What are my chances?

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mother_of_drosophila

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Hello SDN,

I am a second-time applicant.

GPA - 3.5 sGPA, 3.6 cGPA
MCAT - 514
Graduated December 2014 with BS in Biology, minors in chem and English.
Since graduating:
-Jan-Jun 2015 worked as a nurse's aid in an assisted living community
-summer 2015 was looking for research work and striking out :(
-Oct 2015-July 2016 some microbiology research work (got valuable experience I could talk a lot about, but we didn't accomplish what we set out to do before my research job/internship fizzled out)
-August 2016-present working as a scribe for a PA in family med
Extracurriculars: Minimal while in school. pre-med club on-paper participant, volunteered for the local red cross chapter for a couple hours per week doing office stuff/answering phones. Writing fiction and cross-country running (mostly by myself, though I got one short story published in the school journal and as for running, I did the Seattle half marathon one year).
Volunteering: A couple habitat for humanity trips I in the last few years. I did some work assisting with hippotherapy with kids for about a year, and currently (since Aug 2015) volunteering for a free clinic (alternating patient intake/registration and lab tech duties).

Last year I was foolish and applied too late - got my primary application in at the end of September (!) because I pushed taking the MCAT until August, when I finally felt ready. I am hoping that the timing last year was my biggest problem, but I kind of lack perspective overall on what is "competitive" and what's realistic, and I'd love to hear what the forum thinks my chances are. My biggest concerns are:
1) the fact that I'm a re-applicant
2) I've taken so much time in between graduating with my BS and applying to med school
3) I never see this with other applicants who've shared their stats, but my GPA is quite low compared to my MCAT. How does that look to schools?

Thanks!

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1) the fact that I'm a re-applicant

Can be an issue depending upon which school you applied to. If you have a good list, and apply broadly, it shouldn't be an issue. I think that the reapplicant stigma on SDN is rather overblown

2) I've taken so much time in between graduating with my BS and applying to med school
Won't be an issue.

3) I never see this with other applicants who've shared their stats, but my GPA is quite low compared to my MCAT. How does that look to schools?
The median GPA for acceptees is 3.7. You're not going to Harvard, but you're still competitive. And a 3.2 GOPA compared to your MCAT would be the eye-opener. So chill.
 
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Where is your state of residence? When are you planning to apply again?
Washington state. And I've already submitted applications for this cycle, so I've gone for it regardless of whatever advice I get here haha. I just wanted to get some perspective at the same time.
 
1) the fact that I'm a re-applicant

Can be an issue depending upon which school you applied to. If you have a good list, and apply broadly, it shouldn't be an issue. I think that the reapplicant stigma on SDN is rather overblown

2) I've taken so much time in between graduating with my BS and applying to med school
Won't be an issue.

3) I never see this with other applicants who've shared their stats, but my GPA is quite low compared to my MCAT. How does that look to schools?
The median GPA for acceptees is 3.7. You're not going to Harvard, but you're still competitive. And a 3.2 GOPA compared to your MCAT would be the eye-opener. So chill.

Thanks for your reply! And for telling me to chill. I need that sometimes. :)
 
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UC Davis matriculated only 1 non resident 2 years ago. Utah, Colorado and OHSU also prefer their own residents. Your Washington schools are where your only realistic chances are so you may want to consider other schools where you could receive interviews with your stats such as:
Creighton
Tulane
St. Louis
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown
 
UC Davis matriculated only 1 non resident 2 years ago. Utah, Colorado and OHSU also prefer their own residents. Your Washington schools are where your only realistic chances are so you may want to consider other schools where you could receive interviews with your stats such as:
Creighton
Tulane
St. Louis
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Quinnipiac
New York Medical College
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
GW
Georgetown

Thanks for the advice! I got an interview at OHSU last year, and I know from their process that my MCAT score and the fact that my parents live in Oregon scores me points with them. As for the rest of the OOS schools I applied to, that's good to know (hopefully I'll get in this year, but if I don't, I suppose I know for next year).

How many times do you think someone should re-apply before they really need to reconsider their career choice? I want to be a doctor very very badly but I know a couple folks IRL who feel the same, but probably ought to stop re-applying and move on with their lives. I'm wondering what a reasonable cutoff is...
 
You do not need to reapply next year if you apply to many appropriate MD schools and several DO schools. If you have no success this year then apply to DO schools next year.
 
I just got a rejection from UW today :( I got an interview from them last year, in spite of my late application. What could be wrong - is being a reapplicant that bad? Did they really not like my interview?
 
I just got a rejection from UW today :( I got an interview from them last year, in spite of my late application. What could be wrong - is being a reapplicant that bad? Did they really not like my interview?
This is why you need to apply to many schools such as the ones I listed above. Basically, you have placed all your bets with your 2 state schools and WSU (and possible OHSU) is now your only realistic hope of the current schools you have applied to.
 
This is why you need to apply to many schools such as the ones I listed above. Basically, you have placed all your bets with your 2 state schools and WSU (and possible OHSU) is now your only realistic hope of the current schools you have applied to.

That makes sense. Thanks for giving it to me straight. Dumb question, but do you think it's too late to add applications to those schools you listed, and some DO schools this cycle? Or would I basically be doing what I did last year all over again, since it's pretty much September already?
 
That makes sense. Thanks for giving it to me straight. Dumb question, but do you think it's too late to add applications to those schools you listed, and some DO schools this cycle? Or would I basically be doing what I did last year all over again, since it's pretty much September already?
It's getting late for MD, but not lethal yet. You're fine for DO through the end of Nov.
 
It is fine to add those schools this week and you could have the secondaries in by mid September. The interview season extends into March. It is early in the DO cycle and you could apply to several DO schools and should receive interviews since your stats are competitive for all DO schools. Some schools do require a DO LOR so you will need to check with each school.
 
I just got a rejection from UW today :( I got an interview from them last year, in spite of my late application. What could be wrong - is being a reapplicant that bad? Did they really not like my interview?
Many schools do not re-interview.
 
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