DO Questions about my chances...

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wanthatmd

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Hi guys,
So I just finished uploading my grades up on AACOMAS. I have a huge disparity between by science vs nonscience GPA.

GPA non-science- 3.89
GPA science- 3.31
GPA Cum-3.67

I am scheduled to take the MCAT later this month. Scoring ~26 on practice exams.

It will take me around a week to completely send my application for verification.
First off, how bad is the difference? With average EC, no major research/leadership positions what do you guys think I should do. Should I retake some classes this summer and update the schools with my grades after I am done?
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@wanthatmd... You might need to be scoring 28+ if you want to end up with 26+ because taking the actual exam is nothing like the experience of taking practice exams... Anyway, if you end up with 25+, you will have a shot at some of the new and low tier DO schools. 27+ will definitely open up more doors...
 
Thanks, yeah I am thinking of postponing the exam a few weeks just to make sure I get the score I want.

Also what about my GPA disparity? ...almost a .6 difference. People say that your non science doesn't matter unless its really low.
 
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BestDoctorEver said:
@wanthatmd... You might need to be scoring 28+ if you want to end up with 26+ because taking the actual exam is nothing like the experience of taking practice exams... Anyway, if you end up with 25+, you will have a shot at some of the new and low tier DO schools. 27+ will definitely open up more doors...
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I disagree. With that GPA, 26 is good for all colleges because you're still within the standard deviation. Also, my MCAT was probably graded more generously than my practice tests.
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
I disagree. With that GPA, 26 is good for all colleges because you're still within the standard deviation. Also, my MCAT was probably graded more generously than my practice tests.
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How do you know that? I am not sure what the stdv is right now (for every single school or DO in general), but when some schools are in the 29-30 average, I would not say 26 is a good score for them.
 
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wanthatmd said:
Thanks, yeah I am thinking of postponing the exam a few weeks just to make sure I get the score I want.

Also what about my GPA disparity? ...almost a .6 difference. People say that your non science doesn't matter unless its really low.
Click to expand...
You GPAs are fine... I think they mostly care about cGPA and sGPA--not so much about the nsGPA, but obviously it affects the cGPA.
 
BestDoctorEver said:
How do you know that? I am not sure what the stdv is right now, but when some schools are in the 29-30 average, I would not say 26 is a good score for them.
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Because I know they have experimental sections and my last 2 practice tests I scored a 9 in bio and 10 on the real thing. People assume only those with average score and above get in. They ignore that the average happens also because some people are below it. There's no guarantees, but a 26 with that GPA is not a reason not to apply. My rule of thumb is you can be somewhat below on one of the three major variables and be okay: cumulative, science and mcat.
 
Do all MCATs typically have experimental sections? and if so is it in all 3 sections of your test? I know no one here knows but if you were to take a best guess
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
Because I know they have experimental sections and my last 2 practice tests I scored a 9 in bio and 10 on the real thing. People assume only those with average score and above get in. They ignore that the average happens also because some people are below it. There's no guarantees, but a 26 with that GPA is not a reason not to apply. My rule of thumb is you can be somewhat below on one of the three major variables and be okay: cumulative, science and mcat.
Click to expand...
First of all, I was not saying not to apply to any schools with a 26 MCAT.... Med school admission is MOSTLY a game of statistics. Obviously with 26 MCAT, one is within striking distance for even the most competitive DO schools assuming everything else is above average... But would I advise someone with 26 MCAT to apply only to school with 28+ average MCAT even if the other components of their application are above average? Of course not... It would be prudent for anyone reading this conversation to apply MOSTLY to schools that are in line or below their MCAT score regardless of how good your ECs/ LORs/ Research are IMO...
 
Yea, this guy could definitely get in with a 26. Has a decent gpa, but as others would suggest, the whole application process seems to be a crap shoot. I would just suggest to apply broadly (maybe 10-15 schools) and definitely go more bottom heavy if you want a guarantee.
 
BestDoctorEver said:
First of all, I was not saying not to apply to any schools with a 26 MCAT.... Med school admission is MOSTLY a game of statistics. Obviously with 26 MCAT, one is within striking distance for even the most competitive DO schools assuming everything else is above average... But would I advise someone with 26 MCAT to apply only to school with 28+ average MCAT even if the other components of their application are above average? Of course not... It would be prudent for anyone reading this conversation to apply MOSTLY to schools that are in line or below their MCAT score regardless of how good your ECs/ LORs/ Research are IMO...
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I understand your point and I wasn't trying to say you were telling them not to apply to any schools. However, I wanted to point out that 26 is not a reason to be dissuaded from adding a few reaches. You did say you have a shot at low tier and new with a 25+. I'm just adding to it and saying "and you also could have a shot at the better schools with the 26."
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
I understand your point and I wasn't trying to say you were telling them not to apply to any schools. However, I wanted to point out that 26 is not a reason to be dissuaded from adding a few reaches. You did say you have a shot at low tier and new with a 25+. I'm just adding to it and saying "and you also could have a shot at the better schools with the 26."
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If money is not a problem why not apply to both? I agree. I would do maybe 2o% top and 80% everything else. Maybe just pick a couple top tiers for kicks.
 
wanthatmd said:
Thanks, yeah I am thinking of postponing the exam a few weeks just to make sure I get the score I want.

Also what about my GPA disparity? ...almost a .6 difference. People say that your non science doesn't matter unless its really low.
Click to expand...

Postpone your mcat until your practice scores are at least 28-30. If not higher. Practice scores should be higher than your target
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

I do hope to get above that +29 with about a month left. I started with a 22 on AAMC3. I am using TPR exams and the general consensus is that they are much -2 to 3 points that an AAMC exam


My school list is as followed so far:
Western (CA and OR)
ACOM
DMU
CCOM
LECOM
PNWUHS-COM
TOURO (CA)
PCOM
RVU
LUCOM
WCU
MUCOM
CUSOM

any suggestions? I live in the midwest...
 
Your GPAs are fine. Aim for the high 20s on MCAT.

wanthatmd said:
Hi guys,
So I just finished uploading my grades up on AACOMAS. I have a huge disparity between by science vs nonscience GPA.

GPA non-science- 3.89
GPA science- 3.31
GPA Cum-3.67

I am scheduled to take the MCAT later this month. Scoring ~26 on practice exams.

It will take me around a week to completely send my application for verification.
First off, how bad is the difference? With average EC, no major research/leadership positions what do you guys think I should do. Should I retake some classes this summer and update the schools with my grades after I am done?
Click to expand...
 
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