MD Hopeful Looking For Reapplication Guidance

[kickyou77]

Hi everyone, I am a long time lurker first time poster looking for guidance on reapplication.

Background: I am a second generation student from an immigrant family, non URM(South-Asian). I have performed well in a post bacc(GPA: 3.9+) and will likely have an cGPA ~ 3.5. I have taken my MCAT twice: 510(127/128/128/127) -> 511(125/128/129/129). The CP section has always been a struggle for me, but across my AAMC FLs I have never scored lower than 127, however with the adjusted timings due to COVID I had some difficulty in simulating the exam at home. Aside from this, I have solid ECs, research, volunteering, and shadowing.

Will this score be enough to get me into a medical school(MD or DO)? Additionally my home school is in Nebraska, which I applied to once before start of my post-bacc. Their median MCAT is a 511, but I worry that the drop in CP will be cause for rejection.

How should I proceed with reapplication?

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[LunaOri]

Are you applying next year? Your stats look good for DO. MD less likely, but still possible.

 

[Sky138]

What do you mean by solid EC’s? Only asking because what you consider to be solid might look weak to someone else. It’s hard to help when we only see an incomplete picture

 

[kickyou77]

I will be applying the the following cycle (June of this year)

ECs:
Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer):
~100 hrs volunteering at local hospital
~400 hrs medical assistant in an family practice clinic in low income area

Research experience and productivity:

1. 1 publication in Journal of Biopsychiatry Journal, 1 more in the process of publication both non-first author.
2. Currently involved in research at my post-bacc dealing with visual cortex information - combination of lab work and desk work

Shadowing experience and specialties represented:
~ 80 hrs shadowing in PICU
~ 10 hrs shadowing neurologist
~ 10 hrs shadowing hospitalist
~ 8 hrs shadowing radiologist
Non-clinical volunteering:
~ Started a volunteer mentorship and tutoring program for underprivileged elementary/middle/high school students in my community

Other extracurricular activities
~ Developing a phone application to help at the family practice. Nothing to show for as of yet, but will likely have something to show for when I'm applying/interviewing.

 

[doctorosteo]

Have to frank here . As a ORM the average matriculant stat gpa 3.7+ and mcat 513.9 the numbers are against you for MD but not impossible and I suspect Nebraska may not be as competitive so your best shot is your state school and lower tier MD. But I would go equally heavy on DO since your stats are great for DO.

 

[Sky138]

Did you start working as a medical assistant before or after you graduated? Also how many hours have you spent working with the mentorship/tutoring program? Your app looks balanced but in a way, that's not exactly a good thing but it's not inherently bad either. When I look at your experiences, I see someone who did all the right things. You have plenty of clinical exposure and shadowing, worked with underserved populations, a decent amount of research, and of course a good stats. If you have a solid narrative and are an equally skilled writer that can tie everything your story together, I think you have a very good chance at DO (assuming you're a decent interviewer) and a fighting chance at the mid to low MD schools. If you don't have a compelling story or any way to tie together your experiences, you run into the slight issue of not having high enough stats/impactful research to hit the T20 schools, high enough stats to be competitive at out-of-state public schools, and not enough volunteer/service to apply to the somewhat lower stat service oriented schools.

I'm fairly confident you'll get several DO acceptances but I wouldn't be so sure about MD. Take your shot, apply broadly and see what happens. If I were you tho, I'd consider really taking this year to beef up your volunteer hours but do so in a way that is authentic. Nobody likes a box checker.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these MD schools with your stats:
Nebraska
Creighton
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
For DO schools I suggest these:
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
MU-COM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
CUSOM
VCOM (all schools except Monroe)
UNECOM
PCOM
LECOM (all schools)
You are competitive for all DO schools with your stats and should receive several interviews.

 

[cincincyreds]

Hi everyone, I am a long time lurker first time poster looking for guidance on reapplication.

Background: I am a second generation student from an immigrant family, non URM(South-Asian). I have performed well in a post bacc(GPA: 3.9+) and will likely have an cGPA ~ 3.5. I have taken my MCAT twice: 510(127/128/128/127) -> 511(125/128/129/129). The CP section has always been a struggle for me, but across my AAMC FLs I have never scored lower than 127, however with the adjusted timings due to COVID I had some difficulty in simulating the exam at home. Aside from this, I have solid ECs, research, volunteering, and shadowing.

Will this score be enough to get me into a medical school(MD or DO)? Additionally my home school is in Nebraska, which I applied to once before start of my post-bacc. Their median MCAT is a 511, but I worry that the drop in CP will be cause for rejection.

How should I proceed with reapplication?

I would apply to many DO schools. You have a really good chance. You're very close for an MD school, make sure to apply broadly.