The Underdog Thread

[taylormade2006]

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Hey emno,

I only asked about the MCAT because you have a good GPA, so I was seeing if you had tried to raise your MCAT yet. I hope your 5-22 score is awesome!

 

[emno]

Hey emno,

I only asked about the MCAT because you have a good GPA, so I was seeing if you had tried to raise your MCAT yet. I hope your 5-22 score is awesome!

Thanks for your wishes. But I had burnt out so WELL in my studies that I am not sure how I did on 5/22. I am keeping my fingers crossed but really not sure how I did. and at times I fel that I did worst then the first MCAT.
3.6 is my GPA. My science GPA is 3.4x and non science is 3.7x (My application is not varified so not sure exect numbers and I have been lazy to calculate it my self).
I had taken a few courses at community college in my high school where in I made a 4.0 and as AACOM consider the community school GPA also, it boosed by GPA. My college GPA is 3.5 but when you add it with teh community college GPA, it is 3.6.



I just read from LECOM site:

Successful medical college candidates typically have both science and overall grade point averages of 3.3 or above and a mean MCAT score of 24 for medical college applicants.

3.3 and 24 are mean scores so i feel that OP as weel me and other club members have a chance.

hahaha all teh best.

 

[JaggerPlate]

Thanks for your wishes. But I had burnt out so WELL in my studies that I am not sure how I did on 5/22. I am keeping my fingers crossed but really not sure how I did. and at times I fel that I did worst then the first MCAT.
3.6 is my GPA. My science GPA is 2.4x and non science is 3.7x (My application is not varified so not sure exect numbers and I have been lazy to calculate it my self).
I had taken a few courses at community college in my high school where in I made a 4.0 and as AACOM consider the community school GPA also, it boosed by GPA. My college GPA is 3.5 but when you add it with teh community college GPA, it is 3.6.



I just read from LECOM site:

Successful medical college candidates typically have both science and overall grade point averages of 3.3 or above and a mean MCAT score of 24 for medical college applicants.

3.3 and 24 are mean scores so i feel that OP as weel me and other club members have a chance.

hahaha all teh best.

Dude, I don't know why you're trying to scrape by so badly. Did you see if they have a science score cutoff??? I think several schools require you have above a 2.5. To be honest ... it seems like your heart isn't in this, or you think DO entrance requirements aren't an issue or something??? What's going on?

 

[lokiperson]

Dude, I don't know why you're trying to scrape by so badly. Did you see if they have a science score cutoff??? I think several schools require you have above a 2.5. To be honest ... it seems like your heart isn't in this, or you think DO entrance requirements aren't an issue or something??? What's going on?

All of the schools I applied to had a min. cutoff of 2.5 on the sGPA. LECOM has a minimum of 2.7 sGPA. CCOM has a min. of 2.75. If yours is below that, I really don't recommend spending all of the money required to apply until that GPA comes up.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

yeah, an sGPA of a 2.4 is not going to cut it.

 

[divajazzerina]

Undergrad GPA: 2.99
Post Bac GPA: 4.0
cGPA: 3.18
sGPA: 3.15
MCAT:spring 2011

 

[DrDre2001]

If you have below a 3.2, have above a 30 on the MCAT. If you have below a 25 on the MCAT, have a 3.9 from a top Undergrad. There really isn't any reason to have low stats and "hope." It's just too competitive, and really no matter how many anecdotal studies or skewed averages you see ... I really, really don't suggest moving forward with a 3.2, 25.

Jaggerplate, your post here is quite confusing...

You listed three different GPA/MCAT scenarios here:

1. below a 3.2/ 30+ MCAT
2. 3.9/ below a 25 MCAT
3. 3.2 / 25

Yet, you only directly made a statement on one of them (3.2/25 MCAT), scenario 3.

So, what are you trying to say about people with GPA/MCAT scenarios 1 and 2 above?

 

[futuredoc4432]

Well if you want maybe just a small bit of comfort then this year will be the year of the underdogs if there ever is one at all. I don't think there are going to be anywhere near as many applications as in years past and people who do apply will be applying to less schools due to Chairman Maobama ruining the healthcare system and the economy.

1. not the place for politics. 2. last year there were a record number of applicants. with the economy the way it is, many people are going back to school to get better jobs and better job security. Many people are doing post-baccs and applying to med school.

please dont base your opinion of the number of applicants on healthcare

 

[futuredoc4432]

Thanks for your wishes. But I had burnt out so WELL in my studies that I am not sure how I did on 5/22. I am keeping my fingers crossed but really not sure how I did. and at times I fel that I did worst then the first MCAT.
3.6 is my GPA. My science GPA is 2.4x and non science is 3.7x (My application is not varified so not sure exect numbers and I have been lazy to calculate it my self).
I had taken a few courses at community college in my high school where in I made a 4.0 and as AACOM consider the community school GPA also, it boosed by GPA. My college GPA is 3.5 but when you add it with teh community college GPA, it is 3.6.



I just read from LECOM site:

Successful medical college candidates typically have both science and overall grade point averages of 3.3 or above and a mean MCAT score of 24 for medical college applicants.

3.3 and 24 are mean scores so i feel that OP as weel me and other club members have a chance.

hahaha all teh best.

i wouldn't necessarily trust the stats listed on the websites, more applications mean more money (dont hate me for being a downer)

Good news on the other hand is that if you look at do school averages, they are not that much ahead of most of your scores. Remember that those are the average, so for every person that got in with scores above ~3.5/~28, a person got in with below those scores.

I'm applying to 14 schools with a 3.25 so best of luck to everyone!

 

[DrDre2001]

i wouldn't necessarily trust the stats listed on the websites, more applications mean more money (dont hate me for being a downer)

Good news on the other hand is that if you look at do school averages, they are not that much ahead of most of your scores. Remember that those are the average, so for every person that got in with scores above ~3.5/~28, a person got in with below those scores.

I'm applying to 14 schools with a 3.25 so best of luck to everyone!

From another thread on here, I have Lecom listed as a 3.45 GPA/26 MCAT. Most of the stats in the thread were based off of "Princeton Review's Top 169 Medical Schools" book.

 

[DitchDoc73]

For all you naysayers out there...Non-trad, 2.997 cGPA, 26P (B10, V10, P6) MCAT...Received 6 interview invites (all DO, no MD), attended 3 of those interviews, resulting in 2 acceptances and 1 waitlist. Now I did have some significant work experience (Paramedic/EMT x 10 years), but it can be done with subpar numbers. Good luck to all of you, and don't let anyone tell you that you cannot do this! I must have been told a hundred times that I was wasting my time and money, and to just go to a SMP or the caribbean...But I knew that I could do it! Don't give up, and don't get yourself down. (PS I had a friend who made the Caribbean with 3.1 cGPA and 19 MCAT, but its not the same).

 

[willen101383]

I was just reading this thread and wanted to contribute my story. I graduated from a small SUNY college in NY. I was a bio major and had a 2.45 GPA at graduation. I was not really interested in medicine at all, and just sort of did the best I could do with the least amount of studying. My mother had cancer while I was an undergrad and this obviously contributed to my academic mediocrity. Sophomore year of college I started working as a phlebotomist at a medium sized hospital in my hometown. As the years went on I grew more and more excited about the medical field...but it was way too late to save my GPA. After graduation I did an internship in a clinical lab and shortly after began working for a clinical lab in a large general practitioners office. I stayed here for 1.5 years and loved it! I was able to build upon my knowledge gained as a phleb and really learn about clinical diagnostics. I took my MCAT in 2007 and got a 27M. I took 2 classes at Syracuse University and got my first As! I started doing some research on post baccs and decided to apply. I ultimately was accepted to Drexel University. I had applied for their IMS post bacc program.....and was rejected...but they did offer me admission to the master in forensic science program...strangely. I decided to go for it. I took about 75 credits during my masters. I took many relevant sciences like anatomy,phys,toxicology1,2 pathology1,2 autopsy, osteology...etc. After my first year, with a 3.92 GPA I applied to 15 DO schools and was accepted to LMU DCOM, NSU, and Touro! I finished my masters with a 3.78 GPA. I was planning on either going to NSU or DCOM, but the summer before matriculation I got really sick. After weeks of misdiagnosis I was finally diagnosed with lyme disease. I was on one month of oral antibiotics and one month of IV rocephin. I decided to defer for a year and recover from being so sick. Last august I ended up going back to work at the hospital lab I was at during my masters. I applied to two additional DO schools and 1 MD school, since the only school that allowed me to defer was DCOM, and I decided I wanted to stay in philly. I was accepted to PCOM and NYMC. I really loved PCOM, and wanted to stay in philly...and decided to attend there. I am winding down my last 2 weeks in my lab before taking a month off before school starts. I just bought my first home and cant wait to start school! You guys all will make it to med school some day. It takes a lot of hard work but you really can do it. I remember those dark days 5 years ago...just graduated but not knowing what to do...and thinking med school was impossible. Reading posts on the old low GPA thread kept me motivated, so I hope ive given someone some inspiration. You dont need a 3.9/39T to get into med school guys. Hard work academically and clinical experience puts you on a whole different level than some nerd coming out of undergrad with perfect stats. Completely turning your transcript around really does impress people. It takes a lot of dedication and motivation to turn Cs and Bs into straight As more or less. Keep ur heads up and feel free to PM me with any questions!

 

[futuredoc4432]

From another thread on here, I have Lecom listed as a 3.45 GPA/26 MCAT. Most of the stats in the thread were based off of "Princeton Review's Top 169 Medical Schools" book.

word I have the 2009 version of that book.. i just sorta guessed during that post. either way the actual matriculant stats are higher than the ones listed on their sites.

 

[DrDre2001]

word I have the 2009 version of that book.. i just sorta guessed during that post. either way the actual matriculant stats are higher than the ones listed on their sites.

Yeah, true. I would definitely not go by the stats listed on each school's website where they say "Successful applicants usually have xxx gpa and xx MCAT score". They make money off of every applicant who applies, so they have motivation to get as many applicants as possible.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

This thread is only contributing to the false belief that DO school admissions are a joke. A 3.0/24 does not make a DO student.
Everyone repeat after me : " The average GPA/MCAT for a DO student is 3.5(3.3sci)/26.5." And the std of those scores is around .15~ and 2~( I think this state might be a bit old)
So in all honesty if your outside that plot. Your chances are probably not that great for getting in. Not saying that your not going to get in. But in all honesty DO schools with their grade replacement can help a person improve their gpa very quickly. So take a chill back and retake some classes.

Especially @Emno, a 2.4 science gpa tells me that you've got a very bad comprehension of sciences. Retaking will show that you'll be better ready for medical school. Because in all honesty, bad science comp = you being screwed in medical school.

 

[DrDre2001]

This thread is only contributing to the false belief that DO school admissions are a joke. A 3.0/24 does not make a DO student.
Everyone repeat after me : " The average GPA/MCAT for a DO student is 3.5(3.3sci)/26.5." And the std of those scores is around .15~ and 2~( I think this state might be a bit old)
So in all honesty if your outside that plot. Your chances are probably not that great for getting in. Not saying that your not going to get in. But in all honesty DO schools with their grade replacement can help a person improve their gpa very quickly. So take a chill back and retake some classes.

Especially @Emno, a 2.4 science gpa tells me that you've got a very bad comprehension of sciences. Retaking will show that you'll be better ready for medical school. Because in all honesty, bad science comp = you being screwed in medical school.

No, it is not. And anyway, even if this thread does make DO's look bad, the general public does not view these threads. So, it's not like this thread is going to make the public's reputation of DO's go down.

And..the average MCAT is a 26.19, not a 26.5. And 26.19 is the mean, the median is slightly lower.

Average uGPA = 3.48, sGPA = 3.35.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

No, it is not. And anyway, even if this thread does make DO's look bad, the general public does not view these threads. So, it's not like this thread is going to make the public's reputation of DO's go down.

And..the average MCAT is a 26.19, not a 26.5. That's the mean, the median is slightly lower.

Average uGPA = 3.48, sGPA = 3.35.

I round up =D ( I thought the CIB said 3.3). But yah it does with the constantly higher level of competitiveness most people in pre-allo do in fact go to pre-osteo to learn about schools ( while of course general public isn't on SDN, but hey SDN was made to help people better understand things like this.). Idk I just think people on here seriously uninformed and tend to associate DO schools with auto accepting schools with 3.0/24 averages.

 

[cbrons]

1. not the place for politics. 2. last year there were a record number of applicants. with the economy the way it is, many people are going back to school to get better jobs and better job security. Many people are doing post-baccs and applying to med school.

please dont base your opinion of the number of applicants on healthcare

1. Who the hell are you anyway? 2. Last year, there were not a record number of applicants if you look at the allopathic numbers. 2008 saw a 2% decrease in applications. Last year could have been a flight to quality but don't expect that to continue if people no longer see medicine as high quality as they once did.

 

[DrDre2001]

I round up =D ( I thought the CIB said 3.3). But yah it does with the constantly higher level of competitiveness most people in pre-allo do in fact go to pre-osteo to learn about schools ( while of course general public isn't on SDN, but hey SDN was made to help people better understand things like this.). Idk I just think people on here seriously uninformed and tend to associate DO schools with auto accepting schools with 3.0/24 averages.

True.

But there have also been threads like this in pre-allo. So, these pre-allo people coming here should realize that this thread is just like their "Underdog" thread...and the acceptances people get in here are the exception, not the norm.

 

[HockeyDr09]

This thread is only contributing to the false belief that DO school admissions are a joke. A 3.0/24 does not make a DO student.
Everyone repeat after me : " The average GPA/MCAT for a DO student is 3.5(3.3sci)/26.5." And the std of those scores is around .15~ and 2~( I think this state might be a bit old)
So in all honesty if your outside that plot. Your chances are probably not that great for getting in. Not saying that your not going to get in. But in all honesty DO schools with their grade replacement can help a person improve their gpa very quickly. So take a chill back and retake some classes.

Especially @Emno, a 2.4 science gpa tells me that you've got a very bad comprehension of sciences. Retaking will show that you'll be better ready for medical school. Because in all honesty, bad science comp = you being screwed in medical school.

No one will be repeating after you. There is a reason this is called an underdog thread and not a standard what are my chances thread. We are well aware that we are below the averages and i'm personally not trying to say that any of us are getting in anywhere. I don't understand why people feel the need to say the same thing over and over again, you're not going to deter us from doing something we are passionate about. Not sure what satisfaction people are deriving from telling us we have little chance, but i'm not going to give up regardless.
No one here is looking for sympathy. Please, just allow us to waste our money with our .0000001% (apparently) and let us take solace on the fact that we will never have to regret not trying. No more arguing from me 🙂

edit: good call Dr.Dre

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

No one will be repeating after you. There is a reason this is called an underdog thread and not a standard what are my chances thread. We are well aware that we are below the averages and i'm personally not trying to say that any of us are getting in anywhere. I don't understand why people feel the need to say the same thing over and over again, you're not going to deter us from doing something we are passionate about. Not sure what satisfaction people are deriving from telling us we have little chance, but i'm not going to give up regardless.
No one here is looking for sympathy. Please, just allow us to waste our money with our .0000001% (apparently) and let us take solace on the fact that we will never have to regret not trying. No more arguing from me 🙂

edit: good call Dr.Dre

I just don't get it though. Especially with DO where you can easily get your gpa up by up by doing grade replacement. Though I think I mis-aimed my post- I meant to be directly attacking Enmo.

 

[HockeyDr09]

I just don't get it though. Especially with DO where you can easily get your gpa up by up by doing grade replacement. Though I think I mis-aimed my post- I meant to be directly attacking Enmo.

It's not easy when you just graduated, and HAVE to work full time to pay for your previous school bills as well as all living expenses. Top it off with you get next to no financial aid even if you did try to take classes over next semester. It's not as easy as it seems for some of us. A lot of classes at my school are closed to students who are taking them for a second time during the spring and fall, so you would have to retake everything during summer sessions. If I have to then I have to, fine. I would just rather take a shot, score even better on my second MCAT and see how things pan out.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

It's not easy when you just graduated, and HAVE to work full time to pay for your previous school bills as well as all living expenses. Top it off with you get next to no financial aid even if you did try to take classes over next semester. It's not as easy as it seems for some of us. A lot of classes at my school are closed to students who are taking them for a second time during the spring and fall, so you would have to retake everything during summer sessions. If I have to then I have to, fine. I would just rather take a shot, score even better on my second MCAT and see how things pan out.

I suppose this is in fact true. But the problem is that, medical schools do in fact prove to be more hard on re-applicants then they are on first time apps. So I think it's better to apply once at your best then a second time.

 

[Andres Ponce]

.

 

[shenanigans327]

This thread is only contributing to the false belief that DO school admissions are a joke. A 3.0/24 does not make a DO student.
Everyone repeat after me : " The average GPA/MCAT for a DO student is 3.5(3.3sci)/26.5." And the std of those scores is around .15~ and 2~( I think this state might be a bit old)
So in all honesty if your outside that plot. Your chances are probably not that great for getting in. Not saying that your not going to get in. But in all honesty DO schools with their grade replacement can help a person improve their gpa very quickly. So take a chill back and retake some classes.

Especially @Emno, a 2.4 science gpa tells me that you've got a very bad comprehension of sciences. Retaking will show that you'll be better ready for medical school. Because in all honesty, bad science comp = you being screwed in medical school.

I sat back and watched this conversation for awhile, but I think I need to chime in really quickly on this one...honestly serenade, how would you know this? have you ever set foot in a medical school class? Do you really have clue #1 as to what it takes to be a good doc? I'm sick and tired of people that haven't even started Med school classes telling us what it takes to succeed in med school... I have been in healthcare for a little while now(8 years) and I'll tell you, my GPA isn't the best out there (3.35s/3.2c) but I have seen more in healthcare than many people on this forum(excluding residents and attendings). I've pounded on more chests, scrubbed more surgeries and seen more dead people than many here, and if I were an ad-com member of a DO school I would take the applicant who had to work 40 hours a week, took classes at night and managed a measley 3.25 ANY DAY over a student that did nothing but go to classes and shadow docs and maintained their 3.99 GPA (you can't carry those textbooks around with you and tell the pt. that's about to stroke out to "hold on while I look up the indications for the Clonidine I'm ordering")...Being an underdog is the best thing, WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!!! so if an ad-com member sees it in their heart to "eh, give him/her a shot..." rest assured that people like us will take that opportunity and run with it...

so to the haters, keep hating... err... "giving advice on what classes to retake" and to the underdogs...keep pluggin away, we'll get there eventually because it only takes ONE school to accept you. And best be guaranteed that your undergrad GPA and MCAT score, after the first week of school...don't mean S***!!😉

 

[DrDre2001]

I just don't get it though. Especially with DO where you can easily get your gpa up by up by doing grade replacement. Though I think I mis-aimed my post- I meant to be directly attacking Enmo.

Well it's not that easy. You can't (or atleast I don't think it would be smart to) re-take a few classes in the fall or spring. We have to take full-loads along with the re-takes to impress the adcoms.

 

[willen101383]

I suppose this is in fact true. But the problem is that, medical schools do in fact prove to be more hard on re-applicants then they are on first time apps. So I think it's better to apply once at your best then a second time.

Actually serenade, I had the SAME INTERViEWER the second time at PCOM. She calls me back and says "do I know you" and in front of all of the interviewees i said "yeah u interviewed me last year" LOL But that broke the ice reallll quick and we got down to the real business of how I am a better applicant with my current stats than some young buck still in undergrad with a 3.9/35 MCAT. She must have found my argument convincing because I was accepted. Oh and this was the first day of the interview season this past year.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I'm still not seeing the rationale for applying with a sub 25 MCAT when we are this early in the season.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I sat back and watched this conversation for awhile, but I think I need to chime in really quickly on this one...honestly serenade, how would you know this? have you ever set foot in a medical school class? Do you really have clue #1 as to what it takes to be a good doc? I'm sick and tired of people that haven't even started Med school classes telling us what it takes to succeed in med school... I have been in healthcare for a little while now(8 years) and I'll tell you, my GPA isn't the best out there (3.35s/3.2c) but I have seen more in healthcare than many people on this forum(excluding residents and attendings). I've pounded on more chests, scrubbed more surgeries and seen more dead people than many here, and if I were an ad-com member of a DO school I would take the applicant who had to work 40 hours a week, took classes at night and managed a measley 3.25 ANY DAY over a student that did nothing but go to classes and shadow docs and maintained their 3.99 GPA (you can't carry those textbooks around with you and tell the pt. that's about to stroke out to "hold on while I look up the indications for the Clonidine I'm ordering")...Being an underdog is the best thing, WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!!! so if an ad-com member sees it in their heart to "eh, give him/her a shot..." rest assured that people like us will take that opportunity and run with it...

so to the haters, keep hating... err... "giving advice on what classes to retake" and to the underdogs...keep pluggin away, we'll get there eventually because it only takes ONE school to accept you. And best be guaranteed that your undergrad GPA and MCAT score, after the first week of school...don't mean S***!!😉

In all honesty for example your gpa is fine. Enmo's for example is plain out under the cutoff's. Why do you believe that we take pre-reqs in college? So we can move on with a strong foundation in the sciences. If someone honesty couldn't master the concept of mitosis or other basic cell bio topics how on earth will they master classes like genetics and immunology which are basically advanced cell biology. A bad foundation = you falling out fast!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I have retaken 8 classes, and my GPA has skyrocketed because of it.
It is so easy to do this if you are truly motivated.

My gpa for AMCAS is 3.29 cGPA, and 3.19 sGPA

My gpa for AACOMAS is 3.69 cGPA, and 3.92 sGPA!!!!

The only difference between these two, is that DO schools take your latest grade for retaken classes.

If any of you guys don't get in this year, I would highly recommend you take some classes over. My GPA increase was quick because I had 3 Fs, but even retaking a few Ds or C-s would really help you out. All I know is that it does take near perfection to get into medical school, but DO schools are unique because they allow you make up for your mistakes. I still don't have a shot at MD even though I've killed it on my last 123 credits because of their grade calculations. I thank god for DO school, because they understand that people make mistakes.

Moral of the story......

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GRADE FORGIVENESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🙂

Good luck everybody.

This story makes me smile 👍.

 

[shenanigans327]

In all honesty for example your gpa is fine. Enmo's for example is plain out under the cutoff's. Why do you believe that we take pre-reqs in college? So we can move on with a strong foundation in the sciences. If someone honesty couldn't master the concept of mitosis or other basic cell bio topics how on earth will they master classes like genetics and immunology which are basically advanced cell biology. A bad foundation = you falling out fast!

Agreed, I had an organic test this morning...I just got back home and re-read what I wrote, so I apologize for the brashness of my post. I have to say, 2 semesters of Organic in 10 weeks during the summer SUCKS and would probably make Gandhi into Damien from "the Omen"!!!!! 😀

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Agreed, I had an organic test this morning...I just got back home and re-read what I wrote, so I apologize for the brashness of my post. I have to say, 2 semesters of Organic in 10 weeks during the summer SUCKS and would probably make Gandhi into Damien from "the Omen"!!!!! 😀

Big reason why I didn't take it this summer lol. I'm actually just taking abnormal psychology this session and the reading 150 pages a week is leaving me pretty drained too lol.

 

[Spderjhn]

Oh wait, so these schools told you they would happily take your secondary fee??? Shocking.

Honestly, unless you've applied ... I don't know why people are even arguing with me and if you're dead set on applying - go for it. All I'm saying is that you can argue with me until you're blue in the face, but I see no reason to move forward with a 3.2/25. You may get in, your brother's best friend's cousin may have gotten in with a 21 MCAT, and you may be able to swim a mile with bricks on your feet ... but if you don't HAVE to, I don't recommend it. You're going to be much, much better off upping the stats a little bit and pushing forward ONCE with the best application possible.

Come on Jagger, seriously you need to relax. No one is attacking you, I am just disagreeing with your opinion.

I am sure you already know that secondaries are sent to nearly EVERYONE dude, so that argument has no basis for why they would tell me to contact them specifically once I was complete.

The stats for one of the schools that I visited for the class that will begin in August 2010 are MCAT avg-24.3 and GPA avg-3.35. So, please explain to me how someone with a 3.2/<25 would be severely disadvantaged to apply?

Find another thread, your application for the Underdog thread has been reviewed and is DENIED.

 

[JaggerPlate]

Come on Jagger, seriously you need to relax. No one is attacking you, I am just disagreeing with your opinion.

I am sure you already know that secondaries are sent to nearly EVERYONE dude, so that argument has no basis for why they would tell me to contact them specifically once I was complete.

The stats for one of the schools that I visited for the class that will begin in August 2010 are MCAT avg-24.3 and GPA avg-3.35. So, please explain to me how someone with a 3.2/<25 would be severely disadvantaged to apply?

Find another thread, your application for the Underdog thread has been reviewed and is DENIED.

Dude, a school randomly telling you 'apply here with your 3.0/24 and we will see about scheduling you for an interview' translates to 'we will gladly take your secondary fee.' Trust me. I know you haven't applied yet (which is why this argument is horribly pointless), but I can't even tell you the number of schools that write things very creatively to get you to send in that secondary fee. I had a school in Florida (I didn't even bother to send in the secondary) that wrote me numerous emails essentially saying the same thing the school is telling you ... the dirty truth - it was an automated email they sent to everyone 😱

Wake up man ... do you really think the school is going to tell you that you have no chance or that they aren't going to remember you the second you walk out the door after you've come to visit??? You'll realize WHEN YOU APPLY that you aren't the beautiful snowflake you think you are, and your 3.2/25/shining personality isn't blowing anyone out of the water.

You quoting one school with bad admission stats doesn't mean much to me ... especially in the DO world where newer schools have lower stats, and some of the older big dawgs still have slightly lower admission standards, despite the fact that they get 3500 applicants for 150 seats (aka they use slightly different criteria, meaning you may be alright stats wise, but you've got a ways to go).

Listen, here's the point ... you realize your stats aren't good, and you want to go to medical school. So you come in here, rally, etc, and that's fine. However, don't get all defensive when someone comes in here and tells you to take a quick swig of reality. You can pull out anecdotal stories or quote individual school stats until you're blue in the face, but the bottom line is that you're stats are low and you're competing with thousands of people who have every bit of spunk you do, but also have 3.5/28s. This is the reality of the situation. SO, again, I'm not saying you won't get in, I'm not even saying you won't get in above some of those people with higher stats, what I am saying is that I see no point to throw yourself out there at such a disadvantage, and being defensive about it will get you nowhere.

Additionally, you "denying" my application is pretty lol. Get admitted, then you can make little quips.

 

[emno]

Dude, a school randomly telling you 'apply here with your 3.0/24 and we will see about scheduling you for an interview' translates to 'we will gladly take your secondary fee.' Trust me. I know you haven't applied yet (which is why this argument is horribly pointless), but I can't even tell you the number of schools that write things very creatively to get you to send in that secondary fee. I had a school in Florida (I didn't even bother to send in the secondary) that wrote me numerous emails essentially saying the same thing the school is telling you ... the dirty truth - it was an automated email they sent to everyone 😱

Wake up man ... do you really think the school is going to tell you that you have no chance or that they aren't going to remember you the second you walk out the door after you've come to visit??? You'll realize WHEN YOU APPLY that you aren't the beautiful snowflake you think you are, and your 3.2/25/shining personality isn't blowing anyone out of the water.

You quoting one school with bad admission stats doesn't mean much to me ... especially in the DO world where newer schools have lower stats, and some of the older big dawgs still have slightly lower admission standards, despite the fact that they get 3500 applicants for 150 seats (aka they use slightly different criteria, meaning you may be alright stats wise, but you've got a ways to go).

Listen, here's the point ... you realize your stats aren't good, and you want to go to medical school. So you come in here, rally, etc, and that's fine. However, don't get all defensive when someone comes in here and tells you to take a quick swig of reality. You can pull out anecdotal stories or quote individual school stats until you're blue in the face, but the bottom line is that you're stats are low and you're competing with thousands of people who have every bit of spunk you do, but also have 3.5/28s. This is the reality of the situation. SO, again, I'm not saying you won't get in, I'm not even saying you won't get in above some of those people with higher stats, what I am saying is that I see no point to throw yourself out there at such a disadvantage, and being defensive about it will get you nowhere.

Additionally, you "denying" my application is pretty lol. Get admitted, then you can make little quips.

I doubt that schools want to earn from the secondary fee. The money from secondary fee may not be worth the pain and work the school have to do to scan your applications. They can npt post wrong info about gpa/mcat score on their web site to get your fee.

My guess is that they want to have a good application pool.
my 2 cents

 

[JaggerPlate]

I doubt that schools want to earn from the secondary fee. The money from secondary fee may not be worth the pain and work the school have to do to scan your applications. They can npt post wrong info about gpa/mcat score on their web site to get your fee.

My guess is that they want to have a good application pool.
my 2 cents

ROFL ... yeah, totally.

 

[Spderjhn]

Dude, a school randomly telling you 'apply here with your 3.0/24 and we will see about scheduling you for an interview' translates to 'we will gladly take your secondary fee.' Trust me. I know you haven't applied yet (which is why this argument is horribly pointless), but I can't even tell you the number of schools that write things very creatively to get you to send in that secondary fee. I had a school in Florida (I didn't even bother to send in the secondary) that wrote me numerous emails essentially saying the same thing the school is telling you ... the dirty truth - it was an automated email they sent to everyone 😱

Wake up man ... do you really think the school is going to tell you that you have no chance or that they aren't going to remember you the second you walk out the door after you've come to visit??? You'll realize WHEN YOU APPLY that you aren't the beautiful snowflake you think you are, and your 3.2/25/shining personality isn't blowing anyone out of the water.

You quoting one school with bad admission stats doesn't mean much to me ... especially in the DO world where newer schools have lower stats, and some of the older big dawgs still have slightly lower admission standards, despite the fact that they get 3500 applicants for 150 seats (aka they use slightly different criteria, meaning you may be alright stats wise, but you've got a ways to go).

Listen, here's the point ... you realize your stats aren't good, and you want to go to medical school. So you come in here, rally, etc, and that's fine. However, don't get all defensive when someone comes in here and tells you to take a quick swig of reality. You can pull out anecdotal stories or quote individual school stats until you're blue in the face, but the bottom line is that you're stats are low and you're competing with thousands of people who have every bit of spunk you do, but also have 3.5/28s. This is the reality of the situation. SO, again, I'm not saying you won't get in, I'm not even saying you won't get in above some of those people with higher stats, what I am saying is that I see no point to throw yourself out there at such a disadvantage, and being defensive about it will get you nowhere.

Additionally, you "denying" my application is pretty lol. Get admitted, then you can make little quips.

I will not waste my time with you, "Dude".

 

[emno]

ROFL ... yeah, totally.

what is ROFL?

 

[willen101383]

Dude, a school randomly telling you 'apply here with your 3.0/24 and we will see about scheduling you for an interview' translates to 'we will gladly take your secondary fee.' Trust me. I know you haven't applied yet (which is why this argument is horribly pointless), but I can't even tell you the number of schools that write things very creatively to get you to send in that secondary fee. I had a school in Florida (I didn't even bother to send in the secondary) that wrote me numerous emails essentially saying the same thing the school is telling you ... the dirty truth - it was an automated email they sent to everyone 😱

Wake up man ... do you really think the school is going to tell you that you have no chance or that they aren't going to remember you the second you walk out the door after you've come to visit??? You'll realize WHEN YOU APPLY that you aren't the beautiful snowflake you think you are, and your 3.2/25/shining personality isn't blowing anyone out of the water.

You quoting one school with bad admission stats doesn't mean much to me ... especially in the DO world where newer schools have lower stats, and some of the older big dawgs still have slightly lower admission standards, despite the fact that they get 3500 applicants for 150 seats (aka they use slightly different criteria, meaning you may be alright stats wise, but you've got a ways to go).

Listen, here's the point ... you realize your stats aren't good, and you want to go to medical school. So you come in here, rally, etc, and that's fine. However, don't get all defensive when someone comes in here and tells you to take a quick swig of reality. You can pull out anecdotal stories or quote individual school stats until you're blue in the face, but the bottom line is that you're stats are low and you're competing with thousands of people who have every bit of spunk you do, but also have 3.5/28s. This is the reality of the situation. SO, again, I'm not saying you won't get in, I'm not even saying you won't get in above some of those people with higher stats, what I am saying is that I see no point to throw yourself out there at such a disadvantage, and being defensive about it will get you nowhere.

Additionally, you "denying" my application is pretty lol. Get admitted, then you can make little quips.

You know how SDN works jagger....the more experience and the further along you are in the process the less credible you are. 🙄 You excited to be starting soon? I sure as hell am!

 

[JaggerPlate]

I will not waste my time with you, "Dude".

I accept your surrender.

 

[JaggerPlate]

You know how SDN works jagger....the more experience and the further along you are in the process the less credible you are. 🙄 You excited to be starting soon? I sure as hell am!

So pumped. My life is boring right now ... I spend all my times crushing innocent kid's dreams on SDN. Hahahaha.

 

[JaggerPlate]

what is ROFL?

It's an osteopathic medical term:

Right
Olfactory
Frontal
Ligament

you guys should have known this for the MCAT.

 

[emno]

what is ROFL?

 

[taylormade2006]

It's an osteopathic medical term:

Right
Olfactory
Frontal
Ligament

you guys should have known this for the MCAT.

I thought it was right orbital frontal lobe?

I might have gotten that one wrong. 🙁

 

[JaggerPlate]

I thought it was right orbital frontal lobe?

I might have gotten that one wrong. 🙁

This is why I'm being so harsh! One mistake like that and you will not be rolling on the floor laughing in the real world!

 

[NYDOC112]

Every person who applies to medical schools gets a secondary application. The schools make money out of it, and they need the extra information for your application anyway, Everyone gets a secondary! I do interviews and admissions for the school I graduated from. It is a older and established Do school with an excellent reputation. Our class of 2013 stats was a Average MCAT of 29.5. Average cGPA of 3.7, and and average sGPA of 3.65. Our cutoff was a MCAT 27 (below that we did not even look at the applicants file) cGPA of 3.5, and sGPA of 3.45. We didn't look at applicants below these cutoffs for one reason: we had ~10,000 applications for 300 seats, We were able to choose the top applicants. It is found students entering with lower stats did not make it out of Medical School, and were failed out. Of course we still tell everyone who calls there is no cutoff and we look at more than grades, we want the secondary fees. My advice to students with lower stats is this: Do NOT give up if this is the career you truly want. Work to get your stats up, re-take your MCAT, get a masters degree with an excellent Graduate GPA and apply with better stats. Those right on the border of the national average should apply but be selective in which schools you apply to. The National average is low because of newer schools accepting less qualified candidates. I would urge you to apply to newer less well known schools as the Top schools do have high cutoffs. Those with high Cutoffs: PCOM, UNECOM, NYCOM, and a few other top schools... Just we smart and apply to the right areas and good luck.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

If this is NYCOM, they sure have upped their MCAT averages...ALOT. According to past SDN classes.

 

[emno]

Here is some truthful information from an individual involved in the admissions process. Every person who applies to medical schools gets a secondary application. The schools make money out of it, and they need the extra information for your application anyway, Everyone gets a secondary! I do interviews and admissions for the school I graduated from. It is a older and established Do school with an excellent reputation. Our class of 2013 stats was a Average MCAT of 29.5. Average cGPA of 3.7, and and average sGPA of 3.65. Our cutoff was a MCAT 27 (below that we did not even look at the applicants file) cGPA of 3.5, and sGPA of 3.45. We didn't look at applicants below these cutoffs for one reason: we had ~10,000 applications for 300 seats, We were able to choose the top applicants. It is found students entering with lower stats did not make it out of Medical School, and were failed out. Of course we still tell everyone who calls there is no cutoff and we look at more than grades, we want the secondary fees. My advice to students with lower stats is this: Do NOT give up if this is the career you truly want. Work to get your stats up, re-take your MCAT, get a masters degree with an excellent Graduate GPA and apply with better stats. Those right on the border of the national average should apply but be selective in which schools you apply to. The National average is low because of newer schools accepting less qualified candidates. I would urge you to apply to newer less well known schools as the Top schools do have high cutoffs. Those with high Cutoffs: PCOM, UNECOM, NYCOM, and a few other top schools... Just we smart and apply to the right areas and good luck.

Hi NYDOC112
I asked this question in other forum and I got some answers. As you know the admission process very well, I have the same question for you. How will the school react to a reapplicant who cancelled the interview in last cycle.

For others, I am sorry, if it feels like I am spaming. But I wanted to ask NYDOC112 as he is very well aware of the admission process. NYDOC112, if you feel, please reply to other thread or PM me. I was hesitating PM you.

thank you,

 

[Spderjhn]

I accept your surrender.

We never retreat or surrender. The Army likes to call it a 'friendly cease-fire".

 

[bonsaipalmtree]

I love this thread! When I started reading SDN, all I could think was, "Oh ****, 3.3 and 31R...I'm never going to get in...".

So yeah. 3.3, 31R, upward grade trend (2.8 --> 3.7), 8 DO interview invites, 2 MD interview invites, attended 6 interviews, accepted all DO and 1 MD.

I am so far below the MSAR averages that it's not even funny, and I still got in! Not URM, graduated from a lowly state school. I do have a story that explains my bad grades though, and it happens to also be why I decided to become a doctor, which I wrote about in my PS.

Just show 'em it's what you were meant to do 🙂