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deleted1172554
Hi everyone! I was hoping to get some advice on my situation, as I am pretty anxious about it and needed some clarity. I am a 24-year-old first generation hispanic female. No one in my family is in the medical field, and in general no one in my family has received a higher-level education. Throughout my academic journey, I have been on my own with everything. I decided in high school that I wanted to become an MD, and so that is what I have been working towards for the last few years.
I received my undergraduate degree in the Summer of 2022, and had planned to take two gap years. I started a job as a Certified Medical Assistant in August of 2022, and since then I have become the Lead Medical Assistant. I planned on taking my first MCAT sometime before this cycle started. Unfortunately, I had a LOT going on, and had a lot of distractions and setbacks. This led to me not being able to study for the MCAT as well as I could have. I wanted to push it back, however I had a lot of pressure from my parents to take it, despite not being prepared at ALL. So I took the MCAT this past July, and I was basically relying on my luck. I submitted my primary application in June, and received a few secondaries back that I have not yet submitted. I got my MCAT score back, which was horrific and embarrassing (NOT exaggerating). I definitely know that the score I received does not reflect my ability to study or perform well, as I have always been a decent student, and I know that I was going through a lot that distracted me from studying properly. So now, I have all of these unsubmitted secondaries and a horrible MCAT score. I'm lost on what I should do. I know that the score I received will not get me into any MD schools this cycle, and I'm not sure if it's even worth submitting the secondaries now.
I am going to schedule an appointment with my pre-med advisor from my university, but in general, my plan is to retake the MCAT sometime in December/January, and I am heavily considering doing a short post-bacc to increase my sGPA, possibly starting in the winter. I want to make sure my application for next cycle obviously shows improvement in my MCAT score and GPA, and I am working on publishing a case report and possibly going on a medical mission trip before next cycle. I am probably going to ask all of my letter writers to update my LORs before next cycle as well. I'm not sure if this plan is decent, or if anyone else has any advice on what I should do. I'm worried that not submitting the secondaries will affect my chances of getting in next cycle. I definitely wish I had thought this through better, but I had a lot going on and my parents didn't really help. I have people telling me I'll be fine for next cycle, as long as I do the post-bacc and do better on the MCAT, but I have others saying my chances are low. I really want to become a doctor, so this is really stressing me out. I feel like I'm losing time. Any help or advice is deeply appreciated.
I received my undergraduate degree in the Summer of 2022, and had planned to take two gap years. I started a job as a Certified Medical Assistant in August of 2022, and since then I have become the Lead Medical Assistant. I planned on taking my first MCAT sometime before this cycle started. Unfortunately, I had a LOT going on, and had a lot of distractions and setbacks. This led to me not being able to study for the MCAT as well as I could have. I wanted to push it back, however I had a lot of pressure from my parents to take it, despite not being prepared at ALL. So I took the MCAT this past July, and I was basically relying on my luck. I submitted my primary application in June, and received a few secondaries back that I have not yet submitted. I got my MCAT score back, which was horrific and embarrassing (NOT exaggerating). I definitely know that the score I received does not reflect my ability to study or perform well, as I have always been a decent student, and I know that I was going through a lot that distracted me from studying properly. So now, I have all of these unsubmitted secondaries and a horrible MCAT score. I'm lost on what I should do. I know that the score I received will not get me into any MD schools this cycle, and I'm not sure if it's even worth submitting the secondaries now.
I am going to schedule an appointment with my pre-med advisor from my university, but in general, my plan is to retake the MCAT sometime in December/January, and I am heavily considering doing a short post-bacc to increase my sGPA, possibly starting in the winter. I want to make sure my application for next cycle obviously shows improvement in my MCAT score and GPA, and I am working on publishing a case report and possibly going on a medical mission trip before next cycle. I am probably going to ask all of my letter writers to update my LORs before next cycle as well. I'm not sure if this plan is decent, or if anyone else has any advice on what I should do. I'm worried that not submitting the secondaries will affect my chances of getting in next cycle. I definitely wish I had thought this through better, but I had a lot going on and my parents didn't really help. I have people telling me I'll be fine for next cycle, as long as I do the post-bacc and do better on the MCAT, but I have others saying my chances are low. I really want to become a doctor, so this is really stressing me out. I feel like I'm losing time. Any help or advice is deeply appreciated.
