What would be my chances to gain admittance to DO schools?

[isitorganic?]

Hello,

I am a resident of WV. My top two schools to apply to are Marshall University JCESOM (MD) & WVSOM (DO) in Lewisburg. I plan on applying to only a few more DO schools but only 1 MD. My current undergraduate cgpa is 3.31 & bcpm gpa is 3.4 & a mcat of 495. I plan on retaking my mcat this September, which will be my 2nd attempt. However, my last semester of undergraduate studies spring of 2019 dropped my cgpa & my bcpm significantly because of traumatic personal experience & unfortunate issues w/ classes. My last semester of spring 2019 consisted of elective science classes & a film class, none in the important pre-med prerequisites. At the end of fall 2018 before my last semester my cgpa was 3.53 & bcpm gpa was 3.6. I am currently enrolled in a biomedical research masters program to enhance my poor performance in my last semester. What would be my chance for admission?

Thanks!

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[Angus Avagadro]

Being an in state resident of WVA is very helpful. To what extent with your stats I dont know. 495 is too low for MD imo. A long shot for DO. Get your MCAT above 500, better at 505 for WVSOM. Otherwise, take a year for grade rehabilitation and slam the MCAT. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[isitorganic?]

Being an in state resident of WVA is very helpful. To what extent with your stats I dont know. 495 is too low for MD imo. A long shot for DO. Get your MCAT above 500, better at 505 for WVSOM. Otherwise, take a year for grade rehabilitation and slam the MCAT. Good luck and best wishes!

Thank you!

 

[scoopdaboop]

Wouldn’t even do the masters if I were you cuz it sounds expensive. Your gpa is fine even with the drop. Drop the masters if it’s anything more than 15k right now, apply next cycle with a solid mcat score. You didn’t study well for it based on your score, cuz I believe anyone that studies how you should will get a good score. I wouldn’t bet getting a 500 is good enough after a 495, you should definetly aim for 508+ to be comfortable. Also do some other thing on the side, scribing is great and I did that during my gap year as I applied. I had a 3.4c, 3.5 s, 505 first attempt and got several interviews. Based on that, a mcat score bump will be more helpful for you than getting a masters. Good luck.

also toanswer your question, right now I think it’s pretty slim. Can’t say 0 cuz I remember some dude getting in somewhere last year with a 496...

 

[PapaGuava]

Thread moved to WAMC.

 

[isitorganic?]

Wouldn’t even do the masters if I were you cuz it sounds expensive. Your gpa is fine even with the drop. Drop the masters if it’s anything more than 15k right now, apply next cycle with a solid mcat score. You didn’t study well for it based on your score, cuz I believe anyone that studies how you should will get a good score. I wouldn’t bet getting a 500 is good enough after a 495, you should definetly aim for 508+ to be comfortable. Also do some other thing on the side, scribing is great and I did that during my gap year as I applied. I had a 3.4c, 3.5 s, 505 first attempt and got several interviews. Based on that, a mcat score bump will be more helpful for you than getting a masters. Good luck.

also toanswer your question, right now I think it’s pretty slim. Can’t say 0 cuz I remember some dude getting in somewhere last year with a 496...

Thank you for you advice! I should have mentioned I only plan on applying once I raise my mcat. & if that application cycle doesn’t work I plan to complete masters w/ publications to hopefully further raise my competitiveness.

 

[scoopdaboop]

Thank you for you advice! I should have mentioned I only plan on applying once I raise my mcat. & if that application cycle doesn’t work I plan to complete masters w/ publications to hopefully further raise my competitiveness.

Don't see the masters helping you at all. You already showed that you can handle the course work GPA wise, your masters won't really add much to that. I see it as a money hole. The research sounds interesting; maybe if you are guaranteed some publications because of the masters it might be worth it- especially if that masters is one run by a medical school. But, depending on your other experiences with shadowing etc, I would definitely recommend becoming a scribe or medical assistant etc in order to get that experience and money.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Retaking the mcat is a great step to take. I agree with a 500+ for DO but your GPA is a slightly lower than the mean, so target a higher score if possible. A 508+ would definitely help for MD. I don’t think I would recommend a masters program to enhance your application. You could pursue postbac classes to enhance your GPA to a slightly higher level and to continue your streak of higher level academic performance but graduate GPAs tend to be inflated. Research at best is a soft factor in an application. Instead of paying for a masters you could volunteer in research labs if that interested you. Just make sure your other ECs and shadowing are in good shape. For DO make sure you have shadowing with a DO and a letter of rec from a DO if possible. I just want to reiterate from the other post that it is not advisable to pursue an MD in the Caribbean. It is much better to take time to prepare for a second round of applications than opt for that route. Best of luck to you.

 

[isitorganic?]

Retaking the mcat is a great step to take. I agree with a 500+ for DO but your GPA is a slightly lower than the mean, so target a higher score if possible. A 508+ would definitely help for MD. I don’t think I would recommend a masters program to enhance your application. You could pursue postbac classes to enhance your GPA to a slightly higher level and to continue your streak of higher level academic performance but graduate GPAs tend to be inflated. Research at best is a soft factor in an application. Instead of paying for a masters you could volunteer in research labs if that interested you. Just make sure your other ECs and shadowing are in good shape. For DO make sure you have shadowing with a DO and a letter of rec from a DO if possible. I just want to reiterate from the other post that it is not advisable to pursue an MD in the Caribbean. It is much better to take time to prepare for a second round of applications than opt for that route. Best of luck to you.

Yes my gpa is slightly lower but a semester before my gpa was higher than the average, which

Don't see the masters helping you at all. You already showed that you can handle the course work GPA wise, your masters won't really add much to that. I see it as a money hole. The research sounds interesting; maybe if you are guaranteed some publications because of the masters it might be worth it- especially if that masters is one run by a medical school. But, depending on your other experiences with shadowing etc, I would definitely recommend becoming a scribe or medical assistant etc in order to get that experience and money.

yes it is the biomedical research emphasis in medical science at JCESOM, so it will show I can handle medical type curriculum

Retaking the mcat is a great step to take. I agree with a 500+ for DO but your GPA is a slightly lower than the mean, so target a higher score if possible. A 508+ would definitely help for MD. I don’t think I would recommend a masters program to enhance your application. You could pursue postbac classes to enhance your GPA to a slightly higher level and to continue your streak of higher level academic performance but graduate GPAs tend to be inflated. Research at best is a soft factor in an application. Instead of paying for a masters you could volunteer in research labs if that interested you. Just make sure your other ECs and shadowing are in good shape. For DO make sure you have shadowing with a DO and a letter of rec from a DO if possible. I just want to reiterate from the other post that it is not advisable to pursue an MD in the Caribbean. It is much better to take time to prepare for a second round of applications than opt for that route. Best of luck to you.

I have not applied to a medical school yet so this will be my first time of applications. & only MD in carribean would be sgu which statistics create comfort. However, that is last resort since traveling that far is not ideal. My yearly science gpa trend is 3.36 -3.9-3.78-2.3 . I have documentation & reasoning for my science gpa drop so hopefully they do not weight my science gpa as a regular 3.4. Emphasis on increasing mcat dramatically the 2nd time is significant. Anyways, I appreciate your input, thank you so much!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Come back after you fix that MCAT issue. You have some advice already but the picture clears up more with a more acceptable MCAT.

 

[scoopdaboop]

yes it is the biomedical research emphasis in medical science at JCESOM, so it will show I can handle medical type curriculum

You have already shown you can with your GPA. For MD, your gpa is low, but for DO schools it's fine. you do need atleast 507 MCAT IMO. 508 isn't enough for MD programs like someone else mentioned here because your first performance was abysmal. The masters is a big waste of time and money, yet you seem steadfast in your belief that it will help you somewhat, when in reality, it will only help if you are pushing for MD, but in that case a 515+ mcat will be much better.

 

[scoopdaboop]

I have not applied to a medical school yet so this will be my first time of applications. & only MD in carribean would be sgu which statistics create comfort. However, that is last resort since traveling that far is not ideal. My yearly science gpa trend is 3.36 -3.9-3.78-2.3 . I have documentation & reasoning for my science gpa drop so hopefully they do not weight my science gpa as a regular 3.4. Emphasis on increasing mcat dramatically the 2nd time is significant. Anyways, I appreciate your input, thank you so much!

Your downward trend is bad. If you think a masters would be beneficial because of this, I won't disagree, but will say that a better MCAT score will go further than you doing well on your masters, especially because you mention you have a good reason for it.

 

[isitorganic?]

Your downward trend is bad. If you think a masters would be beneficial because of this, I won't disagree, but will say that a better MCAT score will go further than you doing well on your masters, especially because you mention you have a good reason for it.

Of course mcat is more important but it will help having grades to show you can do the school work. My downward trend is only my spring semester. My fall semester was a 3.7 science gpa but my spring semester was atrocious bring it down, which can be explained.

 

[Goro]

Hello,

I am a resident of WV. My top two schools to apply to are Marshall University JCESOM (MD) & WVSOM (DO) in Lewisburg. I plan on applying to only a few more DO schools but only 1 MD. My current undergraduate cgpa is 3.31 & bcpm gpa is 3.4 & a mcat of 495. I plan on retaking my mcat this September, which will be my 2nd attempt. However, my last semester of undergraduate studies spring of 2019 dropped my cgpa & my bcpm significantly because of traumatic personal experience & unfortunate issues w/ classes. My last semester of spring 2019 consisted of elective science classes & a film class, none in the important pre-med prerequisites. At the end of fall 2018 before my last semester my cgpa was 3.53 & bcpm gpa was 3.6. I am currently enrolled in a biomedical research masters program to enhance my poor performance in my last semester. What would be my chance for admission?

Thanks!

admittance is 100% on you. You take the MCAT and do better, and chances for interview should be okay

 

[isitorganic?]

You have already shown you can with your GPA. For MD, your gpa is low, but for DO schools it's fine. you do need atleast 507 MCAT IMO. 508 isn't enough for MD programs like someone else mentioned here because your first performance was abysmal. The masters is a big waste of time and money, yet you seem steadfast in your belief that it will help you somewhat, when in reality, it will only help if you are pushing for MD, but in that case a 515+ mcat will be much better.

The s

admittance is 100% on you. You take the MCAT and do better, and chances for interview should be okay

accurate. Thanks!