Ahhgh...chances..

[mdny]

Hi, I've been lurking around on the forums for awhile now... but am about to apply and wanted to see what you guys think I should do...

I sat for the March MCAT and got 11 PS 5 VR 11 BS...
It was my second time taking the test; I took it last year and got a 10 PS 5 VR 10 BS... but didn't apply last cycle.

What do you guys think?... I would really hate to have to take it again.. I'm mainly applying to DO programs.

My GPA is a 3.5
Thanks guys

Edit:
I also have very strong extracurricular activities such as emergency room, working as a MA, 4 years of research, tutoring, and etc.

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[Temperature101]

Hi, I've been lurking around on the forums for awhile now... but am about to apply and wanted to see what you guys think I should do...

I sat for the March MCAT and got 11 PS 5 VR 11 BS...
It was my second time taking the test; I took it last year and got a 10 PS 5 VR 10 BS... but didn't apply last cycle.

What do you guys think?... I would really hate to have to take it again.. I'm mainly applying to DO programs.

My GPA is a 3.5
Thanks guys

Edit:
I also have very strong extracurricular activities such as emergency room, working as a MA, 4 years of research, tutoring, and etc.

That VR score might be big impediment to your application even if you are ESOL student. But I think you still have a shot...DO NOT even apply to MD with that VR score.

 

[mdny]

Yeah, I'm not applying to any MD programs.
It's just both times my average AAMC's were landing between 8-12 in verbal (overall 30-34 composite average) but on the day of, just bombed it.

I'm hoping that I will get some love from DO programs :/
Would a retake be a bad idea? lol; but I would hate for my score to drop in the sciences.. I mean God fobid... b/c that never happens

 

[TriagePreMed]

5... game over.

 

[Temperature101]

Yeah, I'm not applying to any MD programs.
It's just both times my average AAMC's were landing between 8-12 in verbal (overall 30-34 composite average) but on the day of, just bombed it.

I'm hoping that I will get some love from DO programs :/
Would a retake be a bad idea? lol; but I would hate for my score to drop in the sciences.. I mean God fobid... b/c that never happens

You should call the DO schools that you are interested in and ask them if they have a cut off score for VR. People on SDN have said that a 6 is the minimum most schools will accept. Find out yourself...I am having the same ****ing problem with VR on my practice test. The curve in VR is crazy.

 

[angldrps]

You should call the DO schools that you are interested in and ask them if they have a cut off score for VR. People on SDN have said that a 6 is the minimum most schools will accept. Find out yourself...I am having the same ****ing problem with VR on my practice test. The curve in VR is crazy.

Call the schools so you know which schools you shouldn't waste your money applying to since they have minimum cutoffs for Verbal.

 

[Temperature101]

Call the schools so you know which schools you shouldn't waste your money applying to since they have minimum cutoffs for Verbal.

Yes...People do that.

 

[mdny]

Yeah I will do that tomorrow. I did call a few last year and they said "oh just apply and see what happens" -.-

 

[mdny]

how would a 3rd time taking it look for me.... ?

 

[TriagePreMed]

how would a 3rd time taking it look for me.... ?

like the only thing you can do if you hope to get into medical school.

 

[mdny]

I called 13 schools today an they all said 11-5-11 is absolutely fine bc they emphasize sciences and "look at the composite score" and told me that I am very competitive... So we'll just see what happens..

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I called 13 schools today an they all said 11-5-11 is absolutely fine bc they emphasize sciences and "look at the composite score" and told me that I am very competitive... So we'll just see what happens..

How many of the schools you called gave you this response? I read on other threads that Touro-NY doesn't care about the verbal section, as long as everything else is on par.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I called 13 schools today an they all said 11-5-11 is absolutely fine bc they emphasize sciences and "look at the composite score" and told me that I am very competitive... So we'll just see what happens..

I hope for your own sake, that happens to be the case. However, since the verbal is known as the biggest predictor for the USMLE, I have doubts many programs will be okay with it. Again, I hope I'm wrong.

 

[CodeRedDew]

I hope for your own sake, that happens to be the case. However, since the verbal is known as the biggest predictor for the USMLE, I have doubts many programs will be okay with it. Again, I hope I'm wrong.

I've heard otherwise that it is the sciences that correlate the most with your USMLE scores. I mean it makes sense, since the USMLE is composed of sciences and not passages about Picasso and his works.

 

[Goro]

The 5 is worrisome, but note necessarily lethal. Keep in mind that the Admissions Office might overlook the 5, but the AdCom might not, especially if you're a native English speaker. It probably would be in your best interest to try one more crack at MCAT. You know what you have to work on now.

Hi, I've been lurking around on the forums for awhile now... but am about to apply and wanted to see what you guys think I should do...

I sat for the March MCAT and got 11 PS 5 VR 11 BS...
It was my second time taking the test; I took it last year and got a 10 PS 5 VR 10 BS... but didn't apply last cycle.

What do you guys think?... I would really hate to have to take it again.. I'm mainly applying to DO programs.

My GPA is a 3.5
Thanks guys

Edit:
I also have very strong extracurricular activities such as emergency room, working as a MA, 4 years of research, tutoring, and etc.

 

[JFK90787]

I hope for your own sake, that happens to be the case. However, since the verbal is known as the biggest predictor for the USMLE.

That is absolutely bull crap. Anecdotal evidence, but a girl I work with who speaks English decently but is a terrible reader and writer (ESL) got a basically top 5% step 1 score a few months ago. I'm sure she would be lucky to get a 3 on the VR section.

 

[TriagePreMed]

That is absolutely bull crap. Anecdotal evidence, but a girl I work with who speaks English decently but is a terrible reader and writer (ESL) got a basically top 5% step 1 score a few months ago. I'm sure she would be lucky to get a 3 on the VR section.

There's actually been research done on this, so while some people may be an anomaly, like this girl you mention, that's not the case overall.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I've heard otherwise that it is the sciences that correlate the most with your USMLE scores. I mean it makes sense, since the USMLE is composed of sciences and not passages about Picasso and his works.

It actually doesn't make sense. The sciences in the MCAT are something you can study a lot and memorize a lot for, whereas verbal is on the spot analysis and critical thinking of new material, which is more similar to the USMLE.

 

[mdny]

I literally called every school today. KCUMB, RVU, TCOM, TOURO-NV, straight up said, a "5" in verbal will not fly.

Every other school said, it doesn't matter HOW you make up the composite score, i.e: 11 5 11 or a 9 9 9, a 27 is a 27. Interesting thing LMU told me was a good writing score can off-set a not-so-good verbal score.

However........ I will most likely pull out the books again

 

[CodeRedDew]

It actually doesn't make sense. The sciences in the MCAT are something you can study a lot and memorize a lot for, whereas verbal is on the spot analysis and critical thinking of new material, which is more similar to the USMLE.

But you study for the topics that will show up in the MCAT sciences and you apply what you know to passages/topics you've never seen before, which I believe is how the USMLE is structured. You practically study all of the topics that will show up on the USMLE and then you're presented multiple vignettes you've never seen before and use your background information to solve the problems -- similar to the science sections on the MCAT. With the verbal section, no outside knowledge is needed (which can actually hurt your score) to solve the questions.

 

[TriagePreMed]

But you study for the topics that will show up in the MCAT sciences and you apply what you know to passages/topics you've never seen before, which I believe is how the USMLE is structured. You practically study all of the topics that will show up on the USMLE and then you're presented multiple vignettes you've never seen before and use your background information to solve the problems -- similar to the science sections on the MCAT. With the verbal section, no outside knowledge is needed (which can actually hurt your score) to solve the questions.

That's a good counter argument, although verbal doesn't need outside knowledge either. It's simply critical thinking. There is, however, evidence that VR score is the highest predictor for USMLE.

 

[CodeRedDew]

That's a good counter argument, although verbal doesn't need outside knowledge either. It's simply critical thinking. There is, however, evidence that VR score is the highest predictor for USMLE.

I said that verbal didn't need any outside knowledge ^_^

But along with critical thinking you have to also be familiar with the nuances of the English language--which many students of different language backgrounds aren't really familiar with and ultimately their score suffers. But that doesn't mean that they have weak critical analysis skills. How else would they receive good scores in the other sections, dont those sections require critical analysis as well?

 

[mdny]

here's my initial school list...

A.T. Still – Kirksville​

Kirksville, MO (KCOM)​

A.T. Still – Arizona​

Mesa, AZ​

Midwestern @ Arizona​

Glendale, AZ​

Midwestern @ Chicago​

DMUCOM​

Des Moines, IA​

LECOM​

Erie, PA​

LECOM-B​

Bradenton, FL​

LMU-DCOM​

Harrogate, TN​

MSUCOM​

East Lansing, MI​

NYCOM​

Westbury, NY​

NOVA Southeastern​

Ft. Lauderdale, FL​

PCOM​

Philadelphia, PA​

PCOM-GA​

Suwanee, GA​

Touro-NY​

New York, NY​

Touro-CA​

Vallejo, CA​

TCOM​

Ft. Worth, TX​

​

VCOM-CC​

Blacksburg, VA​

VCOM-SC​

Spartanburg, SC​

WVSOM​

Lewisburg, WV​

WCU​

Hattiesburg, MS​

 

[Napoletana1007]

I hope for your own sake, that happens to be the case. However, since the verbal is known as the biggest predictor for the USMLE, I have doubts many programs will be okay with it. Again, I hope I'm wrong.

Not true.. I've seen some of the research on this.. Bio has the biggest correlation then physics

 

[Ask]

I am very sure that it is the score on the Biological Sciences section that has been positively-correlated with USMLE Step 1 success...