What do you think of my chances?

[albyyy]

Hey guys, I would really appreciate any feedback. I just graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in physiology. I'm taking my MCAT in January 2012. During my time off, I'm continuing to work in my research lab at school and also currently looking for DOs to shadow. The worry I have is regarding my GPA. My BCPM GPA is ~2.9, non-science GPA is ~3.5, and cumulative GPA is a ~3.1. My goal is to get a 32+ on the MCAT. I have 200+ hours of volunteer experience at a hospital (observed a bunch of different medical procedures and partook in some as well). I'm really close with one of my physiology professors whom I'm getting a LOR from, I'm also planning to get a LOR from the P.I. of my research lab, and of course from the DO that I plan to shadow. I have a publication for research that's about to get submitted sometime next month. I would like to know what my chances are in getting into DO school, can anybody give me some advice and/or feedback? All help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

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[TriagePreMed]

Your chances are very low. A 3.1/2.9 combo is simply too low for any kind of medical school. You'll have to retake courses until your sGPA hits a 3.3.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Your chances are very low. A 3.1/2.9 combo is simply too low for any kind of medical school. You'll have to retake courses until your sGPA hits a 3.3.

+1. I could say something else, but this sums it up pretty well.

 

[albyyy]

I was talking about DO schools, not MD schools.. or were you referring to DO?

 

[TriagePreMed]

I was talking about DO schools, not MD schools.. or were you referring to DO?

I was referring to D.O. schools, and knowing FrkyBgStok a bit I can guess that he was too. If we were talking about M.D. schools, I would have flat out told you no chance whatsoever.

 

[Stumpyman]

Boost that gpa up- if you score really high on the mcat then you might not have to though.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I was referring to D.O. schools, and knowing FrkyBgStok a bit I can guess that he was too. If we were talking about M.D. schools, I would have flat out told you no chance whatsoever.

yes I was. OP- the average for DO schools now is just under a 3.5 gpa (c and s). Obviously, you are far below this. More importantly, your sgpa is under 3.0 and I WANT to say a good MCAT could make up for that, but i am very active in many DO school threads for this year, and stellar applications, high MCATs, and great LORs coupled with a <3.0 gpas just aren't cutting it anymore.

so as triage, and others, have said, you have to raise your science gpa AND get an awesome MCAT. DO schools are getting more and more competitive which is allowing more and more schools to utilize an automatic cutoff. sorry.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

sGPA from the average matriculants is around 3.5 ish for DO schools. Raise it up a little more.

 

[DrWily]

yes I was. OP- the average for DO schools now is just under a 3.5 gpa (c and s). Obviously, you are far below this. More importantly, your sgpa is under 3.0 and I WANT to say a good MCAT could make up for that, but i am very active in many DO school threads for this year, and stellar applications, high MCATs, and great LORs coupled with a <3.0 gpas just aren't cutting it anymore.

so as triage, and others, have said, you have to raise your science gpa AND get an awesome MCAT. DO schools are getting more and more competitive which is allowing more and more schools to utilize an automatic cutoff. sorry.

I'm in the same boat as the OP, but I noticed he said BCPM is 2.9. What is your AACOMAS sGPA? They are different. My sGPA is 2.96, and cGPA is 3.14 with a 33Q MCAT. I have personally looked through last years "Underdog" thread and had a good conversation with DbDan, one of last year's 2.9 sGPA, 3.1 cGPA applicants. He received 5 interview invites and received an acceptance into AZCOM in Oct.

I'm not saying that it's the norm, but it is possible. Otherwise, utilize grade replacement and get that sGPA up. I've already received two auto-rejects due to my <3.0 sGPA from KCUMB and DMU. ~200 hours volunteering, ~60 hours shadowing a PCP MD, EMT certified, leadership activity, secondary writer on publication, 1 year research, excellent LORs.

 

[albyyy]

So you guys are saying that I should just take my MCAT in January and apply to post-baccs instead of DOs? Or should I just take my chances and apply to DOs to see if I can get in and then apply to post-baccs?

 

[TriagePreMed]

So you guys are saying that I should just take my MCAT in January and apply to post-baccs instead of DOs? Or should I just take my chances and apply to DOs to see if I can get in and then apply to post-baccs?

You need to do retakes and get that sGPA to at least a 3.3 to be in a competitive zone. An MCAT over 27 should suffice with the 3.3 sGPA.

 

[albyyy]

do retakes at a community college? will those credits count?

 

[albyyy]

Hey Frkybgstok, you're right. AACOMA gpa's are different because your retakes actually replace your old ones while AMCA gpa's take the average of the two. Now my cGPA is 3.13 and sGPA is still right above 2.9, not much of a difference. I think the best thing to do is go for a post-bacc.

 

[albyyy]

any advice for doing retakes? at a community college? apply for post-baccs?

 

[TriagePreMed]

any advice for doing retakes? at a community college? apply for post-baccs?

4-year is preferable, but CC will do if no other options are available.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

4-year is preferable, but CC will do if no other options are available.

agree with this. also if you retake just one or two more of your science classes it should bump you over the 3.0 mark and keeps you out of the automatic cutoff range.