Reapplying need advice!

[gator16]

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I graduated in 2008 with an overall GPA 3.54 and sGPA 3.3. I have a 26M MCAT score and I will be retaking it in Aug. I got into one D.O school (LECOM-Bradenton) this past application cycle, but when I visited the school I decided it wasn't for me (Not interested in a totally PBL style). Anyway, I am working towards raising my MCAT, but what should I do about my GPA for it to improve for THIS application cycle?

From what I have heard enrolling in a special masters program for 1 yr won't help or do anything for this upcoming app cycle since all the grades won't be in. It's been two years since I graduated and I don't want to keep putting off starting school again.

Honestly I feel like I'm getting too old (i'm 24 now) to keep putting off medical school....🙁 I feel lost to say the least right about now. I do know that I was meant to go to medical school, and I am willing to do anything I need to. Any advice??

 

[LRAccord624]

Have you actually given up your spot at LECOM? I've heard it is a great school, and relatively inexpensive. I really think that you should keep that spot and not reapply... there are no guarantees your MCAT will go up, and you're losing a year's worth of physician salary by waiting another year.

If you already gave up your spot and there's no way you could get it back, I don't know what to tell you to improve your app so you'll have to wait for others... but there is a problem with doing an SMP- they are usually geared towards people with high MCATs and lower GPAs, which doesn't apply to you. So basically it seems you need to just get 30+ on the MCAT, or higher depending on what programs you want to get into.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think it is hard to know whether you will like or not like PBL until you experience it. I totally thought I would like a traditional lecture style, but once I got into med school I realized that sitting through 6 hrs/day of lecture was not a good way for me to learn. There is truly no way to know until you experience it.

Your numbers are low for a US MD school. Even if you raise the MCAT you'll probably have less than average numbers. Is there anything else about your application that would make it stand out a lot? What state are you a resident of? If it's somewhere with a lot of state schools (Florida, maybe Texas, etc.) it might be slightly easier to get a spot somewhere. However, if it's California or something, your stats are not going to be realistic for MD schools. If you don't want to attend the DO school you got into, are there others that you would?

I kind of agree w/above...you may not want to blow off the spot/acceptance that you have in hand already.

 

[dragonfly99]

Especially since it seems that you are in a hurry to get started.
Realistically it's probably going to take you a good couple of years to improve your application. Is it worth it to give up an acceptance that you already have?

 

[gator16]

I am a Florida resident, so that's a benefit. One of the reasons my MCAT score is subpar is because immendiately after I graduated college I started working full time for the state of florida in a program that is geared towards helping the underserved. Working 8 hr days made it extremely difficult to study for the MCAT. I am planning on taking 1-2 months off from work this time to study seriously. I don't doubt that I can raise my score this time. To fill the "gap" I am going to do volunteer work during this time, maybe do some more shadowing...

The other reason I had problems was because I was complete with my applications in November...(I had no clue applying early was important).

It's the gpa that I am concerned about. Everyone I have talked to has told me not to waste my money and time doing a SMP, and that raising my MCAT should do the trick. You never know these days though since admissions has become increasingly competitive.

In response to LECOM, when I went to visit the school I was not too happy about the size(extremely small), and I sat in on a PBL class I felt like it was completely unstructured, which is why I prefer the lecture style learning method. In my opinion PBL works best in combination which lectures.

You guys are probably right that I should not be so picky because of my stats, but I am willing on working on them within a reasonable time frame, so just looking for advice about what you or others have done 🙂

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

I just looked on the website, and the school boasts 4 different learning pathways, of which lecture-discussion is one. You might want to look into that.

Personally, I wouldn't give up a spot in medical school, but if you know you can do better and you really don't want to do osteopathic medicine (which is allopathic with a twist), then gear up for the next application cycle. But if you're ready to get started, then go. To LECOM.

 

[gator16]

LECOM is in two places: PA and FL. You need to apply to each one separately. The one is FL(The one I applied to becuase I would prefer to stay in FL) is completely PBL, and I think it is the only school in the country that is completely PBL.

I already turned down the acceptance. It was one of those situations where I KNEW I would not be happy there. To be honest, I have spoken with a lot of D.O doctors and many of them have said that they, as well as others they know, are having trouble after graduation due to the bias that still exists between D.O and M.D. I personally see the two as equal, but when it comes to spending $200,000+ and people who have completed school are telling me this, it makes me a little worried to pursue D.O.

 

[Jay Leno]

LECOM is in two places: PA and FL. You need to apply to each one separately. The one is FL(The one I applied to becuase I would prefer to stay in FL) is completely PBL, and I think it is the only school in the country that is completely PBL.

I already turned down the acceptance. It was one of those situations where I KNEW I would not be happy there. To be honest, I have spoken with a lot of D.O doctors and many of them have said that they, as well as others they know, are having trouble after graduation due to the bias that still exists between D.O and M.D. I personally see the two as equal, but when it comes to spending $200,000+ and people who have completed school are telling me this, it makes me a little worried to pursue D.O.

All of the DOs that I know seem pretty happy with their choice and indicated that they didn't really have much problems dealing with residency. The people who you mentioned experienced biases may not have performed well on the USMLE or may have applied to ubercompetitive residency programs that even most MDs would have problems getting.

That being said, I think LECOM is a solid medical. DO or not, the perception is definitely changing and it really comes down to individual effort test scores, rotations, class ranks rather than academic title. As someone who had PBL type classes in college, I liked them and I think that they're a lot more fun than the traditional lecture format.

As far as reapplying to MD school, to be honest, even with 30+ MCAT, this may be problem because your GPA is below the average of most medical schools. Besides that, you're wasting a year that you could be working as an attending trying to simply get accepted again - if this application cycle has taught me anything, it's that I would not ever want to go through this nerve wracking process ever again.

 

[gator16]

Thank you all for your thoughts 🙂

There are other D.O schools which I would consider, I just didn't like LECOM is all. So this cycle I was planning on applying earlier and more broad. That being said, I definately am not happy about doing this whole process again. I hated it with a passion..but one more year of waiting on a span of years of practicing doesn't particularly bother me. Now if it's going to be 2-3+ more years, then yes.

In terms of gpa what would you suggest? The only thing I can think of without spending a ton of money is enrolling as a non-degree seeking student at a university and taking a few upper level science based classes this fall to increase my gpa....

The other advice someone gave me is starting an MPH degree and if I was accepted into med school most offer a 1 year MPH degree. Since I would have completed some of the classes, I may only have to take a few more to complete the degree. So essentially the classes I took before med school wouldn't be a "waste".

Any thoughts? There must be others in the same situation as me...Any criticism/advice is welcome 😳

 

[LRAccord624]

"In terms of gpa what would you suggest? The only thing I can think of without spending a ton of money is enrolling as a non-degree seeking student at a university and taking a few upper level science based classes this fall to increase my gpa...."
Have you taken any upper division science courses before? If you really haven't taken many, this would probably be a good idea.

The problem with working towards an MPH prior to med school is that adcoms look at your undergrad GPA- your grad GPA will not be important- what you need to fix is your uGPA so this wouldn't be effective.