post bacc or no post bacc...help

[kenzmed]

I'm really struggling to make a decision on whether I should apply for a post-bacc/masters or just grind out the MCAT. I graduated last May with a 3.3 cGPA/3.1 sGPA with an upward trend. I took the mcat and got a big fat 492. I've been "studying" for the past few months here and there but I've been struggling to improve my score on my FLs. I was supposed to test this month ended up moving my test to July but I'm still unsure if I should take it. My old pre-med advisor suggested I should do a post-bacc/masters with a linkage to help my app and give me refresher on content. My plan was to apply all DO this cycle with an improved mcat but I'm not sure at this point. I'm a URM, plenty of strong ECs, research, etc, SC resident. Any advice would be helpful!!

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[BritainKittenMittens]

If I were you I'd ask myself why I'm struggling with the MCAT? You might need a postbac, but you'll definitely need to increase your MCAT. I think you should only do a postbac before re-taking the MCAT if you think it can help with your MCAT, but I doubt that as you have taken all the pre-reqs and you have studied extensively. So doing the postbac now without any guarantee of a higher MCAT would be a waste of money, and I'd honestly just give it one final hail mary and try to get at least a 505, preferably > 510. If you aren't able to do that, sadly I think you should reconsider the medical path. Extensive studying and not being able to crack 500 is a huge concern for failing medical school and the boards.

 

[Faha]

Which URM community are you from ? If Hispanic, are you fluent in Spanish ? What are your practice scores ?

 

[kenzmed]

If I were you I'd ask myself why I'm struggling with the MCAT? You might need a postbac, but you'll definitely need to increase your MCAT. I think you should only do a postbac before re-taking the MCAT if you think it can help with your MCAT, but I doubt that as you have taken all the pre-reqs and you have studied extensively. So doing the postbac now without any guarantee of a higher MCAT would be a waste of money, and I'd honestly just give it one final hail mary and try to get at least a 505, preferably > 510. If you aren't able to do that, sadly I think you should reconsider the medical path. Extensive studying and not being able to crack 500 is a huge concern for failing medical school and the boards.

I'm currently trying to figure that out, I definitely feel like I'm missing something or I'm just not studying effectively. I agree, I think I'll give it one more go and evaluate where to go from there.

 

[kenzmed]

Which URM community are you from ? If Hispanic, are you fluent in Spanish ? What are your practice scores ?

Hispanic and fluent in spanish. I'm scoring in the 490's range, I still haven't been able to break 500.

 

[esob]

I feel like a post bac would only be helpful if it were targeted toward your weak spots on the MCAT.

 

[SicilianDragon]

There are some accelerated master's programs geared for pre-health students that also provide MCAT prep - that could be a good option for both increasing GPA and improving on the MCAT. They can be pretty challenging though.

 

[Faha]

Hispanic and fluent in spanish. I'm scoring in the 490's range, I still haven't been able to break 500.

A post bacc will not help you unless you can increase your MCAT to at least 498. You could receive interviews at some DO schools if you can score 498 or higher.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Hispanic and fluent in spanish. I'm scoring in the 490's range, I still haven't been able to break 500.

Are you ESL? If you are and are URM I’d recompute your practice an actual scores with CARs being 126-128). This isn’t an official correction and something I just came up with. But I do think there is some laxity there. Sadly I don’t think this applies to ORMs who are ESL….

 

[galadriel_1420]

I will say that myself and three of my friends applied as non trads with Masters degrees and we all got into med school so it could be worth it. Granted, we all also had a lot of experience in another field (for example, myself as a teacher, a friend as an EMT for 5+ years). Make sure to get your experiences in there too. It's all about character development my friend. MCAT studying was crazy for me (I was working from 8-5, had class from 5:30-9, and taking care of two children) since I found it really hard to fit it into my schedule but I really had to get in the headspace of "there is no plan B" and I was driven to make my plan A my only option.

 

[galadriel_1420]

Hispanic and fluent in spanish. I'm scoring in the 490's range, I still haven't been able to break 500.

Also to piggyback on this, I got in with a lower 500s score but I took a course which really helped me. Use the AAMC practice content and learn how to take the test. Don't just study content, LEARN HOW TO TAKE THE TEST. Kaplan taught me so many strategies that involved literally no knowledge of science material and it helped me improve my score by 12 points in 6 months.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Hispanic and fluent in spanish. I'm scoring in the 490's range, I still haven't been able to break 500.

What resources are you using to study for the MCAT? It's important that you study appropriately and with the correct resources.

Have you used UWorld? Have you used the 300 page Khan outline of psychology/sociology? Which set of books are you using?

If you have the resources, consider hiring a private tutor.

The MCAT is both knowledge based and reasoning based. A private tutor might be able to help you rationalize your reasoning process.