SGU - even more competitive than DO schools?

[FaZeDGeNiuS]

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Hello everyone,

I just recently read up a little FAQ on SGU's webpage which described last years entering class.

An average MCAT score of:

BS: 10
PS: 9
VS: 9

TOTAL: 28

My question of course, I was thinking of applying to such a University when I saw that MEAN MCAT score.

I posted before on another PCOM thread that I had applied (still waiting) with a

3.58 cGPA
3.38 Science GPA
Over 500+ hours of volunteer experience in a Bronx-based Lab
1000+ hours of work just in various organizations

in addition, I am economically disadvantaged and must work over 20 hours a week just to keep up with textbooks and such (Apple Retail Store, not too shabby 🙂)

25S MCAT
PS: 9
VS: 9
BS: 7 (yeah I know 😛)

With the credit load I have taken on during undergrad, I am probably graduating this August after only 3 years.

My question, after this long tirade is, with statistics like this coming from SGU do I not even have a chance?

Ross has an average of 24, but still, should DO schools be the only way to go? I am severely confused.

Oh yes, and a friend of mine has an
MCAT of 23Q
3.69 cGPA
3.33 Science GPA
and the practically the same volunteer experience

What are our chances?

Thanks in advance 😎

 

[relaxedMD]

TO THE OP:
It sounds like you are a bright person with a lot on their plate.

That busy schedule may have cost you some valuable prep time for the MCATs. Take a semester off after you graduate and brush up on your MCAT biology prep. Retake the MCAT; there is no harm in trying to improve your bio score and physical science score. If you get an 11 or a 12 in BIO, then you will break into the 30s. With that you are competitive for both DOs and MD programs in the US.

Do that first before you delve into the caribbean option. Please. The caribbean, SGU even, is a back up for you. You have work experience, volunteer experience and a decent GPA. Top it off with a better MCAT score.

As for SGU being more competitive than a DO program: there is no point comparing apples to oranges or SGU MD to US DO. The DO (US option) will be more fruitful in the end because you have a 95% chance of matching into a residency in the states. At SGU your chances are lower around 80-85%.

At the end of those long four years the most important thing is to MATCH!

rlxdmd

 

[FaZeDGeNiuS]

Thanks for replying so promptly.

The thing is, sure I can try out the MCAT again, take a semester off and such.

But with the current scores that I have so far, and accumulations of volunteer work, do I look like a stand out applicant anywhere?

I know certain DO schools have a lower score margin, but if I did want to travel the MD route, and pursue the Caribbean route. Am I going to be accepted or denied admission?

I can never find the correct answer everywhere, and from prior knowledge, I heard Caribbean schools like Ross, SGU and AUC have produced many physicians who practice in the NY-Metro area. I even heard that the MCAT requirement was such that those with sub-20 scores also achieve enrollment.

Have the standards really changed so much, that now a 25 is nothing. It seems in every DO school I call, it's always "26 or bust"

I thought people looked beyond an MCAT score, and some even claim in their Mission Statements and website "About Us" pages that they care more about the individual than the MCAT score.

Case in point, NYCOM basically told me "we love your application, but a 26 is mandatory for your case"

I am enrolled currently in NYIT's BS/DO program and I am thinking about fall-back options. The January scores are about to be released, and NYCOM only wants a 26, won't even go beyond looking at anything else.

So:

Does the Caribbean route bode well for my statistics, and my friends'? Can this even be called a back-up because of the mean MCAT statistic? Or will my friend and I have minimal problems?

 

[JPR22]

On rotations, I found that SGU students seemed to have a bit better clinical skills, but the DO students I've known have done better in the match. From my understanding, SGU pays hospitals to train students, where DO schools expect the hospitals to do it for free.