I am a chemistry major nearing the end of my Jr. year. As a freshman my eye was on med school. I joined ROTC and army reserves and although I love it, got a little brainwashed and all I wanted to do was excel in ROTC. As a result I have managed to aquire 3 c's and 2 c+'s and my cgpa at this point is 3.18 and science is 3.01. If I retake these classes both would be in the 3.4 range. My question is, can I retake them at another school after I graduate or do I need to retake them during my undergrad for them to count as retakes for DO. My ec's are mostly military related but some are campus. Dorm counsel pres., JV lacross and DJ for campus radio freshman year. JV Lacross, red cross club, army reserves, Air Assault school sophmore year. U.N. club, Scabbord and Blade Honor Society, army reserves (actiing platoon leader) and next month will be attend leadership developement,, I am currently doing research and it will continue through my senior year although it is not med related. I don't know if ROTC counts as an ec. I have not taken the mcat yet but with 3 practice tests my scores were 34,34,33. Can someone who actually knows tell me how to improve this and let me know about retaking classes? Thanks
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need advice from those in the know.
Started by wannabearmydoc
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I am a former army reservist myself. Trust me, it will help open many doors for you and help when it comes to setting yourself apart from all the other applications. You have a lot of great ECs and experiences in there, especially all the leadership stuff. What is your MOS?
As far as taking classes at a different school to replace grades, I did it for a few classes and it wasn't an issue at all. Just as long as the basic course descriptions and credits match up, they will be replaced on your AACOMAS app.
If you got your gpa up a bit and scored anywhere close to what your MCAT practice tests are, I would say your chances are great.
Your practice test scores are well above DO averages, and many MD averages, so as long as you get >30, you should be fine.
As far as the retakes go, it doesn't matter where you take them, even at CCs, as long as they are equal or greater credits than your previous courses and the descriptions are roughly the same. So say at your old school, they were 3 credit classes and 1 credit lab, make sure your replacement school lists them as 3 credit classes and 1 credit lab, whereas if your classes were 4 credit classes, make sure that the replacement courses are labeled as 4 or more credit courses.
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Shabnasty,
As a cadet in ROTC I have not picked an area yet but I am thinking MP. As a cadet in the reserves I got luckey as the unit I chose to drill at (quartermaster) was missing a platoon leader and I was thrust into that position as a cadet, its a pre-commission dream come true. If I can get into med school its all for not as I will be doing my damndest to treat my soldiers.
As a cadet in ROTC I have not picked an area yet but I am thinking MP. As a cadet in the reserves I got luckey as the unit I chose to drill at (quartermaster) was missing a platoon leader and I was thrust into that position as a cadet, its a pre-commission dream come true. If I can get into med school its all for not as I will be doing my damndest to treat my soldiers.
Concur strongly. Current and ex-military folks make for some of our all-time best students. Many thanks for serving your country!
You're on a great path as long as you retake the classes in which you had a poor outcome. Honestly, if you scored near your practice scores on the MCAT you might even get into a DO school without retaking them, but might as well do it and be sure. Make sure you have some shadowing experience with a DO to round out your app.
Survivor DO
Survivor DO
Thanks for the replies guys I have a little renewed hope. I did not think my ec's were that great mostly because they are military related. SURVIVORDO I have tried to find a DO to shadow but they say they cannot because of hippa laws. What do you have to do to get a DO to allow you to shadow? Thanks
Plenty of my students shadow DOs (and MDs), so the hippa laws thing is either a cop-out of said from ignorance.
You can contact the AOA to find out where DOs are in practice near you.
if you're within driving distance of a COM, try checking them out.
You can contact the AOA to find out where DOs are in practice near you.
if you're within driving distance of a COM, try checking them out.
