Switching over to Pod

[Achdus]

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All advice is welcome:

I graduated pre-med with a 3.59 cgpa and 3.1 sgpa and always had the goal of going to medical school. I took the mcat and received a 20 and after a horrible second round received a 19. I have the standard shadowing, hospital exp, etc, but I work full-time with ridiculous hours (sometimes about 10 hrs a day) and a very busy family life. I already sent out my med apps and have come to the realization that I will not be getting in.
Podiatry was always in the back of my head after speaking to the local dpm and my general interest in the health field. However, I never shadowed any podiatrist. I have already spoken to two podiatrists who will allow me to shadow and will certainly write a lor. Should I apply to podiatry now for Sept 2012 or hold off and wait till next year?

Looking to go to NYCPM but would apply broadly. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ferocity]

Welcome aboard.

Apply now, if it's really the field that you want to do.

 

[NoStress]

All advice is welcome:

I graduated pre-med with a 3.59 cgpa and 3.1 sgpa and always had the goal of going to medical school. I took the mcat and received a 20 and after a horrible second round received a 19. I have the standard shadowing, hospital exp, etc, but I work full-time with ridiculous hours (sometimes about 10 hrs a day) and a very busy family life. I already sent out my med apps and have come to the realization that I will not be getting in.
Podiatry was always in the back of my head after speaking to the local dpm and my general interest in the health field. However, I never shadowed any podiatrist. I have already spoken to two podiatrists who will allow me to shadow and will certainly write a lor. Should I apply to podiatry now for Sept 2012 or hold off and wait till next year?

Looking to go to NYCPM but would apply broadly. Thanks in advance.

It isn't too late to apply. You could submit your application with what you have already and work on shadowing and obtaining your LOR. It will take a while to process everything, but often times you may get interview invitations from schools even when they don't have your LOR (So long as they receive something before, or during the day of your interview.)

Podiatry school is just as rigorous as med school. Make sure you're doing this for the right reasons! Good luck 🙂

 

[Achdus]

So here's my update......After my last post, I spoke to a number of ppl who gave me the idea that if I retook the mcat in January and informed the DO schools of my pending score I may still have a shot. However, I am scheduled to take it at the end of the month and I don't feel too confident there will be any improvement. The truth is I am really looking to begin a life in the health field this year and truly feel I will be happy as a pod. I am meeting with one this week to discuss shadowing asap. So, I was wondering if you thought it was necessary to retake the mcats with my previous scores (see above) for pod? I feel like it may hurt my chances even more if I do poorly.
Should I just begin shadowing and apply to pod now? Or is it worth the shot to finish the mcat and hope for the best and then apply and begin shadowing in February?
Sorry for the lengthy post, all input would be appreciated....

 

[Achdus]

I appreciate the honest response. So let's say I follow through and take the mcat this month, by the time I begin shadowing and working on application for pod is in February. Isnt that way too late to apply, even if I do improve mcat? And obviously if I don't improve this third mcat I'm also cooked for pod right?

 

[Achdus]

I appreciate your help AB....will do

If anyone else has any input please share. Thanks.

 

[flyhi]

I would say apply now with your stats, as is, if you are happy with being a pod. While the average MCAT may be 21+, you have a much higher than average cGpa and a competitive sGpa. Unless you think you can significantly improve your MCAT, I don't see why you would retake it? It's less than 4 weeks away to the test.

I agree with calling the schools - you should be able to get a very good indication of your chances and make the best decision for yourself.

Good Luck!

 

[Achdus]

Thanks flyhi. I will be calling today/tomorrow. However, I feel like they will all just tell me to improve mcat and stay on path for taking it this month because thats the easiest answer. Besides, what do they lose by having me apply late without any seats open as I will be paying their application fee anyways. I may sound facetious, negative and maybe even a little crazy, but I was played by a few DO schools (story for another time) and not too trusting of some admissions offices.

 

[Achdus]

Also, i apologize if i sound ignorant but I didn't see this posted: Does aacpmas replace grades like DO does? Or does it take into account every class you take even if it's a redo? I realized my gpa would be lower than stated if they don't replace retaken classes.

Based off Amcas my sciGPA is 2.77 and cGPA is 3.41
Grade replcmnt makes sciGPA a 3.1 and cGPA a. 3.59


Pretty big difference. So that should also be taken into account, as well.

 

[Ntran1986]

Sorry no grade replacement for POD

 

[flyhi]

Yes, that is a pretty significant difference. Science gpa is definitely low. It's too bad your app isn't ready to go because you would know very quickly about interviews. Let us know how your calls go, you may get some good news.

 

[Achdus]

So I spoke to nycpm (who was rediculously nice and the only school to respond) today. They mentioned that my gpa and mcats were slightly under avg (which I was anticipating). However, they did mention that I'm not too far off from being competitive and would probably be looked at closely (interview?) with my current stats. They then mentioned an improved mcat would strengthen all chances even further; although a decrease in score could jeopardize my chances (was expecting that too). So not really sure what to do with that. I'm about 3 weeks away from my mcat, not feeling too confident and I work full time so can't take off to pound the books. I Have a week to cancel my seat so need to decide if I'm taking my chances on the test or will just apply. This road has not been easy, let me tell you.

 

[Ntran1986]

Hey Achdus,

Here's my advice to you. It looks like your original area or focus was an MD or DO school. I think you have come to see that a 19 MCAT is not enough for those adcoms. It's low for POD schools as well and your sGPA will not help you. I think if you improve your MCAT to >25, you will have stats competitive for DO and DPM programs (given that your DO grade replacement is correct)

In terms of deciding what to do this cycle, it might be wise to push your MCAT date back until April or May and plan to apply for the fall 2013 cycle. That way you have more time to study since you don't seem very confident at the moment. It's particularly important that you score substantially higher because it's your third time taking it. Taking it at a later date will give you time to score higher on the exam, and also shadow some DPMs.

This brings me to my last thought. In my opinion shadowing is THE MOST important thing a pre-pod can do. Podiatry encompasses many areas of medicine within a specific part of the body. For this reason, as a specialty, podiatry is very unique in practice. It's the perfect specialty for some, and for others it will not fit as nicely. With POD schools you will not have the luxury of choosing another specialty down the line. So it is absolutely imperative that you are sure podiatry is right for you. Take some time to shadow thoroughly, and study for the MCAT. When next August rolls around, you will have the option of DO or DPM if you score high enough on the MCAT. I hope this small rant helped. Goodluck!!

 

[flyhi]

Hey Achdus,

Here's my advice to you. It looks like your original area or focus was an MD or DO school. I think you have come to see that a 19 MCAT is not enough for those adcoms. It's low for POD schools as well and your sGPA will not help you. I think if you improve your MCAT to >25, you will have stats competitive for DO and DPM programs (given that your DO grade replacement is correct)

In terms of deciding what to do this cycle, it might be wise to push your MCAT date back until April or May and plan to apply for the fall 2013 cycle. That way you have more time to study since you don't seem very confident at the moment. It's particularly important that you score substantially higher because it's your third time taking it. Taking it at a later date will give you time to score higher on the exam, and also shadow some DPMs.

This brings me to my last thought. In my opinion shadowing is THE MOST important thing a pre-pod can do. Podiatry encompasses many areas of medicine within a specific part of the body. For this reason, as a specialty, podiatry is very unique in practice. It's the perfect specialty for some, and for others it will not fit as nicely. With POD schools you will not have the luxury of choosing another specialty down the line. So it is absolutely imperative that you are sure podiatry is right for you. Take some time to shadow thoroughly, and study for the MCAT. When next August rolls around, you will have the option of DO or DPM if you score high enough on the MCAT. I hope this small rant helped. Goodluck!!

👍

GREAT advice.

 

[SLC]

Hey Achdus,

Here's my advice to you. It looks like your original area or focus was an MD or DO school. I think you have come to see that a 19 MCAT is not enough for those adcoms. It's low for POD schools as well and your sGPA will not help you. I think if you improve your MCAT to >25, you will have stats competitive for DO and DPM programs (given that your DO grade replacement is correct)

I wouldn't go as far as to say that a 25 will make a competitive app for DO. The average is around 26 or 27 now and the average sGPA is approaching 3.5-3.6.

With that GPA, a 28 or higher would be the only thing I'd say would make someone numerically competitive.

That being said, there is a lot more to being a solid applicant than numbers alone, and I've seen first hand some amazing situations of people who numerically shouldn't have been given a look actually getting in.

I say push back the MCAT, study hard, try to get as high as possible, and see where you land. If you don't make a 28 minimum, proceed as planned with POD, and maybe apply DO but temper your expectations there.

 

[Ntran1986]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that a 25 will make a competitive app for DO. The average is around 26 or 27 now and the average sGPA is approaching 3.5-3.6.

With that GPA, a 28 or higher would be the only thing I'd say would make someone numerically competitive.

That being said, there is a lot more to being a solid applicant than numbers alone, and I've seen first hand some amazing situations of people who numerically shouldn't have been given a look actually getting in.

I say push back the MCAT, study hard, try to get as high as possible, and see where you land. If you don't make a 28 minimum, proceed as planned with POD, and maybe apply DO but temper your expectations there.

I apologize. I agree, and have to rephrase my statement. I believe that with an MCAT >25 it will give you a slight shot at a DO school. You will be an underdog stats wise, but there will be a chance with a 25 or greater. I also agree that there is MUCH more to an applicant than just numbers. For this reason, be sure to be a well rounded applicant whether you are applying DPM or DO.

 

[SLC]

I apologize. I agree, and have to rephrase my statement. I believe that with an MCAT >25 it will give you a slight shot at a DO school. You will be an underdog stats wise, but there will be a chance with a 25 or greater. I also agree that there is MUCH more to an applicant than just numbers. For this reason, be sure to be a well rounded applicant whether you are applying DPM or DO.

Exactly, underdog status for sure, but it's not inconceivable that the right applicant could be quite successful, even with those stats. I'd never completely write off DO with anything above a 23 even, but I'd be very cautious about my expectations with stats like that. Chances would be very slim.

Still, it sounds like the OP has a pretty solid plan laid out. Best of luck to him/her.

 

[Achdus]

Thanks so much for your input guys. I know you each took time to read and respond and I appreciate it.
The honest truth is that I would love to push it off and take it later but I am not sure how feasible that is based on a number of reasons (family situation, financial, etc). Obviously, the simple response to that is that "if you want this you wont let anything get in the way" but I'm not sure thats always the case. This MCAT may be my last shot at DO and POD. So I have a big weekend coming up.... Will have to decide by next week how to pull this off: with or without the upcoming MCAT. Will keep you posted and appreciate your help.

 

[SLC]

This MCAT may be my last shot at DO and POD. So I have a big weekend coming up.... Will have to decide by next week how to pull this off: with or without the upcoming MCAT. Will keep you posted and appreciate your help.

Just a handful of quick questions, no response necessary.

Do you feel like you know the material on the MCAT? In other words, did you feel like you learned it in undergrad and know the concepts well enough even if you don't remember the specifics?

Do you trust yourself to reason your way to the best answer if necessary (don't think about the correct answer, think about the best answer, cause the MCAT often has 3 decent responses but one that's better than the others).

Can you go in relaxed?

If yes to all 3, you'll be fine. Problems with answering yes to any of these three questions are at the heart of most MCAT issues.

Best of luck, go out and make it happen!

 

[AttackNME]

Achdus, good luck on the retake. But even if u bomb it i think u still have a shot on condition that u do your homework about podiatry. The biggest fear from admissions standpoint is students drpping out because they feel pod is not right for them, not that they cannot handle the curriculum. Schools give u a lot of second chances with academics believe me. I would ask all the pods u shadow, why they got into podiatry, what they love n hate most about it, and what school they recommend u go to. Dont be like me when i was interviewinh at des moines, first question they ask me was... why desmoines? I hesitantly responded l, "uhhhhh...... iwould love to go jogging thru the cornfields?"

 

[Ntran1986]

Achdus, good luck on the retake. But even if u bomb it i think u still have a shot on condition that u do your homework about podiatry. The biggest fear from admissions standpoint is students drpping out because they feel pod is not right for them, not that they cannot handle the curriculum. Schools give u a lot of second chances with academics believe me. I would ask all the pods u shadow, why they got into podiatry, what they love n hate most about it, and what school they recommend u go to. Dont be like me when i was interviewinh at des moines, first question they ask me was... why desmoines? I hesitantly responded l, "uhhhhh...... iwould love to go jogging thru the cornfields?"

HAHA Probably the best interview answer I've heard yet. I hope the AdComs had a sense of humor. I know I would have been laughing!

 

[Achdus]

Thanks for the pointers and good wishes guys. Will let you know what happens. Good stuff attacknme!