Hey guys! I’m a non-traditional student, I graduated in 2020 with a major in Biological Sciences. I’ve taken the MCAT twice, both attempts did not hit the 500. I’m in the middle of studying for my test right now but I haven’t been seeing the progress that I want. My science gpa is a 2.91 for amcas, cgpa is 3.01. And for aacomas, it’s 3.0 and cpga 3.2. My question is would you guys recommend I do a special master’s program this upcoming fall? Or take DIY classes to increase my gpa, I’m really conflicted. The program I was looking at is Ponce health sciences in Saint Louis and the admissions person told me that only the top 20% make it to get an interview to the medical school. I have only this week to make the decision since classes start on July 31st.
Very conflicted and need help please
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One thing I can tell you, for sure: do not take this exam again until you are confident of a score c/w success!
A string of sub-500 scores is far more damaging than one (or even two). It may be time to step away for a bit and do a re-assessment of both your content acquisition, test anxiety (or some combination) as well as developing a strategy for maintaining a sustained period of academic excellence in the sciences. There are plenty of ways to achieve both, SMP's are not the only way.
What were you scoring on the AAMC FL's?
A string of sub-500 scores is far more damaging than one (or even two). It may be time to step away for a bit and do a re-assessment of both your content acquisition, test anxiety (or some combination) as well as developing a strategy for maintaining a sustained period of academic excellence in the sciences. There are plenty of ways to achieve both, SMP's are not the only way.
What were you scoring on the AAMC FL's?
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What’s the rush? Literally put the exam off another year until you’re hitting 505+ on the practice ones back to back.
You’ve already been waiting this long just wait a little longer.
You’ve already been waiting this long just wait a little longer.
I will definitely not take this exam again unless I’m 100% confident I’ll get a higher score. That’s why I postponed applying to medical school till next year. I agree, I do believe it’s both test anxiety and content acquisition. Would you recommend I do DIY classes this semester while studying for the MCAT? My second attempt, I was scoring 498,496, 495, and 497. This time around, I’ve taken two AAMC practice exams and they are 490,491.
I’m not in a rush to apply this cycle. I’ll just have to wait and take my time with this.
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Sadly, you will now have to rely on 3rd party resources, as you appear to have burned through all the AAMC FLs
You realize that repeated exams cannot reliably be used to predict outcomes.
Even with the scores you have shared, these would not have predicted an outcome good enough for a US school.
Folks usually do a few points worse on the real thing (anxiety, strange surroundings, high stakes...).
I recommend that you show a sustained period of academic excellence over course of at least a year before you apply.
You need a transcript that reflects this change before you submit your primary.
Take the MCAT when you are scoring well enough to get a 505 for DO schools and 511 for MD (if you live in a favorable state).
If you do not live in a favorable state (CA CO, MD, MA...), you need to shoot for DO.
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I don't like the stringency of the Ponce program. But I do recommend a special Masters program, as long as it's given at a medical school.
There are time period gaps between these AAMC fl exams but I understand that they still won’t reliably reflect my performance. Because the passages still look familiar to me and I’m sure that affects how I’m answering these questions. I’ll definitely show a period of sustained academic excellence. I live in Illinois, is that a favorable state for MD. Thank you so much for the helpful guidance!Sadly, you will now have to rely on 3rd party resources, as you appear to have burned through all the AAMC FLs
You realize that repeated exams cannot reliably be used to predict outcomes.
Even with the scores you have shared, these would not have predicted an outcome good enough for a US school.
Folks usually do a few points worse on the real thing (anxiety, strange surroundings, high stakes...).
I recommend that you show a sustained period of academic excellence over course of at least a year before you apply.
You need a transcript that reflects this change before you submit your primary.
Take the MCAT when you are scoring well enough to get a 505 for DO schools and 511 for MD (if you live in a favorable state).
If you do not live in a favorable state (CA CO, MD, MA...), you need to shoot for DO.
I don’t like their stringency either and felt uncomfortable with the way they answered questions about the program. I’ll just have to look into a program that actually seems supportive but it’s just hard to find something close to where I live to start in the fall.
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Marathon now, not a sprint
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With regard to IS odds, it's only a little better than CA (21.5% vs. 17%).
macrophagefanatic
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From your practice scores, I think you could use some help from a 1V1 tutor. It's an expensive resource but they're typically very effective in terms of improving scores, so it can be a worthwhile investment if you can swing it. You could also try one of the MCAT self-paced courses but to me it seems you could really use some direct guidance and consistant feedback to assist you with your preparation. If you continue with self-studying, you're going to need to utilize 3rd party resoures since you've already taken several of the AAMC practice FL. Utilize the many free resources that are available online and do as many practice problems as you can. When you take practice tests, make sure to take them under test day conditions as close to the real thing as possible. As others in this thread have emphasized, makes sure you're consistently scoring 505+ on practice tests before you even consider a 3rd attempt. I wish you the best of luck!
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What are your study habits. It seems as though that you are doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.
I’m looking for a 1V1 tutor that fits my needs and I’ve been taking my practice exams under test day conditions. Thank you so much for all the helpful feedback, it’s much appreciated!
My study habits were definitely not correct the first two times I studied for this exam. This time around, I’ve been supplementing a lot of practice problems after content review, keeping up with anki, and I thoroughly go through my practice exams and cover the content gaps and track what I’ve been doing wrong in an excel sheet.
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This suggests your problems are with the content. I agree that you'd need at least a year of doing well in classes first (and it would need to be a full workload, not just 1 or 2 classes per the semester considering your sGPA was a 2.9). You might as well do that first and then revisit the MCAT. A tutor would not be a good use of your money.
I’m planning on taking 3 science classes this fall semester for a DIY postbacc but would it be feasible to study for the MCAT simultaneously? I have my uworld subscriptions and AAMC subscriptions that will expire by January and I’d have to rebuy everything if I wanted to prioritise the MCAT for later.
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No. You are farther away from being ready to apply than you think you are. 3 science classes is not a DIY postbacc. 30-40 credits is. Read Goro's guide for more details on the DIY postbacc:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention (updated for 2021)
EDIT: Post in WAMC forum for recommended school lists. This thread isn't for that. So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take...
forums.studentdoctor.net
The only reason why I can’t take more than 3 classes is because my university only offers 3 different biology electives that I haven’t taken before since I graduated from there. The other local university is 2x the cost and I won’t be able to afford it.No. You are farther away from being ready to apply than you think you are. 3 science classes is not a DIY postbacc. 30-40 credits is. Read Goro's guide for more details on the DIY postbacc:
Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention (updated for 2021)
EDIT: Post in WAMC forum for recommended school lists. This thread isn't for that. So you want to be a doctor, but your GPA is terrible. Is that the end? Rule #1: Take a deep breath, and stop fussing. The sky is not falling. But you are going to need to reinvent yourself. This will take...
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You may have to look into UC Extension or another online option then to supplement that. 3 courses would not be enough to show you are a different student.
Do adcoms look down on classes via the UC extension since they are online classes? I understand it not being enough to prove I’m a different student. Thank you for the advice!
If you take additional Chem, physics, genetics, anatomy, stats, psych/soc classes to improve your GPA, your MCAT content knowledge should improve as well. This whole journey will be expensive so you just have to determine if it is worth taking out student loans to improve your admissions chances.
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We prefer that labs be in-person, but otherwise these are fine for those well out of college.
It’s definitely worth taking out loans, it will all eventually pay off. I just want to give myself the best shot and prove that I’m capable of doing this. During undergrad, I had many difficult family circumstances and that doesn’t justify bad grades. I just did not know how to balance my time with everything I had on my plate.
Thank you for helping me out!!
can you please explain what are UC extensions?
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