How are non biology M.S. programs treated in regards to a DO application?

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sirromta

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I’m hoping someone that has an intimate knowledge of how admissions committees operate may provide me some clarity.

I’m applying this cycle as DO applicant. My goal is and always has been DO. My stats are basically the following:

Ugrad Chemical Enginering about 10 years ago
3.14 ugrad gpa ~3.5 sci (lots of Ws 2Fs and a D when my mother passed away) I also didn’t realize I would be premed at the time.

Masters Structural Engineering (Recently Graduated)
4.0 gpa finished med school biology prerequisites, lots of engineering classes

MCAT 515 (131/124/132/128)

My question is: Typically students coming in with a masters do so in biology related degree as way to say they reinvented themselves. I decided to pursue medicine halfway through my MS due to other life drivers (what I do for work/my experience with my mom’s cancer/I like interfacing with people rather than engineering/ I loved my shadowing experiences). I still wanted to finish my degree (rather than change it to biology) since I was already halfway through it. I also understand how extremely competitive it is and it’s nice to have a fail safe in case I don’t get in. My question is since my degree is in engineering and not biology related, will this be enough to say to ADCOMs: “I’ve demonstrated that I’ve learned from my mistakes in ugrad and my recent coursework and MCAT show I can handle the rigors of medical school” ? Or would they see its in enginering and not a bio/SMP program and weight it less?

I ask because I don’t want to give myself the wrong impression about what effect my MS will have on my app. In my mind I’ve demonstrated that I’m academically ready. But I’m biased and if I need to continue taking coursework to prove it, I of course will.

I apologize for spelling/grammar as I’m writing this from my phone.
 
This is a hard one to answer. How many Bio courses have you taken?

Contact your UG school's Registrar and see if you can get a retroactive W for any courses where you had a C- grade or lower. This is a thing at some schools and the they'll tell you is "no".

My school has seen several engineering students. One of them is now a surgical resident.
 
This is a hard one to answer. How many Bio courses have you taken?

Contact your UG school's Registrar and see if you can get a retroactive W for any courses where you had a C- grade or lower. This is a thing at some schools and the they'll tell you is "no".

My school has seen several engineering students. One of them is now a surgical resident.
Thanks for your reply @Goro. I've taken Biology 1 and 2 with Lab during my M.S. (received A's in both) and Biochemistry ugrad (A-). Would my 132 in the biology subsection help counter this?

The school I did my M.S. at has a health professions advisor who advised me to go ahead and apply this cycle for two reasons: she thought engineering rigor may reflect well on my app (I mostly got A's), and she said adcoms are more biased toward older applicants so I should apply while I'm 30. Also for all the DO school prerequisite classes the only class I didn't receive an A or A- in was a physics lab.

Also, I took your advice and called the registrar's office to see if they could apply a retroactive W. Unfortunately they don't do it at my Ugrad.
 
Thanks for your reply @Goro. I've taken Biology 1 and 2 with Lab during my M.S. (received A's in both) and Biochemistry ugrad (A-). Would my 132 in the biology subsection help counter this?

The school I did my M.S. at has a health professions advisor who advised me to go ahead and apply this cycle for two reasons: she thought engineering rigor may reflect well on my app (I mostly got A's), and she said adcoms are more biased toward older applicants so I should apply while I'm 30. Also for all the DO school prerequisite classes the only class I didn't receive an A or A- in was a physics lab.

Also, I took your advice and called the registrar's office to see if they could apply a retroactive W. Unfortunately they don't do it at my Ugrad.
I think that it's worth a shot for you to apply
 
My understanding is that engineering courses are weighted as BPCM and therefore should help your overall BPCM GPA when schools factor it out, and it nearly as good as a MS in biomedical sciences, unlike a MPH or MBA. What is your state of residence? I know for example Texas has an academic fresh start where basically grades from 10+ years ago are sealed and not disclosed as part of your application (there is a process to this though). I know some MD schools have similar policies when it comes to only considering your recent coursework (see LSU-New Orleans 32 hr rule). Your recent success and strong MCAT should help you a lot, and I think it helps prove your competency following your hardships in college.

I agree with Goro. I think you should apply to nearby programs and any other programs you come across that have any sort of policies similar to the Texas academic fresh start and/or LSU. (Hell, honestly if you happen to be from the south it probably wouldn't hurt to apply to a LSU if your recent grad hours are a 4.0 and you have a 515. They're in-state biased, but regularly take people from all along the gulf coast). Here's a link to a description of their policy: Requirements - Admissions - LSUHSC School of Medicine

Best of luck! I'm also a non-trad first year so I'll be rooting for you.

edit: Apparently Wayne State has the same policy, but only requires 20 hours. If I were you, I'd apply to both of those schools TBH. You have a MCAT that could open doors at either place. If you're going to pay out of state tuition/private tuition at nearly any other DO school, may as well try for these 2 schools for the same cost. Paying an extra $100 to submit AMCAS isn't a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. Plus Wayne State is OOS-friendly IIRC.
 
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