honestly, if you take it in January, get to a score of 20, you'll still be fine and probably get into your school of choice. Your goal right now is to get a score, regardless of what it is.

Contrary to what other people are telling you, you do NOT want to wait until June to apply if you want to go to your school of choice.

Also, many pod schools will interview you without an MCAT, so there's that too.

And you know this how? I have heard from someone in the admin. office at my school that they gave out two full rides this year and several 4-6k a year scholarships.

I was offered 10k from Temple. And a recent graduate from Barry that I shadowed told me he got close to a full ride when he went to school in the 90's.


I'm just curious how you can make such a broad statement unless my sources are wrong.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

And you know this how? I have heard from someone in the admin. office at my school that they gave out two full rides this year and several 4-6k a year scholarships.

I was offered 10k from Temple. And a recent graduate from Barry that I shadowed told me he got close to a full ride when he went to school in the 90's.


I'm just curious how you can make such a broad statement unless my sources are wrong.

It's been discussed on here before, and I talked to every school (except Sam Merrit I guess) about scholarships over the past two years. Also school websites don't say full ride....


Where do you go?

I can say without a doubt that Barry, DMU, Midwestern, Scholl, and Temple do not offer full rides.

I remember reading online or emailing NYCPM, Ohio (it was Ohio at the time, so it may have changed in the past year....), and Western about their scholarships and no one offered full rides.

Anecdotal evidence: Between nikkisorous, msion, and myself we all had above average GPAs and scored in the 30s and the most any of us got was half tuition last cycle...

 

[hughesn2]

The point MaxillofacialMN is attempting to make is that it will be more beneficial to take the MCAT with a little less time of studying than waiting to get a score in the 90 percentile range. That is the point they are attempting to make.

Wait till March or April to send in your app and you'll be applying to schools that I assume will be at least 80% full and then take into exception also that you'll probably interview a while later after getting the interview acceptance.

 

[Hoping2makeit]

Does anyone know which schools will interview without an MCAT score? I already called Kent and they said they will. Anymore?

 

[skibum43]

Midwestern will. However, they will not make a decision on admissions until they recieve your mcat score.

 

[KSUCPM2015]

To answer you question, don't wait till fall 2014 to apply. Take the MCAT and apply this time around with whatever you get. If you can, I would even bump that MCAT date up earlier to December or even November, although it's been 4 years since I took mine so I don't really remember how far out the registration deadlines are. You should be fine on the MCAT. You will need a score, though, in order to be accepted even if schools will interview you.

If you take the MCAT in January you'll have a score by mid-February probably and you would definitely get an interview in March or April depending on your/the schools' schedule. This would put you right in the middle of peak interview season for podiatry which should not be a problem for you given your resume, but you could also get away with maybe a February interview if you were able to push that MCAT up a month. Just something to maybe consider.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

To answer you question, don't wait till fall 2014 to apply. Take the MCAT and apply this time around with whatever you get. If you can, I would even bump that MCAT date up earlier to December or even November

The MCAT isn't offered in November or December

 

[Hoping2makeit]

True. No MCAT until Jan. I have submitted my application and it has been verified. I have one LOR from my Department Chair and another from a Podiatrist that works at a residency program. Is there anything else I can do besides wait?

 

[KSUCPM2015]

The MCAT isn't offered in November or December

Sorry about that. Like I said, it's been a while and I took it in the summer.

Can you do anything besides wait? I mean you always can do something but to be honest, you have one of the stronger resumes I've seen on this site, and that does include the MD and DO forums. The best thing you can do is to do well in those physics classes and prepare for the MCAT. Given that you have a clear grasp of the material my suggestion would be to review the material well, but focus on test taking strategy and prepare for the experience (most positive word I could think of) that is the MCAT.

I think you would also be smart to submit that application now to take advantage of any schools that would be willing to interview before and MCAT score is in. You may even be able to interview before you test at some of the colleges. The only reason I would even consider sitting on that is if DMU is your absolute, 100%, number one choice and you are not in a position to spend the money to hold a spot at another school while you wait for the DMU interview or decision. Not that it's super important in your case given your credentials but you would beat the rush if you could get an interview in before February.

My 2 cents on the full ride is that nobody gives them as far as I know.

 

[jlocker83]

Hoping, we accept applications up until June 30 so you can certainly apply now and wait for your score to come in, but none of the schools will consider your application complete until after the MCAT score is in. I would go ahead and do your application now and then send your scores when they are ready and hopefully you'll get a slot. If not, as you said, there's always next cycle as well.

Will a school review an application if a pre-req is in progress?