Secondaries complete in Aug., haven't heard a thing

[chizledfrmstone]

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See, what I don't understand is how you guys all have a good idea of a list of schools off the top of your heads of what are "safe", "match" and "reach". I've been scavenging the forums and still haven't found a definitive source for information of this sort.

There are only ~30 schools. It becomes second nature after a while.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I don't really know what to do about the retakes. I'm in a masters program at one of the top DO schools and have done better than the majority of the DO class in every course I've taken, which is 31 credits now. Am I really expected to go to a community college or something and retake anatomy, phys, biochem,... after having taken them at a med school?

If you are trying to beat cut off from automated computer programs, yes.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

OP what are your ECs like?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

See, what I don't understand is how you guys all have a good idea of a list of schools off the top of your heads of what are "safe", "match" and "reach". I've been scavenging the forums and still haven't found a definitive source for information of this sort.

Takes a long time to get an idea.... It has taken me almost 6 months to form my list. You read up enough and you start to get an idea that "hey this school is not as friendly to out of staters" or "this one tends to be more MCAT heavy in their selection process."

Not always, but typically you can make a solid school list by having a nice mix of schools, thats just the best way to do it. So for instance, I am applying just DO. There are what like roughly 30 DO schools now? So it went like this for me:
1) Where do you want to live? NOT west coast... so that leaves me with all the midwest and east coast
2) Are the areas of these schools what you want? For instance, my wife is in a very specialized field. So I pretty much HAVE to apply to places with 250K people within a 30 min range, or a military base within driving distance, otherwise she wont be able to find work.
3) What are my scores like compared to some of these schools? This is what takes forever... besides looking at their websites and seeing their averages, you spend time looking at old forums with people who had similar stats to you.
4) Is there anything reasonably goofy about certain schools on my list. For instance MSU and OUCOM were two of my top choices (they are great schools), but then I found out MSU's OOS tuition is like 80K/year. Then OUCOM has a contract thing that you HAVE to practice in Ohio for a period of time after graduation (I hate Ohio).
5) Now that you are dwindling down a list, you begin cutting on some smaller factors... for instance, I heard some goofy stuff about KCUMB (the area is not the best for families), KYCOM is in the middle of freaking no where (even though I completely love their mission). Same with LMU
6) Is your list too top or bottom heavy? Like for instance I am applying to 12 schools. I have 3-4 reach, 3-4 "low tiered/new", the rest I am reasonably competitive for based on stats and mission.

Literally just go school by school. Make excel sheets, keep track of all of your thoughts and concerns that you hear with each school. I will upload my list if it helps you... (note that the tab called "school rankings" is just me just going with my gut instinct and ranking them based on certain factors that I deem important. I combined and averaged these scores out and basically it ranked them pretty darn accurately to where I would want to most likely want to go to (if offered). This also would help me prioritize which ones to send secondaries and/or interview at, since money is tight. You can also see in the other tab why I am choosing NOT to apply to certain other schools. Whether you think they are trivial or not true, whatever, they are my reasons and were a way for me to get down to a number of schools that I feel comfortable with and can actually afford applying to. All of this information was found either on the school's websites or on SDN (I tried to find information no older than like 2011).

 

[DocWinter]

. edited

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

yea haha sorry, I shouldve cleaned it up... but let the truth be told! hahaha

The problem is that I grew up (first 23 years of my life) at the edges of the Appalachian mountains running along WV and MD... so a lot of these schools just seemed so freaking flat and depressing to me... like a desert or something heh... "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial."

But then you have schools like LMU which is like BEAUTIFUL. But for the other reasons stated on my list, wouldnt make the cut.

I must say that even since I made that list like a month ago, CUSOM is actually going up in my mind. Been hearing a lot of good things about that school. Seems like it has a lot of promise. Same with MUCOM...

So that is to say that opinions change... heck I just google mapped KCUMB and I am now looking at it again haha....

 

[DocWinter]

I did not apply to CUSOM - was a little on the fence after meeting a school rep at a conference and the religious aspect didn't exactly pull me in. It's one school I kind of wish I did apply to though, just for location and being in my could-probably-get-in range. The carolinas offer a lot.
When you take it all into consideration: quality, spouse, preference, cost, etc., I ended up finding about 4 or 5 that really appealed and another 5 or so that I would definitely go to.
Truth be told WesternU in Oregon was my top location for location alone...but being so regionally bias and expensive I didn't go for it. I'm very excited about where I'm headed though. Hope you interview there; they have a great mission statement and sounds like you would love the school, location aside.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I did not apply to CUSOM - was a little on the fence after meeting a school rep at a conference and the religious aspect didn't exactly pull me in. It's one school I kind of wish I did apply to though, just for location and being in my could-probably-get-in range. The carolinas offer a lot.
When you take it all into consideration: quality, spouse, preference, cost, etc., I ended up finding about 4 or 5 that really appealed and another 5 or so that I would definitely go to.
Truth be told WesternU in Oregon was my top location for location alone...but being so regionally bias and expensive I didn't go for it. I'm very excited about where I'm headed though. Hope you interview there; they have a great mission statement and sounds like you would love the school, location aside.

wait I am sorry, where did you end up? PCOM? Because if so, it is hands down my number 1 choice...

 

[DocWinter]

Did I read your list backwards? I thought 10 was a perfect score...lol

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

haha nah since there are 12 schools on the list, they are ranked 1 being the best and 12 being the lowest on the list. So the ones with the lowest score are my highest ranked.

 

[ortnakas]

undergrad and grad are separate GPA's

I can confirm this. I have a M.S., and AACOMAS lists my graduate GPA, undergraduate GPA, and total GPA. Luckily for me, all three of my numbers are about the same. I imagine it would be up to the individual school to decide which number(s) to use if they were more variable.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

Takes a long time to get an idea.... It has taken me almost 6 months to form my list. You read up enough and you start to get an idea that "hey this school is not as friendly to out of staters" or "this one tends to be more MCAT heavy in their selection process."

Not always, but typically you can make a solid school list by having a nice mix of schools, thats just the best way to do it. So for instance, I am applying just DO. There are what like roughly 30 DO schools now? So it went like this for me:
1) Where do you want to live? NOT west coast... so that leaves me with all the midwest and east coast
2) Are the areas of these schools what you want? For instance, my wife is in a very specialized field. So I pretty much HAVE to apply to places with 250K people within a 30 min range, or a military base within driving distance, otherwise she wont be able to find work.
3) What are my scores like compared to some of these schools? This is what takes forever... besides looking at their websites and seeing their averages, you spend time looking at old forums with people who had similar stats to you.
4) Is there anything reasonably goofy about certain schools on my list. For instance MSU and OUCOM were two of my top choices (they are great schools), but then I found out MSU's OOS tuition is like 80K/year. Then OUCOM has a contract thing that you HAVE to practice in Ohio for a period of time after graduation (I hate Ohio).
5) Now that you are dwindling down a list, you begin cutting on some smaller factors... for instance, I heard some goofy stuff about KCUMB (the area is not the best for families), KYCOM is in the middle of freaking no where (even though I completely love their mission). Same with LMU
6) Is your list too top or bottom heavy? Like for instance I am applying to 12 schools. I have 3-4 reach, 3-4 "low tiered/new", the rest I am reasonably competitive for based on stats and mission.

Literally just go school by school. Make excel sheets, keep track of all of your thoughts and concerns that you hear with each school. I will upload my list if it helps you... (note that the tab called "school rankings" is just me just going with my gut instinct and ranking them based on certain factors that I deem important. I combined and averaged these scores out and basically it ranked them pretty darn accurately to where I would want to most likely want to go to (if offered). This also would help me prioritize which ones to send secondaries and/or interview at, since money is tight. You can also see in the other tab why I am choosing NOT to apply to certain other schools. Whether you think they are trivial or not true, whatever, they are my reasons and were a way for me to get down to a number of schools that I feel comfortable with and can actually afford applying to. All of this information was found either on the school's websites or on SDN (I tried to find information no older than like 2011).

Your status in my heart has been elevated to Osteopathic Jesus.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

haha i dont know about that.... but I am glad to have helped. Obviously your list will look completely different. But this type of format has really helped me sift through all of the schools. Consequently it also was the nail in the coffin for allopathic schools. When I really started to get to the nitty gritty numbers I just found that I should focus my time on getting into solid DO schools rather than desperately begging at the opportunity to get into an allopathic school. I have been a lot happier since I made that decision, a big burden has been taken off my wife and I. I am pumped to hopefully have the opportunity to go to one of these great schools.

 

[Telekinesis]

Takes a long time to get an idea.... It has taken me almost 6 months to form my list. You read up enough and you start to get an idea that "hey this school is not as friendly to out of staters" or "this one tends to be more MCAT heavy in their selection process."

Not always, but typically you can make a solid school list by having a nice mix of schools, thats just the best way to do it. So for instance, I am applying just DO. There are what like roughly 30 DO schools now? So it went like this for me:
1) Where do you want to live? NOT west coast... so that leaves me with all the midwest and east coast
2) Are the areas of these schools what you want? For instance, my wife is in a very specialized field. So I pretty much HAVE to apply to places with 250K people within a 30 min range, or a military base within driving distance, otherwise she wont be able to find work.
3) What are my scores like compared to some of these schools? This is what takes forever... besides looking at their websites and seeing their averages, you spend time looking at old forums with people who had similar stats to you.
4) Is there anything reasonably goofy about certain schools on my list. For instance MSU and OUCOM were two of my top choices (they are great schools), but then I found out MSU's OOS tuition is like 80K/year. Then OUCOM has a contract thing that you HAVE to practice in Ohio for a period of time after graduation (I hate Ohio).
5) Now that you are dwindling down a list, you begin cutting on some smaller factors... for instance, I heard some goofy stuff about KCUMB (the area is not the best for families), KYCOM is in the middle of freaking no where (even though I completely love their mission). Same with LMU
6) Is your list too top or bottom heavy? Like for instance I am applying to 12 schools. I have 3-4 reach, 3-4 "low tiered/new", the rest I am reasonably competitive for based on stats and mission.

Literally just go school by school. Make excel sheets, keep track of all of your thoughts and concerns that you hear with each school. I will upload my list if it helps you... (note that the tab called "school rankings" is just me just going with my gut instinct and ranking them based on certain factors that I deem important. I combined and averaged these scores out and basically it ranked them pretty darn accurately to where I would want to most likely want to go to (if offered). This also would help me prioritize which ones to send secondaries and/or interview at, since money is tight. You can also see in the other tab why I am choosing NOT to apply to certain other schools. Whether you think they are trivial or not true, whatever, they are my reasons and were a way for me to get down to a number of schools that I feel comfortable with and can actually afford applying to. All of this information was found either on the school's websites or on SDN (I tried to find information no older than like 2011).

I'm in the same situation. I have to apply to schools near food plants (think Tyson) for my fiancé to get a job. Her degree is in Food Science and Technology. She makes she the food we eat doesn't kill us lol

 

[Telekinesis]

I can confirm this. I have a M.S., and AACOMAS lists my graduate GPA, undergraduate GPA, and total GPA. Luckily for me, all three of my numbers are about the same. I imagine it would be up to the individual school to decide which number(s) to use if they were more variable.

Ok that makes sense

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

My wife's degree is in Art Therapy... rare as crap heh... But honestly I am happy with my list, I would be pumped to live in a moderate sized city.

 

[Telekinesis]

My wife's degree is in Art Therapy... rare as crap heh... But honestly I am happy with my list, I would be pumped to live in a moderate sized city.

Eh I'm restricted to mostly the midwest and the southeast. She says she will go anywhere I go. She wants to do a post bacc for dental school so I guess she can do that while I'm in med school.

 

[bionerd89]

Takes a long time to get an idea.... It has taken me almost 6 months to form my list. You read up enough and you start to get an idea that "hey this school is not as friendly to out of staters" or "this one tends to be more MCAT heavy in their selection process."

Not always, but typically you can make a solid school list by having a nice mix of schools, thats just the best way to do it. So for instance, I am applying just DO. There are what like roughly 30 DO schools now? So it went like this for me:
1) Where do you want to live? NOT west coast... so that leaves me with all the midwest and east coast
2) Are the areas of these schools what you want? For instance, my wife is in a very specialized field. So I pretty much HAVE to apply to places with 250K people within a 30 min range, or a military base within driving distance, otherwise she wont be able to find work.
3) What are my scores like compared to some of these schools? This is what takes forever... besides looking at their websites and seeing their averages, you spend time looking at old forums with people who had similar stats to you.
4) Is there anything reasonably goofy about certain schools on my list. For instance MSU and OUCOM were two of my top choices (they are great schools), but then I found out MSU's OOS tuition is like 80K/year. Then OUCOM has a contract thing that you HAVE to practice in Ohio for a period of time after graduation (I hate Ohio).
5) Now that you are dwindling down a list, you begin cutting on some smaller factors... for instance, I heard some goofy stuff about KCUMB (the area is not the best for families), KYCOM is in the middle of freaking no where (even though I completely love their mission). Same with LMU
6) Is your list too top or bottom heavy? Like for instance I am applying to 12 schools. I have 3-4 reach, 3-4 "low tiered/new", the rest I am reasonably competitive for based on stats and mission.

Literally just go school by school. Make excel sheets, keep track of all of your thoughts and concerns that you hear with each school. I will upload my list if it helps you... (note that the tab called "school rankings" is just me just going with my gut instinct and ranking them based on certain factors that I deem important. I combined and averaged these scores out and basically it ranked them pretty darn accurately to where I would want to most likely want to go to (if offered). This also would help me prioritize which ones to send secondaries and/or interview at, since money is tight. You can also see in the other tab why I am choosing NOT to apply to certain other schools. Whether you think they are trivial or not true, whatever, they are my reasons and were a way for me to get down to a number of schools that I feel comfortable with and can actually afford applying to. All of this information was found either on the school's websites or on SDN (I tried to find information no older than like 2011).

How come you don't want to live on the west coast?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Just not a west coaster... born and raised in Maryland. I like the east coast. I have been out west a few times and hated it, especially soCal. Its just a different breed of people out there... Orgeon or Washington would be solid, but the one in Washington is seriously like on the outskirts of a desert... Which being from the mountains of MD/WV, I just dont see myself being happy there.

Living in the midwest now for my wife's schooling and because work for me. Its not too bad. I miss the mountains but the cities and the people are great, I have no complaints there.

 

[AkGrown84]

Awesome Sauceome, I completely agree with your methodology of narrowing down your list of schools. I had a similar excel spreadsheet that went over EVERYTHING about each school. Despite my not-so-great stats (an MCAT of 25 with a 6PS), I ended up with 7 interview invites (4 DO and 3 MD), and I wholeheartedly believe that part of this was because I did a TON of research for each school I applied to.

 

[bionerd89]

Awesome Sauceome, I completely agree with your methodology of narrowing down your list of schools. I had a similar excel spreadsheet that went over EVERYTHING about each school. Despite my not-so-great stats (an MCAT of 25 with a 6PS), I ended up with 7 interview invites (4 DO and 3 MD), and I wholeheartedly believe that part of this was because I did a TON of research for each school I applied to.

Do you know where you will be attending?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

shoot dude, you got 3 MD interviews with a 25? and a 6 in PS? Man not to trudge too deep, but what are your other stats? URM? what state you live in? Thats just crazy.... I have never heard of anything like that. Maybe ONE MD interview with stats like that, but 3?

Though shoot congrats, thats just awesome sauceome

 

[AkGrown84]

Do you know where you will be attending?

I am planning on PCOM right now, and have a deposit down there. The only other school that is up in the air right now (and that I'd choose over PCOM) is Univ. of Kansas.

shoot dude, you got 3 MD interviews with a 25? and a 6 in PS? Man not to trudge too deep, but what are your other stats? URM? what state you live in? Thats just crazy.... I have never heard of anything like that. Maybe ONE MD interview with stats like that, but 3?

Though shoot congrats, thats just awesome sauceome

That's usually the reaction I get 😉 I was very surprised as well.....going into this season, I figured I would end up having to retake the MCAT and become a reapplicant, but I have been very fortunate. I am not a URM, I'm a white female from Alaska (so no regional bias anywhere besides UW's WWAMI program, and the regional bias for Pacific Northwest). BUT, I'm very non traditional-30 year old mother of 4 with a degree in history. MCAT was 6P/10V/9B, and every single science prereq was done post-bac. uGPA 3.45/sGPA 3.5. I volunteer with my children's activities (PTA, school/preschool, and sports), and work two scribe shifts per week at the ER. Having a history degree (which is really just a degree in reading and a TON of writing on the subject) really helped in writing my personal statement and secondary essays. I've been told that they were very good and very unique, and I'm sure that's what ended up raising eyebrows.

For the record, my interviews were at: Univ. of Washington, Univ. of Kansas, Drexel, PCOM, LMU-DCOM, PNWU (didn't attend), and Touro-NV. So I'd say a crazy weird mix of top tier, mid tier, and low tier schools.

 

[user3]

Awesome Sauceome, I completely agree with your methodology of narrowing down your list of schools. I had a similar excel spreadsheet that went over EVERYTHING about each school. Despite my not-so-great stats (an MCAT of 25 with a 6PS), I ended up with 7 interview invites (4 DO and 3 MD), and I wholeheartedly believe that part of this was because I did a TON of research for each school I applied to.

I don't know why people act like a 25 is terrible for DO. Your stats were fine

 

[AkGrown84]

I don't know why people act like a 25 is terrible for DO. Your stats were fine

I think a 25 is "ok". It's below the average at virtually every DO school, but still within the range at every school. If everything else in the application looks favorably, a 25 won't keep you out.....but I also feel like you have to make up for it in other ways-ie: higher gpa, great EC's, etc.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

No no, not for DO school. A 25 is just fine, especially for someone with incredibly life experience. DO schools probably eat that stuff up. BUT a 25 for 3 allopathic schools. That is SERIOUSLY impressive... Honestly I was under the impression that most places autoscreen at like 26 unless you are URM. If you look at the MSAR, the 10th percentile is almost always higher than a 25.

But shoot, you darn proved your intent on becoming a physician. Rocking a post-bac as well as scribing and such. Seriously congrats, if you do end up picking PCOM, maybe I will be lucky enough to meet you in a couple years!

Also sorry for the whole "dude" thing... saw the picture of a bear and instantly went to an image of a guy with a "burly man beard." The darn internets got me again

 

[hallowmann]

OP, your issue is a mediocre MCAT (not a big deal), and a low undergrad GPA (anything less than 3.0 will be a red flag). You also have a pretty top-heavy or MCAT-heavy list on your hands.

You haven't applied to many of the newer schools as well or instead of some of the others on your list. Overall your stats aren't terrible, but they are on the lower side of the spectrum, even with getting a B+ in DO classes.

Keep trying to contact and update schools, and definitely call up LMU and tell them you are really interested and wondering if there are any updates. Many people have done this and been successful at securing interviews.

If/when you reapply, throw in more of the newer/lower-stat schools like ACOM, CUSOM, WCUCOM, etc. If your goal is to get in, you should be able to, but you need to apply more broadly.

Also, if you could possible retake one undergrad science course, just to bring your undergrad sGPA above a 3.0, that would be good. You can take it at a CC over the summer if its easier. That said, you are probably not getting screened out (except maybe by Western) based solely on your GPA, but it really isn't doing you any favors.

 

[iTcanBdone]

I can confirm this. I have a M.S., and AACOMAS lists my graduate GPA, undergraduate GPA, and total GPA. Luckily for me, all three of my numbers are about the same. I imagine it would be up to the individual school to decide which number(s) to use if they were more variable.

+1 lots of schools both DO and MD will consider them separately (especially if you're 20+ credits into your grad program) but some school still combine and take the total (Marian does for example).