low gpa, high mcat. chances for DO schools

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sb9493

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Hello all

I am 23 years old. Graduated undergrad as a history major with a 3.098 cumulative GPA.
Then I did a postbacc program at Drexel for non science majors and got a 3.1 science GPA.
I took the new MCATS and got a 520.

HOWEVER, due to the change in AACOMAS regarding GPA, they will no longer do grade replacement. So my science GPA has dropped to a 2.88

I have a number of ECs including 100+ hours of shadowing, research at DuCOM and NJMS (my data was published), worked part time at a childrens learning center, volunteered at a clinic for dementia patients, volunteered to teach high school students during their health class about diabetes/sex ed/healthy eating/etc thru Drexel, intern at Youth Services of Philadelphia, peer advisor during my undergrad, and worked with International Medical Health Organization for fundraising on multiple occasions.

What are my chances for a DO school? I know my GPA is low =/, but does a high MCAT score balance it out?
You can be brutally honest. I am applying starting this summer, to hopefully start summer 2018.

Thanks so much!

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Your high MCAT will attract attention from some schools but it is difficult to predict which ones. Apply broadly to at least 20 schools. It may also be worth applying to your state MD schools.
 
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Your poor performance in the post-bac is a sign to me that you will struggle badly in med school. I can't recommend this path.

You would be autorejected at my school, and others.


Hello all

I am 23 years old. Graduated undergrad as a history major with a 3.098 cumulative GPA.
Then I did a postbacc program at Drexel for non science majors and got a 3.1 science GPA.
I took the new MCATS and got a 520.

HOWEVER, due to the change in AACOMAS regarding GPA, they will no longer do grade replacement. So my science GPA has dropped to a 2.88

I have a number of ECs including 100+ hours of shadowing, research at DuCOM and NJMS (my data was published), worked part time at a childrens learning center, volunteered at a clinic for dementia patients, volunteered to teach high school students during their health class about diabetes/sex ed/healthy eating/etc thru Drexel, intern at Youth Services of Philadelphia, peer advisor during my undergrad, and worked with International Medical Health Organization for fundraising on multiple occasions.

What are my chances for a DO school? I know my GPA is low =/, but does a high MCAT score balance it out?
You can be brutally honest. I am applying starting this summer, to hopefully start summer 2018.

Thanks so much!
 
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Your poor performance in the post-bac is a sign to me that you will struggle badly in med school. I can't recommend this path.

You would be autorejected at my school, and others.

Yes. But is it true some schools will see my MCAT score and may consider giving me a second look? I can explain the reasoning behind my lagging GPA. Should I apply broadly?
 
Yes. But is it true some schools will see my MCAT score and may consider giving me a second look? I can explain the reasoning behind my lagging GPA. Should I apply broadly?
The high MCAT will be noticed by some schools so you will need to apply broadly and include all the newer schools and schools that open for 2018.
 
I took the new MCATS and got a 520.

Honestly, I think that another year of all As will get you into a medical school (High likelihood to get into a DO school, and a possibility to get into an MD.

Do you mind sharing how you prepared for the MCAT?
 
Honestly, I think that another year of all As will get you into a medical school (High likelihood to get into a DO school, and a possibility to get into an MD.

Do you mind sharing how you prepared for the MCAT?
I wouldn't bank on MD.
He's still likely to get DO though.
 
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Honestly, I think a year of all As will get you into a medical school (DO, and possibly MD.

Do you mind sharing how you prepared for the MCAT?

I agree, since he's likely only taken the prereqs so far, a year of straight A's in upper division classes could boost him up to a 3.4.

Honestly a 3.1 gpa in a post bacc is a huge red flag especially with the average matriculant gpa being 3.7. It indicates that you lack consistent work ethic and discipline...
 
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I agree, since he's likely only taken the prereqs so far, a year of straight A's in upper division classes could boost him up to a 3.4.

Honestly a 3.1 gpa in a post bacc is a huge red flag especially with the average matriculant gpa being 3.7. It indicates that you lack consistent work ethic and discipline...
Hi,

I am not going to be able to take any more classes. So I just want to know whether my stats as of right now would give me a chance. I am applying broadly and to newer schools starting July.
 
Hi,

I am not going to be able to take any more classes. So I just want to know whether my stats as of right now would give me a chance. I am applying broadly and to newer schools starting July.

With a 520 on the MCAT, you'll absolutely have a shot at med school (especially DOs)
 
Honestly, I think that another year of all As will get you into a medical school (High likelihood to get into a DO school, and a possibility to get into an MD.

Do you mind sharing how you prepared for the MCAT?

I took a Princeton review prep course (in person) and an online Kaplan prep course. I also watched Khan academy videos for the soc/pysch sections. I also non stopped studied for 5 months. (I only took it once). I really hope this helps!!!
 
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More likely IIs and then right to the wait list.

Why do think that you can handle med school, when you should have aced that post-bacc?

Yes. But is it true some schools will see my MCAT score and may consider giving me a second look? I can explain the reasoning behind my lagging GPA. Should I apply broadly?
 
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More likely IIs and then right to the wait list.

Why do think that you can handle med school, when you should have aced that post-bacc?

For health reasons actually that have been documented by my physician and I will explain that to schools if asked.
 
Your problem is that you have yet to prove you can handle med school, health problems or not.

Why didn't you take W's or LOA?
Hello all

I am 23 years old. Graduated undergrad as a history major with a 3.098 cumulative GPA.
Then I did a postbacc program at Drexel for non science majors and got a 3.1 science GPA.
I took the new MCATS and got a 520.

HOWEVER, due to the change in AACOMAS regarding GPA, they will no longer do grade replacement. So my science GPA has dropped to a 2.88

I have a number of ECs including 100+ hours of shadowing, research at DuCOM and NJMS (my data was published), worked part time at a childrens learning center, volunteered at a clinic for dementia patients, volunteered to teach high school students during their health class about diabetes/sex ed/healthy eating/etc thru Drexel, intern at Youth Services of Philadelphia, peer advisor during my undergrad, and worked with International Medical Health Organization for fundraising on multiple occasions.

What are my chances for a DO school? I know my GPA is low =/, but does a high MCAT score balance it out?
You can be brutally honest. I am applying starting this summer, to hopefully start summer 2018.

Thanks so much!
You did a postbac with a 3.1 gpa but scored in the top two percent of the MCAT? Why do people keep making up MCAT scores on this site? You don't have to make up a score, just ask a hypothetical question about your MCAT. Also, nobody who has spent enough study time on the MCAT to score a 520 would call it the MCATS.
 
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You did a postbac with a 3.1 gpa but scored in the top two percent of the MCAT? Why do people keep making up MCAT scores on this site? You don't have to make up a score, just ask a hypothetical question about your MCAT. Also, nobody who has spent enough study time on the MCAT to score a 520 would call it the MCATS.

Haha, you read my mind as I was originally reading this! Many of us answer such low gpa/high MCAT threads while acknowledging the possibility that the MCAT scores provided may be hypothetical. But I think advice given will be the same regardless, wouldn't it?
 
Haha, you read my mind as I was originally reading this! Many of us answer such low gpa/high MCAT threads while acknowledging the possibility that the MCAT scores provided may be hypothetical. But I think advice given will be the same regardless, wouldn't it?
Yes but the advice is assuming he absolutely has a 520. If it was hypothetical you could give advice on a more realistic plan for a realistic score.
 
You did a postbac with a 3.1 gpa but scored in the top two percent of the MCAT? Why do people keep making up MCAT scores on this site? You don't have to make up a score, just ask a hypothetical question about your MCAT. Also, nobody who has spent enough study time on the MCAT to score a 520 would call it the MCATS.

Haha youre funny arent you? Taking into account the one time I said MCATS? I would ask a hypothetical if needed, but I did in fact score that high the first time I took the exam. I had some health issues while doing my postbacc and I bounced back, breaking my back and working extremely hard to compensate for that low gpa because I knew my MCAT score would be my only saving grace at that point.
I am sorry if you tried your best and were not able to get a high score and therefore find the need to be condescending... take your negativity somewhere else.
 
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Haha youre funny arent you? Taking into account the one time I said MCATS? I would ask a hypothetical if needed, but I did in fact score that high the first time I took the exam. I had some health issues while doing my postbacc and I bounced back, breaking my back and working extremely hard to compensate for that low gpa because I knew my MCAT score would be my only saving grace at that point.
I am sorry if you tried your best and were not able to get a high score and therefore find the need to be condescending... take your negativity somewhere else.
Well I'm certainly not going to score a 520. But you would need to know those prereqs like the back of your hand to get a 520. Also there were 41 students that applied to DO schools last year with a 519 or greater. So not only are you in a group with less than 50 people, but you had a 3.1 postbac gpa. Everyone on here is happy to give advice but don't make up obvious lies and expect everyone to go out of their way to give you advice that does not apply to you.
 
Well I'm certainly not going to score a 520. But you would need to know those prereqs like the back of your hand to get a 520. Also there were 41 students that applied to DO schools last year with a 519 or greater. So not only are you in a group with less than 50 people, but you had a 3.1 postbac gpa. Everyone on here is happy to give advice but don't make up obvious lies and expect everyone to go out of their way to give you advice that does not apply to you.

Once again, not lying and damn proud to be in that top group of students. Your accusations are just another reason which fuels me to get in even more so thanks for the extra push =P
 
Stop freaking out and chillax. There are people with less than stellar GPAs who score in the 98th or 99th percentile on the MCAT. And some of those people apply DO.
I should know; I was one of them.
It doesn't matter if this is fake or not. Just answer the question and move on with your day. If the stats aren't real the only person who's being hurt is OP.

P.S.
Care to share where you got that statistic? It's pretty interesting and I had no idea I was part of such a small group.
Nvm- Found it http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-s...ant-pool-profile-summary-report.pdf?sfvrsn=12
I'm sure 90% of the 519+ crowd went MD which would explain why there were only 41 DO applicants with that score last year. The only reason I wish people would stop making posts about their 3.0 gpa and 520 MCAT is because it makes new premed users feel like that is a typical score and the score that they will need. A DO school might only get 8 or 9 applicants with a 520+ but that score seems easy and common when browsing this site. I just don't understand why anyone would lie on an anonymous site. A helpful question would be "Would a 518-522 MCAT score help me overcome my 3.0 gpa?"
 
I'm sure 90% of the 519+ crowd went MD which would explain why there were only 41 DO applicants with that score last year. The only reason I wish people would stop making posts about their 3.0 gpa and 520 MCAT is because it makes new premed users feel like that is a typical score and the score that they will need. A DO school might only get 8 or 9 applicants with a 520+ but that score seems easy and common when browsing this site. I just don't understand why anyone would lie on an anonymous site. A helpful question would be "Would a 518-522 MCAT score help me overcome my 3.0 gpa?"

I wouldn't go so far as to accuse the OP of lying. Buckling down and studying for 3-5 months for the MCAT and pulling a high score isn't nearly as hard as maintaining a high GPA. In order to have a high GPA you typically have to go to lecture (very few pre req classes are recorded), go to office hours, follow a consistent schedule, study midterms on time, study for several finals at once... etc. You need to be responsible, you can't mess around. Whereas as studying for the MCAT you can do at your own schedule and at your own pace. Sleep/play video games/take naps whenever you want.

But yeah 3.1 makes you think OP is the kind of guy to go to class for the first couple of weeks, do well on the first midterm, and then just give up, or flop hard during finals week whenever the going gets tough. He'll probably still get interviews though because whenever there's a huge discrepancy between MCAT and GPA there's a story behind it.
 
Buckling down and studying for 3-5 months for the MCAT and pulling a high score isn't nearly as hard as maintaining a high GPA.

This depends on the school you go to. Statistically speaking, getting a score in the 99% percentile is more difficult to achieve than getting all As (which puts you in the top 80-100% percentile of your class). I think the OP should feel pretty special about his score, and I personally think it is a heck of a lot more difficult to attain such a score than to get all As.
 
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You did a postbac with a 3.1 gpa but scored in the top two percent of the MCAT? Why do people keep making up MCAT scores on this site? You don't have to make up a score, just ask a hypothetical question about your MCAT. Also, nobody who has spent enough study time on the MCAT to score a 520 would call it the MCATS.
Plenty of people call it the MCATs, including several physicians that I shadowed.
 
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Well I'm certainly not going to score a 520. But you would need to know those prereqs like the back of your hand to get a 520. Also there were 41 students that applied to DO schools last year with a 519 or greater. So not only are you in a group with less than 50 people, but you had a 3.1 postbac gpa. Everyone on here is happy to give advice but don't make up obvious lies and expect everyone to go out of their way to give you advice that does not apply to you.
Not with that attitude...
 
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This depends on the school you go to. Statistically speaking, getting a score in the 99% percentile is more difficult to achieve than getting all As (which puts you in the top 80-100% percentile of your class). I think the OP should feel pretty special about his score, and I personally think it is a heck of a lot more difficult to attain such a score than to get all As.

I'm talking about discipline and work ethic.. not his ability to score in a high percentile which is mostly due to innate ability past the ~95th percentile or so. Different kinds of "hard" here. If you can't maintain over a 3.1 there's something going on.
 
Yes. But is it true some schools will see my MCAT score and may consider giving me a second look? I can explain the reasoning behind my lagging GPA. Should I apply broadly?

You can explain the GPA from undergrad but the GPA from your post bacc will be much harder to explain away.


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Any updates as to whether or not you got in somewhere?
 
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