Low-Tier DO Schools

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Chubaka31

Chubaka31

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Working with a GPA closer to 3.0 than 4.0, for both sGPA and cGPA. Don't know official numbers as I have yet to submit, but my calculations brought to a low 3.2ish~ or so.

Any suggestions for the schools within this range? NY Resident.
 
MCAT is required too in order to help you
 
First grade of a 24, working on a retake scheduled for August now. Hoping for a better score, obviously.
 
Chubaka31 said:
First grade of a 24, working on a retake scheduled for August now. Hoping for a better score, obviously.
Click to expand...

You might be able to get into KYCOM, some of the VCOMs, and LMU with your current stats. Doing better (27+) will open a lot more doors.
 
Yep, agree that the MCAT is really what will define where you can go. a 3.2 with a strong MCAT (30+) can open a lot of doors. A 3.2 with a mediocre MCAT (24-27) will keep you out of a lot of places.
 
Thanks fellas. I hear ya, I've given myself 3 months time to study for the August one, after taking the first time in January, so I'm hoping for the best here on this re-take.

Assuming the grade gets bumped up a little, any suggestions?
 
Chubaka31 said:
Thanks fellas. I hear ya, I've given myself 3 months time to study for the August one, after taking the first time in January, so I'm hoping for the best here on this re-take.

Assuming the grade gets bumped up a little, any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I dont believe there is any sense in speculating until you get your MCAT score back. It varies too much depending on your score. You really need to get at least a 27 equivalent on the new MCAT. I believe thats the high 60 percentiles or something. I know a 30 is a 75 percentile.
 
Gotcha. Any idea on how schools will look at 2 different MCAT exam scores? Being a 24, from the old version, and whatever I get on this new one, which is obviously graded differently. My pre-med advisor told me that they will go off of percentiles most likely for the new test, but seeing how I also have an old score, not sure how this will factor.
 
Chubaka31 said:
Gotcha. Any idea on how schools will look at 2 different MCAT exam scores? Being a 24, from the old version, and whatever I get on this new one, which is obviously graded differently. My pre-med advisor told me that they will go off of percentiles most likely for the new test, but seeing how I also have an old score, not sure how this will factor.
Click to expand...

Some schools will average, but most schools look at the highest one. So your best score out of all the retakes (or in your case, percentiles.)

Make sure you study hard. The new MCAT seems a lot tougher than the old one.
 
How would averaging scores from 2 different scoring systems work? Seems like a lot of conversions haha.
 
Chubaka31 said:
Gotcha. Any idea on how schools will look at 2 different MCAT exam scores? Being a 24, from the old version, and whatever I get on this new one, which is obviously graded differently. My pre-med advisor told me that they will go off of percentiles most likely for the new test, but seeing how I also have an old score, not sure how this will factor.
Click to expand...

Alright so I'm applying to 40 different schools between MD and DO schools. I called every single school to see how they deal with multiple MCAT scores. The vast majority of them take the "Most Recent or Highest" Score depending on the school. The ones that dont say they "Holistically Review Them All" and there was not a single school that said they averaged them. I do know that some schools do average scores, but they are few and far in between.
 
Chubaka31 said:
How would averaging scores from 2 different scoring systems work? Seems like a lot of conversions haha.
Click to expand...

They most likely just look at percentiles and average them, but most schools will just take the highest one so don't worry about that.
 
Do keep in mind that there are a lot of schools that will heavily look at your most recent score though. Retaking is fine, but you NEED to go up.

Staying the same doesnt look good either.

Also I called RVU, and they said they had an applicant that retook the MCAT 4 TIMES 😱

but he got accepted because on his or her 5th time, they jumped an insane amount of points.
 
Chubaka31 said:
4-5 times @_@ ... Cant even begin to imagine.
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Yea..... I was a nervous wreck after my first score. Having to retake the MCAT even 1 time was a big deal for me.
 
That's a lot of money and time spent on MCAT...lol

When I retook mine, my score didn't go up by much, just 1 point. I was happy because I had tons of friends who retook it and scored lower.

I went from a 30 (11/7/12) to a 31 (11/8/12) Thank god my other two sections stayed the same. At least I was consistently high on those two. My verbal score is a little lacking...I hope DO schools don't look down upon that.
 
Yep, my school will be looking at percentiles for the new MCAT. So they would have your percentile for the 24 and then your percentile for the new one and compare them similarly.

If you effectively manage your few months of studying, it can work wonders. I jumped 8 points (28-36) between my retakes. Best of luck. 🙂
 
johnamo said:
Yep, my school will be looking at percentiles for the new MCAT. So they would have your percentile for the 24 and then your percentile for the new one and compare them similarly.

If you effectively manage your few months of studying, it can work wonders. I jumped 8 points (28-36) between my retakes. Best of luck. 🙂
Click to expand...

Why is it on SDN everyone has a 36+? Most people at my state med school probably have around a 31, and maybe 1 guy has a 42. lol.

I know this because of two good friends in their M1 class.
 
johnamo said:
Yep, my school will be looking at percentiles for the new MCAT. So they would have your percentile for the 24 and then your percentile for the new one and compare them similarly.

If you effectively manage your few months of studying, it can work wonders. I jumped 8 points (28-36) between my retakes. Best of luck. 🙂
Click to expand...

Boss! That's a huge jump!
 
AlteredScale said:
Boss! That's a huge jump!
Click to expand...
lol. Yeah, I was... pleased to say the least. Surprised.
Gandy741 said:
Why is it on SDN everyone has a 36+? Most people at my state med school probably have around a 31, and maybe 1 guy has a 42. lol.

I know this because of two good friends in their M1 class.
Click to expand...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
mathnerd88 said:
That's a lot of money and time spent on MCAT...lol

When I retook mine, my score didn't go up by much, just 1 point. I was happy because I had tons of friends who retook it and scored lower.

I went from a 30 (11/7/12) to a 31 (11/8/12) Thank god my other two sections stayed the same. At least I was consistently high on those two. My verbal score is a little lacking...I hope DO schools don't look down upon that.
Click to expand...

Nah man I doubt DO schools care since you have a 31 total MCAT.

I dont think an 8 in verbal is too bad for DO schools. After our conversation in that other thread we deduced that MD schools may care about that though.
 
Chubaka31 said:
Working with a GPA closer to 3.0 than 4.0, for both sGPA and cGPA. Don't know official numbers as I have yet to submit, but my calculations brought to a low 3.2ish~ or so.

Any suggestions for the schools within this range? NY Resident.
Click to expand...

*Credit to someone else for putting together this list.

Touro-NY: 3.40/30.8 (2013)
Touro-Ca: 3.47/3.40/30.1 (2013)
CCOM: 3.60/3.55/29.4 (2013)
AZCOM: 3.51/3.44/29
DMU: 3.63/3.57/28.3
RVU: 3.63/3.59/28.11
RowanSOM: 3.63/3.55/28 (2013)
UNTHSC-TCOM: 3.60/3.49/28
NYITCOM: 3.6/28 (2013)
MSU: 3.59/28
COMP: 3.58/3.56/28
LECOM-B: 3.53/3.45/28
UNECOM: 3.5+/28
Touro-NV: 3.5/3.4/28
NSU: 3.49/3.40/28 (2013)
PCOM: 3.46/3.37/28 (2012)
KCUMB: 3.63/3.6/27.6
OU-HCOM: 3.65/27.37
MU-COM: 3.62/3.56/27.33
CUSOM: 3.6/3.5/27
KCOM: 3.56/3.47/27 (2013)
LECOM-E/SH: 3.48/3.35/27 (2013)
SOMA: 3.45/3.34/27
PCOM-Ga: ?/27 (2011)
PNWU: 3.45/3.36/26.84
COMP-NW: 3.63/3.58/26.28
OSU-COM: 3.61/3.54/26 (2013)
WCU: 3.5/3.4/26 (2013)
ACOM: 3.4/26 (2013)
VCOM-A:
VCOM-CC: 3.61/3.55/25 (2011)
VCOM-VC: 3.59/3.52/25 (2011)
LMU: 3.43/3.35/25-26
WVSOM: 3.4/3.4/25 (2013)
KYCOM: 3.5/3.4/24 (2013)
LUCOM: 3.4/24
 
With a 24, I would be VERY hesitant to retake. What was your score breakdown?

What happens if you retake and get a 24 again? Or a 23? I would do everything in my power to apply early, have a DO letter, and write my Personal statements to the best of my abilities.
 
GypsyHummus said:
With a 24, I would be VERY hesitant to retake. What was your score breakdown?

What happens if you retake and get a 24 again? Or a 23? I would do everything in my power to apply early, have a DO letter, and write my Personal statements to the best of my abilities.
Click to expand...

Ehhhh I dunno. A 25 maybe, but a 24 is worth a retake in my book, especially with a ~3.0 GPA.

Like @johnamo said above, just way too much riding on the MCAT score. It can certainly overshadow a poorer GPA.
 
GypsyHummus said:
With a 24, I would be VERY hesitant to retake. What was your score breakdown?

What happens if you retake and get a 24 again? Or a 23? I would do everything in my power to apply early, have a DO letter, and write my Personal statements to the best of my abilities.
Click to expand...
Do you really think a 24 in conjunction with a 3.2 would give the OP much of a chance at many of these schools? While I've found DO schools to be lenient in letting one number "make up" for the other, having both GPA and MCAT well below average for most schools isn't too promising. I would personally put my effort into retaking than applying early/broad.

Edit: curious to see what @Goro thinks in this case re: retake vs apply early/broad if he has a minute to chime in.
 
johnamo said:
Do you really think a 24 in conjunction with a 3.2 would give the OP much of a chance at many of these schools? While I've found DO schools to be lenient in letting one number "make up" for the other, having both GPA and MCAT well below average for most schools isn't too promising. I would personally put my effort into retaking than applying early/broad.

Edit: curious to see what @Goro thinks in this case re: retake vs apply early/broad if he has a minute to chime in.
Click to expand...

No, I don't think that a 3.2 24MCAT is a great combo, but I would wager it is better to apply with that then to apply with a new MCAT score the equivalent of a 22.

Everyone thinks that their MCAT score is gonna go up up up and away, just like people from the Caribbean all think that they could never be in the bottom 40% and not match into a residency. Although, the first is much more stastitically favorable.

OP, how much did you study? I was under the impression that a MCAT of 24 is while not a great score, implies that someone has the cognitive capacity to become a physician.
 
GypsyHummus said:
No, I don't think that a 3.2 24MCAT is a great combo, but I would wager it is better to apply with that then to apply with a new MCAT score the equivalent of a 22.

Everyone thinks that their MCAT score is gonna go up up up and away, just like people from the Caribbean all think that they could never be in the bottom 40% and not match into a residency. Although, the first is much more stastitically favorable.

OP, how much did you study? I was under the impression that a MCAT of 24 is while not a great score, implies that someone has the cognitive capacity to become a physician.
Click to expand...
Fair. I can certainly see where you're coming from, though I would hope that someone could improve a bit from the ~40th percentile with focused studying.

I agree that knowing how much the OP put into the last attempt is good to know.
 
johnamo said:
I jumped 8 points (28-36) between my retakes. Best of luck. 🙂
Click to expand...

What made you choose a DO program?

OP, good luck. Recently established schools may be the best bet. Hopefully you've got some solid EC's to back you up.
 
StudyLater said:
What made you choose a DO program?

OP, good luck. Recently established schools may be the best bet. Hopefully you've got some solid EC's to back you up.
Click to expand...
I had a pretty darn low AMCAS GPA which led to only one private MD acceptance (and I wasn't awfully tactical with my school choices). It was expensive, far from home, and in an undesirable location. My state DO program is relatively cheap, close to family & friends, in a nice city, and affords me the opportunities I want. 🙂
 
The way I see it, most of the DO schools have a LizzyM average above 60, and at the higher end, around 65. So I think it's hard to feel confident about your chances if your LizzyM score is about 56 (3.2GPA and 24MCAT). For a retake I would aim for around a 28 or 70% to feel confident about my chances.
 
My school will average scores. Others will take the best score, or the best composite.


Chubaka31 said:
Gotcha. Any idea on how schools will look at 2 different MCAT exam scores? Being a 24, from the old version, and whatever I get on this new one, which is obviously graded differently. My pre-med advisor told me that they will go off of percentiles most likely for the new test, but seeing how I also have an old score, not sure how this will factor.
Click to expand...
 
TheoryOfEverything said:
The way I see it, most of the DO schools have a LizzyM average above 60, and at the higher end, around 65. So I think it's hard to feel confident about your chances if your LizzyM score is about 56 (3.2GPA and 24MCAT). For a retake I would aim for around a 28 or 70% to feel confident about my chances.
Click to expand...

Please correct me if I'm wrong, But I dont believe there is a single DO school with a LizzyM score of a 65.
 
@Goro, how would your school average scores from old MCAT scale with new MCAT scale? Example- One score from old one is let's say a 25, then one score from the new one of 504. Just curious how they would be averaged.
 
Gawd, my head is going to explode!

I haven't a clue as to what we're going to do. One option is to take the new %ile and convert it to the old 2-digit score, and then avg.


yes_sir_44 said:
@Goro, how would your school average scores from old MCAT scale with new MCAT scale? Example- One score from old one is let's say a 25, then one score from the new one of 504. Just curious how they would be averaged.
Click to expand...
 
Gandy741 said:
You need around a 29 mcat and a 3.7 cgpa to have a LizzyM of 65. Are you sure that pcom ga has these stats because not even CCOM does?
Click to expand...
Class of 2014
Average MCAT score: 27
Average GPA: 3.45
Average Science GPA: 3.38

PCOM-Ga has regional bias, stats for 2015 is little bit higher.
 
ATL.F.Doc said:
Your GPA*10+ average MCAT
Click to expand...

Errrrr... That's not a 65 Lizzy m lol. Even if we bump up the stats to 28 and 3.5 (which is very generous for 1 cycle difference). Then that's a 35+28= 63 and you actually have to subtract 1 from that number so pcom ga would have a 62. No DO school has a 65 LizzyM

The 1 subtract is part of her formula which you left out and even if you didn't its still 63. This is assuming a very generous bump which is probably not the 2015 incoming class profile of pcom ga anyways
 
Gandy741 said:
Errrrr... That's not a 65 Lizzy m lol. Even if we bump up the stats to 28 and 3.5 (which is very generous for 1 cycle difference). Then that's a 35+28= 63 and you actually have to subtract 1 from that number so pcom ga would have a 62. No DO school has a 65 LizzyM

The 1 subtract is part of her formula which you left out and even if you didn't its still 63. This is assuming a very generous bump which is probably not the 2015 incoming class profile of pcom ga anyways
Click to expand...
lol, I am actually telling you what I was told by 4th year student, she is working with the DO I am shadowing.
 
mathnerd88 said:
Stats don't increase dramatically that much over a couple of years. I believe at most it would be like 1 or 2 LizzyM points MAX.
Click to expand...

Exactly. In my example above I am bring extremely generous and even then we get a LizzyM of 62
 
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