[Urgent] Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[retro]

Hello everyone,

First of all, thanks for taking your time to read my post. I will be applying this cycle, but I am a novice in terms of the application process, so I'm asking for your advice. The following information describes my situation right now.

1. After 5 yrs (2yr undergrad + 3yr graduate courses), I'll be maintaining 3.83 for both cGPA and sGPA.

2. Took MCAT and ended up with 27 (6 vr, 9 ps, 12 bs).

3. It's a lame excuse for my poor verbal score, but I lived in one of the Eastern Asian countries all my life since 3 yo, graduated high school there, and moved to the states for college. Technically, I am a U.S. citizen because I was born here. I am now also a NJ resident.(random, I know..)

4. Voluntary experiences include riding as an EMT for the first two yrs of college, holding and coordinating blood drive on campus, planning parties for children in hospital. I will be shadowing physicians after this semester.

5. I have ~1.5 yrs of research experience in the field of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. Many presentations, but never published any paper.

6. List of schools I'm planning to apply starting upcoming June:

DO schools: (definitely applying)

CCOM, NSU-COM, AT Still, KCUMB, NYCOM, PCOM, UMDNJ-SOM, WVSOM, Touro-CA, LECOM, Touro-NY, WCU COM

MD schools: (depends - read below)




Now...I'm a realist, and I know I have a very low, if not no chance for any of the MD schools with my MCAT. My shot on DO schools aren't looking bright either.

Here's my question:

Let's assume that I apply to all the DO schools (not MD schools) mentioned above through AACOM system and get rejected to all. Then, I'll take a year off to prepare and re-take the MCAT. In that case, would I be considered as a re-applicant for MD schools the following year despite the fact that I never applied to any MD schools this year?
If that's the case, I'm just going to apply to the above MD schools this cycle as well, hoping for a miracle. But if AACOM and AMCAS are totally separate, then I might just hold back on the MD schools.

Also, would you let me know if any of the schools above boast cutline subsection scores for MCAT? Or schools with extremely high in-state preferences? Any additional MD school recommendations where I might have a chance? Rather than wasting money on schools that'll trash my app without even a glance, I'd be treating my family and friends with nice dinner.

I know my post is completely out of order, but it's partly due to the stress I'm going through right now. As I said before, any word of advice or criticism would be appreciated (but please...no sugartalk, now is not the time for such measures).


Truly,
retro

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[Brachyury]

Hello everyone,

First of all, thanks for taking your time to read my post. I will be applying this cycle, but I am a novice in terms of the application process, so I'm asking for your advice. The following information describes my situation right now.

1. Currently in 5th yr of Rutgers School of Pharmacy. Unlike other undergrad colleges, it's a 6-yr curriculum starting right off from high school. Known for grade deflation...seriously..

2. Pharmacist's limited autonomy as a healthcare provider along with ridiculous pharmacy deals such as "Fills your Rx in 15 min" led me to pursue medicine, which tended to focus more on patient care.

3. After 5 yrs (2yr undergrad + 3yr graduate courses), I'll be maintaining 3.83 for both cGPA and sGPA.

4. Took MCAT and ended up with 27 (6 vr, 9 ps, 12 bs).

5. It's a lame excuse for my poor verbal score, but I lived in one of the Eastern Asian countries all my life since 3 yo, graduated high school there, and moved to the states for college. Technically, I am a U.S. citizen because I was born here. I am now also a NJ resident.(random, I know..)

6. Voluntary experiences include riding as an EMT for the first two yrs of college, holding and coordinating blood drive on campus, planning parties for children in hospital. I will be shadowing physicians after this semester.

7. I have ~1.5 yrs of research experience in the field of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. Many presentations, but never published any paper.

8. List of schools I'm planning to apply starting upcoming June:

DO schools: (definitely applying)

CCOM, NSU-COM, AT Still, KCUMB, NYCOM, PCOM, UMDNJ-SOM, WVSOM, Touro-CA, LECOM, Touro-NY, WCU COM

MD schools: (depends - read below)

Southern Illinois, UMDNJ-RWJ, NJMS, Commonwealth, Eastern Virginia, WVU SOM, FIU, Albany Medical College, Hofstra, NYMC, Loyola, Rosalind Franklin


Now...I'm a realist, and I know I have a very low, if not no chance for any of the MD schools with my MCAT. My shot on DO schools aren't looking bright either.

Here's my question:

Let's assume that I apply to all the DO schools (not MD schools) mentioned above through AACOM system and get rejected to all. Then, I'll take a year off to prepare and re-take the MCAT. In that case, would I be considered as a re-applicant for MD schools the following year despite the fact that I never applied to any MD schools this year?
If that's the case, I'm just going to apply to the above MD schools this cycle as well, hoping for a miracle. But if AACOM and AMCAS are totally separate, then I might just hold back on the MD schools.

Also, would you let me know if any of the schools above boast cutline subsection scores for MCAT? Or schools with extremely high in-state preferences? Any additional MD school recommendations where I might have a chance? Rather than wasting money on schools that'll trash my app without even a glance, I'd be treating my family and friends with nice dinner.

I know my post is completely out of order, but it's partly due to the stress I'm going through right now. As I said before, any word of advice or criticism would be appreciated (but please...no sugartalk, now is not the time for such measures).


Truly,
retro

You look like you'd be a solid DO candidate. The only other thing I'll say is are you SURE you want to leave pharm to go into medicine?

 

[retro]

You look like you'd be a solid DO candidate. The only other thing I'll say is are you SURE you want to leave pharm to go into medicine?

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Yeah I'm quite sure that I'll be pursuing medicine if I'm given a chance. So, DO schools in general don't seem to have cutoffs for subsections...am I right?

 

[Brachyury]

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Yeah I'm quite sure that I'll be pursuing medicine if I'm given a chance. So, DO schools in general don't seem to have cutoffs for subsections...am I right?

This is an active thread in the pre-DO section http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=811547

When I applied, I only applied to allo schools, so I don't know which if any DO schools have cutoffs. Considering that the mean MCAT of student accepted to DO schools is about a 26.5, you should have a pretty good chance

 

[retro]

This is an active thread in the pre-DO section http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=811547

When I applied, I only applied to allo schools, so I don't know which if any DO schools have cutoffs. Considering that the mean MCAT of student accepted to DO schools is about a 26.5, you should have a pretty good chance

Hey, thanks a lot. That's exactly the thread I was looking for. Seems like it'll be a tough game, but I'll have to go all out (both DO & MD) as if this is my last chance.

 

[MattyBee]

Hello everyone,

First of all, thanks for taking your time to read my post. I will be applying this cycle, but I am a novice in terms of the application process, so I'm asking for your advice. The following information describes my situation right now.

1. After 5 yrs (2yr undergrad + 3yr graduate courses), I'll be maintaining 3.83 for both cGPA and sGPA.

2. Took MCAT and ended up with 27 (6 vr, 9 ps, 12 bs).

3. It's a lame excuse for my poor verbal score, but I lived in one of the Eastern Asian countries all my life since 3 yo, graduated high school there, and moved to the states for college. Technically, I am a U.S. citizen because I was born here. I am now also a NJ resident.(random, I know..)

4. Voluntary experiences include riding as an EMT for the first two yrs of college, holding and coordinating blood drive on campus, planning parties for children in hospital. I will be shadowing physicians after this semester.

5. I have ~1.5 yrs of research experience in the field of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. Many presentations, but never published any paper.

6. List of schools I'm planning to apply starting upcoming June:

DO schools: (definitely applying)

CCOM, NSU-COM, AT Still, KCUMB, NYCOM, PCOM, UMDNJ-SOM, WVSOM, Touro-CA, LECOM, Touro-NY, WCU COM

MD schools: (depends - read below)

Southern Illinois, UMDNJ-RWJ, NJMS, Commonwealth, Eastern Virginia, WVU SOM, FIU, Albany Medical College, Hofstra, NYMC, Loyola, Rosalind Franklin


Now...I'm a realist, and I know I have a very low, if not no chance for any of the MD schools with my MCAT. My shot on DO schools aren't looking bright either.

Here's my question:

Let's assume that I apply to all the DO schools (not MD schools) mentioned above through AACOM system and get rejected to all. Then, I'll take a year off to prepare and re-take the MCAT. In that case, would I be considered as a re-applicant for MD schools the following year despite the fact that I never applied to any MD schools this year?
If that's the case, I'm just going to apply to the above MD schools this cycle as well, hoping for a miracle. But if AACOM and AMCAS are totally separate, then I might just hold back on the MD schools.

Also, would you let me know if any of the schools above boast cutline subsection scores for MCAT? Or schools with extremely high in-state preferences? Any additional MD school recommendations where I might have a chance? Rather than wasting money on schools that'll trash my app without even a glance, I'd be treating my family and friends with nice dinner.

I know my post is completely out of order, but it's partly due to the stress I'm going through right now. As I said before, any word of advice or criticism would be appreciated (but please...no sugartalk, now is not the time for such measures).


Truly,
retro

Someone ask that question a few days ago.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=813648

No. If one has never submitted and been verified by AMCAS, then one is not a reapplicant for their purposes. AMCAS schools won't know about previous use of another application service, since there is no connection between them.

I, however, have no idea if that strategy is wise or not.

But, if you do end up deciding to apply to both MD and DO schools you need to be aware of a few things.

1.) Many DO schools require or at least "strongly recommend" that you have a LOR from a DO physician. You can search on the forums for a list of the schools that require DO LORs to get an idea of which schools do or don't require DO LORs. But what you really should do is find out directly from the school websites what the requirements are. I know you said you will be starting physician shadowing this semester. If you do not have a DO physician lined up to shadow I would really consider finding one.

2.) When making a school list you need to take into account the % of OOS applicants accepted if you are going to be an OOS applicant to that school. You can not just look at the average MCAT/gpa. Your list of MD schools is a perfect example.

Southern Illinois, UMDNJ-RWJ, NJMS, Commonwealth, Eastern Virginia, WVU SOM, FIU, Albany Medical College, Hofstra, NYMC, Loyola, Rosalind Franklin

I know for a fact that SIU and WVU both recruit heavily instate. If you are going to apply to either of those schools as an OOS applicant it is best that you have ties to the state. I am pretty sure Commonwealth, EVMS, and FIU are very similar in that regard. This is very important because even with a more competitive MCAT score getting into a school like SIU with no ties to Illinois would be very difficult if not impossible. Use the MSAR to make your list and make sure you take note of the % of OOS students accepted. You could also generally read a little about the school to get an idea of what type of applicants it accepts.

3.) It way too early to be stressing. You have a long process ahead of you. Take it one step at a time.

4.) Take people's advise with a gain of salt...even mine...err ESPECIALLY mine. Haha. Do the research for yourself. Find out if things are true/not true through your own research.

Hoped this helped.