In need of desperate advice...

[conquerstife]

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Hi, I applied this year to med school and i got pretty much no response. I graduated this year from a top 50 undergraduate school (doubt it matters at all though) with a 3.29 GPA. I know that gpa sounds pretty bad but apparently my school is one of the hardest in the country (they grade deflate) according to various sources (us news etc...). My school put some garbage stats up when I was a freshman that people with a 3.3+ and a 30+ on MCAT had a 75% chance of getting into a US school.

I just got my Jan MCAT back and I got a 29Q, it's my third time taking the dam test and if you pick and choose the best scores it's a 30. My extracurrics arn't great, I volunteered for 50+ hours at a hospital but other than that pretty much nothing. Currently I'm volunteering/doing research and later I'll be shadowing a doctor.
So my choices right now are to go to the Carribean (if I get in, which I'm not to worried about) or wait and apply next cycle. By then do I have any chance of getting into medical schools. I know they look at re-applicants differently.

Please, sorry for the messy paragraphs just need some help!

 

[verynice]

Your stats look pretty good for DO but without any kind of ECs you don't have much chance anywhere. Have you pursued any sort of extra curriculars?

 

[ppappui]

Why not apply DO like the above poster says?
You MCAT is slightly above average for DO schools. Your GPA is below average, but you can make that up with good extracurricular activities until the next cycle, along with early applications. I think you'll have a decent chance if you do the above.
Unless you want that MD title so bad that you're willing to go to the Caribbean, I see no reason why you'd go there over an US DO school.

 

[Jlaw]

Your stats are fine for D.O. and you may even get some interest from MD if you apply in state. Your EC's are bad, without clinical experience you don't stand a chance. Trying to convince an adcom that you want to be a doctor with no clinical experiences is like trying to get a a major league contract with the yankees when you've never picked up a baseball.

I would recommend trying to volunteer at a clinic or in the hospital ED, you could also get your EMT cert and volunteer as an EMT. You need to shadow a couple different doctors too, and if you decide to apply to D.O. you will most likely need to a strong letter of rec from a D.O.

 

[Packman2003]

EMT or NA in a hospital are great ways to get real clinical experience. I would save the volunteering for non-clinical activities. A 10 year old could do what hospital volunteers do. I see them every day in my hospital doing nothing that would make you a better applicant/doctor. If you do EMS and you want to do something besides EM, it helps to use it as a stepping stone into a hospital or private practice where you will be in an environment with physicians. I did EMS, then got a job as a cardiology tech at a major teaching hospital. Shadowing in a specialty that you express interest in will also be very helpful. You want your activities to reflect your interests and help tell a story.

 

[Jlaw]

Yes EMT cert will open doors for other clinical experiences, alot of places require this as a minimum to get in the door and have patient contact since you can help triage patients, take histories and do vitals. Ignore what I said about ER volunteer, unless you are literally working with the doctors and nurses it doesn't count for much. Getting patients their meal trays and bringing warm blankets is nice but not really helping you learn.

Like packman says, these experiences need to help you tell a story in your personal statement, on your secondaries, and when you interview. They should relate to you personally and to where you see yourself in the future.

 

[conquerstife]

Great advice, thanks! I definitely will look into DO schools and EMT certification, always had kind of an unjustified DO bias because of the DOs I know but their philosophy has always resounded more with me. Anyway, I'll take heed to the advise. Thanks!

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

At the end of the day DO=DR=MD
The letters in front of your name are more important than the ones behind it