MD & DO Nontrad; allied health doctorate; low undergrad gpa

[jrdn1284]

Please see an overall summary of my profile below. Obviously, I will need to take the MCAT. Based on the below information, what target MCAT score do I need? If I perform well on MCAT, is this a competitive applicant profile or will I need to retake some basic science coursework? If so, how much? Thanks in advance!

ACADEMICS
Undergraduate GPA: cGPA 2.82, sGPA: 2.86 (completed ~15 years ago)
Allied Health (Chiropractic) Doctorate GPA: 3.3 (completed ~10 years ago)
MHA (Masters Health Administration) GPA: 4.0 (completed ~3 years ago)
MCAT: Have not taken yet

RESEARCH/ACADEMIA
Peer-reviewed scientific/medical journal publications: 20
Grant money for research projects and peer reviewed publications: Obtained 2 total - A secondary investigator for a grant in excess of $ 1 mil; primary investigator for a small grant >$50k
Faculty appointments: Adjunct clinical teaching faculty appt at a medical school; adjunct clinical teaching faculty appt at a chiropractic school
Peer reviewer for several peer-review scientific/medical journals

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
Volunteered 30 days at medical clinic for underserved region in Carribean
Clinical experience (10 years) in interdisciplinary medical setting

COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT
Active member of several professional medical societies
Volunteer with local homeless aid programs

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[libertyyne]

Why MD ? Why now?MCAT?loRs ? Pre-reqs?

 

[jrdn1284]

Why MD ? Why now?MCAT?loRs ? Pre-reqs?

Why MD? Why now?: I have contemplated a pursuit of medicine for a few years now. From a pragmantic, economic point of view, the change does not make sense. However, I am continually drawn to this pursuit because I feel as if there is more I can contribute to the world/patient care -- through much thought and discussion with others I have concluded this path may allow for this in a number of various domains. Why now? If not now, when?

LORs?: I am confident of obtaining very repairable and quality LORs.

Pre-reqs?: I have all pre reqs completed. However they were all completed at least 10 years previous. Will I need to retake?

 

[jrdn1284]

Why MD? Why now?: I have contemplated a pursuit of medicine for a few years now. From a pragmantic, economic point of view, the change does not make sense. However, I am continually drawn to this pursuit because I feel as if there is more I can contribute to the world/patient care -- through much thought and discussion with others I have concluded this path may allow for this in a number of various domains. Why now? If not now, when?

LORs?: I am confident of obtaining very repairable and quality LORs.

Pre-reqs?: I have all pre reqs completed. However they were all completed at least 10 years previous. Will I need to retake?

Mcat - I have not taken yet. Can you assist with a target score that I would need given the rest of my profile?

 

[deleted480308]

Are you prepared to deal with the anti chiropractic vibe you are going to have to endure?

 

[gyngyn]

Undergraduate science gpa is the cornerstone of an application.
Most MD schools have very few (if any) matriculants with a gpa under 3.0 (without regard to MCAT).

Master's and Professional gpa's are not seen in the same light as undergraduate grades at MD schools. DO schools see things differently.

 

[libertyyne]

Your UG GPA is a non starter. You will need to raise that, through a postbac. If you are able to get your gpa above 3.0 DO would probably be within range provided you perform well on the MCAT. No Adcom will care about the Graduate GPA. I think your volunteering maybe inadequate, but you could probably fix that. It will be a hard sell to MD schools . There will be a pretty strong anti Chiro bias.

 

[libertyyne]

Is there a specific type of medicine you are interested in ?

 

[bears1992]

I have a 3.1 cGPA and a 3.4sGPA. You know what's stupid? If we scored the same on the MCAT my stats would trump yours. That is how dumb the admissions process can be. Most schools are not going to care about your graduate work and the concensous seems to be that graduate work is seen as an EC. The problem is graduate gpas are not published while undergraduate gpas are meaning a school can not flaunt your graduate gpa, the only thing you would do is lower their maltriculant gpa. While I think the 10 years of being a DC certaintly trumps having a 4.0 undergrad in basket weaving with no real life experience, adcoms don't see it that way.

I agree with everyone above, you are going to need to bring both undergrad gpas up to a 3.0. The only way around that would be a 519+ MCAT and then shoot for DO schools that don't have a cutoff. The most practical route is the year (30ish credits of science) of postbac and 508+ MCAT.

 

[libertyyne]

I have a 3.1 cGPA and a 3.4sGPA. You know what's stupid? If we scored the same on the MCAT my stats would trump yours. That is how dumb the admissions process can be. Most schools are not going to care about your graduate work and the concensous seems to be that graduate work is seen as an EC. The problem is graduate gpas are not published while undergraduate gpas are meaning a school can not flaunt your graduate gpa, the only thing you would do is lower their maltriculant gpa. While I think the 10 years of being a DC certaintly trumps having a 4.0 undergrad in basket weaving with no real life experience, adcoms don't see it that way.

I agree with everyone above, you are going to need to bring both undergrad gpas up to a 3.0. The only way around that would be a 519+ MCAT and then shoot for DO schools that don't have a cutoff. The most practical route is the year (30ish credits of science) of postbac and 508+ MCAT.

There is nothing about OPs application that would indicate that OP is ready to handle Medical school. Adcoms dont exclude low scorers because they love high gpa's they exclude them because low scores are a liability in terms of passing medical school and passing boards. This is a reason why the MCAT is given such preference. If you look at the literature it says MCAT predicts ability to complete medical school without any difficulty with MCATs above 30 virtually not having any academic difficulty. And GPA + MCAT are able to predict this to an even higher degree. Years of experience being a DC does not predict being able to handle the academic rigor of medical school, the only thing that predicts is OP can be a DC.

OP needs to show adcoms that he/she can cut it academically.

 

[bears1992]

I can't say for D.C. but a Ph.D. is on the same level of commitment and work as med school and I would even argue that a Ph.D in a science is tougher than medical school. Some Ph.D students at my engineering school would start in the lab at 7am and go to sleep in the lounge at 10pm and repeat the next day (no idea what they did on the weekends). The fact that an adcom would look at a Ph.D. recipient in nuclear physics and say "you got a 3.0 in undergrad therefore we doubt you can handle our medical school" is ridiculous. AAMC data on 5 year graduation rates and first time step one pass rates are more dependent on MCAT than gpa. In fact, students with low gpa/high MCAT had higher graduation rates than high gpa/low MCAT even though acceptance rates for high gpa/low MCAT are higher than low gpa/high MCAT.

 

[libertyyne]

I can't say for D.C. but a Ph.D. is on the same level of commitment and work as med school and I would even argue that a Ph.D in a science is tougher than medical school. Some Ph.D students at my engineering school would start in the lab at 7am and go to sleep in the lounge at 10pm and repeat the next day (no idea what they did on the weekends). The fact that an adcom would look at a Ph.D. recipient in nuclear physics and say "you got a 3.0 in undergrad therefore we doubt you can handle our medical school" is ridiculous. AAMC data on 5 year graduation rates and first time step one pass rates are more dependent on MCAT than gpa. In fact, students with low gpa/high MCAT had higher graduation rates than high gpa/low MCAT even though acceptance rates for high gpa/low MCAT are higher than low gpa/high MCAT.

You are changing the goal post to a science PHD now. I will say it again. The OP's app does not display ability to complete medical school without problem. II would argue that the pacing of information in PHD classes is different than medical school. Also why would you hate on adcoms using acutal research to base their acceptances on rather than a hunch based on Phd rigor. Too many applicants without that baggage.

 

[bears1992]

You are changing the goal post to a science PHD now. I will say it again. The OP's app does not display ability to complete medical school without problem. II would argue that the pacing of information in PHD classes is different than medical school. Also why would you hate on adcoms using acutal research to base their acceptances on rather than a hunch based on Phd rigor. Too many applicants without that baggage.

When you put it that way it makes sense. AAMC has no data on graduation rates for Graduate degree recipients so I guess adcoms can't just assume OP would do well even though I'm sure his/her D.C. program was more rigorous than any undergrad major.

 

[jrdn1284]

Thank you for your input and replies!

I am committed to this process and it looks as if I will need to either complete a post vac program and/or retake pre reqs to bring undergrad gpa related coursework to a > 3.0?

Regarding a few earlier comments...I have practiced my entire professional chiropractic career in mainstream medicine. There has been experiences of medical support and experiences of antagonists in the medical field. I don't believe I have any unrealistic expectations.

Is there a specific type of medicine I am interested in?....I really have a focus and interest in spine and pain medicine. Specialty areas of interest are pm&r or neurology.

Any other words of wisdom or recommendations? Thanks in advance!