No interviews this cycle - Help with improving for next

[Blunt Dissection]

Hello SDN, it's now March and sadly at this point, I haven't received any interview invites so I'm not holding out any hope now. I figured with 3 months until next cycle, I should seek some help from people on here.

A little background about this application cycle. My primary apps were processed around the beginning of November and I began getting secondaries around mid-November of which I received about 30 or so. I applied to both MD and DO schools, though given my stats, it was unlikely that I was going to get into an MD school, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyways.

Stats are:
cGPA 3.22, sGPA 3.06
MCAT on 2 separate tries came out to be a 25. For section highs, I would have had a 27.
Non-traditional applicant with extensive clinical experience (about 7 years worth). Research experience during my undergrad days, but no publications.

I've discussed this with some of the physicians I've worked with, and not surprisingly, my GPA and MCAT are too low for MD schools. It's unlikely that I'd fair well on the new MCAT considering I've never taken Biochem. They did however think that I stood a chance at DO programs and that it may have just because I had submitted so late into the cycle.

I applied to a handful of masters programs and am currently waiting to hear back from those, but assuming I don't get into any of those either, should I just edit my personal statements and secondaries and resubmit when the cycle starts again in June?

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[DrMidlife]

I think it's shameful that schools send secondaries to a low stats applicant in mid-November. That's just fundraising.

Here's my treatise on reapplication.

See the postbac forum for programs you can consider to amend low stats. You should be looking at the 2 year masters programs (similar to SMPs) that are hosted at DO schools. These will not make you retake the MCAT; they'll make you med school material in other ways.

Best of luck to you.

 

[white plum]

Hey Fender, I am in almost exactly the same boat as you. Nice to have some company!!

Haven't applied to any SMPs because I've been on the fence about it and was considering committing to DO and doing a DIY post-bacc at a local community college to save some money (probably a drop in the bucket considering med school debt though). DrMidlife, I'm currently wholly consuming the thread you linked-- thank you, it is incredible-- what are your thoughts on doing a DIY post-bacc instead of a formal SMP? (My AACOMAS cGPA is a 3.4 but my sGPA is a 3.0)?

 

[Blunt Dissection]

Thanks DrMidlife, I just read through your post and it's incredibly helpful and it's definitely going to help with what I'm going to do these next few months. I'm hoping to get into one of those masters, I ended up applying for TUCOM, TUN, and Western, but I'll probably consider adding a few more. Hopefully the masters program will love me somewhere. Considering my extensive clinical experience, would I be able to just focus on just school work and studying assuming I do get into a masters? That wouldn't be frowned upon would it?

And white plum - it's definitely a crappy spot that we're in, but where there's a will there's a way right? At least I'd like to think so hahaha. We'll make it through!