MD & DO Texas and Surrounding Schools Please Help.

[One Day M.D.]

cGPA 3.2 sGPA 3.25
My first year of college avg GPA 1.35 at a junior college
My last 2 years of all upper level classes GPA 3.87 at a public university

MCAT: 29 10P, 10V, 9B
I did pulmonary disease research for 8 months and I have presented 2 posters one of which was at a national conference in Puerto Rico.

I have 100+ hours of physician shadowing (ER and Surgery)

I am a nontraditional student as I have a arrest record (no felonies) only a misd A and a public intoxication.
I have a family history of drug abuse but completed drug rehab and have been clean and sober for 7 years.
I lead a program called 'call2recovery' where I go back and talk to kids that went to the same rehab as I did to give them hope. This gives me the chance to help the kids get success in their recovery.

All of this is included in my essays.


Do I really have a chance for any MD programs or should I just be looking to get into DO programs?

Any comments or suggestions is wanted.

Thanks.

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[One Day M.D.]

I am a white male and I also have excellent letters of recs (HP committee packet).

 

[DokterMom]

Wow - I don't know... High-risk but compelling...

I'd suggest applying to all TMDSAS schools (you could skip Baylor - sorry) and DO as your safeties. Your MCAT is OK, so if the 'compelling back-story' and recent high GPA outweighs the 'high-risk', you're well-represented with the array of TX MD schools. If they don't go for it, DO is the appropriate safety net. I wouldn't bother with OOS MD --

Good Luck!

 

[Goro]

Concur. Skip UTSW and UT-Houston as well.

Wow - I don't know... High-risk but compelling...

I'd suggest applying to all TMDSAS schools (you could skip Baylor - sorry) and DO as your safeties. Your MCAT is OK, so if the 'compelling back-story' and recent high GPA outweighs the 'high-risk', you're well-represented with the array of TX MD schools. If they don't go for it, DO is the appropriate safety net. I wouldn't bother with OOS MD --

Good Luck!

 

[One Day M.D.]

Concur. Skip UTSW and UT-Houston as well.

My wife is in pharmacy school at UH in Houston. So UT-Houston is my first pick. My brother just graduated there last May so hopefully it works out. Do you guys think I have a good chance at Galveston?

 

[One Day M.D.]

I also explained that the first year of college was so bad was because I dropped out of high school my junior year. I was still very immature my first year of college (high school senior year) and so my grades were awful.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I would keep the UT-Houston on your list as a reach. You probably don't need a large DO application. I think TCOM is very possible as well as both Osteopathic schools in AZ.

 

[Goro]

Probably not, but I don't know how they look at reinvention. best to ask the Dean of Admissions there.

My wife is in pharmacy school at UH in Houston. So UT-Houston is my first pick. My brother just graduated there last May so hopefully it works out. Do you guys think I have a good chance at Galveston?

 

[One Day M.D.]

Probably not, but I don't know how they look at reinvention. best to ask the Dean of Admissions there.

So which Texas MD schools do you think I have a real shot at? And Should I just apply to out-of-state DO schools but not MD?

 

[gyngyn]

Should I just apply to out-of-state DO schools but not MD?

Yes. TX MD's (you can leave out Baylor, for convenience) are by far your best chance at MD.

 

[MackandBlues]

Agree with only Texas MDs and out of state DOs. Don't bother with out of state MDs. I was 3.3/30 last cycle and only had interviews from out of state DOs, Texas Tech and TCOM.

 

[One Day M.D.]

Agree with only Texas MDs and out of state DOs. Don't bother with out of state MDs. I was 3.3/30 last cycle and only had interviews from out of state DOs, Texas Tech and TCOM.

Did you get an acceptance from tech?

 

[DokterMom]

All you can do is apply wisely OP -- You do certainly have a chance, but without a doubt, that chance is smaller than you'd like it to be! Doesn't TCOM also have a post-bac/SMP program? Or A&M?

 

[One Day M.D.]

My gpa is low, but surely they will see that my last two years were all science classes with labs and I did extremely well. I think it is too late to get into a SMP program for this fall.

 

[One Day M.D.]

I would enjoy doing that though, but I wonder if they will reject me this cycle because they would want to see how I did in the SMP.

 

[zzxxzz]

Everyone is missing this potential ruby red flag:

I am a nontraditional student as I have a arrest record (no felonies) only a misd A and a public intoxication.

No one cares about the pub intox. A Class A misdemeanor, on the other hand, could be a very big deal. This class includes DUIs, violent crimes, weapon charges, dealing-related charges, etc. You don't have to tell us what it was, but on a scale of 1-10 (1 being a big fine, and 10 being prison time) how serious was it? How long ago was it?

And so you know, a DUI would be ~7 on that scale, simply because of what a DUI implies about your character.

 

[One Day M.D.]

Poss. of Dang. Drug (Somas); I was 17yo for both charges. I hired a lawyer about a yr. ago to seal the cases and he is about 95% done. So odds are by the time any schools run a background check nothing will come up. So if a judge can see that I have turned my life around and signs my cases to be sealed I think that should go along ways. I went to rehab and have been clean and sober since Jan 17, 2008. I am 24yo now, so this all happened 7+ years ago.

 

[One Day M.D.]

Everyone is missing this potential ruby red flag:



No one cares about the pub intox. A Class A misdemeanor, on the other hand, could be a very big deal. This class includes DUIs, violent crimes, weapon charges, dealing-related charges, etc. You don't have to tell us what it was, but on a scale of 1-10 (1 being a big fine, and 10 being prison time) how serious was it? How long ago was it?

And so you know, a DUI would be ~7 on that scale, simply because of what a DUI implies about your character.

I do have a compelling story. My mother passed away when I was 8 due to drugs and alcohol. My father is a practicing ER physician going on 34 years and also went through rehab back in 1982 and has been clean and sober for a very long time. I just hope they look at 'my story,' and not just my low GPA.

 

[zzxxzz]

Poss. of Dang. Drug (Somas); I was 17yo for both charges. I hired a lawyer about a yr. ago to seal the cases and he is about 95% done. So odds are by the time any schools run a background check nothing will come up. So if a judge can see that I have turned my life around and signs my cases to be sealed I think that should go along ways. I went to rehab and have been clean and sober since Jan 17, 2008. I am 24yo now, so this all happened 7+ years ago.

AMCAS primaries (and most school secondaries) have the following question:"You must answer this question in the application: Have you ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Misdemeanor crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, 2) any convictions which have been expunged or sealed by a court, or 3) any misdemeanor convictions for which any probation has been completed and the case dismissed by the court (in states where applicable)?"

I recommend being honest. Their background check will still detect sealed records, and they'll just assume you had a DUI. Possession when you were a minor - and seven years ago - isn't as big a deal as you may think. This shouldn't hurt your chances.

And before anyone brings up "legal privacy protections," they generally don't apply to physician training.

 

[MackandBlues]

AMCAS primaries (and most school secondaries) have the following question:"You must answer this question in the application: Have you ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Misdemeanor crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, 2) any convictions which have been expunged or sealed by a court, or 3) any misdemeanor convictions for which any probation has been completed and the case dismissed by the court (in states where applicable)?"

I recommend being honest. Their background check will still detect sealed records, and they'll just assume you had a DUI. Possession when you were a minor - and seven years ago - isn't as big a deal as you may think. This shouldn't hurt your chances.

And before anyone brings up "legal privacy protections," they generally don't apply to physician training.

I agree, unless they are sealed NOW then you will have to answer YES to this question.

 

[zzxxzz]

I agree, unless they are sealed NOW then you will have to answer YES to this question.

My understanding is that everything - sealed or not - will eventually come out for residency applications. This is because certain convictions, even if expunged, will prevent you from practicing medicine. I think it's best to be fully honest now.

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, just seem to recall reading this somewhere.

 

[RedX13]

@One Day M.D. I am also a TX resident and in a similar situation as yours. I have yet to take the mcat but my GPA is around 3.1-3.2 with a huge upward trend and 4.0 in my post-bac. I also have a public intox charge but it was a class c. No other criminal charges on my record aside from the P.I.

However, i heard TX MD schools are pretty difficult to get into even for TX residents, the average is around a 3.6 gpa.

 

[One Day M.D.]

@One Day M.D. I am also a TX resident and in a similar situation as yours. I have yet to take the mcat but my GPA is around 3.1-3.2 with a huge upward trend and 4.0 in my post-bac. I also have a public intox charge but it was a class c. No other criminal charges on my record aside from the P.I.

However, i heard TX MD schools are pretty difficult to get into even for TX residents, the average is around a 3.6 gpa.

My pre-med advisor got into med school with a lower gpa. His first year was a little better than mine, but he ended strong. From my understanding they do look at your trend and are really interested in the last 60hrs of your transcript. All the hard upper level classes I have A's in, but the core classes like speech, English I failed and retook.