I need reassurance or at least honesty about my stats...

[):(]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am a junior at the University of Washington. I have a 3.39 GPA. However my grades have been continually improving, except last quarter (I had a traumatic death in my family and it dropped my GPA to a 3.31). I did a year of research, I had an internship at a hospital for an academic quarter, and I did a summer pre med program at a top 20 public school. I came from poverty and an abusive background to where I am now, so maybe that will count for something; I am interested in being a family doctor and, sounds corny, but defending the voiceless. If I say got an average MCAT score (30) and as a worse case scenario maintained my GPA. What do you think of my chances? btw, I do believe my interview will be my strongest attribute; I can just about make anyone smile.

 

[sookie]

I don't think you should worry too much. It really depends on the school you apply to and how early you apply. A 30 is a really good mcat score. I would just try to take a full schedule of sciences classes (get all A's) to show the committee that you can handle the course load.

 

[Tachymeter]

Hey how about this, I'll tell you what happens with me. ( I should know in the next couple weeks how things turn out.) I also went to UW and graduated this summer, I have similar stats to you as well as a traumatic family event that caused my grades to drop. Also have a really unique background like you seem to have.

 

[):(]

Hey how about this, I'll tell you what happens with me. ( I should know in the next couple weeks how things turn out.) I also went to UW and graduated this summer, I have similar stats to you as well as a traumatic family event that caused my grades to drop. Also have a really unique background like you seem to have.

Thanks I would really appreciate anything you have to say. I don't care about prestige, so I would be fine with going to a foreign school(Are you considering that?). However, I don't want to be away from my family. I think we are both probably dreaming of acceptance from UW 😍

 

[RySerr21]

Thanks I would really appreciate anything you have to say. I don't care about prestige, so I would be fine with going to a foreign school(Are you considering that?). However, I don't want to be away from my family. I think we are both probably dreaming of acceptance from UW 😍

dont think of foreign schools just yet. your gpa is fine, especially for DO schools. just rock the MCAT and youll get in somewhere

p.s. don't let the guy on the MD forum with a 3.88/35 MCAT and 0 acceptances scare you!!!

 

[hanky1982]

honestly, don't fret.... do well on your MCATs and all should pan out

 

[scowdeva]

Check out my MDApps...my scores are pretty close to what you posted for yourself, and I have been pleasantly surprised with the success I've had so far!

 

[bluemonkey]

FYI an average MCAT score is a 25, so if you hit a 30, you are definitely competitive. Just make sure to study hard!!!

 

[ShyRem]

It is difficult to give any opinion about statistics that don't yet exist.

Bottom line: do the best you can on the MCAT. No matter what your GPA, you need to do the best you can on the MCAT. When you have a score, come back and ask this question.

 

[Jack Daniel]

I am a junior at the University of Washington. I have a 3.39 GPA. However my grades have been continually improving, except last quarter (I had a traumatic death in my family and it dropped my GPA to a 3.31). I did a year of research, I had an internship at a hospital for an academic quarter, and I did a summer pre med program at a top 20 public school. I came from poverty and an abusive background to where I am now, so maybe that will count for something; I am interested in being a family doctor and, sounds corny, but defending the voiceless. If I say got an average MCAT score (30) and as a worse case scenario maintained my GPA. What do you think of my chances? btw, I do believe my interview will be my strongest attribute; I can just about make anyone smile.

Best of luck in preparing for your MCAT. Earning a strong score will really build on your previous successes and will definitely increase your chances and choices.

Just as an aside, have you also considered a legal career? With your interests in advocacy, fighting poverty and abuse ... sounds like it might also be a good match.

 

[pamolive]

A 30 is definitely not an average MCAT score. That's a really great school. Honestly, with your stats if you're not absolutely set on Osteopathic medicine, I'd apply allopathic too. You could definitely at least get an interview at SUNY upstate, and Temple.

I don't think you have to worry about applying though. Just be yourself, and really sound sincere in your personal statement and secondary essays. You'll be fine. With those stats you've got a great shot at places like PCOM etc.

 

[DadAndPreDOinMO]

You should be fine. Just nail the mcat!! I was accepted with gpa and mcat lower than what you have said.
I have three words of advice for you: SHADOW SHADOW SHADOW. I had ~300 hours shadowing with a DO and that was very well taken by my interviewers. They knew that I was genuinely interested and somewhat knowledgeable about osteopathic philosophy.
Good luck!!!

 

[NjD00]

Even a 3.4/25 will give a decent shot at many medical schools in the country.

Like everyone has said, shoot for a good MCAT and you're in good shape.

 

[digitlnoize]

Yeah, a 30 is a pretty good score. I think the national average for MCAT takers (not matriculating students) is around a 24. DO school stats have traditionally been low, but have been alot higher recently, particularly this year.

To give some hope though, I have a 28mcat, a 3.4 cum, but a 3.8 science and got at least 1 DO acceptance. I had other interview offers but I turned them down because I got my top school. I had a big break and a major upward trend though, so not quite the same situation.

Kill the MCAT, no matter what.

 

[Whaty]

Yeah just study hard for the Mcat and do well. I had a 21 the first time and a 24 the second time. I got my top choice before I even saw other interviews. My Gpa was 3.69, hope my low Mcat puts you a little at ease.🙂

 

[scpod]

Even a 3.4/25 will give a decent shot at many medical schools in the country....

True, it will....but it depends on the school. The more you apply to the better shot you have because many of them are looking for different things. To give you an example, I know that my school has declined to interview some people with 28 and 29 MCATs this year. They have, however, given interviews to quite a few people with lower scores. Why? Because they have a good idea of what types of people will be succesful at our institution, and which ones won't.

A bunch of schools have cutoffs with GPAs and MCAT scores. My school has cutoffs but it looks at more than just the score itself. They have determined that undergrad institution really doesn't correlate with step one scores, but they do look at where you went to school when they look at your GPA. There's some education journal that pretty much rates all the undergrad institutions in the country and we assign each of them to a quartile. People with a GPA of 3.2 from the top quartile schools are considered stronger than a 3.2 from the bottom quartile. Also, we have determined that the BS section of the MCAT is a better predictor of step one success at our school than PS or Verbal, so that section may be looked at more highly than others. The Verbal section is the least looked at.

I can't say that all schools do it that way, but I can tell you that they all pretty much assign importance of various categories differently. So...the same old boring advice gets given out once again. No one can tell you what your chances are, because they don't know, but if you apply broadly and early you have a better chance.

 

[superfan56]

The Verbal section is the least looked at.

while no one is going to dispute the significance of the BS section on the MCAT, i've heard from a lot of ADCOMS that verbal is very heavily weighed. Especially since it's a level playing field. I didn't do as well on BS as I'd hoped because I didn't have 4 years of Biology beaten in my brain over and over again like traditional pre-meds.

 

[scpod]

....i've heard from a lot of ADCOMS that verbal is very heavily weighed....

Like I said, not ALL schools will do things the same way. However, our school has data that show the Verbal section has the LEAST correlation to step one scores. And, that's what THEY use to predict how well an applicant will do.

 

[sethman33]

Hey guys! Finished my secondaries 2 weeks ago. Should be hearing back soon! Just wondering what you think my chances of getting an interview (also on getting in, if you'd like) are at any or all of the following schools: CCOM, PCOM, AZCOM, OUCOM, ATSU-SOMA, Nova, LECOM Bradenton, LECOM Erie, RVU-COM, TCOM, KCUMB, and DMU.

Here's my stats, be honest!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Major --- Health Science Studies
Minor --- Medical Humanities

MCAT (May 2007) - 24R (8,8,8)
GPA: 3.35
Sci. GPA: 3.22

--- Graduate of an Interdisciplinary Program, apart of the Honors College. ---

Employment
* Undergraduate Intramural Supervisor --- Work Study Program working as a referee and supervising all sports; specialize in Football, Basketball, and Soccer (08/2004 – Present; about 8 hours/week)

* University of _________: Office of Technology Commercialization Intern --- Worked in the Intellectual Property department helping university professors patent research and inventions (05/2007 - 08/2007; about 40 hours/week)

Healthcare Experience
* Community Free Clinic Volunteer --- Worked as a clinical assistant to triage patients, record vitals, etc. (01/2007 – Present; about 50 hrs)
* Hospital Volunteer --- Intermediate Care Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Medical/Surgical Unit, Pharmacy (Seasonally; about 50 hrs)
* Internship at _______ Medical Center -- Dr. David _________, MD - Radiology (12/2007 - 05/2008; 150 hrs)
* Shadowing at ____________ Pulmonary & Sleep Associates --- Dr. David Brickey, DO - Internal Medicine/ Critical Care (01/2008; about 20 hrs)

Extracirriculars
* Christian Health Care Society --- President (08/2005 – Present)
* (Fraternity) --- Member (08/2005 – Present); Intramural Chair (08/2006 – Present)
* Student Government --- Junior Senator (08/2006 - 05/2007); Senior Senator (08/2007 – Present);Operations and Procedures Vice Chairman (08/2007 – Present)
* Medical Ethics Discussion Society --- Member (08/2005 – Present); Discussion Leader (08/2007 – Present)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[BCLumas]

Ok.. For schools like PCOM, CCOM, OUCOM, and AZCOM, I would say that your chances are very limited. Those programs are generally some of the hardest to get into, and applying this late with your stats would be hard to do. TCOM is zero. I applied there and was complete in late September. I contacted them yesterday and they said "We completed all interviews by the end of 2007. If you did not receive and interview, then I am sorry to say that you are rejected." Basically, they have their waitlist and they have the sold list. Neither of which you can get on. DMU, KCUMB, RVU-COM, and Nova, I cannot speak for. I would say that your stats are a little low for this present application cycle, especially with applying so late. With the LECOMs, I would say that you have a chance, but I would complete their secondaries first if you are serious about them. They seem to offer you your best shot and have the latest secondary acceptance requirement. Once again, however, you do have a low MCAT score.

My advice if you do not matriculate this cycle is to study hard and diligently for the MCAT and retake it in April. If you are an MD-I-didn't-get-in-omg-DO-pls, then just relax and take it one step at a time. Fill out your AACOMAS and AMCAS as soon as they open up in the summer, and begin writing out your secondaries. I would advise against resubmitting the same words as it seems rather tacky, but that's just me. Get your applications in early and see what you can do.

Good luck!

 

[superfan56]

numbers are low for DMU

Average Statistics: The average cumulative MCAT score of our matriculants is 26. The average cumulative GPA is 3.64 and the average science GPA is 3.54.

I'd agree with the above with the more competitive schools.

 

[Whaty]

I wouldn't say applying late is impossible, I recieved CCOM interview about 4 days ago and was fully complete 2 days before the Dec.1 deadline. I declined the interview because it was my second choice school. Keep in mind D.O. schools look at way more than just your gpa and mcat if you can show them your personality in your primary and secondary and do a far amount of volunteer work your chances greatly increase.

 

[bluemonkey]

Just remember that earlier is always better. Even if you interview now, your chances are much lower than if you had interviewed a couple of months ago. There is no worse feeling than getting put on a waitlist because there are no more spots in a class. If you don't get in this year (I hope you do get in!) retake your MCAT and apply as early as possible next year. You might be starting your applications for 2009 while you are still waiting to hear about 2008, but in the long run it will be worth it.

 

[ellinopedo182]

Yeah just study hard for the Mcat and do well. I had a 21 the first time and a 24 the second time. I got my top choice before I even saw other interviews. My Gpa was 3.69, hope my low Mcat puts you a little at ease.🙂

wow thats weird. I got a 21 the first time, and a 24 the second time too. My gpa was a 3.71, very close to yours. With these stats, i got 7 interview invites so far, 1 acceptance on my second interview, 2 alternate waitlist, and I declined the rest of the interviews after being accepted to TOUROCOM. Still visiting Western on Jan 31st, and waiting to get off the pre-interview waitlist at Midwestern Chicago.

 

[Saregamapadanis]

p.s. don't let the guy on the MD forum with a 3.88/35 MCAT and 0 acceptances scare you!!!

Sigh, sadly it is true that allopathic schools are extremely hard to get into. I don't have a good gpa like 3.88.. but I have the above mentioned mcat score... yet i couldn't land atleast one interview this year. I applied to 40 MD schools and 2 DO schools, so far I got interviews for both DO schools and both are acceptances 😀👍, but i am seeing only rejections from almost all MD schools I had applied 👎(. Allopathic schools are missing out on good people who will become great docs one day. heh sucks for them.

 

[Whaty]

wow thats weird. I got a 21 the first time, and a 24 the second time too. My gpa was a 3.71, very close to yours. With these stats, i got 7 interview invites so far, 1 acceptance on my second interview, 2 alternate waitlist, and I declined the rest of the interviews after being accepted to TOUROCOM. Still visiting Western on Jan 31st, and waiting to get off the pre-interview waitlist at Midwestern Chicago.

where are you from? Maybe you will get my spot for CCOM interview! That would rock😀