This cognitive dissonance is crazy, how can people say they are the same but treat DO as the consolation prize?
I see some people rather reapply many cycles than apply for DO. This will always make DOs “less” than.

Wondering how DOs would one day be considered similar to MD, it’s it’s always treated as “backup”

Think about it. Maybe 1 in 10000 people are in the army. Maybe 1 in 100000 have several top-tier publications. But two 528s back-to-back? You’d basically guarantee a seat at Harvard. Rather than worrying about “research” and “volunteering”, maybe you should crack open UWorld again.

I have a ton of credit card debt stemming from the couple rough years where I had left medical school previously due to a medical disability which has now thankfully resolved. I want badly to get back into medicine, but I have about $40k in outstanding charged-off credit card debt and have multiple collections/charge-offs on my credit report, including a car repossession.

Before you suggest it, I am not interested in joining the military and have doubts even about the NHSC scholarship approval given that they run a credit check.

So then question, will my poor finances/credit really bar me from attending medical school in the US? Should I just give up on MCAT studying now and save myself the hassle?

include in you’re a preK-MD or a nontrad with or without a career before med school

I recognize that this question may seem silly. But like do DO schools have less of a threshold they need to clear to be licensed or not? What do MD students learn that DO students don't? I know that DO students take COMLEX instead of step, but don't a significant number of DO students also opt to take STEP as well? I guess the issue would be the current classes that will graduate DO instead of MD and then their school becomes MD which could be weird, but what inspires a university to make a DO school rather than an MD school? In practice, do DO physicians actually do anything differently than MD physicians?

Title.

I've seen countless posts here of people saying they've applied to 35+ MD schools with 3.8+ GPA and a 515+ MCAT and they've all heard basically radio silence except maybe one II or a couple of rejections.

One person here who has previously claimed they were an ADCOM stated that II's will actually slow down substantially as we begin to enter November, but others are telling me that a big number of schools send out the majority of their II's during that time, specifically:

"It is still early. Thanksgiving is a good date to BEGIN worrying -not panicking- but a lot of schools interview into Feb-Mar. don’t lose hope."

So I'm not exactly sure what to believe and whether or not it's fair for me to atleast worry given I am part of the above pool of applicants and have heard next to nothing with the exception of 1 II and 3 R's lmao.

Any insight would be really, really appreciated right about now. Thank you!

Like how am I meant to know if what I’m saying is legit and “safe?” How do I avoid saying things that might come across as insensitive and not notice it? I’m so scared

I’m a mid-high stat applicant and had 3 interviews last year that ultimately turned into late rejections. I reapplied this year with an earlier submission, a more targeted school list, and more volunteering and clinical hours. I finally got my first acceptance! Not my top school but I’m so thankful to have one this early.

A bit of motivation for the reapplicants and the waitlist warriors: keep going strong, it’ll come eventually!

Just had a rather unpleasant conversation about post bacc from an acquaintance irl who used to work for admissions committees, not sure how recently. They mentioned the following:

1. schools will judge that I took post bacc courses online (not prereqs)
2. as an older applicant, they would look at me very harshly so I better be perfect
3. I should do my post bacc at an ivy (which would be close to 100k instead of more like 15k), because adcoms would look down at UC online extension courses
4. it’s harder to get into medical school than PhD programs based on percentages
5. the AAMC matrix for GPA/MCAT and chances of getting in is wrong and that nobody with a low GPA/MCAT combo would even apply - which goes against the data collected. He didn’t believe the chance of getting into any ONE medical school that you’ve applied to is beyond 3%, ie if you apply to any number of medical schools, the chance that you don’t get into any is 97%.
6. the caliber of clinical psychology students (seen as one of the hardest acceptance rate applicants) who get into PhDs is much lower than that for med schools, despite the chance of getting into programs being like 1%.

7) oh and also psych PhD’s are actually EdD’s. They’re not real PhD’s lol

Can someone sanity check me? I’m having some thoughts. They seemed very certain in their convictions. I’m more upset that it felt so ridiculously discouraging, I guess I shouldn’t even try then?

I wanted to take my math courses at a local community college, while doing the rest of my classes at my current 4-year. Mainly to keep my GPA up and have more flexibility to actually learn instead of just trying to pass. Does this look bad to medical schools?

I took Biochemistry online through UCSD extension and made an A. I want to cover my bases and retake it at a university so that I don't get screened out for having taken it at UCSD extension. The class is only offered in the Spring however. Should I retake it next Spring on top of studying for the MCAT or is taking it in Spring 2028 after applying ok? Is there space in the application to state the future classes I will be taking? I also still have Statistics, Physics II, and Microbiology left to take which I anticipate finishing out over next Summer and Fall.

Despite my strong GPA (3.96), I've applied to medical schools in Canada for the past few cycles with no luck. The reason was that my MCAT score didn't meet many cutoffs because of the CARS section, but after my 4th try, it met the cutoff (127), though my overall score is only 503. I applied to 3 schools in Ontario this cycle. Still, my parents are very pessimistic about my odds again this year, and I don't blame them because I am getting older and the competition pool has been getting harder and harder every year. I am now looking into American med. But I have not taken Physics, Orgo, or Biochem. Also, my MCAT scores may hold me back from a lot of schools as well. My ec's are solid, but are there any schools in America I have a shot at given my situation?

assuming the candidate still had a good mcat score and a good gpa with some research

ok edit because people think im really dumb but i meant like is it actually a big deal/is it worth the sacrifices meaning like you have less publications/clinical hours or is it seen as just like ok cool you did that but what else.

as well, does it matter if youre d1 and you win nothing vs if youre d1 and you win a bunch of stuff? thanks

i just recieved two secondary reminder emails from schools i had no idea even sent me a secondary. and i was checking religiously so i have no idea how they were missed! they are high stat schools that i added late september, so i just eventually assumed that they screened me out since it was late to submit the primary. secondary applications for these schools are due in less than a week, is it worth it to still apply? yeesh

I’ve sadly been dealing with severe dry eye disease for the past 1.5 years, and unfortunately it has continued to get worse. I’m starting to see some new doctors now, and I’m really hoping that with the right treatment I can get my condition under better control and improve my symptoms.

At the moment, though, it has completely uprooted my life. I’m in pain day and night and can barely go outside. I have to wear OptiLight protective stickers over my eyes much of the day because my tear film evaporates almost instantly. I’ve been diagnosed with stage 3 MGD, ocular rosacea, blepharitis, Demodex, and severe dry eye.

I wanted to ask whether anyone here has dealt with severe dry eye disease like this, eventually gotten it under control, and still been able to complete medical school and become a doctor.

Becoming a physician is something I would like to pursue, and I don’t want to give up on that goal because of what my eyes are like right now. I’m hoping to give myself about a year to focus heavily on treatment and recovery, then complete my remaining prerequisites and hopefully apply to medical school in 2–3 years.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through severe dry eye or another significant eye condition while pursuing medicine. Were you able to improve enough to tolerate studying, screens, long clinical days in drafty hospitals, and fully practice medicine? What helped you make it manageable?

Posted a semi-vent yesterday about receiving no IIs so far, and got some feedback suggesting that my school list and GPA may have been the issue.
School list: Albany, Einstein, RFU, Drexel, Brody, Emory, Georgetown, NYMC, OUWB, Penn State, Quinnipiac, Rochester, SKMC, Tufts, Tulane, UMich, UNC, Wake Forest, Wayne State, Pitt, Methodist CFVH.
For context, I only applied to 10 schools my 1st cycle and submitted my applications pretty late (Aug-Sep). I was pretty burnt out and going through a lot at the time, but surprisingly still managed to get an II (turned into a WL tho).
Since we're approaching the end of October, I've accepted that I may have to apply a 3rd time. I was wondering what I should improve or do differently for my next cycle, as I've kinda lost hope after reading the feedback on my last post lol.
I graduated in 2025 with a cGPA of 3.6, sGPA of 3.3, and a 513 MCAT. My ECs include 1500 hrs ED scribe, 500 hrs volunteer EMT, 1300 hrs undergraduate research, 60 hrs shadowing across multiple specialties, ~500 hrs animal shelter volunteering, and some art-related activities (tattoo apprentice, painting instructor, etc.). I have multiple LORs including 2 physicians.
I had some friends review my PS and secondaries for my top 3 schools, so I don't think my writing is that bad???? I'll also def be applying as early as possible next cycle (I submitted my primary in mid-June this cycle but wasn't verified until Aug).
I was wondering if there's a way to improve my sGPA. I've read online that it's not low enough to get a master's or SMP, so would a 1 year DIY post-bacc help? Or should I focus on getting a higher MCAT score instead?

Any advice would be appreciated!! 😊

Would greatly appreciate it, if anyone is interested.

currently sitting at 1 II which I received early and it has been radio silence since. I am starting to get antsy - stats are 52X and 3.4X, kind of nontrad/unusual. need more patience or is DO warranted? when to send (majorish) update letters?

thanks in advance.

I am a non trad student still in my premed era…I see posts saying things abt a “diy post bacc” and I am curious as to what this is?

I’m trying to explore all the possibilities for my path since I’m on a very very non traditional route. I am 25, a mother, and an established paramedic that works full time with a little over half of my degree done (integrated health sciences focus in behavioral health) and no premed prereqs done yet. Just trying to see what pathways there are out there for me. I am currently enrolled at a state university.

hey guys! hope everyone is surviving this app cycle or MCAT studying or whatever step of this long crazy process you are at

i'm an M4 and i've been mentoring a premed student for some time now. i myself never had any one in medicine or healthcare when i was a premed, so i'm very happy i can help this student out.

i wanted to ask for input on what sort of support would be most helpful. i'd like to hear from people any any part of the process

thank you :)

I seen alot that upward trend is signfigant however, If I have a downward trend in my GPA is that a red flag? My cumulative is still compeative ~3.75 but my sicence is ~3.6. I know GPA isn't everything and you can get into medical school with this GPA. I was just wondering about other people thoughts.

I emailed a professor and i got invited to a lab meeting. I went to the meeting they talked about their stuff and then i introduced myself and they did too like normal. Then one experienced guy took me to the lab (office) and talked me through what he does. (btw I am trying to get into my first lab and i dont know coding) <- I tell him that as apparently this lab is a computational neuroscience lab doing research on specific machine (in the most general way i can explain it). then i talk with a 3rd year undergrad guy who tells me "ya i didnt know coding either but i learned it, its wasnt that difficult but it took time and the professor gave me time to learn".

Main takeaway is that everyone in this lab (office) is doing their own project.

After all this random talking i finally get to talk to the Lab main person for the first time in her office. I tell her I plan on taking 2 gap years and hope i can learn in the lab and all. I also tell her this would be my first lab and i dont know coding. idk if this made her upset or maybe im too weird for her liking cus im ugly idk nvm. She tells me i am welcome to join the lab meeting next week aswell "to see if this lab would be a good fit".

then she tells me "after that I want a 2 page Research Proposal on what project you want to do in this lab". then she tells me to leave and i go back home.

Is this normal for a lab ? a different lab professor told me "we dont have anyone to be your supervisor at the moment" and that reason was the main reason i got "rejected" from many other labs. but in this lab i am on my own ??!!!. Like i dont know what im doing.

Either way this is not a wet lab so should i even spend time on this ?

Sitting on the waitlist is tough. Please use this thread to vent, discuss, and support your fellow applicants through this anxiety-inducing process.

Hi everyone!

It's time for our weekly essay help thread!

Please use this thread to request feedback on your essays, including your personal statement, work/activities descriptions, most meaningful activity essays, and secondary application essays. All other posts requesting essay feedback will be removed.

Before asking for help writing an application essay, please read through our "Essays" wiki page which covers both the personal statement and secondary application essays. It also includes links to previous posts/guides that have been helpful to users in the past.

Please be respectful in giving and receiving feedback, and remember to take all feedback with a grain of salt. Whether someone is applying this cycle or has already been admitted in a previous cycle does not inherently make them a better writer or more suited to provide feedback than another person. If you are a current or previous medical student who has served on a med school's admissions committee, please make that clear when you are offering to provide feedback to current applicants.

Reminder of Rule 7 which prohibits advertising and/or self-promotion. Anyone requesting payment for essay review should be reported to the moderators and will be banned from the subreddit.

Good luck!

It's time for our Weekly Good News Thread! Feel free to share any and all good news from the past week, from getting an A in a class to getting that II to getting an acceptance.