Advice: MCAT 27 GPA 3.6 Apply this year??

[MYH]

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Hi all,

It'll be great if someone can give me some advices, coz i'm totally uncertain and confused about the med school application now.

I just graduated from college with sci-GPA 3.7, total GPA 3.6 and my first MCAT score was 27 (6 on verbal, 10 on phy, 11 on bio). I have 2 years of research experience (no publication), but none volunteer work yet. I'll retake MCAT this Aug, and am confident that I'll get a competitive score (aiming for at least a 33). I'll also start volunteering mid-june and plan to continue patient work till at least march/ april 04.

Given my profile, should I go ahead and apply this summer? I haven't come up with a personal statement that'll make me stand up, but will try to have it done by end of june. Since I just graduated from college, even if I apply this summer, I'll have a year off between med sch and college. If I take some time to build a stronger profile and apply next year, that'd be 2 years off! What should I do?? Do I stand a chance if I apply this year??

Thanks so much for any inputs!

 

[fun8stuff]

hmm... that's a tough one given that u don't have any volunteer experience. Have you spent significant time shadowing any docs? If I were in your shoes and I had the money I think I would apply anyways and start strengthening my profile immediately. Can't hurt to apply, I suppose; it's just expensive. Good luck.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I think you should go ahead and apply... you have a shot. I think you would be more competitive if you had some volunteer work, though.

 

[aquaboy]

With a 6 in verbal your chances are pretty slim. If you retake the MCAT and get atleast an 8 on VR you should be alright. Shoot for middle, lower tier schools and maybe a couple of upper tier. You really need to bring up VR before you think about applying. A poor VR score sunk me my first time applying.😡

 

[JM.]

I say go for it! I always say be confident in yourself and follow your dream.

 

[dr2loo]

Give it a shot if you have the money and are prepared to be humbled... 27 MCAT, 3.8, & multiple publications w/ volunteer = no aceptance.

 

[neurotrancer]

If $ is not too serious an issue for you, then by all means apply. Worse comes to worse, you would be more competitive as a re-applicant than as a first time applicant, so applying now would only help you, even if you got rejected the first time. And what if an admissions committee member sees something they like especially in your application and they are willing to overlook a low verbal score? I know the chances of that happening are slim, but medical school application is very much a lottery. Some people will like you, others won't. Who knows who will be who so apply to as many schools as possible as many times as possible and diffuse the subjectivity factor, increase the lottery factor, and realize that all things being equal you'd be better off for applying even if you were going to re-take the mcat and re-apply (though you can send letters to the schools saying you are going to re-take the mcat and who knows, maybe someone will say, "He probably had a bad day on the verbal...his sciences are good, let's wait list him for now (if you apply early this may happen), see what he does upon re-taking the exam and then re-review his file."

Peace!

 

[MYH]

Thanks so much for everyone's thoughts! I really appreciate it.

So you guys all think that if I have the $, I should just go ahead & apply knowing that my chance is pretty slim? Some people told me that if possible, I should only give med sch one shot, my best shot, instead of give it a shot when I'm not fully prepared, coz some schools might have a bad impression on your profile already when you reapply.

Also, my problem is I wanna get into an OK med sch, not just any med sch (well, even though getting into any med sch at all would be quite tough for me already). Since my parents would sponsor some of my med sch tuition, I wanna get into a better med sch so their $ would be better-utilized/ more worthwhile.

Anyways, I'll go talk to 2 advisors tomorrow and next week to hear more advices. Right now, I've come up with 3 plans myself. Please gimme some inputs on which plan is more preferrable.

Plan 1: start volunteering this month, retake MCAT in Aug & apply this summer. I'll also work as a part-time research assistant after MCAT

Plan 2: start volunteering this month, shadow some docs, work as a part-time RA. Take GRE, apply for a PhD in biological sciences. Take MCAT next April (if I still wanna be a doc after some patient work) & apply to med sch next summer. Get a non-terminal MS (is that what people call??) during my 2nd year off. I'm applying for a PhD coz if I decided not to be a doc, I can stay in the PhD program.

Plan 3: same as plan 2 except get a full-time research job instead of getting a MS during my 2nd year off.

What do you think? I'll appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Mutterkuchen]

I think you will need a much better MCAT score to get into a "bettter" med school. I had a 27 MCAT and a 3.7 GPA with research, no pubs, volunteer. I got several interviews, but at lower tier schools. No "better" school interviews.

 

[MYH]

JBJ,

Thanks for your advice🙂 I'll definitely work hard on my MCAT whether I apply this year or next year.

 

[sunflower79]

hmm.

I think the litmus test would be, what have you done to test your hypothesis that you wanna be a physician? volunteer work generally shows that you want to help ppl in general, and it's a concern that you haven't done any. You mentioned you would continue patient contact. What specifically did that involve? That could be volunteer work but you didn't know it....

If I were on the adcom (and I might be for next year or the year after!) this lack of volunteer work would be a pretty serious omission in my mind. If that is really the case I would recommend you do some volunteer work and apply next year. If you indeed have some under your belt, then by all means apply. You seem a good candidate otherwise.

good luck 🙂
sunflower79

 

[MYH]

Sunflower,

Yea, the lack of volunteer work or any other kind of patient work is my biggest concern. I'll volunteer and work as a patient attendant in a hospital starting late-June.

As you've said, I too think that the adcom would definitely look down on my application with only one month of patient work (i.e. if I start volunteering in late-June and turn in my app in mid-July). That's mainly why I'm asking if I should apply this year or next year, coz by next year, I'll have a year of patient work under my belt & will be able to turn in my app early. On the other hand, if I apply this year, I'd only have one month of volunteer work when I turn my app in July, which is somewhat late, and the adcom won't have my second MCAT score until Oct.... 🙁 So, I'm kinda leaning towards applying next year to strengthen my profile and give my best shot. That said, I don't wanna waste a year. Hmm...any thoughts on something meaningful to do during my second year off?

Btw, thanks for your advice 🙂

 

[rajmeister]

Hey MYH, you say you have two years of research experience, well just curious but what sort of research was it?

 

[doc05]

with a 6 on verbal, you have no chance, unless you are a URM. In that case, you can probably get into a top-25.

 

[DarkChild]

dont sweat it, apply this year.
retake the MCAT in august - with a 6, it should be pretty easy to bump that a couple points. i think with your MCAT in better shape you'll be fine.

 

[badgergirl]

Hey MYH-
I think you should definitely apply, provided you can get that 6 up and volunteer! My situation was kind of similar, and I sent you a PM about it, so look for that! Good luck! 😀

 

[nygirl6464]

you can definitely get into med school with your score...and if you have no volun. exp then start doing something now and keep it up through the upcoming year. i know people who have gotten in with 27 and i think you should take it agian b/c hopefully you can get it even higher but a 27 is not a bad score...the only thing you need to work on is the verbal.