My chances at D.O. Schools?

[abcveq]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if you can give me some feedback regarding the chances I have in getting into a D.O. SCHOOL. Thanks a lot!

I graduated from a top small liberal arts/all woman's college. Neuroscience and Behavior major, minor in Anthropology. Cumulative GPA is a 3.54. BCMP is a 3.3 (upward trend in science classes) and non-science GPA a 3.8 .

Extracurricular activities:
In college,
- Volunteered as an EMT-B on college campus for 3 years
- Secretary for Medical Emergency Response Team
- Co-captain for an Indian dance team
- Treasurer for another cultural club
- Tutor & lab assistant for a statistics class

Research experiences:
- Neuroscience research at BU Med
- Neurobio research at Yale Med (scholarship from college)
- Independent research for a semester in college

Clinical:
- worked as an admin in med records dpt in high school
- shadowed doctors and nurses in a health clinic for a month (40hrs/wk)
- EMT-B
- TA'ed an EMT-B class
- clinical research (one publication)
- shadowed primary care physicians

Currently:
- working as a research assistant at Harvard Med (1 publication as second author)
- on an Indian dance team
- volunteering in and outside hospital

Other facts:
- first generation college graduate
- Chinese (American born)
- Med-Mar (economically disadvantaged family)

My BIGGEST setback is my MCAT score. I got a 23 the first time and got 19s the second and third time . I really want to give it a shot and apply. I consider myself a well rounded student and I think I will have excellent LORs.

Would appreciate any feedback! Thanks a lot!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[pcard]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if you can give me some feedback regarding the chances I have in getting into a D.O. SCHOOL. Thanks a lot!

I graduated from a top small liberal arts/all woman's college. Neuroscience and Behavior major, minor in Anthropology. Cumulative GPA is a 3.54. BCMP is a 3.3 (upward trend in science classes) and non-science GPA a 3.8 .

Extracurricular activities:
In college,
- Volunteered as an EMT-B on college campus for 3 years
- Secretary for Medical Emergency Response Team
- Co-captain for an Indian dance team
- Treasurer for another cultural club
- Tutor & lab assistant for a statistics class

Research experiences:
- Neuroscience research at BU Med
- Neurobio research at Yale Med (scholarship from college)
- Independent research for a semester in college

Clinical:
- worked as an admin in med records dpt in high school
- shadowed doctors and nurses in a health clinic for a month (40hrs/wk)
- EMT-B
- TA'ed an EMT-B class
- clinical research (one publication)
- shadowed primary care physicians

Currently:
- working as a research assistant at Harvard Med (1 publication as second author)
- on an Indian dance team
- volunteering in and outside hospital

Other facts:
- first generation college graduate
- Chinese (American born)
- Med-Mar (economically disadvantaged family)

My BIGGEST setback is my MCAT score. I got a 23 the first time and got 19s the second and third time . I really want to give it a shot and apply. I consider myself a well rounded student and I think I will have excellent LORs.

Would appreciate any feedback! Thanks a lot!

applying early is the key. You are a good candidate for many DO schools. May be you may have to give an explaination in interview why the drop in mcat 2nd time.

 

[KTownGT]

Gotta get that MCAT score up.

23 would have yielded a much better chance of getting accepted. Two subsequent scores of 19 are going to drastically limit your chances.

 

[Goro]

The low MCAT score is a worry; at my school you wouldn't be very competetive, but you'll get in somewhere, so aim high and don't look back.

applying early is the key. You are a good candidate for many DO schools. May be you may have to give an explaination in interview why the drop in mcat 2nd time.

 

[p1acebo]

The lower MCATs after the first one is a red flag in my opinion. If there was a reason I would state it, or simply retake it again. I know for my school that those scores would be way too low, and they don't even hold the MCAT in that high of regards.

 

[LegendaryPunk]

My BIGGEST setback is my MCAT score. I got a 23 the first time and got 19s the second and third time . I really want to give it a shot and apply. I consider myself a well rounded student and I think I will have excellent LORs.

I disagree that your MCAT score is your biggest setback - in my opinion it is your ONLY setback. I have the impression you have worked very hard to get where you are now, so whatever you do - do not give up! There are few obstacles in life that cannot be overcome with determination and hard work.

Unfortunately though, I think a recent MCAT score of 19 is pretty low for you to be taken seriously as an applicant. Plus your first score of 23, which would have been passable, now looks like a fluke because your subsequent scores are both lower. Thankfully, unlike GPA repair which can take years, an MCAT score can be fixed with just one test. At the least, you need to re-achieve your old score of 23. Raising it a by at least 2-3 points would be obviously be even better.

What happened during the tests? What were your scores on each section? Did you straight-up not know the material, or did you just find the questions confusing? Why do you think you scored lowed the 2nd and 3rd time around? You mentioned that you can from a disadvantaged background, which means you probably were not able to shell out big $$$ for an MCAT prep course - how did you prepare? How much time elapsed between each test, and what (if anything) did you do differently to prepare for each exam?

You have a very fixable problem, and I think with a little guidance from the more knowledgable people on this board you will be able to rock the MCAT and get accepted!

 

[megathunder]

Honestly, the rest of your application is so strong that my best advice would be to take however long it takes to study for and improve on that MCAT. Take a class, take all the AAMC practice tests, and just do as many problems as you can. After all those years of hard work you put in you don't want to sacrifice your chance to get into a top school (which you are capable of, DO or MD) just because of the MCAT. And honestly, anyone can easily get above a 25 just by improving study habits alone, let alone mastering the scientific material (I jumped 4 points in just one month of extra study in which I could not possibly have memorized that much more science).

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

You're going to have to get at least a 26, in my opinion, to redeem those 19s.

 

[abcveq]

What happened during the tests? What were your scores on each section? Did you straight-up not know the material, or did you just find the questions confusing? Why do you think you scored lowed the 2nd and 3rd time around? You mentioned that you can from a disadvantaged background, which means you probably were not able to shell out big $$$ for an MCAT prep course - how did you prepare? How much time elapsed between each test, and what (if anything) did you do differently to prepare for each exam?

I got very anxious this last time around. Like to the extreme anxious. The second time I took it, I didn't feel as prepared as I wanted. My goal was to apply to med school so I studied for two months after my first MCAT and retook the test. I took on a new project at work during those months and also went to India the day after my exam so overall, I felt very rushed. I shouldn't have taken it the second time. I just my scores back for the last time this week. I studied for almost 5 months, dedicating at least 4 hours for the last 2.5 months each day after work. I took every practice test on AAMC and some other PR or Kaplan stuff that my friend gave me. Never once did I score this low...my lowest on practice was 23. I felt so sick the day of the exam and even the night before. I was so worried because I felt like this HAD TO BE IT! I actually went to the doctor and was given anxiety meds. Maybe this was the reason why I did bad, cuz i cared too much . I feel like I have dedicated so much of my academic career so far to getting in medical school, and it's just this stupid test in the way.

Thanks for all your input everyone. I don't know if I will study for the MCAT again any time soon, but I really am going to apply. I'll apply to a few schools and just see where my luck takes me.

 

[megathunder]

I got very anxious this last time around. Like to the extreme anxious. The second time I took it, I didn't feel as prepared as I wanted. My goal was to apply to med school so I studied for two months after my first MCAT and retook the test. I took on a new project at work during those months and also went to India the day after my exam so overall, I felt very rushed. I shouldn't have taken it the second time. I just my scores back for the last time this week. I studied for almost 5 months, dedicating at least 4 hours for the last 2.5 months each day after work. I took every practice test on AAMC and some other PR or Kaplan stuff that my friend gave me. Never once did I score this low...my lowest on practice was 23. I felt so sick the day of the exam and even the night before. I was so worried because I felt like this HAD TO BE IT! I actually went to the doctor and was given anxiety meds. Maybe this was the reason why I did bad, cuz i cared too much . I feel like I have dedicated so much of my academic career so far to getting in medical school, and it's just this stupid test in the way.

Thanks for all your input everyone. I don't know if I will study for the MCAT again any time soon, but I really am going to apply. I'll apply to a few schools and just see where my luck takes me.

In that case, beta-blockers. Ask your doctor about them then go ace your test. You can thank me later.

[EDIT] Didn't read your post all the way through. How come you still had anxiety after taking anxiety meds??

 

[abcveq]

[EDIT] Didn't read your post all the way through. How come you still had anxiety after taking anxiety meds??

Sorry misread your question earlier...

The meds were acting very weird. If I take the appropriate dosage, I get very sleepy. It's a benzodiazepine an works on electrical brain activity. If I took half the recommended dosage, I did not feel the effect, same with taking a bit of it every couple of hour. A week before my exam, I just stopped taking it altogether. I figured I'd rather be anxious than sleep through my exam. I don't know which one is better now haha.

 

[Darwinism]

19's are killing you. I would study very hard and up that score to at least 28-30

 

[megathunder]

Wow, someone deleted my message. OP, if you didn't get a chance to read my last reply shoot me a PM.

Otherwise if the mod who deleted my message could have the courtesy to PM and tell me why I'd appreciate it