Tonya:
First of all, I think it is a little late in the application process to think about putting together new applications. However, it is not an end all, some D.O. schools interview well into the spring. With that said, I am not quite sure why your dream school is TCOM. Is it because you really want to go to a D.O. over M.D? Or is it because of some other reason, e.g. location, school personality, size?
Before I go on, let me give you my perspective so you know where I am coming from. I am a 28 y/o nontraditional-student with a physician-extender background in the military. I am currently a supervisor in the ER and UCC of my reserve unit which supports Brooke Army Medical Center. I have a number of DO/MD mentors in the military, but when I left active duty to pursue my medical school prerequisites full-time, I was not quite sure where I wanted to go. However, as time went on at UTSA, my minor in community health (among other things) reaffirmed my interest in family practice, community medicine and public health. That led to my increasing interest in D.O. schools (realize that these reasons are not the only ones to go to a DO school, by any means). I felt a D.O. institution would better foster my goals and furthermore, I really like osteopathic philosophies and practices. Turns out TCOM, is about the most perfect school I could wish for. However, I want to make sure that there are not others. With that, I focused on eight other D.O. schools as well as UT-San Antonio and UT-Houston (MD/MPH options).
This is not set in stone, but if you received an interview at TCOM last year, your GPA and MCAT had to be deemed academically eligible. What contributed to your wait-listing is PROBABLY your application as a whole. Did you visit with or phone conference with the admissions department after you wait-listed? They could have told you their reasons for wait-listing you and suggest what to improve upon. I would have to find more out about you first, but if your first MCAT got you waitlisted, you may just need to focus on other areas. How did your interview go? How much of a commitment to medical school do you have? Did you express reservations about whether or not having children would interfere with your studies? If that is the cause, Kristi is definitely one the persons to talk to, she has handled the marriage/kid thing well the last couple of years?
As far as D.O. schools go, I applied to TCOM, DMU, UHS, MSU, NOVA-Southeastern, AZCOM, LECOM and UNDNJ (by the way, my numbers are not 4.0 and 30+ by any stretch of the imagination). So far, I received interviews at all except MSU and UMDNJ. Both of those are state schools and only take about ten out-of-staters a year. I also interviewed at UT-Houston and UT- San Antonio. By the way, UT-San Antonio is famous for looking pass numbers on nontraditional applicants. If you are strong in other areas, they will take a closer look at you. If I may reinforce my MCAT is not a deathblow pontification, these are the lowest MCAT?s I KNOW that received acceptances to the following schools: UTHSCSA, 19; Texas A&M, 25: Southwestern, 20; Baylor, 24; TCOM, 22. However, I can ensure you there were other aspects of these people?s applications that the adcoms looked favorably upon.
If you would like further humble advice, email me. I can give you a call and tell you whom I think you should talk to. I can also give my personal low down on the schools I applied to. If your first MCAT score was good enough to get you an interview, and the rest of your application is solid, you should be able to get in somewhere. You may even have a choice. You may also have to wait until next year and get your application in the first week of the cycle. The importance of an early application cannot be overstated. However, do not give up yet, this year is not over! Being a non-traditional student, the spouse of an R.N. and the fact that I have already interviewed at some schools and received an out-of-state acceptance (UHS), I may be able to relate to your issues. Let me know. I would be glad to help.
