Am I competitive enough?

[MEESH1717]

Hello everyone,
I would greatly appreciate any advice on my eligibility for MD/PhD programs. I was really hoping to nail the MCAT and be more confident in my competitiveness, but I got a 31Q. (9PS, 10VR, 12BS) I have a 3.93 GPA in biochemistry. I have done over 150 hours of volunteer work. I have worked in a research lab for over 2 years and will be putting out a thesis in that lab before I graduate. I have very strong letter writers from my lab and volunteering experiences. Everything was falling into place until I got my MCAT score. I was consistently scoring a 35+ on my practice tests, and I knew I didn't do my best after I finished the exam. I just don't know if I'll have time with the summer fellowship that I am doing to retake it and get all of my application materials in by the end of July. I don't want to hurt my chances even more by submitting too late. My top choices for MD/PhD programs include Northwestern, University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Washington. Am I completely ineligible for some of these programs now, considering my scores? Thank you.

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[Ombret]

I sympathize. Anyone can have a bad day. Retaking the test should probably be a priority. You don't need to study like a maniac, just try not to let your previous studying fade too much and take another stab at it.

Unfortunately no one is going to be able to give you the answer you (probably subconsciously) want--"Yes, you will definitely get into an MD/PhD program." No one can give that answer to any applicant, regardless of credentials. That's why I usually ignore WAMC posts but, I don't know, here I am replying. If it's what you want--APPLY, and disregard any sage advice about specific things you need to do to tweak your applications before you APPLY. At worst it doesn't work out. If you don't apply, it definitely won't work out.

 

[K31]

Unfortunately you are unlikely to get interviews at those schools with your score, with the possible exception of Illinois. Otherwise your application looks good, so you really need to concentrate on improving your MCAT to 35+. Cancel your summer fellowship if you must.

 

[StIGMA]

Unfortunately you are unlikely to get interviews at those schools with your score, with the possible exception of Illinois. Otherwise your application looks good, so you really need to concentrate on improving your MCAT to 35+. Cancel your summer fellowship if you must.

I agree. If you do not think you can improve your MCAT score by a mid-August test date, then consider applying next year and doing research in the interim. You would have a very competitive application with a 35+ MCAT and 3+ years of research (eg: a decent shot at the programs you listed, although you would really want an even higher MCAT score to stand out).

 

[TheShaker]

Sorry to steal a bit of this thread but does the 35+ MCAT requirement apply to non-MSTP schools as well?

 

[StIGMA]

There is no requirement. If you look here for data from a few years ago, the average MCAT for a person who interviewed but did not get accepted was 32.7, compared to people who received one acceptance at 34, and multiple acceptances at 35.7. These are significant differences in success with just 3 points on the MCAT. Standard deviation for each is around 3.5 points, but it is safe to assume averages are higher now than back in 2007.

To be competitive at even non-MSTPs, it is in your best interest to still score 34+ on the MCAT (along with multi-year research experience and a high GPA).

IMO, if you are working hard enough to get a high GPA and have multi-year lab experience, you really should put the effort in to have a competitive MCAT score as well- it is the least time-intensive (but potentially most impactful) of the three!

 

[24thGrade]

I was in a somewhat similar situation. I had a 3.9 biochem (not a super well known undergrad) and a slightly better MCAT but not by much. My undergrad research was great though and I interviewed really well. I think the MCAT will keep you from getting interviews some places but it won't destroy you and it didn't ruin me. If you do decide to apply this round apply to a lot of places and be TOTALLY prepared for interviews and know your science and the right answer to why you want to be in such a program.

I ended up not applying to top schools because I felt my MCAT was going to hold me back- long story short:

applied to ~6 MSTPs (mid tier) and 4 (non-mstp)MD PhDs
Interviewed at 3 MSTP 4 MD-PhDs
Accepted at 2 MSTPs 4 MD-PhDs

So from my experience, my sense was that once I got an interview, I had a real shot at getting into the school. I worked with my PI and a few other faculty members at my school to help prepare me for interviews which I think made a huge difference. I'm very happy at my mid-tier mstp (and would never go anywhere else) but had I applied to top tier schools I think I would have had a shot. If you really want to to go a top US news reports school then you need to apply to as many as possible and hope a few bite and let you come for an interview. If you're going to get in somewhere it will be because 1. the quality of your research is great and you can explain it well and 2. you interview very well. If you don't think either of those points are going to be very strong for you then yes, for sure, work on your mcat.

 

[skiing]

I would recommend retaking the MCAT. Improving it can only help you. If you take an extra year off, the rest of your 7 years from now could be very different. At UCSD, an admissions officer told me their MSTP cutoff was 34. I have heard UCSF's out of state cutoff is 36 (unverified information). You may have a shot at mid-tier schools, but I would not hold out hope for the schools you mentioned.