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Awesome we keep growing everyday! Y'all are all great and will be doing big things for years to come.Just requested to join
**2017-2018 URM Medical School Application Thread**
Started by Icantplayspades
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Has anyone used the next step course? I signed up and just did the diagnostic(505)- how high can a score really rise?
I didn't take the NS course, but I also got a 505 on the diagnostic, and ended up with a 516 on the MCAT after 4 months of studying with the EK books.
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Ditto
From what I have read NS has some of the harder tests on the market, so theoretically you should be able to rise higher than this. AAMC material is the most indicative though.
Dont really remember what diagnostic I used, but I started with a diagnostic score of 501, and remember feeling super overwhelmed and frustrated. After two months of reading with Kaplan, my score was at 504, and slowly rose to 510 doing practice tests. By the time I took the FL1, I had a 516, FL2 - 514. Final MCAT score was a 523. So, how high can a score rise? About as high as you damn well please. Just gotta have a plan, keep your mind focused on what you are trying to do, study continuously, and dont forget to take lots of breaks. Its hard to study tired/stressed. Good luck.
Post in WAMC and tag goro and faha.
You should be ok with a decent school list including your AZ state schools and the HBCUs. Make sure your essays are almost perfect as well.
D
deleted853360
I'm not applying for a while (currently a sophomore in undegrad) but MUSC has a huge bias for having some ties to SC. I'm not sure if that's been said or not.
I wouldn't try to predict your real MCAT score using any 3rd party exams. Apparently, a lot of them deliberately make it difficult to score high because they have guarantees to raise your score and want to keep that sweet sweet $$$.
I know I'm late, but are there any MSs in here who would be willing to read over my PS?
So much truth to this.
Got accepted for AACOMAS' Fee Assistance 🙂
I found out my MCAT score today. 493. Pretty disappointed. GPA was 3.5. Major Sociology. I'm nontraditional, 10 years out of undergrad, worked at a leading international public health consulting firm so I do very well in interviews with on-hand experience to pull from. Just wondering if there is any hope for me in getting in anywhere.
Is this your first attempt? If so, I'd take the year to re-evaluate how you studied, come up with a better study plan and retake the exam. If this is not your first attempt, I would think about your options and career choices. If you are dead set about applying this year only to medical schools, I would only aim at the low-mid tier DO schools, Howard, Meharry, Morehouse and maybe, maaaayyybe your in-state public schools. Your GPA keeps you somewhat afloat if your sGPA mirrors that 3.5 but that MCAT is almost always DOA.
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On top of this, absolutely continue through with the process. You might surprise yourself. I do wish you luck though.
If you don't like me asking, what was your study schedule and time commitments?
Thanks for the response. I have applied to those schools actually. I went to a women's college for undergrad, so I'd actually like to attend a historically black institution for similar reasons. Anyway, I am hoping that my experience may set me apart to the right school. Not planning to pull my application at this point so I really appreciate that comment.
I started studying in February for the May exam and studied on average 9.5 hours a week. The problem for me is my job. It often requires staying late and coming in on the weekend. I would need to do a serious life adjustment to fit in the hours I need to get that score up (obviously). Which I'm open to, but figure I'll see this cycle through to the end given the $$ investment.
Did you take any practice exams?
Only one. I clearly should have taken more. Got caught up on content review.
Was it the AAMC or a third party FL?
Definitely do a ton more practice tests! They are obnoxious, but I can definitively say they made a huge difference for me. I'm also 10 years out of undergrad, we can do this!
I would recommend buying the AAMC's bundle that comes with practice questions and three full length practice exams. The practice questions serve two purposes: content review and familiarizing yourself with MCAT style questions. The full length exams help you build endurance and predict your score. I think you should see some improvement with both. Also, a score below 500 suggests some issues with content review. I know you said you focused on content review last time but maybe the way you were studying wasn't efficient? You want to build in lots of practice and recall even during content review. It will help the information sink in better. You might need to study over a longer period of time since you're balancing studying with a job. You can definitely do this! I think you just need to shift your strategy.
I know you want to apply this cycle, and it may be worth it for you to push forward (only you can make that decision). A higher MCAT score would really help your chances. Keep in mind that AAMC data suggests ~25% of Black applicants with your stats are accepted: https://www.aamc.org/download/321514/data/factstablea24-2.pdf
Not sure which community you identify with, and I don't mean to be discouraging! Best of luck with applications, whatever you decide! All love from here.
Also, I've been lurking on this thread for awhile but I've recently decided to de-lurk, especially seeing all of these MCAT questions! 
I'm a Black woman who managed a 520+ MCAT by the grace of God, and I want to pass on some of the tips and tricks that have worked for me. Also, all of this waiting around for verification &etc is driving me crazy. Helping strangers over the Internet is a better outlet for the crazy than stalking WAMC posts and googling "High MCAT not accepted medical school".
I'm a Black woman who managed a 520+ MCAT by the grace of God, and I want to pass on some of the tips and tricks that have worked for me. Also, all of this waiting around for verification &etc is driving me crazy. Helping strangers over the Internet is a better outlet for the crazy than stalking WAMC posts and googling "High MCAT not accepted medical school".
D
deleted854547
Also, I've been lurking on this thread for awhile but I've recently decided to de-lurk, especially seeing all of these MCAT questions!
That score is incredible! You have your pick of any school in the country. No need to be googling that at all lol.
When do the first secondaries typically go out (I submitted June 2nd) ? I've been prewriting most of them but will be out of the country the first two weeks of July, so just wondering about the timing.
I would like to hear these tipsAlso, I've been lurking on this thread for awhile but I've recently decided to de-lurk, especially seeing all of these MCAT questions!
Actually surprised we haven't received any yet. Last year it seemed like a good amount of schools sent them like a week before the first date primaries were sent.
7
720606
Congratulations! As someone in your position last year, you will be just fine! Just commit every step into God's hands!Also, I've been lurking on this thread for awhile but I've recently decided to de-lurk, especially seeing all of these MCAT questions!
I have a friend in admissions in Virginia, they won't be getting apps until next weekend, so probably soon after for secondaries.
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Submitted my AMCAS application 
Submitted my AMCAS application
+1
Anyone have a secondary pre-writing schedule that they plan on adhereing to? I'm getting mad lazy and it's not even July yet, lol. 
I haven't had much of a schedule I have just been writing them as I go on google docs. It has been helpful tho to keep a spreadsheet of my progress/how many questions I have left for a school. Tryna get them mostly done before July 4th.
Anyone have a secondary pre-writing schedule that they plan on adhereing to? I'm getting mad lazy and it's not even July yet, lol.
I am going to start writing them as a I go this week, and am planning to submit my primary this week or next.
Wow, good for you! You must be an amazing writer!
Lol mostly doing them quickly because I'll be out of country first half a July and don't want to be freaking out.
Submitted my AACOMAS app!
Last edited:
Hey guys! I've been lurking on this thread, but waiting for secondaries and procrastinating pre-writing has made me nervous about only applying to 13 schools and has made me wonder if I should add more (a major thing holding me back is cost though)
AA and hispanic female
Texas resident (UT Austin Grad)
GPA: 3.92c 3.84s
MCAT: 519 (126 chem/131/131/131)
EC:
-working as a full-time scribe in the ER during my gap year
-Studied abroad in Guatemala for a summer and volunteered teaching children English
-was Vice President of psych organization for two years
-about 100 hours of non-clinical volunteering in total including various activities with organizations
-limited research experience; about 90 hours coding in a food disorder lab
-also did about 60 hours of shadowing in an urgent care
School List
McGovern
Dell (UT Austin)
UTMB
Paul Foster (El Paso)
Southwestern
Uniformed Services
Emory
Chapel Hill
Wake Forrest
Tulane
Carver College of Medicine
University of Washington
Ohio State
AA and hispanic female
Texas resident (UT Austin Grad)
GPA: 3.92c 3.84s
MCAT: 519 (126 chem/131/131/131)
EC:
-working as a full-time scribe in the ER during my gap year
-Studied abroad in Guatemala for a summer and volunteered teaching children English
-was Vice President of psych organization for two years
-about 100 hours of non-clinical volunteering in total including various activities with organizations
-limited research experience; about 90 hours coding in a food disorder lab
-also did about 60 hours of shadowing in an urgent care
School List
McGovern
Dell (UT Austin)
UTMB
Paul Foster (El Paso)
Southwestern
Uniformed Services
Emory
Chapel Hill
Wake Forrest
Tulane
Carver College of Medicine
University of Washington
Ohio State
Im taking it too. Kind of nervous! My application is ready. Just need these score
@Jcasti, your stats are great for any Texas school so I would recommend you apply to all of them. You only have 5 Texas schools on your list, and the price of applying to one is the same as applying to all 10. Include Baylor too which uses AMCAS application. UTMB, McGovern,and UTSan Antonio do not have secondaries so no writing there!
Last edited:
You're Harvard material. I think you should add the Top 20s you think you'd enjoy.
You should post in WAMC, they can help you with an exact school list. You're competitive everywhere though 🙂
Thanks for the replies! I'll probably look more into Top 20 schools and other out of state schools, I'm kind of trying to get out of Texas
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Hey guys! I feel like I am late to the party but thought I would introduce myself.
AA female, non-traditional
3.5 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA
508 MCAT
Currently work in a pediatric office and have lots of other clinical and non-clinical volunteering. Just got done with my primary app so just the thought of listing everything out right now is exhausting lol
Just submitted my primary app a few minutes ago and super excited for this upcoming cycle! Hope all goes well for everyone.
AA female, non-traditional
3.5 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA
508 MCAT
Currently work in a pediatric office and have lots of other clinical and non-clinical volunteering. Just got done with my primary app so just the thought of listing everything out right now is exhausting lol
Just submitted my primary app a few minutes ago and super excited for this upcoming cycle! Hope all goes well for everyone.
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OK guys, here are my promised thoughts regarding the MCAT. It's a bit long, so maybe grab a cup of tea or something?
Meditations on the MCAT:
Step 1: Set an ambitious but not completely unrealistic goal. What the exact numbers are will vary for each student. The important thing is to pick a goal that is inspiring for you. You want to aim high; don't undersell yourself.
Step 2: Obtain study materials. I don't think it really matters what books you use for content review as long as the company's style speaks to you. Personally, I used TPR. I liked TPR for SAT prep in high school, and I also appreciated that they had both passage and discreet questions at the end of each chapter. IMHO, it's not worth it to purchase books from several purchasers. This is one place where you can save money.
BUY THE AAMC COMPLETE DELUXE BUNDLE THINGAMAJIG. Yes, it's like more than $200. Yes, that is way too much money for online access to their materials. Whatever. This is one place where you should put down the cash anyway.
A note on courses: I did not use a course because I'm broke. However, a course may be helpful if you know that you have trouble keeping on schedule. Make sure to check if your course gives you access to the AAMC material; you don't want to buy it twice. Also, a course does not replace self study. It should be a supplement in your study plan, not the main meal.
A note on 3rd party exams: I didn't use them. I didn't want to burn myself out, so the only full length practice exams I did were the official AAMC exams. Some people like the 3rd party exams for building stamina. However, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PREDICT YOUR REAL SCORE USING 3RD PARTY EXAMS.
Again, 3RD PARTY EXAMS ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REAL DEAL. THEY ARE NOT PREDICTIVE.
Step 3: Pick a schedule. I remember I found this part very daunting when I was getting started. I found all of these schedules in the forums over here with various commentaries and philosophies and stuff attached to them. At the end of the day, I think I wasted a lot of time trying to put together the perfect schedule because I was procrastinating/nervous about actually starting to study. The important thing is to make a schedule that works for you. About 3 months is reasonable if you can dedicate all of your time to studying. Give yourself more like 6 months-1 year if you're balancing a job and other responsibilities. Plan on at least 1 month of your study time being dedicated to AAMC practice material. The longer your study time, the more redundancy you have to build in so you don't forget material you studied earlier. I ended up spending 3.5 months studying, and about 2.5 of that was spent on content review. Basically, my sophisticated approach was this: I counted all of the chapters in TPR's books, then divided by the number of days I had to study (I built in one rest day every week). That worked out to 2 new chapters every day.
Please please please please give yourself enough time to get through the AAMC material. You want to really dive into their materials. Do not spend a lot of time on content review at the expense of the AAMC practice material. However, do not underestimate the importance of content review either. A strong understanding of the material can really help with educated guesses. Also, if you know the material well, you will know when a question is supposed to be hard.
Step 4: Get through content review. Everyone learns differently. The important thing here is, you can't just be passively reading books or listening to a tutor or whatever. Active learning is the name of the game. What I did was, every day I read 2 new chapters in TPR. I rotated subjects as I went, which helped prevent boredom. Pomodoro technique was a life saver here. Even while reading, I tried to make it as active a process as possible. For example, if I just read about Piaget's stages and flipped the page to a new topic, I might ask myself, "What were Piaget's stages again?" If I could not immediately recall, then I went back and re-read that section. I would sleep on the 2 new chapters. Then, the next day I reviewed the previous day's materials and did the practice questions at the end of the chapters. And then I read 2 new chapters. Rinse and repeat until I finished content review. I think sleeping on the material was key to this method--you would be surprised what a difference it makes.
Some people make Anki decks. I hate flashcards with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. That being said, they are helpful for P/S. I recommend making your own rather than relying on someone else's.
Step 5: Get through the AAMC material. Do all the material. All of it. Do it thoroughly. Review every single question, including the ones you got right. The question packs are great for when you're starting out; they act as additional content review. The section bank is better for building your critical reasoning skills. It's also quite challenging. AAMC FL1 and FL2 are predictive of your real exam.
The last week before the exam: You should have already taken all of your practice exams. At this point, you should be scoring around your target score. Continue doing some light practice but don't pull all-nighters or anything. Also, I used this time to memorize low yield material, e.g. intermediates in the pentose-phosphate pathway. I can memorize that kind of thing pretty quickly, especially when I know I can just forget it after the exam lol. Don't do this last minute cramming if it doesn't work for you. The night before the exam, try to chill.
The day of the exam: Get to the test center early. Wear pants that don't have pockets if practical. Make sure your ID is valid/hasn't expired. Take your breaks. I did jumping jacks in the hallway during every break, which helped unflatten my butt and get the blood flowing. Also, try not to worry about the section you just took. It's over now. In my mind, I thought of the MCAT as four normal length exams instead of one long one. That helped with my mindset going into each new section, so that one challenging section did not mess up my confidence for the rest of the exam. This seems hokey but watch your self talk. You want your internal monologue to sound like a football coach in a cheesy made-for-TV movie. You got this, you're the best, you've studied for this, no one can beat you, &etc.
Other notes:
Just like you shouldn't let previous sections ruin the entire exam for you, don't let one difficult passage throw off an entire section. While doing CARS, I would actually close my eyes after each passage and recite a quick prayer. YMMV, but find a way not to let previous passages bleed into new ones. If something is really hard, do your best to answer it, mark it, and move on.
Your goal should be to take the MCAT once and kill it. Do not take the MCAT until you feel 100% ready to dominate it. However, if you need to do a retake, it's not the end of the world.
TPR's CARS strategy is garbage. For CARS, attack the passages in order. Do not attempt to "triage" or whatever; that is a waste of your time. KoalaT's "golden rule" is the way to go: You can always quickly eliminate two obviously wrong answers. From the two remaining choices, try to find a reason in the passage that one is wrong. If an answer is even a little bit wrong, it's all the way wrong and you can eliminate it. Here's more: How to Improve On Verbal: Golden Rule
I know this probably goes without saying but don't base your self worth off of the MCAT exam. It does not tell you your inherent worth as a human being. That's something you're born with.
Now go and kill that exam!
Meditations on the MCAT:
Step 1: Set an ambitious but not completely unrealistic goal. What the exact numbers are will vary for each student. The important thing is to pick a goal that is inspiring for you. You want to aim high; don't undersell yourself.
Step 2: Obtain study materials. I don't think it really matters what books you use for content review as long as the company's style speaks to you. Personally, I used TPR. I liked TPR for SAT prep in high school, and I also appreciated that they had both passage and discreet questions at the end of each chapter. IMHO, it's not worth it to purchase books from several purchasers. This is one place where you can save money.
BUY THE AAMC COMPLETE DELUXE BUNDLE THINGAMAJIG. Yes, it's like more than $200. Yes, that is way too much money for online access to their materials. Whatever. This is one place where you should put down the cash anyway.
A note on courses: I did not use a course because I'm broke. However, a course may be helpful if you know that you have trouble keeping on schedule. Make sure to check if your course gives you access to the AAMC material; you don't want to buy it twice. Also, a course does not replace self study. It should be a supplement in your study plan, not the main meal.
A note on 3rd party exams: I didn't use them. I didn't want to burn myself out, so the only full length practice exams I did were the official AAMC exams. Some people like the 3rd party exams for building stamina. However, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PREDICT YOUR REAL SCORE USING 3RD PARTY EXAMS.
Again, 3RD PARTY EXAMS ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REAL DEAL. THEY ARE NOT PREDICTIVE.
Step 3: Pick a schedule. I remember I found this part very daunting when I was getting started. I found all of these schedules in the forums over here with various commentaries and philosophies and stuff attached to them. At the end of the day, I think I wasted a lot of time trying to put together the perfect schedule because I was procrastinating/nervous about actually starting to study. The important thing is to make a schedule that works for you. About 3 months is reasonable if you can dedicate all of your time to studying. Give yourself more like 6 months-1 year if you're balancing a job and other responsibilities. Plan on at least 1 month of your study time being dedicated to AAMC practice material. The longer your study time, the more redundancy you have to build in so you don't forget material you studied earlier. I ended up spending 3.5 months studying, and about 2.5 of that was spent on content review. Basically, my sophisticated approach was this: I counted all of the chapters in TPR's books, then divided by the number of days I had to study (I built in one rest day every week). That worked out to 2 new chapters every day.
Please please please please give yourself enough time to get through the AAMC material. You want to really dive into their materials. Do not spend a lot of time on content review at the expense of the AAMC practice material. However, do not underestimate the importance of content review either. A strong understanding of the material can really help with educated guesses. Also, if you know the material well, you will know when a question is supposed to be hard.
Step 4: Get through content review. Everyone learns differently. The important thing here is, you can't just be passively reading books or listening to a tutor or whatever. Active learning is the name of the game. What I did was, every day I read 2 new chapters in TPR. I rotated subjects as I went, which helped prevent boredom. Pomodoro technique was a life saver here. Even while reading, I tried to make it as active a process as possible. For example, if I just read about Piaget's stages and flipped the page to a new topic, I might ask myself, "What were Piaget's stages again?" If I could not immediately recall, then I went back and re-read that section. I would sleep on the 2 new chapters. Then, the next day I reviewed the previous day's materials and did the practice questions at the end of the chapters. And then I read 2 new chapters. Rinse and repeat until I finished content review. I think sleeping on the material was key to this method--you would be surprised what a difference it makes.
Some people make Anki decks. I hate flashcards with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. That being said, they are helpful for P/S. I recommend making your own rather than relying on someone else's.
Step 5: Get through the AAMC material. Do all the material. All of it. Do it thoroughly. Review every single question, including the ones you got right. The question packs are great for when you're starting out; they act as additional content review. The section bank is better for building your critical reasoning skills. It's also quite challenging. AAMC FL1 and FL2 are predictive of your real exam.
The last week before the exam: You should have already taken all of your practice exams. At this point, you should be scoring around your target score. Continue doing some light practice but don't pull all-nighters or anything. Also, I used this time to memorize low yield material, e.g. intermediates in the pentose-phosphate pathway. I can memorize that kind of thing pretty quickly, especially when I know I can just forget it after the exam lol. Don't do this last minute cramming if it doesn't work for you. The night before the exam, try to chill.
The day of the exam: Get to the test center early. Wear pants that don't have pockets if practical. Make sure your ID is valid/hasn't expired. Take your breaks. I did jumping jacks in the hallway during every break, which helped unflatten my butt and get the blood flowing. Also, try not to worry about the section you just took. It's over now. In my mind, I thought of the MCAT as four normal length exams instead of one long one. That helped with my mindset going into each new section, so that one challenging section did not mess up my confidence for the rest of the exam. This seems hokey but watch your self talk. You want your internal monologue to sound like a football coach in a cheesy made-for-TV movie. You got this, you're the best, you've studied for this, no one can beat you, &etc.
Other notes:
Just like you shouldn't let previous sections ruin the entire exam for you, don't let one difficult passage throw off an entire section. While doing CARS, I would actually close my eyes after each passage and recite a quick prayer. YMMV, but find a way not to let previous passages bleed into new ones. If something is really hard, do your best to answer it, mark it, and move on.
Your goal should be to take the MCAT once and kill it. Do not take the MCAT until you feel 100% ready to dominate it. However, if you need to do a retake, it's not the end of the world.
TPR's CARS strategy is garbage. For CARS, attack the passages in order. Do not attempt to "triage" or whatever; that is a waste of your time. KoalaT's "golden rule" is the way to go: You can always quickly eliminate two obviously wrong answers. From the two remaining choices, try to find a reason in the passage that one is wrong. If an answer is even a little bit wrong, it's all the way wrong and you can eliminate it. Here's more: How to Improve On Verbal: Golden Rule
I know this probably goes without saying but don't base your self worth off of the MCAT exam. It does not tell you your inherent worth as a human being. That's something you're born with.
Now go and kill that exam!
Thank you! If I'm even half as successful as you, I will be deliriously happy. All we can do is our best, and the rest really is in God's hands.
Best of luck to everyone whose apps get sent out tomorrow. We can do this!
Who else is listening to 4:44 with their jaw on the floor? Lol.
But actually
Holy just got my first secondary its starting!
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