Least competitive US medical school to get into?

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Dr Trek 1

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I know that there's no such thing as an easy US med school to get into, but if there was a ranking of the admissions selectivity, which schools would be on the bottom of that list?
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yeah id like to know too...here are a couple
howard
finch
 
i don't see how either of those schools are 'least competitive' to get into....they just have lower means for MCAT scores and GPAs

schools like GWU, Drexel, Finch, and BU are often cited as less competitive, but so many people apply there that they are actually very competitive

the only difference is that most of these schools will offer tons of acceptances and then people who get into their state schools will usually opt out of going to one of these schools to save money....of course, if a person could also get into their state school then, on average, they probably had higher stats then the person who couldn't....therefore, those left actually going to Finch et al., might have lower mean stats than at other places

howard is different because its emphasis is on URM students and, thus, is also competitive
 
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You might consider osteopathic schools too, which on average are significantly easier to get into than even the easier of the US allopathic schools.

The neat thing is that many of these osteopathic schools are better than their easy-to-get-into allopathic counterparts. There are so many people intent on getting that MD, though, that supply and demand kicks in. If you're willing to accept the very minor challenges that a DO degree may possibly present, you can get more bang for your GPA/MCAT buck by applying to osteopathic schools. Think of them as the great little restaurant that nobody knows about yet.

Additionally, many of the schools that are easier to get into are newer, which is why there aren't as many applicants. AZCOM, VCOM, Touro are all newer schools and more are popping up all the time. Newer schools generally mean newer facilities, more progressive curricula, and more outlay per student.
 
For most medical schools URM basically means black? Or does it also include hispanic, mexican american, purto rican?
 
Originally posted by Megalofyia
For most medical schools URM basically means black? Or does it also include hispanic, mexican american, purto rican?
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URM doesn't include all hispanics. Only Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans from the mainland.
 
Just remember it is not always GPA/MCAT statistics that determine competitiveness...like an above poster was saying. Check out their % of accepted applicants...I think that is a pretty good indication of how difficult it is.
For example, my state school has much higher GPA/MCAT stats than a lot of other schools I applied to, but only around 450 people apply for 110 spots because of the residency req. In the end I was accepted at my state school and not other places that were by GPA/MCAT standards "easier" to be admitted.

That said, if you have much higher stats than the majority of people who apply to a school, you have a good chance of getting an interview.

Though, then again, there are lots of people who claim that schools with lower averages won't even bother with someone with much higher stats because they don't think it is worth their time because they won't go there in the end.

Who knows? Apply to a wide range. It is the best advice everytime 🙂
 
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I heard that Harvard lets in just about anyone who can spell their name correctly on their application.
 
LukeWhite said:
You might consider osteopathic schools too, which on average are significantly easier to get into than even the easier of the US allopathic schools.

.
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Sorry to bring up old thread.

Are the best D.O. schools easier to get in than least competitive MD Schools? Or is there significant overlap among the 2-3 dozens of DO schools and mid-list MD schools?

Which are the easiest DO schools? Any of them accept 2.7 cGPA (from a Top 20 Prestigious Undergrad) and 24 MCAT?

What about less than 2.7, and a 30 or higher MCAT? Which is definitely easier to get in, DOs or Carib Big 4?

For me, it's either DO or the Caribbean.
 
bubbajones said:
BU? IS THAT BOSTON?
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Many people think that BU is an "easier" school to get into because of its low GPA/MCAT average. These applicants have not done their due research. BU has a low average GPA because of their 7 year combined BA/MD program students. I'm not sure what GPA/MCAT score their students are required to have in order to stay in the program, but it is much lower the mean of their accepted applicants.
 
Shoushu said:
Sorry to bring up old thread.

Are the best D.O. schools easier to get in than least competitive MD Schools? Or is there significant overlap among the 2-3 dozens of DO schools and mid-list MD schools?

Which are the easiest DO schools? Any of them accept 2.7 cGPA (from a Top 20 Prestigious Undergrad) and 24 MCAT?

What about less than 2.7, and a 30 or higher MCAT? Which is definitely easier to get in, DOs or Carib Big 4?

For me, it's either DO or the Caribbean.
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I think there is some overlap, based on my application experience this year. Carib is definitely bottom-of-the-barrel in terms of competitiveness. With a 2.7/24 you're going to have a VERY hard time getting into DO school. I had a 3.3 in graduate school (biomedical science program) and a 34 MCAT and I still did not receive interview invites to several of the DO schools I applied to (Nova, PCOM, Touro-CA). I did have one MD interview though (out of 10 schools).
 
Shoushu said:
Sorry to bring up old thread.

Are the best D.O. schools easier to get in than least competitive MD Schools? Or is there significant overlap among the 2-3 dozens of DO schools and mid-list MD schools?

Which are the easiest DO schools? Any of them accept 2.7 cGPA (from a Top 20 Prestigious Undergrad) and 24 MCAT?

What about less than 2.7, and a 30 or higher MCAT? Which is definitely easier to get in, DOs or Carib Big 4?

For me, it's either DO or the Caribbean.
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Carib Big 4 are easier to get into than DO although from what I hear, they're also upping their standards a bit. A 2.7 will not get you anywhere. You need to bump that baby up to at least a 3.0 MINIMUM. Carib might be ok with making an exception for you if you score above a 30 on the MCAT.
 
Shoushu said:
Sorry to bring up old thread.

Are the best D.O. schools easier to get in than least competitive MD Schools? Or is there significant overlap among the 2-3 dozens of DO schools and mid-list MD schools?

Which are the easiest DO schools? Any of them accept 2.7 cGPA (from a Top 20 Prestigious Undergrad) and 24 MCAT?

What about less than 2.7, and a 30 or higher MCAT? Which is definitely easier to get in, DOs or Carib Big 4?

For me, it's either DO or the Caribbean.
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There are DO schools like PCOM,KCUMB,KCOM,TCOM which are extremely impressive schools which are probably academically stronger then some low-mid tier MD programs.
However with a 2.7/24 you've got no chance currently for DO. HOWEVER DO schools have a retake policy. Retake all your bad grades ( DO schools replace your grades). Spend like a year or 2 doing this, get a 3.4 and retake the MCAT and get a 28+. You'll be able to get into a DO school.

I don't recommend Carib.
 
Shoushu said:
Sorry to bring up old thread.

Are the best D.O. schools easier to get in than least competitive MD Schools? Or is there significant overlap among the 2-3 dozens of DO schools and mid-list MD schools?

Which are the easiest DO schools? Any of them accept 2.7 cGPA (from a Top 20 Prestigious Undergrad) and 24 MCAT?

What about less than 2.7, and a 30 or higher MCAT? Which is definitely easier to get in, DOs or Carib Big 4?

For me, it's either DO or the Caribbean.
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I'm going to offer some unsolicited advice and then answer your questions:

Unsolicited advice:

While DO schools and the Caribbean are both ideas, and I'm glad to see that you're not willing to let pride get in the way of your future by excluding options, your best option at this point is to improve your application. The SDN low GPA thread is full of stories of people (including me) who graduated with horrific GPAs and continued on to medical school. Read it through and you'll learn how to tailor your resume improvment to target DO schools, or how a higher MCAT score plus a special masters program can get you into medical school only a year or two late.

At this point you're a poor candidate for any medical school program, and even if you did get in somewhere a 2.7 and a 24 predicts that your fail right back out again pretty quickly. That's particularly true for Caribbean schools: most of the 'big 4' take more students than they have seats in the lecture halls. Most of the matriculants don't graduate and, even worse, many of the graduates don't match into a residency. Is there any reason you have to believe that you would suddenly stop being a 2.7/24 student if you could start medical school this fall? If not it's definitely better to iron out your problems now than to realize you weren't ready after taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars of Caribbean school student loans.

I know what I'm suggesting sounds like a long road, and to be honest it is. You do also need to ask yourself if this is the profession that you really want. With the number of years that you're about to but into this it might make more sense for you to looking into a Nursing, Pa, or Pharm program. However if you're sure that nothing else will do, then you need to be prepared for at least a year or two (and probably 3 or 4 years) of application improvement.

To be clear, I'm not looking down on you or saying this to be rude. I graduated with a 2.8. This is a fixable situation, but it will take some fixing.

Solicited advice:

The easiest DO schools are the newest ones, particularly the ones that just opened in the last few years. However none of them are quite easy enough for a 24 and a 2.7. If you're interested in going to a DO school be aware that you need to shadow a DO, get a letter of req from him/her, and you should be prepared to defend your interest in the DO philosophy of medicine. As for the most competitive DO schools, yes I would say that PCOM is probably now more competitive than the low end MD schools. Honestly, though, that's not something you need to worry about.

The Caribbean probably would take you with your current GPA and MCAT, but as I said earlier they would probably fail you out or, if you passed, fail to get you into a residency. You're probably better off waiting for a US acceptance or finding another profession.

G'luck
 
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Dr Trek 1 said:
I know that there's no such thing as an easy US med school to get into, but if there was a ranking of the admissions selectivity, which schools would be on the bottom of that list?
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If you even have to ask that question, your odds of success are not good. You probably have screwed yourself already. All accredited US med schools are competitive. THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO ACCREDITED AMERICAN MED SCHOOL THAT IS NOT COMPETITIVE. Sweet Mother of Abraham Lincoln!

Save your money and forget the Carribean.
 
king kong said:
I heard that Harvard lets in just about anyone who can spell their name correctly on their application.
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This is hard to do even in the future 2003 poster. I got rejected because I missed an H when I tried to spell it: Hhhhaahhvahhhhd.
 
Perrotfish said:
I'm going to offer some unsolicited advice and then answer your questions:
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Thank you very much Perrotfish. You gave the best answer, and helped me gain more perspective.

Yeah, I know graduating with a ~2.7, and then on 1st attempt to have 24 MCAT is not gonna cut it for US schools. For most schools, I think they take the highest MCAT scores or most recent ones. With another 1 or 2 mo. of studying, I can get 30-33 range, I believe.

I worked throughout college, and didn't motivate myself enough for Dr. career. Didn't get fully motivated for medical profession until too late. My work/EC experiences are excellent. Caribbean supposedly looks at applicant more holistically, beyond just GPA/MCAT. Still a numbers game though. I know myself, and I know if I can get into a med school, I can survive and rise to the top half or third of a class.

A problem is I don't know about DO philosophy and don't know any DO doc. Coupled with the fact that DO schools are harder to get in than carib schools, I think carib is the only sound choice now. Especially DO schools also only have Sep. entrance right? Caribs have their 3 start dates/year. True, Caribs take more than they can graduate, but I know I'm capable of surviving weeding out. And I'm okay with primary care specialties, which is what I'd likely be in, even if through the Big 4.
 
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I worked throughout college, and didn't motivate myself enough for Dr. career. Didn't get fully motivated for medical profession until too late. My work/EC experiences are excellent. Caribbean supposedly looks at applicant more holistically, beyond just GPA/MCAT. Still a numbers game though. I know myself, and I know if I can get into a med school, I can survive and rise to the top half or third of a class.
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Again, the Caribbean doesn't look at the applicant holistically, that implies selctivity. The Caribbean just takes anyone who can pay. The problem is that they fail out the majority of their students, and the majority of the students who don't fail out don't match, and they keep your money anyway. You said you could get into the top half of a class, well the 50th percentile of Carib matriculants don't end up as practicing physicians.

True, Caribs take more than they can graduate, but I know I'm capable of surviving weeding out.
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I think you honesetly need to ask yourself if there is any good reason for you to believe this. From your explanation is sounds like you have consistently been a 2.7 student and there isn't a clear reason why. Why are you so sure you will suddenly be able to outcompete students who have up until now been getting higher grades and MCAT scores than you have? Medical school is not the place to learn to compete: if you haven't had at least a year of competitive grades I wouldn't be so anxious to jump into medical school.

Consider what you are risking here. First there's the debt: you'll fork over 60K of non-subsidized student loans that you can't even bankrupt your way out of for just the first year of a Caribbean education. That alone should be enough to scare you off. However, you also need to consider that this is going to be your only chance at medical school. No one fails out and gets back in, even the Caribbean doesn't take those kids (let alone residencies). This is like jumping into the deep end of the pool before you've sucessfully swam a lap: if it works you do get to swim slightly sooner, but if not you friggin drown.

A problem is I don't know about DO philosophy and don't know any DO doc... Especially DO schools also only have Sep. entrance right? Caribs have their 3 start dates/year
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.
Read through the DO forum and google search for DOs in your area. Ultimately this is your life, but if you want a good chance of success I think you should plan on devoting the next year or two to improving your application and then applying later to schools in the United States. Get the idea of starting next spring/summer/whatever out of your head.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose to do.
 
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Perrotfish said:
Again, the Caribbean doesn't look at the applicant holistically, that implies selctivity. The Caribbean just takes anyone who can pay. The problem is that they fail out the majority of their students, and the majority of the students who don't fail out don't match, and they keep your money anyway. You said you could get into the top half of a class, well the 50th percentile of Carib matriculants don't end up as practicing physicians.



I think you honesetly need to ask yourself if there is any good reason for you to believe this. From your explanation is sounds like you have consistently been a 2.7 student and there isn't a clear reason why. Why are you so sure you will suddenly be able to outcompete students who have up until now been getting higher grades and MCAT scores than you have? Medical school is not the place to learn to compete: if you haven't had at least a year of competitive grades I wouldn't be so anxious to jump into medical school.

Consider what you are risking here. First there's the debt: you'll fork over 60K of non-subsidized student loans that you can't even bankrupt your way out of for just the first year of a Caribbean education. That alone should be enough to scare you off. However, you also need to consider that this is going to be your only chance at medical school. No one fails out and gets back in, even the Caribbean doesn't take those kids (let alone residencies). This is like jumping into the deep end of the pool before you've sucessfully swam a lap: if it works you do get to swim slightly sooner, but if not you friggin drown.


.
Read through the DO forum and google search for DOs in your area. Ultimately this is your life, but if you want a good chance of success I think you should plan on devoting the next year or two to improving your application and then applying later. Get the idea of starting next spring/summer/whatever out of your head.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose to do.
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Great post. Contrary to popular belief, it's sometimes better to take your time. It's not all about the end game.
 
bubbajones said:
yeah id like to know too...here are a couple
howard
finch
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Might want to focus on blocking and strength training. Perception of complex phenomenon really isn't your thing.
 
searun said:
If you even have to ask that question, your odds of success are not good. You probably have screwed yourself already.
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If you read the OP's post history, it sounds like he/she/it may be graduating from LECOM this year.
 
Naijaba said:
Many people think that BU is an "easier" school to get into because of its low GPA/MCAT average. These applicants have not done their due research. BU has a low average GPA because of their 7 year combined BA/MD program students. I'm not sure what GPA/MCAT score their students are required to have in order to stay in the program, but it is much lower the mean of their accepted applicants.
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At the BU interview day they said that their avg GPA is 3.72 and avg MCAT is 33.

They get almost 100 applicants per seat in the class. I would consider it competitive.
 
royalewthcheese said:
At the BU interview day they said that their avg GPA is 3.72 and avg MCAT is 33.

They get almost 100 applicants per seat in the class. I would consider it competitive.
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Yep 👍

According to USNews (which is what many people go by), their average GPA is 3.65 and their average MCAT 32.1. The difference is due to those 7-year med program students.
 
lol! I didn't even notice that...why wouldn't the new OP just start a new thread?
 
It's always funny to see such old threads come back. What amazes me is HOW people stumble across them. In '03, I was half way through high school haha.
 
Yeah, my 6th grade cousin said he wants to be a doctor. I immediately told him to join sdn.
 
Naijaba said:
lol! I didn't even notice that...why wouldn't the new OP just start a new thread?
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My guess is his spirit has been broken by the SDN search fxn hazing. :scared:
 
BU's incoming 2009 class had an average MCAT score of 33.

although I have a feeling that BU is less selective than Harvard. lol

*******edit********

self-fail for responding to a 2003 post
 
Perrotfish said:
If you're interested in going to a DO school be aware that you need to shadow a DO, get a letter of req from him/her, and you should be prepared to defend your interest in the DO philosophy of medicine.
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I did not shadow a DO. I did not have a LOR from a DO. It was all from MDs. I was asked "why DO" and I straight up just told them I want to become a doctor. That I applied to both MD and DO and that where I go is just a way for me to become a doctor.

In case people were thinking you have to do all that DO stuff.
 
Brody School of Medicine, its also the cheapest. But it's only for people in NC😀
 
JoshUNCW said:
Brody School of Medicine, its also the cheapest. But it's only for people in NC😀
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too bad I'm not NC resident. We know 2nd-rate magazines like US News etc publish lists of school rankings, the Top 10 are usually agreed to be very best by most. My chance of getting in are less than snowball's chance in hell.

So any consensus for the Bottom 10 (be they MD or DO)? i.e., perhaps they'd be ranked #140-150. Any list? And how hard is it to transfer from Big 4 Caribbeanto Bottom US? Or transfering from Bottom 10 to mid-list, top-list school after 1 or 2 yr of ~4.0, acing USMLE Step1. I know most schools don't do transfers, but any transfer-friendly ones?
 
Shoushu said:
too bad I'm not NC resident. We know 2nd-rate magazines like US News etc publish lists of school rankings, the Top 10 are usually agreed to be very best by most. My chance of getting in are less than snowball's chance in hell.

So any consensus for the Bottom 10 (be they MD or DO)? i.e., perhaps they'd be ranked #140-150. Any list? And how hard is it to transfer from Big 4 Caribbeanto Bottom US? Or transfering from Bottom 10 to mid-list, top-list school after 1 or 2 yr of ~4.0, acing USMLE Step1. I know most schools don't do transfers, but any transfer-friendly ones?
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Rankings by us news don't correlate with mcat and gpa. Ie. Schools like wvsom, pcsom, and pcom admit students with lower admission stats but stronger personal traits. What wins out is that there risk in accepting students with strong personal traits pans out and impresses the people who vote for us news. These schools have lower admission stats and among the few osteopathic schools ranked by us news in any category.


My point is that admission stats are not everything to some schools and they turn out to be right in the eyes of us news ranking voters.
 
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