What Are My Chances: WAMC Podiatry

[nikkisorous]

This may be a completely pointless remark if you aren't, BUT if you are African American I suggest doing a post-bac, doing well in it, and getting like a 24+ on your MCAT and applying to Meharry, Morehouse, and Howard. I think you will be surprised that if you apply when the cycle opens up you have a good chance of getting in.

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[hughesn2]

I disagree.
If you check out the DPM booklet that was released last year, there were some students who were accepted with a 2.5, granted they probably had a high MCAT score.

And how many people have you ever heard of that average a 2.5 science GPA get a 30+ on their MCAT??? I bet it is many below 1% of students with that type of GPA taking the MCAT do actually get in the 30s.
The other issue with telling yourself "well the only chance I have is if I score an MCAT score that even a 3.6 student would consider good" is not gonna be the smartest idea.
You will work yourself up, but again it is worth a shot. My idea would be to also try to find a backup plan like graduate school, but even most graduate schools have a cut off.
Also, I think that cumulative GPA over 120+ credits should mean more than one exam score.

 

[ilovefeet]

And how many people have you ever heard of that average a 2.5 science GPA get a 30+ on their MCAT??? I bet it is many below 1% of students with that type of GPA taking the MCAT do actually get in the 30s.
The other issue with telling yourself "well the only chance I have is if I score an MCAT score that even a 3.6 student would consider good" is not gonna be the smartest idea.
You will work yourself up, but again it is worth a shot. My idea would be to also try to find a backup plan like graduate school, but even most graduate schools have a cut off.
Also, I think that cumulative GPA over 120+ credits should mean more than one exam score.

I know where you are coming from, it's def rare that someone with a 2.5 GPA can get a 30+ on the MCAT. IMO, I think everyone is different, some people might have had to deal with personal issues in the few years of college that hurt their GPA. My point is that the MCAT could be a redeemer, something to prove to the adcom that they are capable of pod school.

HOWEVER, I do believe that getting in to pod school is different than surviving in pod school.

 

[ilovefeet]

I'm oscillating between DO and DPM. My stats are good, but I'm worried about my weak EC's.

33 MCAT (11,11,11)
3.3 GPA (upward trend)

Work Experience
1 summer as lab tech
3 summers as basketball coach
1 semester microbiology lab assistant

Volunteer Experience
50 hours volunteering at wheelchair basketball league
50 hours tutoring low-income youth

Clinical Experience
40 hours shadowing ped.
Planning on at least 10 hours shadowing a pod (is this enough?)

Do I need to beef up my clinical experience and volunteering experience?

Thank you in advance

Your MCAT score is big time.
I think you're def a competitive applicant.
What are your top 3 schools?

 

[pacpod]

Clinical Experience
40 hours shadowing ped.
Planning on at least 10 hours shadowing a pod (is this enough?)

Do I need to beef up my clinical experience and volunteering experience?

Intrepidtech, I think 10 hours would be okay if that is what you are able to get in before interviews. If possible, I'd recommend "the more, the merrier" when it comes to clinical shadowing. If you are not able to get more than 10 hours (which is fine, sometimes that is all you are able to get in with local podiatrists) you may just get a few more questions probing your interest in podiatry.

I wouldn't sweat too much about your ECs, your MCAT and GPA look great, no concerns there.

Best of luck, Intrepidtech!

 

[pacpod]

DMU, Temple and Scholl. The decelerated 2.5 year program with NYCPM sounds nice too, but I've been looking at threads (I've been lurking for the past month) and it seems as if the general consensus is that NYCPM isn't as highly regarded. Is this true?

It is my opinion that you will get a good education at any of the schools. Really, you are going to get out of your education what you put into it. Your school decision will come down to your own personal likes/dislikes about each program.

 

[dudestheman90]

;

 

[billBOB213]

I have a friend that started DO school this fall with a 26 mcat. You'll have no problem getting into either. Your mcat score is also competitive for MD school, your gpa, maybe on the lower side, but it's definetely possible since your gpa is not off by much

My friend got into DO school last year with a 26 as well. Your scores are solid, awesome on your MCAT. You will get in somewhere for sure.

 

[dudestheman90]

I like the idea of this thread (great job pacpod). But wouldn't it be better if this was stickied? This way it would always be visible on the pre-pod forum instead of possibly getting buried under the other threads? Just offering my two cents.

I honestly don't see a point in this thread lol, if sum1 want to know their chances they can call up admissions or download the pdf guide that tells you the ranges of accepted students for each school.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

I like the idea of this thread (great job pacpod). But wouldn't it be better if this was stickied? This way it would always be visible on the pre-pod forum instead of possibly getting buried under the other threads? Just offering my two cents.

I think a lot of people feel weird about posting in stickied threads/ignore them.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

I feel all the "what are my chances threads" are redundate...don't you? I think it would be educational for other posters if this thread took off. It would possibly cut down on the amount of threads created on the topic.

Oh I get what you're saying I think. Perhaps it could be stickied after a couple of months/once more people post. I just don't want to deter people from posting in it, ya know? People might hesitate to post in a stickied thread...

I think all podiatry WAMCs are all redundant, but for different reasons... lol

 

[rushrhees]

Honestly I would take some post bacc (all science the sGPA is easier to boost up) and take 200-300 level, if you can not handle those you sure as hell will not handle pod school. On that note too, examine why gen chem and the other classes kicked your ass. Was is health or family circumstances that cleared up or are they ongoing issues, were those classes just truly out of you ability (ask yourself then has your ability grown to handle pod school) or did you just not apply your self to the best of your ability (if this is the case have to straightened up and started to kick some ass on your assingments.

Honestly I I were you I would take some post bacc right off the bat, take all science to boost that sGPA and try to take 200-300 level courses.
2. Call or email some of the admissions officers at these school and give them a run down and see what they have to say. All the ones I have dealt with are very helpful, it is their job to reel in students, so they want to see what they can do to get you in, it makes their job easier.
3. Application wise I would look first at Kent Barry and Temple, they would probably be your better shot. Also I would probably apply next year as already space is filling.
4. Rock the MCAT you will need at least a 30. There is an active MCAT forum on this site, take the free AAMC practice test to see where you stand. PM me for any more tips I got a 31.

 

[pacpod]

Moving to the WAMC megathread

 

[dudestheman90]

2.5 gpa. Lower sci gpa. Haven't taken physics yet. Retook a lot of classes. URM. Texas A&M. Graduate next Dec. 2013.

According to the handbook there have been students accepted with a 2.4-2.5 gpa's. If you can pull it up, you'll be in better shape. Just remember AACPMAS standardizes grades so a 2.75 gpa on your transcript may be actually a 2.6 or so when they calculate it. However your best shot would be to do well on the mcat, aim for as high as you can. I've heard of texas a&m its a pretty tough school. I would expect a harvard bio major to have a lower gpa than a psych major who went to a school in some unknown place. Where you went to school and what you majored in i believe will factor into admission. Also CC vs university level matters.

 

[Snowman211]

I have many credits from CC primarily due to costs of tuition, and I had zero questions or problems at any of the 3 schools I interviewed at with all of my credits from CC.

 

[hughesn2]

According to the handbook there have been students accepted with a 2.4-2.5 gpa's. If you can pull it up, you'll be in better shape. Just remember AACPMAS standardizes grades so a 2.75 gpa on your transcript may be actually a 2.6 or so when they calculate it. However your best shot would be to do well on the mcat, aim for as high as you can. I've heard of texas a&m its a pretty tough school. I would expect a harvard bio major to have a lower gpa than a psych major who went to a school in some unknown place. Where you went to school and what you majored in i believe will factor into admission. Also CC vs university level matters.

BUT sometimes there are schools that don't give a crap about where you got your undergrad degree at. My cousin who went to the University of Michigan and graduated with a 3.60 GPA in Neuroscience applied to Wayne State DO school (and two other DO programs) and people who graduated with a 3.60 to 3.65 GPA from a school like Lake Superior St., Western Mich, Ferris, Saginaw Valley, and all other smaller (not that academically stabled) colleges in MI got accepted despite similar MCAT scores. I think that is so unfair that some medical type schools don't care about where you got your credits from.

Even as a Spartan I know for a fact that any UM student graduating with above a 3.0 GPA is more astonishing than my 3.25 GPA at MSU. This is another reason I stopped looking at PA schools b/c my advisor straight up told me that you could get all your credits at a local community college or MSU and they would not even care where you got those credits.

So if someone applying to DPM school from a very small MI school where As and Bs are much easier to get than a school like UM or MSU. I look at my Physio and Biochem classes and they are more challenging than every other Michigan school except for UM.

How some Medical schools look at it: 3.2 GPA at a low scale school is equivalent to a 3.2 GPA at a high scale school like UM. That is unfair and needs to change. This is why many UM students sit there applying for Med school and realize that 4 years of taking the most difficult classes in the eyes of Med schools isn't that important.
Just my 2cents. MSU is not a TOP TIER school but it is still one of the top programs in the nation in the natural science classes, but when I apply for DPM school they may take a kid with a .2 GPA higher than me despite half his classes coming from a local community college??

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

You realize that it's more than just a numbers game, right? (Especially in MD admissions)

Because I went to a smaller school I was able to do organic chemistry research with my orgo professor, I was president of pre-med club, Vice President of chemistry club, chairman of student senate, Vice President of my fraternity, among other things. Also, because I went to a smaller school, the recommendations from my professors were fantastic. On two different occasions while interviewing interviewers said my recommendations were outstanding. Would that be possible if my organic class had 300+ students in it? I doubt it.

 

[ilovefeet]

I understand your point hughesn2.
That's why schools require the students to take the MCAT, a test that is standardized across the nation.

 

[dudestheman90]

;

 

[hughesn2]

\I know some of my friends going to a low tier schools and getting straight A's and here I am struggling b/c my prof's at the school i go to0 are notorious for being very difficult and hard.

Yeah. At MSU so far I have had five teachers who got a PhD from an Ivy League school. THEN my friends who go to other schools in MI and they are being taught by professors that are giving their students exams that are simple HS exam questions. I am not saying all schools are like that, but the fact that many professors are the kind of people in which they can graduate with a PhD at the top schools in the entire nation and become a teacher and give exams on the difficulty of what they were taught at Princeton, Yale, or MIT.

I do understand that the MCAT is a good basis, but that is just ONE exam. Should one exam that lasts less than a week take more consideration that 120 credits at college?

But I know how you feel on how friends of mine said that their Physio class the teacher barely gives them any tough exams and everybody gets a B or better on easy exam questions. And then even at my school I looked at PT school requirements (just to look) and saw that you could take an Intro Physio or Advanced Physio class to get credit, but the problem is that one class has the easiest questions ever and the other is more difficult than Med school physio. So it is kinda unfair on some ways.

I love my undergrad (Michigan State), but it just frustrates me that going to a school that is still ranked as a top 150 US college (and a top tier Natural Science college univ.) is equivalent to a school to a school like Alabama, LSU, or Arkansas (who are each ranked in the bottom 100 of US colleges).

And don't say that Medical Schools don't do this b/c my cousin is not the only person I know that has had the same situation. I know of another 7 people who got declined by medical schools that ended up accepting people with VERY SIMILAR statistics (GPA and MCAT) but just barely above my friends GPA despite going to a school that is much much much more on the bottom of academics compared to my friends school. All of them were UM or MSU grads and people from much smaller and not that top tier of a school in MI.

Just ask yourself this: How mad would you be if you graduated from a school that is a top tier college with a really good GPA and good MCAT and you were turned down by someone from a low tier college because they had just .1 GPA higher and same MCAT

 

[nikkisorous]

Admissions are very well aware of schools that have both grade inflation and grade deflation. Sorry to tell you, but Michigan State doesn't have either thats why it is looked upon like any other school. It's not as amazing as you think, and it's no different than large state schools like Virginia tech and NC State. They all have graduates with average GPAS of 3.2-3.3.

So please get off your high horse and quit your whining, your GPA is your own doing and shouldn't be blamed on the institution.

Unless students go to Princeton, Dartmouth, Swarthmore and BU (the big 4 with grade deflation) they are in no position to whine and say their school is x amount harder with grading than another school.

 

[hughesn2]

Admissions are very well aware of schools that have both grade inflation and grade deflation. Sorry to tell you, but Michigan State doesn't have either thats why it is looked upon like any other school. It's not as amazing as you think, and it's no different than large state schools like Virginia tech and NC State. They all have graduates with average GPAS of 3.2-3.3.

So please get off your high horse and quit your whining, your GPA is your own doing and shouldn't be blamed on the institution.

Unless students go to Princeton, Dartmouth, Swarthmore and BU (the big 4 with grade deflation) they are in no position to whine and say their school is x amount harder with grading than another school.

I know MSU is nothing special. VaTech is actually a REALLY REALLY good public school. But I am comparing it to the small schools that aren't top tier schools. I would disagree with you if you think MSU is nothing special in the science fields. I am also in the Lyman Briggs college which is well known in the state of Michigan, it is the best major at Michigan State. For years we have had Top 5 in Chemistry and Physics.

I am talking more about people graduating from the very small schools, not the schools that are major conferences (those in the NCAA BCS conferences more b/c they are schools that are well known). But I do know that for a fact that if you look at schools inside the state of MI it goes UM, Kalamazoo College, MSU, GVSU and the rest are pretty much irrelevant undergrad majors in sciences. Wayne State has the best medical schools in the state, but their undergrad is below average.

So you think that it is fair that a 3.3 GPA from a good tier school is equivalent to a 3.3 GPA from a low tier school???? That is what I get from your "quit the whining" comment. It is also b/c I am in an Honors College at MSU but most DPM schools have never heard of Lyman Briggs b/c nearly all of Lyman Briggs grads go either Vet, DO, MD, or PA.

 

[Messiah10]

I am deeply interested in applying to podiatry school with stats:

Graduated UK with BS in Biology in 2010.
GPA: 3.9
sGPA: 3.85
MCAT: 24
Volunteer: 40+ Free Health Clinic and additional 20+ in Louisville Norton Audubon hospital

Also graduated with honors and was member of chemistry society and premed clubs. I do think I have an issue in the fact that outside volunteering since graduation I haven't been exposed to much in the way of science in terms of lab assistant jobs and whatnot. My father is a general internist here in Louisville.

Are my stats good enough to obtain acceptance into podiatry school? If so, which schools would you recommend and if not, what do I need to do to improve?

Thanks for the help.

 

[hughesn2]

You must not have looked at the average GPA to get accepted into podiatry!!! Yes, based on past years that will get you accepted to probably all of them. From what I have heard from people on this site is that they take more consideration into GPA and MCAT. If you couldn't get accepted than 99% of us on this site wouldn't even be looking at DPM.
A 3.8 science GPA will get you accepted. If I were you if you are so worried ask a podiatrist if you could shadow him. You could just get a good 20 hours shadowing a podiatrist, but I think you need a Letter of Recommendation before you apply. You could try to do this soon then apply.

But what made you take such a gap between graduating in 2010 and now thinking of applying for Podiatry school? Just wondering.

 

[pacpod]

Being moved to the WAMC thread ...

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

I know MSU is nothing special. VaTech is actually a REALLY REALLY good public school. But I am comparing it to the small schools that aren't top tier schools. I would disagree with you if you think MSU is nothing special in the science fields. I am also in the Lyman Briggs college which is well known in the state of Michigan, it is the best major at Michigan State. For years we have had Top 5 in Chemistry and Physics.

I am talking more about people graduating from the very small schools, not the schools that are major conferences (those in the NCAA BCS conferences more b/c they are schools that are well known). But I do know that for a fact that if you look at schools inside the state of MI it goes UM, Kalamazoo College, MSU, GVSU and the rest are pretty much irrelevant undergrad majors in sciences. Wayne State has the best medical schools in the state, but their undergrad is below average.

So you think that it is fair that a 3.3 GPA from a good tier school is equivalent to a 3.3 GPA from a low tier school???? That is what I get from your "quit the whining" comment. It is also b/c I am in an Honors College at MSU but most DPM schools have never heard of Lyman Briggs b/c nearly all of Lyman Briggs grads go either Vet, DO, MD, or PA.

I'm curious: what does your school offer that mine does not? At my school, we will graduate 5 chemistry majors this spring. How does your school prepare students better in the sciences than any small school? You say all your professors are Ivy League trained, so therefore you are getting an ivy education? I doubt it. One of my professors got his PhD from Brown but its not like he is really all that more qualified than any of the other professors.... Science is not a discipline of opinion or belief. A proton is a proton regardless of where you got your degree, just as a heart has the same anatomy if you learned it at Columbia or Joe Schmo university. The level of expertise of your professors in a certain field is cool and may look good for the university, but it really has no effect on how you are graded/what you learn. Perhaps your Ivy League professors are "smarter" than professors who got their PhD from some random university but I fail to see how that makes your education from that school better.

I don't know what the norm is for science facilities, but my school has all the standard analytical instrumentation that you use as an undergrad: UV-VIS, ICP, AA, FTIR, IR, NMR, AFM, FIA, Raman, SEM, GC/MS, HPLC, etc etc and I can use these machines whenever I want. Can you? My school also is an REU site for Chemistry and Physics. We also got over 5 million dollars from the NSF in the past year in multiple grants. So, I guess, I'm not to ashamed to say I went to a small school where there are only five of us chemistry majors (and five chemistry faculty). I was able to do summer research, get stellar recommendations, have a relationship with all my professors, get literally the same education you got, use advanced instrumentation without time limits, and so much more.

So yeah, small schools suck.

Edit: Wait... You might be right! i forgot that my school with enrollment of 1300 got called "The Harvard of the Midwest" by Terry Bradshaw on Fox NFL Sunday, so maybe I am getting an ivy education...

 

[Messiah10]

Honestly, I worked my tail off all through college to achieve my good grades and then actually sought different jobs including managing merchandising and actually just moved back to my home city, but have volunteered and shadowed regularly. The real reason was I needed a break to make sure it was what I wanted to do and my MCAT was a score I achieved in July of 2012 so it's a pretty fresh score.

Also, I have been trying to obtain a new job as a lab assistant of technician, but have been finding the requirements in terms of necessary certifications are a problem even with my previous experience throughout college. Any additional advice on scientific job opportunities to pursue to sort of bring me back into the community 24/7?

 

[dudestheman90]

[[

 

[Robert De Niro]

This whole big school (really we are bringing NCAA division into the argument) vs small school are complete bogus! If we are bringing friends into this convo, one of my closest friends went to Columbia and got a 3.4 something GPA, and I received a 3.64 from a small school in Ohio. Guess who's a 2nd year at Ohio State Med school. By the arguments made here it should be me but obviously I'm not. Schools do take in consideration where you went for undergrad, and you're kidding yourself if you think they don't. Life is unfair, and that will never change. I've been kicked in the groin (figuratively) plenty of times over the past two years. All you can do is play the hand you are dealt and keep moving forward. Of course an admission advisor will tell you where you come from doesn't matter bc they want you and as many ppl to apply. The more ppl that apply, the more prestigious the school becomes, and more $$$ the makes from people sending secondary apps who have no shot in getting accepted.

Along with what Max was saying, my small school was phenomenal! Top notch faculty, #1 nursing school school in the State, and not to mention we are one of a handful of schools with a bioinformatic labs in the state! We might not be the most renown (NCAA Div. 2 but most recently the NAIA; our basketball team was #2 on espn top 10 once), but my education was top notch and has prepared me for professional school.

 

[hughesn2]

By the arguments made here it should be me but obviously I'm not. Schools do take in consideration where you went for undergrad, and you're kidding yourself if you think they don't.

Not saying they DON'T take it into consideration, but I am saying that they don't take it into consideration ENOUGH. My school isn't great, but MSU was still ranked in the top 40 of public universities, but if I go to apply to a PA school here in MI (especially Wayne St) they would take no care as to you going to MSU or UM, which is a top 5 public university in the USA. I would not say they don't take undergrad into consideration, but I do know for a fact that most DO and PA programs don't really care if you graduated from a top 10 school or a school that barely cracks the top 100. That you can take to the bank b/c I know that is true.

 

[hughesn2]

You say all your professors are Ivy League trained, so therefore you are getting an ivy education? I doubt it. One of my professors got his PhD from Brown but its not like he is really all that more qualified than any of the other professors.... Science is not a discipline of opinion or belief. A proton is a proton regardless of where you got your degree, just as a heart has the same anatomy if you learned it at Columbia or Joe Schmo university.

First, no duhh I am not getting an Ivy League education. I already know that, but do you really expect a teacher who got a PhD from an Ivy League school to give easy or less challenging exams? NO WAY! But I do believe that a professor with a PhD from MIT or Yale is MUCH MUCH more qualified to teach future doctors than someone who got a graduate degree from a smaller school. I would rather be taught by someone that is one of the smartest men in the country in his field than someone who is maybe at the 50 percentile.
And yeah, in order to graduate with a PhD from an Ivy League school they are easily in the top 5 percentile in the entire country in their field. If you disagree with that then I truly take any of your posts from now on serious.

Next, yes a proton is a proton, but not every exam is the same as another exam. Every teacher can teach you the basics, but some classes do only that and others go into more depth. Two physio teachers may teach about the Vascular system, but will each teacher teach it the same way. In my mind, the teachers who have had much more experience and graduated from an Ivy League school will explain it in more depth than someone with a graduate degree from a school of a lower caliber.

I also have deals with this b/c my bio and chem classes where the two teachers were also Ivy League teachers, but then the regular MSU gen bio and chem classes were taught by a professor who got a PhD at Illinois State and it took till their 20th week of their chem class to learn what we had learned within our first 8 weeks of semester 1. Maybe that was my college at MSU vs. gen-MSU, but that happened in both my bio and chem classes. The teachers with the higher education (like Ivy League schools) tend to examine their students more difficult than someone with an MS from an average school.
Either you flipped my words or you don't understand it.

On another note, I am not saying ALL small schools. I am stating the small schools that are not that academically challenging according to many college sources. Yes, not all big schools are that great. Not saying my school is better than anyone's because I am the first to admit if I know that one school is easily more challenging than mine. I am not a snobby prick, but you guys are assuming that I am calling every small school a joke! By this I mean like comparing schools that include public schools like: Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, California, Maryland, Virginia, UNC (all of which are top 20 public universities) vs. schools like Idaho St, E. Washington, Alabama St., Arkansas, Western Illinois, Memphis (all of which are considered low tier universities)
So my point I am trying to show is that if someone from a top 20 school got declined over someone from a smaller school, lets just say they have very similar stats

Hate all you want on my post about comparing colleges, but I do know that most medical schools don't take your place of Undergrad into any more consideration that you would expect.

 

[nikkisorous]

My developmental biology teacher got her PHD from MIT, but I didn't feel that I learned anything more special from her than my immunology teacher that got her PHD from texas tech. Both classes were extremely challenging and taught me vast amounts of knowledge.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

First, no duhh I am not getting an Ivy League education. I already know that, but do you really expect a teacher who got a PhD from an Ivy League school to give easy or less challenging exams? NO WAY! But I do believe that a professor with a PhD from MIT or Yale is MUCH MUCH more qualified to teach future doctors than someone who got a graduate degree from a smaller school. I would rather be taught by someone that is one of the smartest men in the country in his field than someone who is maybe at the 50 percentile.
And yeah, in order to graduate with a PhD from an Ivy League school they are easily in the top 5 percentile in the entire country in their field. If you disagree with that then I truly take any of your posts from now on serious.

Next, yes a proton is a proton, but not every exam is the same as another exam. Every teacher can teach you the basics, but some classes do only that and others go into more depth. Two physio teachers may teach about the Vascular system, but will each teacher teach it the same way. In my mind, the teachers who have had much more experience and graduated from an Ivy League school will explain it in more depth than someone with a graduate degree from a school of a lower caliber.

I also have deals with this b/c my bio and chem classes where the two teachers were also Ivy League teachers, but then the regular MSU gen bio and chem classes were taught by a professor who got a PhD at Illinois State and it took till their 20th week of their chem class to learn what we had learned within our first 8 weeks of semester 1. Maybe that was my college at MSU vs. gen-MSU, but that happened in both my bio and chem classes. The teachers with the higher education (like Ivy League schools) tend to examine their students more difficult than someone with an MS from an average school.
Either you flipped my words or you don't understand it.

On another note, I am not saying ALL small schools. I am stating the small schools that are not that academically challenging according to many college sources. Yes, not all big schools are that great. Not saying my school is better than anyone's because I am the first to admit if I know that one school is easily more challenging than mine. I am not a snobby prick, but you guys are assuming that I am calling every small school a joke! By this I mean like comparing schools that include public schools like: Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, California, Maryland, Virginia, UNC (all of which are top 20 public universities) vs. schools like Idaho St, E. Washington, Alabama St., Arkansas, Western Illinois, Memphis (all of which are considered low tier universities)
So my point I am trying to show is that if someone from a top 20 school got declined over someone from a smaller school, lets just say they have very similar stats

Hate all you want on my post about comparing colleges, but I do know that most medical schools don't take your place of Undergrad into any more consideration that you would expect.

A person's smartness does not equate to their ability to teach. I guess I'm under the impression that if someone got a PhD in Chemistry from anywhere in the USA they would be qualified to teach gen chem as well as anyone else. Gen chem is not filled with complex ideas that only a PhD from MIT can teach... If you got a PhD in a scientific discipline, you should be able to easily teach the subject matter. But going further than that, since when does intelligence equate to being a good teacher? Do you really need to be a theoretical astrophysicist in order to be "good" at telling you how acceleration and velocity are related? Does that make your teaching ability intrinsically better? I realistically could make the argument (but I won't) that PhDs from non-ivy backgrounds are better teachers because they are likely less involved in their "extremely intelligent" research, and more involved in a students work/their education. I'm from a small school so I really don't know, but are your classes even taught by these illustrious professors? The labs? Or do TAs do all the work? I have never been taught by a non PhD in any class OR lab. Again, my school is only graduating 5 chem majors...

So no, I understand what you're saying; I did not flip your words. I'm just suggesting that PhD work is extremely focused and to make a broad statement that "ivy trained scientists are the top five % in their field and therefore they are experts on all topics in their field." In your own example you suggest that your ivy trained professor would do a better job teaching physio/vascular system. What if your ivy professor has his PhD in evolutionary biology? Perhaps your non ivy professor studied the intricacies of the vascular system for her PhD thesis? Are you still willing to demand your foundation from me: "Well, ivy is top five % intellectually so must be better teachers, and therefore are more learned in every topic of their discipline than PhDs who specialize in that area." I used a very obvious and precise example here (evolutionary biology vs. vascular anatomy), but the same principle can be applied in all situations.

Your last sentence/paragraph sort of confuses me insomuch that, while I am not "hating" on your post, I certainly disagree with it. In very exclusive cases I would suggest that you should indeed consider undergrad (eg [literally] ivy vs CC) GPAs, but this business of comparing MSU to U of I to Small school to Joe Schmo University is tedious and unwarranted. So yes, medical schools do not take my school into account as much as YOU want, but certainly as much as I would expect. This is what I was confused about, because I was under the impression that you were arguing FOR the undergraduate schools to be considered more, but they are not. So I'm not "hating" on your post because of what the current practices are, but rather because you want them changed, which is why the second clause in your statement doesn't really follow, but ok.

On the real though, do you big school-ers get to use instruments like I do/classes and labs taught by professors? I was under the impression that you didn't, but maybe I was wrong?

 

[nikkisorous]

I use plenty of instruments in lab. My labs only have 12 people each. They try hard to keep lab numbers small by offering a ton of sections each semester.

 

[pacpod]

Lets try to keep this tread open to WAMC posts and their responses so that the posters can find responses to their posts easier.

The discussion about undergrads may be better suited for their own thread. Thanks!

 

[Robert De Niro]

I would not say they don't take undergrad into consideration, but I do know for a fact that most DO and PA programs don't really care if you graduated from a top 10 school or a school that barely cracks the top 100. That you can take to the bank b/c I know that is true.

I just want to know how you can say the bold portion of you comment. Have you personally called or been in contact with "most" DO and PA admission directors and asked about their practices? If you haven't, then you can't say you know how these committees operate bc none of us do. And like I said before, the directors you have talked to aren't going to say they weigh some one's undergrad higher than another bc they want you to apply, regardless of where you came from! They want a high number of secondary app, and they want the $$$ that comes along with those apps.

PS... Considering there almost 2,000 accredited 4-year colleges and university, barely cracking the top 100 would actually put you in the top 5% of all schools.

 

[Robert De Niro]

Lets try to keep this tread open to WAMC posts and their responses so that the posters can find responses to their posts easier.

The discussion about undergrads may be better suited for their own thread. Thanks!

Got rolling on the previous post before you posted yours, I'm done I swear.

 

[ilovefeet]

Lets try to keep this tread open to WAMC posts and their responses so that the posters can find responses to their posts easier.

The discussion about undergrads may be better suited for their own thread. Thanks!

 

[Pktgresch]

I am deeply interested in applying to podiatry school with stats:

Graduated UK with BS in Biology in 2010.
GPA: 3.9
sGPA: 3.85
MCAT: 24
Volunteer: 40+ Free Health Clinic and additional 20+ in Louisville Norton Audubon hospital

Also graduated with honors and was member of chemistry society and premed clubs. I do think I have an issue in the fact that outside volunteering since graduation I haven't been exposed to much in the way of science in terms of lab assistant jobs and whatnot. My father is a general internist here in Louisville.

Are my stats good enough to obtain acceptance into podiatry school? If so, which schools would you recommend and if not, what do I need to do to improve?

Thanks for the help.

Go to Des Moines, please.

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

normally I wouldn't care that a student such as yourself would apply to both podiatric and medical schools, but DON'T say you're DEEPLY interested in podiatry when your "what are my medical school chances" thread post was a copy+paste to this thread expect with medical school instead of podiatry school written...
talking to messiah10

 

[ManUnderFire]

I deleted my 'thesis' on this topic because pac pod is right....let's leave this argument for another section Back to WAMCs!

 

[bola18]

Hi, I am a Biology major who graduated in Jan. 2011. My SGPA is 3.86 & CGPA is 3.85. I have been shadowing a podiatrist for over a year (500 hrs so far). I am submitting my application next week. I have got 4 strong pre-health letters and a strong letter from the podiatrist. I am registered to take the MCAT on Jan. 26th 2013.

What are my chances for the 2013 class?

What is the minimum MCAT I need to get accepted?

All responses are very appreciated,,,thanks

 

[ilovefeet]

I would say aim for the highest that you can get.
But I think a 22 should be good

 

[ManUnderFire]

I would say aim for the highest that you can get.
But I think a 22 should be good

Exactly. With your scores, I would imagine that even a 19 isn't a deal breaker.

My advice. Don't leave anything to chance! Get the best score you can get so that you can earn a scholarship. What's an extra month or two of solid studying if it will save you 10 grand?

 

[hughesn2]

My SGPA is 3.86 & CGPA is 3.85. I have been shadowing a podiatrist for over a year (500 hrs so far).
What are my chances for the 2013 class?

Do you know what the average GPAs of incoming DPM students is around??? MUCH MUCH MUCH less than that. I think as long as you just take the MCAT you have a better chance than most of us. But where are your top schools you want to go to?
In my mind, 8 semesters of college (or more) of having a GPA of a 3.85 should be more impressive than an above average MCAT score. But that is if I was at admissions at a university.

You don't really have to worry (well in my mind) about your MCAT score as much as others. A great GPA and many hours shadowing is much more impressive than MCAT scores (or should be).

 

[pacpod]

Moving to WAMC thread

 

[bola18]

My top schools are NYCPM and TUSPM

 

[ManUnderFire]

NYCPM has an avg incoming GPA of 3.3 and MCAT of 23...fyi

 

[Nighthawk1]

A long time lurker here of SDN and finally decided to make an account.

1. I plan to apply to Temple, NYCPM, DMU, and Kent
2. 3.4 cGPA/ 3.3 sGPA
3. Will take MCAT this summer
4. Shadowed 3 different pods. I have shadowed my current one for about 20 hours so far.
5. D2 athlete, club baseball coach, 200+ hours working in PT office, 130+ hour internship in hospital
6. Coach summer camps

 

[rushrhees]

A long time lurker here of SDN and finally decided to make an account.

1. I plan to apply to Temple, NYCPM, DMU, and Kent
2. 3.4 cGPA/ 3.3 sGPA
3. Will take MCAT this summer
4. Shadowed 3 different pods. I have shadowed my current one for about 20 hours so far.
5. D2 athlete, club baseball coach, 200+ hours working in PT office, 130+ hour internship in hospital
6. Coach summer camps

If you get above a 23 on the MCAT (which is not hard to do, please aim for max) you should be good for all 9