I’m trying to plan my life a bit and it would help a lot to know my chances of getting in so I can figure out how much money I should have saved and what career path to take for my gap year. Even though there’s not much I can do now except interview well.
Anyway, here are my stats.
3.2cGPA (from mediocre undergrad school)
3.4sGPA/postbacc GPA. (From top 10 school, I have a C- in a bio class that killed me)
sub 30MCAT (april) 33M MCAT(August and nothing below a 10)
Here are the qualitative factors:
Strong letters of rec from many respected people that got to know me well.
Research at a Top medical school (unpublished)
100 or so shadowing hours.
150 or so volunteer hours mixed 50/50 clinical and community service.
Success in non science/medical entreupaneurship and created a science education iPad app by myself that is pretty cool.
I submitted secondaries to 20 MD schools consisiting of the 18 most likely schools to let me in and 2 reaches. + 5 of my favorite DO schools. My letter of rec from a physician is from an MD but I have friends that are DO students/residents + family that practices as DOs and I mentioned that so it’s not like I don’t understand the philosophy.
I submitted my AMCAS in July and got verified in Aug. I did all my secondaries in Aug/Sept.
Provided I’m a good guy and won’t blow my interviews if I get them am I near 100% to get in somewhere? Should I apply to more DO schools? I REALLY want to get in this cycle as this gap year feels like purgatory already and I’m ready to move forward with medicine.
I wouldn’t say your chances are near 100% but I would say they are very good.
If the C- in bio was in the prerequisite, some schools don’t accept that in a prerequisite so I’d check the web sites. Perhaps you should retake that course in the “glide” year. If it is something else (cell biology, micro, etc), I wouldn’t bother.
I’d say 6-8 DO schools would be better, but as they are generally distributed over a wider geographic area, I understand having fewer of those. I applied to 6 MD and 6 DO schools.
Have a response prepared for why you did not shadow a DO physician as well (in school, couldn’t go far, one not available that was taking students in my geographic area --something like that). Read the AOA website and a bit of background and that will help you in your DO interviews.
Best of luck!!
Kate
I know you don’t want to hear this but nothing is 100% in this process.
If you want specific advice on your chances, you should provide some additional information. Although this is more for clarity to assess your chances than being able to affect this application cycle.
Is 3.2 your TOTAL cGPA (undergrad + postbacc GPA)? Is your sGPA the same?
What is your state of residence?
Are you an under-represented minority (URM)?
What exact schools did you apply to?
How many hours of research did you do?
What activities are currently doing? Are you taking any classes or continuing your volunteering for instance?
What is your breakdown of LORs? Science professors? PI from research? Volunteer coordinator?
Honestly, I think you are in as good a place you can be with the cards you’ve been dealt. Great job getting those secondaries out!
Your exact chances of getting into an allopathic medical school are 51.9% based on aggregated data from 2009-2011 - compared to your GPA and MCAT (3.2 and 33).
Check out the pdf here.
Obviously I am being facetious by saying those are your exact chances. For those who haven’t applied yet, asking what at your chances are does nothing but give you others users opinions.
Every combination of grades, MCAT scores and life experiences is different and are reviewed differently at each medical school. The only 100% fact is that your chances are ZERO if you don’t apply! 
Thank you for the responses.
I suppose someone would really need detailed knowledge of various medical school admission processes to answer this question with an approximate percent.
I’ve seen the AAMC stats graph too. Another way of asking my same question would be:
How much do things such as difficulty of post-bacc program and post-bacc GPA, business experience, volunteer work, research work, being a good interviewer and able to show why you are entering medicine for the right reasons, state of residence, maturity, being an ORM, life experience, applying broadly, and letters of rec matter when added to the 51.9%.
The other question I am asking is how do my stats look for DO school and is there a reason why 5 DO schools would reject me but only a fraction of 10 would?
To answer the later part - your stats look good for DO schools, but some schools could reject you due to already having mostly filled their class (those that do so early - so if you interview late you may only be offered a place in the following year’s class). So applying more broadly may encompass a greater variety of admissions cycles.
Kate
Thanks a lot for the responses.
It’s probably time for me to stop thinking about this stuff. I’m calling up some of the DO schools I applied to to see if my timeline will be an issue and will apply more in necessary.
Hey mrchance. Relax and take a breather. I’m in the same boat as you, applying this year. This waiting game is a killer, eh? Personally, I would apply to a few more DO schools if you’re getting worried. Honestly, what’s another $500 in application fees vs. waiting another year to apply.
I applied to 30 MD schools and 5 DO schools. Was this overkill? Probably. Did I need to apply to so many schools? Probably not. Is it worth it if I get in this year vs waiting another year? Most Definitely!
Anyways, good luck man. Try not to be too hard on yourself.
Any updates for those who applied in this thread?
- dnelsen Said:
Is 3.2 your TOTAL cGPA (undergrad + postbacc GPA)? Is your sGPA the same?
What is your state of residence?
Are you an under-represented minority (URM)?
What exact schools did you apply to?
How many hours of research did you do?
Another extremely telling advantage (that strangely enough, folks don't seem too willing to talk about) is the stat published by AAMC that ~80% of applicants with parents that have either an MD or PhD (or both) are admitted to med school.
Interesting…are there also any stats by family income?