25 MCAT with M.D. interview

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Yeah, I applied to every Texas school (except baylor) two years ago. I interviewed at Texas Tech University (did my undergrad and grad studies here) with a 25M (PS 11, VR 6, BS 8), didnt get in. Mainly got the interview though due to an extremely high recomendation from the head of the JAMP program at Texas Tech; I wasnt in JAMP, but he was on my graduate school committee. He personally called the dean of admissions and told them to interview me..next day I had an interview.....Needless to say, I didnt get in. They did talk to me and asked me to retake my MCATs and reapply next year. However, my wife found employment in Mississippi the following year and I had to relocate. OOS tuition at Texas Tech would have been equivalent to paying for a private DO school. So I opted against reapplying there. I did apply to Mississippi however, since I was now a Mississippi resident.

I Interviewed last year at Mississippi with the same score as above and was rejected. I met with the admissions counselor post-rejection, and was told to get my MCATs up, primarily VR, and get more clinical exposure (had 1 year of EMT work at this point). Retook, got a 25M again (PS 10, VR 7, BS 8) and have been volunteering at a free clinic nearly every week this year. Reapplied at Mississippi again, had awesome interview (they were actually really happy that I brought my VR score up 1 point????), I was put on Delayed decision. Ill find out if I got in between January and March.

I wouldnt recommend applying to allopathic schools with a 25 if you can help it. From my experience so far, I would say its possible to get in at certain schools under very specific circumstances, but even then its not highly probable. Atleast dont limit yourself to them. Had my grad school professor not decided to call the dean of admissions at Texas Tech (I didnt ask him to), I would have never gotten an interview. I think he felt guilty because he knew that my MCAT scores were low and I worked in the lab 8-12 hours a day, 7 days a week..never really had a whole lot of time to aliquot to studying, only 15 mins here, 10 mins there..inbetween PCRs and what not and maybe an hour before I fell asleep at night, if I didnt have course work to study. I think the reason I got my initial interview at Mississippi is mainly due to my research experience/publications...but I am not sure.

However, I did get two interviews out of the three DO schools I fully applied to. Got into my #1 choice DO school without catching any flak for my 25M. If you apply with 25, expect a LOT of rejections. The worst part about it is that your MCATS are high enough to pass the initial screening of most schools (atleast all texas schools), so you pay for all the secondary apps, with no real shot of getting even an interview. If you can, meet with admissions counselors for the schools you are interested in. They are the BEST help you can get. And, when they tell you to improve your application one way or another, do it. Then let them know you did it. They keep track of your progress.
 
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Unless you really think theres no possible way for you raise the score any higher, why would you even consider applying with a 25?
 
Ativanigans said:
Unless you really think theres no possible way for you raise the score any higher, why would you even consider applying with a 25?
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In my case, I applied before I received my MCAT scores, and actually thought I scored much higher on both attempts at taking it. Besides that, dont forget that every year people with scores 25 and lower get accepted to DO schools, and some MD schools. For example, the year that I applied to Texas Tech, and the year prior to my applying, the school posted that the lowest MCAT accepted for those years classes were like a 21 or 22. And I know several currently practicing physicians who scored lower on their MCATs and are still excellent MDs and DOs.
 
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almost every school, ivy league/hopkins whatever, has someone at that has a low to mid 20s.
 
Yeah, but you would have to have something extra special. Like that second poster who had the head of JAMP or something call the dean. Or you're URM. Otherwise, I'd say don't bother, retake the exam.
 
yea, the person with a 23 or so has something really special to offer to the school + probably a really high GPA
 
okay....well, what about creating a volunteer program at a hospice...I did that and I hope that is something special...I mean, the intent was on allowing other pre healthcare professionals to experience what I experienced talking with the terminally ill. 🙄
 
sounds like a case of too much icing, not enough cake
 
ShinyDome19 said:
In my case, I applied before I received my MCAT scores, and actually thought I scored much higher on both attempts at taking it. Besides that, dont forget that every year people with scores 25 and lower get accepted to DO schools, and some MD schools. For example, the year that I applied to Texas Tech, and the year prior to my applying, the school posted that the lowest MCAT accepted for those years classes were like a 21 or 22. And I know several currently practicing physicians who scored lower on their MCATs and are still excellent MDs and DOs.
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Are you a Texas resident? If not you might have just wasted your money with an EXTREMELY high amount of our class coming from instate. 🙄
 
I know someone who got into their state school (right off the bat - never on the waitlist) with a 24 last year
 
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
 
ApoK said:
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
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dude your an idiot... look up the word average.

obviously people with sub-30 mcats can pass the boards.. mostly all DO applicants have sub-30 and pass the comlex/usmle and the averages 5+ years ago were in the high 20s.

good job on your 35 mcat, it's really going to take you far now 👍 ... if only we all could be so smart. i really hope your not one of those tools thats going to brag about his mcat score for the first month of school.
 
ApoK said:
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
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🙄

The national average of accepted students was a 30.8 in 2007 (see bottom of page). I think Tech's MCAT average the last two years was just under that (29-30ish) and we had 100% pass-rate on Step 1 both years. I'm positive other schools are very similar.

You're grossly misinformed.
 
25 mcat here....3 md interviews....2 offers with 1 giving a scholarship...anything can happen man...dont listen to the haters
 
All these responses, aside from ShinyDome, are doing the OP a huge disservice. Yes, it is technically possible to get into medical school with a 25. But 1) You dont know anything about the rest of that applicant's file 2) You dont know the prestige of the school 3) you dont know how many times they've tried before.

The entire application process is long, tedious, expensive and most importantly, finite. If you have time to spare, why wouldn't you fix a glaring deficiency in your application? What good is it to just toss your app into the mix on the prayer that you're the rare guy w/ the 25MCAT that gets into a reputable school? Think about it this way, if you apply and dont get in, will you be able to apply again the next year? If you answer yes, stop what you're doing and just wait to apply next year. Take the year off do something interesting like Americorp/TFA etc, study for the MCAT, volunteer. 1 well-put together app in 2 years is worth a lot more than three subpar apps one after other.
 
I know a URM that got in with a 21. Not even kidding.
 
Ativanigans said:
All these responses, aside from ShinyDome, are doing the OP a huge disservice. Yes, it is technically possible to get into medical school with a 25. But 1) You dont know anything about the rest of that applicant's file 2) You dont know the prestige of the school 3) you dont know how many times they've tried before.

The entire application process is long, tedious, expensive and most importantly, finite. If you have time to spare, why wouldn't you fix a glaring deficiency in your application? What good is it to just toss your app into the mix on the prayer that you're the rare guy w/ the 25MCAT that gets into a reputable school? Think about it this way, if you apply and dont get in, will you be able to apply again the next year? If you answer yes, stop what you're doing and just wait to apply next year. Take the year off do something interesting like Americorp/TFA etc, study for the MCAT, volunteer. 1 well-put together app in 2 years is worth a lot more than three subpar apps one after other.
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The OP simply asked for examples of people who had received an interview with a 25. I agree a 25 should be retaken in most cases, but that wasn't the question.
 
It definitely isn't hard to get your VR score from 6 to say....8-9. It just takes lots of practice.

:boom:
 
aggie08 said:
Are you a Texas resident? If not you might have just wasted your money with an EXTREMELY high amount of our class coming from instate. 🙄
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At the time of my applying, yes I was a Texas resident. I did my undergrad and grad. studies at Texas Tech. I wouldnt have applied to the Texas schools had I not been a Texas resident. Thats one of the reasons why I didnt apply once I moved and changed my residency to Mississippi. Also, the fact that Texas Tech's, and most other Texas schools, have out of state tuitions, if I remember correctly, around like 30K a year. For the poor chance of getting in with a 25M, as an out of state, I would be better off applying to a DO school where Ill pay the same tuition and have a much better chance in getting in.

APOK said:
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
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You know, I used to get annoyed with statements like this. Then, I had an interviewer say to me - "Medical schools are looking for students that will make excellent servants"...from which I translated as - "We are looking for the people who make the best B*tches"...So, I guess I will gladly bow down to you APOK, the bigger and better b*tch.

And, if I remember correctly, the statistics surrounding the MCATs and USMLE suggested only a correlation, and I dont think it was even all that strong of a correlation, between VR and USMLE scores... And, for anyone who has taken the MCATs, you know that VR has very little to do with inteligence, but simple test taking skills and as Global Warming said above, its not hard to raise VR, it just takes practice. So, it ultimately comes down to which idiot among us has the most time to allot to that practice.
 
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9BIO, 8VR, 8PS I feel like it's balanced enough. No, I will not reapply this next year. That just isn't an option. I was accepted to a D.O. school (three actually). I'm waiting on my state school M.D. and out of state private schools. I feel like I would have been rejected already at most of the M.D. schools. 😎
 
DRMRL said:
9BIO, 8VR, 8PS I feel like it's balanced enough. No, I will not reapply this next year. That just isn't an option. I was accepted to a D.O. school (three actually). I'm waiting on my state school M.D. and out of state private schools. I feel like I would have been rejected already at most of the M.D. schools. 😎
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Congrats then. You made it. 👍
 
chiz2kul said:
I know of a non-urm that got in with a 24...
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Ha. I'm sure there are quite a few ORM or majorities with low MCATs that get accepted, despite this mental image pre-meds have painted about the homogenous quality of their self-identified class of applicants...but, I digress

1) As an URM I hate to say this (as there are many of us with respectable scores...we are NOT homogenous either 😛), but I will say that I know it's quite possible for an URM to gain acceptance to medical school with a significantly low (read: = or <25) MCAT. HOWEVER, for MD institutions, this usually only holds true for HBCU Medical schools (read: Morehouse, Meharry, Howard), not the average med school.

2) And let's not forget that confounding factor of disadvantaged status (why everyone's so quick to point to URM, but hesitant to remember disadvantage, idk...)

3) Also, certain state schools have relatively low criteria for IS admissions (at least for the MCAT).

4) Lastly, we all know an acceptance with a 25 MCAT is probable at DO schools.

Granted, all this is said without regards to other important accepts of the application (i.e. GPA, ECs, personal statement, secondary essays, undergrad institution, IS/OOS, time of submission, etc) that carry significant weight.
 
👍
doxycycline said:
dude your an idiot... look up the word average.

obviously people with sub-30 mcats can pass the boards.. mostly all DO applicants have sub-30 and pass the comlex/usmle and the averages 5+ years ago were in the high 20s.

good job on your 35 mcat, it's really going to take you far now 👍 ... if only we all could be so smart. i really hope your not one of those tools thats going to brag about his mcat score for the first month of school.
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ApoK said:
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
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Be careful when you make a statement such as this. I have heard many SDNers correlate MCAT with Boards. I've even heard one say that someone who gets around a 25 will most likely not be a great doctor compared to someone with a score >35.

The truth is that you never know why that person got the score he/she did. I know of this guy who got a 24 MCAT score the first time he took it after studying with the Princeton Review class. He took it over a month later after hard core studying by himself and got a 35. Thats an 11 point jump! So with his 35 MCAT some people would predict that he was destined to be a great doctor but just a month earlier his 24 MCAT gave him the destiny of being a mediocre to subpar doctor?
You really can't use the MCAT to predict people's potential! You never know the circumstances or reasons for their outcome.
 
Duke told me that the person who got a 23 in their class is at the top of the class now. Also, they have the 5 best non-URM bball players in the nation.
 
brooklynblunder said:
Duke told me that the person who got a 23 in their class is at the top of the class now. Also, they have the 5 best non-URM bball players in the nation.
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While the first part of your post might be true, that last sentence is a pure lie. Best player on our team (yes, I'm a Duke alum and yes, I bleed blue) is Dawkins - hands down (and last I checked he was Black)! I love my team, but there is a reason we haven't won an NCAA championship in a while...
 
PinkIvy08 said:
While the first part of your post might be true, that last sentence is a pure lie. Best player on our team (yes, I'm a Duke alum and yes, I bleed blue) is Dawkins - hands down (and last I checked he was Black)! I love my team, but there is a reason we haven't won an NCAA championship in a while...
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I bleed Carolina blue. . .it is a way way better blue =D
 
PinkIvy08 said:
While the first part of your post might be true, that last sentence is a pure lie. Best player on our team (yes, I'm a Duke alum and yes, I bleed blue) is Dawkins - hands down (and last I checked he was Black)! I love my team, but there is a reason we haven't won an NCAA championship in a while...
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👍 (the REAL blue of course)...

+1
 
I have MCAT 25 🙁, and one MD interview🙂, plus 3 DO interviews and one acceptance😀. Nothing is impossible!And by the way, I am not an URM!!😎
 
jamwalke said:
25 mcat here....3 md interviews....2 offers with 1 giving a scholarship...anything can happen man...dont listen to the haters
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27 MCAT...5 MD interviews...one acceptance, 1 high waitlist. No rejections, yet. Don't give up the dream!
 
ApoK said:
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
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Wow...just wow....
 
i love your post haha! I got a interview next week.. off my 25 too...so lovin to hear what you just said. And Congrats!
 
Bacchus said:
There's a poster on these forums that got a 25 and is in the Philadelphia area. The person doesn't go to my school, where averages are indeed lower.
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😳 (Raises hand slowly from the back of the room). I did get a 25 and I'm at Jefferson. They are really focused on family medicine, and that's what I want to do. That probably had something to do with it.

NOW, listen here pre-med kiddies...THE MCAT DOES NOT MATTER ONE IOTA ONCE YOU GET TO MEDICAL SCHOOL.

I didn't bomb out and I'm keeping up with the rest of my class. So, don't worry if you didn't score a 40. Just hit the ground running and work hard, and you'll be fine.
 
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PinkIvy08 said:
While the first part of your post might be true, that last sentence is a pure lie. Best player on our team (yes, I'm a Duke alum and yes, I bleed blue) is Dawkins - hands down (and last I checked he was Black)! I love my team, but there is a reason we haven't won an NCAA championship in a while...
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i was just making a bad yoke but i can't agree w/ coach K and his recruiting and gameplan. duke plays from the ark to ark. i love watching them lose in the tourney though.
 
DRMRL said:
9BIO, 8VR, 8PS I feel like it's balanced enough. No, I will not reapply this next year. That just isn't an option. I was accepted to a D.O. school (three actually). I'm waiting on my state school M.D. and out of state private schools. I feel like I would have been rejected already at most of the M.D. schools. 😎
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DRMRL said:
I made a 25M then 38O nice try I can give you my password if you want to check. And yes, surely I'm talking about Johns Hopkins
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😕😕😕😕😕
You have posts in other threads stating you have an acceptance at Johns Hopkins and a 38, while other threads it's a 25 and no MD acceptance.
 
Guys


Once you're in your MCAT scores do not matter!

And people with low 20s MCAT go on to score very well on licensure boards

Advice: Leave the sense of entitlement at the door...
 
han14tra said:
😳 (Raises hand slowly from the back of the room). I did get a 25 and I'm at Jefferson. They are really focused on family medicine, and that's what I want to do. That probably had something to do with it.

NOW, listen here pre-med kiddies...THE MCAT DOES NOT MATTER ONE IOTA ONCE YOU GET TO MEDICAL SCHOOL.

I didn't bomb out and I'm keeping up with the rest of my class. So, don't worry if you didn't score a 40. Just hit the ground running and work hard, and you'll be fine.
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you make me laugh and give me hope! I have a similar MCAT and currently have 3 MD interviews (1 waitlisted) and 2 DO interviews. Good luck to all of those with sub-30 MCATs.
 
ApoK said:
That's borderline unbelievable that people get in with sub-30 scores, but it does happen... perhaps there are extenuating circumstances? At any rate, all these students still have to pass boards, which might be daunting if you can't break 30 on the MCAT.
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You are an idiot. This is not even remotely true.
 
Cool to see another Mississippian on here, ShinyDome.

I know its not a 25, but I'm close with a 27 (P6, V11, B10). I started to get cold feet as the application deadline got closer (mainly over finances) and ended up only submitting my application to my state school. I didn't expect to get an interview, but instead planned on making next year my year to really crack down and get everything done right. Anyway, I was surprised when I got asked to interview. I go on the 10th...I'm still not expecting to make it in, I'll be happy to even get waitlisted. Either way, it has done a lot for my ego to even get this far.
 
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