bosox781 said:
Just curious how important school names are and acceptance to DO schools. Obviously some schools like harvard or yale would raise eyebrows a little more, but would someone with a start at a CC get looked down upon? would that hurt a resume even if you got excellent grades there? kind of a dumb question, but i am currently at a CC, started there unmotivated out of high school and i have to rebuild my resume in order to get into better schools. i have 5 classes on my tray this summer and im hoping my start at a CC wont really have that much of an effect on my chances to get into a school. right now im thinking DO or Foreign med is my only option due to my school background.
This may also be important info..
i am currently working as a mental health counselor at a hospital in an eating disorder and locked psych unit.
i am starting some volunteer work with mentally ******ed teens
i can get excellent LOR's from MD's and a Foreign MD
my GPA will be in the mid 3's by the time im done...
It means much more to a medical school of how well you have done in your prereqs compared to what school you went to. I am one who went to a CC for a year for the same reasons. Could not get into a four year university straight out of highschool bc of a 2.0 GPA with a few D's. However, in college I got straight A's for a year and transferred to a university with scholarships. After 5 years I graduated with high honors (3.8GPA) and do not even look at the CC as a disadvantage. Like what was stated earlier, IVY Colleges may frown, however you do not need their superficial educational BS.
Make sure that you fulfill the class requirements of medical school:
-all your Biology prereqs with some additional (micro, cell, phys, biochem, genetics)
-all of your chems (organic + inorganic)
-a full year of physics
- math up to at least Calc I
-full year of english with a least one lit course.
Also, starting off early with volunteer work is great, when it comes time to submit your medical school application, "quality of experiences means much more than quantity." In addition, if you choose DO make sure you have shadowed a DO for a significant period before you apply to Osteopathic medical school. All DO schools will ask you for a letter of recommendation from a doctor, preferably a D.O.
Also, critical reading plays a big part of how well you do on the MCAT. In my case I have a great science mind and can complete Biology texts in no time, however give me a literature "fiction" book and I would be strugling. This is what has held me back from many medical schools with a very very low Verbal Reasoning Score on the MCAT. So, if you don't read literature books (history, philosophy, art) I would start this at least a year before taking the MCAT. Also if you have the option, take some advanced literature classes, because medical schools like that and it would better prepare you for critical reading.
All in all, if you have a good GPA, great volunteer/extracurricular experiences, reasonably balanced MCAT, and good reasoning why you want to become a doctor, you will be in good shape.
