Should I apply to DO school this year?

[preDOhopeful]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to gain some insight on if I should consider applying to DO schools this application cycle, given my extracurriculars. I felt semi confident in them, but then I am reading online maybe they are subpar so any advice would be appreciated! First, I will be applying with a cumulative 3.7 GPA (Biology major) and a 3.61 science GPA. I am taking the MCAT on June 5th, but my practice scores have averaged around a 507. My extracurriculars are 1) I was the recruitment chair of my sorority. It was an Exec position and I organized and executed the logistics of the recruitment process, guess accommodations, and selections of 800 individuals. 2) I have volunteered at my college's blood drive for the past two years (maybe 30-40 combined hours) and was on a Blood Drive Committee this semester (leadership role?). 3) I was a TA in a microbio lab this semester. 4) I have volunteered semi-regularly at a food kitchen in my town for the past 2 years (maybe 20 combined hours). 5) I have my EMT license and have spent 30 hours in the ER (more will come this summer after my MCAT). 6) I was a Pre-Medical Mentor for my college's pre-med club so I met with/emailed with my mentees. 7) I am in a women's only leadership fraternity and we participate in giving back to our community (I was just elected VP, but have not yet done anything as VP since it technically starts next semester, so IDK if I should include that). 8) I was in an environmental awareness club my freshmen year (the club was dissolved after that due to low funds) and completed about 30 volunteer hours with them (picking up trash on campus, etc.) 9) I have shadowed around 50 hours with a family practice physician and about 30 with a PA (I was Pre-PA for a while).

Basically, I am just wondering if anyone could give me some insight on whether these activities are substantial enough to apply. I don't want to pay all the application fees just to hear I don't have enough experiences :/ Any advice would be deeply appreciated. Hope everyone is staying healthy!

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[BoneHurtingJuice]

I think your EC's look good and you would be more than fine applying DO this year, but this also hinges on your MCAT score. If you perform similarly to your practice scores and your subsections are reasonably balanced you'll be golden.

 

[djiboutiman]

Your GPA is great and your MCAT will likely be above average for DO. I think if you can get around 200 EMT hours you should be in a good position. I would boost your volunteer hours if you can too. Good luck with applying!

 

[preDOhopeful]

I think your EC's look good and you would be more than fine applying DO this year, but this also hinges on your MCAT score. If you perform similarly to your practice scores and your subsections are reasonably balanced you'll be golden.

Thank you so much for the reply! That eased my mind!!

 

[preDOhopeful]

Your GPA is great and your MCAT will likely be above average for DO. I think if you can get around 200 EMT hours you should be in a good position. I would boost your volunteer hours if you can too. Good luck with applying!

Good to know. Thank you so so much!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

No bets without an official MCAT score.

You've met the 50 shadowing hours threshold, but the clinical exposure threshold is not absolutely clear. You've also mixed in some of your leadership roles so it's hard to tease out what is organizational vs. programmatic hours based on what you've described.

 

[preDOhopeful]

No bets without an official MCAT score.

You've met the 50 shadowing hours threshold, but the clinical exposure threshold is not absolutely clear. You've also mixed in some of your leadership roles so it's hard to tease out what is organizational vs. programmatic hours based on what you've described.

Thank you so much for the reply! Could I ask what you mean by programmatic vs. organizational? I can try to be more clear, I'm just a little unsure what those mean.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you so much for the reply! Could I ask what you mean by programmatic vs. organizational? I can try to be more clear, I'm just a little unsure what those mean.

Planning the event including logistics, marketing, and volunteer registration versus running the event on the day

 

[preDOhopeful]

Planning the event including logistics, marketing, and volunteer registration versus running the event on the day

Okay, I understand now. Thank you for clarifying. So for my Recruitment Chair position, it was a year long. I marketed on our social medias throughout the entire year, worked with vendors throughout the year to plan for the event, I budgeted (food expenses, furniture for the event, event t-shirts, photographers, etc), and then for two weeks, I trained the woman of my sorority about recruitment. I know it sounds silly to people outside of sororities, but it was the best leadership experience I have ever had! For the blood drive, I was initially just your basic volunteer (at both our spring and fall drives). I volunteered at the drive for two separate semesters before being elected to the Blood Drive committee which included planning the drive, so attending weekly meetings that semester, coordinating with the University about things such as road blockades, and I handled logistics such as emailing those who signed up to donate via our online portal. I also was present at the drive for about 5 hours each day (15 hours total) helping the Red Cross whenever they needed it (mostly sign-in stuff, but it counted as volunteer hours). As for my clinical exposure, l have the 80 combined hours of shadowing like I said. That was over a course of about four months (one day a week for four months). I have my EMT license and obtaining it included 30 hours of ER work throughout one summer. I did things such as perform CPR, clean wounds, perform EKGs, take vitals, etc. It was my favorite undergraduate experience and it was what ultimately made me want to be a doctor, even though the hours are small. I will be working as an EMT this summer after my MCAT. My other ECs (such as being a TA, pre-med mentor, food kitchen volunteer) lasted the course of several months. I hope that clears things up! Sorry for the long paragraph, just wanted to get as much detail to you as possible! Thank you for the help thus far.

 

[deleted1051873]

I had 20 shadowing hours, maybe 100 volunteer hours, worked as a pharm tech, & was a college athlete. Interviewed at 4 DOs & 3 MDs with a 499 MCAT. If I can get in, you can too!