496 on Mcat Do I have a shot or not ?

[Malex]

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[rufflev]

I would say you have no chance at MD and very low chance at DO. You still have a good amount of time before your application rolls around, so my honest advice would be to retake the MCAT, since it'll benefit you in the long run. Shoot for a 505-508 to be competitive for all DO schools and 510+ to be competitive for MD. I would recommend applying to schools located in the country you wish to practice, otherwise you're setting yourself up for a uphill battle in the future.

In regards to the MCAT, if you decide to retake it, I would recommend picking up some classics (literature) and practice active reading - in my opinion the best skill that'll contribute to your success on the retake.

 

[workaholic181]

You maybe have an outside shot at some of the newer DO schools but frankly you should just retake and save the time and energy that the app cycle costs. The rest of your profile is good; get a score that won't hold you back.

 

[kubyx]

I would not apply with a 496, especially with your GPA. You have a real shot at getting into a solid US school, don't let one test define you. Your current score is honestly so low that I suspect the vast majority of schools will auto-reject you. Retake it, get a 500+ (which honestly should not be that difficult for someone of your GPA in biochem), apply DO and MD.

 

[roxis]

So I got my scores and I got a 496 on the mcat, I want to apply but I wanted to see if someone could give me an idea of my chances of getting accepted, maybe you went through the same or you know of someone that got the same, idk, I'm open to any school suggestions and even thinking about PR schools and Caribbean school and DO's , I really don't want to retake this exam but if I have to then I guess I will but I will give it a try first and see what happens, so here are my stats

major- Bachelor of science in Biochemistry
With a Biology minor
Current GPA is 3.76
Graduation will be April 2018
Expierince (): 1 full year working full time as medical assistant for a PCP
1 full year volunteering at a research center for a well known University ( brain damage and spinal cord injury research)
Shadowing experience for an internal medicine physician-3 months
Shadowing Experience with an intesivist and an anesthesiologist on another country ( study abroad ) - 1 month
Put together that's a bunch of hours, haven't calculated them.

This is my first time taking the MCAT and I prepared for it only two months,and in reality wasn't full time just for the fact that i had classes and I'm a young mother of an 8 year old, I really thought I was going to be able to do it in only two months since I have always been a good student but this was anothe type of monster. My worst section was CARS getting 121 (ouch!) being a non native English speaker it was a really tough section for me, even though I speak fluent English and understand everything this section was just hard for me.

Please don't judge or don't be staying stupid comments like "oh maybe you shouldn't be a doctor" one test score doesnt determine who you are and what you are capable of accomplishing in life,
I thank you in advance for any suggestion or helpful comments.

My friend got into Caribbean med school last year with 485 on mcat. Her gpa was 3.2, biology major, no research experience at all. She never shadowed a doctor but volunteered at the hospital for 3 years ( 4 hours per week).

 

[Terror Billy]

My friend got into Caribbean med school last year with 485 on mcat. Her gpa was 3.2, biology major, no research experience at all. She never shadowed a doctor but volunteered at the hospital for 3 years ( 4 hours per week).

Please completely ignore this post OP and listen to the couple of posters above. The Carib will take anyone with a paycheck and pulse. They don't care about your ECs, they care about your $$$.

Anyways, retake that 496 and shoot for at least a 503+ if you're aiming for DOs and 511+ for MDs (probably need something higher than that given the low first attempt).

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

Can probably get into the newer DO schools

 

[thinkchangeflow]

So I got my scores and I got a 496 on the mcat, I want to apply but I wanted to see if someone could give me an idea of my chances of getting accepted, maybe you went through the same or you know of someone that got the same, idk, I'm open to any school suggestions and even thinking about PR schools and Caribbean school and DO's , I really don't want to retake this exam but if I have to then I guess I will but I will give it a try first and see what happens, so here are my stats

major- Bachelor of science in Biochemistry
With a Biology minor
Current GPA is 3.76
Graduation will be April 2018
Expierince (): 1 full year working full time as medical assistant for a PCP
1 full year volunteering at a research center for a well known University ( brain damage and spinal cord injury research)
Shadowing experience for an internal medicine physician-3 months
Shadowing Experience with an intesivist and an anesthesiologist on another country ( study abroad ) - 1 month
Put together that's a bunch of hours, haven't calculated them.

This is my first time taking the MCAT and I prepared for it only two months,and in reality wasn't full time just for the fact that i had classes and I'm a young mother of an 8 year old, I really thought I was going to be able to do it in only two months since I have always been a good student but this was anothe type of monster. My worst section was CARS getting 121 (ouch!) being a non native English speaker it was a really tough section for me, even though I speak fluent English and understand everything this section was just hard for me.

Please don't judge or don't be staying stupid comments like "oh maybe you shouldn't be a doctor" one test score doesnt determine who you are and what you are capable of accomplishing in life,
I thank you in advance for any suggestion or helpful comments.

what was your section break down?

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

Id say you have a decent chance at

ACOM
VCOM all three
BCOM
ARCOM
NYITCOM-AR
LECOM all three
ICOM
WCU

Edit: Just dont do caribbean. And your state residence might help you, depending where it is. And if youre URM or not

 

[thinkchangeflow]

126 phy/chem
121 CARS
125 bio/Biochem
124 psych/sociology

What was you AAMC 1 and AAMC 2 practice test score breakdown?

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[Dylanation]

Close your suggestions for Caribbean school. Dont think about it and most of all don't do it. All you have is a low MCAT score that you can easily raise. Prep for a retake and start studying months before hand. Reminder that many pre med start studying for their MCAT months in advance and sometimes even 1-2 years. Your 2 months did you no good and your scores reflect that. Your GPA is solid enough for an MD or DO school, you just need a higher MCAT score. Reach for anything 500+ and you have a decent shot to getting into a US medical school.

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[Betabet]

For this cycle, I would say your chances are somewhat low for DO. I don't want to coddle you so I'd say you have no chance at an MD school with the MCAT. If you really don't want to take the MCAT again, then apply early DO next cycle and you'll get into the newer DO schools. I think there are 2 brand new DO schools opening next year (a California med school in Clovis and I think another PCOM branch in Georgia). There may be one in Clearwater, FL as well? I can't keep up with all the new schools. Even though you have a low MCAT, DO schools like to "buff" their acceptance stats so your GPA will do nicely.

The reason I say don't apply to DO this late is because a lot of the MD applicants that aren't getting accepted start to send in their DO applications around this time. You'll be going against higher caliber applicants and you don't want a "re-applicant" status if you don't get in.

I understand that some people don't like to wait and do apply Caribbean. If you do apply there, I would say apply to SGU. Even if you apply this late to SGU, I'd say you have a 99% chance of getting in. A few of my friends didn't want to wait for another cycle and did just that. A couple of them matched into Internal Medicine and General Surgery while the other is finishing up her third year.

If I were you, I wouldn't do Caribbean because you have a child. You'll have to move far away and it's tough to be away from family for that long.

 

[SirCourageWolf]

Apply next year at the newer DO schools (keeping in mind that their MCAT averages are creeping up or study for a retake using reddit.com/r/mcat/ as a resource. If your ducks are all in a row as far as EC's, personal statement, etc then you can use that time to save up for the upcoming application process as well.

 

[Doctor or bust]

Retake the exam. You would almost certainly be an outlier if you were accepted at any school with that score, and considering your GPA, you have what it takes to score well on it. Put in a few hundred more hours into studying for this test, sell it as a comeback story, and you should be sitting pretty for an acceptance come this time next fall.

 

[Zenabi90]

I really thought I was going to be able to do it in only two months since I have always been a good student but this was another type of monster.

This is how I see it. You sound like you know you can do better, and that you did not have the appropriate approach. Do you have the means/time/way/energy to improve your score? If yes, retake it. You only did 2 months of part time study, and you have a lot of easy ground to make up in CARS. It sounds like you can do better, if you're willing to put the work in.

You yourself said it, don't let one score define everything.