very soon to be new reapplicant

[umean2tellme]

K so my situation is this: 3.2 overal gpa Anthropology major chem/bio minors at University of Miami graduating this semester. 3.0 sci gpa and failed orgo 2 (retaking now). I am a practical nurse and ahve been working full time during school for 3 years. Also, i have shadowed an MD that I've known for a long time and have a little volunteer exp at a clinic. I applied to 5 DO nd 2MD but only sent in one of the 6 secondaries b/c i applied really late (primary verified in november) and I felt it would be better to cut my losses b/c I am applying without completing that last prereq (orgo 2 and lab) and my stats aren't the greatest. I haven't received an interview to the in state school that I did teh secondary and the admis office pretty much told me if I dont hear from them in a week or so then I'm out, so I'm looking into what would be the best thing to do for this year off.

Would it make more sense for me to retake a few of those science classes that i got C's in, or take higher lvl courses in those subjects? Should I go do an SMP? I live in Florida btw, and am partial to the Barry Biomedical Sciences MS program they have. Also, I am beginning a research project, but it's in Anthropology and will not involve any lab work. It's going to be involving mental health and focusing on behavioral disease (at least so far). Does research usually have to be like lab work or can it be in pretty much any subject/field? My mcat score was 10v 9bs 9ps S writing. Any other advice as to what to do during the offtime would be really apprectiated. thanks.

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[spazzz]

your first mistake was thinking november being late for DO. Yes, it's not early, but kids are still putting in apps now...whats your MCAT?

 

[umean2tellme]

MCAT was 28s (10vr 9ps 9bs). I guess november isn't really late for DO but when you don't have the 30+ MCAT and 3.5+ gpa the earlier you apply the better your chances would be (atleast I think so).

 

[EEL08]

I hate to say it but you really should have submitted those secondaries. You would have at least had a decent chance at getting an interview.

 

[RxnMan]

K so my situation is this: 3.2 overal gpa Anthropology major chem/bio minors at University of Miami graduating this semester. 3.0 sci gpa and failed orgo 2 (retaking now). I am a practical nurse and ahve been working full time during school for 3 years. Also, i have shadowed an MD that I've known for a long time and have a little volunteer exp at a clinic. I applied to 5 DO nd 2MD but only sent in one of the 6 secondaries b/c i applied really late (primary verified in november) and I felt it would be better to cut my losses b/c I am applying without completing that last prereq (orgo 2 and lab) and my stats aren't the greatest...

A couple of things - you're right in that the earlier you apply, the better your chances.

I'll tell you that it is easy to get down about yourelf and not turn in the secondaries. It is challenging to out those things (and yourself) on the line, but you need to send in every last secondary you get. And do it fast. Check the FAQ (link in my sig) for ideas on how to accomplish this.

Lastly, you've stated yourself that your numbers aren't the best, yet you've only applied to seven schools. Unless you're tied to a specific geographical region, there's no reason to only apply to seven places. With your GPA, in order to make matriculation happen, you're going to have to widen your scope and apply more broadly. Again, look at the FAQ so you can get some ideas on how to start this.

The application season is winding dow now, and there's a few months until May (when AMCAS opens), so you have some time to plan things out.

With that in mind, your weakness is GPA. A MCAT of 28 isn't the best, but you need to be realistic about what's the biggest problem. The ways to remedy this is an SMP or a post-bacc. Look through the SMP forum for information on those programs - I've never done one, so I can't help you. Post-baccs will do much the same job, but it'd be better if you took more than a year off, concentrate on getting some good grades on the transcript, and then reapply two or three years down the pike. I swear, a few years does not hurt your chances, nor does it make you stick out - the oldest guy in our class is 41, and he's doing just fine.

Lastly, I don't know the usual stats for DO schools. You may be right in line with them, but I thought they were comparable with MD stats. If you want to take a chance and you think you're good enough, then just reapply more broadly. Otherwise you may want to regroup and think a little longer-term.

 

[Isoprop]

i believe for DO schools, they will replace your higher grade in calculating GPA. so if you're applying to a lot of DO schools, it may be worth your while to retake some of those C's.

how are you doing in your classes (especially science classes) lately? have you been consistantly getting ~3.2/3.0 gpa every term or has there been an upward trend?

a post-bacc is probably a good way to improve your application. two benefits of good post-bacc grades are (1) obviously they improve your gpa and (2) they are categorized separately from your senior year grades. benefit #2 is important because it will highlight upward trend.