Premed Advisor Misinformed?

[GypsyHummus]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey everyone,

I just got done talking to my premed advisor about medical schools and where my stats need to be. He told me that for my state MD school I need to have around a 3.7 and a 30 on the MCAT. What shocked me was when he told me what DO schools accept.

He told me that students that got accepted into DO schools had a 3.4 and a 26 Mcat. Does this sound right? The numbers seem so low and there is such a huge difference btw MD stats and DO stats when they do the same thing. Why is that?

 

[angldrps]

the oldest,most established DO schools (DMU, Western etc) have stats close to 3.6 and
28-29. The reason the average stats are on the low end is because of the newer schools and the regionally biased schools which accept students with lower stats. As yeas pass and these schools develop their reputation, they will also eventually have higher averages for GPA/MCAT. Also, your adviser is misinformed about what you need to have in order to get into state school, unless you are in CA. in many states you can have 3.5 and >30 and still have a shot at MD schools with decent ECs. do the research on your own on each school you are interested in and you can easily find out what you need to be competitive

 

[chicago5950]

read stickies. thanks

 

[Iliketoytles]

Hey everyone,

I just got done talking to my premed advisor about medical schools and where my stats need to be. He told me that for my state MD school I need to have around a 3.7 and a 30 on the MCAT. What shocked me was when he told me what DO schools accept.

He told me that students that got accepted into DO schools had a 3.4 and a 26 Mcat. Does this sound right? The numbers seem so low and there is such a huge difference btw MD stats and DO stats when they do the same thing. Why is that?

Oh boy... you're opening a gigantic can of worms here. Worms, I say.

First, your premed advisor is more or less correct. DO schools are averaging around a 3.4/26. People get in with lower, though... just like people get into MD with lower than 3.7/30.

Why is there such a big difference, you ask? Some people say it's because DO schools are a "backup" for MD. Others say that DO schools aren't as good as MD schools. Yet there are people with MD stats that choose to go DO... whether it's for geographical reasons or because they're interested in learning OMT.

Who cares, though.

 

[MedPR]

Hey everyone,

I just got done talking to my premed advisor about medical schools and where my stats need to be. He told me that for my state MD school I need to have around a 3.7 and a 30 on the MCAT. What shocked me was when he told me what DO schools accept.

He told me that students that got accepted into DO schools had a 3.4 and a 26 Mcat. Does this sound right? The numbers seem so low and there is such a huge difference btw MD stats and DO stats when they do the same thing. Why is that?

Pretty well informed premed advisor.

3.7/30 is pretty competitive for MD. 3.4/26 is pretty competitive for DO. Can you get in with lower stats? Sure.

 

[user3]

DO is closer to 3.50/26.5

 

[HalfListic]

DO is closer to 3.50/26.5

Hmmm, my numbers came out to 3.49 and 26.6, so....

 

[Iliketoytles]

Hmmm, my numbers came out to 3.49 and 26.6, so....

Looks like you aren't getting in this cycle.

 

[WorldChanger36]

There sounds like there is a pre-med advisor that is giving out good information... You should listen to this one....

 

[Goro]

Our avg Class stats are now around 3.4-3.5 for GPA, and ~29 (trending to crack 30 soon). The latter keeps going up because our Dean is very keen on MCAT perfromance, even thought it has nothing to do with how DO students actually do in medical school.


Keep in mind that DO schools are much more accepting of someone having high GPA, lower MCAT, or high MCAT, lower GPA. MD schools are much less forgiving.

Hey everyone,

I just got done talking to my premed advisor about medical schools and where my stats need to be. He told me that for my state MD school I need to have around a 3.7 and a 30 on the MCAT. What shocked me was when he told me what DO schools accept.

He told me that students that got accepted into DO schools had a 3.4 and a 26 Mcat. Does this sound right? The numbers seem so low and there is such a huge difference btw MD stats and DO stats when they do the same thing. Why is that?

 

[MedPR]

Our avg Class stats are now around 3.4-3.5 for GPA, and ~29 (trending to crack 30 soon). The latter keeps going up because our Dean is very keen on MCAT perfromance, even thought it has nothing to do with how DO students actually do in medical school.


Keep in mind that DO schools are much more accepting of someone having high GPA, lower MCAT, or high MCAT, lower GPA. MD schools are much less forgiving.

Somewhere south of st louis? I'm in St louis and I probably applied to your school 🙂

 

[GypsyHummus]

Our avg Class stats are now around 3.4-3.5 for GPA, and ~29 (trending to crack 30 soon). The latter keeps going up because our Dean is very keen on MCAT perfromance, even thought it has nothing to do with how DO students actually do in medical school.


Keep in mind that DO schools are much more accepting of someone having high GPA, lower MCAT, or high MCAT, lower GPA. MD schools are much less forgiving.

Is that including science GPA?

 

[ThePezz]

Why are you guys responding to this anti-DO troll?
There is no end to his contrived bullsh;t questions and sneaky insinuations.
First his "uncle" says DO schools are a conspiracy run by greedy Jews.
Now his "advisor" says DO students are no good.
Come on.
WTF.

 

[MedPR]

Why are you guys responding to this anti-DO troll?
There is no end to his contrived bullsh;t questions and sneaky insinuations.
First his "uncle" says DO schools are a conspiracy run by greedy Jews.
Now his "advisor" says DO students are no good.
Come on.
WTF.

Don't want to call someone out from your real SDN account?

 

[GypsyHummus]

Why are you guys responding to this anti-DO troll?
There is no end to his contrived bullsh;t questions and sneaky insinuations.
First his "uncle" says DO schools are a conspiracy run by greedy Jews.
Now his "advisor" says DO students are no good.
Come on.
WTF.

I'm not a troll and my adviser did not say that that DOs were "no good".

I am looking at all of my options and I appreciate it when people give me some good advice. Do you have anything constructive to add to this discussion?

 

[tea20]

There is nothing to be surprised here. Not all DO have 3.4 NYCOM I think it's 3.6 . Also I don't see any big difference between 36 and 3.7 both gpa are hard to maintain even 3.5 ... There are students out there who are suffering even to raise their gpa close to 3.3 .becsuse it is hard . I don't see anything funny and surprised if any school have stat between 3.5 + bc everyone knows premed it's hard ...No matter what ...good luck though 🙂

 

[user3]

Somewhere south of st louis? I'm in St louis and I probably applied to your school 🙂

Guessing it is KCUMB. But in an email I received, their numbers this year were only 3.53/26, so I am not so sure...

 

[MedPR]

Somewhere south of st louis? I'm in St louis and I probably applied to your school 🙂

Guessing it is KCUMB. But in an email I received, their numbers this year were only 3.53/26, so I am not so sure...

As I was about to correct you and say that KC is northwest of St. Louis, I realized that I originally typed "south" instead of "west". 😴

Assuming s/he's in Missouri, it could also be KCOM.

 

[HalfListic]

Is your google broken?

 

[NeuroLAX]

Is your google broken?

Haha! If only SDN had a "like" button.

 

[shaggybill]

The reason the average stats are on the low end is because of the newer schools and the regionally biased schools which accept students with lower stats. As yeas pass and these schools develop their reputation, they will also eventually have higher averages for GPA/MCAT.

VCOM-CC's first year was 2011, and their first class had an average GPA of 3.61, so not all new schools start out with lower GPA's.

 

[HalfListic]

Haha! If only SDN had a "like" button.

Yes! That would be so nice. I'd even go for an upvote/downvote system

 

[NeuroLAX]

Yes! That would be so nice. I'd even go for an upvote/downvote system

👍👍👍

 

[NightGod]

👍👍👍

^^^ That's our like button

 

[COMedic2Doc]

Yes! That would be so nice. I'd even go for an upvote/downvote system

👍👍👍

 

[HalfListic]

^^^ That's our like button

Yeah, but see how much space this takes up just to agree with someone...it adds a whole new box and then the original comment gets bumped back a screen...it's a mess

 

[Tummytroubles]

,your adviser is misinformed about what you need to have in order to get into state school, unless you are in CA. in many states you can have 3.5 and >30 and still have a shot at MD schools with decent ECs. do the research on your own on each school you are interested in and you can easily find out what you need to be competitive

I don't know why CA students complain so much. 30 MCAT and 3.7 is lower than my state school and I'm not from CA. Most state schools are 3.7 and 32. The exceptions are small states where it is 3.6 and 30. You may be thinking of state schools that only accept students from rural areas, yes those stats are lower. However for most urban and suburban applicants it is just as hard if not harder to get into state school than a student in CA.

 

[Goro]

We're somewhere west of St Louis. The GPA I was referring to was for cGPA.

Somewhere south of st louis? I'm in St louis and I probably applied to your school 🙂

 

[GypsyHummus]

We're somewhere west of St Louis. The GPA I was referring to was for cGPA.

Actually Goro, I do have a question for you:

How does the Adcom view discrepancies between the science GPA vs the cumulative? Lets say I have a 3.5 cGPA but a 3.2 sGPA, would that raise a red flag?

 

[Sileni]

I heard from my pre-med advisor that DO schools teach necromancy.

 

[MedPR]

Actually Goro, I do have a question for you:

How does the Adcom view discrepancies between the science GPA vs the cumulative? Lets say I have a 3.5 cGPA but a 3.2 sGPA, would that raise a red flag?

A 3.2sGPA is a bit of an orange-red flag in itself.

 

[GypsyHummus]

A 3.2sGPA is a bit of an orange-red flag in itself.

Do you think that DO schools will look past it if the rest of the app looks average? Like a 3.5 CPA and years or volebteering and research and 28 mcat?

 

[NeuroLAX]

How does the Adcom view discrepancies between the science GPA vs the cumulative? Lets say I have a 3.5 cGPA but a 3.2 sGPA, would that raise a red flag?

It is likely to raise an eyebrow or two, for sure. Be prepared to discuss your less-than-stellar performances in science classes.

 

[MedPR]

I heard from my pre-med advisor that DO schools teach necromancy.

I heard they encourage homeopathy too.

 

[MedPR]

Do you think that DO schools will look past it if the rest of the app looks average? Like a 3.5 CPA and years or volebteering and research and 28 mcat?

I don't think I'm following your logic here. Why would an otherwise "average" applicant get a pass on a below average GPA?

 

[NeuroLAX]

Do you think that DO schools will look past it if the rest of the app looks average? Like a 3.5 CPA and years or volebteering and research and 28 mcat?

DO schools are more forgiving about grades in light of the rest of the application. Still, a good EC track record is not a cure-all for below average performance.

Edit: Also, are we talking 3.2 before or after factoring in retakes?

 

[GypsyHummus]

DO schools are more forgiving about grades in light of the rest of the application. Still, a good EC track record is not a cure-all for below average performance.

Edit: Also, are we talking 3.2 before or after factoring in retakes?

Well thats the thing. I got a slew of Bs, only a couple As and one C (in intro bio of all things) The only thing I have retaken is Chemistry, but always audited it. I have audited 2 times before finally getting a B in it (three times total). That is prolly a terribly neon red flag.

Can DO schools see an audited class? Do I even have to state those classes? I have no credited 2 classes, one was clac and one was chem. Calc the second time I got a B.

I still have alot more bio classes to take that can change. I need about 24 hours of BCPM grades left. If I get all As in them I can have a 3.6 sGPA. I dont think it will happen lol.

For the record, I think I have pretty strong ECs. The only thing I am missing is a missions trip.

I'll do a What are my chances when I take the mcat next year

 

[NeuroLAX]

Well thats the thing. I got a slew of Bs, only a couple As and one C (in intro bio of all things) The only thing I have retaken is Chemistry, but always audited it. I have audited 2 times before finally getting a B in it (three times total). That is prolly a terribly neon red flag.

Can DO schools see an audited class? Do I even have to state those classes? I have no credited 2 classes, one was clac and one was chem. Calc the second time I got a B.

I still have alot more bio classes to take that can change. I need about 24 hours of BCPM grades left. If I get all As in them I can have a 3.6 sGPA. I dont think it will happen lol.

For the record, I think I have pretty strong ECs. The only thing I am missing is a missions trip.

I'll do a What are my chances when I take the mcat next year

I'm not familiar with the effects of auditing. Sorry. You need some sort of grade for all coursework, though. You also need to report all coursework taken. If you don't, AACOMAS will review your transcripts and force you to make the necessary corrections before they will agree to deliver your primary to schools you selected.

Relax- you have 24 credits left of BCPM. The only thing you need to worry about is doing well (As) in those courses.

You shouldn't feel obligated to attend a mission trip just so you can check it off some imaginary required ECs list. Mission trips are not an EC requirement for medical school, so you aren't necessarily "missing" a mission trip. If you really are interested in them, then by all means, go on as many as your heart desires.

 

[MedPR]

Well thats the thing. I got a slew of Bs, only a couple As and one C (in intro bio of all things) The only thing I have retaken is Chemistry, but always audited it. I have audited 2 times before finally getting a B in it (three times total). That is prolly a terribly neon red flag.

Can DO schools see an audited class? Do I even have to state those classes? I have no credited 2 classes, one was clac and one was chem. Calc the second time I got a B.

I still have alot more bio classes to take that can change. I need about 24 hours of BCPM grades left. If I get all As in them I can have a 3.6 sGPA. I dont think it will happen lol.

For the record, I think I have pretty strong ECs. The only thing I am missing is a missions trip.

I'll do a What are my chances when I take the mcat next year

If the audited classes show up on your official transcript in any way, shape, or form, you must report them on AACOMAS. If they aren't on your transcript, you don't need to or can't report them because you cannot prove that you took them.

BCPM is an AMCAS GPA, not an AACOMAS term. Some of the BCPM classes (like math) are not counted towards your AACOMAS GPA (correct me if I'm wrong). Some of the science classes are counted differently too. Google AACOMAS course classification to be sure (not trying to flame you. I used that guide while filling out my AACOMAS).

Your GPA is much more important than a mission trip. In my opinion, someone with a 3.5 and no mission trip has a better chance than a 3.2 and a mission trip all else equal.

 

[user3]

Actually Goro, I do have a question for you:

How does the Adcom view discrepancies between the science GPA vs the cumulative? Lets say I have a 3.5 cGPA but a 3.2 sGPA, would that raise a red flag?

Lots of people get in with 3.0-3.3 sGPA. A 27+ would still put you in contention for most schools even with the 3.2.

 

[NeuroLAX]

If the audited classes show up on your official transcript in any way, shape, or form, you must report them on AACOMAS. If they aren't on your transcript, you don't need to or can't report them because you cannot prove that you took them.

BCPM is an AMCAS GPA, not an AACOMAS term. Some of the BCPM classes (like math) are not counted towards your AACOMAS GPA (correct me if I'm wrong). Some of the science classes are counted differently too. Google AACOMAS course classification to be sure (not trying to flame you. I used that guide while filling out my AACOMAS).

Your GPA is much more important than a mission trip. In my opinion, someone with a 3.5 and no mission trip has a better chance than a 3.2 and a mission trip all else equal.

👍 Well said. Particularly the last point.

 

[GypsyHummus]

👍 Well said. Particularly the last point.

It just seems like everyone is doing them and the adcoms eat it up

 

[NeuroLAX]

It just seems like everyone is doing them and the adcoms eat it up

To an extent, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. Remember you're trying to make yourself stand out. So, by that logic, how would going on a mission trip make you stand out if "everyone is doing them?"

 

[psychgirrrl]

I don't understand why a 3.2 sGPA would raise eyebrows. In my school all it takes to get a 3.2 is a B in a 5 credit lab course.

Anything less than an A is looked down upon? How do explain the average of the matriculant class of 2011 being a 3.38 if 3.2s are looked down upon? Statistically, that just does not make any sense.

 

[DocGodfather]

From my experience, you're better off researching for yourself, because "premed advisors" aren't the best at what they are supposed to do.

 

[MedPR]

It just seems like everyone is doing them and the adcoms eat it up

It's not that mission trips aren't useful for your application, but in your case your GPA needs to be improved. A low GPA is one of the worst things you can have on your app.

To an extent, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. Remember you're trying to make yourself stand out. So, by that logic, how would going on a mission trip make you stand out if "everyone is doing them?"

+1.

I don't understand why a 3.2 sGPA would raise eyebrows. In my school all it takes to get a 3.2 is a B in a 5 credit lab course.

Anything less than an A is looked down upon? How do explain the average of the matriculant class of 2011 being a 3.38 if 3.2s are looked down upon? Statistically, that just does not make any sense.

If there is one spot left in a class and you have a 3.2/30 and the other people have 3.8/30. You're probably not getting that one spot.

B students do not make it through medical school. End of story.

 

[HipChick]

B students do not make it through medical school. End of story.

😵

 

[MedPR]

😵

😕

If you're too lazy or simply not smart enough to be better than a B student, how do you expect to complete the most rigorous two years of school in existence?

 

[WorldChanger36]

It's not that mission trips aren't useful for your application, but in your case your GPA needs to be improved. A low GPA is one of the worst things you can have on your app.




+1.



If there is one spot left in a class and you have a 3.2/30 and the other people have 3.8/30. You're probably not getting that one spot.

B students do not make it through medical school. End of story.

b students do fine in med school.quit hatin'. Bs are not bad grades and most med student do fine with a b average. His gpa can get him in lots of places and he could improve and do even better

 

[GypsyHummus]

If there is one spot left in a class and you have a 3.2/30 and the other people have 3.8/30. You're probably not getting that one spot.

Do you really think 3.8/30 students are applying to DO schools when they have nice cozy in state MD schools to apply to?