Need Advice on applying to D.O programs

[viasidd]

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Hi, this is my first post on SDN 🙂
I'm currently about to be a senior in university, but I have 2 years left of school in a state school in California. My cgpa dropped due to 2 GE courses. I currently have a 3.19...I know its horrible...but I'm determined to get straight A's for the rest of my 2 years in school, to bring it up to atleast a 3.4something and to obtain an upward trend.
I've been volunteering for 6 months at a hospital and I'm going to continue on with it. I also recently volunteered abroad in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for 3 weeks, with 50 hours of clinic in rural areas.
For this school year, my goal is to raise my gpa, start studying 7 months in advance for the mcat, and also shadow DO's if possible for a Letter of Rec.
For summer 2015 I'm hoping to get into a research program to boost my extracurriculars.
I'm also a URM: African American female, from an Cameroonian background. My parents are from Africa...not sure if that helps at all, but just wanted to throw that out there. 🙂

Are my plans any good? Any other EC that I should consider? and what schools would I have a decent chance for DO schools: I'm looking into Western University, AZCOM, ATSU? I'm also going to apply to a few MD schools: University of Nevada Reno and UC Riverside...ugh..I Pray for the best.
Love to hear any advice. Thank you!!

I also heard of grade replacement? Is that true for DO?

 

[kelminak]

"I currently have a 3.19...I know its horrible...but I'm determined to get straight A's for the rest of my 2 years in school, to bring it up to atleast a 3.4something and to obtain an upward trend."

I have a 2.5 and I'm working to get it up from there, so don't beat yourself up. Everyone makes mistakes and as long as you are dedicated you can get your GPA to where you want it to be.

"I've been volunteering for 6 months at a hospital and I'm going to continue on with it."

Good stuff. Just curious, what do you do as a volunteer?

"I also recently volunteered abroad in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for 3 weeks, with 50 hours of clinic in rural areas. "

Good, but a lot of people are becoming more and more hesitant about volunteering abroad. It'll be as good as you can make it out to be in interviews.

"start studying 7 months in advance for the mcat"

Most people recommend not studying more than 4 months in advance and having a tight schedule for it around that time. Look up the sn2ed schedule if you haven't already to get an idea of what I'm talking about. This isn't to say you can't get a head start, but realize that it's hard to retain all the formulas, etc. for that long just from memory.

"and what schools would I have a decent chance for DO schools:"

Work on getting your grades fixed up first before you can have any idea of what schools you're competitive for. GPA, MCAT, ECs, and regional biases from schools all have an influence on where you can realistically apply.

"I also heard of grade replacement? Is that true for DO?"

Yes, but you can Google basic information like that in the future.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

With 2 years time to finish school you shouldn't limit yourself on where you can go. Work hard. You can end up at a really strong MD if you finish with good grades and a high MCAT.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Yea 14 weeks is the max mcat study time. From experience I can tell you that you will burn out. Just do the SN2 study schedule and you will do good.

Just keep up with the grades. Above 3.2 is all that you need if you get a decent (roughly 28 mcat).

International stuff is good but only if you truly have a passion for it. Do not expect it to carry you through if you dug wells in Africa or something. Someone who is passionate about volunteering in a soup kitchen consistently for a year will get more love from med schools than someone who went to another country for a couple weeks.

 

[viasidd]

"I currently have a 3.19...I know its horrible...but I'm determined to get straight A's for the rest of my 2 years in school, to bring it up to atleast a 3.4something and to obtain an upward trend."

I have a 2.5 and I'm working to get it up from there, so don't beat yourself up. Everyone makes mistakes and as long as you are dedicated you can get your GPA to where you want it to be.

"I've been volunteering for 6 months at a hospital and I'm going to continue on with it."

Good stuff. Just curious, what do you do as a volunteer?

"I also recently volunteered abroad in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for 3 weeks, with 50 hours of clinic in rural areas. "

Good, but a lot of people are becoming more and more hesitant about volunteering abroad. It'll be as good as you can make it out to be in interviews.

"start studying 7 months in advance for the mcat"

Most people recommend not studying more than 4 months in advance and having a tight schedule for it around that time. Look up the sn2ed schedule if you haven't already to get an idea of what I'm talking about. This isn't to say you can't get a head start, but realize that it's hard to retain all the formulas, etc. for that long just from memory.

"and what schools would I have a decent chance for DO schools:"

Work on getting your grades fixed up first before you can have any idea of what schools you're competitive for. GPA, MCAT, ECs, and regional biases from schools all have an influence on where you can realistically apply.

"I also heard of grade replacement? Is that true for DO?"

Yes, but you can Google basic information like that in the future.

Lol, thanks for the advice. And yeah should have just googled it, just seemed too good to be true since many schools in general don't allow for that.
And yeah I'll keep my gpa up

 

[viasidd]

Yea 14 weeks is the max mcat study time. From experience I can tell you that you will burn out. Just do the SN2 study schedule and you will do good.

Just keep up with the grades. Above 3.2 is all that you need if you get a decent (roughly 28 mcat).

International stuff is good but only if you truly have a passion for it. Do not expect it to carry you through if you dug wells in Africa or something. Someone who is passionate about volunteering in a soup kitchen consistently for a year will get more love from med schools than someone who went to another country for a couple weeks.

Yeah, I don't expect it to, but it was a great and fun experience that I plan to talk about in interviews. I do have the passion for that, thats why I did it in the first place. But thanks for the advice!

 

[viasidd]

And to answer your question, I work in the ER and perform some basic tasks. Nothing super interesting. I want to see if I can work in a clinic though