Planning to apply for fall 2000

[xanadu]

My fiance is planning to apply to Osteopathic med schools for the fall of 2000. He applied to school this year with no luck (so far, not all results are in!). He applied very late, so we think that might have had a bearing on the negative response. His MCATs were very good, although I don't recall the actual numbers, but I read through the numbers posted under 1999 Matriculation, and I recall his as being higher than many of the ones posted, but his overall GPA was low, around 2.9. Science GPA 3.5 or so...

He worked in a psychology laboratory for 2 years. He is volunteering at a psychiatric facility 2 times a week leading a ceramics and a physical fitness class. For next year he hopes to work at a hospital for pay (we can't afford him not working any more!)

What else might you folks who have been accepted suggest? Jobs as research assistants are hard to find, do you think it will count against him if he works for an MD rather than a DO? (you see, we might have a line on a job with an MD, an internist) Aside from the Grades issue, I can't see why schools don't want him! He has taken all the required courses listed except English literature and Composition: he went to Vassar where ALL the courses were reading and writing oriented so English seemed, at the time, superfluous. And he had not taken Physics as a standalone science, he took instead physical chemistry, which satisfied the physics requirement for his major, which was Bio-Psychology.

Any more advice? He and I have been researching this for a while...

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[Sheon]

Boy can I feel your pain. With a GPA like 2.9 it is difficult to get in anywhere.

The best advise I can offer (on top of what you've already said) is to take more classes. A 2.9 is a stones throw away from a 3.3. A semester of straight A's can make that GPA look a whole lot better.

A GPA that starts with a "2" stands out like a sore thumb. At the very least get it up to a 3.0! The difference seems menial to us, but some schools scrap anything less than 3.0 without looking at the rest of the application (sad but true).

[This message has been edited by Sheon (edited 03-17-99).]

 

[RC]

looks like you're heading in the right direction. i would also suggest taking some more classes and getting A's...schools love to see positive trends in GPA, especially if your cumGPA is a little low. other suggestions are to 1) get more medical experience whether working or volunteering or BOTH in some type of clinical setting, 2) shadow a doctor, whether MD or DO, and get some great recommendations, better if it was a DO so you will understand osteopathy a little better, but i do believe schools realize that finding a DO is not always possible. i would make every effort to find one though. good luck in your quest. rene

 

[UHS2002]

I agree with everyone who has posted so far that he needs to bring up his GPA at some 3. something level. How many classes he will have to take in order to do so depends on how many credits he has had so far. It is really a math thing, and usually one semester is not enough to change a GPA from 2.9 to 3.3. If you don't believe me, just sit down and calculate it. That is, unless he plans to take 20 something credit hours in one term.
But he has to start somewhere, and taking more classes to bring up his GPA IS the place to start.

As for physical chemistry instead of physics, there is a big difference between the two and he should check with the schools he is interested in to see if they will accept it. I am not saying that having taken physics is going to be of any more benefit in med school than having taken physical chemistry. It is just a matter of formal requirements and, again, the subject matter of these courses is very different. It is just like saying, well, I didn't take a year of bio but I took a year of biochemistry.
If he didn't take any physics classes as such, he may want to solve both problems by just taking physics as one of the classes he needs to bring up his GPA. Not the most fun class, I realize, but it is for a good cause.

I had a requirement gap too, when I applied because I had taken the required year of inorganic chem and the required year of orgo and all the labs but the first inorganic chem lab! So there I was, taking chem 101 lab, when I had already taken chem 102 and Orgo 201 and 202... Well, at least it was a piece of cake, and it did not leave any "loophole" in terms of pre requisites.

Good luck!!!

 

[summerb]

The one thing I think your fiance absolutely NEEDS to do is call the schools he wants to apply to next year and make sure that they are willing to accept his prereqs. I tend to agree with UHS 2002 in that he probably is not considered eligible until taking a physics class, and perhaps an English class. Also, if he has already received declines from some schools, he should call these schools and ask them why they didn't accept him and what he can do to increase his chances next year. They tend to be pretty sticky about each student needing to fulfill each prereq, but sometimes they will make exceptions. I just can't emphasize enough how important it is for him to be on the phone to the schools and find out if they see him as a qualified candidate. In the meantime he should start checking out where and when he can take a physics class. I had to do the same thing last summer. 9 weeks of summer school while working full time to finish that damn class, but it made all the difference between getting into med schools or not. Hope that helps, and good look to him.