Options for Re-apply Cycle

[Troponin2222]

Hi everyone,

Here is my background for application purposes:
3.11 undergrad GPA (Penn State)
~2.9 undergrad sGPA
3.7 graduate GPA in 2-year Anatomy Master's program (Case Western)
- courses included histology, gross anatomy, neuroanatomy, etc.
- taught anatomy to medical students at Case
- honor's distinction
3.3 Cumulative GPA
505 MCAT (3rd try), each section above 60th percentile

I have a well rounded set of experiences:
~2000 hours non-clinical volunteering
~400 hours clinical volunteering w/ patient contact
have taught gross anatomy at 2 MD schools over 2 years
currently working as a research project manager at an MD school
- earned 3 publications this year (while applying)
Went on a medical missionary trip to Nicaragua during my senior year of undergrad
3 years of undergraduate research experience
100 hours shadowing a DO (an orthopod)
500 hours shadowing MD's in various areas of medicine (peds, cards, gen surg, trauma surg, ortho.)

I am currently 3 years removed from undergrad, having spent 2 years in my master's program and the current year as a full-time researcher.

This past cycle, I applied to 22 MD schools (secondaries and all) and 3 DO schools and have received no interview invites. I'm on pre-II hold at Penn State. I was really hoping that my strong background in teaching medical students paired with my performance in classes alongside medical students would have carried more weight. But, alas, I have received 0 interview invites. I am a Pennsylvania resident, so I applied to all MD schools in the state other than Pitt and UPenn. Out of state MD schools that I applied to were mostly private and chosen using MSAR taking into consideration my metrics. The 3 DO schools I applied to were NYiTCOM, Rowan, and PCOM. I also applied to Temple's ACMS post-bacc program in October on the day that the application opened, but have yet to hear about an interview or rejection.

I had highly considered retaking the MCAT in May 2018, but decided against it given my history with the exam and having had conversations with individuals formerly on Adcoms that were under the impression that jumping from a 505 to 508 or 509, the most likely possible jump, wouldn't have drastically positive effects.

What would you recommend I do in the coming months and upcoming application cycle? For the longest time, I had been dead-set on matriculating to an MD school. I have interests in transitioning into academic medicine at a University medical center, which I feel is supported by my background in teaching and research. It is/was my understanding that this transition would be made much more difficult by becoming a DO, but if this understand this may be incorrect (I'm just not 100% sure to be honest). Regardless though, I am fully aware that I may change my own personal career interests in terms of non-practice activities as will my potential specialty interest. I know everyone on SDN throws around the "I'm not biased against DO" line, and I truly am not.

I recently applied for, and was accepted to, PCOM's biomedical science program, which is now accompanied by a conditional acceptance to their DO school following strong performance in the first-year of the program. I have confirmed that I would be eligible via email to take advantage of the conditional admittance policy pending strong performance in the first trimester courses. At this point, I am planning to do this program and matriculate to their DO program the following year, while also applying to 5-6 MD schools the upcoming summer to exhaust all options.

I'm still hung up on becoming an MD if this route is at all possible for me, as is any neurotic pre-med. I am most interested in General surgery at this point and would like to keep my options open for other competitive specialties and career options (no interest in derm though).

My apologies for the short story -- I wanted to address any potential follow-up questions regarding missing info on my application and interests!

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[DelayedGratification]

Case didn't give you an interview?

also, what were your other 2 mcat scores?

 

[Troponin2222]

Case didn't give you an interview?

Nope. They accepted one person from my program (class of about 14). But didn’t receive one myself. Was told it was the MCAT. Although 4/6 of my LOR’s were from case med professors/staff.

 

[Faha]

As you already know your chances for a MD acceptance are very low. Concentrate on a DO application and apply to at least 10 DO schools. If you want to try a few MD schools apply to the new schools opening up for 2019:Seton Hall, NOVA MD, California University, Kaiser and possibly Roseman.

 

[Troponin2222]

Case didn't give you an interview?

also, what were your other 2 mcat scores?

Other MCAT scores were 504 and 22 (in 2014)

 

[Troponin2222]

@Goro what do you think?

 

[Goro]

The MCAT performance is lethal for a reinventor aiming for MD schools. Hence, your best bet is to apply broadly to DO schools, especially targeting the newest ones. I cna't recommend another retake.

 

[BuckStrickland]

I'm sorry your cycle didn't go well, but I am glad you have decided to keep going. I interviewed at Nova, and they told me that the DO's there do a lot of research, I think one was working on sleep cycles, another was an expert on the impact of oxidative stress on the body or something like that. You could reach out to PCOM's DO administrators and ask what kind of research prospects are available not just for DO students but also for the profession. Like the previous posters pointed out already, your MCAT is really killer when it comes to the MD programs. I wish you the best.

 

[Troponin2222]

I'm sorry your cycle didn't go well, but I am glad you have decided to keep going. I interviewed at Nova, and they told me that the DO's there do a lot of research, I think one was working on sleep cycles, another was an expert on the impact of oxidative stress on the body or something like that. You could reach out to PCOM's DO administrators and ask what kind of research prospects are available not just for DO students but also for the profession. Like the previous posters pointed out already, your MCAT is really killer when it comes to the MD programs. I wish you the best.

Thank you for your genuine response. I do feel that I would be happy at PCOM and have the opportunity to get involved in research.

In response to your mcat comment, are you saying killer in a good or bad way? (Won’t be offended) I have several friends that were accepted to MD schools with a 501, 502 and 506, all with GPAs all around 3.3/3.4 (I understand though that isn’t the norm in terms of stats of a matriculating med student).

 

[BuckStrickland]

Thank you for your genuine response. I do feel that I would be happy at PCOM and have the opportunity to get involved in research.

In response to your mcat comment, are you saying killer in a good or bad way? (Won’t be offended) I have several friends that were accepted to MD schools with a 501, 502 and 506, all with GPAs all around 3.3/3.4 (I understand though that isn’t the norm in terms of stats of a matriculating med student).

I think in a bad way, mostly because you are a reapplicant. Did you try studying differently each time you took it? If you could get something like 515 I think it will make a big difference.

I posted this in another thread here, too, but the most helpful thing for me in studying for the MCAT was taking the practice tests. The single best piece of advice I got was to start taking full-length practice exams the first week you start studying for the MCAT (even when you feel like you don't know anything). I took a full-length every Saturday and reviewed the incorrect answers Sunday for ~12 weeks and took the test, getting in the top <1%. You have to time all of the tests correctly, of course, including the breaks and even the food you eat xD

This is in addition to learning the theory through examkrakers or whatever, but the idea is that test taking is a skill in and of itself. If you practice that much, when you go in for the real exam it will be a breeze to stay focused and pace yourself correctly. If you have the cash and the will, try it out this summer!