Is 27 schools too broad? Should I cut some out? I need to be critiqued

[SlugMD]

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So this is my current list

ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
AZCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
CCOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
MSU
NYIT
NSU
OSU
PNWU
PCOM
RVU
Rowan
Touro-NY
Touro-CA
Touro-NV
UNE
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Western (#1)

I am aware of the in state bis that MSU, NYIT, OSU, UNE, Rowan have but why not try? I have some family in Michigan. I have been told by a few advisors and doc's that schools like to interview california applicants for a variety of reason. I'm not trying to troll, but the most common reason was that we have "personality and diversity". Bottom line, Ive saved up money for a long time just for this cycle. I want to be a doctor and while COMP is my #1, I don't care where I go to school.

My application
Hard Numbers: 3.1/3.1 (after summer update) + 26 (9,9,8), went to a "midtier" UC just in case some schools care about rep which I initially doubted but some doc's have told me that they sometimes consider it.

10 LOR's (I've been told I'm crazy but I want schools to know how much medicine means to me)
- 3 science
-1 non-science
-2 Internship supervisors
- 1 MD (Ortho)
- 3 DO (Plastic Surgery, 2 FP/OMM)

FYI: Both FP's are faculty of COMP so I'm hoping the COMP adcom notices that. I write a bit how I plan to go back to my medically underserved city in SoCal after medical school and my plan for serving the underserved schools that I was educated in until college.

EC's
- 200 hr clinical volunteering at hospital (1.5 years)
- 1 internship with university relations (3 months)
- 1 internship with an org that serves homeless woman in my area (3 months)
- Extensive leadership with multiple orgs. (3 years)
- 200 hr shadowing 4 doctors in 4 specialties ( 3 years)

Personal Statement is obviously subjective but basically I'm going to describe my childhood "why medicine" moment followed by why how I plan to serve my community as a doctor, then specifically why DO only. Briefly mention OMM, how mind/body/spirit, and why in general DO fits with my values.

From all the doc's I have talked to. I've been told I have a "good, not great" chance to get into COMP but they have "no doubt" that I will get into at least 1 school somewhere if I apply broadly. After looking at my full app they saw that due to the "holistic" review process, schools will want to talk to me to get my story straight and address my low GPA mostly.

Timeline:
I plan to apply it one school (Probably ACOM) in late June when my spring quarter grades come out, be verified by the end of July, and update my summer grades in the middle of august so that by September 1st the other 26 will have my application. I plan to dedicate all of September/October on writing secondaries with the interview cycle (hopefully) being from November till whenever I get in somewhere. If I don't get in to at least 1 school by Jan. 2016 then I will enroll in a couple CC classes for Spring 2016 for grade replacement. In my gap year, I will be working at my dads business and volunteer.

So how do I look?

 

[Bones 2020]

Are you aware of how much MSU tuition is for out of state students? I really think that it would be best to apply to schools without in state bias. They usually only consider strong applicants (high GPA, MCAT) for the OOS matriculants

 

[ERK123]

I probably would not apply so late if you plan to have everything ready by late June. Your GPA is low so I would not give schools an added excuse not to give your application a chance. September is not too late, but I am not sure if it is advantageous to wait if you have everything ready.

FYI: Both FP's are faculty of COMP so I'm hoping the COMP adcom notices that. I write a bit how I plan to go back to my medically underserved city in SoCal after medical school and my plan for serving the underserved schools that I was educated in until college.

Are you writing about this in your personal statement? I wonder what other people on SDN think, but I am not sure it is a good idea to mention a specific location where you want to practice medicine when you are applying to school all over the country. The public schools certainly will not like to see this and I am not sure how many of the OOS private schools would view this information. You can talk about wanting to practice medicine in an underserved community, but I would be gauge about location until secondaries.

 

[SlugMD]

I probably would not apply so late if you plan to have everything ready by late June. Your GPA is low so I would not give schools an added excuse not to give your application a chance. September is not too late, but I am not sure if it is advantageous to wait if you have everything ready.



Are you writing about this in your personal statement? I wonder what other people on SDN think, but I am not sure it is a good idea to mention a specific location where you want to practice medicine when you are applying to school all over the country. The public schools certainly will not like to see this and I am not sure how many of the OOS private schools would view this information. You can talk about wanting to practice medicine in an underserved community, but I would be gauge about location until secondaries.

I am submitting in late June and having it verified by early August at the latest. Only problem is need to take 2 classes for grade forgiveness to boost everything to 3.1+

Should I apply to all the schools whose minimum screening GPA and mcat (ex LECOM, SOMA, KCOM, BCOM) just so I can fill out the secondary apps faster?

Tangent: BCOM's minimum stats (2.5/17) are a little alarmingly in my opinion but I'm not complaining. What do you guys think?

I should have been more specific, I mentioned COMP adcom so COMP's secondary is where I would get more specific on location and my ideal

Something like 80%+ of their class is from SoCal. I'm hoping they will accept some who want to work in California's undeserved communities.

 

[ortnakas]

I wonder what other people on SDN think, but I am not sure it is a good idea to mention a specific location where you want to practice medicine when you are applying to school all over the country. The public schools certainly will not like to see this and I am not sure how many of the OOS private schools would view this information. You can talk about wanting to practice medicine in an underserved community, but I would be gauge about location until secondaries.

Agreed. Even the private schools often like to keep people in their general region. PCOM and LECOM may not be impressed by someone who only wants to be across the country.

Apply broadly, but be realistic as well. The OOS state schools likely aren't your friends. MSUCOM has insane OOS tuition. And can you afford 27 secondaries and a whole bunch of interviews, if you get interview offers at a chunk of them?

 

[AM508]

MSU and OSU are probably a waste of money to apply to. MSU's tuition for out of state is absolutely ludicrous and OSU only takes like 10-15% of their students from OOS. With your stats where they are, an application to most of the strongly OOS biased schools (read: MSU, OSU) is a donation to the school in the form of a primary and secondary application fee. I know I made the mistake of sending an application to OSU, they seem to send a secondary to everyone, and even with over a 3.5 and over a 30, I didn't even get an interview.

 

[ERK123]

MSU and OSU are probably a waste of money to apply to. MSU's tuition for out of state is absolutely ludicrous and OSU only takes like 10-15% of their students from OOS. With your stats where they are, an application to most of the strongly OOS biased schools (read: MSU, OSU) is a donation to the school in the form of a primary and secondary application fee. I know I made the mistake of sending an application to OSU, they seem to send a secondary to everyone, and even with over a 3.5 and over a 30, I didn't even get an interview.

OSU also requires a 5 year commitment to practice medicine in Ohio. I don't think it is legally binding, but I would not apply there with false intentions. MSU was probably the most frustrating school I applied to all cycle. They have an incredibly long secondary, and do not even review a great portion of their applications since they do not interview.

 

[xBODOMx]

.

 

[xBODOMx]

.

 

[StudyLater]

Only problem is need to take a class for grade forgiveness.

Will this one class really make a big enough difference in your cGPA to offset the cost of applying later in the cycle? Something worth thinking about.

With your cGPA relatively low and MCAT pretty average, this amount of applications doesn't seem unreasonable, provided, as @ortnakas said, you're willing to take on the associated costs of applying to so many (secondaries + interviews).

And by the way that is a lot of LORs.

 

[j4pac]

Depends on how rich you are. If you're rich...apply as broadly as possible...and donate to SDN.

 

[ortnakas]

10 LOR's (I've been told I'm crazy but I want schools to know how much medicine means to me)
- 3 science
-1 non-science
-2 Internship supervisors
- 1 MD (Ortho)
- 3 DO (Plastic Surgery, 2 FP/OMM)

Sorry for the double posts; I hit the wrong button.

I would also cut back a bit on the letters. You can get away with one or two extra, and it's great so many people are supporting your application, but no adcom wants to read 10 letters when they asked for 2.

 

[SlugMD]

Just my two cents. You need to work on your ECs too. Adcoms can definitely sniff out some fluff.

I think I have great EC's. I have a hand full of orgs that I have dedicated a lot time into (many years) and planned a lot of large scale philanthropies and fundraisers. I gave a minimal description so I understand why you might see them as weak. I did so I can keep some anonymity. Bottom line, I don't have a laundry list. I developed a lot of life skills through my EC's that have influenced my decision to go into medicine.

Will this one class really make a big enough difference in your cGPA to offset the cost of applying later in the cycle? Something worth thinking about.

With your cGPA relatively low and MCAT pretty average, this amount of applications doesn't seem unreasonable, provided, as @ortnakas said, you're willing to take on the associated costs of applying to so many (secondaries + interviews).

And by the way that is a lot of LORs.

I'm actually taking 2 classes, I just edited my post. But yeah those classes will make a difference. Before I would have a~3.0/2.95 so just below the minimum 3.0 science that a majority of the schools require to pass the pre-secondary screen.

I don't plan on recieving all 27 secondaries back, saved enough ~15-17. Hopefully those will yield a few interviews. Like I said before, while I love COMP, I don't mind leaving California. I just want to be a doctor.

 

[xBODOMx]

.

 

[StudyLater]

I think I have great EC's. I have hand full of orgs I have dedicated a lot time (many years) and planned a lot of large scale philanthropies and fundraisers.

I agree that @xBODOMx sounded a little harsh there, but I think he was focusing on your internship things as being "padding." This probably comes from the common knowledge that adcoms have posted some negative opinions on "medical mission trips" and similar short-term commitments, which don't actually end up being particularly productive. The idea is, I suppose, that they want to see long-term commitments. But one can see you have those already (several years of dedication to several things) - so, that's where the comment sort of falls flat. You do have what could be considered (maybe, probably depends on the adcom) padding, but so what? You have the foundation too. I think your ECs look stellar. Only thing that could have been more optimal would have been more volunteer hours/clinical experience, but 200+ is more than some successful MD apps have had.

I'm actually taking 2 classes, I just edited my post. But yeah those classes will make a difference. Before I would have a~3.0/2.95 so just below the minimum 3.0 science that a majority of the schools require to pass the pre-secondary screen.

Ah, ok. Sorry I thought you said you currently have a 3.1.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Take out Touro-NY, Touro-CA, Rowan, UNE, AZCOM, and CCOM. Your chances there are extremely low with the low cGPA/sGPA and average MCAT, save that money for interviews. The other schools; OSU, MSU, NYIT, NSU, and RVU, are 'iffy.' I would take those out too IMO, but I don't know enough about their 'acceptance floor' to make a judgement. The others are okay.

 

[ERK123]

How would you feel about taking a year off to improve your GPA? I think you have a good shot at being accepted if you apply broadly, but I think your chances would be close to guaranteed if you spent a year doing grade replacement or taking more science classes.

 

[SlugMD]

How would you feel about taking a year off to improve your GPA? I think you have a good shot at being accepted if you apply broadly, but I think your chances would be close to guaranteed if you spent a year doing grade replacement or taking more science classes.

I'm against it. First of all, I do not want to live at home for more then 1 year. I love my parents but they are just too controlling. (Reason why I went to college 5 hours away)

Also against it because I feel like a higher GPA would only get my a couple more acceptance than this year since my MCAT won't change. I wouldn't retake my mcat yet because, being part of the old mcat group I don't want to consider the new mcat yet unless I have to reapply next year. Studying for it took a lot out of me last year and don't want to get back in that unless I don't have any other options.

Bottomline:
I would rather get into less difficult DO school (Ex LMU, ACOM, BCOM, WVSOM) and start in 2016 then to wait a year and maybe getting into "better" school (Ex CCOM, DMU). Plus waiting a year and improving my GPA wouldn't guarantee I get into "better" DO schools.

Notice, I know rankings are useless for DO schools, I'm just trying to make a comparison of admissions difficulty. I know most of medical school is on the individual which is why I don't mind what school I get into. I just want to be a doctor asap and I think a year gap is just enough vacation time for me before starting my career.

 

[ERK123]

I'm against it. First of all, I do not want to live at home for more then 1 year. I love my parents but they are just too controlling. (Reason why I went to college 5 hours away)

Also against it because I feel like a higher GPA would only get my a couple more acceptance than this year since my MCAT won't change. I wouldn't retake my mcat yet because, being part of the old mcat group I don't want to consider the new mcat yet unless I have to reapply next year. Studying for it took a lot out of me last year and don't want to get back in that unless I don't have any other options.

Bottomline:
I would rather get into less difficult DO school (Ex LMU, ACOM, BCOM, WVSOM) and start in 2016 then to wait a year and maybe getting into "better" school (Ex CCOM, DMU). Plus waiting a year and improving my GPA wouldn't guarantee I get into "better" DO schools.

Notice, I know rankings are useless for DO schools, I'm just trying to make a comparison of admissions difficulty. I know most of medical school is on the individual which is why I don't mind what school I get into. I just want to be a doctor asap and I think a year gap is just enough vacation time for me before starting my career.

All solid reasons. I wish you the best of luck, and I am sure you will get into at least one medical school this cycle as you seem very driven and competent. Do not let the application cycle get you down too much. Speaking from my own experience, your own dark thoughts can be the biggest hurdle throughout the process.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Tangent: BCOM's minimum stats (2.5/17) are a little alarmingly in my opinion but I'm not complaining. What do you guys think?

I think that's absolutely f*cking terrible.

 

[user3]

I think that's absolutely f*cking terrible.

D.O. degrees 4 everyone!

 

[jl lin]

Are you aware of how much MSU tuition is for out of state students? I really think that it would be best to apply to schools without in state bias. They usually only consider strong applicants (high GPA, MCAT) for the OOS matriculants

Yes. I was looking at school costs--OOS, etc, the other day. When I saw MSU, I almost fell on the floor.

 

[Roxas]

I think that's absolutely f*cking terrible.

D.O. degrees 4 everyone!

Maybe I'm completely off base here, but I've never quite understood what the significance was of a schools "minimum" stats, and why many find it so disconcerting. That doesn't mean they're going to accept lower stat students over higher stat students, they're going to take the best they can get just like any other school. I'm willing to bet that their average is around 3.4/25, just like most other newer schools.

I'm definitely against the rapid expansion of DO schools, and I would prefer that my future DO colleagues did a heck of a lot better than 2.5/17 to get in. Thoughts?

 

[AM508]

I think that's absolutely f*cking terrible.

Yeah...Nothing like setting the bar at rock bottom...ugh...

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

So this is my current list

ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
AZCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
CCOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
MSU
NYIT
NSU
OSU
PNWU
PCOM
RVU
Rowan
Touro-NY
Touro-CA
Touro-NV
UNE
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Western (#1)

I am aware of the in state bis that MSU, NYIT, OSU, UNE, Rowan have but why not try? I have some family in Michigan. I have been told by a few advisors and doc's that schools like to interview california applicants for a variety of reason. I'm not trying to troll, but the most common reason was that we have "personality and diversity". Bottom line, Ive saved up money for a long time just for this cycle. I want to be a doctor and while COMP is my #1, I don't care where I go to school.

My application
Hard Numbers: 3.1/3.1 (after summer update) + 26 (9,9,8), went to a "midtier" UC just in case some schools care about rep which I initially doubted but some doc's have told me that they sometimes consider it.

10 LOR's (I've been told I'm crazy but I want schools to know how much medicine means to me)
- 3 science
-1 non-science
-2 Internship supervisors
- 1 MD (Ortho)
- 3 DO (Plastic Surgery, 2 FP/OMM)

FYI: Both FP's are faculty of COMP so I'm hoping the COMP adcom notices that. I write a bit how I plan to go back to my medically underserved city in SoCal after medical school and my plan for serving the underserved schools that I was educated in until college.

EC's
- 200 hr clinical volunteering at hospital (1.5 years)
- 1 internship with university relations (3 months)
- 1 internship with an org that serves homeless woman in my area (3 months)
- Extensive leadership with multiple orgs. (3 years)
- 200 hr shadowing 4 doctors in 4 specialties ( 3 years)

Personal Statement is obviously subjective but basically I'm going to describe my childhood "why medicine" moment followed by why how I plan to serve my community as a doctor, then specifically why DO only. Briefly mention OMM, how mind/body/spirit, and why in general DO fits with my values.

From all the doc's I have talked to. I've been told I have a "good, not great" chance to get into COMP but they have "no doubt" that I will get into at least 1 school somewhere if I apply broadly. After looking at my full app they saw that due to the "holistic" review process, schools will want to talk to me to get my story straight and address my low GPA mostly.

Timeline:
I plan to apply it one school (Probably ACOM) in late June when my spring quarter grades come out, be verified by the end of July, and update my summer grades in the middle of august so that by September 1st the other 26 will have my application. I plan to dedicate all of September/October on writing secondaries with the interview cycle (hopefully) being from November till whenever I get in somewhere. If I don't get in to at least 1 school by Jan. 2016 then I will enroll in a couple CC classes for Spring 2016 for grade replacement. In my gap year, I will be working at my dads business and volunteer.

So how do I look?

with GPA teetering towards 3.0 and MCAT teetering towards 25 I think you will be doing yourself a service by applying broadly.

 

[Bones 2020]

Maybe I'm completely off base here, but I've never quite understood what the significance was of a schools "minimum" stats, and why many find it so disconcerting. That doesn't mean they're going to accept lower stat students over higher stat students, they're going to take the best they can get just like any other school. I'm willing to bet that their average is around 3.4/25, just like most other newer schools.

I'm definitely against the rapid expansion of DO schools, and I would prefer that my future DO colleagues did a heck of a lot better than 2.5/17 to get in. Thoughts?

My guess is they do not want to come out of the gate with high requirements. As a new institution, and not even a branch of an established program, they would be laughed at. They will start low, accept the best that apply to their program, and increase the average stats each year like any other program

 

[Roxas]

My guess is they do not want to come out of the gate with high requirements. As a new institution, and not even a branch of an established program, they would be laughed at. They will start low, accept the best that apply to their program, and increase the average stats each year like any other program

Right, that's what I'm saying as well. Nothing against the above posters, but it seemed as if they were saying a lower minimum would somehow affect the process of them seeking out the best applicants to fill their class, and it would be full of people with <20 MCATs. But again, there might be something I'm missing.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Right, that's what I'm saying as well. Nothing against the above posters, but it seemed as if they were saying a lower minimum would somehow affect the process of them seeking out the best applicants to fill their class, and it would be full of people with <20 MCATs. But again, there might be something I'm missing.

It looks bad for 2 reasons.

1.) Image is everything for a new school and setting the bar that low makes people think almost anyone can get in. We already have the allo guys talking about lower stats for DO school. This adds fuel to the fire.

2.) I have been telling people not to apply unless their GPA is at least a 3.0

Now we have this new school giving people false hope that a sub 3.0 GPA and low MCAT will give them consideration. It's just a massive money grab from desperate pre-meds.

They could just as easily raise the minimum to 3.0/24. I honestly believe that's the BARE MINIMUM someone should have.

It's like there is a bet going on to see which institution can have the lowest stats. LUCOM is currently winning right now. We both know how hard med school is. Do you really think someone w/ a 22 is going to be successful?

 

[Roxas]

It looks bad for 2 reasons.

1.) Image is everything for a new school and setting the bar that low makes people think almost anyone can get in. We already have the allo guys talking about lower stats for DO school. This adds fuel to the fire.

2.) I have been telling people not to apply unless their GPA is at least a 3.0

Now we have this new school giving people false hope that a sub 3.0 GPA and low MCAT will give them consideration. It's just a massive money grab from desperate pre-meds.

They could just as easily raise the minimum to 3.0/24. I honestly believe that's the BARE MINIMUM someone should have.

It's like there is a bet going on to see which institution can have the lowest stats. LUCOM is currently winning right now. We both know how hard med school is. Do you really think someone w/ a 22 is going to be successful?

That's a good point, and I totally agree 3.0/24 should be bare min. I guess it is more of an image thing, even if their average will be above that. Unfortunately there are plenty of IMGs with abysmal stats that somehow get their degree and match in the US as well.

 

[evooo8]

I was a California applicant last cycle. I applied in September with 3.16/3.35 25. I was from a Cal State though. Your ECs seem to be much better than me. I applied to just around the same number of schools and was only offered two interviews and one acceptance. I think my chances might have been slightly better if I had applied earlier. The sooner you apply the better. I think you will have at least one acceptance this cycle though. Good luck!

 

[Bones 2020]

It looks bad for 2 reasons.

1.) Image is everything for a new school and setting the bar that low makes people think almost anyone can get in. We already have the allo guys talking about lower stats for DO school. This adds fuel to the fire.

2.) I have been telling people not to apply unless their GPA is at least a 3.0

Now we have this new school giving people false hope that a sub 3.0 GPA and low MCAT will give them consideration. It's just a massive money grab from desperate pre-meds.

They could just as easily raise the minimum to 3.0/24. I honestly believe that's the BARE MINIMUM someone should have.

It's like there is a bet going on to see which institution can have the lowest stats. LUCOM is currently winning right now. We both know how hard med school is. Do you really think someone w/ a 22 is going to be successful?

Interesting. You think the low requirements are a way to make more money in the beginning from applicants who wouldn't normally apply, but now have a "chance"?

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

So this is my current list

ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
AZCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
CCOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
MSU
NYIT
NSU
OSU
PNWU
PCOM
RVU
Rowan
Touro-NY
Touro-CA
Touro-NV
UNE
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Western (#1)

I am aware of the in state bis that MSU, NYIT, OSU, UNE, Rowan have but why not try? I have some family in Michigan. I have been told by a few advisors and doc's that schools like to interview california applicants for a variety of reason. I'm not trying to troll, but the most common reason was that we have "personality and diversity". Bottom line, Ive saved up money for a long time just for this cycle. I want to be a doctor and while COMP is my #1, I don't care where I go to school.

My application
Hard Numbers: 3.1/3.1 (after summer update) + 26 (9,9,8), went to a "midtier" UC just in case some schools care about rep which I initially doubted but some doc's have told me that they sometimes consider it.

10 LOR's (I've been told I'm crazy but I want schools to know how much medicine means to me)
- 3 science
-1 non-science
-2 Internship supervisors
- 1 MD (Ortho)
- 3 DO (Plastic Surgery, 2 FP/OMM)

FYI: Both FP's are faculty of COMP so I'm hoping the COMP adcom notices that. I write a bit how I plan to go back to my medically underserved city in SoCal after medical school and my plan for serving the underserved schools that I was educated in until college.

EC's
- 200 hr clinical volunteering at hospital (1.5 years)
- 1 internship with university relations (3 months)
- 1 internship with an org that serves homeless woman in my area (3 months)
- Extensive leadership with multiple orgs. (3 years)
- 200 hr shadowing 4 doctors in 4 specialties ( 3 years)

Personal Statement is obviously subjective but basically I'm going to describe my childhood "why medicine" moment followed by why how I plan to serve my community as a doctor, then specifically why DO only. Briefly mention OMM, how mind/body/spirit, and why in general DO fits with my values.

From all the doc's I have talked to. I've been told I have a "good, not great" chance to get into COMP but they have "no doubt" that I will get into at least 1 school somewhere if I apply broadly. After looking at my full app they saw that due to the "holistic" review process, schools will want to talk to me to get my story straight and address my low GPA mostly.

Timeline:
I plan to apply it one school (Probably ACOM) in late June when my spring quarter grades come out, be verified by the end of July, and update my summer grades in the middle of august so that by September 1st the other 26 will have my application. I plan to dedicate all of September/October on writing secondaries with the interview cycle (hopefully) being from November till whenever I get in somewhere. If I don't get in to at least 1 school by Jan. 2016 then I will enroll in a couple CC classes for Spring 2016 for grade replacement. In my gap year, I will be working at my dads business and volunteer.

So how do I look?

Take out MSU com and OSU com. AZCOM CCOM Touro NY/ca would probably be a waste but if you like the schools I guess go ahead. Pick Middletown for NY

NYIT in state bias isn't that true.

You might want to try wcucom

Apply to all vcoms (1 fee and essay)

Take out Touro-NY, Touro-CA, Rowan, UNE, AZCOM, and CCOM. Your chances there are extremely low with the low cGPA/sGPA and average MCAT, save that money for interviews. The other schools; OSU, MSU, NYIT, NSU, and RVU, are 'iffy.' I would take those out too IMO, but I don't know enough about their 'acceptance floor' to make a judgement. The others are okay.

I think RVU is fine.

NSU and NYIT are reaches but a 26 is above the floor so why not.

 

[Goro]

I suggest

ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
AZCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
NYIT
NSU
RVU
Touro-NV
UNE
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Wm carey


I

 

[SlugMD]

I suggest

ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
AZCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
NYIT
NSU
RVU
Touro-NV
UNE
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Wm carey


I

I'll add WCU since you suggested it but from everything I have read on SDN, I thought that it has a regional preference for the south which I'm not from. This is also the reason why Im not applying to GA-PCOM.

 

[Goro]

I have a hard time remembering which schools have regional preferences. The best way to find out is to look at the school's mission statement, and even more importantly, inquire in the school-specific thread!

I'll add WCU since you suggested it but from everything I have read on SDN, I thought that it has a regional preference for the south which I'm not from. This is also the reason why Im not applying to GA-PCOM.

 

[Howard098]

Hail fellow slug o/
Have you looked into the newer osteopathic schools?
I don't know if this'll be any help but if you scroll to the bottom, there's quite a few medical schools (DO and MD) that're expected to open/in the process of accreditation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medical_schools_in_the_United_States

 

[armastice]

I'm from socal.

You should still apply to western and touro ca but just letting you know, your MCAT score is holding you back from both schools

I would suggest applying to pnwu despite the regional bias. I was pleasantly surprised to get an II there last cycle, even though my
grades were lower than yours. I had a lot of EC's and desired to work in the underserved community as well. I think that's what got me the II

 

[Nesmall2]

I think that's absolutely f*cking terrible.

Honestly, are you surprised? It is a for profit school. They probably won't have averages around there but they definitely want as much money as possible.

 

[user3]

So this is my current list

ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
AZCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
CCOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
MSU
NYIT
NSU
OSU
PNWU
PCOM
RVU
Rowan
Touro-NY
Touro-CA
Touro-NV
UNE
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Western (#1)

I am aware of the in state bis that MSU, NYIT, OSU, UNE, Rowan have but why not try? I have some family in Michigan. I have been told by a few advisors and doc's that schools like to interview california applicants for a variety of reason. I'm not trying to troll, but the most common reason was that we have "personality and diversity". Bottom line, Ive saved up money for a long time just for this cycle. I want to be a doctor and while COMP is my #1, I don't care where I go to school.

My application
Hard Numbers: 3.1/3.1 (after summer update) + 26 (9,9,8), went to a "midtier" UC just in case some schools care about rep which I initially doubted but some doc's have told me that they sometimes consider it.

10 LOR's (I've been told I'm crazy but I want schools to know how much medicine means to me)
- 3 science
-1 non-science
-2 Internship supervisors
- 1 MD (Ortho)
- 3 DO (Plastic Surgery, 2 FP/OMM)

FYI: Both FP's are faculty of COMP so I'm hoping the COMP adcom notices that. I write a bit how I plan to go back to my medically underserved city in SoCal after medical school and my plan for serving the underserved schools that I was educated in until college.

EC's
- 200 hr clinical volunteering at hospital (1.5 years)
- 1 internship with university relations (3 months)
- 1 internship with an org that serves homeless woman in my area (3 months)
- Extensive leadership with multiple orgs. (3 years)
- 200 hr shadowing 4 doctors in 4 specialties ( 3 years)

Personal Statement is obviously subjective but basically I'm going to describe my childhood "why medicine" moment followed by why how I plan to serve my community as a doctor, then specifically why DO only. Briefly mention OMM, how mind/body/spirit, and why in general DO fits with my values.

From all the doc's I have talked to. I've been told I have a "good, not great" chance to get into COMP but they have "no doubt" that I will get into at least 1 school somewhere if I apply broadly. After looking at my full app they saw that due to the "holistic" review process, schools will want to talk to me to get my story straight and address my low GPA mostly.

Timeline:
I plan to apply it one school (Probably ACOM) in late June when my spring quarter grades come out, be verified by the end of July, and update my summer grades in the middle of august so that by September 1st the other 26 will have my application. I plan to dedicate all of September/October on writing secondaries with the interview cycle (hopefully) being from November till whenever I get in somewhere. If I don't get in to at least 1 school by Jan. 2016 then I will enroll in a couple CC classes for Spring 2016 for grade replacement. In my gap year, I will be working at my dads business and volunteer.

So how do I look?

add LUCOM

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Honestly, are you surprised? It is a for profit school. They probably won't have averages around there but they definitely want as much money as possible.

RVU is a for profit school and they are at 3.6/28

 

[Roxas]

Honestly, are you surprised? It is a for profit school. They probably won't have averages around there but they definitely want as much money as possible.

This point is repeatedly brought up, and has repeatedly neglected to manifest itself as a problem (at least in the case of RVU). You want to see money hungry schools? Check out AZCOM and CCOM. Both are non-profit.

 

[petyr_baelish]

add LUCOM

Not sure if serious...

Only apply to LUCOM if you are a Creationist or don't mind their company.

 

[SlugMD]

add LUCOM

Sorry but that is the only one I won't add. I just can't go to a school that I am fundamentally against. Plus I'm already applying to enough schools as is.

 

[user3]

Not sure if serious...

Only apply to LUCOM if you are a Creationist or don't mind their company.

but if it is your only choice, it will still give you an opportunity to practice any specialty (depending on your board scores, etc). I can't see how LUCOM students who score 225+ on steps wouldn't still have reasonably decent options for residency...no doubt it would be my last resort, but either way, once you match into your desired specialty, will you really care that much about where you went to school?

 

[Stephanopolous]

Good luck! I'm in the same boat as you with stats, I'm applying to 25 schools. I tried trimming my list back but I don't want to regret not applying to more schools.

 

[petyr_baelish]

but if it is your only choice, it will still give you an opportunity to practice any specialty (depending on your board scores, etc). I can't see how LUCOM students who score 225+ on steps wouldn't still have reasonably decent options for residency...no doubt it would be my last resort, but either way, once you match into your desired specialty, will you really care that much about where you went to school?

If students actually get a residency then your argument holds true. That remains to be seen and it could very well turn out like Caribbean schools where chances of finding employment are around 50%. Diploma mills in America exist and professional students have gone without jobs in Pharmacy and Law. This rapid expansion is unprecedented and people need every advantage they can get. So if you are going to a new school, go to a less controversial one since most of your program directors will not be Creationist. Improving your application is worth the extra year. Consider that year of lost salary a $250 000 insurance policy paid out over the course of your career (so <7k per year) and learn a bit about investing to offset the cost a bit. Recommending that a non-Creationist to apply to LUCOM decreases their chances of success because they are a poor fit for that school. If LUCOM gets their way and has a totally Creationist student body, those students are probably a lot more invested in the success of the school since they feel strongly about their religion and the reputation of its establishments. It would totally suck to be going through school thinking "antibiotic resistance is evidence of microevolution not macroevolution so I better not say anything that remotely implies that I think the latter when I get pimped/choose answers on the final."

 

[SlugMD]

Take out MSU com and OSU com. AZCOM CCOM Touro NY/ca would probably be a waste but if you like the schools I guess go ahead. Pick Middletown for NY

NYIT in state bias isn't that true.

You might want to try wcucom

Apply to all vcoms (1 fee and essay)

Yeah I know NYIT is 70/30 not quite the 90/10 bias that most public schools seem to have. It is worth a shot.

Is Middleton easier to get into then NYC? I thought they were equal. I will check off Middleton if that is the case.

I thought I could only apply to 1 VCOM? Hence me choosing VC

@Goro , should I apply to all the schools who's minimum I meet (~10) right away then update them after the grade update plus send it to the other 10 whose minimum I would meet after the update? Only suggesting this because it gives me a chance to send in the secondaries back earlier to some schools.

Or apply to just 1 school (ACOM/BCOM) then send it to the 20 other schools after the grade update?

 

[Goro]

The "why not have a try is self-defeating; these schools don't need the donation in the form of your app fees. Save your money and take your mom out to dinner for Mother's Day.

I suggest:
ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
BCOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
NYIT
NSU
PNWU
PCOM
RVU
All 3 VCOMs
Touro-NV
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Western

 

[user3]

How would you feel about taking a year off to improve your GPA? I think you have a good shot at being accepted if you apply broadly, but I think your chances would be close to guaranteed if you spent a year doing grade replacement or taking more science classes.

read this:

You will be completely fine. Let me tell you my very fast story... And if you want you could probably find my WAMC post. My stats going into this round were 3.2 cgpa and sgpa with a 26 mcat . I then retook the mcat in August and got a 29. Pre-new mcat I received around 7 II And post I was closer to 10-11 and at the end of the day around 7 acceptances. I am not telling this story to brag but to give you hope that you will be just fine. Apply broadly and be open to anything.

 

[SlugMD]

The "why not have a try is self-defeating; these schools don't need the donation in the form of your app fees. Save your money and take your mom out to dinner for Mother's Day.

I suggest:
ACOM
KCOM
SOMA
BCOM
DMU
LECOM
LECOM-B
LMU
MUCOM
NYIT
NSU
PNWU
PCOM
RVU
All 3 VCOMs
Touro-NV
VCOM-VC
Wvsom
Western

You put all 3 on your list but I thought I could only pick 1 VCOM? VC would be my choice.

Also what is the reasoning behind your second list? Compared to your first list, I noticed that you took out AZCOM, CUSOM, UNE, WCU and added PNWU, PCOM, and Western.

Anyways....after everyones advice, I will be cutting down my list from 27 to 20 schools (I like even numbers). Hopefully this will yield at least 1 acceptance and save me some money.