Are my chances good?

Hi everyone, I have one year left and I will have my B.S. in biology with minors in chemsitry and French. My GPA is 3.856 and my MCAT was 18R.

grinley said:

Hi everyone, I have one year left and I will have my B.S. in biology with minors in chemsitry and French. My GPA is 3.856 and my MCAT was 18R.

Click to expand...

Your GPA is great, Mcat... I think you know. Is it possible to get in? Yes.
Will you get into the "better" schools? Maybe not.

I would retake the Mcat. The "better" schools are raising the bar, and just might not let you in w/ that.

Good luck.

Ok, what kind of MCAT should I aim for? I do not understand why, with my grades, I did not do better.

grinley said:

Ok, what kind of MCAT should I aim for? I do not understand why, with my grades, I did not do better.

Click to expand...

Minimum 20. You will probably get in somewhere w/ an 18. The averages at Azpod and DMU were almost mid 20's (23-24). I don't know about the other schools. Contact each school to REALLY know.

All I am saying is there is an upward trend in MCat scores of accepted. COuldn't hurt to retake, and get into the school of YOUR choice.

WHere are you thinking?

I do not really know. I am taking the test at the end of this month, the 24. I am graduating college a year early and would hate to waste the earned year without getting in anywhere. You are in podiatry school. Do you mind pming me ur stats?

I would prefer Arizona because it is closest to Colorado

grinley said:

Ok, what kind of MCAT should I aim for? I do not understand why, with my grades, I did not do better.

Click to expand...

You will certainly get into a pod school, but, as was said, you should retake the MCAT and aim for 20+ to be the most competitive applicant possible. If you can do that, you're probably looking at a scholarship for some schools if you apply early in the 2008 cycle. AZPod is probably one of the most competitive and challenging pod schools, so re-taking is a very good idea if that is your school of choice.

As for why your MCAT score doesn't equate to GPA, it might be short term and long term memory. Most classes aren't more than 4 or 5 months long, but the MCAT tests you over material learned over a 3+yr span. It could also just be test taking ability (common sense, calm under pressure, and ability to knock out wrong answers). Kaplan book(s) will help you prep for retake, or take the class if you don't have the work ethic to study on your own (your GPA would say that you do). I'd also take biochem and micro prior to your next MCAT (if you haven't already). Those aren't "required" for the MCAT, but they sneak a ton of it on and it sure doesn't hurt.

Whatever you do, don't worry. You are a hard-working student, and that is the hardest part of any graduate program. Many more lazy geniuses flunk out of medical programs than hard workers who lack great test skills. My cousin is a very similar student to you: real hard study ethic but surprisingly low test results for someone of his GPA level. He graduated with a 3.8 or 3.9 but only low 20s on the MCAT, and he still scored only mid-20s after re-taking. He got waitlisted, did a second BS, and then was accepted the next year to a MD program as an in-state applicant. He kept working hard and had a good GPA in med school also, but his USMLE pt1 was mediocre and his specialty residency options might be fairly limited.

The good thing for you is that podiatry boards, unlike USMLE or COMPLEX, are pass/fail, so the MCAT is essentially the last numerically scored long term memory test you'll take. Like I said, you can probably bump up your MCAT a bit with a re-take and be looking at some scholarship $ during pod school. If you keep your good study habits and achieve a high GPA in pod school, you should have no problem passing boards, and you will find plenty of good residency options.

grinley said:

I do not really know. I am taking the test at the end of this month, the 24. I am graduating college a year early and would hate to waste the earned year without getting in anywhere. You are in podiatry school. Do you mind pming me ur stats?

Click to expand...

Yikes! Go travel the world for a year or something! Be a bike bum/ski bum! Last chance until you're retired...

NatCh said:

Yikes! Go travel the world for a year or something! Be a bike bum/ski bum! Last chance until you're retired...

Click to expand...

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!👍

yeah you'll probably have a hard time getting in to the top couple, OCPM and Barry, but you'll find a home somewhere I'm sure. Keep it up!!

Ralph Ralph said:

yeah you'll probably have a hard time getting in to the top couple, OCPM and Barry, but you'll find a home somewhere I'm sure. Keep it up!!

Click to expand...

Uh... you might want to run some searches.

It always depends on number of apps, but neither of those schools is very selective most years or viewed as the "top couple" current pod programs in terms of board pass, residency placements, rep, etc. I'm not saying there aren't some great students at them, but if you look for people who applied and were rejected by those programs, you sure won't find very many...

lol "top couple, OCPM and Barry"


👍

Ralph Ralph said:

yeah you'll probably have a hard time getting in to the top couple, OCPM and Barry, but you'll find a home somewhere I'm sure. Keep it up!!

Click to expand...

Are you being serious about this?