- Joined
- Jun 13, 2018
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 0
1.) 3.27 cGPA, decided Junior year I wanted to be a doctor, extended my bachelor’s by 2 years in lieu of a postbacc to make up for prior bad performance. Averaged a 3.89 over the final 2 years, graduated Dec 2021
2.) 1st MCAT 501 (122/126/124/129) in May of 22. I was devastated, it was ~6pts lower than my practice exam average. Decided to get a job for at least a year, to regroup and retake at a later date, and save up a nest egg to live on. Finally came back to it this year, after hitting my financial goals, was averaging 512-516 on my practice exams (including the new ones), came in confident on 05/09, and got a 502 (124/125/126/127). I’m still in shock. It’s like I got a completely different person’s scores back. The only thing I can be thankful for is that my score didn’t get lower, and that’s it. Honestly, this is what I’m most worried about on my application. I really needed to knock the MCAT out of the park on this second try, and ended up doing almost the exact same: subpar.
3.) FL resident, but with strong ties to KS (born there, all family there) and TX (raised there, did K-12 and 2 yrs community college there). I was wondering if that was significant for applying anywhere or not, specifically if it would be worth applying to any Texas schools or not.
4.) White 29M
5.) Graduated from mid-tier university in Florida, it does have a med school attached (MD) but with no strong bias for its own undergrads. Did 2 years at a low tier university in Georgia, and two years at a community college in Texas. I’m also worried about how going to 3 different colleges looks (4 if you count dual credit in high school). I only transferred to each because I lived with my family, and they moved to 2 different states within 4 years, if that counts for anything.
6.) 150hrs clinical volunteering- 100 in postop dept of hospital, 50 in hospice service calling patients
7.) no research experience
8.) 15hrs shadowing GI, 10hrs Family med (planning on getting ~20hrs more in the next couple weeks, plus a LOR [he’s an MD btw]). Was wondering if I needed to get some surgical shadowing in or if that wouldn’t really matter.
9.) 90 hrs nonclinical- all at SPCA socializing animals w/ behavioral issues
10.) ~6000hrs as a lab tech at a production facility. It’s not clinical or research oriented, so no points there. But it is highly demanding with long shifts, and has me working as an integral part of a team, which I plan on highlighting at some point in my application and/or secondaries.
11.) Dean’s List for my last 2 semesters
12.) Not much else
After I got back my MCAT score a couple months ago, I panicked and booked the first testing date I could get, but later decided to cancel and just go ahead and apply to DO only for this cycle, while it’s still somewhat early on. After I get everything put together in the next week or so and sent out, I’m planning on prioritizing strengthening my application over the next 10 months (another couple volunteering experiences+leadership exp), taking the MCAT again, and applying MD in June of 2026, and wait for August to reapply DO (maybe earlier if I’m not on a WL somewhere).
So is this realistic, or would I just be wasting my money this year? If so, is there something I can address or add to in the short term that might increase my chances significantly? I would greatly appreciate any input I can get on this. Also, here’s the list of schools I’m applying to:
ACOM
ATSU-KCOM
CUSOM
VCOM - Auburn
VCOM - Carolina’s
VCOM - Virginia
VCOM - Louisiana
KHSU-KansasCOM
KCU-Kansas
LECOM
LECOM - Bradenton
NYITCOM - both campuses
NSU-KPCOM
OSU-COM
PCOM Georgia
PCOM South Georgia
TouroCOM
TUCOM-CA
UP-KYCOM
Thank you for your time
2.) 1st MCAT 501 (122/126/124/129) in May of 22. I was devastated, it was ~6pts lower than my practice exam average. Decided to get a job for at least a year, to regroup and retake at a later date, and save up a nest egg to live on. Finally came back to it this year, after hitting my financial goals, was averaging 512-516 on my practice exams (including the new ones), came in confident on 05/09, and got a 502 (124/125/126/127). I’m still in shock. It’s like I got a completely different person’s scores back. The only thing I can be thankful for is that my score didn’t get lower, and that’s it. Honestly, this is what I’m most worried about on my application. I really needed to knock the MCAT out of the park on this second try, and ended up doing almost the exact same: subpar.
3.) FL resident, but with strong ties to KS (born there, all family there) and TX (raised there, did K-12 and 2 yrs community college there). I was wondering if that was significant for applying anywhere or not, specifically if it would be worth applying to any Texas schools or not.
4.) White 29M
5.) Graduated from mid-tier university in Florida, it does have a med school attached (MD) but with no strong bias for its own undergrads. Did 2 years at a low tier university in Georgia, and two years at a community college in Texas. I’m also worried about how going to 3 different colleges looks (4 if you count dual credit in high school). I only transferred to each because I lived with my family, and they moved to 2 different states within 4 years, if that counts for anything.
6.) 150hrs clinical volunteering- 100 in postop dept of hospital, 50 in hospice service calling patients
7.) no research experience
8.) 15hrs shadowing GI, 10hrs Family med (planning on getting ~20hrs more in the next couple weeks, plus a LOR [he’s an MD btw]). Was wondering if I needed to get some surgical shadowing in or if that wouldn’t really matter.
9.) 90 hrs nonclinical- all at SPCA socializing animals w/ behavioral issues
10.) ~6000hrs as a lab tech at a production facility. It’s not clinical or research oriented, so no points there. But it is highly demanding with long shifts, and has me working as an integral part of a team, which I plan on highlighting at some point in my application and/or secondaries.
11.) Dean’s List for my last 2 semesters
12.) Not much else
After I got back my MCAT score a couple months ago, I panicked and booked the first testing date I could get, but later decided to cancel and just go ahead and apply to DO only for this cycle, while it’s still somewhat early on. After I get everything put together in the next week or so and sent out, I’m planning on prioritizing strengthening my application over the next 10 months (another couple volunteering experiences+leadership exp), taking the MCAT again, and applying MD in June of 2026, and wait for August to reapply DO (maybe earlier if I’m not on a WL somewhere).
So is this realistic, or would I just be wasting my money this year? If so, is there something I can address or add to in the short term that might increase my chances significantly? I would greatly appreciate any input I can get on this. Also, here’s the list of schools I’m applying to:
ACOM
ATSU-KCOM
CUSOM
VCOM - Auburn
VCOM - Carolina’s
VCOM - Virginia
VCOM - Louisiana
KHSU-KansasCOM
KCU-Kansas
LECOM
LECOM - Bradenton
NYITCOM - both campuses
NSU-KPCOM
OSU-COM
PCOM Georgia
PCOM South Georgia
TouroCOM
TUCOM-CA
UP-KYCOM
Thank you for your time