I just graduated this month with a B.S. in Cellular-Molecular Neuroscience and am getting ready to submit my AMCAS and AACOMAS applications at the beginning of this June.
Here are some general details about my overall application:
- Demographics: Female, Indian (emigrated to the US when I was 6), not economically disadvantaged.
- Overall GPA:3.336
- First half of college: Struggled with major depression and ADHD, but I also acknowledge that my poor work ethic and lack of good study strategies contributed to my poor grades: 3.0 average freshman year (no science classes yet), 3.1 average sophomore year + summer before junior year (got a C- in Chem 101, C in Orgo 1, and B's in other intro level science pre-reqs.)
- Second half of college: Finally got help for my mental health and ADHD and did better in my upper-level science pre-reqs. Earned a ~3.55 average GPA Junior year + first semester senior year, and a 3.9 my final semester.
- BCPM GPA: Have not calculated recently, but last I checked it was ~3.3.
- MCAT: Had to reschedule to take it in late June due to COVID. On my last practice test, I got a 504. My target is at least a 508, hopefully >510.
- Clinical experiences:
- ~180 hours from clinical shadowing & EMT clinical shifts in the ER.
- Research + ECs:
- 1.5 years as an RA in a developmental psych lab
- 1 summer as an RA doing clinical research + presented a poster afterwards.
- 3 leadership positions in clubs, 2 years private tutoring, 3 years volunteering with special needs individuals, etc.
- Weaknesses:
- 5 strong recommendation letters but no letter from a DO.
- Did not participate in my university's pre-health committee so I won't have a committee letter packet.
- My transcript, obviously.
I have talked to a multiple pre-health advisors, and 2/3 of them have emphasized that my GPA is quite low and is likely to significantly affect my chances of getting into med school. I am well aware of this, but am trying to hold onto hope that my MCAT score, upward trend in my transcript, strong rec letters, and essay writing skills will help mitigate the damage done by my transcript. Two of my friends who applied last cycle (both had 3.6+ GPAs but <502 MCATs) told me it won't be worth my time or money to apply to MD schools, since they both only got interviews from DO schools.
So my question is:
Considering my GPA is well below allopathic med school standards, should I exclusively apply to DO schools, and not even bother applying to MD schools this cycle?
