WAMC: Looking Ahead (Prospective CO 2027)

[PreMed&Poetry]

Hi everyone. This is my first post on here and I was wondering what the general consensus is on my “chances” with my given information/stats. I’m looking to apply to most of the 9 schools, however, Temple, Barry, Scholl and Western are among my top choices. I will be applying during the 2022 cycle for a Fall 2023 matriculation.

- Non-STEM major: English
- English Honors Program Student
- Psychology Minor
- Current T.A

- 3.60 cGPA (can be raised up to ~3.65)
- 3.27 sGPA (can be raised up to ~3.45)

*still have a few pre-req courses to take such as Physics 2 and biochemistry alongside some upper level electives to help bolster the GPA.

*No MCAT score yet (planning to take Spring of 2022) hoping for at least a 500-505.

< 50 hours currently of shadowing (MD and DPM)
< 50 hours clinical volunteering (direct patient care)
< 50 hours community volunteering (set-up and ran private projects)

*hoping to exceed 100 hours in each category by graduation

- Current President of two major organizations on campus. Strong extracurricular’s and long-term involvement.

- LOR opportunities from DPMs, Science and English faculty members.

- Published author (fiction and poetry)

- Have attended medically-based internship’s over summer’s.

- Non-traditional background, will be taking a gap year (unsure of what I will be doing as of yet), immigrant

- Strong resume and personal statement with solid interview skills.

Obviously this isn’t an exhaustive compilation of my info/stats/etc. but hopefully it’s enough to gauge some sort of idea. Any advice on how to expand and become even more competitive is greatly appreciated as well. Thanks in advance!

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[PTPuser]

We can sit here all day and throw around hypothetical scenario. Its a waste of everyone's time including yours. People can give you better estimate and help to assess your chances with hard stats.

Get those GPA and MCAT as high as possible. Once those things are set, then you can re-eval.

 

[deleted1066189]

Hypotheticals are silly, but with your GPA you are already an auto-accept. No need to apply to 9 schools, pick the best 3 or 4.

That said, have you considered DO by any chance?

 

[PreMed&Poetry]

We can sit here all day and throw around hypothetical scenario. Its a waste of everyone's time including yours. People can give you better estimate and help to assess your chances with hard stats.

Get those GPA and MCAT as high as possible. Once those things are set, then you can re-eval.

yeah, appreciate the candor. If I prep for the MCAT well and hit a 500-505, are the chances good?

 

[PreMed&Poetry]

Hypotheticals are silly, but with your GPA you are already an auto-accept. No need to apply to 9 schools, pick the best 3 or 4.

That said, have you considered DO by any chance?

How does auto-accept work? Also, yes I will be applying to DO schools. I think it's going to be heavily dependent on my MCAT score though. I'm not a terrific test taker so I'm hoping with enough prep I can break 500. I'm hoping my unique extra-curriculars, leadership experience and clinical hours can make up for any academic deficiency in my application though.

 

[El-Rami]

There is no such thing as "auto-accept." There may be situations where someone can afford to apply to 1 or 2 programs and be nearly "guaranteed" to get in, should they do well in the interview. Generally speaking you would need to have a high GPA to be considered a "shoe-in" for most programs, DPM or not.

 

[PTPuser]

There's no such thing as auto accept. Anything close to that is a linkage program. It's one thing to get accepted, but it's a different ball game once you're in and the things you need to do to stay in.

Failing out is real and I've lost friends so far from it.

Learn your deficits now and work on them. It'll only help you later on.

Pod school is just as grueling as MD / DO program.

 

[Weirdy]

Hypotheticals are silly, but with your GPA you are already an auto-accept. No need to apply to 9 schools, pick the best 3 or 4.

That said, have you considered DO by any chance?

Appreciate your comments on this forum and your decision to pursue DO.

But please refrain from putting us down. Everyone likes to act like hot s*&^ until med school (and residency) slaps you in the face.

There is no such thing as auto-accept. Admission standards from a numbers standpoint may be lower than MD/DO. That is indisputable. The rigor is equivalent.

Best of luck with your journey. Any idea what specialty you'd like to pursue?

 

[Weirdy]

- Non-STEM major: English

- 3.60 cGPA
- 3.27 sGPA

*No MCAT score yet

GPA is fine pending prereqs.
Get high as you can on MCAT.
Aim for 500+

 

[Weirdy]

I'm hoping my unique extra-curriculars, leadership experience and clinical hours can make up for any academic deficiency in my application though.

Soft skills are nice and will help during clinical years.
But soft skills alone will not get you through didactics, allow you to pass your exams, and prepare you for board exams.

Get real. Dig deep. Patch up your academic deficiencies. You need to think long term. Getting in is easy. Finishing is different.

 

[deleted1066189]

Appreciate your comments on this forum and your decision to pursue DO.

But please refrain from putting us down. Everyone likes to act like hot s*&^ until med school (and residency) slaps you in the face.

There is no such thing as auto-accept. Admission standards from a numbers standpoint may be lower than MD/DO. That is indisputable. The rigor is equivalent.

Best of luck with your journey. Any idea what specialty you'd like to pursue?

My apologies, did not mean to phrase it in such. I should be more careful in my wording. Nothing but respect for pods, my uncle was one of my own inspirations, not only for considering podiatry but also medicine in general. I am honestly excited for the opportunity to learn/work with you guys in rotations/residency!
Truthfully, I am quite nervous for med school, in more ways than one. It is going to be a large adjustment.

I'm realistic with the DO path and it's level of opportunity/challenges in specializing, and I have always wanted to pursue primary care/outpatient medicine (my mentor was my PCP pediatrician). I'm in a tough spot with finances (OOS private school), as I would love to consider pediatrics, but I may end up pursuing family medicine for more predictable job market/salary in order to pay off loans.

 

[PreMed&Poetry]

Appreciate your comments on this forum and your decision to pursue DO.

But please refrain from putting us down. Everyone likes to act like hot s*&^ until med school (and residency) slaps you in the face.

There is no such thing as auto-accept. Admission standards from a numbers standpoint may be lower than MD/DO. That is indisputable. The rigor is equivalent.

Best of luck with your journey. Any idea what specialty you'd like to pursue?

Wasn't sure if this was directed at me too since I responded to it but just wanted to clarify that I have the utmost respect for DPM's just the same as any physician. I hate the stigma and elitism attached to medicine, pod really interests me specifically as I'm extremely interested in sports med + the lifestyle balance it offers with regard to surgery. Every pod i've shadowed has been really happy with their lives, can't say the same about every MD or DO though!

 

[PreMed&Poetry]

Soft skills are nice and will help during clinical years.
But soft skills alone will not get you through didactics, allow you to pass your exams, and prepare you for board exams.

Get real. Dig deep. Patch up your academic deficiencies. You need to think long term. Getting in is easy. Finishing is different.

100%. I'm trying everyday to increase those academic skills as much as possible. Everyone has weak points, but it's how you go about letting them become weaknesses or not. Thanks for the reply.

 

[PreMed&Poetry]

There's no such thing as auto accept. Anything close to that is a linkage program. It's one thing to get accepted, but it's a different ball game once you're in and the things you need to do to stay in.

Failing out is real and I've lost friends so far from it.

Learn your deficits now and work on them. It'll only help you later on.

Pod school is just as grueling as MD / DO program.

Of course. The medical route regardless of specific program is intensive and it starts out-the-gate from high school. Becoming a physician is everything i've ever wanted so I'm more than willing to continue working myself to the bone to get myself the whole way there.

 

[Weirdy]

My apologies, did not mean to phrase it in such. I should be more careful in my wording. Nothing but respect for pods, my uncle was one of my own inspirations, not only for considering podiatry but also medicine in general. I am honestly excited for the opportunity to learn/work with you guys in rotations/residency!
Truthfully, I am quite nervous for med school, in more ways than one. It is going to be a large adjustment.

I'm realistic with the DO path and it's level of opportunity/challenges in specializing, and I have always wanted to pursue primary care/outpatient medicine (my mentor was my PCP pediatrician). I'm in a tough spot with finances (OOS private school), as I would love to consider pediatrics, but I may end up pursuing family medicine for more predictable job market/salary in order to pay off loans.

Reading back I overreacted.

My fault.
Sibling of mine just matched internal med so was curious. Always fascinating to me that you guys can choose your specialty.

 

[deleted1066189]

Reading back I overreacted.

My fault.
Sibling of mine just matched internal med so was curious. Always fascinating to me that you guys can choose your specialty.

nah, it's okay! I'm going into DO, I should know my place to act or not act.
With the over-expansion of DO schools (lot of for profit ones as well as subpar branch campuses, not to mention class sizes), we may start to become more limited in what we can choose. It's not guaranteed to become any kind of surgeon as a DO, but at least pod gives you that possibility in a way.

Is your sibling planning on hospitalist medicine, or an IM fellowship instead? Seems IM gives a lot of possibilities (and here on the east coast, some PCPs are IM as well)

 

[Weirdy]

nah, it's okay! I'm going into DO, I should know my place to act or not act.
With the over-expansion of DO schools (lot of for profit ones as well as subpar branch campuses, not to mention class sizes), we may start to become more limited in what we can choose. It's not guaranteed to become any kind of surgeon as a DO, but at least pod gives you that possibility in a way.

Is your sibling planning on hospitalist medicine, or an IM fellowship instead? Seems IM gives a lot of possibilities (and here on the east coast, some PCPs are IM as well)

Last I talked he really liked the hospitalist side of it. This is down south though.
Don't know about his plans for fellowship but that was a thing he looked for on his list when he interviewed at places.

 

[ipage96]

Can anyone help out with chances of acceptance?
cGPA: 3.48
sGPA: 3.29
all other GPA: 3.71

have not taken MCAT yet but scoring a 493 right now with plans to take it in January

 

[PTPuser]

Can anyone help out with chances of acceptance?
cGPA: 3.48
sGPA: 3.29
all other GPA: 3.71

have not taken MCAT yet but scoring a 493 right now with plans to take it in January

You would get into Kent with that

 

[navicularnerd3]

Can anyone help out with chances of acceptance?
cGPA: 3.48
sGPA: 3.29
all other GPA: 3.71

have not taken MCAT yet but scoring a 493 right now with plans to take it in January

I think with application to any graduate level learning, especially podiatric medical school it is about showing who you are as a whole. Putting your best foot forward with your application, having attention to detail in your essays and having solid interviews that show each school who you are and what you can add to their program. GPA and MCAT are important but dont forget about the other little things that add to your application as a whole!

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Can anyone help out with chances of acceptance?
cGPA: 3.23
sGPA: 2.90
all other GPA: 3.7
Organic chem GPA: 3.0
MCAT Score: 482

- I have two semesters left of undergrad

- Struggled freshman year and showed an upward trend after
- Very involved in school: Honors, leadership positions, scholarships, scribe, almost 200+ hours in healthcare, almost 50 hours DPM shadowing during COVID
- I received a conditional acceptance based on an acceptable MCAT score from Kent State and an interview from Rosalind prior to MCAT and now after the MCAT score was released today, I am very worried whether I'm still a candidate. Please help.

You're correct to be worried. Did you prep at all for the MCAT?

 

[medicinelives]

You're correct to be worried. Did you prep at all for the MCAT?

I'm working on that this semester and focusing on self-discipline. No matter what graduate program I go to I know I need to work on myself first. I did a bit of prep and got all the materials but to be completely honest, I did not study every day and took big breaks in between (like weeks). I thought I would be okay because I had just taken Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and studied the summer before. I realize now I should have still studied and practiced.

I also got accepted into Chiropractic school and an interview for Pharmacy so I did not take it seriously because I thought I wouldn't even have a shot at Podiatry because of my stats. I still applied to podiatry and then got conditional acceptance but then I tried to cram the MCAT exam in 2 weeks because I told them I would take the MCAT in Sept.

What would you recommend I do? I have a conditional acceptance based on MCAT but I am afraid of the next steps. I've called and emailed the schools about my scores as soon as I found out. I am waiting to hear back from them.

I am willing to put in the effort and retake the MCAT but I'm not sure what to tell the schools and what to do next. I was considering retaking the MCAT with self-discipline and enrolling in a course and studying content + knowledge and if needed do one year at chiropractic school to boost my science GPA.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

I found myself struggling to sit down and study. I know that this is a major red flag. I'm working on that this semester and focusing on self-discipline. No matter what graduate program I go to I know I need to work on myself first. I did a bit of prep and got all the materials but to be completely honest, I did not study every day and took big breaks in between (like weeks). I thought I would be okay because I had just taken Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and studied the summer before. I realize now I should have still studied and practiced.

I also got accepted into Chiropractic school and an interview for Pharmacy so I did not take it seriously because I thought I wouldn't even have a shot at Podiatry because of my stats. I still applied to podiatry and then got conditional acceptance but then I tried to cram the MCAT exam in 2 weeks because I told them I would take the MCAT in Sept.

What would you recommend I do? I have a conditional acceptance based on MCAT but I am afraid of the next steps. I've called and emailed the schools about my scores as soon as I found out. I am waiting to hear back from them.

I am willing to put in the effort and retake the MCAT but I'm not sure what to tell the schools and what to do next. I was considering retaking the MCAT with self-discipline and enrolling in a course and studying content + knowledge and if needed do one year at chiropractic school to boost my science GPA.

Based on the above, you are not ready for Pod school. I would highly recommend getting your self-discipline/mental health in control before enrolling in any program. That said, I doubt that Kent will accept you based on the MCAT score, which is a good thing IMO. You need to retake the MCAT while studying for at least three months, every day. Retaking the MCAT will not only help you get an acceptance, but it also demonstrates if you can study every day or not (something you will have to do once in a program).

If you don't want to study or have the discipline to put into the hours, I suggest going for another field. You have to realize that a podiatry school curriculum mirrors (for the most part) that of an MD/DO program, at least during the first two years. If you do not put in the time then, you will not make it to Semester 2.

Hopefully, others will respond to this, but IMO you should re-take the MCAT, irrespective of the current conditional acceptance status.

 

[Weirdy]

and if needed do one year at chiropractic school to boost my science GPA.

Do not give your money to a chiropractic school just to boost your GPA.

It in no way will mirror the difficulty you will face compared to an MD/DO/DPM curriculum.

Your problem is the MCAT and being unable to self discipline yourself to sit down and study. It is not about proving your acceptance by doing 1 year of chiro school which will not in any way be reflective of any type of medical education.

 

[stemexplorer34]

Hey Everyone, Applying to Pod school for the upcoming cycle 2022-2023.

My stats are:
cGPA: 3.25
sGPA: 2.7-2.8
SMP GPA: 2.7-2.9 (will be done in May)
MCAT: 495

POD Shadowing: 50 hours
Clinical Jobs at multiple hospitals
Leadership and Club founder
Internships at private medical offices
and some Research at a cancer research lab

I know my stats are not as stellar and my graduate GPA isn't really amazing as well. I was wondering what my chances would be if I applied super early or what I could do better in order to increase my chances of getting in. I am not sure how SMPs effect podiatry school. I graduated a year early and decided to pursue a masters hence the degree.

Applying to all 9 schools to increase my chances.

Any advice is welcome !

 

[PTPuser]

Hey Everyone, Applying to Pod school for the upcoming cycle 2022-2023.

My stats are:
cGPA: 3.25
sGPA: 2.7-2.8
SMP GPA: 2.7-2.9 (will be done in May)
MCAT: 495

POD Shadowing: 50 hours
Clinical Jobs at multiple hospitals
Leadership and Club founder
Internships at private medical offices
and some Research at a cancer research lab

I know my stats are not as stellar and my graduate GPA isn't really amazing as well. I was wondering what my chances would be if I applied super early or what I could do better in order to increase my chances of getting in. I am not sure how SMPs effect podiatry school. I graduated a year early and decided to pursue a masters hence the degree.

Applying to all 9 schools to increase my chances.

Any advice is welcome !

You'll probably get in. That sGPA is worrisome though and you will have to work hard to stay in. Figure out the deficit and make sure to rehabilitate it appropriately if you decide to go this route.

 

[stemexplorer34]

You'll probably get in. That sGPA is worrisome though and you will have to work hard to stay in. Figure out the deficit and make sure to rehabilitate it appropriately if you decide to go this route.

Thank you for your reply, I do realize I will have to work harder than ever and step it up. I am ready to do so as well ! .. I do plan on retaking my MCAT for a higher score and apply on the first day apps open to better my chances.

Hopefully things work out.. will update the forum as I go