Next steps to improve application

[LivingOnAPrayer123]

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[GM2006]

You have some fantastic EC's that'll definitely make you stand out! I don't think one C will make too much of a difference.

I don't know much about Texas schools but I think if you have a half decent MCAT score you'll have a great chance of getting into a DO school.

Good luck!!

 

[Quik]

My only advice would be to urge you to apply to MD in addition to DO. Unless you are dead set on the DO curriculum and practice, and hopefully you have a very realistic perspective based on experience of what that is like, the residency specialties as an MD are much more available. You have a stellar application from my perspective with stats just below most medians, but well within percentiles, making you a very competitive applicant. The only thing I don't see is research. Maybe do some research, either paid or volunteer during the interim between now and interview time...

Most other applicants aren't going to have the breadth of life experiences and ECs that you have, proving that question "would this person make a good doctor." The answer is an unequivocal yes based on your experiences. Guessing that like in most cases, the military has knocked the disillusioned pretentious-ness out of you, you might also make a great impression in an interview.

I'm not trying to talk you out of DO if you're set on that course, but if you're worried that you aren't competitive enough for an MD acceptance, I suggest you reconsider.

a note to add, I'm not knocking DO one bit, just stating the statistical truth that DOs are more limited in residency matching than MD students, which can be limiting to a DO physicians career.

Best of luck with the process!

 

[DocWinter]

the 0.05 sGPA bump isn't a real difference maker with the impressive body of work you have, and to assume you did well on your MCAT.
If your MCAT is 28 or above, you will get some very good interest from nearly any DO school you apply to. 24-27, and you're still getting in somewhere.

 

[LivingOnAPrayer123]

My only advice would be to urge you to apply to MD in addition to DO. Unless you are dead set on the DO curriculum and practice, and hopefully you have a very realistic perspective based on experience of what that is like, the residency specialties as an MD are much more available. You have a stellar application from my perspective with stats just below most medians, but well within percentiles, making you a very competitive applicant. The only thing I don't see is research. Maybe do some research, either paid or volunteer during the interim between now and interview time...

Most other applicants aren't going to have the breadth of life experiences and ECs that you have, proving that question "would this person make a good doctor." The answer is an unequivocal yes based on your experiences. Guessing that like in most cases, the military has knocked the disillusioned pretentious-ness out of you, you might also make a great impression in an interview.

I'm not trying to talk you out of DO if you're set on that course, but if you're worried that you aren't competitive enough for an MD acceptance, I suggest you reconsider.

a note to add, I'm not knocking DO one bit, just stating the statistical truth that DOs are more limited in residency matching than MD students, which can be limiting to a DO physicians career.

Best of luck with the process!

Hey Quik, I think I might only apply to MD schools in Texas (my budget is a little tight) and the rest DO since the AACOMAS grade replacement helped bump my GPA up. I'll see if I can try and get some research in as well with some of the physicians that I work with now...they have some non-human primate stuff going on but no clinical type research that I am aware of.

 

[LivingOnAPrayer123]

the 0.05 sGPA bump isn't a real difference maker with the impressive body of work you have, and to assume you did well on your MCAT.
If your MCAT is 28 or above, you will get some very good interest from nearly any DO school you apply to. 24-27, and you're still getting in somewhere.

Thanks Doc! I'm hoping for anything in that 25-28 range. I hope to never see another MCAT prep book for as long as I live.

 

[Quik]

Hey Quik, I think I might only apply to MD schools in Texas (my budget is a little tight) and the rest DO since the AACOMAS grade replacement helped bump my GPA up. I'll see if I can try and get some research in as well with some of the physicians that I work with now...they have some non-human primate stuff going on but no clinical type research that I am aware of.

It doesn't necessarily need to be clinical, in fact, some non-human primate stuff might be the kind of interesting research that gets noticed... It just needs to be research.

You're going to get interest from MD schools for sure. Even with a mid-20's MCAT you'll get consideration. I don't know how competitive TX MD Admissions are, but if I were you, I'd also look for a few of the lesser competitive out of state MD schools that accept a good number of out-of-state applicants. I understand about the budget issue, but think long-term here; an extra $1k to apply broadly and get an MD acceptance is a drop in the bucket.