Do I have a chance?

[Paesh]

Graduated with honors, 3.55 GPA, sGPA 3.4, MCAT 1: 505, retaking MCAT May 28 after taking the Princeton review course, 1,000+ hours of scribing in ED and rehab hospital, and did research with a professor for about a year and a half during undergrad, was a TA for the cadaver labs, previous volunteer experience at a horse rehabilitation center, and currently volunteering at Kids Food Basket
However, I did receive IA for helping my boyfriend cheat on an exam in physics II during COVID online schooling at the beginning of the pandemic (its a long story and an unhealthy relationship that I ended, but they gave me a 0 on the final and my course grade dropped to a C+, but the incident was only put on internal records and I was let off with a warning, as it was my first and only offense). I only applied to MD schools this past cycle and did not get offered any interviews, however I plan to reapply to a few of the schools and also apply to DO schools this time around. (I did ace physics I and got a solid letter of rec from that professor). I know it was stupid and I hate myself for it, but I can't change it now. Do I have any chance of getting in next cycle?

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[TragicalDrFaust]

How long ago was the IA and can you explain what an "internal record" is? Are they totally contained to the school? That feels unlikely but I don't know what your school is like. IAs for academic dishonesty are taken very seriously - it is probably one of the worst types you can have on a medical school application. I've seen a loose recommendation of ~5 years between the incident and your application by adcoms on SDN. On top of that your stats aren't competitive for MD except possibly your state school. In fact they're very close to the median stats for accepted DO students, around 3.5 GPA and 503-504 MCAT. (Median for MD was about 3.8/511 last time I checked).

If the IA was within the last few years, I regret to say you have almost no chance.

On the other hand, I'm happy you're out of that relationship.

 

[Dral]

Oof, sorry that happened to you. The way you present it, it sounds like you were put in a tough situation, but unfortunately didn't make a good choice. Unfortunately I agree with TragicalDrFaust that this IA may follow you for a bit.

Hopefully you do well on your MCAT. Since you already have it scheduled, you may as well take it at this point. I would throw in a bunch of DO schools this round. If you are relatively unsuccessful this coming cycle, you may still have a chance down the line. You could maybe consider a post bac to pull your grades up/prove yourself. That will also take some time so ad coms can be more assured you have grown from your mistake. Best of luck.

 

[Osteosaur]

Your numbers are not good enough for MD period. I would look into DO as they are closer to the median. And it probably explains no interviews.

Its hard to say if this is due to the IA or not. Did you need to disclose it? Its a pretty serious thing.

 

[Paesh]

My sister suggested it might be good for me to simply to a master's degree first before trying to reapply, do you think this would improve my chances and show that I am dedicated to this career and have learned from my previous mistakes? At this stage I could continue to study and take the MCAT as it is already scheduled, and if my score is high enough, use that score to apply in a few years (as the score is good for 2-3 years) upon completion of the master's? I know applying is very costly so I am wondering if I should forego applying this year and simply do the masters and apply after that?

 

[Dr Meow]

I would apply DO only, and apply to basically all of them.