- Joined
- Mar 5, 2013
- Messages
- 204
- Reaction score
- 348
I'm keeping this short as I want to take the rest of the evening to relax and prepare for tomorrow.
I'm sitting tomorrow's MCAT and feel very nervous about my performance. I studied a lot for a January MCAT and didn't end up taking it as I got sick, so this will be my first time taking the test. I'm worried that if I get a low score (shooting for 510 based on speaking with post-bacc advisor and reading others' views on the 'net) I am setting myself up for a July retake and a delayed application. While I have put in the work, I am not a great test-taker. I know my strengths and weaknesses and have studied as much as I have been able to, despite overcommitting this semester, so I feel confident about a lot of the content but not every single thing.
My current plan is to submit the application with only one school just to get verified, wait for my MCAT score, then add schools that align with my stats (will apply broadly, at least 20-25 schools). Some schools send secondaries without the MCAT, so my plan for June and July is to pre-write secondary essays.
Now, if I don't get a good May score (<510) should I risk it and submit it anyway, or risk completing even later if I decided to wait for the July score? The latter would only apply if I manage to get a seat, which might not even be possible at this point.
Any and all advice would be welcome!
Here are my stats, just to give you a better sense of where I stand:
Age: 29, URM (Latina, born in PR)
Non-science major, Anthropology for both BA and MA
Undergraduate gpa - 3.97
Graduate gpa - 3.87
Overall science gpa (including both undergrad and post-bacc science courses) - 3.64
LORs - Two chem professors (gen and orgo), one physician-mentor I've worked with the past yeah and a half, one of my job's PIs, PA-mentor from clinic I volunteered at for a year
ECs: - Cardiovascular ICU at university hospital for one semester
- Interpreter & patient guide (bp, pulse, med history) at free medical clinic for a year (1/4 Latino
population)
- Administrative support (with patient interaction) at respite care facility for homeless population of
major city for six months, will volunteer again with them in the fall
- Helped start a student-faculty clinic (core member of volunteer group) for medical student volunteer organization of Ivy league school; clinic specializes in immigrant and low-income populations, also
served as committee head after it opened
Research: Working full-time since October 2014as RA for public health group focused on preventing maternal depression in (mainly) low-income, low-resource mothers with high-risk pregnancies
and young children.
Professional goal: Primary care and health disparities research/advocacy work
I'm sitting tomorrow's MCAT and feel very nervous about my performance. I studied a lot for a January MCAT and didn't end up taking it as I got sick, so this will be my first time taking the test. I'm worried that if I get a low score (shooting for 510 based on speaking with post-bacc advisor and reading others' views on the 'net) I am setting myself up for a July retake and a delayed application. While I have put in the work, I am not a great test-taker. I know my strengths and weaknesses and have studied as much as I have been able to, despite overcommitting this semester, so I feel confident about a lot of the content but not every single thing.
My current plan is to submit the application with only one school just to get verified, wait for my MCAT score, then add schools that align with my stats (will apply broadly, at least 20-25 schools). Some schools send secondaries without the MCAT, so my plan for June and July is to pre-write secondary essays.
Now, if I don't get a good May score (<510) should I risk it and submit it anyway, or risk completing even later if I decided to wait for the July score? The latter would only apply if I manage to get a seat, which might not even be possible at this point.
Any and all advice would be welcome!
Here are my stats, just to give you a better sense of where I stand:
Age: 29, URM (Latina, born in PR)
Non-science major, Anthropology for both BA and MA
Undergraduate gpa - 3.97
Graduate gpa - 3.87
Overall science gpa (including both undergrad and post-bacc science courses) - 3.64
LORs - Two chem professors (gen and orgo), one physician-mentor I've worked with the past yeah and a half, one of my job's PIs, PA-mentor from clinic I volunteered at for a year
ECs: - Cardiovascular ICU at university hospital for one semester
- Interpreter & patient guide (bp, pulse, med history) at free medical clinic for a year (1/4 Latino
population)
- Administrative support (with patient interaction) at respite care facility for homeless population of
major city for six months, will volunteer again with them in the fall
- Helped start a student-faculty clinic (core member of volunteer group) for medical student volunteer organization of Ivy league school; clinic specializes in immigrant and low-income populations, also
served as committee head after it opened
Research: Working full-time since October 2014as RA for public health group focused on preventing maternal depression in (mainly) low-income, low-resource mothers with high-risk pregnancies
and young children.
Professional goal: Primary care and health disparities research/advocacy work
