What are my chances?

[HopefulDoc91]

Hi! So I graduated with my Bachelor of Science this past May, and unfortunately I didn't get into any schools my last application cycle. When I applied last, I had a 3.0 sGPA and 3.3 cGPA. My MCAT was 496. I had 50 volunteer hours in a hospital, and 500+ hours volunteering for our local firehouse. I had about 50 hours of shadowing a cardiologist DO, and a letter of rec from that DO. I did have an interview with PCOM, but was rejected after. They couldn't get off the topic of my major in my interview -- pre-vet rather than pre-med. It felt like they thought medical school was my second choice to vet school...and I was still working at a vet clinic to be fair (but I definitely am 100% committed to med school)

I've been studying to retake the MCAT since I graduated in May, and I'm set to take it again in January 2017. I barely studied the first time, and this time I made a diligent study schedule for 6 months that I've stuck to religiously. My final sGPA is 3.17 and my final cGPA is 3.42., and I ended my last semester with straight A's. I have been working at a community hospital for 1 year now, with direct patient contact and forming relationships with doctors (probably about 2,000 clinical hours). I will be shadowing another DO from February-May, and hopefully getting a letter of rec from them too.

My 6 letters of rec will be 3 doctors (2 DO, 1 MD), my undergrad advisor, my microbiology professor, and my volunteer coordinator (which I know is an amazing letter)

I plan on having my MCAT score, shadowing/clinical/volunteer hours, and letters of rec all lined up and ready to submit to AACOMAS the day applications open.

I'm just wondering what you think my chances are of getting into a DO school would be this time around, assuming I get a much better MCAT score come January...I did get into 2 Caribbean schools (Ross & St George's) but turned them down last year, because I wanted to try harder and get into a DO school. Thoughts? Anything else you think I need to improve upon??

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[idiotface]

No one can say anything until that MCAT comes back. Did you take any of the AAMC scored exams, they're pretty accurate predictors. People tend to do the same or slightly better on the real exam, so it is very useful to gauge how well you are preparing. But after the exam while you're waiting for those scores to arrive, you can work on the intangibles (personal statement, experience descriptions, applying early). Also, you may choose to prewrite the secondary apps, as well as prepare for interviews. Be sure not to slack off during the coming year because med schools will ask you what you are doing during the application year.
Assuming you get a higher score, you should be good. Aim for like a 504 or higher. Your GPA isnt bad, your clinical is great, and an improved MCAT will be your ticket to DO interviews.

 

[Faha]

Your GPA is now high enough for more interviews at DO schools especially if you can achieve 500 or higher on the MCAT. Concentrate on the newer DO schools and include all these:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
LUCOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
UIWSOM
NYIT-Arkansas
RVU-Utah
any new schools that open for 2018 (there will be several).

 

[HopefulDoc91]

No one can say anything until that MCAT comes back. Did you take any of the AAMC scored exams, they're pretty accurate predictors. People tend to do the same or slightly better on the real exam, so it is very useful to gauge how well you are preparing. But after the exam while you're waiting for those scores to arrive, you can work on the intangibles (personal statement, experience descriptions, applying early). Also, you may choose to prewrite the secondary apps, as well as prepare for interviews. Be sure not to slack off during the coming year because med schools will ask you what you are doing during the application year.
Assuming you get a higher score, you should be good. Aim for like a 504 or higher. Your GPA isnt bad, your clinical is great, and an improved MCAT will be your ticket to DO interviews.

I just took my first online practice exam today (it's Kaplan) and I got a 497. Last year when I did these Kaplan exams, I scored 491. I did about 5 points better on the real MCAT last year compared to my Kaplan score, so I'm estimating if I had taken the real MCAT today it would've been around 502. My exam is on January 28th so I still have this whole month of studying left, so I'm hoping I can get at least a 504. I'm going to take a practice exam every Sunday (so 3 more) to follow my progress so hopefully I'll improve more by the 28th.

 

[gamieg]

the mcat was probably a concern for most schools, so depending on your score this time, your chances could either go up or down.

you're also a little light on clinical exposure. have you gained any additional clinical experiences over this past year?
most schools have a section for reapplicants asking them what they've done in the time since the last time they applied. it's important to be able to demonstrate your continued interest in medicine and how you've cultivated that since your last application cycle.

since your last interview didn't go so well, I'd also recommend focusing on some of the tough questions and coming up with good answers for them. also recommend revamping your personal statement and secondaries; do not chance using the same essays. garnering feedback from others for both your essays and interview responses helps a ton.

edit: missed the line in OP about the 2,000 additional clinical hours. that's not light at all, great progress!

 

[idiotface]

you're also a little light on clinical exposure. have you gained any additional clinical experiences over this past year?
most schools have a section for reapplicants asking them what they've done in the time since the last time they applied. it's important to be able to demonstrate your continued interest in medicine and how you've cultivated that since your last application cycle.

Jeez, I didn't know 2,000 clinical hours was light. Is it really?

 

[idiotface]

I just took my first online practice exam today (it's Kaplan) and I got a 497. Last year when I did these Kaplan exams, I scored 491. I did about 5 points better on the real MCAT last year compared to my Kaplan score, so I'm estimating if I had taken the real MCAT today it would've been around 502. My exam is on January 28th so I still have this whole month of studying left, so I'm hoping I can get at least a 504. I'm going to take a practice exam every Sunday (so 3 more) to follow my progress so hopefully I'll improve more by the 28th.

Yeah, people typically do way worse on Kaplan and TPR exams compared to the real thing. Those tests are difficult especially because they ask you to recall or work out some involved problems that may leave you with very little time to finish everything. That was definitely my experience with the TPR exams. Also, it seems that Kaplan and TPR test very differently than AAMC, so it may not be a good measure of your score. AAMC focuses more on how you think because they are more likely to give you data/experimental passages and ask you to apply what you know to interpret it. They are also less likely to ask recall of details and less likely to ask you to work out complex and involved problems. The AAMC is more straightforward. Don't get too caught up with Kaplan practice exams; focus a lot on learning the content and doing AAMC practice material. If there's time left over for Kaplan practice exams, then I guess you could do it. I didn't help me much, though. However, there's always content to be learned or reviewed.

 

[ciestar]

Jeez, I didn't know 2,000 clinical hours was light. Is it really?

Not at all!

 

[gamieg]

Jeez, I didn't know 2,000 clinical hours was light. Is it really?

oops sorry, missed the line in OP's post about the additional clinical hours. thought it was just the initial 50 hospital and 50 shadowing. will edit post, thanks.

 

[HopefulDoc91]

the mcat was probably a concern for most schools, so depending on your score this time, your chances could either go up or down.

you're also a little light on clinical exposure. have you gained any additional clinical experiences over this past year?
most schools have a section for reapplicants asking them what they've done in the time since the last time they applied. it's important to be able to demonstrate your continued interest in medicine and how you've cultivated that since your last application cycle.

since your last interview didn't go so well, I'd also recommend focusing on some of the tough questions and coming up with good answers for them. also recommend revamping your personal statement and secondaries; do not chance using the same essays. garnering feedback from others for both your essays and interview responses helps a ton.

edit: missed the line in OP about the 2,000 additional clinical hours. that's not light at all, great progress!

I definitely would re-vamp my secondaries and my interview skills, and I wouldn't reuse any essays from last year. With my science GPA of 3.17, do you think it's worth it to retake any undergrad classes? I got a C+ in gen chem 2 and physics 2. With AACOMAS new policy of not replacing grades now, if I got an A in gen chem my sGPA would go from 3.17 to 3.21. If I also got an A in physics (which I'm not confident about, probably B+), my sGPA would be 3.26. Do you think retaking those classes or even just gen chem would be worth it, or is my science GPA okay?

 

[idiotface]

I definitely would re-vamp my secondaries and my interview skills, and I wouldn't reuse any essays from last year. With my science GPA of 3.17, do you think it's worth it to retake any undergrad classes? I got a C+ in gen chem 2 and physics 2. With AACOMAS new policy of not replacing grades now, if I got an A in gen chem my sGPA would go from 3.17 to 3.21. If I also got an A in physics (which I'm not confident about, probably B+), my sGPA would be 3.26. Do you think retaking those classes or even just gen chem would be worth it, or is my science GPA okay?

Eh, not worth it. Science GPA won't affect your application much and raising it by .1 points isn't likely to raise eyebrows. I honestly think you are fine. I would focus more on the MCAT, as it has the capacity to make or break an application.

 

[gamieg]

I definitely would re-vamp my secondaries and my interview skills, and I wouldn't reuse any essays from last year. With my science GPA of 3.17, do you think it's worth it to retake any undergrad classes? I got a C+ in gen chem 2 and physics 2. With AACOMAS new policy of not replacing grades now, if I got an A in gen chem my sGPA would go from 3.17 to 3.21. If I also got an A in physics (which I'm not confident about, probably B+), my sGPA would be 3.26. Do you think retaking those classes or even just gen chem would be worth it, or is my science GPA okay?

a 0.04 increase in sGPA is nothing to sneeze at. a 0.09 even less to sneeze at. I don't recommend retaking a class if you're not confident you'll get an A though (also sometimes that tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy). it's a tough call, especially since I've heard of some schools have "unofficial" cutoffs of 3.2 (usually cumulative, but who knows). but there are plenty of examples of applicants who have received acceptances below that as well.

at this point, I think it's more of a is it worth your time in comparison to other potential activities you could be doing instead of retaking those classes. I think it also depends on your MCAT. will taking those courses take away from your MCAT study time? will you know the score before retaking? if you kick butt on the test, it may offset a lot of questions regarding your GPA.

 

[HopefulDoc91]

a 0.04 increase in sGPA is nothing to sneeze at. a 0.09 even less to sneeze at. I don't recommend retaking a class if you're not confident you'll get an A though (also sometimes that tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy). it's a tough call, especially since I've heard of some schools have "unofficial" cutoffs of 3.2 (usually cumulative, but who knows). but there are plenty of examples of applicants who have received acceptances below that as well.

at this point, I think it's more of a is it worth your time in comparison to other potential activities you could be doing instead of retaking those classes. I think it also depends on your MCAT. will taking those courses take away from your MCAT study time? will you know the score before retaking? if you kick butt on the test, it may offset a lot of questions regarding your GPA.

I'm taking the MCAT on January 28th. My gen chem class would start February 7th, so it wouldn't interfere with my MCAT study time unless I have to take it again. I've been studying relentlessly for months so I'm hoping to get a much better score this time. Any idea what target MCAT score you think would be good to offset not retaking those 2 classes?

 

[gamieg]

I'm taking the MCAT on January 28th. My gen chem class would start February 7th, so it wouldn't interfere with my MCAT study time unless I have to take it again. I've been studying relentlessly for months so I'm hoping to get a much better score this time. Any idea what target MCAT score you think would be good to offset not retaking those 2 classes?

for the newer schools, I'd aim for ~505 (balanced, any section falling below the 125 average may hurt you). for schools that tend to be a little pickier like NSU or KCU, ~510 just to be safe.

truthfully, there's no "right" way to med school, so not retaking could potentially be fine. but if I were you, I'd take the MCAT, retake general chem and get an A, get the MCAT score back, and then see where I stand. like I said, a 0.04 increase in sGPA can't hurt, especially with the scrapping of AACOMAS grade replacement. and if one class can bump your sGPA up that much, you may not have that many science units, in which case every class counts.

 

[idiotface]

I'm taking the MCAT on January 28th. My gen chem class would start February 7th, so it wouldn't interfere with my MCAT study time unless I have to take it again. I've been studying relentlessly for months so I'm hoping to get a much better score this time. Any idea what target MCAT score you think would be good to offset not retaking those 2 classes?

Since the retaking of the two classes won't impact your MCAT studying, then I guess you should consider retaking those classes. But you should be sure that you will do well. I think you are primed to do well in those courses simply because studying for the MCAT will have you reviewing some of the material in those courses. It may thus be a good decision. If you feel like you are doing well studying for gen chem and physics stuff for the MCAT, then you should be confident that it will translate to the classroom. And you may use your academic redemption to your advantage during applications when med schools ask you what have you done to improve your application. All in all, it's a calculated decision because it's something that requires a lot of time and MONEY. If you think it will pay off, then go for it.