What are my chances?

[musicalMD]

Ok so I just have a question about my chances of getting a med school interview.

I am a junior in college majoring in music education. I have good ECs and volunteer experience. I have a GPA of 3.8.

I recently interviewed with my college pre-med committee as they are writing me a recommendation letter. They seemed very happy with my interview and one person on the committee (a doc himself) said that once I get an interview, my chances are very high. They said the music aspect is very appealing to medical schools so I have a huge advantage there.

My problem is the MCAT. As a music ed major, I am not able to take any of the upper division science courses, which I hear are very helpful with the test. I took my first full test yesterday and got a 24. Obviously much lower than I was hoping for. But I am taking the test in July so I would hope my score will increase significantly my then.

Let's say I am able to land a 26 or 27 on the MCAT. What would my chances be of getting an interview- or getting in at all?

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[Mad Jack]

MD? Minimal. DO? Reasonable. A 26-27 is a highly uncompetitive score in the allo world- your only chance would be low-tier schools and state schools, but even those would be a stretch, unless you happen to be a URM or have cured cancer with the power of music.

Enroll in a prep course if you had a B or lower average in your prep courses- usually I don't recommend them, but for those outside of the sciences, they are much more valuable. Also get the right resources to do well on the MCAT. TBR (primary) and TBR (secondary) should be your main resources, unless you performed exceptionally in your prerequisite courses, in which case stick with TBR and EK. Your entire shot is going to hinge more on your MCAT than anything. Adcoms like students that aren't from the sciences, but they have to prove they are capable of performing well on difficult scientific material to be competitive. You only have two ways to demonstrate that capability- a high MCAT score, and having an excellent sGPA (3.8+). Do everything you can to maximize both of these numbers, and your chances are good. If you fall into the 3.4-3.5 sGPA range or lower, or get an MCAT in the 26-28 range, you're going to be looking at going DO if you want to have a good shot at being a physician without completing a SMP to beef up your science credentials.

 

[gunner1]

if you got a 24 as your first score that tells me that you might be pretty receptive to learning more and increasing that score significantly. I'm quite confident that if you review your content thoroughly and apply the learned knowledge to passage based mcat questions that you would do pretty well.

 

[turayza]

Ok so I just have a question about my chances of getting a med school interview.

I am a junior in college majoring in music education. I have good ECs and volunteer experience. I have a GPA of 3.8.

I recently interviewed with my college pre-med committee as they are writing me a recommendation letter. They seemed very happy with my interview and one person on the committee (a doc himself) said that once I get an interview, my chances are very high. They said the music aspect is very appealing to medical schools so I have a huge advantage there.

My problem is the MCAT. As a music ed major, I am not able to take any of the upper division science courses, which I hear are very helpful with the test. I took my first full test yesterday and got a 24. Obviously much lower than I was hoping for. But I am taking the test in July so I would hope my score will increase significantly my then.

Let's say I am able to land a 26 or 27 on the MCAT. What would my chances be of getting an interview- or getting in at all?

Don't count yourself out as only being able to achieve a 26 or 27. July is pretty soon but it is definitely possible to increase your initial MCAT score more than 2-3 points! I suggest looking through the MCAT forum and purchasing a few prep books, and setting up a prep schedule and getting to work. The upper division science courses are not necessary to do well on the MCAT--only the pre-reqs, which I assume you have taken.

 

[WillburCobb]

@musicalMD PM me. I was an instrumental music ed major, but decided not to do my senior recital or student teaching and dropped to just general music - I'll be matriculating this fall.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

You have plenty of time to increase that mcat score. I was able to increase my scores on practice tests by 5+ points from my first one in 2 months. You just have to really dedicate yourself to it and you can improve drastically.

 

[Member 0922]

OP, I had a 3.85cGPA, 3.80sGPA, and 26 MCAT. I applied to 4 MD schools. Got 2 interview invites - one acceptance, one waitlist. I had realllllly good ECs though.

I got into all the DO schools I applied to besides one - at that one I was offered an interview invite but turned it down.

Of course this is anecdotal. It's not impossible if you have really good ECs. But if you get the MCAT to at least a 30, your chances would increase substantially.

 

[Ismet]

Moving to WAMC forum

 

[musicalMD]

Thank you for all the replies! I have been studying really hard since January so am glad on my first try I was able to get a 24. Encouraging to hear it can still increase!

I have pretty good ECs- although I decided to do this whole med school thing pretty late so I don't have a lot of long term commitment. I have volunteered regularly at 2 different hospitals regularly- and have accumulated over 100 hours at my church. I also have really good work experience- including a teaching job at a private school.

I will be applying to mostly state (SUNY) schools. I suppose I should consider applying to a few DO programs as well.

Thanks for all the input- I would appreciate anymore feedback

 

[Goro]

MD school? None
DO schools? Most, but not all.

Ok so I just have a question about my chances of getting a med school interview.

I am a junior in college majoring in music education. I have good ECs and volunteer experience. I have a GPA of 3.8.

I recently interviewed with my college pre-med committee as they are writing me a recommendation letter. They seemed very happy with my interview and one person on the committee (a doc himself) said that once I get an interview, my chances are very high. They said the music aspect is very appealing to medical schools so I have a huge advantage there.

My problem is the MCAT. As a music ed major, I am not able to take any of the upper division science courses, which I hear are very helpful with the test. I took my first full test yesterday and got a 24. Obviously much lower than I was hoping for. But I am taking the test in July so I would hope my score will increase significantly my then.

Let's say I am able to land a 26 or 27 on the MCAT. What would my chances be of getting an interview- or getting in at all?

 

[Beth_W737]

Unless you are URM, I'd make DO your focus with a few state schools, but MD is a reach. Median MCAT for MD matriculants is 33.

Good luck, keep studying.

 

[funkymonkey0987]

I increased my score from a 25 to a 31 in 2 months, it is definitely possible. Everything else about your app looks good, just get to that MCAT studying! Best of luck.

 

[musicalMD]

I increased my score from a 25 to a 31 in 2 months, it is definitely possible. Everything else about your app looks good, just get to that MCAT studying! Best of luck.

What did you do to get such an increase? I am currently going through the examkracker 1001 books just t get exposed to content. Any other tips?

 

[funkymonkey0987]

I hadn't started content review when I got the 25, but this was what I did:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-the-cbt-version.503250/page-28#post-15239762