Non Traditional Applicant Requiring Advice

[4lyfe]

............

[advair250]

Apply on day one, have all of your application documents ready to go(LORs) etc, and you should be fine. Your science scores are great, and your overall stats are fine. The 7 verbal is low, but many schools will see the sciences and be content. Ecs look fine. Write a good PS and secondaries, and you'll be golden.

[advair250]

Keep up the volunteer work, and clinical experience. Write a great Personal Statement, and get LORs in order in advance. Submit AMCAS on day one, and pre-write secondaries. Get MSAR to see what schools take internationals, but many of the canadian friendly ones have been discussed in the accepted/rejected subforum elsewhere.

[advair250]

That is way too many schools, stick with 25-30 schools MAX that actually fit your range, with some reaches obviously. Apply smart, since you won't have time to do that many secondaries.

[advair250]

Your ECs are fine, just don't suddenly stop doing them.

[Slashsev]

So I'm thinking of applying to 30-40 M.D. schools and 5-10 D.O schools.

 

My application will be submitted on the first day, as well.

 

I'm just trying to think how I could improve my EC's, any ideas?

 

sounds good!EC = BS

 

a 7 will be a red flag,

 

your gpa isnt that amazing

 

i would re-do mcat

[Slashsev]

1 more comment,

 

why id re do mcat

 

A. you will always get into a DO school with those stats, so you will start med aka 1 year late with a new mcat

 

nothin agasnt DO, but at the end of the day MD > DO

 

at max you lose 1 year and start as a DO (if u dont get in)

 

...or you get a 10 on the V and get MD in a good preferred location

 

id take 1 more shot at the net

[ralk]

1 more comment,

 

why id re do mcat

 

A. you will always get into a DO school with those stats, so you will start med aka 1 year late with a new mcat

 

nothin agasnt DO, but at the end of the day MD > DO

 

at max you lose 1 year and start as a DO (if u dont get in)

 

...or you get a 10 on the V and get MD in a good preferred location

 

id take 1 more shot at the net

 

Gotta agree with this. By the sounds of it, your 7 in the Verbal section is an anomaly, so it should improve with a rewrite. Your overall might be in the 91st percentile, but your verbal is below the 50th - that's significant.

 

Regardless of the DO vs MD debate, going to the easier schools to get into in the US restricts your career options, significantly. Primary care can lead to a great, rewarding career, but it's far better to be able to choose to be a primary care physician than be forced to. Do you really want to be applying for residencies and realize you have doors closed because of a test you didn't want to rewrite 4+ years beforehand?

 

(As an aside, are you considering Canadian schools at all? The only thing keeping you from having a decent shot at a few of them is that VR score)

[ralk]

So when I was studying for the MCAT I literally put all my energy and will into the exam. I'm not really to sure that I can match the determination, which I once had. I went through over 600 verbal passages, using 6 different prep companies material, and something like 35 Full Lengths. I even had one professor at Rochestor use my study plan for his pre medical students.

 

I rather spend my time volunteering and improving my EC's as opposed to restudying for the MCAT. Also, I was looking at stats published by AAMC, and there is a greater chance of me dropping as opposed to increasing from a 33.

 

I think at this stage of my life, I'm completely fine with becoming a primary care physician and would be glad studying at a DO school (worst situation). I also do realize that I'm essentially eliminated from applying to Canadian Medical Schools, but its probably time for a change in scene.

 

Honestly, it sounds like you over-prepared for the Verbal section and probably over-thought things during the test itself. Going overboard doesn't always lead to better results. I don't you'd need to spend anything close to the time you spent in your first effort to improve significantly on your second attempt, though I can't give any guarantees, of course.

 

Anyway, back to your original question. Your ECs are fine - you might get a little bit of benefit from additional ECs, but not too much. Your chances at most MD schools would not be great, because while your overall MCAT score is right on the average for accepted Canadian applicants, your distribution is heavily skewed, and your GPA won't make up for it.

 

If you're set on this path, then I agree with advair - pick the schools that you have the best chance at and put a strong effort into those applications, while ignoring schools that you'd have little-to-no chance at. If you'd be happy with the DO route, apply to some of those as well as backups. As long as you recognize what the likely outcomes are, the costs associated with them, and what it all means for your future practice, you've got a viable strategy.

[Mashmetoo]

I think at this stage of my life, I'm completely fine with becoming a primary care physician and would be glad studying at a DO school (worst situation). I also do realize that I'm essentially eliminated from applying to Canadian Medical Schools, but its probably time for a change in scene.

 

Any idea of what you want to get into at this point? When I started, I thought I wanted surgery... Then it changed to internal medicine.. then I flirted with the idea of OBGYN for a while.. then 3 years later, basically none of those appealed to me anymore (mostly due to life style concerns)... So I've set on FM, and I think that will make me the happiest. Also, you really are not at that much of a disadvantage as a DO. All the primary care residencies are open to you, there are significant dually accredited MD/DO residencies that give out visas (surprising right?). If you want stuff like EM, OBGYN, anesthesiology, it is definitely open to you as well. The only real road blocks are probably derm, ortho, radiation oncology (then again, those ROAD specialties are hard to get into for anyone, USMDs included). But hey, if you know early on what you want to get into, it really helps with the decision making.

 

In reference to what was said before about waiting a year with a better (hopefully) MCAT vs getting into a DO school now. I'd choose now over later. The reason I say that is the competition pool gets larger each year, and by the time you get to the matching process, I can only imagine what competition you'll have... I've seen middle of nowhere sites in the US experience 200% increase in applicants starting this year.. It looks baaaad...

[Mashmetoo]

Also, I forgot to mention.. I won't ask your age.. but age should definitely be a concern to you... IF you stay another year to boost up the MCAT.. well... yes, you might get a higher score and have a better chance for a MD spot.. but you'll also be 1 year older, have 1 less year to make back all the debt you'll accrue. I'd always choose sooner in this scenerio over later, because your age will catch up to you.

[Mashmetoo]

Also, I know many people believe that MD>DO and top tier>mid tier> bottom tier. But based on my experience non of these rankings matter. We are all studying to be doctors and I think what is really important is how you treat your patients (Emotional IQ). I've had patients at dialysis tell me which doctors are garbage because they have zero sympathy/empathy. Then they say, I'll never be like that doctor - your patients will be lucky to have you.

 

^ +1, THIS

[advair250]

The 33 is fine, just apply and stay of PM101. Too many neurotics.

[advair250]

Sound advice.