please take a peek, just looking for some advice

[dinos go moo]

Hello all,

Here's a little background on my situation.

current GPA of about a 3.2
will be graduating in May of 2011
took the MCAT in August and got a 21P (PS:8 VS:6 BS:7)
already signed up to take it again in January
volunteer for the red cross and in an ER
rowed varsity crew freshman year
LORs from a biology prof and an MD...still working on others
Have been a CNA for almost 2 years

My ultimate goal is to apply DO next year.

As far as backup plans go
1. SMP or some sort of Post-Bacc (preferably with linkage)
2. Podiatry
3. Pharmacy
4. BSN then CRNA

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated...just feeling a little lost.

Thanks a bunches

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[TriagePreMed]

I sense some insecurity about you wanting to do medicine by your willingness to describe your alternatives. I hope you know you want to be a physician and give it all you got if that's the case. Don't just to the worst scenario.

3.2 can get you into DO, but the 21 will definitely hurt your chances. Personally, I don't think you have a good shot at any campus, but applying broadly could land you a spot. Your EC also don't involve any leadership or research. Since it's DO school, research could be avoided, but leadership could help you a long way into admissions.

My suggestions: If you bring the MCAT up to a 28, just apply broadly and you'll likely find a seat somewhere. If you end up with below a 25, consider doing an SMP at a DO school. You can find them in the osteopathic "CIB" booklet.

 

[dinos go moo]

Thank you for the reply. I have always been a planner and know that I need to be realistic. That's why I included the alternatives. There is nothing that I want more than to be DO, just need to figure out the best way to get there. Do you have any suggestions on the leadership EC's?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Why an SMP? You'd be better off replacing 2 or 3 courses at a CC and then spending some time on the mcat prep section of SDN and getting all your subscores above 8. Following that you need a DO letter.

If you wanted to do a SMP you'd be better off studying your ass off ( 3months +) and retaking the mcat getting a 30+ and applying to the top SMP's like Gtown and Tulane and having a shot at MD schools. Otherwise grade replacement will save you 50k.

 

[dinos go moo]

I guess it was my understanding that there were some SMP programs that were DO. Making that assumption, I thought perhaps it would be a different path that still ended in acceptance at an osteopathic med school.

I'm the first of my family (including extended) that wants to go into medicine and although they are extremely supportive, it's hard to get info on what steps to take to get there (apart from the obvious high GPA and high MCAT).

When I spoke to my pre-health advisor, I mentioned retaking the classes that I got C's in and they said I shouldn't. That it would be in my best interest to focus on the MCAT and to get that score up.

I'm also a Wisconsin resident and there are no DO schools in this state. As far as what schools to apply to, what places would I have the best shot at?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Most DO schools are private. They don't particularly care what residency you have as long as its an American one. Pre-health advisers are stupid, avoid listening to them unless they are telling you what classes are easy A's.
DO SMP's are indeed around. However they aren't going to be much use to you and are expensive. Your grades are fine right now for an acceptance, no need to waste 50k+.

Overall just stick around on SDN and Pre-osteo and you'll have a grasp of what you need. You'll be fine just take it one step at a time.

 

[jl13]

Apply to podiatry as well as DO. Right now your not very competitive at any of the DO schools. Retake the MCAT and hope that the first one was a fluke. As far as a post-bacc...don't do it. Go to a SMP instead because if you don't end up getting in (or even if you do) you still have a graduate degree.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Thank you for the reply. I have always been a planner and know that I need to be realistic. That's why I included the alternatives. There is nothing that I want more than to be DO, just need to figure out the best way to get there. Do you have any suggestions on the leadership EC's?

If you're still in school, consider joining a club where you can become an officer or starting a club yourself. You could also get leadership experience by becoming some type of teacher for young kids. One of the ones that's very rarely discussed here is the big brother program.

I must disagree with the nay sayers of DO SMP. They do not cost 50k. They cost around 18k, which is the same as doing post-bacc work at most colleges (except community college). Your living expenses depend entirely on you. The linkage is also very strong too.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

(18k)* > 2k for a semester of retakes at a CC or 4k at a stateU. Honestly his main problem is now with his grades, its his mcat and as such an SMP is not even part of the equation ( Unless of course he wants MD and gets 30+).

18k on the low side.

 

[dinos go moo]

I have one more semester after this one. Big Brothers/Big Sisters sounds like a good idea. I've been undergrad for almost 6 years (2.5 years spent as an art major) so I'm pretty antsy to move forward in my schooling.

I'm really only interested in going DO, but would love an MCAT of 30+.

So what do you guys suggest for boosting MCAT scores? I already did a kaplan prep course. I've heard about examkrackers and princeton review, but I definitely need to try something different than kaplan.

p.s. I'm a girl

 

[UNMorBUST]

As mentioned earlier, The MCAT section of the forum is the place to go for help with MCAT prep and questions.

 

[TriagePreMed]

(18k)* > 2k for a semester of retakes at a CC or 4k at a stateU. Honestly his main problem is now with his grades, its his mcat and as such an SMP is not even part of the equation ( Unless of course he wants MD and gets 30+).

18k on the low side.

Sometimes I'm too geocentric. In California, you can't sign up as a second bacc student at many universities, so you're left only with the post-bacc option which is > 18k.