Almost feeling hopeless

[crazylife09]

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I graduated last May with a BA in Spanish coupled with premed concentration. I ended up with a 3.6 GPA overall. I spent the next 2.5 months of my life after graduation studying for my first MCAT and scored a 23Q. Decided to try again and to use a test prep class as an additional aid to my efforts. While taking the class and studying, I was also working full-time at a pediatric doctor's office and applying to medical schools. I did this for 4 months before taking the MCAT a second time and scoring a 22Q!

I was completely shocked by the results of all my hard work, committed time, and effort. I felt like I did the very best I could for my situation and I still could not manage to come out on top with my scores. I forwarded my scores only to receive 2 rejections so far. I have an interview in April with a school and I'm still waiting to hear from more.

I have strong LoRs and plenty of work and volunteer experience in the medical field. I fear that my low MCAT will hinder me from my dream. With limited money and resources, I don't know what else to do to improve my chances. I'm definitely smart and well-rounded...for some reason I just don't test well on this MCAT. Do you all think I still have a shot?

 

[MD021]

are you willing to apply to DO?
and how are you doing on practice mcats?

 

[kdmd2be]

Don't give up! I graduated with people who had all the med experience and got into school with 20s and 21s. GOOD schools, too! I had a 26 and got rejected... but I also had no med experience at the time. You can do it! Just try 🙂

 

[megamega]

how are you doing on practice mcats?

Yeah, I'm also wondering what your practice test scores were. For me, my final practice test scores were within 1 point of my actual MCAT score. So, you should utilize Princeton Review practice tests, Kaplan Question Bank, and e-mcat official practice tests. After going through all these and studying the material that you go over, your scores should get better. I don't think you should give up. My practice tests started off lower than your scores, but after I finished all the study material and practice tests, I was able to score really high on the MCAT.
Good Luck

 

[MilkmanAl]

Keep up the hard work. Maybe you should consult with a tutor to see if you can improve your study methods. I smell someone working harder, not smarter, and it should be the other way around. Try studying differently and retaking the MCAT a third time. Even if you can't muster much improvement, you'll still be a decent candidate at DO schools. That said, don't retake the test if you aren't consistently scoring in the mid or upper 20's. You'll need to have substantial improvement for the third time to not raise eyebrows.

 

[pietachok]

Are you extremely nervous at the MCAT exam? Do you feel like that is a factor? Are you testing better on practice exams?

I know one student who made a ~10 point jump after dealing with her anxiety about her first two attempts on the MCAT. That changed her app and allowed her to get acceptances.

Regardless of how long it takes, however, you should not retake the MCAT until you KNOW you have dealt with whatever issue is dragging down your score. You may be able to explain away 2 times as nerves (and those are *so* low they can be flukes), whereas you still have the potential to make a huge jump that shows that those low scores were entirely nerves impeding your test-taking strategy and ability to think.

Taking real-setting tests sucks b/c it takes up an entire day, but it will hopefully help you get rid of your stress. Obviously, if it is an issue of material, you should be able to conquer this by studying smarter as was pointed out...sometimes when we think we are studying so very hard, we are reviewing things we know more than learning topics we don't b/c it's most comfy, and you certainly can't afford to do that for the MCAT.

All that said, if you apply to osteopathic schools I think you should get some interviews and they may forgive your scores. If you can pick them up even to a 25, I would almost be certain you'd get interviewed. If you are a URM, I'd be nearly definite and would wager you might get M.D. interviews.

Don't give up!
Good Luck!

 

[crazylife09]

I'm not sure if it is anxiety. I thought I dealt with that part already. But I do know that in the past I have always struggled with doing well on standardized tests. Like I said, in the university setting I did extremely well in my Spanish and my pre-med classes. The highest I ever scored on my practice tests was a 27...and that was my first practice test before even looking at study material.

Since then, my scores only became lower and lower. It seemed like the more I reviewed and studied material, the worse I did. I took the Princeton Review MCAT course to prepare me for the 2nd MCAT. I did my homework, read, followed the tips, went to every class, and did 4 of the practice tests in between my hectic full-time work schedule. And still...I ended up doing worse by a point.

I have extremely limited financial resources. So unfortunately a tutor isn't an option for my wallet. It's bad enough I had to charge my MCAT class to a credit card and I've been paying that down monthly.

I have one interview so far with a DO school. But I really don't know what to tell them to explain my MCAT scores. It's obvious I'm not an idiot and that I'm a hard worker. I just don't know why it's so hard for me to do well on this test. But thanks for your encouraging words and support. I wish you all the best as well.