MD & DO 4.0 GPA but low MCAT (21) what are my chances?

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ambitiousMED

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I am an engineering major with 4.0 but have a very low mcat (21). Although I am planning on taking it again, I don't think I can improve it by that much. I know I can't apply to MD anymore, but is there a chance for me in DO? I have good EC: Honors college, hospice volunteer, honor society pledge master, mentor for engineers, coordinator for my college campus engineering branch. I have >300 hours of volunteering. I shadowed 4 doctors ~ 80 hours.

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I am an engineering major with 4.0 but have a very low mcat (21). Although I am planning on taking it again, I don't think I can improve it by that much.

Why do you think you cannot improve your score?


With a 21, you're looking at podiatry school, frankly.
 
Why do you think you cannot improve your score?


With a 21, you're looking at podiatry school, frankly.

I have been taking classes and it is very difficult to study for the MCAT and juggle engineering classes at the same time.
 
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I have been taking classes and it is very difficult to study for the MCAT and juggle engineering classes at the same time.
Well then if you want any chance you will have to study post graduation. A 21 just isn't going to cut it.
 
I have been taking classes and it is very difficult to study for the MCAT and juggle engineering classes at the same time.


Its possible you might get in off the waitlaist at a school like lucom or something. You could try all the newer do schools.

At 21 you have a very slim chance. If you could get a 24 even you have a much better chance at getting into one of the new do schools. Its still going to be tough at 24. A 27 makes you competitive at any do school.

I think lucom has the lowest average MCAT at 25. A lot of DO schools hover around 27-29. Your GPA could give you a little leeway but not too much.
 
Its possible you might get in off the waitlaist at a school like lucom or something. You could try all the newer do schools.

At 21 you have a very slim chance. If you could get a 24 even you have a much better chance at getting into one of the new do schools. Its still going to be tough at 24. A 27 makes you competitive at any do school.

I think lucom has the lowest average MCAT at 25. A lot of DO schools hover around 27-29. Your GPA could give you a little leeway but not too much.

Thank you very much. I am retaking my MCAT, so I will definitely aim for something above 25. Your response was helpful. Thank you.
 
Would it be suitable to submit my AACOMAS application now and indicate on the application that I am taking the MCAT again later? Will I still receive a secondary or will I not receive one until I submit my MCAT scores for the 2nd test? Does anybody know ?
 
When are you taking it again?


I wouldn't apply to LUCOM. It's the closest thing we have to an on-shore Caribbean school.
 
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The plan to retake is complicated by the appearance of the new MCAT early next year. Doesn't sound like intense studying for the next 3-4 months is possible, so you'll have to probably take a gap year to get up to speed on not only the current info but the new as well.
 
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Autoreject at my school and most of the others, except the newest. Fix your deficits and retake. if you can swing this even as late as Dec, you'll still have a shot. Aim for high 20s.

I am an engineering major with 4.0 but have a very low mcat (21). Although I am planning on taking it again, I don't think I can improve it by that much. I know I can't apply to MD anymore, but is there a chance for me in DO? I have good EC: Honors college, hospice volunteer, honor society pledge master, mentor for engineers, coordinator for my college campus engineering branch. I have >300 hours of volunteering. I shadowed 4 doctors ~ 80 hours.
 
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When are you taking it again?


I wouldn't apply to LUCOM. It's the closest thing we have to an on-shore Caribbean school.

I am taking it in August. I haven't taken a FL yet but my verbal scores are slowly improving. I am hoping to get a 28 and that my GPA would balance my application. I don't want to take a gap year because of the new MCAT.
 
Autoreject at my school and most of the others, except the newest. Fix your deficits and retake. if you can swing this even as late as Dec, you'll still have a shot. Aim for high 20s.

I apologize. I didn't notice you were an adcom. What schools do you think I should apply to? (I am only interested in D.O.)
 
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It's highly possible to study for MCAT in a few months and get a low 30. The amount knowledge is comparable to 1-2 hard college science class, only that it would be a lot easier. My notes for all the testing points on MCAT when stacked were thinner than what I got for my Biochem class. There isn't any depth, just blunt application disguised sometimes under a thin veil of trickery. It also helps the MCAT is ultra clear and unlike studying for courses there isn't any ambiguity--something the nerd side of me cherish deeply. You only need to get 55%ish correct in each section to get a mid 20s score, 70% correct to get high 20s, I don't see how could someone have 100% rate of getting A in supposedly super hard engineering department would not be able to achieve that. You also should have the fundamental physics hammered pretty hard on your spinal chord as an engineer student, so that will reduce your work load. The only thing tricky is verbal. For which I have concluded that self-studying might not to be very helpful, so maybe seek out tutoring.
 
If you can get into the high 20s, then most DO programs are in striking distance. Some will avg your scores, and then you'll be at a disadvantage, but others will take the best composite (mine does the former; I don't know which ones do the latter). So apply broadly, and aim especially at the newer schools.

I am taking it in August. I haven't taken a FL yet but my verbal scores are slowly improving. I am hoping to get a 28 and that my GPA would balance my application. I don't want to take a gap year because of the new MCAT.
 
It's highly possible to study for MCAT in a few months and get a low 30. The amount knowledge is comparable to 1-2 hard college science class, only that it would be a lot easier. My notes for all the testing points on MCAT when stacked were thinner than what I got for my Biochem class. There isn't any depth, just blunt application disguised sometimes under a thin veil of trickery. It also helps the MCAT is ultra clear and unlike studying for courses there isn't any ambiguity--something the nerd side of me cherish deeply. You only need to get 55%ish correct in each section to get a mid 20s score, 70% correct to get high 20s, I don't see how could someone have 100% rate of getting A in supposedly super hard engineering department would not be able to achieve that. You also should have the fundamental physics hammered pretty hard on your spinal chord as an engineer student, so that will reduce your work load. The only thing tricky is verbal. For which I have concluded that self-studying might not to be very helpful, so maybe seek out tutoring.

You are 100% right! I made a 9 in PS and 8 in BS with a few months of studying. My score on Verbal is embarrassing to even say! I am working on that now. I ran out of time on the actual test and ended up guessing on 2 passages. Do you have any hints for improving verbal? I am currently practicing using 101 EK. I may not have money for tutoring.
 
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If you can get into the high 20s, then most DO programs are in striking distance. Some will avg your scores, and then you'll be at a disadvantage, but others will take the best composite (mine does the former; I don't know which ones do the latter). So apply broadly, and aim especially at the newer schools.

Thank you. I truly appreciate it!
 
Take all of the tests that AAMC sells. I improved my composite score by 11 points in between my first test on there and my actual test. Literally the best advice anyone could follow is to take those tests.
 
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You are 100% right! I made a 9 in PS and 8 in BS with a few months of studying. My score on Verbal is embarrassing to even say! I am working on that now. I ran out of time on the actual test and ended up guessing on 2 passages. Do you have any hints for improving verbal? I am currently practicing using 101 EK. I may not have money for tutoring.

You told us your PS, BS and total so we can guess your verbal, just an FYI!

It might seem impossible, but if you sit down and spend a solid 6+ hours a day, it is certainly possible to hit high 20s and maybe low 30s. Perhaps take a lighter load during the semester and try to make MCAT your focus for the fall semester.
 
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You are 100% right! I made a 9 in PS and 8 in BS with a few months of studying. My score on Verbal is embarrassing to even say! I am working on that now. I ran out of time on the actual test and ended up guessing on 2 passages. Do you have any hints for improving verbal? I am currently practicing using 101 EK. I may not have money for tutoring.

A 4 on Verbal? That's genuinely concerning. How are you scoring on AAMC verbals now?
 
You are 100% right! I made a 9 in PS and 8 in BS with a few months of studying. My score on Verbal is embarrassing to even say! I am working on that now. I ran out of time on the actual test and ended up guessing on 2 passages. Do you have any hints for improving verbal? I am currently practicing using 101 EK. I may not have money for tutoring.
I would say if you really have trouble even with the easy verbal questions, then it's not worth it to do loads of practices tests. Personal anecdotal: my verbal fluctuated between 8-11 three years ago when i was once trying to study for the MCAT, then after a second degree at Columbia during which I had to take large amount of core liberal art class, somehow my verbal became a forever 11 (or 85% correct) and even alcohol consumption didn't really change that. I'm an ESL student, so I think the studying at columbia pushed my reading ability up to a fundamentally different level.

I would also suggest that best to do right now is to stop doing extensive practice tests, especially stop doing none AAMC stuff. Just revisit your AAMC verbal diagnose question set and find a passage that you actually did but the results were poor. Go find a friend from English major and together you two read it line by line. Stop and discuss what you get from each sentence, you can start to see what you keep missing or what you keep misinterpreting. Reflecting on why you made mistake and trying to envision how to avoid the mistakes are way way wayyyyyyyy (I recently like to copy Dr. Cox's--from the show scrubs--voice in my mind) more important than kept making the same mistakes on new materials without knowing what you did wrong.

Then do the same for the question stem. In MCAT the question stems are like a gold mine, you must read it extra extra extra carefully. Anyway, another personal anecdotal: I did this reading with a friend thing, except that I read a few passage closely with a tutor I found off Craigslist. Only done that several times a week before MCAT and my last verbal practice finally escaped the pull of 11 and reached 14. I don't know what I got on real MCAT, but the exam definitely felt much easier.
 
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If you got a 4 on verbal, you have zero chances except for LUCOM. Even if it was a "balanced" 21, you'd probably not make it into any other program.
 
A 4 on Verbal? That's genuinely concerning. How are you scoring on AAMC verbals now?

On my practice tests before I took the real exam I scored between a 6-7, never a 4. I think I was exhausted and nervous on the test day that I completely didn't get to 2 passages. :(
I am taking 2 passages a day from 101 VR EK and I am missing about 1 - 2 per passage with 8 minutes per passage, which is not bad. I haven't taken a FL yet. I will be doing one pretty soon this week.
 
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I would say if you really have trouble even with the easy verbal questions, then it's not worth it to do loads of practices tests. Personal anecdotal: my verbal fluctuated between 8-11 three years ago when i was once trying to study for the MCAT, then after a second degree at Columbia during which I had to take large amount of core liberal art class, somehow my verbal became a forever 11 (or 85% correct) and even alcohol consumption didn't really change that. I'm an ESL student, so I think the studying at columbia pushed my reading ability up to a fundamentally different level.

I would also suggest that best to do right now is to stop doing extensive practice tests, especially stop doing none AAMC stuff. Just revisit your AAMC verbal diagnose question set and find a passage that you actually did but the results were poor. Go find a friend from English major and together you two read it line by line. Stop and discuss what you get from each sentence, you can start to see what you keep missing or what you keep misinterpreting. Reflecting on why you made mistake and trying to envision how to avoid the mistakes are way way wayyyyyyyy (I recently like to copy Dr. Cox's--from the show scrubs--voice in my mind) more important than kept making the same mistakes on new materials without knowing what you did wrong.

Then do the same for the question stem. In MCAT the question stems are like a gold mine, you must read it extra extra extra carefully. Anyway, another personal anecdotal: I did this reading with a friend thing, except that I read a few passage closely with a tutor I found off Craigslist. Only done that several times a week before MCAT and my last verbal practice finally escaped the pull of 11 and reached 14. I don't know what I got on real MCAT, but the exam definitely felt much easier.

Wow that is very inspiring. I will try to find an English major. Thank you so very much! I appreciate it and this post is very encouraging.
 
You told us your PS, BS and total so we can guess your verbal, just an FYI!

It might seem impossible, but if you sit down and spend a solid 6+ hours a day, it is certainly possible to hit high 20s and maybe low 30s. Perhaps take a lighter load during the semester and try to make MCAT your focus for the fall semester.

That was the point. Yes I think I am improving on the 101 VR EK passages, but not sure about the AAMC ones yet. I am really nervous to take the test. Thank you for the encouragement. I will be working on Verbal until the test date.
 
That was the point. Yes I think I am improving on the 101 VR EK passages, but not sure about the AAMC ones yet. I am really nervous to take the test. Thank you for the encouragement. I will be working on Verbal until the test date.

Live by your username and you can do it! It will be a tough road, but you literally have a perfect GPA so all you need to do is devote lots of time to your MCAT and it is surely possible.

Also it is good to look at it in a positive light too. You did decent/well on PS and BS, 8+ is a great start. The fact that you only have to work on vastly improving verbal is a good thing since you now KNOW your weakness so you need to put 110% towards fixing it. And with more content review and practice, bumping up PS and BS by 2 points is surely in reach to get a 10 in each of those sections.

I was in your footsteps, I got a 24 first and thought it was all over since I tried my hardest (at least I thought so). But I tried new techniques and devoted much more efficient time and was doing much better on my practices (getting around 30-32). Just try something different from before and do what works best. There is no 1 way to study for the MCAT, everybody has their own method. A 4.0 shows you are capable, so now you just have to apply it.
 
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Live by your username and you can do it! It will be a tough road, but you literally have a perfect GPA so all you need to do is devote lots of time to your MCAT and it is surely possible.

Also it is good to look at it in a positive light too. You did decent/well on PS and BS, 8+ is a great start. The fact that you only have to work on vastly improving verbal is a good thing since you now KNOW your weakness so you need to put 110% towards fixing it. And with more content review and practice, bumping up PS and BS by 2 points is surely in reach to get a 10 in each of those sections.

I was in your footsteps, I got a 24 first and thought it was all over since I tried my hardest (at least I thought so). But I tried new techniques and devoted much more efficient time and was doing much better on my practices (getting around 30-32). Just try something different from before and do what works best. There is no 1 way to study for the MCAT, everybody has their own method. A 4.0 shows you are capable, so now you just have to apply it.

Thank you so much! I love all the encouragement I am receiving on this thread! :)
 
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