To DO or not to DO? (Be real with me, URM)

[ChemEngMD]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I appreciate all the advice!

 

[Temperature101]

What's going on everybody? I guess it's that time where I lay all of my cards out and see what the SDN professionals think. This has been a long time coming for me (been pre-med since 06) and I'm excited that my cycle is coming but I am concerned about how competitive I am for MD schools. I'm going to lay it all out here and if anyone who knows me sees this they'll know who I am in an instant but whatever, I want some real feedback.

Stats:

URM: Puerto Rican

Undergraduate: Medium sized state school in New England
B.S. Chemical Engineering
B.S. Biological Engineering
Minors: Pre-Medical Studies, Spanish
Graduated Cum Laude, Made Dean's list a half dozen times, bunch of random scholarships
Cumulative GPA (my calc): 3.30
Science GPA: 3.38
--Strong upward trend in my science GPA (not so much in my engineering classes, senior year trying to do 2 capstones was )

Clinical Experience:
Shadowed Hospitalist at small regional hospital ~40 hours
Volunteered in local Emergency Department ~50 hours
Volunteered at Local AIDS clinic ~30 hours
Alternative Spring Break service trip helping HIV/AIDS patients ~1 week (~50 hours)
Worked full-time (paid) for 7 months as a Clinical Research Intern during my gap year, enrolling patients one-on-one and doing follow-up interviews w them & lots of data entry ~30 weeks * 40 hours/week = ~1200 hours

Non-Clinical Experience:
Alternative Spring Break service trip associated with youth poverty and homelessness ~ 1 week (~50 hours)
Summer leadership camp volunteer counselor ~ 3 weeks (this is a 24-hour a day job so is truly about ~500 hours)
Process Engineering Intern ~ 2 semesters

Leadership (this was my specialty):
President and Founding Father of multicultural fraternity ~2.5 years (won fraternity president of the year award, most improved fraternity)
Student Senator ~ 4 years (had award named after me upon graduation, was Senior Senator for 2 years)
President of governing body of multicultural student groups ~2 years
Logistics chair for 2 major regional conferences at my school ~1 year
President of Latin American Student Org ~1 year
Other random officer positions that I probably won't list cause they weren't that significant

Research:
Spent 1 summer in a biological engineering lab, not great, but enough to get me into grad school lol

Graduate: Big state school down south
M.S. Microbiology (May 2014)
GPA (thus far): 4.00
I was granted a research assistantship and some other university fellowships

Leadership:
I currently advise 1 group of scholars formally and 2 other student groups informally
I am a Chapter Resident Advisor for a fraternity on campus

Research:
Working on my Master's thesis which is related to oral pathogens

LORs:
1 from my current PI
1 from my Dean of Students from my undergrad (leadership and service based)
2 from professors I've had in graduate school (1 biochem, 1 epidemiology)
1 from the doctor I worked for during my gap year (MD/MBA)

MCAT: May 23rd
I have been studying for a while now (started in 09 but have taken breaks since) I have been able to consistently score around and above 30 without finishing my material review (still have bio to go) so I am hoping to get in the 33-36 range


Sooooo be honest with me people. Should I consider DO? If I apply broadly do I stand a chance at MD? What are my strengths/weaknesses (obviously the GPA lol). I know that the AMCAS grid (https://www.aamc.org/download/321520/data/2012factstable25-5.pdf) says I have an 80% chance if I get above a 33 but I don't know which schools that is at! haha

If you guys want to see the list of schools I've got I can post that too, but I figured this was a good starting point.

Cheers Everybody

If you get 29+ mcat, you should definitely apply to both MD/DO... If mcat is < 29, spent your time and money on DO. If you are willing to go to Puerto Rican MD, 25+ mcat should suffice.

 

[SillyNaegleria]

You have extensive ECs. As long as your MCAT is above the cuff, you're golden.

If you're at a large Southern research U doing grad work right now, you should consider establishing residency in your current state. If you show "significant commitment" to the state, you'll be more likely to get in to a state MD school.

I would only consider DO if you want to go back to New England and your MCAT isn't up to par. State schools in the south vary on what they'll accept but because they generally only look at in-state applicants or prefer in-state applicants, admissions aren't as competitive.

That was at least my experience...

 

[Goro]

Concur strongly

If you get 29+ mcat, you should definitely apply to both MD/DO... If mcat is < 29, spent your time and money on DO. If you are willing to go to Puerto Rican MD, 25+ mcat should suffice.

 

[gyngyn]

Assuming I break the 30 mark, any suggestions on schools or just apply broadly?

Don't apply broadly, apply strategically. Mission-based MD schools (including prime and Drew) will look favorably on you if your MCAT is near their median.

 

[ChemEngMD]

Just bumping myself to give hope to anyone that has similar apps to me!

I was accepted to a Top 10 school on day 1 that they sent out acceptances.

Study hard, know yourself, believe, and you will succeed 😍

 

[Temperature101]

Just bumping myself to give hope to anyone that has similar apps to me!

I was accepted to a Top 10 school on day 1 that they sent out acceptances.

Study hard, know yourself, believe, and you will succeed 😍

Wow...Congrats! What is your MCAT score?

 

[ANATOMYgirl22]

Just bumping myself to give hope to anyone that has similar apps to me!

I was accepted to a Top 10 school on day 1 that they sent out acceptances.

Study hard, know yourself, believe, and you will succeed 😍

And don't forget the part where they offered you a scholarship! Awesome to see the then and now. Congrats 🙂

 

[ChemEngMD]

Wow...Congrats! What is your MCAT score?

Thanks! My MCAT was between 30-35 and my LizzyM ended up between 63 and 68.

And don't forget the part where they offered you a scholarship! Awesome to see the then and now. Congrats 🙂

Haha thanks anatomy girl 🙂 I am very blessed to be given that as well...also blessed to be the end of October and have 15 interview invites and 0 rejections 🙂 it's been a long time coming and I just don't want other people to give up hope. Especially if they have very strong applications other than their numbers. Numbers aren't everything at the end of the day 👍

 

[cookiemonsters]

Congrats on the acecptance + sholarship - truly an accomplishment that deserves praise. But you have to remember when you give out advice in the future that, as an URM, your application experience does not reflect that of the typical applicant. For an ORM, a ~65 LizzyM score is definitely borderline for MD acceptance - nevermind a top 10 - regardless of EC's.

 

[ChemEngMD]

Congrats on the acecptance + sholarship - truly an accomplishment that deserves praise. But you have to remember when you give out advice in the future that, as an URM, your application experience does not reflect that of the typical applicant. For an ORM, a ~65 LizzyM score is definitely borderline for MD acceptance - nevermind a top 10 - regardless of EC's.

That's why I said "applications like mine". 🙂

And I refuse to acknowledge my accomplishments as purely a result of my URM status. I think others who attained multiple engineering degrees, a master's in microbiology, formed a unique non-profit organization, and had long-term clinical experience (or any other combination of unique experiences) can do the same as me. 👍

There are plenty of URMs with similar #s to me that have received MULTIPLE top 20 REJECTIONS...my success this cycle is a testament to 7 years of hard work and having a well-polished and unified application.