Where will I fit in best?

[underthemoon]

Hey everybody,

Believe it’s my time to make this post.

Academics:
Senior at Syracuse University B.A. Biology Chemistry Minor with excellent graduate coursework and GPA trend.

GPA:
3.5 Cumulative
3.35 Science
3.81 non science

MCAT:
496

Experience:
.Five years shadowing at University of Vermont Medical Center
-participating in orthopaedic trauma surgery
-shadowing psychiatry dempartment
-lighter shadowing in family medicine and plastic surgery
.EMT
.club wrestling treasurer
.poster from Biochemical research grant from Department of Biology
.thesis and future publication from Upstate Medical University’s Psychiatric Genetic Epidemiology and Neurobiology Lab (PsychGENe Lab)

Skills:
.R coding
.excellent written and oral communication
.empathy
.gritty
.teamworker



Goals:
HSPS scholarship for military medicine in psychiatry

Cycle:
2020 for 2021 matriculation

Gap year:
Working in PsychGENe Lab

Please take some time to read through.

Thanks,

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted987519]

Take down those attachments!!!

And delete your name from the OP

 

[candbgirl]

Is that your name? If so take that down too. You’ve given so much info you’ve removed all chances of remaining anonymous .

Does your listed GPA include your “grad” classes? Was it more of a post bacc or where you in a grad program?

Any nonclinical volunteering to those less fortunate than yourself? (Might be in your resume but I can’t bring myself to look at it.)

Your MCAT is too low for MD and probably too low for DO. You need a retake but not until you are scoring at or above your target goal on several FL practice tests. Do you have any idea what happened last time?

 

[Kardio]

Please take down all of your personal information! Also, if you are interested in posting here regularly, just make a new account.

Based entirely off this:

GPA:
3.5 Cumulative
3.35 Science
3.81 non science

MCAT:
496

In 2018, the average DO matriculant has 3.54c, 3.43s, 503.8.

Your GPA looks fair for DO. What graduate coursework are you referring to?

As it stands right now, your MCAT puts you below the bottom 10% of matriculated DO students. You would be significantly more competitive with an MCAT retake.

 

[underthemoon]

I’ve taken orgo 3 (B), biochemistry 2 (B), and I’m also working in a medical school’s laboratory doing statistic analysis funded by the National Instutute of Mental Health to reframe the DSM into a more biological entity.

I understand having a new MCAT score would make me a perfect applicant, but I’m not perfect. I got that score with $269 this summer and I'm proud of my grind in such an economic way. I’m not paying another penny to the bussiness of becoming a doctor besides applications and interviews. As my dad says, “I’m not made of money.” I’m perfect at a few things, and my pseudo application above highlights them. So besides the glaringly obvious, where would I fit in? I’m perfectly happy being the bottom 10% in Matriculated DO students, but how likely am I to secure a slice of that pie? I’m not going to destroy my soul anymore than I have to. I need to honor my community instead of tuning them out to study these past few years, they need me, too.

So once again, thanks for sharing that my MCAT score is in the bottom 10%, that’s helpful, but I’ll also take that statistic with a grain of salt. Anyways, if you would be so kind, what schools would accept me? Are most DO applicants with MCAT scores in my percentile this ambitious and accomplished?

Lord knows my competition and all I need is to be around compassionate physicians. Where are they? Could use their advice right now.

 

[Dr.Gains]

I’ve taken orgo 3 (B), biochemistry 2 (B), and I’m also working in a medical school’s laboratory doing statistic analysis funded by the National Instutute of Mental Health to reframe the DSM into a more biological entity.

I understand having a new MCAT score would make me a perfect applicant, but I’m not perfect. I got that score with $269 this summer and I'm proud of my grind in such an economic way. I’m not paying another penny to the bussiness of becoming a doctor besides applications and interviews. As my dad says, “I’m not made of money.” I’m perfect at a few things, and my pseudo application above highlights them. So besides the glaringly obvious, where would I fit in? I’m perfectly happy being the bottom 10% in Matriculated DO students, but how likely am I to secure a slice of that pie? I’m not going to destroy my soul anymore than I have to. I need to honor my community instead of tuning them out to study these past few years, they need me, too.

So once again, thanks for sharing that my MCAT score is in the bottom 10%, that’s helpful, but I’ll also take that statistic with a grain of salt. Anyways, if you would be so kind, what schools would accept me? Are most DO applicants with MCAT scores in my percentile this ambitious and accomplished?

Lord knows my competition and all I need is to be around compassionate physicians. Where are they? Could use their advice right now.

Delete your attachments, that's too much personal information. Also, @Faha and @Goro usually recommend a minimum MCAT score of 500 to apply to DO programs. I'm afraid your MCAT score is lethal for MD schools.

 

[Goro]

Hey everybody,

Believe it’s my time to make this post.

Academics:
Senior at Syracuse University B.A. Biology Chemistry Minor with excellent graduate coursework and GPA trend.

GPA:
3.5 Cumulative
3.35 Science
3.81 non science

MCAT:
496

Experience:
.Five years shadowing at University of Vermont Medical Center
-participating in orthopaedic trauma surgery
-shadowing psychiatry dempartment
-lighter shadowing in family medicine and plastic surgery
.EMT
.club wrestling treasurer
.poster from Biochemical research grant from Department of Biology
.thesis and future publication from Upstate Medical University’s Psychiatric Genetic Epidemiology and Neurobiology Lab (PsychGENe Lab)

Skills:
.R coding
.excellent written and oral communication
.empathy
.gritty
.teamworker



Goals:
HSPS scholarship for military medicine in psychiatry

Cycle:
2020 for 2021 matriculation

Gap year:
Working in PsychGENe Lab

Please take some time to read through.

Thanks,

Do you have actual patient contact experience....with conscious patients? I see way too much shadowing and zero evidence of altruism.

Your MCAT score is lethal for MD most DO schools, including mine. In fact, your score is in the risk zone for failing out of med school and or failing boards.

I thus can't recommend applying

 

[Kardio]

I got that score with $269 this summer and I'm proud of my grind in such an economic way. I’m not paying another penny to the bussiness of becoming a doctor besides applications and interviews. As my dad says, “I’m not made of money.”

While I sympathize with your perspective on the test-taking industry, it’s the world we’re in - the game we’re playing. There are many low cost / free ways to raise your score, including Anki and Khan Academy.

So besides the glaringly obvious, where would I fit in? I’m perfectly happy being the bottom 10% in Matriculated DO students, but how likely am I to secure a slice of that pie? I’m not going to destroy my soul anymore than I have to. I need to honor my community instead of tuning them out to study these past few years, they need me, too.

I used that <10%ile figure to demonstrate that few applicants with your MCAT score are accepted. I’m not trying to be rude to you - I understand that you’re asking for an assessment and I am sharing data.

Anyways, if you would be so kind, what schools would accept me? Are most DO applicants with MCAT scores in my percentile this ambitious and accomplished?

Most of us applicants worked very hard. If you are going to ignore the opinions expressed here, your best academic match is with new DO programs.

Lord knows my competition and all I need is to be around compassionate physicians. Where are they? Could use their advice right now.

They were yelling at you to protect your anonymity and consider an MCAT retake (and earning a score more befitting your capabilities)

 

[907914]

MCAT:
496

I would highly encourage a retake and a revamp of your studying.

.Five years shadowing at University of Vermont Medical Center
-participating in orthopaedic trauma surgery
-shadowing psychiatry dempartment
-lighter shadowing in family medicine and plastic surgery

This is.......excessive on the shadowing end. Do you have ANY volunteering that is just unlisted at present? If not, you should push back to 2021 --> 2022 application cycle to give enough time to both study and retake for hopefully at least a 504+ for DO and 510+ for MD, and accumulate adequate shadowing hours.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I understand having a new MCAT score would make me a perfect applicant, but I’m not perfect. I got that score with $269 this summer and I'm proud of my grind in such an economic way. I’m not paying another penny to the bussiness of becoming a doctor besides applications and interviews. As my dad says, “I’m not made of money.”

Unsuccessful medical school applications are a lot more expensive than MCAT retakes. If you get rejected from even 2 schools due to your MCAT score, you'll have basically negated any money you've saved by not retaking the exam.

When people have low MCATs/GPAs, they are advised to apply very broadly to a ton of programs which can push the total expenses into the thousands of dollars. The more marginal of a candidate you are, the more expensive the application process is down the line.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

[907914]

I used that <10%ile figure to demonstrate that few applicants with your MCAT score are accepted. I’m not trying to be rude to you - I understand that you’re asking for an assessment and I am sharing data.

To add to this, less than 5% of all applicants with <498 get in to any MD school. I can imagine it is going to be around 10% for DO. So, if money is your worry, you are far more likely to be a reapplicant which will cost more than another MCAT registration.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

I’ve taken orgo 3 (B), biochemistry 2 (B), and I’m also working in a medical school’s laboratory doing statistic analysis funded by the National Instutute of Mental Health to reframe the DSM into a more biological entity.

I understand having a new MCAT score would make me a perfect applicant, but I’m not perfect. I got that score with $269 this summer and I'm proud of my grind in such an economic way. I’m not paying another penny to the bussiness of becoming a doctor besides applications and interviews. As my dad says, “I’m not made of money.” I’m perfect at a few things, and my pseudo application above highlights them. So besides the glaringly obvious, where would I fit in? I’m perfectly happy being the bottom 10% in Matriculated DO students, but how likely am I to secure a slice of that pie? I’m not going to destroy my soul anymore than I have to. I need to honor my community instead of tuning them out to study these past few years, they need me, too.

So once again, thanks for sharing that my MCAT score is in the bottom 10%, that’s helpful, but I’ll also take that statistic with a grain of salt. Anyways, if you would be so kind, what schools would accept me? Are most DO applicants with MCAT scores in my percentile this ambitious and accomplished?

Lord knows my competition and all I need is to be around compassionate physicians. Where are they? Could use their advice right now.

What are you talking about? "You're not made of money", are you serious? I, myself, took the MCAT 4 times before I was finally able to secure a spot at a DO school. I wasn't proud of my MCAT performances at all, but considering English is my second language that didn't stop me from trying one more time every time I got a bad score. Honestly, I feel like I learned a lot from that experience, and it taught me not to rush things. That also made me more ready to tackle medical school. How can you be proud of a low sub-500 MCAT score? That attitude isn't gonna get you into medical school, and tell your dad you ain't made of money, but money can always be made. This is the kind of attitude Caribbean medical schools prey upon. Retake that MCAT if you really want to get in medical school because you're gonna waste a lot more than $269 by applying with it, and when you end up being a reapplicant it's gonna put you in an even worst place than now.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile

 

[candbgirl]

... Lord knows my competition and all I need is to be around compassionate physicians. Where are they? Could use their advice right now.

Compassionate doctors tell their patients the truth too! Even when it’s not what they want to hear.

 

[907914]

Compassionate doctors tell their patients the truth too! Even when it’s not what they want to hear.

Being that lying or withholding information to a patient is a common MMI scenario, I am ready to take notes.

 

[underthemoon]

Okay I’ll do better

 

[underthemoon]

I would highly encourage a retake and a revamp of your studying.

This is.......excessive on the shadowing end. Do you have ANY volunteering that is just unlisted at present? If not, you should push back to 2021 --> 2022 application cycle to give enough time to both study and retake for hopefully at least a 504+ for DO and 510+ for MD, and accumulate adequate shadowing hours.
[/

I’m a volunteer student EMT, have been since my freshman year. My title at the PsychGENe Lab is also undergraduate volunteer. What about my sample recommendations?

 

[underthemoon]

Compassionate doctors tell their patients the truth too! Even when it’s not what they want to hear.

I’m just being a child, then.

 

[underthemoon]

Take down those attachments!!!

And delete your name from the OP

Thanks for looking out for me, I’m ignorant.

 

[underthemoon]

P

What are you talking about? "You're not made of money", are you serious? I, myself, took the MCAT 4 times before I was finally able to secure a spot at a DO school. I wasn't proud of my MCAT performances at all, but considering English is my second language that didn't stop me from trying one more time every time I got a bad score. Honestly, I feel like I learned a lot from that experience, and it taught me not to rush things. That also made me more ready to tackle medical school. How can you be proud of a low sub-500 MCAT score? That attitude isn't gonna get you into medical school, and tell your dad you ain't made of money, but money can always be made. This is the kind of attitude Caribbean medical schools prey upon. Retake that MCAT if you really want to get in medical school because you're gonna waste a lot more than $269 by applying with it, and when you end up being a reapplicant it's gonna put you in an even worst place than now.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile

I mean my cousin was told he was stupid his whole life, went to the Caribbean, and is now a electrophysiologist trained at Langone.

Maybe I’m “better” than that...? But I guess I’m wasting everyone’s time because I know deep down what I need to do. I just want to understand life, it’s a frustrating experience, I guess I should take a page from Neil degrading Tyson, “the universe is under no obligation to make sense to me”.

So okay, here’s my quick adaptation:
Fall semester read all Kaplan books and watch every khan academy video AAMC.
Spring semester take Uworld and redo AAMC bundle with as many FL’s I can imagine weekly. Retake around graduation and apply early summer.

 

[underthemoon]

Unsuccessful medical school applications are a lot more expensive than MCAT retakes. If you get rejected from even 2 schools due to your MCAT score, you'll have basically negated any money you've saved by not retaking the exam.

When people have low MCATs/GPAs, they are advised to apply very broadly to a ton of programs which can push the total expenses into the thousands of dollars. The more marginal of a candidate you are, the more expensive the application process is down the line.

Just something to keep in mind.

I didn’t even think of that, so smart. You’re right. Thanks for the honest feedback.

 

[diasterdream]

I’ve taken orgo 3 (B), biochemistry 2 (B), and I’m also working in a medical school’s laboratory doing statistic analysis funded by the National Instutute of Mental Health to reframe the DSM into a more biological entity.

I understand having a new MCAT score would make me a perfect applicant, but I’m not perfect. I got that score with $269 this summer and I'm proud of my grind in such an economic way. I’m not paying another penny to the bussiness of becoming a doctor besides applications and interviews. As my dad says, “I’m not made of money.” I’m perfect at a few things, and my pseudo application above highlights them. So besides the glaringly obvious, where would I fit in? I’m perfectly happy being the bottom 10% in Matriculated DO students, but how likely am I to secure a slice of that pie? I’m not going to destroy my soul anymore than I have to. I need to honor my community instead of tuning them out to study these past few years, they need me, too.

So once again, thanks for sharing that my MCAT score is in the bottom 10%, that’s helpful, but I’ll also take that statistic with a grain of salt. Anyways, if you would be so kind, what schools would accept me? Are most DO applicants with MCAT scores in my percentile this ambitious and accomplished?

Lord knows my competition and all I need is to be around compassionate physicians. Where are they? Could use their advice right now.

To the bolded, you wouldn't be perfect even with a higher MCAT. Right now, your application is lacking key experiences, and you don't have anything that makes you compelling.I don't want to be pessimistic, but I do want to be realistic with you. Let's break down your application as it stands:
- : negative
0: neutral
+: Positive

cGPA: 0
sGPA: -
MCAT: -
Shadowing: +
EMT/Orthopedic surgery experience: +
Leadership: 0
Non Clinical Volunteering: -
Research: +

So overall, your application shows me you are not academically strong. A low sGPA and MCAT will not give schools the confidence you will complete medical school. You need to invest time on improving those. I know that MCAT prep is expensive and time consuming, but you are not putting your best foot forward with your current MCAT and GPA.

Your application shows me you like research and not community service. So you are not a good fit for service oriented schools (these schools may have overlooked your stats if you showed genuine passion for the community). You are also not a good fit for research schools because your stats will not pass their their screens.

I think you should give yourself a fighting chance by taking a year off to retake your MCAT and get more community service.

 

[underthemoon]

Is that your name? If so take that down too. You’ve given so much info you’ve removed all chances of remaining anonymous .

Does your listed GPA include your “grad” classes? Was it more of a post bacc or where you in a grad program?

Any nonclinical volunteering to those less fortunate than yourself? (Might be in your resume but I can’t bring myself to look at it.)

Your MCAT is too low for MD and probably too low for DO. You need a retake but not until you are scoring at or above your target goal on several FL practice tests. Do you have any idea what happened last time?

So I took the exam too early, read that I should take it a year before matriculation, which will be late in the spring semester. It’s currently early fall. I didn’t take enough practice exams either, I only used AAMC material. I have a new plan where I’m taking fall semester for content review and spring semester for practice questions and FL’s, retake in May and apply once I get score back. I just wanted to feel like I’m good enough and I guess that’s a character flaw. More work to do.

 

[underthemoon]

To the bolded, you wouldn't be perfect even with a higher MCAT. Right now, your application is lacking key experiences, and you don't have anything that makes you compelling.I don't want to be pessimistic, but I do want to be realistic with you. Let's break down your application as it stands:
- : negative
0: neutral
+: Positive

cGPA: 0
sGPA: -
MCAT: -
Shadowing: +
EMT/Orthopedic surgery experience: +
Leadership: 0
Non Clinical Volunteering: -
Research: +

So overall, your application shows me you are not academically strong. A low sGPA and MCAT will not give schools the confidence you will complete medical school. You need to invest time on improving those. I know that MCAT prep is expensive and time consuming, but you are not putting your best foot forward with your current MCAT and GPA.

Your application shows me you like research and not community service. So you are not a good fit for service oriented schools (these schools may have overlooked your stats if you showed genuine passion for the community). You are also not a good fit for research schools because your stats will not pass their their screens.

I think you should give yourself a fighting chance by taking a year off to retake your MCAT and get more community service.

That was a great response. I mean I have my entire senior year to study for my retake, and I’m also rebuilding the wrestling program and connecting it with the local high schools. My best foot surely isn’t being put forward, and I appreciate the humility. I could surely do more for the community.

 

[diasterdream]

That was a great response. I mean I have my entire senior year to study for my retake, and I’m also rebuilding the wrestling program and connecting it with the local high schools. My best foot surely isn’t being put forward, and I appreciate the humility. I could surely do more for the community.

I really admire how well you are taking feedback. Not many people can give a humble and fair response to criticism. I know it's hard to hear, but I want you to apply once and have the best cycle possible. You need to make improvements, but I am glad you are willing to make these changes to improve your application.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I didn’t even think of that, so smart. You’re right. Thanks for the honest feedback.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your kindness. I can't really take credit for my advice, though - it came out of many years participating in/lurking on this forum. Don't forget that all of us were once in your shoes. When I started out, I knew nothing (Jon Snow) about anything having to do with medical school admissions. After several years here, I feel like I'm now in pretty good shape. People here will go out of their way to help you if you let them

You seem really eager to give back to your community as a doctor and that's a fantastic starting point for your application. With a few adjustments (better MCAT score and more community service) medical school is very possible for you. Good luck!

 

[underthemoon]

That was a great response. I mean I have my entire senior year to study for my retake, and I’m also rebuilding the wrestling program and connecting it with the local high schools. My best foot surely isn’t being put forward, and I appreciate the humility. I could surely do more for the community.

I really admire how well you are taking feedback. Not many people can give a humble and fair response to criticism. I know it's hard to hear, but I want you to apply once and have the best cycle possible. You need to make improvements, but I am glad you are willing to make these changes to improve your application.

I really appreciate you acknowledging that. I have a lot of work to do and I needed a reminder that we never stop working

I really admire how well you are taking feedback. Not many people can give a humble and fair response to criticism. I know it's hard to hear, but I want you to apply once and have the best cycle possible. You need to make improvements, but I am glad you are willing to make these changes to improve your application.

Thank you so much, I have a lot of motivation to make everyone proud. What everyone has said is exactly what I needed to hear and I’m thankful for it. I want to help and be helped and that’s exactly what you have done for me. I’ll get my act together. Thanks again.

 

[underthemoon]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate your kindness. I can't really take credit for my advice, though - it came out of many years participating in/lurking on this forum. Don't forget that all of us were once in your shoes. When I started out, I knew nothing (Jon Snow) about anything having to do with medical school admissions. After several years here, I feel like I'm now in pretty good shape. People here will go out of their way to help you if you let them

You seem really eager to give back to your community as a doctor and that's a fantastic starting point for your application. With a few adjustments (better MCAT score and more community service) medical school is very possible for you. Good luck!

I can so do that. Thank you and I’m definitely open to newness. I’m glad I opened up, brazenly, and had the ability to see your truth. I’ve given a lot to my peers but not to the Disadvantaged and I definitely need to need to do that. In the next year I’ll commit to helping the less fortunate and giving my all to the process of earning a better MCAT score. Thanks for understanding my position with compassion. I’ll pay it forward one day.