Hello, I am currently trying to apply for he 2020 med cycle. I previously took the MCAT and score 498. I am scheduled to take the MCAT again in June 2019. However, I don’t know what to do as my score will not be available before June (postpone due to anxiety of failing test again). The MSAR is currently useless to me due to my low score. I am interested in MD school not focused heavily on research. I shadowed a DO before, and was not aware about the LOR, so I don’t have a DO LOR, I was told that I would need this for DO school (the reason I am not applying to DO school) am currently working as a medical scribe, will be published x3 in June in the department that I scribe for. Any advise is welcomed.
Advise for 2020 applicant with low MCAT score.
- Thread starter Nerd300
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Hello, I am currently trying to apply for he 2020 med cycle. I previously took the MCAT and score 498. I am scheduled to take the MCAT again in June 2019. However, I don’t know what to do as my score will not be available before June. The MSAR is currently useless to me due to my low score. I am interested in MD school not focused heavily on research. I shadowed a DO before, and was not aware about the LOR, so I don’t have a DO LOR, I was told that I would need this for DO school (the reason I am not applying to DO school) am currently working as a medical scribe, will be published x3 in June in the department that I scribe for. cGPA 3.69. I have both research experience with (with and without thesis) and clinic research with underserved population. More than 300 hrs of non medical volunteer. Any advise is welcomed.
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1) Do not retake the MCAT unless you're confident you've actually improved since the first exam. If this means delaying the exam further and/or applying next cycle, do it. Don't become a 3x reapplicant. I'm not saying you need a 520 on your next test. More accurately, I'm saying you don't need another 498.
2) Almost none of the DO schools actually require a DO letter. About half "recommend" one, and a further subset have zero preference. One off the top of my head that requires a DO letter is LUCOM.
The rest of your application generally looks good save for the MCAT. GPA is solid, but it's not going to make people ignore your MCAT score at either MD or DO schools.
2) Almost none of the DO schools actually require a DO letter. About half "recommend" one, and a further subset have zero preference. One off the top of my head that requires a DO letter is LUCOM.
The rest of your application generally looks good save for the MCAT. GPA is solid, but it's not going to make people ignore your MCAT score at either MD or DO schools.
Thank you for replying. I am schedule to take the MCAT On June 28. I plan in taking AAMC test 1 two weeks from now. Depending on this school, I will evaluate whether to apply this cycle. Also, is it too late to apply to DO. The submission date was May 2nd.
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For the currently cycle? Absolutely not.
That's the date the application opened.
TMDSAS starts becoming late towards the end of July.
AMCAS starts becoming late towards the end of August.
AACOMAS starts becoming late around November.
Thank you so much for replying, one last question, the reason I am not so eager to apply to DO schools is because I want a competitive residence. I already know what specialty I don’t want: pediatrics ( I am not fond of children), primary care (sees too many patient) and dermatology. These fields are DO oriented. I guess the question is should I still apply to DO this cycle?
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Derm, really?
You can't be any kind of physician...if you don't get in.
Contact the person you shadowed. I'll bet you can get a letter.
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965978
He said that he did NOT want to go into derm.
But then he said that derm is DO orientated...
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That's what they said.
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Which seems totally wrong. Am I missing something?
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Probably, it's OP who is missing something. Maybe they think Derm is especially DO friendly.
If they would rather not be a doctor if they can't be...X, this might turn out to be particularly unrewarding path (without regard to the letters after the name).
Maybe I got my info wrong on the derm aspect, I read it somewhere. Thanks for replying, I will try to contact the DO doc. You are definitely right “You can't be any kind of physician...if you don't get in”. Also, would it be weird if I included an MD letter? I currently scribe for an MD.
In regards to MD school, because my previous MCAT is low, should I apply to just one school for verification purpose, while waiting for the new MCAT score ( my score is so low, I can’t compare it with info from msar). If you have other advise, I am all ears. also, feel free to list potential school within this range (practice test scores so far: 505). Thanks in advance for your time.
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Derm is arguably the most competitive speciality for an MD.
MD letters are worthless unless you did research with them.
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Remember, the AAMC (the people who produce the test) tells us to average multiple MCAT scores. Even if we don't do exactly what they recommend, the effect of multiple low scores is far more chilling that a single one. Do not take the test again until you are confident of a score consistent with success! The only MD schools in your current range are mission-based schools or are in Puerto Rico (essentially mission-based schools).
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Apply DO. You did not create a full image of what your application looks like, so this response is not well informed. If everything else is up to MD levels, you can choose to apply to MD if you are -absolutely- confident you can bring your score to around a 510. You also would need to look at which schools average MCAT vs. taking the latest score.
You need to be honest with yourself and figure out why you did so poorly the first time. If you're repeating the same cycle and don't see an AAMC practice scores of at least 512+ (This is assuming you have taken them before. Your score will be inflated.) I would just apply DO
You need to be honest with yourself and figure out why you did so poorly the first time. If you're repeating the same cycle and don't see an AAMC practice scores of at least 512+ (This is assuming you have taken them before. Your score will be inflated.) I would just apply DO
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The majority of DO schools do not require a DO letter. Other than that, lets see what your new score is before moving forward.
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Post your actual new MCAT score here when available and I will suggest schools you can apply to.
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deleted889094
@Nerd300 I think you're missing the point. You should NOT TAKE THE MCAT again until you are ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that you will do much better on it. That doesn't just mean you don't apply for school if you don't do well on the AAMC FL 1 - it means you should postpone taking the MCAT on June 28th to study for a few months.
If you do not significantly improve on the next MCAT, that could make things very difficult for you. If you do poorly on the FL, you need to reschedule that MCAT date
If you do not significantly improve on the next MCAT, that could make things very difficult for you. If you do poorly on the FL, you need to reschedule that MCAT date
I am going to speak with my advisor. I think this is the best route for me. It will also give me the opportunity to be a competitive applicant. Thank you very much. I was unsure of applying since I didn’t have a score.
Thank for replying. I think I am going to forgo this cycle and just focus on scoring well and being a competitive applicant overall. I brought up the AAMC FL 1 as a check point to see how I am doing, score wise.
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deleted889094
Ok, wanted to make sure. Didn't want you to potentially ruin your chances if it wasn't clear
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AnatomyGrey12
Then don't apply DO. As to the bolded, lol what?
Almost all DO schools require a letter from a physician. It's different than on the MD side of things where they don't give a crap about clinician letters.
