Non-trad, what are my chances?

[psychkub]

Non-traditional applicant here from the state of WA.

-Undergraduate GPA from UCLA 2.8 - Major Psychology, Minor Cognitive Science
-Post Baccalaureate GPA from University of Washington - 3.4 Double Major in Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Bio (I worked full time during nights, while going to school during the days for my post-bacc).
-cGPA is 3.08
-BCPM is 3.34

Also, don't know if it matters, but I'm a Gates Millennium Scholar, and won a physics merit scholarship during post-bacc.

MCAT - 30Q

Clinical volunteer activities
-None, but see employment

Physician shadowing (include specialties and total hours)
-100+ combined hours in Emergency Medicine, Primary Care, Urgent Care, Neurology, Radiology, General Surgery, Orthopedics/Sports Medicine. Shadowed both DO and MDs

Research
-Neurocognitive Research at UCLA Clinical Neuroscience Lab - no publications - 12 months
-Child Abuse/Neglect Research at UCLA School of Social Work - 6 months - no publications

Nonclinical volunteer activities
- None (I just haven't had time with school and work. Now that school is done I might be looking at doing some volunteer work at the local LGBT clinic.)

Employment
-32 months (40hrs/week) of working for an outpatient mental health clinical located in a rural and underserved location. Worked with families in the department of children services system. Worked in conjunction with psychotherapists and social workers to monitor the progress of the families. Served as the representative of the clinic in the Family Preservation Counsel and the Big Bear Valley Network/Health Start Collaborative - which were community service involvement functions. I ran case management meetings for all the cases within the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment system. Helped the low income community through assistance programs and other community resources. Served as the interpreter for the Hispanic clients. Ran the "Life After High School" class.

18 months (32hrs/week) working in the ER of a Level III trauma hospital as the Patient and Family Liaison. Lots of clinical and patient contact. High Stress situations, and served as the spanish interpreter for spanish speaking patients.

6 months of ER physician Scribing (variable hours, usually 10-20hrs/week).

8 months (and counting - 30-40hrs/week) of being a tech in the same Level III trauma hospital. Lots of patient and clinical interaction. Teach classes on lift equipment. Also do Hospital Staffing of CNAs and RNs, so it's allowed me to see what goes on logistically behind the scenes.

Considering applying to:

MD
Drexel University College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

DO
A.T. Still University, School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, AZ
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, WA
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - California, CA
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Nevada, NV
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Lebanon, OR
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Pomona, CA

I'd really like to cut it down to maybe 10 MD and 5 DO schools. I know my stats are not great, but I'm hoping my experience makes up for it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

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[alexrgross]

Non-traditional applicant here from the state of WA.

-Undergraduate GPA from UCLA 2.8 - Major Psychology, Minor Cognitive Science
-Post Baccalaureate GPA from University of Washington - 3.4 Double Major in Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Bio (I worked full time during nights, while going to school during the days for my post-bacc).
-cGPA is 3.08
-BCPM is 3.34

Also, don't know if it matters, but I'm a Gates Millennium Scholar, and won a physics merit scholarship during post-bacc.

MCAT - 30Q

Clinical volunteer activities
-None, but see employment

Physician shadowing (include specialties and total hours)
-100+ combined hours in Emergency Medicine, Primary Care, Urgent Care, Neurology, Radiology, General Surgery, Orthopedics/Sports Medicine. Shadowed both DO and MDs

Research
-Neurocognitive Research at UCLA Clinical Neuroscience Lab - no publications - 12 months
-Child Abuse/Neglect Research at UCLA School of Social Work - 6 months - no publications

Nonclinical volunteer activities
- None (I just haven't had time with school and work. Now that school is done I might be looking at doing some volunteer work at the local LGBT clinic.)

Employment
-32 months (40hrs/week) of working for an outpatient mental health clinical located in a rural and underserved location. Worked with families in the department of children services system. Worked in conjunction with psychotherapists and social workers to monitor the progress of the families. Served as the representative of the clinic in the Family Preservation Counsel and the Big Bear Valley Network/Health Start Collaborative - which were community service involvement functions. I ran case management meetings for all the cases within the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment system. Helped the low income community through assistance programs and other community resources. Served as the interpreter for the Hispanic clients. Ran the "Life After High School" class.

18 months (32hrs/week) working in the ER of a Level III trauma hospital as the Patient and Family Liaison. Lots of clinical and patient contact. High Stress situations, and served as the spanish interpreter for spanish speaking patients.

6 months of ER physician Scribing (variable hours, usually 10-20hrs/week).

8 months (and counting - 30-40hrs/week) of being a tech in the same Level III trauma hospital. Lots of patient and clinical interaction. Teach classes on lift equipment. Also do Hospital Staffing of CNAs and RNs, so it's allowed me to see what goes on logistically behind the scenes.

Considering applying to:

MD
Drexel University College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

DO
A.T. Still University, School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, AZ
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, WA
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - California, CA
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Nevada, NV
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Lebanon, OR
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Pomona, CA

I'd really like to cut it down to maybe 10 MD and 5 DO schools. I know my stats are not great, but I'm hoping my experience makes up for it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Delete OHSU, that school is not a good fit for you.
U of Colorado tends to be extremely selective if not for their lower numbers, consider deleting them too.

 

[weezynation]

Non-traditional applicant here from the state of WA.

-Undergraduate GPA from UCLA 2.8 - Major Psychology, Minor Cognitive Science
-Post Baccalaureate GPA from University of Washington - 3.4 Double Major in Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Bio (I worked full time during nights, while going to school during the days for my post-bacc).
-cGPA is 3.08
-BCPM is 3.34

Also, don't know if it matters, but I'm a Gates Millennium Scholar, and won a physics merit scholarship during post-bacc.

MCAT - 30Q

Clinical volunteer activities
-None, but see employment

Physician shadowing (include specialties and total hours)
-100+ combined hours in Emergency Medicine, Primary Care, Urgent Care, Neurology, Radiology, General Surgery, Orthopedics/Sports Medicine. Shadowed both DO and MDs

Research
-Neurocognitive Research at UCLA Clinical Neuroscience Lab - no publications - 12 months
-Child Abuse/Neglect Research at UCLA School of Social Work - 6 months - no publications

Nonclinical volunteer activities
- None (I just haven't had time with school and work. Now that school is done I might be looking at doing some volunteer work at the local LGBT clinic.)

Employment
-32 months (40hrs/week) of working for an outpatient mental health clinical located in a rural and underserved location. Worked with families in the department of children services system. Worked in conjunction with psychotherapists and social workers to monitor the progress of the families. Served as the representative of the clinic in the Family Preservation Counsel and the Big Bear Valley Network/Health Start Collaborative - which were community service involvement functions. I ran case management meetings for all the cases within the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment system. Helped the low income community through assistance programs and other community resources. Served as the interpreter for the Hispanic clients. Ran the "Life After High School" class.

18 months (32hrs/week) working in the ER of a Level III trauma hospital as the Patient and Family Liaison. Lots of clinical and patient contact. High Stress situations, and served as the spanish interpreter for spanish speaking patients.

6 months of ER physician Scribing (variable hours, usually 10-20hrs/week).

8 months (and counting - 30-40hrs/week) of being a tech in the same Level III trauma hospital. Lots of patient and clinical interaction. Teach classes on lift equipment. Also do Hospital Staffing of CNAs and RNs, so it's allowed me to see what goes on logistically behind the scenes.

Considering applying to:

MD
Drexel University College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

DO
A.T. Still University, School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, AZ
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, WA
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - California, CA
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Nevada, NV
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Lebanon, OR
Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Pomona, CA

I'd really like to cut it down to maybe 10 MD and 5 DO schools. I know my stats are not great, but I'm hoping my experience makes up for it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

You may want to remove some of the MD schools that have high in-state preference and replace them with low-tier private schools. The reason I say this is because if they accept 75-80% in-state (which is usually about the % of in-state students these schools tend to take)...this means the other 20-25% is going to be people who have excellent numbers. Your gpa is already a long shot for any MD school (even the ones without in-state preference) so applying to these schools would essentially be a waste of time and money unless you had a ridiculous mcat score. I am assuming you are a resident of Washington, so consider removing:

Eastern Virginia
Arizona (not exactly sure what their in-state % is so you should check on that)
Colorado
Louisville
Virginia Commonwealth (90-100 out of 194 are from out of state, so there is in-state preference but you may have a shot here)
Wright State

 

[psychkub]

Thank you for the advice. I definitely am not looking to waste my money on schools that I don't have a chance on. I've been saving money for the last two months just to be able to apply to 15 schools. For some reason, I didn't qualify for a FAP, even though I'm 29 and no longer living anywhere near my parents, yet they still enquired about their income.

So, lower-tiered private institutions seems to be the consensus here.

...and yes, I am a Washington resident, but I have ties to California. I was born in SoCal.

I would prefer MD, but I just want to be a doctor.... should I just focus on my DO prospects instead?

 

[weezynation]

Thank you for the advice. I definitely am not looking to waste my money on schools that I don't have a chance on. I've been saving money for the last two months just to be able to apply to 15 schools. For some reason, I didn't qualify for a FAP, even though I'm 29 and no longer living anywhere near my parents, yet they still enquired about their income.

So, lower-tiered private institutions seems to be the consensus here.

...and yes, I am a Washington resident, but I have ties to California. I was born in SoCal.

I would prefer MD, but I just want to be a doctor.... should I just focus on my DO prospects instead?

It can't hurt to apply to a few MD schools if you want to give it a shot. You are a non-trad with an average to slightly above average mcat and lower than average gpa for low-tier schools. Being a non trad you never know what they may see in you in reference to the positivity your life experience can bring to a class so if you want to apply to a few then you should. U Washington is like top 10 so it's a long shot but it's your state school so why not. Other than that, yes low tier private schools. Apply the very first day (june 5), make sure your PS is great, and craft your secondary essays carefully. Make sure they are not generic because each school will want to know why you want them in particular. However, like you asked, yes the majority of your schools should be DO. Your gpa will be closer to the average for DO (even better if you have grade-improving retakes) and your mcat is above average for DO.

 

[VM3125]

It can't hurt to apply to a few MD schools if you want to give it a shot. You are a non-trad with an average to slightly above average mcat and lower than average gpa for low-tier schools. Being a non trad you never know what they may see in you in reference to the positivity your life experience can bring to a class so if you want to apply to a few then you should. U Washington is like top 10 so it's a long shot but it's your state school so why not. Other than that, yes low tier private schools. Apply the very first day (june 5), make sure your PS is great, and craft your secondary essays carefully. Make sure they are not generic because each school will want to know why you want them in particular. However, like you asked, yes the majority of your schools should be DO. Your gpa will be closer to the average for DO (even better if you have grade-improving retakes) and your mcat is above average for DO.

May I ask... specifically, which are "low tiere private schools"?

 

[weezynation]

May I ask... specifically, which are "low tiere private schools"?

There is always a fuzzy line between mid-tier and low-tier schools so a few of these could potentially be mid-tier. The last 3 are HBCUs who want students who have shown dedication to working with underserved populations and hope to continue that work in the future, so unless you've proven this there is not point in applying to them.

Rush
Saint Louis
Drexel
Rosalind Franklin
Virginia Commonwealth (about 50% in state preference, so not too bad)
Morehouse
Meharry
Howard