u/AcanthisittaUsual755

Hi everyone! I’m a Georgia premed student and I’m really interested in PCOM Georgia. I’m trying to learn more about the school and get connected with opportunities that could help me better understand the campus, students, and osteopathic medicine overall.

Does anyone know if PCOM Georgia has any shadowing opportunities, open houses, student panels, mentorship programs, or community events that prospective students can look into? I know shadowing may not be offered directly through the school, but I’d love to hear about any ways people connected with physicians, students, or campus opportunities before applying.

I’m first-gen in this process, so I’m trying to be proactive and learn as much as I can. Any advice would be really appreciated!

Hi everyone. I’m looking for honest but constructive advice because I feel like I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this process.

I’m a Georgia resident and a first-generation premed/applicant. I’m currently an undergrad planning to graduate this summer. I’m interested in applying DO-heavy with maybe a few mission-fit MD schools, but I’m trying to figure out if applying this cycle makes sense or what do I need to do to strengthen my application first.

My current stats are:

• cGPA: 3.06
• sGPA/BCPM: about 2.0
• last 40 credits GPA: about 3.7+
• MCAT: 484 from my first attempt
• Retaking MCAT on 9/11

The biggest issue is that my early science grades are rough. During my first two years of undergrad, I was dealing with undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes. I was losing weight, dehydrated, exhausted, and not functioning like myself, but I didn’t know what was happening yet. I was eventually diagnosed, and since getting treatment and learning how to manage my health, my academic trend has been much stronger.

I know the diabetes story doesn’t erase the grades, and I’m not trying to use it as an excuse. I’m trying to figure out whether it can reasonably provide context, especially if my recent academic performance and MCAT retake in Sept. show that I’m in a different place now.

Outside of academics, I have strong leadership experience. I’ve been an RA and have a major leadership/training role at work where I train and mentor staff, build systems, and lead operations. I also have clinical exposure/shadowing experience and I’m working on strengthening that further.

Because I’m first-gen in this process, I’m also struggling with knowing what’s realistic, what schools actually screen for, and whether I should apply now or wait. I don’t want to waste money applying somewhere that won’t even review me, but I also don’t want to count myself out if there’s still a real path forward.

My questions are:

1. Is it worth applying to any schools before my new MCAT score comes back, or should I wait until the score is released?
2. For DO schools, would a strong MCAT improvement make me a realistic applicant despite the low science GPA?
3. Should I be looking at applying this cycle, or would a postbac/SMP be the smarter move?
4. How do schools usually view a major health issue like undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes when it clearly lines up with the weakest part of the transcript?
5. Are there specific types of schools I should focus on or avoid based on my stats?

I’m open to hard truths, but I’d really appreciate advice that’s actually actionable. I know my GPA situation is not ideal, but I’m trying to figure out the smartest path forward instead of giving up.