applications with one weakness????

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nobleheart

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Possibly a strange question. If only one prereq (MCAT) was slightly below the requirement, would you be automatically denied addmission......possibly not even make it through the preliminary filter of aacoms?

Second, has anyone heard of applicants with the above situation being admitted and if so, where?

Any input appreciated,
T :oops:

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It all depends on how low you are talking and what your gpa and ec's are. Also, state/region preference helps a lot at certain schools.
 
Possibly a strange question. If only one prereq (MCAT) was slightly below the requirement, would you be automatically denied addmission......possibly not even make it through the preliminary filter of aacoms?

Second, has anyone heard of applicants with the above situation being admitted and if so, where?

Any input appreciated,
T :oops:

What do you mean below requirement? MCAT scores do not have a required grade you must have and anything below there is no possible way to get in. There is a requirment of at least a grade of C or better on each premed course (i.e. Bio, Chem, Physics, etc.)

The average section scores on the MCAT will vary from one DO school to another, but on average its around 8-9 per section, 24-27 MCAT. So if on one of the sections you feel your score is below average, just be prepared to answer why that is on an interview. Also, if you are not sure what score is severly or slightly below the average, look at the percentile scores online for your respective section. Obviously you don't want a score of 1, but other sections on the MCAT can counterbalance a low score, for example, you got 5 Verbal, but 10 Physical and 9 Biological.
 
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Possibly a strange question. If only one prereq (MCAT) was slightly below the requirement, would you be automatically denied addmission......possibly not even make it through the preliminary filter of aacoms?

Second, has anyone heard of applicants with the above situation being admitted and if so, where?

Any input appreciated,
T :oops:

Would probably need more info.
 
Totally depends on everything. I had a C- in Physics 2 class (a B in the lab). NYCOM requires a C or better for it to count. They emailed me and asked me if I was going to retake it. I told them yes, and they sent me an interview invitation. I didn't even think they would give me a chance, but they did. I don't know what you mean about the MCAT being below the requirement. Even though DO schools do not weigh the MCAT as heavily as MD schools, they do usually have minimums. If they have a cut-off of 18 and you have a 17, then you probably would just be screened out. It kind of depends on the situation and the school I guess. Good luck with everything!:luck:
 
I don't want to make you feel as if you have no chance or anything...but having a low MCAT score is definately a big hill to walk up.

Think of it this way: every school has different grading policies, different levels of difficult of teachers, classes, etc. It is very hard to compare apples to oranges unless the adcom is very familiar with the rigors of your specific undergrad institution. If you had two students applying with the same GPA, same extracurriculars, same experience, and one with a MCAT score of 30 and one with a 20...who would you offer the interview to?

It may be unfair, but standardized tests are very important.

My advice: Apply widely, explain the low MCAT score well in your initial application (maybe this will help you get past the screening). If you don't get in--find your deficiencies, take a course, and RETAKE the MCAT. The best way to prove yourself as an applicant, is to take steps to improve upon your deficiencies.
 
I had an MCAT score of 21 and then 20... I got no interviews with that score and a gpa of 3.4. I retook the MCAT and got a 27 and I now have had 6 interviews.
 
What do you mean below requirement? MCAT scores do not have a required grade you must have and anything below there is no possible way to get in. There is a requirment of at least a grade of C or better on each premed course (i.e. Bio, Chem, Physics, etc.)

The average section scores on the MCAT will vary from one DO school to another, but on average its around 8-9 per section, 24-27 MCAT. So if on one of the sections you feel your score is below average, just be prepared to answer why that is on an interview. Also, if you are not sure what score is severly or slightly below the average, look at the percentile scores online for your respective section. Obviously you don't want a score of 1, but other sections on the MCAT can counterbalance a low score, for example, you got 5 Verbal, but 10 Physical and 9 Biological.

Honestly a 5 verbal would be a hard obstacle to overcome. I am not sure that a 10 and a 9 would overcome that. In general, any section <7 seems to be a big red flag... it happens, but not frequently.

In general, you shouldn't have a GPA under 2.9 or a MCAT below 23 if you want an honest shot at DO schools. Realistically, you shouldn't have below a 3.0 and a 25 for a competitive application. THERE HAVE BEEN EXCEPTIONS, but they are few.

And honestly, if you don't have the drive to beat a 20 MCAT or a 2.75 GPA, I am not sure you are trying hard enough to be a doctor. I am sure others will disagree and say that the MCAT is just a stupid test blah blah blah, but with all due respect so is the USMLE/COMLEX yet we still have to take them... several times.

In the pre-allo forum, they'd say that if you can't beat a 27 MCAT and a 3.4 GPA that you aren't fit to be a doctor. I don't think that these statements have a strong basis simply because there is a large amt of variation in undergrad education even within the same college/university. In addition, the MCAT isn't a clinically-based exam... I think that the argument that medical school admissions committees make is that these are gauges of one's perserverence, intelligence, and drive to be a doctor in general...
 
In the pre-allo forum, they'd say that if you can't beat a 27 MCAT and a 3.4 GPA that you aren't fit to be a doctor. I don't think that these statements have a strong basis simply because there is a large amt of variation in undergrad education even within the same college/university. In addition, the MCAT isn't a clinically-based exam... I think that the argument that medical school admissions committees make is that these are gauges of one's perserverence, intelligence, and drive to be a doctor in general...


Shoot, I was reading the otherday where they told someone that a 34 MCAT was not good enough with a 3ish GPA. :scared:
 
Shoot, I was reading the otherday where they told someone that a 34 MCAT was not good enough with a 3ish GPA. :scared:

depends on the MD school. That is certainly true if you wish to attend the harvards, hopkins, mayos of the med school world. for a state-school, it is possible to get in. however, it is still tough ... in most cases, even public state med schools will recommend taking a 1 yr post-bacc prog. to boost up that gpa before accepting you.
 
depends on the MD school. That is certainly true if you wish to attend the harvards, hopkins, mayos of the med school world. for a state-school, it is possible to get in. however, it is still tough ... in most cases, even public state med schools will recommend taking a 1 yr post-bacc prog. to boost up that gpa before accepting you.

yeah i got a 32 MCAT with a 3.25 GPA and haven't heard back from a single allo school which will be OK if PCOM comes back with a :thumbup:

Moving to Chi-town will sadden me greatly bc I will have to leave my homestate and my fiance. BUT CCOM is awesome so there will be a huge consolation when I get off of the airplane.
 
yeah i got a 32 MCAT with a 3.25 GPA and haven't heard back from a single allo school which will be OK if PCOM comes back with a :thumbup:

Moving to Chi-town will sadden me greatly bc I will have to leave my homestate and my fiance. BUT CCOM is awesome so there will be a huge consolation when I get off of the airplane.

if i had that stat-line, i likely would have just gone for the gpa booster and stay instate. mine is the opposite situation, a much tougher situation, but i may end up taking another year to boost my mcat up atleast 4-5 points and go instate. im not taking much stock in an acceptance for this year.
 
Honestly a 5 verbal would be a hard obstacle to overcome. I am not sure that a 10 and a 9 would overcome that. In general, any section <7 seems to be a big red flag... it happens, but not frequently.

In general, you shouldn't have a GPA under 2.9 or a MCAT below 23 if you want an honest shot at DO schools. Realistically, you shouldn't have below a 3.0 and a 25 for a competitive application. THERE HAVE BEEN EXCEPTIONS, but they are few.

And honestly, if you don't have the drive to beat a 20 MCAT or a 2.75 GPA, I am not sure you are trying hard enough to be a doctor. I am sure others will disagree and say that the MCAT is just a stupid test blah blah blah, but with all due respect so is the USMLE/COMLEX yet we still have to take them... several times.

In the pre-allo forum, they'd say that if you can't beat a 27 MCAT and a 3.4 GPA that you aren't fit to be a doctor. I don't think that these statements have a strong basis simply because there is a large amt of variation in undergrad education even within the same college/university. In addition, the MCAT isn't a clinically-based exam... I think that the argument that medical school admissions committees make is that these are gauges of one's perserverence, intelligence, and drive to be a doctor in general...


I have a 23Q MCAT: 10VR, 7BS, 6PS. I hadn't taken any organic chemistry before I took the MCAT, so that affected my BS score and one of the schools even commented that the 7 was good for not having had it. I was also horribly, miserably sick for the two years preceding and during it. The 6 didn't really give me any trouble, but I withdrew from the majority of the schools including PCOM, UNECOM, and WVSOM. I don't know what would have happened there. I interviewed at DCOM, PCSOM, and NYCOM (in-state), was accepted at the first two and withdrew post-interview at NYCOM. My MCAT was on the low side, even for DO schools, but the schools that I was most interested in were actually PCSOM and DCOM (and UNECOM who never sent my secondary.) I have a lot of things to balance that out though. The schools seem to love that I am a mother of four children, had great clinical experience, etc. I guess it really matters on the individual circumstances. The is no formula that you can plug your numbers into and know that you will automatically get an acceptance at a certain school. It is way more complex than that. I think a lower than average MCAT is not necessarily a deal breaker, but there is definitely a point where it is too low. If you are just below the school's averages and the rest of your application is strong, I say go for it. You never know what will happen and you may be pleasantly suprised with the outcome. :luck:
 
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That depends how below your MCAT score is...
 
I have a 23Q MCAT: 10VR, 7BS, 6PS. I hadn't taken any organic chemistry before I took the MCAT, so that affected my BS score and one of the schools even commented that the 7 was good for not having had it. I was also horribly, miserably sick for the two years preceding and during it. The 6 didn't really give me any trouble, but I withdrew from the majority of the schools including PCOM, UNECOM, and WVSOM. I don't know what would have happened there. I interviewed at DCOM, PCSOM, and NYCOM (in-state), was accepted at the first two and withdrew post-interview at NYCOM. My MCAT was on the low side, even for DO schools, but the schools that I was most interested in were actually PCSOM and DCOM (and UNECOM who never sent my secondary.) I have a lot of things to balance that out though. The schools seem to love that I am a mother of four children, had great clinical experience, etc. I guess it really matters on the individual circumstances. The is no formula that you can plug your numbers into and know that you will automatically get an acceptance at a certain school. It is way more complex than that. I think a lower than average MCAT is not necessarily a deal breaker, but there is definitely a point where it is too low. If you are just below the school's averages and the rest of your application is strong, I say go for it. You never know what will happen and you may be pleasantly suprised with the outcome. :luck:

The 10 VR didn't hurt you either ;)

To everyoen reading this, make sure that you look through doctormom's app profile before you get really giddy thinking that you can have a shot with less than stellar numbers. She is like Mother Theresa :p except she wasn't celebate (sp?) seeing as she had four kids... unless of course they were immaculately conceived :smuggrin: I'm not saying that those factors did it for her... she had a fairly good GPA and a good VR and acceptable BS score... but what is impressive about her is that she earned decent grades AND made time for clinical activities/extracurriculars WHILE taking care of kids... multitasking and still achieving -- impressive.
 
The 10 VR didn't hurt you either ;)

To everyoen reading this, make sure that you look through doctormom's app profile before you get really giddy thinking that you can have a shot with less than stellar numbers. She is like Mother Theresa :p except she wasn't celebate (sp?) seeing as she had four kids... unless of course they were immaculately conceived :smuggrin: I'm not saying that those factors did it for her... she had a fairly good GPA and a good VR and acceptable BS score... but what is impressive about her is that she earned decent grades AND made time for clinical activities/extracurriculars WHILE taking care of kids... multitasking and still achieving -- impressive.

LOL! Yea, the 10 VR definitely helped. All those English classes finally paid off. ;) You are way too kind.:love: You don't have to live with me though. I doubt my husband would agree with your assessment:laugh: :smuggrin:

I know that being a mother helped me. I don't know how they would have viewed my application if I wasn't. The point was basically that you can get accepted with lower stats if there are things on your application that make you stand out. I think that someone with an otherwise strong application who is just a little on the low side with their numbers should go for it. I also applied in June, so applying early helped. :luck: :thumbup:
 
Since you're in Oklahoma, I'm wondering if you're talking about OSU. If so, I think that 24 MCAT requirement is strict. They really can't let anyone in with a lower score. You probably want to call them (or whatever school you might be thinking about) and ask them.
 
Thanks for all of the input....I took the MCAT a bit prematurely and got a 21. I worked by butt off in prep for this january cbt, and I think we all know how that went.(did not void....hope and pray)
My GPA is fair....cum=3.55, science=3.9 with B.S. in molecualr Bio.

Licensed Physical therapist assistant and practicing in acute care for approx. 3 years.

Should have strong LOR and some volunteer exp. before applying.

Watcha think now?

Oh, and I am shooting for OSU-COM.
 
I have a 26R (9v,8ps,9bs), and retake 3 years later, 27Q (11v,6ps,10bs) I have a 2.97 Undergrad GPA, and a 3.86 GPA towards my MS in Biochem and I have one interview and 5 preinterview holds. So its a crazy deal out in the application world. Granted my low undergrad GPA hurts, I tried to explain it in my aacomas and 2ndary app, but who knows.
 
The 10 VR didn't hurt you either ;)

To everyoen reading this, make sure that you look through doctormom's app profile before you get really giddy thinking that you can have a shot with less than stellar numbers. She is like Mother Theresa :p except she wasn't celebate (sp?) seeing as she had four kids... unless of course they were immaculately conceived :smuggrin: I'm not saying that those factors did it for her... she had a fairly good GPA and a good VR and acceptable BS score... but what is impressive about her is that she earned decent grades AND made time for clinical activities/extracurriculars WHILE taking care of kids... multitasking and still achieving -- impressive.

where can I see her profile? someone please PM it to me. thanks
 
where can I see her profile? someone please PM it to me. thanks

it wont help you.

unless, you want to become 29 when you reapply, have almost a half a dozen kids, be a stay at home dad whos taking some classes, have some illness that has severely affected you and want to do rural family med. ...

oh wait, i just listed most of her "resume" ;)
 
Thanks for all of the input....I took the MCAT a bit prematurely and got a 21. I worked by butt off in prep for this january cbt, and I think we all know how that went.(did not void....hope and pray)
My GPA is fair....cum=3.55, science=3.9 with B.S. in molecualr Bio.

Licensed Physical therapist assistant and practicing in acute care for approx. 3 years.

Should have strong LOR and some volunteer exp. before applying.

Watcha think now?

Oh, and I am shooting for OSU-COM.

Are you applying for next year? I think that you probably have a shot even with your MCAT. Maybe you will be pleasantly suprised with the outcome of the CBT. Work on the rest of your application. Strong ECs and LORs will definitely help. I don't know anything about OSU-COM, but I think you probably have a shot somewhere. As Doctor Bagel stated, they have a minimum MCAT requirement. There is probably no way around that, but if you got your MCAT up a few points, I am sure you would get in there. Just hang in there and keep working towards your goal. It will work out in the end.:luck: :luck:
 
I am planning on applying for Fall 2008. Thanks to everyone for your very helpful comments and suggestions.
 
does orgo 2 count as a pre-req because i recieved a C- in that class, so should i retake it?
 
does orgo 2 count as a pre-req because i recieved a C- in that class, so should i retake it?

It depends on the school. I had a C- in my physics 2 class (B in the lab though). Some of the schools have a cutoff of C and for others the C- is ok. Just call the schools and check.:luck:
 
ok, do you happen to know off the top of your head if PCOM or Western will accept a C- in orgo 2? thanks...
 
ok, do you happen to know off the top of your head if PCOM or Western will accept a C- in orgo 2? thanks...

I don't know anything about Western. I applied to PCOM and withdrew, but I don't believe they listed anything about a C being a cut-off. Honestly, your best bet is to check with the school.:luck:
 
Sounds good, thanks Mommmm
 
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