Really confused and don't know if I should apply this cycle or not. Help appreciated!

[Booster_Gold]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys! I just wanted to know what you guys think my chances if I applied this cycle or not. I really love DO and will be really aiming for DO schools. I really don't care where I go, I just really want to become a doctor. I have an interest in primary care or psychiatry. I'm really worried about my stats. I know my GPA is really low. Should I retake a class in the summer? Should I wait until next year?

-Graduated Double Major in Neuroscience and Psychology.
-cGPA-3.47
-sGPA-3.1
-Mcat-29-(11PS/9V/9BS)
-2 years worth of clinical research hours in biofeedback. Presented in 2 conferences, 2nd author and might soon be published in a magazine. ~1000+ hours
-Vice president in pre-medical fraternity. Did a lot of volunteering through here and many other leadership positions. ~100+ volunteering hours. Been in fraternity for 3 years and other leadership roles.
- 5 Letters of Rec from DO, MD and multiple science professors. No committee letter due to low GPA. They didn't even seem interested in helping me at all honestly. Thats why I'm so confused. DO shadowing ~50 hours.
-Various other medical clubs and leader in my church group I am active in.
-Will be getting scribe job by the time I submit applications.
-The psych classes I took were very science based.
-My trend is slightly upward. Kind of messed up Fall of senior year due to some personal problems.
-State of residence is NJ, but like I said will go anywhere.


So just to repeat, I know my GPA is low. I talked to my health profession advisor and she didn't seem that all interested in helping me. I didn't qualify for a committee letter in their eyes. If I apply, I will be applying to all DO schools. I guess I'm feeling really lost and confused after my advisor kind of left me out to dry.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for any help in advance.

 

[MiaMia14]

College advisors are mostly worthless. I honestly think you have a great shot at DO schools. Your GPA is low, but your MCAT is good and I think it will offset the GPA a little bit. The only other issue I see is no shadowing/medical volunteering, but I still think you have a good shot. I would definitely apply this year. You can retake some low grades if you want during the summer/fall and update with those grades.

 

[Booster_Gold]

College advisors are mostly worthless. I honestly think you have a great shot at DO schools. Your GPA is low, but your MCAT is good and I think it will offset the GPA a little bit. The only other issue I see is no shadowing/medical volunteering, but I still think you have a good shot. I would definitely apply this year. You can retake some low grades if you want during the summer/fall and update with those grades.

Thanks for the input! I actually do have shadowing! I have both DO and MD shadowing under my belt. And you are right, I don't have medical volunteering but I'm hoping my other volunteering and scribe will help offset that.

 

[ananasmed]

Is your low sGPA due to C/D/F grades in science classes, or just a string of Bs? If you have any C/D/F grades, I'd recommend retaking this summer to give that number a quick & easy bump. Your MCAT is at or above average for most DO schools (think Touro NY/CA are the only two that have hit 30 so far). Otherwise, I agree with MiaMia and think you have a great chance. Don't let your silly pre-med committee get you down! Good luck.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Your sGPA is kinda low so I would retake some classes while you're applying. You can always send in updates with your new grades.

You can probably get in somewhere.

 

[Booster_Gold]

Is your low sGPA due to C/D/F grades in science classes, or just a string of Bs? If you have any C/D/F grades, I'd recommend retaking this summer to give that number a quick & easy bump. Your MCAT is at or above average for most DO schools (think Touro NY/CA are the only two that have hit 30 so far). Otherwise, I agree with MiaMia and think you have a great chance. Don't let your silly pre-med committee get you down! Good luck.

Thanks for the replies! Not going to lie, some of them were C's. Thankfully nothing failed. Do you think it would affect my chances if I applied really early then still took summer classes?

 

[Booster_Gold]

Your sGPA is kinda low so I would retake some classes while you're applying. You can always send in updates with your new grades.

You can probably get in somewhere.

Awesome! I think I might do that. Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[ananasmed]

Thanks for the replies! Not going to lie, some of them were C's. Thankfully nothing failed. Do you think it would affect my chances if I applied really early then still took summer classes?

Ditto chizled. You can update with your grades after the summer session (AACOMAS has a specific "update period" when you can send in your new grades, so check to see when that is). I'm not sure that they will actually recalculate your GPA, but schools will see your improvement.