MD & DO What are my chances, applying this Spring?

[patientvomits]

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I'm a NY, Buffalo resident at SUNY Buffalo

By MD calculations, my cGPA will be 3.41, and sGPA will be 3.27
By DO calculations, my cGPA will be 3.55 and sGPA will be 3.47

This is because I got a C in Orgo I (1st semester, junior year) and D's in Orgo II and Physics II (2nd semester, junior year). I can attribute both to not having a direction at university and thankfully, I took the following Fall semester off from school and shadowed/volunteered and reaffirmed that medicine was what I wanted to do. I retook all three courses and got A in Physics II, B and B+ in Orgo I and II. I've gotten mostly A's and one or two B's since then.

I have pretty diverse shadowing experience and lots of stories. I have some clinical volunteering, like ~50 hours. I'll hopefully be up to at 100 hours by the time I graduate.

The highlight of my application though I think is the non-medical volunteering I have. I have a lot of experience in helping start a local branch of a community program in my community that really involved low-income communities and children, and I got a lot of leadership experience from it. I did this full-time during my semester off. It's still going on and it has been a mine full of learning and experiences.

I also have work experience throughout college, ranging from 15 hours a week to 30 hours a week.

I also have research on an Alzheimer's related research project, although I do not think I'll be able to publish - I have won a research award on it and will be presenting a poster as a undergrad research conference.

I'll have to get a prehealth committee letter which will include one bland academic LoR, one good academic LoR, one very strong shadowing LoR, one DO LoR, one research professor LoR, as well as one from my volunteering project coordinator.

I',m also taking my MCAT's again in January, hoping for 33+

My main question are: what can I do to improve my application?

What main MD schools am I competitive for? (I'm really hoping for UB since my family is here - is this possible?)

And how likely am I to get into a DO school? What about a NYC DO school?

Thank you!

P.S. I'm also financially disadvantaged, so I get FAP and whatever DO's version of FAP is, and so I'll be able to apply to 20 MD schools, as well as around 10 DO schools. I have 24 schools for MD considered and my reach schools are Pitt U, GWU, Stony Brooke, BU, OSU, Tufts - should I cross these off to get to 20, or is there any chance any of them would consider me?

 

[patientvomits]

I've also spoken at a Undergraduate Conference presenting a winning essay, and given workshops to medical students at UB's medical school about spirituality in medicine as part of the school curriculum.

My MCAT by the way is verbal 12, and the other two were 7 or 8.

I have a Provost scholarship at UB which covered ~1500 a semester for my whole undergrad.

 

[Goro]

Hard to tell without an MCAT, but as of right now, you're fine for any DO school, and you should target all new MD schools, plus the usual ones in NY state (NYMC, Albany, Hofstra, Rochester and the SUNYs).

MSAR Online is your friend.

I'm a NY, Buffalo resident at SUNY Buffalo

By MD calculations, my cGPA will be 3.41, and sGPA will be 3.27
By DO calculations, my cGPA will be 3.55 and sGPA will be 3.47

This is because I got a C in Orgo I (1st semester, junior year) and D's in Orgo II and Physics II (2nd semester, junior year). I can attribute both to not having a direction at university and thankfully, I took the following Fall semester off from school and shadowed/volunteered and reaffirmed that medicine was what I wanted to do. I retook all three courses and got A in Physics II, B and B+ in Orgo I and II. I've gotten mostly A's and one or two B's since then.

I have pretty diverse shadowing experience and lots of stories. I have some clinical volunteering, like ~50 hours. I'll hopefully be up to at 100 hours by the time I graduate.

The highlight of my application though I think is the non-medical volunteering I have. I have a lot of experience in helping start a local branch of a community program in my community that really involved low-income communities and children, and I got a lot of leadership experience from it. I did this full-time during my semester off. It's still going on and it has been a mine full of learning and experiences.

I also have work experience throughout college, ranging from 15 hours a week to 30 hours a week.

I also have research on an Alzheimer's related research project, although I do not think I'll be able to publish - I have won a research award on it and will be presenting a poster as a undergrad research conference.

I'll have to get a prehealth committee letter which will include one bland academic LoR, one good academic LoR, one very strong shadowing LoR, one DO LoR, one research professor LoR, as well as one from my volunteering project coordinator.

I',m also taking my MCAT's again in January, hoping for 33+

My main question are: what can I do to improve my application?

What main MD schools am I competitive for? (I'm really hoping for UB since my family is here - is this possible?)

And how likely am I to get into a DO school? What about a NYC DO school?

Thank you!

P.S. I'm also financially disadvantaged, so I get FAP and whatever DO's version of FAP is, and so I'll be able to apply to 20 MD schools, as well as around 10 DO schools. I have 24 schools for MD considered and my reach schools are Pitt U, GWU, Stony Brooke, BU, OSU, Tufts - should I cross these off to get to 20, or is there any chance any of them would consider me?

 

[ProudMD]

Agreed with Goro.

Your sGPA is low for MD schools (right at the effective floor), but a great MCAT score (33+) can still make MD acceptance possible. You definitely need to apply to DO schools as well, and fortunately, your GPAs are very competitive for DO schools.