It's my bi-monthly panic thread! How am I doing?

[kelminak]

Howdy everyone! I plan on applying in the 2017/2018 cycle, so I have a school year left that I can do things.

Here are my theoretical stats come application time:
Idaho resident
3.1 cGPA/3.2-3.3sGPA (cannot be higher)
28 MCAT (7/12/9)
500+ Hours volunteering in surgery waiting (300+ currently, volunteer 5.5 hrs a week)

I will be shadowing a pediatrician next month ( if you saw my post about struggling to find a DO to shadow) and there's a possibility of a family medicine DO that will let me shadow when their site is approved by corporate (Primary Health). He booked the entire month of September for me, so ~20 hrs a week x 4 weeks = 80 hours of shadowing.

Is there more I can do? I've been doing retakes for a long time and I am coming from a 1.9 GPA, so it's been a long road to get here and more even more retakes aren't an option without having to redo the MCAT (I will if I have to, but I definitely want to give applying a go first).

I'm an Idaho resident, so I think I'll have a chance with ICOM opening, but it's definitely not my highest choice considering new/for-profit/no graduating class/etc. I will be absolutely grateful for an acceptance anywhere, so I hope it doesn't come across as otherwise.

What else can I do to give myself the best shot at getting in? I'll have October until June to do more things, so if anyone has suggestions (or just wants to call me paranoid), hit me up!

Thank you advance for your time!

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[dontforgetxx]

Some schools don't accept the old MCAT anymore (even if your score is not yet expired). With that 7, I would highly suggest retaking the MCAT.

 

[kelminak]

Some schools don't accept the old MCAT anymore (even if your score is not yet expired). With that 7, I would highly suggest retaking the MCAT.

I've already handled that:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ept-old-2014-mcat-in-2017-2018-cycle.1183207/

I don't think I'm going to retake a 28 considering it's the average score for a matriculants. Are there any schools that explicitly say they'll screen below 8? I thought maybe AZCOM was out because of that but otherwise I'm not sure.

 

[kelminak]

Bumperino for thoughts. Is dontforgetxx correct? Are there other things I should do this year??

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

if you can't get that GPA any higher and don't wanna retake that mcat then your best chance is applying BROADLY (and I mean ALL the NEW programs too) and EARLY. Like your app should be out the first week.

You SHOULD get in somewhere. or atleast get an ii.

DO competition is slowly rising and mcats are going up but you should be fine.

 

[kelminak]

if you can't get that GPA any higher and don't wanna retake that mcat then your best chance is applying BROADLY (and I mean ALL the NEW programs too) and EARLY. Like your app should be out the first week.

You SHOULD get in somewhere. or atleast get an ii.

DO competition is slowly rising and mcats are going up but you should be fine.

Can do! My only thought is that I was hoping to take a 3-week class right at the beginning of summer and ask for a letter of recommendation immediately after (I do know this professor already and they offered to write one, but I just got a B+ in her class and I'm not feeling as confident to ask now). Should I just ask her for the letter now then follow through with taking the class? I probably need at least one more letter that I'm hoping to secure from either my biophysics or biochem teacher this semester.