MD & DO WAMC - TX ORM Nontrad, 517/3.0x

[TXChessKnight]

1. cGPA and sGPA both 3.0x with moderate upward trend (3.6x as spring senior)
2. Have taken MCAT twice. First exam 08/2017, 498 (127/123/125/123). Second exam 06/2020, 517 (130/129/130/128)
3. TX, ORM (Caucasian male)
4. T20 private undergrad - hoping for slight forgiveness on undergrad GPA due to rigor
5. Clinical experience:
   1. 8 hrs shadowing orthopedic surgeon
   2. 3300 hrs as medical scribe
   3. 3900 hrs as clinical research assistant
6. Research experience:
   1. See 3900 hrs as clinical research assistant. Assisted with studies ranging from single-site retrospective chart review studies to international randomized controlled trials. My name is not included on them.
   2. Will contribute to orthopedic/pediatric field publication in summer 2022. My name will be included on this.
7. Shadowing experience
   1. 8 hrs shadowing orthopedic surgeon
   2. 3300 hrs as medical scribe in pediatric emergency dept
8. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. 128 hrs as Eucharistic Minister for campus religious service (during college)
   2. 24 hrs as Texas Club volunteer for campus sporting event fundraisers (during college)
   3. 80 hrs at equestrian therapy organization for disabled children (after college/current)
9. Other extracurricular activities
   1. Leadership activity as a dorm ambassador to a mental health organization on my college campus. First to hold such a position in the history of my dorm.
   2. Graduated in 2018, have taken several gap years to explore careers in medicine. The medical scribe experience allowed me to talk with many specialties including nurse, respiratory therapist, child life, social work, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, pharmacy, physician (MD/DO). Later/current gap years are spent as a research assistant working more directly with physicians.
10. Relevant honors or awards
    1. Currently in second semester of an MPH program. Managing full-time student workload with full-time research assistant employment. Have earned 4.0 GPA through two semesters, on pace to complete the degree in December 2022.
11. Anything else - I am a reapplicant for TMDSAS schools. I did not apply to AMCAS/AACOMAS last cycle because I am a TX resident and figured my best chances are in-state. However, my MCAT would expire if I don't get in this cycle, so I'm interested in casting a wider net to include AMCAS/AACOMAS schools. Question including one Caribbean school with an alumni referral program as a last resort instead of committing to re-apply and re-take the MCAT next cycle (EY2024).
12. School list:

All TMDSAS schools, plus

AMCAS:
Rosalind Franklin
Drexel
Georgetown
Temple
Loyola Stritch
Nova SE
OHSU
Rush
TCU
Tulane
UC Davis
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Main questions - WAMC at MD? Any additions/modifications to the AMCAS school list? Am I borderline enough to warrant including DO schools? If so, how many/which ones? Will my MPH GPA make up for some ground and bring me closer to MD competitiveness?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

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[chilly_md]

Did you receive any interviews last cycle? Did you apply to TCOM and Sam Houston as well?

OOS MD schools do not usually interview TX residents as they have historically stayed in state. The low GPA is likely what is holding you back. You could try Tulane and TCU outside of TMDAS.

Ensure you have the DO schools from TMDAS on there. Also add these for AACOMAS:

UIWSOM
Oklahoma State
Touro CA
Touro NV
AZCOM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
MU-COM
CUSOM
PCOM (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
Touro-NY
NYITCOM (both campuses)
WCU
ACOM
Campbell
WVSOM
KYCOM

 

[TXChessKnight]

Yes, my only II was Sam Houston. I was waitlisted and didn't make it from there. The GPA is what I was aiming to address with the MPH program. One of my LOR writers has ties to Tulane so I have added them to my AMCAS list. I will look into those AACOMAS schools - thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

 

[chilly_md]

Yes, my only II was Sam Houston. I was waitlisted and didn't make it from there. The GPA is what I was aiming to address with the MPH program. One of my LOR writers has ties to Tulane so I have added them to my AMCAS list. I will look into those AACOMAS schools - thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

Usually, MPH grades aren’t really taken into account to show improvement. Since the classes are not hard sciences, it is expected that you do well in that program. But Tulane and adding several more DO schools should help.

 

[Faha]

Definitely apply broadly to DO schools and you have a good list recommended above by chilly_med.

 

[wysdoc]

1. cGPA and sGPA both 3.0x with moderate upward trend (3.6x as spring senior)
2. Have taken MCAT twice. First exam 08/2017, 498 (127/123/125/123). Second exam 06/2020, 517 (130/129/130/128)
3. TX, ORM (Caucasian male)
4. T20 private undergrad - hoping for slight forgiveness on undergrad GPA due to rigor
5. Clinical experience:
   1. 8 hrs shadowing orthopedic surgeon
   2. 3300 hrs as medical scribe
   3. 3900 hrs as clinical research assistant
6. Research experience:
   1. See 3900 hrs as clinical research assistant. Assisted with studies ranging from single-site retrospective chart review studies to international randomized controlled trials. My name is not included on them.
   2. Will contribute to orthopedic/pediatric field publication in summer 2022. My name will be included on this.
7. Shadowing experience
   1. 8 hrs shadowing orthopedic surgeon
   2. 3300 hrs as medical scribe in pediatric emergency dept
8. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. 128 hrs as Eucharistic Minister for campus religious service (during college)
   2. 24 hrs as Texas Club volunteer for campus sporting event fundraisers (during college)
   3. 80 hrs at equestrian therapy organization for disabled children (after college/current)
9. Other extracurricular activities
   1. Leadership activity as a dorm ambassador to a mental health organization on my college campus. First to hold such a position in the history of my dorm.
   2. Graduated in 2018, have taken several gap years to explore careers in medicine. The medical scribe experience allowed me to talk with many specialties including nurse, respiratory therapist, child life, social work, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, pharmacy, physician (MD/DO). Later/current gap years are spent as a research assistant working more directly with physicians.
10. Relevant honors or awards
    1. Currently in second semester of an MPH program. Managing full-time student workload with full-time research assistant employment. Have earned 4.0 GPA through two semesters, on pace to complete the degree in December 2022.
11. Anything else - I am a reapplicant for TMDSAS schools. I did not apply to AMCAS/AACOMAS last cycle because I am a TX resident and figured my best chances are in-state. However, my MCAT would expire if I don't get in this cycle, so I'm interested in casting a wider net to include AMCAS/AACOMAS schools. Question including one Caribbean school with an alumni referral program as a last resort instead of committing to re-apply and re-take the MCAT next cycle (EY2024).
12. School list:

All TMDSAS schools, plus

AMCAS:
Rosalind Franklin
Drexel
Georgetown
Temple
Loyola Stritch
Nova SE
OHSU
Rush
TCU
Tulane
UC Davis
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Main questions - WAMC at MD? Any additions/modifications to the AMCAS school list? Am I borderline enough to warrant including DO schools? If so, how many/which ones? Will my MPH GPA make up for some ground and bring me closer to MD competitiveness?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

I think you should apply to TMDSAS and AACOMAS only. I have seen Texans with GPA 3.9 and MCAT 516+ get zero AMCAS interviews.

Your GPA will be the thing that holds you back, even at TMDSAS MD schools. Remember that the graduate GPA will not be averaged in with your undergraduate GPA, which will still be seen as 3.0.
Having the very good GPA in your MPH and your added health care related experiences do show that you can do better academically, and are an improvement on your previous TMDSAS app.

Most Texas MD schools will take an MCAT score up to 5 years old (exceptions Baylor and TCU, where the limit is 3 years).
I know this is not what you want to hear, but I'm trying to give you my realistic view.