I'm international and I need advice

[Hirola]

Hello,

I'm an international student who finished his high school in the US, and I'm currently in a not very well known small private liberal arts college in the US.

Stats:
GPA: 3.89
STEM GPA: 3.91
MCAT: 505
CARS: 124
PSYCH: 125
CHEM/BIO: 128
Honors student

Volunteering and shadowing:
120 hours of shadowing (general surgery, cardiology, pathology, and internal medicine)
50 hours volunteering at a local clinic for the those in need
50 hours volunteering at a hippotherapy clinic

I have a ton of ECs, 3 years of research and a summer at MD Anderson, very good interview skills and strong LORs.

I wasn't expecting a high score on the MCAT, but I was surprised to see how bad I actually did. I currently have 3 options and cannot decide what to do. I could retake the MCAT and have my scores submitted in late July which isn't that great because there aren't many interview spots for international students and I don't know how much could my score even improve. Second, I think I am a strong DO candidate, and even though I do want to work in primary care, DO degree is not recognized at my home country. However, it might just turn out that I never go back in which case DO would be just fine. Finally, I could take a gap year and find a job within my field (Chemistry) and work on my MCAT skills until next spring.

I really want to be a doctor and I would love to beecome an MD. I wouldn't want to waste a year by doing a gap year because as an international student I can only stay if I have a job in a field of Chemistry. I don't know much about DO schools but I do know that some accept international students.

I will take any opinions or suggestions! Thanks

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[gyngyn]

The median MCAT for successful internationals is 512. Your score is a SD below that.
Do not retake the MCAT until you are confident of a score consistent with success.
You are already a good candidate for DO. About a dozen consider internationals.

 

[aformerstudent]

High MCAT, more hippotherapy hours, and a better explanation of why medicine.

 

[futuremdforme]

Retake MCAT, wait a year.

The risk of a DO degree that is not recognized in your country is too high.

 

[Hirola]

Thanks for advice. The truth is, I'll probably get married and stay in the US (don't worry, not a green card marriage), so I'm not too worried about not being able to go back home. Even if I was an MD I couldn't find a job at home (poor economy).

I think I will apply 5 DO school MSU, PCOM, CCOM, LECOM, and Rowan and hope for the best. These are the schools that I like and would like to go to. If I don't get into any of these I'll just take a gap year and work on my MCAT skills.

I might apply MCW and SUNY Upstate just for the hell of it. I'm from Eastern Europe, so not your typical international student. Maybe the diversity can push me forward.