Why is this can anyone explain

[jackets5]

this is going to sound like im being a dick but i dont mean it that way. Ive applied to only MD schools this cycle and while i have had 3 interviews with sub-average stats (3.3, 28). I was reading over on the Pre-Do board and listening to people with multiple acceptances with MCAT scores in the low 20's (21-23) and GPA's simliar to mine. Is that applicant pool so different between MD and DO schools, i mean it seems like night and day. I knew their was a difference in stats but never to that extreme. This isnt a bash on DO schools as im going to apply to a few next year myself if i dont get in this year, but just curious as to why the discrepancy is so huge. I mean it is kind of disheartening.

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[ChaChaDocta]

I've looked over that board too, and I am also applying to some DO schools. I really don't think those are typical scores... Average accepted MCAT scores for most DO schools are 24-28, average GPAs are 3.4-3.7. I'd be willing to bet those low/sub 20 MCAT scorers have some pretty shiny stuff on the rest of their app...

 

[jackets5]

i looked at the whole thread on the subject. i dont get it though, if you get an MCAT score sub/low 20's i think it proves that you have not retained any information from your classes, cant think quickly and under pressure etc. I mean if you have a 3.5 and up GPA you should be able score at leas above the national average. If you cant i think i would raise a red flag to the validity of your GPA. Im just fustrated right now with this whole process

 

[big_smiles]

It's normal to vent and be frustrated with the process. However, remember an MCAT score is only a piece of the app. I wouldn't complain with three interviews. I got 3 as well and rejected everywhere else (all below top 50 schools but one). I have a 3.98/31 and I rant sometimes too. But it's the entire app. Don't focus on everyone else's stats, work with what you got.

 

[jackets5]

the funny this is ive gotten interviews at very good schools, U of Chicago, UCLA (out of state) and NYU but have been rejected flat out or have been waiting for months to here from schools like: NYMC, Drexel, Temple and Finch. It makes no sense to me, I have below average stats but outstanding EC's and experiences and i get interviewed at 2 top 20's and NYU but get rejected from schools outside of the top 100. I understand that the MCAT is just one part of the app. but scoring so low pretty much shows you know nothing at all from your pre-req classes. Could you imagine someone holding multiple acceptances at an MD school with a 21 MCAT regardless of GPA or EC's. Sorry again

 

[jbone]

the funny this is ive gotten interviews at very good schools, U of Chicago, UCLA (out of state) and NYU but have been rejected flat out or have been waiting for months to here from schools like: NYMC, Drexel, Temple and Finch. It makes no sense to me, I have below average stats but outstanding EC's and experiences and i get interviewed at 2 top 20's and NYU but get rejected from schools outside of the top 100. I understand that the MCAT is just one part of the app. but scoring so low pretty much shows you know nothing at all from your pre-req classes. Could you imagine someone holding multiple acceptances at an MD school with a 21 MCAT regardless of GPA or EC's. Sorry again

And your point is??? Another pointless DO/MD thread.
And I wouldn't be bragging w/ a 28 MCAT. Nothing to write home about or belittle a whole group of students who want to be doctors just as bad as you, maybe even more.

 

[jackets5]

there is no bragging going on with a 28 on the MCAT (im studying already for April) but its a hell of alot better than a 21 at least it shows i know some science i learned in undergraduate classes. If you read i said i will be applying to some DO school next year if i dont get in this time around, so i wasnt meaning to be a dick. My main question was if the application pool so drastically different that people with low 20's on the MCAT, and average GPA's are holding multiple accenptances.

 

[Rafa]

The way I see it is: if you're concerned that students applying to DO schools seem to land more acceptances than students (with similar stats) applying to MD schools, then maybe you should consider applying to some DO schools as well. In the end, both sets of matriculants are doctors. If you really want to be one, take advantage of all the options you can find. If you want to be an MD as opposed to a DO, then start comparing yourself to MD applicants, instead of looking longingly over the MD/DO fence.

 

[jebus]

It makes no sense to me, I have below average stats but outstanding EC's and experiences and i get interviewed at 2 top 20's and NYU but get rejected from schools outside of the top 100. ....Could you imagine someone holding multiple acceptances at an MD school with a 21 MCAT regardless of GPA or EC's. Sorry again

So, I don't know about the whole MD/DO dichotomy so I'm not going to talk about it (sorry, it sort of misses the whole point of your thread, I know) but I'm convinced that at some level the application process is random. There are so many good applicants for some schools that admissions committees have got to just "go with their gut". I'm not one of those spectacular applicants. I've got a 3.35 from a couple of top tier schools and a 36 and I've got no interviews. I am frustrated to no end and will likely cry myself to sleep when I'm done writing this. I will dry my eyes with my copious amount of money. Yes, I'm sure I did something else wrong (My LORs? My Personal Statement? I applied a little too late, I know that, but there's probably some other stuff I messed up, too.) but I've got to accept that and figure out how to improve my app for next year, I guess.
I'm sure there are people holding acceptances with 21s on their MCAT. In the MSAR for each school they list the upper and lower distribution of MCAT subsection scores. Some of them get pretty low - except for a few schools that have score cutoffs. If you look at MDapplicants there are a few people with low MCAT scores who got in... On the one hand I can understand it and it almost makes me happy - It's nice to see that not everything is about numbers. On the other hand - holy ****, I want to get in somewhere! Anyway, this is more of a rant and less of a constructive addition to your thread. Sorry about that.

 

[NapeSpikes]

i dont get it though, if you get an MCAT score sub/low 20's i think it proves that you have not retained any information from your classes, cant think quickly and under pressure etc.

Ehh, it's all in the eye of the beholder. So folks get into DOs with low 20s--does that mean they suck at science, can't handle the pressure? According to whom?

Those SDNers with their 36s and 43s can say the same thing about us. Why be condescending? Not only does it, as mentioned before, belittle an entire group of people, but your little side comments totally distract from your main question, which as you may have noticed, no one answered.

 

[Fermata]

The MCAT is more of a threshold kind of thing in my opinion.

Besides, the school is putting its own reputation on the line by banking on these people being able to pass the boards.

So why be upset?