Yes that is all true. However, its very very likely the best school you'll get into is BU...not impossible though! I think there has been Ucla and Columbia but we're talking 40+ mcats!
There are at least 10-15 students this year that got into schools that were AT LEAST BU's ranking or better with mcats scores ranging from the 32s to 41.
There's no sugarcoating the reality that there is no SMP in existence that gives you a noticeably large benefit in getting into UCs. Basically if you're a california resident, unless your stats are stellar, you won't get into a UC no matter which SMP you go into. I didn't even apply to UCs for that exact reason.
Since this has not been emphasized,
if you are a california resident, very improbable chance that you will not get into a UC unless you came with decently competitive uGPA AND you are in the 3.9+ gpa in the class AND get a 36+ on your mcat. This is a combination of too many students and not enough seats in Cali. EXPECT to end up in an OOS school for medicine.
I don't know where this "most get into DO" thing comes around. Most I know of end up in MD schools.
As far as your condition goes, it is a combination of bad luck, being from a disadvantageous state (no state school that is "easy" to get into"), mediocre MCAT and not applying to enough schools. Your SMP GPA is probably average if not above average, and your uGPA is certainly in the higher-highest end within the BU program. Your ECs are also above average so there is nothing holding you back. However, the biggest problem is that most students have state schools to fall back onto (NY, Florida, etc). California does not.
You stated you applied to ~25 schools,~ 5 of which were probably UCs+USC. Which means you applied to 20 OOS schools. Compare this with me, a CA resident as well, 3.92 grad GPA and 38 MCAT, and I applied to
40 schools
without applying to any of the UCs.
There is no reason why you shouldn't get into a MD school. You are above average in everything, except your MCAT. That IS probably what's hurting you, but this is not a purpose of the program though it does improve generally as a side effect of the program. This is not something the program (or any SMP can fix), this is an aspect you need to work on. With that said, your MCAT alone is not sufficient to keep you away from a MD school.
Which leads me to believe you probably didn't apply to enough schools. I don't know if I saw how many interviews you got (if any), but I've seen (significantly) lower stat students with similar mcats from california at least get a couple interviews, but they applied to broadly.
Oh, one last thing. How early you finish your application makes a several fold difference. I don't exactly know what you mean by your application was complete by august (secondaries?), but you need to apply and get everything done asap. This I know for a fact.
Don't give up hope on a MD! Your stats are high enough to avoid a DO.
