Apply this cycle or postpone?

[nunezyan]

Hello everyone,

I'm going to take my MCATs next week (July 27th) and I can surely say that I will not be doing well. Why? Because I've taken many FLs (AAMC and Kaplan) and I don't score well enough (<25). I have been going over MCAT material since October so I know it well but whenever it comes to the exam I make so many mistakes (reading question wrong, changing answers, doing math wrong, skipping important information, etc) that I end up with a disappointing score. I've tried several times to fix these errors but I still somehow end up making them. I guess that's what bad standardized test taking skills are...

So now I need to assume I'll get roughly the same score on the actual MCATs (<25) and decide whether to apply to medical school this year or not.

Here's what I got going for me:

Immigrated/First generation Hispanic Male coming from life of financial/educational hardships
Overall GPA: 3.92, Science GPA: 3.98
Major: Biology, Minor: Music performance in Piano
MCATS: Probably <25

I'm don't mean to brag about my extracurricular but there is a load of stuff. I'll summarize it all by putting it in a general format. I'll mention as much as possible so I can get a really good, thorough response from someone (hopefully).

Received deans list and several scholarships (full ride)
President of three campus organization (Medical related organization, honor society, and film)
Active Member of four other campus organizations (pre-med, biology, two other honor societies)
Work at school library
tutor for freshmen
Captain for an intramural volleyball team
Attended 9 medical related conferences
Conducted research at my university, and Harvard/Forsyth
Presented research at 2 conferences
Published two abstracts
Coauthor of one published article
Volunteered at walkathons, food banks, hospitals, music recitals, and for my university on several occasions
Bilingual, CPR certified, great computer and lab skills

I really wanted to go to Harvard Medical School and apply for an MD/PhD program. All my LORs are from my mentors at Harvard along with my pre-med/science/music directors at my university. I don't think that's within my reach anymore but I've been dreaming of going to Harvard Medical School since freshmen year.


So, I'm really panicking because I'm sure I will do bad on the MCATs and no medical school will want me, especially not Harvard, with such a low MCAT score so I'm thinking of just taking a year off, do some more research, travel a little, prepare more for the MCATs, and apply next cycle.

Or should I still give it a shot this cycle? If I apply, I will be applying for MD/PhD.

P.S. I REALLY WANT TO GO TO HMS

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[BABSstudent]

What is your breakdown for your average score? Is it evenly spread out, or do you tend to do super well on a section and then bomb another?

 

[carnelian]

You'll definitely get into a med school with your stats. HMS is a crapshoot for everyone. But you look seriously competitive, especially since you're a URM and disadvantaged. I think waiting for the next cycle with a better MCAT score will give you a much better chance. Below 25 is a bit too low to be comforting...

 

[Ironmandoc]

If you are applying MD/PhD, you'll need to score 33 minimum...

 

[BABSstudent]

You'll definitely get into a med school with your stats. HMS is a crapshoot for everyone. But you look seriously competitive, especially since you're a URM and disadvantaged. I think waiting for the next cycle with a better MCAT score will give you a much better chance. Below 25 is a bit too low to be comforting...

I disagree. Your stats are great if you want to apply to do research. I see no desire to be a doctor through. Where is your shadowing? I don't believe you have demonstrated that you know what being a doctor is, nor are you making a knowledgeable choice in deciding to apply. How do you know you want to be a doctor?

I see that you have volunteered in a hospital, but that is very different than shadowing a doctor.

 

[1289]

.

 

[nunezyan]

What is your breakdown for your average score? Is it evenly spread out, or do you tend to do super well on a section and then bomb another?

On avg, 7PS, 8VB, 9BS =\

I disagree. Your stats are great if you want to apply to do research. I see no desire to be a doctor through. Where is your shadowing? I don't believe you have demonstrated that you know what being a doctor is, nor are you making a knowledgeable choice in deciding to apply. How do you know you want to be a doctor?

I see that you have volunteered in a hospital, but that is very different than shadowing a doctor.

During my time at the hospital, I took the opportunity to shadow doctors. I thought that would be understood, sorry.

 

[BABSstudent]

On avg, 7PS, 8VB, 9BS =\

Well the 7 and 9 tell us that you don't have a good background in the sciences and that you could definitely use some reviewing. Keep in mind that you can review up until the day of the test.

Practice will also help you with silly mistakes on the test. I felt like reviewing a lot brought my scores to a 30 and then practice brought them up to a 35. If you identify where your mistakes come from. For example, if you have problems misreading questions, then make sure you give yourself time to read the question twice. If you tend to miss the NOT in questions, make sure you train yourself to look for those NOTs. If you find you change your answers from corrects to incorrects more often than the other way around, don't change your answers after you put them down. Etc.

 

[AshPreMed]

May I ask, OP, what you found difficult about the MCAT? Was it the material itself or the examination process (stress and other external factors)?

I am stunned by your very low MCAT score, considering your extremely high GPA. Did your school generally have high class averages (that might suggest to ad coms that your grade was simply inflated and thus does not represent your true academic competence)?

 

[lcck]

x

 

[nunezyan]

May I ask, OP, what you found difficult about the MCAT? Was it the material itself or the examination process (stress and other external factors)?

I am stunned by your very low MCAT score, considering your extremely high GPA. Did your school generally have high class averages (that might suggest to ad coms that your grade was simply inflated and thus does not represent your true academic competence)?

From his original post, it sounds like it is just typical test anxiety. A lot of people can do well in classes but struggle with standardized testing.

Yea, I think it is test anxiety. I just took a practice exam without a time limit to see if I would do better and I scored a 30.

 

[baylorgirl]

how much of your application have you completed? im not too sure about this (so correct me if im wrong) but i think its starting to become "late" in application cycle.

 

[nunezyan]

how much of your application have you completed? im not too sure about this (so correct me if im wrong) but i think its starting to become "late" in application cycle.

I'm missing MCATs and committee letter

 

[baylorgirl]

if youre setting your sights on hms, then i would think it would be better to wait till next cycle so you can score really well on your MCAT and maybe shadow or get a job as a medical scribe so you can get more clinical exposure. if you just want to go to med school period and youre happy with any school then yeah go for it. but for hms it may be wiser to wait and apply early next cycle, beginning of june.