Minority Acceptance

Jezzielin said:

Just wondering if any of you know of schools that tend to accept a greater amount of minorities?

Thanks!

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What kind of minority are you talking about? URMs?

You need to retake the MCAT and get at least a 27 or so to be accepted at an MD school. A 24 or so for a DO school. I don't know how possible that is in 9 weeks with the score you had posted. So I would consider taking a year off, rather then assuming minority status will be used as an excuse for your lower scores.

You should see your lower scores as an opportunity to find a way to raise them and make you competitive, and only more driven then ever before.

Not that you shouldn't strive to get the best score that you can....you totally should....but for what its worth I do know of cases of URM's being accepted into md programs with low 20 mcat scores.

gujuDoc said:

You need to retake the MCAT and get at least a 27 or so to be accepted at an MD school. A 24 or so for a DO school. I don't know how possible that is in 9 weeks with the score you had posted. So I would consider taking a year off, rather then assuming minority status will be used as an excuse for your lower scores.

You should see your lower scores as an opportunity to find a way to raise them and make you competitive, and only more driven then ever before.

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Happy613 said:

Not that you shouldn't strive to get the best score that you can....you totally should....but for what its worth I do know of cases of URM's being accepted into md programs with low 20 mcat scores.

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I believe their score was lower then 20. If they work hard and take a year off, they can pull it up. Its a far better option.

gujuDoc said:

I believe their score was lower then 20. If they work hard and take a year off, they can pull it up. Its a far better option.

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I totally agree with you.

I took a year off b4 applying, in large part to having to retake the mcat. It ended up being a great experience. The mcat is not at all reflective of whats taught in medical school, and the way the test is formated, relying heavily on critical thinking and deductive reasoning, is dissimilair to medical school exams (At least in my experience). While critical thinking is very important, bulk memorization is more important, memorization was the key in the majority of the tests I took over the past two years.

But what is invaluable is the discipline that you begin to develop by studying for the mcat. I found that in order to do well in medical school, I had to be able to identify important information, and be able to sit down for several hours each day reviewing it. This is a skill I began to develop while studying for the mcat.

I don't want to give the impression that there is no crtical thinking in medical school exams, physiology for example is full of it, but it is all related to required facts you need to know. I never took an exam with a "new lab method" or a requirment to "desighn a way to test..." type question.

Happy613 said:

I totally agree with you.

I took a year off b4 applying, in large part to having to retake the mcat. It ended up being a great experience. The mcat is not at all reflective of whats taught in medical school, and the way the test is formated, relying heavily on critical thinking and deductive reasoning, is dissimilair to medical school exams (At least in my experience). While critical thinking is very important, bulk memorization is more important, memorization was the key in the majority of the tests I took over the past two years.

But what is invaluable is the discipline that you begin to develop by studying for the mcat. I found that in order to do well in medical school, I had to be able to identify important information, and be able to sit down for several hours each day reviewing it. This is a skill I began to develop while studying for the mcat.

I don't want to give the impression that there is no crtical thinking in medical school exams, physiology for example is full of it, but it is all related to required facts you need to know. I never took an exam with a "new lab method" or a requirment to "desighn a way to test..." type question.

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You can always go abroad, or try for DO schools. The only way I personally would look towards the method your thinking of is if: 1. I had exhausted all other options and 2. If I knew I had done my best and was absolutely incapable of doing any better than I had under any circumstances.

fateema368 said:

You can always go abroad, or try for DO schools. The only way I personally would look towards the method your thinking of is if: 1. I had exhausted all other options and 2. If I knew I had done my best and was absolutely incapable of doing any better than I had under any circumstances.

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Most DO schools are now asking for a minimum of 21 for the MCAT. LECOM-Bradenton, for instance, let a person in with a 14 and 17 on their MCAT last year. however, this year, they are making it more stringent and specified that only those with 21 and above can apply. DO schools are getting harder to get in with below a 21 at the very least.

To the OP:

Instead of crying over your MCAT score, suck it up and put every living soul of energy to bringing it up next April. Wait and take time learning the concepts, etc. Practice like crazy and you can bring it up at least to a 24 or 25, which will make you competitive for DO schools. However, if you are dead serious about changing strategy, you may be able to bring it up to a 27-29 and get into an MD school by earning it. I think when people assume because they are a minority, their 19 or 18 on the MCAT is ok, it exemplifies why so many people hate AA. Prove it to yourself and to others, that you are worthy. Give it your all at least one more time. But don't bank on using the URM card as an excuse for a poor MCAT.

I have several URM friends with higher MCAT scores then you, but with one low subscore, and they still didn't get in. Don't assume URM status will carry you that far.

It will only work to a certain extent. They still want people with somewhat decent scores. Ok that's all for now.

gujuDoc said:

Most DO schools are now asking for a minimum of 21 for the MCAT. LECOM-Bradenton, for instance, let a person in with a 14 and 17 on their MCAT last year. however, this year, they are making it more stringent and specified that only those with 21 and above can apply. DO schools are getting harder to get in with below a 21 at the very least.

To the OP:

Instead of crying over your MCAT score, suck it up and put every living soul of energy to bringing it up next April. Wait and take time learning the concepts, etc. Practice like crazy and you can bring it up at least to a 24 or 25, which will make you competitive for DO schools. However, if you are dead serious about changing strategy, you may be able to bring it up to a 27-29 and get into an MD school by earning it. I think when people assume because they are a minority, their 19 or 18 on the MCAT is ok, it exemplifies why so many people hate AA. Prove it to yourself and to others, that you are worthy. Give it your all at least one more time. But don't bank on using the URM card as an excuse for a poor MCAT.

I have several URM friends with higher MCAT scores then you, but with one low subscore, and they still didn't get in. Don't assume URM status will carry you that far.

It will only work to a certain extent. They still want people with somewhat decent scores. Ok that's all for now.

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Did you actually say "it exemplifies why so many people hate African Americans???

DeigoT said:

Did you actually say "it exemplifies why so many people hate African Americans???

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Affirmative Action.

Jezzielin said:

Just wondering if any of you know of schools that tend to accept a greater amount of minorities?

Thanks!

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howard and meharry generally have a larger amount of black students

msar will give you better breakdowns though

good luck!

The AAMC publishes a book (beside the MSAR) for minorities about minority friendly medical school, trends, programs, etc. The name of the book escapes me now, though. . .

I think as a minority applicant, try and have a well rounded application that includes:
-experience in a medical setting
-community service
-excellent letters
-a personal statement that is well written

I agree that you should try and get the highest MCAT score that you can. I know I was asked at all of my interviews how I improved my MCAT score 9 points without the aid of a prep course. So, ad coms care about improvement and perserverence. Good luck.

Happy613 said:

Not that you shouldn't strive to get the best score that you can....you totally should....but for what its worth I do know of cases of URM's being accepted into md programs with low 20 mcat scores.

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I agree that u should try and bring your score up.. and i know of quite a few cases of Non-URMs getting into Med School with with MCAT scores in the 17-23 range...

DeigoT said:

Did you actually say "it exemplifies why so many people hate African Americans???

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Let me clarify. What I meant is that people get annoyed with a lot of URMs because many URMS think that just because they are URM they can get away with having lower scores then a non URM. However, if those same URMs want to be considered on level playing field with their non URM counterparts they need to be getting equally competitive scores and not assuming that a 19 will be ok for them because they are URM, even though it wouldn't be acceptable for all other applicants.

That said, all of the minorities that I know which got accepted, had well above the average or at least near the average of 24-25, hence showing their smarts.

A few of them even had in the mid 35+ range and a 4.0 and went to places like Columbia for med school, well deservedly. Others went to HBC's (historically black colleges like Meharry, Howard, and Morehouse). But again, regardless of URM status, they were expected meet certain standards. By that same virtue, another minority friend of mine had a 12 in both science sections and a 4 in Verbal, L in writing, and had been told by all her schools to bring up her verbal to at least a 6 or 7 at the very very very bare minimum. So to assume minority status will make up for a low score is useless.

That said, I'm glad to hear the OP is going to retake.

Meharry, and Morehouse have a large URM population. I hear that Temple also admits lots of minority students.

I dont know what your MCAT score was, but, I think that with anything lower than a 23 that perhaps you should retake, even if you are a URM. Just my 2cents

jules0328 said:

Meharry, and Morehouse have a large URM population. I hear that Temple also admits lots of minority students.

I dont know what your MCAT score was, but, I think that with anything lower than a 23 that perhaps you should retake, even if you are a URM. Just my 2cents

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Meharry, Morehouse, and Howard are the traditionally created HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES designed during the days of segregation to educate African Americans. They are known for their URM populus but often take qualified non URMS as well.

Howard, I believe has an avg of 3.0 and 24MCAT. However, most people I know that got interviews at Howard or Meharry had in the range of 26-29 MCAT scores and 3.5+ GPA.