A shot at the UC's?

[sepaul]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi,
I finished UC Davis in Sept. 2000 and have come back to UCSD to complete my requirements and do some upper division.

My stats:
26yr old Davis native (white)
Undergrad GPA: 3.38 overall
Graduate GPA: 3.67 (Intl. Relations)
UCD science: 2.5
Current Science GPA: 2.95
(6-9 classes upper division bio to complete)
No MCAT yet

Skills:
Fluent Spanish (UC Education abroad 1 year).
Scripps Research Institute Scientific Intern (Glycobiology)
International Relief Teams: Clinica Esperanza (Medical Interpreter)

Do you think I am competitive anywhere? What MCAT score would I need? Do I have a shot at a UC?

Thanks Guys!!

 

[Jalby]

I don't think you would be competative for the UC's unless you got a 35+.

 

[Dr. Xavier]

Originally posted by Jalby
I don't think you would be competative for the UC's unless you got a 35+.

Agree, but try anyway. Sometimes things are random.

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

The admissions process is not random.

 

[indo]

Originally posted by Ryo-Ohki
The admissions process is not random.

Don't believe a word Yoko says.

 

[docmemi]

EVERY UC IS DIFFERENT. BUT GENERALLY NUMBERS MATTER. MANY/ALL USE COMPUTER CUTOFFS FOR FIRST ROUND OF REVIEWS. YES, ITS SAD, BUT TRUE.

YOU SHOULD TRY. NEVER KNOW. BUT OBVIOUSLY PUT THE MOST EFFORT INTO SCHOOLS YOU LIKE THE MOST AND THINK HAVE THE MOST REALISTIC CHANCE.

 

[TTSD]

Exactly, you will NEVER get in if you don't apply. But you MIGHT if you TRY.

Maybe they'll be stunned at the interviews by you, your MCAT may be stellar, you may have slept with half the committee.. but there's ALWAYS a chance.

 

[sepaul]

How do you figure a 35+? Just curious?
thanks,
-sean

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by sepaul
How do you figure a 35+? Just curious?
thanks,
-sean

35 is really a magic number.. no reason really. Except that a 35 means that you know your stuff really well or God and all His angels smiled upon you that day and you guessed correctly on a lot of questions.

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by TTSD
35 is really a magic number.. no reason really. Except that a 35 means that you know your stuff really well or God and all His angels smiled upon you that day and you guessed correctly on a lot of questions.

OR, you could actually know the stuff.

 

[docmemi]

about the 35+ point. i pretty sure jalby meant specifically for that OP who shared his stats (the first post, look back at his gpa). the avg for uc's varies from around 31-34.

hope that helps.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by exmike
OR, you could actually know the stuff.

I thought I said that as well.. before the holy miracle and such (which is what I'm praying for every night).

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by TTSD
I thought I said that as well.. before the holy miracle and such (which is what I'm praying for every night).

oh yeah, you did say that. 😀

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

I think you should really study as hard as you can in your upper division bio classes to get your Science GPA to at least a 3.3. In addition, you also want to put in lots of work on your MCAT because a high MCAT score can compensate for a lower GPA. But try to take as many upper div science classes as you can so you can increase your science GPA because the science GPA matters more than the non-science GPA. Well, there's my 2 cents...

 

[sepaul]

Thanks for all the replies! Anyone here get around a 35?
How much time did you spend?
Which books and or programs to you advise?
Thanks again!
-sean

🙂

 

[calflowergirl]

If you are exceptionally smart you'll get a 35, it doesn't correlate with the amount of time you've studied. MCAT is about basic knowledge but most of all, it's about critical analysis/thinking. Are you able to draw conclusion reading a topic/passage you've never seen before? If you score well on classes that test your memorization and poorly in classes that test you on critical thinking then you WON'T score above 35!

 

[commy-superman]

im sure if you studied hard on MCAT type questions and understand how your suppose to think u can do well. but i could be wrong......

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Yea, what calflowergirl doesn't really much make sense because if your MCAT score does not correlate to studying the material/taking practice exams...then there would be NO POINT in taking any sort of prep class for the MCAT. Essentially, Kaplan and Princeton Review wouldn't even offer courses for the MCAT if no type of correlation existed. I do think that critical thinking and analytical skills certainly due play a factor in doing well on the MCAT...however, this doesn't mean that you can't increase your score by studying more material, doing more practice exams, and reading as much material as you can (to prepare for the verbal section). The MCAT was designed as an achivement exam...not an aptitude exam (like the SAT). The MCAT is not an IQ test and it wasn't made to assess the mental aptitude of any applicant...it was designed to test an applicants breadth of knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, and verbal reasoning. So if you received a mediocre SAT score or you don't feel your IQ is off the charts...you can still do quite well on the MCATs as long as you put enough effort into it.

 

[Jalby]

I'd say calflowergirl is exactly right, and you might have misread what she said. What she was saying is that for most people, no matter how much you study, you can't get a 35, even if you memorize everything in Kaplan. The people I know who got 35+ at my school are all extremely smart people, and you can almost pick them out just by talking to them.

Granted, scores below 35 (roughly) probably do correlate with how much studying you put in. But I'd say from about 34 + it correlates a lot better with how smart the person is than the amount of studying.

 

[calebho501]

I agree that the MCAT is a thinking test, and the score will unlikely change dramatically unless the test-taker CHANGES the thinking skills. Sometimes taking upper division science courses will help a lot, because they are usually more problem-solving based (At least at UCLA). Also, prep courses and practice tests may help people who "learn" to think more like the "MCAT-way". So it's possible to improve scores via prep courses.

 

[madtowngirl]

To do well on the MCAT, you just need to realize how you study best. Take a prep course if you are not self-motivated enough to plug through all that material starting 4-6 months before the exam, and continuing up until the exam. This includes being motivated enough to sit through full 8-hour practice exams without anyone to force you.

Then, I'd study for the MCAT in much the same way you study for school. If you're a note recopyer, then recopy all of the info. If you're into flashcards, then make thousands of flashcards. If you know anyone else taking the MCAT with you, definitely buddy up to study together at times and keep each other motivated to work through all of that material.

A big part of the MCAT is also learning how to take it. Most everyone knows the material, but the trick is in dissecting the passages quickly and knowing what answer they are looking for. That was the most valuable thing I got out of my prep course.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[citygirl]

I agree completely with madtowngirl that a lot has to do with your own study style and learning how to take the MCAT. I found it to be a very different type of test than I had before. For my normal coursework I had always been able to gauge how much and what to study to do well, but in spite of using the Kaplan materials I was blown out the water the first time I took the MCAT. I studied in a completely different way the second time around and improved my score by five points. My way of studying probably wouldn't work for everyone. I do think one of the key points, as has been mentioned many times before, is to do as many practice tests as you can get your hands on. I took three in the final week before the MCAT so I felt really ready when I sat down to do the real thing.

Good luck to everyone on the 16th!! I am SOOOO glad I won't be doing that again🙂

 

[Wednesday]

Sepaul,

If I were you, I wouldn't count on getting a 35 on the MCAT. It's a fine goal to shoot for, but it might not happen and you really need to work on your science gpa. Hopefully your 2.95 is your cumulative sci. gpa, because if you're still getting these kinds of grades in your science classes, you have MUCH more to worry about than the MCAT.

 

[AAKRAZY]

The science sections can be cracked with enough time and practice. I really screwed up my premedical curricula as an undergraduate, but by working hard during a prep course, everything came together in the end.

It's the verbal section that is a lot more nuanced, especially for those who did not primarily speak English growing up. The reading muscle takes years to develop, but it is not impossible to do decently on the verbal section.

I also agree with previous posters: A person who scores in the
high 30s or 40s is probably naturally very talented intellectually speaking. Couple that with test taking acumen and sky's the limit.

I know an MSTP student who got a perfect score on the MCAT. Before I knew this about him, I still thought he was probably one of the smartest people I have come across (like, "I'm not worthy, bow down" smart). And not just in the academic sense.

Take everything you can from the classes you take. That's what I learned after the MCAT. A lot of this stuff is worth knowing in general.