Verbal dilemma

[Buck Wild]

i've taken the mcat for the 3rd time now, with this aug. being the FINAL time i will ever look at that again. my score jumped up by 5 points overall, but my low verbal score looks real bad.

13B
12P
7V
Q

will this hurt my chances? i graduated last year from northwestern and have been working in a hospital ever since. does anyone know if this score is cause for alarm?

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[Alexander99]

Originally posted by Buck Wild
i've taken the mcat for the 3rd time now, with this aug. being the FINAL time i will ever look at that again. my score jumped up by 5 points overall, but my low verbal score looks real bad.

13B
12P
7V
Q

will this hurt my chances? i graduated last year from northwestern and have been working in a hospital ever since. does anyone know if this score is cause for alarm?

You mean aside from your inability to read?

I'm just giving you a hard time. You're not alone when it comes to struggling with the verbal section. It seems a lot of science majors never adequately developed their verbal skills and hence struggle with that part of the MCAT.

I will say this about your score. You have an overall score of 32. You're obviously very good with sciences. Even still, I think your skewed score may be the equivalent of a 30 broken down as: 10, 10, 10. I know for a fact that med schools like their applicants to have good ability in all areas. 32 is still a good score though so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[Gbemi24]

Originally posted by Buck Wild
i've taken the mcat for the 3rd time now, with this aug. being the FINAL time i will ever look at that again. my score jumped up by 5 points overall, but my low verbal score looks real bad.

13B
12P
7V
Q

will this hurt my chances? i graduated last year from northwestern and have been working in a hospital ever since. does anyone know if this score is cause for alarm?

It depends on your GPA and where you are applying. If you have a 3.5 with this score and are looking at schools like Columbia and Wash U it might be tough but if you have a 3.7+ and are looking at Northwestern or UPitt and you have great LORs, ECs or research experience, you have a good chance. There are no guarantees though. If you applied this year and do not get into the schools you prefer, you can take it again in April and try to bring up the verbal.

 

[maygirl]

My sister, who also graduated from Northwestern, had a similar MCAT as you. Actually, the only thing different was the physical sciences section (she got 1 pt lower). She had a 3.9+ GPA and majored in Bio, but she submitted her amcas really late (I think in October), which really hurt her. Nonetheless, she still got interviews at schools like NYU and UChicago (though she got waitlisted at both). She got accepted into UIC and Rush, though.

I don't think it will hurt you. But it really depends on when you apply (applying early is best) and where you wanna go. The top-10 schools may be a long-shot, but I think top-25 and top-50 schools are definitely within your reach.

Also, in response to the previous poster, I actually wouldn't really consider Northwestern. Northwestern doesn't seem to accept many people from the undergrad unless you have spectacular scores since they have so many NU students from the HPME (BA/MD) program. i also don't know about retaking the test. Your science scores are excellent, and if your verbal score hasn't budged for the last 3 times that you've taken it, then it's probably best to keep your score. Your score is excellent - it will get you into med school. Just choose wisely and apply early!