Am I smart enough to be a doctor?

[BostonMed715]

Hello, everyone. I am a pre-med, psychology major at a large state university. I started out college thinking I would get my PhD in clinical psychology; however, after doing some of my own research, I realized this was not the route I wanted to take in the future. In the back of my mind, I always wanted to be a doctor but I've always doubted my aptitude for a career in medicine. Recently, I've come to the epiphany that this is the only career I can see myself doing and it is my dream to go to medical school.

I would love any advice as to whether you think I will get into medical school/what I should improve on. Here are my stats:

• I'm currently a junior, but I am staying an extra year to complete my pre-reqs. So far, the only pre-reqs I have taken are my intro bio courses (received B+s in both).
• My cumulative GPA is 3.8. I'm in the Honors Program and am currently working on an honors thesis.
• This summer, I am assisting a professor with Alzheimer's research. It is a literary review, not an actual experiment.
• Next spring, I am doing an internship at a nearby medical center that specializes in behavioral medicine.
• I have not taken the MCAT, but I'm a very good test taker. I scored an 1860 on the SAT and a 5 on my AP English test in high school. I know the MCAT is nothing like this, but in general I test well.
• I am shadowing an OBGYN this summer. I would also like to start volunteering at a dog shelter in my home town.

Here are my worries:

• I am not the greatest at math. I am worried this will be a problem next semester when I take gen chem and physics.
• I have yet to receive an A in a biology class. The biology classes at my school are very difficult and I can't seem to get an A which is disheartening because I have received As in all my other classes, including Stats I and & II.
• Med school is very competitive. Do I stand a chance? I am very hard working and believe I would make a good physician, but I'm worried that I will not gain admission.

My top choice is the University of Vermont. I am also considering UMass Medicine, Tufts, and UConn. Are these schools out of my reach? What can I do to make myself a better applicant?

Also, on a side note, I don't know if this matters at all but I am a first generation on my dad's side of the family. He is from an obscure minority. I'm not sure if this will help in the admissions process. I am bilingual and my honors thesis explores mistrust among minorities toward medical professionals. I would like to help make doctors more accessible to immigrant groups, another reason I am so passionate about medicine. No one in my family is an MD, and I'm from a poor, urban community.

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[justadream]

We cannot evaluate anything until you have the MCAT. GPA tells us basically nothing.

Also, no offense but 1860/2400 on SAT is not that "well". You will definitely need to do better than that for the MCAT.

 

[TxC]

I am very hard working and believe I would make a good physician, but I'm worried that I will not gain admission.

In my opinion, hard work > intelligence. Just work hard and hope for the best.

 

[BostonMed715]

We cannot evaluate anything until you have the MCAT. GPA tells us basically nothing.

Also, no offense but 1860/2400 on SAT is not that "well". You will definitely need to do better than that for the MCAT.

I didn't mean to sound as though I think I'm Einstein because of my SAT score. I just assumed my score was decent considering I scored higher than most of my friends. I guess my question is, how much of getting into med school is pure intelligence vs. work ethic/drive?

 

[BostonMed715]

In my opinion, hard work > intelligence. Just work hard and hope for the best.

Thanks. That's what I am hoping. I'm just struggling with pre-req jitters. Next semester, I am taking Physics I, Gen Chem I, Genetics, and Pre-Calc. Everyone pray for me, lol.

 

[TaroBubbleTea]

I wouldn't worry about not getting in now. Don't count yourself out now without first knowing your MCAT performance. In any case, med school admissions is competitive, but not the intellectual challenge you make it out to be. Also, you have an interesting background. If you can craft a coherent story about who you are and why you want to be a physician, you are golden.

 

[BostonMed715]

I wouldn't worry about not getting in now. Don't count yourself out now without first knowing your MCAT performance. In any case, med school admissions is competitive, but not the intellectual challenge you make it out to be. Also, you have an interesting background. If you can craft a coherent story about who you are and why you want to be a physician, you are golden.

That's what I am hoping. My sister struggled with mental illness and my dad's side of the family was against sending her to see a psychiatrist. It was difficult for her to get better when she didn't have full support from our family. When I witnessed the communication problems between my family and the doctors helping my sister, I realized that I wanted to be in this field because I can understand immigrant families.

 

[lifetothefullest]

It all depends on how you define being "smart." There are people who are naturally gifted/intelligent (think John Nash). But he's one in a million. From the number of people applying to medical school and getting in, I guarantee you that the vast majority of them are not naturally intelligent in the Nash sense of the term but rather they work extremely hard and become very good at what they do. That's the crux of it. Physics and chemistry isn't designed so that only the naturally gifted geniuses can get A's. No - the vast majority of people who do get A's are those who work extremely hard at it.

 

[PieceOfMeat]

We cannot evaluate anything until you have the MCAT. GPA tells us basically nothing.

Also, no offense but 1860/2400 on SAT is not that "well". You will definitely need to do better than that for the MCAT.

To enforce this point I will use myself as an example: I always thought I was an extremely good test taker, got a 2090/2400 on the SAT and always did very well on standardized tests and then I got my MCAT score back: 29. Huge kick in the gut. As justadream mentioned, the MCAT is an entirely different animal, unlike any other test you have taken and yet it is hugely important. Your numbers so far will keep you in the running at most schools but make sure you plan enough time to prep for the MCAT and carefully craft your statements and essays in order to show yourself as the strongest candidate possible

 

[NonTradJp]

Hard work is truly important. Right now you probably should not worry. It is too early where you could do well in everything and have a great chance or you can do badly and have poor chances.

What you can do now is focus on the pre reqs. If you do badly on those then that will surely limit you. If you do well on them have dedicated studying time for MCAT. Those two are your starting point.

Also when you shadow you should get a better sense of yourself in regards to fit with medicine.

From where you are at-great gpa, willingness to work hard, and figuring out if you desire medicine-you are at a fine start. Talk to advisors and do not worry about sdn or things here. Just get good grades now.

 

[ZedsDed]

I don't know if medical school will test your intelligence so much as your character. Then again what do I know, I'm just a pre-med. I know plenty of bright people who don't have the right stuff for this profession.

 

[thezerosystem]

.

 

[cbrons]

No one knows you here so how could we possibly know if you are "smart" enough?

 

[Neutropix]

Being a doctor is just another job. It doesn't take an above average intelligence to get in medical school as evidenced by the numerousness of physicians practicing in the US.

I think it's more about sacrifice. I could be doing cool sh** all day but instead I'm studying to get in medical school.

The less philosophical short answer: anyone who sets their mind to it could probably get in medical school; you are not special.

 

[HAVOK121121]

Study smart, not hard, and get help when you need it. Go to office hours and ask questions. Constantly test your knowledge so you don't fall into the confidence trap. Above all, kill the MCAT.

 

[MrLogan13]

My favorite quote from Tom Tarter of Survivor MD: "People think of medicine like this...think that you have to be exceptionally smart to do medicine. It's really not the case. What is the case is, you can't be stupid and do medicine. You can't be a klutz and be a surgeon. But if you're reasonably well adept or you're reasonably bright, then you can do either one."

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I think SAT score does correlate with MCAT score doesn't it?

 

[BostonMed715]

I think SAT score does correlate with MCAT score doesn't it?

I've heard that it does. From what I've seen on this website, people either think its fairly easy to score above a 30 or they think it is the hardest test ever created in the history of time. I've heard that it's all reading comprehension and if you are reasonably intelligent, you will score well. On the flip side, I've heard people say that you need to study years in advance and know a lot of factual knowledge. My guess is that it's somewhere in the middle of an IQ test and a test for facts/scientific knowledge. But what do I know!

 

[BostonMed715]

No one knows you here so how could we possibly know if you are "smart" enough?

I'm not expecting anyone to tell me "Yes, wow you are so smart! You will get in!" I'm just concerned that, with schools boasting a 1.5% acceptance rate, that if I don't have a 4.0 and a 39 MCAT I will not get in. I guess my question is, what sets a person apart from other applicants? Is it sheer brilliance? Is it ECs? Is it uniqueness of background? Is it all of these things combined? I always thought to go to medical school, you had to be some sort of prodigy. Now that I am pre-med and have searched through forums, it seems like the process of getting into medical school is so random. People with nearly perfect stats don't get in. Then there's people with a 28 MCAT and 3.3 GPA that get in. I guess the moral of the story is just to try your best and hope it works in your favor.

 

[ZedsDed]

Thos

I'm not expecting anyone to tell me "Yes, wow you are so smart! You will get in!" I'm just concerned that, with schools boasting a 1.5% acceptance rate, that if I don't have a 4.0 and a 39 MCAT I will not get in. I guess my question is, what sets a person apart from other applicants? Is it sheer brilliance? Is it ECs? Is it uniqueness of background? Is it all of these things combined? I always thought to go to medical school, you had to be some sort of prodigy. Now that I am pre-med and have searched through forums, it seems like the process of getting into medical school is so random. People with nearly perfect stats don't get in. Then there's people with a 28 MCAT and 3.3 GPA that get in. I guess the moral of the story is just to try your best and hope it works in your favor.

About 40% of applicants get in somewhere. You are too focused on the acceptance rates of individuals schools.

 

[claduva94]

Also several of the schools you are targeting are state schools where OOS residents have very low chances. You can't be a resident of all those states...

 

[Bloodmoney]

Your GPA is great. You are smart enough and you have good motivation for wanting to go. For MCAT anybody can do well on it if they take enough timed practice tests.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

I'm not expecting anyone to tell me "Yes, wow you are so smart! You will get in!"

However, by creating this thread it seems like this is exactly what you want. That's ok though, its ok to need validation. The bummer about that though, is you're not always going to get it-and you have to be ok with that.

The only way you're going to know if you are smart enough is to take your MCAT, apply, get in, make it through school and pass your boards, then make it through residency.

 

[ridethecliche]

An 1860 makes me think of you as a bad test taker, not a good one.

 

[mehc012]

To enforce this point I will use myself as an example: I always thought I was an extremely good test taker, got a 2090/2400 on the SAT and always did very well on standardized tests and then I got my MCAT score back: 29. Huge kick in the gut. As justadream mentioned, the MCAT is an entirely different animal, unlike any other test you have taken and yet it is hugely important. Your numbers so far will keep you in the running at most schools but make sure you plan enough time to prep for the MCAT and carefully craft your statements and essays in order to show yourself as the strongest candidate possible

Again, 2090 is not a exceptional SAT score when you're trying to consider MCAT potential. I mean, it's a good one, but that puts you in a group of ~50,000-60,000 people per year scoring that well or better.
To put that in perspective against the MCAT, only ~100,000 people take it per year, and those 100,000 are drawn pretty heavily from the top end of the SAT population.

 

[TaroBubbleTea]

An 1860 makes me think of you as a bad test taker, not a good one.

You also have to consider the maturity of the test taker at the time the test was administered. In my case, I didn't prepare seriously for the SAT and thus ended up with a subpar score. However, I got my **** together for the MCAT and scored accordingly.

 

[mehc012]

You also have to consider the maturity of the test taker at the time the test was administered. In my case, I didn't prepare seriously for the SAT and thus ended up with a subpar score. However, I got my **** together for the MCAT and scored accordingly.

If you're a 'good test taker', there's no prep needed for the SAT.
Fortunately, those who are not good test takers can compensate with practice and studying (more so on the MCAT, since there is actually content tested on that exam), but I'd still say there's a certain ceiling for both exams where those skills become the dominant factor.

 

[TaroBubbleTea]

If you're a 'good test taker', there's no prep needed for the SAT.
Fortunately, those who are not good test takers can compensate with practice and studying (more so on the MCAT, since there is actually content tested on that exam), but I'd still say there's a certain ceiling for both exams where those skills become the dominant factor.

Ya, ok...No matter how great of a test taker you are, you will need to at least do some practice tests to get used to the format and style of the test.

Besides, the point I was trying to make is that you don't know how well you will do on the MCAT until you actually start preparing and doing some practice tests; so don't count yourself out of the running just yet, OP.

 

[mehc012]

Ya, ok...No matter how great of a test taker you are, you will need to at least do some practice tests to get used to the format and style of the test.

That's demonstrably false. I did a grand total of 1 practice question the morning of and ended up with >2350 and plenty of spare time. Though in all fairness, I did take the PSAT and only landed in the 2200s (there were serious proctoring issues, though, so it's not a great comparison).
Several of my classmates also broke 2300, and while I have no way of verifying, they also said that they did not explicitly study for the exam.

Besides, the point I was trying to make is that you don't know how well you will do on the MCAT until you actually start preparing and doing some practice tests; so don't count yourself out of the running just yet, OP.

I absolutely concur on this part.

 

[ridethecliche]

I just thought it was funny for someone to brag about getting such a crappy score on a stupid standardized test.

 

[Holmwood]

It's too early to say anything, really.
-I would say with this new MCAT, psychobiology may also be a good class to take as an elective towards your major. . . Especially since the biological basis of behavior is a major part of the new mcat. Don't forget to include biochemistry into your schedule. It is highly recommended in order to succeed in the new mcat.

-The SAT pales in comparison to the MCAT, so I wouldn't estimate your testing taking abilities from your performance in high school. In fact, your B+ in biology courses suggests that your test taking abilities need a bit of work. Furthermore, one B or C now and then isn't going to kill you, but if you consistently get Bs from here on out your GPA is going to plummet immensely. A an aside, try taking verbal reasoning from any old mcat practice test. It requires no prior knowledge, so it's a good way to assess where your test taking abilities lie. Doing badly in the practice test well help you know whether you need to reserve a gap semester to focus on prepping for the mcat, and not so much whether you'll make a good doctor. Keep that in mind...

Varsity tutor's free mcat verbal practice test: http://www.varsitytutors.com/mcat_verbal-practice-tests
Oh, since you're a psychology major, try out khan academy's social passages: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/social-sciences-practice

-"The biology classes at my school are very difficult and I can't seem to get an A which is disheartening because I have received As in all my other classes". Get rid of this attitude. You can't justify your bad grades by stating that the class was difficult, and justify your good grades because that class was easy. Make that into a habit, and you fall into the trap of externalizing all your failings and it would be difficult to improve if you do that.

-Don't have your heart set on becoming a doctor until after you've finished your internship. Clinical experience is definitely one of the top weed-out factors because students tend to have a romanticized view about medicine and are disappointed when they finally start their exposure. There's a lot of politics and bureaucracy involved that just might be off putting enough to keep you away. . . or it may leave you even more motivated to pursue the field. You gotta see for yourself.

-If you're doing research with faculty, try to get more exposure than just assisting with a literature review. Remember that the purpose of doing research is being able to understand the scientific process, the basics of research design, and being knowledgeable enough in your chosen field to be able to talk about it intelligently. You can't really do that if you're just regurgitating literature. Show some initiative and motivation! Your professor might allow you to run your own experiment or two which alot of research-heavy med schools dig.

-Try to get some leadership role in one of your volunteer work where you're in a position to guide or train someone. You could probably start at the dog shelter guiding newbies. If you can get more involved in your lab, you can start training new lab members.

 

[BostonMed715]

Dude, just apply to 67 schools.

67 x 1.5% = 100.5% chance of acceptance!

Finally, the answer I've been looking for!

 

[BostonMed715]

I just thought it was funny for someone to brag about getting such a crappy score on a stupid standardized test.

I wasn't trying to brag--I just wanted to give a sense of how I test over all. I just assumed that score was decent considering the majority of people I knew in high school scored in the 1500s/1600s. Also, I did not do any kind of studying for the SATs. I literally just went in and took the test, once. I'm sure I would've scored higher had I practiced more or retaken the test. But congratulations on perpetuating the cut-throat pre-med stereotype.

Your GPA is great. You are smart enough and you have good motivation for wanting to go. For MCAT anybody can do well on it if they take enough timed practice tests.

Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better. I have a tendency to discount myself immediately because I can be a bit of a perfectionist. I'm going to focus on staying off of this website for awhile and slaying my pre-reqs. Thanks for the encouragement

 

[BostonMed715]

It's too early to say anything, really.
-I would say with this new MCAT, psychobiology may also be a good class to take as an elective towards your major. . . Especially since the biological basis of behavior is a major part of the new mcat. Don't forget to include biochemistry into your schedule. It is highly recommended in order to succeed in the new mcat.

-The SAT pales in comparison to the MCAT, so I wouldn't estimate your testing taking abilities from your performance in high school. In fact, your B+ in biology courses suggests that your test taking abilities need a bit of work. Furthermore, one B or C now and then isn't going to kill you, but if you consistently get Bs from here on out your GPA is going to plummet immensely. A an aside, try taking verbal reasoning from any old mcat practice test. It requires no prior knowledge, so it's a good way to assess where your test taking abilities lie. Doing badly in the practice test well help you know whether you need to reserve a gap semester to focus on prepping for the mcat, and not so much whether you'll make a good doctor. Keep that in mind...

Varsity tutor's free mcat verbal practice test: http://www.varsitytutors.com/mcat_verbal-practice-tests
Oh, since you're a psychology major, try out khan academy's social passages: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/social-sciences-practice

-"The biology classes at my school are very difficult and I can't seem to get an A which is disheartening because I have received As in all my other classes". Get rid of this attitude. You can't justify your bad grades by stating that the class was difficult, and justify your good grades because that class was easy. Make that into a habit, and you fall into the trap of externalizing all your failings and it would be difficult to improve if you do that.

-Don't have your heart set on becoming a doctor until after you've finished your internship. Clinical experience is definitely one of the top weed-out factors because students tend to have a romanticized view about medicine and are disappointed when they finally start their exposure. There's a lot of politics and bureaucracy involved that just might be off putting enough to keep you away. . . or it may leave you even more motivated to pursue the field. You gotta see for yourself.

-If you're doing research with faculty, try to get more exposure than just assisting with a literature review. Remember that the purpose of doing research is being able to understand the scientific process, the basics of research design, and being knowledgeable enough in your chosen field to be able to talk about it intelligently. You can't really do that if you're just regurgitating literature. Show some initiative and motivation! Your professor might allow you to run your own experiment or two which alot of research-heavy med schools dig.

-Try to get some leadership role in one of your volunteer work where you're in a position to guide or train someone. You could probably start at the dog shelter guiding newbies. If you can get more involved in your lab, you can start training new lab members.

Thank you. This was very helpful. I have taken biological psychology, physiological psychology, and cognitive neuropsychology. I'm hoping some of this material on the MCAT. I really enjoyed and did well in those courses.

 

[ridethecliche]

I wasn't trying to brag--I just wanted to give a sense of how I test over all. I just assumed that score was decent considering the majority of people I knew in high school scored in the 1500s/1600s. Also, I did not do any kind of studying for the SATs. I literally just went in and took the test, once. I'm sure I would've scored higher had I practiced more or retaken the test. But congratulations on perpetuating the cut-throat pre-med stereotype.

Not really a pre-med anymore in the technical sense of the word. Like I said, I just thought it was funny for someone to say that they're a very good test taker and cite a sub par score for the SAT and one AP exam score as evidence. It's comical really.

I have not taken the MCAT, but I'm a very good test taker. I scored an 1860 on the SAT and a 5 on my AP English test in high school. I know the MCAT is nothing like this, but in general I test well.

In any event...

I can't speak to your ethnicity, but AMCAS has a breakdown of what they consider to be underrepresented in medicine in the US. Additionally, being economically disenfranchised can also come into play and I suggest you look up what AMCAS considers for that.

If you're a MA resident, like myself, and are from a disenfranchised background and are interested in minority health, I will say that you probably have a great shot at UMass if you do reasonably well on the MCAT, i.e. atleast a 30 equivalent on the new scale (so say like 75 percentile or so). I think UConn is far harder to get into as an out of stater.

Also, you really should look up what topics are covered in the new MCAT and where your gaps in knowledge might be. Give yourself atleast 3-4 months to prepare (i.e. a summer while doing other stuff).

When will you be applying?

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

That's demonstrably false. I did a grand total of 1 practice question the morning of and ended up with >2350 and plenty of spare time. Though in all fairness, I did take the PSAT and only landed in the 2200s (there were serious proctoring issues, though, so it's not a great comparison).
Several of my classmates also broke 2300, and while I have no way of verifying, they also said that they did not explicitly study for the exam.

Yah I never studied for the SAT either really. Didn't really give it much thought and I got a 2180. Then I studied for the MCAT and got a 41. I don't know what percentile a 2180 was when I took it (either 2009 or 2010?) but it seems to correlate.

 

[BostonMed715]

Not really a pre-med anymore in the technical sense of the word. Like I said, I just thought it was funny for someone to say that they're a very good test taker and cite a sub par score for the SAT and one AP exam score as evidence. It's comical really.



In any event...

I can't speak to your ethnicity, but AMCAS has a breakdown of what they consider to be underrepresented in medicine in the US. Additionally, being economically disenfranchised can also come into play and I suggest you look up what AMCAS considers for that.

If you're a MA resident, like myself, and are from a disenfranchised background and are interested in minority health, I will say that you probably have a great shot at UMass if you do reasonably well on the MCAT, i.e. atleast a 30 equivalent on the new scale (so say like 75 percentile or so). I think UConn is far harder to get into as an out of stater.

Also, you really should look up what topics are covered in the new MCAT and where your gaps in knowledge might be. Give yourself atleast 3-4 months to prepare (i.e. a summer while doing other stuff).

When will you be applying?

In order to fit in all my pre-reqs I have to stay an extra year. So I will not be applying until 2018. I'm a little fuzzy on the exact timeline. I will finish college in May 2017. So I'm guessing I will take the MCAT that summer (if it's offered?) and then apply the following cycle. I'd actually appreciate some advice on this because I'm unclear on when the exam is offered and when I apply.

 

[BostonMed715]

Yah I never studied for the SAT either really. Didn't really give it much thought and I got a 2180. Then I studied for the MCAT and got a 41. I don't know what percentile a 2180 was when I took it (either 2009 or 2010?) but it seems to correlate.

Well then please say a prayer for me because some of us are not that brilliant naturally. I guess I will study my ass off and hope for the best!

 

[mehc012]

In order to fit in all my pre-reqs I have to stay an extra year. So I will not be applying until 2018. I'm a little fuzzy on the exact timeline. I will finish college in May 2017. So I'm guessing I will take the MCAT that summer (if it's offered?) and then apply the following cycle. I'd actually appreciate some advice on this because I'm unclear on when the exam is offered and when I apply.

The exam dates are found from AAMC - the dates for 2017 won't be up yet, but they usually cluster at similar times every year. Here's this year's calendar:
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/398880/data/mcat2015calendar.pdf

If you finish in May and have to move or something, a good bet would be an Aug/Sept. date. That gives you 3-4mo to study. That also gives you plenty of time to restudy if you (let's hope not) don't do as well as you wanted and have to restudy/retake the exam early in 2018.

The application date you'd be aiming for would be somewhere around June 1, 2018.
Secondaries would come in July/Aug
Interviews could extend until the end of the year.
You wouldn't matriculate until late summer in 2019.

If you're taking a gap year like that, make sure you fill it with more than just MCAT. Many schools will ask you what you plan to do during your year off. Either make a crapton of money, or fill it with things that help your app, just my take.

Good luck!

 

[MightBeACylon439]

Well then please say a prayer for me because some of us are not that brilliant naturally. I guess I will study my ass off and hope for the best!

That's what I did. I took 10 timed practice MCATs as well as tons and tons and tons and tons of other study time. Though, it had been 10 years since I had taken any of the pre-reqs.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Standardized test taking ability is a skill, whether innate or learned, but there are marked differences between the tests. The SAT you can take practice exam or two and if you're a strong tester, do quite well. This is because the actual amount of knowledge and synthesis required for the SAT is minimal (just some math formulas). The MCAT requires a fairly significant volume of information in addition to all of this, which is why people need to spend months studying for it. Honestly (and don't quote me because I don't know the numbers) the SAT is probably a better predictor of LSAT scores than MCAT scores. You can be lazy and ace the SAT, but it's much harder to be lazy (or prepare poorly) and score comparably on the MCAT.

If we're getting into a d*ck measuring contest I can safely say my SAT score is higher than anyone's in this thread, but multiple posters have MCAT scores much higher than mine. Again, standardized test taking is a skill, but there are other factors that contribute to performance as well.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Yeah, the MCAT is very different from the GRE or SAT. It's not a basic intelligence test: there's lots of memorization and intuitive understanding of the sciences required to do well on it. The best advice I can give for you is to take lots of practice exams, especially all of the official AAMC practice material.

 

[ridethecliche]

In order to fit in all my pre-reqs I have to stay an extra year. So I will not be applying until 2018. I'm a little fuzzy on the exact timeline. I will finish college in May 2017. So I'm guessing I will take the MCAT that summer (if it's offered?) and then apply the following cycle. I'd actually appreciate some advice on this because I'm unclear on when the exam is offered and when I apply.

If you take the MCAT in May of the year you're graduating, you wouldn't start school till the following summer/fall. Your timeline depends on whether you want to spend a gap year (or two) between college and med school or not.

 

[BostonMed715]

If you take the MCAT in May of the year you're graduating, you wouldn't start school till the following summer/fall. Your timeline depends on whether you want to spend a gap year (or two) between college and med school or not.

I'd prefer not to take a gap year, but I won't finish my pre-reqs until May 2017 so does that mean I automatically will have to take a gap year?

 

[mehc012]

I'd prefer not to take a gap year, but I won't finish my pre-reqs until May 2017 so does that mean I automatically will have to take a gap year?

It does not mean you automatically have to take a gap year.
However, if you go the usual route and do not take the MCAT or begin studying for it until after your prereqs are done, yes, you will end up taking one.

 

[moisne]

Lots of people in med school will be smarter than you... Just work harder than them. Hardest part I hear is getting in.