Mediocre applicant with a VR 6.

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Hi everyone.

I searched the forums to see if anyone already asked about a similar situation, but I was not really successful in finding results.

I am a transfer student in my last year at a University of California majoring in molecular biology and who is not an URM. My overall GPA is 3.75 and I am set to graduate in a year. I am also a resident of California.

In terms of ECs and clinical exposure, I am an EMT, have shadowed a few MD's, volunteer as a tutor, and am involved in community outreach to at-risk youth. I have no experience in research.

I self-studied for the MCAT for 6 months straight and took all the AAMC CB practice tests scoring at least a 31 with a minimum of 8 in VR. However, I scored a 11/6/11/P on my actual exam.

I am not really interested in DO schools and if I get rejected to all MD schools, I will likely pursue a masters degree and retake the MCAT.

The reason for my post is because I have a few questions,

Given my stats posted above, will likely be a waste of money for me to to apply to allopathic medical schools this cycle?

I have all A's in my humanity, English (including a UC upper div), and philosophy classes. In addition I have asked a few very strong letter of recommendation writers to comment on my low VR score and how it may or may not actually reflect my abilities. Do you guys think this will help abate my low verbal score?

Though I have looked around, are there any schools that people can suggest that consider at the overall application and not just screen out based upon MCAT scores?

Any and all input into my situation is appreciated.

Thanks.

Unfortunately, none of your other stats really stand out enough to make up for a below average MCAT score. Your verbal score is weak but the overall isn't the best either. It doesn't really help that you're from CA either.

Is retaking a possibility? The June 21 MCAT is still available.

You won't get into MD schools with a 6 VR. You either need to retake or reconsider DO schools.

Originally Posted by Perpetually

Hi everyone.

I searched the forums to see if anyone already asked about a similar situation, but I was not really successful in finding results.

I am a transfer student in my last year at a University of California majoring in molecular biology and who is not an URM. My overall GPA is 3.75 and I am set to graduate in a year. I am also a resident of California.

In terms of ECs and clinical exposure, I am an EMT, have shadowed a few MD's, volunteer as a tutor, and am involved in community outreach to at-risk youth. I have no experience in research.

I self-studied for the MCAT for 6 months straight and took all the AAMC CB practice tests scoring at least a 31 with a minimum of 8 in VR. However, I scored a 11/6/11/P on my actual exam.

I am not really interested in DO schools and if I get rejected to all MD schools, I will likely pursue a masters degree and retake the MCAT.

The reason for my post is because I have a few questions,

Given my stats posted above, will likely be a waste of money for me to to apply to allopathic medical schools this cycle?

I have all A's in my humanity, English (including a UC upper div), and philosophy classes. In addition I have asked a few very strong letter of recommendation writers to comment on my low VR score and how it may or may not actually reflect my abilities. Do you guys think this will help abate my low verbal score?

Though I have looked around, are there any schools that people can suggest that consider at the overall application and not just screen out based upon MCAT scores?

Any and all input into my situation is appreciated.

Thanks.

Why aren't you interested in DO schools? I highly highly suggest you apply to a couple. As long as you become a practicing physician and live your dream of caring for patients, that's all that matters right?

Anyways, retake the MCAT. Your 6 is going to get you screened out of a lot of schools, if not all.

There are some schools that look at overall MCAT scores and not the subscores. EVMS is one of those schools but a 28 is too low for a Cali resident. I would say your chances at MD are below 10 %

You still have time to retake the MCAT and apply this cycle. Otherwise, DO is your only bet...and even that's a bit iffy with your score in my opinion.

And, I'm just curious....why do you dislike the idea of going to an osteopathic medical school? DOs do the same jobs for the same pay as MDs do........excepting a few select fields that are MD dominated like ophthalmology. Are you aiming for one of these few fields? If not, why flush hundreds of thousands of dollars down the toilet by adding years to your schooling?

Unfortunately if you are not URM and you are from california, a 6 is going to hurt you badly for MD. Retake or try DO.

A 28 is way below average, and the 6 makes it even worse.

I don't know what you have against DO schools, but a 3.75/28 (even an unbalanced 28) will likely get you at least one acceptance.

The MCAT is the only objective way to gauge someone's intellectual ability and while LORs from professors (presumably English professors) may help you a little, the fact that you got a 6 on VR holds much more weight than anything someone can say about you. Objective score > subjective opinion in terms of value.

You aren't a URM, your GPA is only slightly above average, and your MCAT is way below average.

I suggest applying DO or not applying at all.

The 6 will severely hold you back with MD schools. I know a guy who applied two cycles in a row with a 6 VR and 11's and 12's in the sciences. He applied to FL's many state MD schools and to tons of lower-tier MD schools, and I think he only got one interview each cycle, neither of which resulted in an acceptance. He probably would have fared much better had he applied DO, as his GPA and EC's were good.

While many of the replies above are correct about screening out dont feel like all hope is lost. I got 6 interviews (only went to 4) and 2 acceptances to allopathic state schools with a 28Q mcat (7VR, 12B, 9P). I would say state schools are more likely to look at overall score than individual section breakdown.

Originally Posted by BurritoBandito

While many of the replies above are correct about screening out dont feel like all hope is lost. I got 6 interviews (only went to 4) and 2 acceptances to allopathic state schools with a 28Q mcat (7VR, 12B, 9P). I would say state schools are more likely to look at overall score than individual section breakdown.

I would agree to this but he is from Cali so it will be another different story.
I would retake the MCAT or consider applying to DO schools along with MD schools.

Many schools have an 8 cutoff. The absolute minimum I've heard for MD is a 7. You're better off retaking and applying later.

I had the same MCAT scores as you the first time around and had to make a tough choice. I decided to wait a year, strengthen my app, and prep better for the MCAT. Doing so was the right decision for me.

If you want to get into a MD school this year, you have to retake. Getting an interview (much less get an acceptance) with a 6 VR will be very unlikely as most schools will screen you out.

Originally Posted by Perpetually

I self-studied for the MCAT for 6 months straight and took all the AAMC CB practice tests scoring at least a 31 with a minimum of 8 in VR. However, I scored a 11/6/11/P on my actual exam.

Just curious, a minimum of 8 but what were you averaging in VR?

If I were you I'd retake it quickly. You have time to reapply and I imagine you can definitely pull up that verbal score quickly if that's all you focus on for a month, while simply brushing up on your BS and PS to stay strong in them.

Apply out of state and apply to DO schools. Look into DO and see what your options are in that.

I don't know how to rate you chances at allopathic schools, but I want to echo that your aversion to DO schools is silly, and your plan to jump into a multi year masters program is horrendous. With DO schools in your aka you could get in this cycle with no retake. Even if you do want to focus on MD programs all you need is a better MCAT: a masters would be a worthless degree for your career, it would be expensive, and it will drag this process out for years longer than it needs to be.

I suggest you retake and present the best application possible before potentially wasting thousands of dollars on applications.

If you were a 3.2 GPA applicant with this MCAT, I'd say suck it up and appreciate the opportunity that you can still go to medical school. But since you're a 3.7 GPA and a MCAT fix is all you need, I would go with taking applying next year and retaking the MCAT. In fact, I'd recommend not doing anything but studying for the MCAT until January and then retake the MCAT and do more ECs that will help you. Doing a Master's program is a waste of time and will actually affect your ability to score better on the MCAT.

Originally Posted by Perrotfish

I don't know how to rate you chances at allopathic schools, but I want to echo that your aversion to DO schools is silly, and your plan to jump into a multi year masters program is horrendous. With DO schools in your aka you could get in this cycle with no retake. Even if you do want to focus on MD programs all you need is a better MCAT: a masters would be a worthless degree for your career, it would be expensive, and it will drag this process out for years longer than it needs to be.

I second this.

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I am seriously contemplating signing up for the June 21 MCAT. Since there are spots open and that date is my birthday, I figure it may be worth a shot. However, I have not done anything related to the MCAT since taking my April 5th test and am concerned I may not be prepared enough by that time.

As for the my aversion to DO programs, I just am not that interested in learning about OMM and would prefer not having to take COMLEX in addition to USMLE to get into certain residency programs. In full, however, I am interested in dedicating my future to medicine, so it may really be worth reconsidering DO.

Another question, if I do decide to take a year off to strengthen my MCAT and application, will I have to get all of my letter writers to resubmit a letter dated for the corresponding year?

Thanks again

everything but your mcat looks pretty good for md schools in my opinion. since you studied 6 months straight, you should prepare your verbal differently because the time you put in is not the issue. maybe consider an mcat class for verbal. change the books that you were using. maybe you just had a bad day and that you'll do better in the re-test. i would either wait until next year (in the meanwhile pay off some debts and have some fun before the med school gruel) OR study for the mcat for 2 months (with emphasis on verbal), take the mcat in july. if you felt that you had a good day, then send out the application with the hope that your new score comes in as the app is processed (so you are not screened out on your old score). i know most people won't agree with me but i am risk taker. you have to decide how you feel. but definitely don't lose hope - you just need to fix that verbal and you're a solid contender.

Originally Posted by Perpetually

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I am seriously contemplating signing up for the June 21 MCAT. Since there are spots open and that date is my birthday, I figure it may be worth a shot. However, I have not done anything related to the MCAT since taking my April 5th test and am concerned I may not be prepared enough by that time.

As for the my aversion to DO programs, I just am not that interested in learning about OMM and would prefer not having to take COMLEX in addition to USMLE to get into certain residency programs. In full, however, I am interested in dedicating my future to medicine, so it may really be worth reconsidering DO.

Another question, if I do decide to take a year off to strengthen my MCAT and application, will I have to get all of my letter writers to resubmit a letter dated for the corresponding year?

Thanks again

I recommend you look into the actual requirements for OMM instruction at DO schools, if that's a big thing holding you back. My understanding is that even the most aggressive OMM pushers only give a few hundred hours of instruction. Thats not a particularly large hoop to jump through, even I'd it is nonsense

After looking further into what the best options are to help me achieve my goals for the future, it is clear that I need to retake the MCAT.

Thanks everyone for the input, it really helped put things into perspective