Advisor told me to take MCAT after senior year

[neuroguy9]

Just met with my advisor and he said I should take biochem senior year and take the MCAT after senior year.

I asked him if I should take MCAT after junior year after having completed org chem and he said no.

And he didn't even answer me when I asked what GPA I should aim for to apply to DO school, only that MD applicants should have 3.6.

What???

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[usc_92]

Shoot for the best GPA possible. Plenty of people perform well with only independent study for the MCAT before taking a class and plenty of people bomb sections without the appropriate prereqs. Most medical students I know recommend taking a gap year.

 

[Azete]

Whatever you decide, I would highly recommend not studying for the MCAT while taking classes. The test requires all of your energy and should be treated like a full-time job. If that requires living in your parent's basement and eating Ramen for 3 months, so be it.

 

[neuroguy9]

Shoot for the best GPA possible. Plenty of people perform well with only independent study for the MCAT before taking a class and plenty of people bomb sections without the appropriate prereqs. Most medical students I know recommend taking a gap year.

Yea, I'm obviously going to try to get the best GPA possible but the fact that he told me to do this and that and gave me no choice made me feel uncomfortable.

Also the fact that he kept talking and MD and not DO was really upsetting.

And the fact that he kept advertising the school's medical school, too.

Or am I just not appreciative?

 

[0dee]

Tbh, take the advisor's advice with a grain of salt. Most of them are not that helpful, you're better off doing research on your own and find your target schools and such.
For your gpa, you should always aim as high as possible, but if you want to see the average matriculation stats for each DO school, then user3 has a thread here on SDN where the schools and average stats are listed.
I am also doing the same thing right now, I will take a gap year after my senior year although I am a non trad and cannot afford to waste a year but I just have to. I will take Biochem my last semester, then use 3-4 months after graduation to self study for MCAT.

Good luck.

 

[StudyLater]

I don't even know why you're meeting with an advisor when you know about this site. Advisement is a waste unless A. you don't know how to do your own research (every premed worth his/her salt knows how to do this already) or B. The advisor knows people who know people and can plug you into a seriously corrupt patronage network (pro tip: Get into a romantic relationship with son/daughter of someone in this network. Meet the family. Profit).

Other than that, it's a shovel-leaning position. They aren't going to do much for someone who actually knows **** about becoming a doc.

Based on your posts it sounds like you know this already and are just beating around the bush.

 

[Dr. Death]

I don't even know why you're meeting with an advisor when you know about this site. Advisement is a waste unless A. you don't know how to do your own research (every premed worth his/her salt knows how to do this already) or B. The advisor knows people who know people and can plug you into a seriously corrupt patronage network (pro tip: Get into a romantic relationship with son/daughter of someone in this network. Meet the family. Profit).

Other than that, it's a shovel-leaning position. They aren't going to do much for someone who actually knows **** about becoming a doc.

Based on your posts it sounds like you know this already and are just beating around the bush.

Exactly all of this

 

[Medgrant]

My advisor told me the same thing. I've read many posts on sdn agreeing with that statement, too. After hearing how much biochem is on the new exam, I decided to take their advice. I'm sure you could self-teach the biochem content, but I'd rather take a gap year than have a hard time with the new MCAT.

 

[allantois]

Advisors work with students who want to be spoon-fed information. Also, they are not MCAT experts. If you were to start studying for the MCAT, you would quickly discover that Orgo is not a sufficient prerequisite for this new test.

Also, it is a bad idea to forego all advising, especially if your school writes a committee letter.

 

[asdf123g]

id personally take the MCAT after senior year. I dont understand how people do it otherwise...Besides, if you dont do well if you take it junior year, you dont have time to retake it until likely the winter or following summer and by then you'll have forgotten most of what you studied and will have to back track