Advice Needed on How to Guide Family Member?

[springfield1965]

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I'm attempting to guide a family member on their next steps based on a preliminary percentage received for the June MCAT. Their score will likely be in the 486-491 range. The student is a senior in college and has a 3.4 cum and science gpa. He was hoping to apply to DO schools for the 2016 entrance class. One option is that this student continues to study and retakes the MCAT in 2016 to apply for the following year (2017). If this option is chosen, the student needs to explore Post-bac programs for the 2016-2017 year. The few that we have looked into require a 21 or 28 MCAT score. Are there any quality Post-bac programs that would accept a 486- 491 score? What other options are available for a productive transitional year while re studying for the MCAT? What types of research or work positions are looked at favorably by med school admissions committees? Or should this student be encouraged to take the GRE and explore Physical Therapy or Physicians Assistant programs?

 

[DrMidlife]

Ideally this family member would be on SDN himself. One basic requirement for med school is maturity. So one answer here is that your family member will be ready to apply to med school when he is ready to take responsibility for his/her candidacy for med school. I personally would argue that you are actually not helping him by doing work for him. Because entitlement. Is bad.

Suggest to your family member that if he wants to go to med school, he should reach out to DO schools that host masters programs, to see what his options are. The percentages for the new MCAT aren't baked yet, so this year he might get some leeway that he wouldn't get next year. Regardless, he should apply to these programs immediately if he wants to start this August. He should. Immediately.

Leave it at that. Make him figure out what that means. Detach with love.

Best of luck to you.