Chances? What to do with GAP year?

[adriano710]

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I'm a junior right now at MSU. I have a whole next year to go (24 credits - all science). I will be taking MCAT in May of next year. What do you think are my chances in terms of GPA and EC's as of now? I know it's hard to gauge without MCAT, but could you tell me what MCAT score would put me in a good position? I will be taking MCAT 2015 obviously. Getting LOR from MD and DO but need to work on Prof LOR's.

GPA: 3.2 currently… as I said I have 24 credits to go before I apply so hopefully I will have a 3.4+.

EC's
Providence Hospital volunteer (Will be 148 hours in ER Department)
Sparrow Hospital volunteer (Will be about 70 hours in ER Department)
Sparrow Hospital volunteer (Will be about 60 hours in Radiology Department)
Community Service - Gleaners Food Bank and Golden Harvest (About 40 hours)

Shadowing 1 - Shadowed MD Pediatric Urologist (12 hours)
Shadowing 2 - Shadowed MD Maxillofacial Surgeon (24 hours) & two surgeries (10 hours)
Shadowing 3 - Shadowing currently DO Neurologist (Will be 16 hours when I apply)

Undergrad Research - Testing 3-6 year old children reading comprehension (300 hours when I apply)

MSU Medical Brigade - Honduras for a week in a poor village (Will be done in December)
Human Biology Club - Part of Public Relations Committee
Italian Club - I speak fluent Italian so I joined and am able to tutor kids with their Italian work
Alpha Tau Omega - Served on Judicial Board. Served on Philanthropy Committee.
IM Soccer - Played for my fraternity league all year round. Played for another IM league all year round.

I really would like to go to PCOM, so tell my my chances there (what MCAT I need to score). Other top choices MSUCOM & CCOM.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

So wait what is your question? You want info on a gap year or on your chances? Or on what schools you are applying to? Or are your ECs and grades good enough?

 

[adriano710]

So wait what is your question? You want info on a gap year or on your chances? Or on what schools you are applying to? Or are your ECs and grades good enough?

With a projected 3.4+ cGPA and my EC's - What MCAT would be good enough for the lower tier schools and upper tier ones such as PCOM? I will start a new thread about the gap year. Sorry for the confusion and plethora of questions.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Whatever score you can obtain haha.... I used to sort of do the same thing, asking about chances at X or Y school before I had my scores, but it sort of goes the other way. You get your score (or at least practice tests) and then you pick the schools. One can assume and guess all day, but until you get those numbers in hand, its all speculation.

But just to humor you:
Assuming all other boxes are checked, with a 3.4 and a 24 MCAT you get into low tier. With a 3.4 and 26 you get into mid tier. With a 3.4 and 28+ you get into higher tier. Thats about right roughly assuming you are applying to the correct number of schools. You bump up the gpa any more or the MCAT any more and you get higher chances. Some schools like higher gpas vs MCAT, others do it the other way around. Then you have the in-state vs out of state bias etc... its really a complicated question you are asking. But generally that is about an approximate gauge. Your goal is a 30 if you want the best chance (like if you are shooting for the stars). But 28 is a good realistic goal that a lot of people can hit with hard work. How this whole numbers game plays out with the new MCAT is beyond me...

If I was you, dont really start looking at schools necessarily, you will drive yourself crazy and then also have the possibility of severe disappointment if your MCAT doesnt go well. What I would do is focus on what your MCAT strategy is going to be and focus on killing the remaining courses that you have left.

 

[adriano710]

Whatever score you can obtain haha.... I used to sort of do the same thing, asking about chances at X or Y school before I had my scores, but it sort of goes the other way. You get your score (or at least practice tests) and then you pick the schools. One can assume and guess all day, but until you get those numbers in hand, its all speculation.

But just to humor you:
Assuming all other boxes are checked, with a 3.4 and a 24 MCAT you get into low tier. With a 3.4 and 26 you get into mid tier. With a 3.4 and 28+ you get into higher tier. Thats about right roughly assuming you are applying to the correct number of schools. You bump up the gpa any more or the MCAT any more and you get higher chances. Some schools like higher gpas vs MCAT, others do it the other way around. Then you have the in-state vs out of state bias etc... its really a complicated question you are asking. But generally that is about an approximate gauge. Your goal is a 30 if you want the best chance (like if you are shooting for the stars). But 28 is a good realistic goal that a lot of people can hit with hard work. How this whole numbers game plays out with the new MCAT is beyond me...

If I was you, dont really start looking at schools necessarily, you will drive yourself crazy and then also have the possibility of severe disappointment if your MCAT doesnt go well. What I would do is focus on what your MCAT strategy is going to be and focus on killing the remaining courses that you have left.

Thinking about taking a Kaplan course my second semester with a light course load and I mean LIGHT like 5 credits… good idea? On another note, if I take my MCAT in May, would I be entering med school… Fall 2016?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Personally I would suggest just dong SN2 if you can. The courses are over rated and over priced. People buy into that whole thing as if its a magic ticket. Then a ton of people realize halfway through that they could have done everything without it. I find that the only good thing about the course is it offers a lot of good practice tests/problems. Heck, think of it this way, you are going to be sticking just with self study methods for the USMLE and COMLEX in med school... so best to start getting used to it.
But if you dont heed my advice (as like 90% of other pre-meds dont with regards to prep courses), then I would suggest doing Princeton's hyperlearning course and staying as far as you possibly can from Kaplan. Everyone knows someone who loves Kaplan, but personally every friend I have that did Kaplan thought it was useless and every friend that I have that did Princeton thought it was awesome.

You could do it while taking a couple classes yea... its not really a problem. I took princeton hyperlearning course, took physics II, worked 20 hours a week, studied like 20 hours outside of the princeton course, planned a wedding, and planned for a move, all during that time. They arent too bad. I mean obviously the more "like med school" that you treat the MCAT, the better you will do. If you treat it like a 9-5 job, so like 40-50 hours a week of hard and focused studying, then you will do very good. You will see your scores slowly rise over the weeks.

Just a couple of points that not a lot of people bring up and since I am feeling rambly I will pass on to you:
1) Treat it like a 9-5. So have focused time of studying with tangibles goals for each day (SN2 is also a great MCAT calendar for this kind of thing). BUT also make sure that when you are "off work" you relax. Have "me time," watch TV, go for runs, have a beer, whatever chills you out. If you treat it like some crazy gunner then you will burn out super fast. Give yourself a normal schedule and stick to it. Also give yourself a day off every week. Like we are talking no studying at all for anything. I was able to hit 40-50 hours a week of studying and did not do anything on sundays. Sundays were my day to go to church, hang with my family, go on hikes, see the fiance etc. First couple weeks of studying I went way too hard and went 7 days a week and it was awful. I learned very fast that you need relax days to recharge the batteries.
2) Only go for max of 10 weeks at that rate. I personally went 14 and it was way too much. I started seeing burnout and diminishing returns at like 12 weeks. With 2.5 months of studying at 40 hours a week you will be more than fine. I dare say my score would have been a point or two better at 10 or 12 weeks than at 14.
3) Practice passages. A lot of people will say "read the MCAT books from cover to cover," but the MCAT is not a passive thing. You do well by practicing. About 80% of your time should be taking practice passages under timed conditions, then 20% is reviewing your answer (THIS is where you spend the time reading the book and looking stuff up). By practicing relentlessly you will get your knowledge base down, you will start to learn stupid tricks that they constantly try to get you to fall for, and you get your speed up. Again this was another important lesson that I learned, that probably affected my score by 2-3 points.

Thats about it really, its not too bad.

And yes if you take the MCAT May of 2015, you would apply June 2015, do secondaries and interview during summer and fall of 2015, and matriculate Fall of 2016. Just as another small piece of advice. Take the MCAT before May if you can. You never know if you will need some wiggle room to retake or whatever, plus having your scores available before the application (it takes a month to score), its always reassuring to have.

 

[adriano710]

Personally I would suggest just dong SN2 if you can. The courses are over rated and over priced. People buy into that whole thing as if its a magic ticket. Then a ton of people realize halfway through that they could have done everything without it. I find that the only good thing about the course is it offers a lot of good practice tests/problems. Heck, think of it this way, you are going to be sticking just with self study methods for the USMLE and COMLEX in med school... so best to start getting used to it.
But if you dont heed my advice (as like 90% of other pre-meds dont with regards to prep courses), then I would suggest doing Princeton's hyperlearning course and staying as far as you possibly can from Kaplan. Everyone knows someone who loves Kaplan, but personally every friend I have that did Kaplan thought it was useless and every friend that I have that did Princeton thought it was awesome.

You could do it while taking a couple classes yea... its not really a problem. I took princeton hyperlearning course, took physics II, worked 20 hours a week, studied like 20 hours outside of the princeton course, planned a wedding, and planned for a move, all during that time. They arent too bad. I mean obviously the more "like med school" that you treat the MCAT, the better you will do. If you treat it like a 9-5 job, so like 40-50 hours a week of hard and focused studying, then you will do very good. You will see your scores slowly rise over the weeks.

Just a couple of points that not a lot of people bring up and since I am feeling rambly I will pass on to you:
1) Treat it like a 9-5. So have focused time of studying with tangibles goals for each day (SN2 is also a great MCAT calendar for this kind of thing). BUT also make sure that when you are "off work" you relax. Have "me time," watch TV, go for runs, have a beer, whatever chills you out. If you treat it like some crazy gunner then you will burn out super fast. Give yourself a normal schedule and stick to it. Also give yourself a day off every week. Like we are talking no studying at all for anything. I was able to hit 40-50 hours a week of studying and did not do anything on sundays. Sundays were my day to go to church, hang with my family, go on hikes, see the fiance etc. First couple weeks of studying I went way too hard and went 7 days a week and it was awful. I learned very fast that you need relax days to recharge the batteries.
2) Only go for max of 10 weeks at that rate. I personally went 14 and it was way too much. I started seeing burnout and diminishing returns at like 12 weeks. With 2.5 months of studying at 40 hours a week you will be more than fine. I dare say my score would have been a point or two better at 10 or 12 weeks than at 14.
3) Practice passages. A lot of people will say "read the MCAT books from cover to cover," but the MCAT is not a passive thing. You do well by practicing. About 80% of your time should be taking practice passages under timed conditions, then 20% is reviewing your answer (THIS is where you spend the time reading the book and looking stuff up). By practicing relentlessly you will get your knowledge base down, you will start to learn stupid tricks that they constantly try to get you to fall for, and you get your speed up. Again this was another important lesson that I learned, that probably affected my score by 2-3 points.

Thats about it really, its not too bad.

And yes if you take the MCAT May of 2015, you would apply June 2015, do secondaries and interview during summer and fall of 2015, and matriculate Fall of 2016. Just as another small piece of advice. Take the MCAT before May if you can. You never know if you will need some wiggle room to retake or whatever, plus having your scores available before the application (it takes a month to score), its always reassuring to have.

Couldn't I retake it in June or July? I hear people are taking MCAT in August so I thought taking it during any of the summer months would be definitely good still. What's considered taking MCAT "late" or "early'? Thank you for feedback Awesome Sauceome. I do appreciate it my friend.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Sure you absolutely can. In the grand scheme if you get your stuff in by September you are still early. So its really just depends on what else you have going on. If you dont have much else going on in the spring then really taking early is just for your own convenience and comfort, just to know you have a little more wiggle room. People get their stuff in later, but I can personally say that there is nothing as gratifying as having everything done and sent early on, it takes a ton of stress off and helps you focus on secondary applications.

So all in all, plan to take it as if you are only taking it once. That is really the best plan. I know far too many people who dont take it seriously or say they are just "testing the water" and then plan on taking it a second time. Not only is the test demoralizing if you are not prepared, but it looks better to have just taken once and killed it, you know? So yea if you study 10 weeks for 40-50 hours a week and then take it in May, I would be shocked if you didnt get a 28+ which is honestly good enough to get into most DO schools in the country.

 

[polylux]

For gaps years, there are tons of medically related options:

• some kind of medical certification + job (CNA/EMT/phlebotomy)
• medical scribe, medical secretary, etc
• research
• AmeriCorps/CityYear/PeaceCorps
• regular random job + volunteering throughout the year
• TRAVEL

You can pretty much do anything, just make sure that whatever you end up doing, you have a good story to tell at the end of how you grew or something.

 

[Dreamstoo]

Personally I would suggest just dong SN2 if you can. The courses are over rated and over priced. People buy into that whole thing as if its a magic ticket. Then a ton of people realize halfway through that they could have done everything without it. I find that the only good thing about the course is it offers a lot of good practice tests/problems. Heck, think of it this way, you are going to be sticking just with self study methods for the USMLE and COMLEX in med school... so best to start getting used to it.
But if you dont heed my advice (as like 90% of other pre-meds dont with regards to prep courses), then I would suggest doing Princeton's hyperlearning course and staying as far as you possibly can from Kaplan. Everyone knows someone who loves Kaplan, but personally every friend I have that did Kaplan thought it was useless and every friend that I have that did Princeton thought it was awesome.

You could do it while taking a couple classes yea... its not really a problem. I took princeton hyperlearning course, took physics II, worked 20 hours a week, studied like 20 hours outside of the princeton course, planned a wedding, and planned for a move, all during that time. They arent too bad. I mean obviously the more "like med school" that you treat the MCAT, the better you will do. If you treat it like a 9-5 job, so like 40-50 hours a week of hard and focused studying, then you will do very good. You will see your scores slowly rise over the weeks.

Just a couple of points that not a lot of people bring up and since I am feeling rambly I will pass on to you:
1) Treat it like a 9-5. So have focused time of studying with tangibles goals for each day (SN2 is also a great MCAT calendar for this kind of thing). BUT also make sure that when you are "off work" you relax. Have "me time," watch TV, go for runs, have a beer, whatever chills you out. If you treat it like some crazy gunner then you will burn out super fast. Give yourself a normal schedule and stick to it. Also give yourself a day off every week. Like we are talking no studying at all for anything. I was able to hit 40-50 hours a week of studying and did not do anything on sundays. Sundays were my day to go to church, hang with my family, go on hikes, see the fiance etc. First couple weeks of studying I went way too hard and went 7 days a week and it was awful. I learned very fast that you need relax days to recharge the batteries.
2) Only go for max of 10 weeks at that rate. I personally went 14 and it was way too much. I started seeing burnout and diminishing returns at like 12 weeks. With 2.5 months of studying at 40 hours a week you will be more than fine. I dare say my score would have been a point or two better at 10 or 12 weeks than at 14.
3) Practice passages. A lot of people will say "read the MCAT books from cover to cover," but the MCAT is not a passive thing. You do well by practicing. About 80% of your time should be taking practice passages under timed conditions, then 20% is reviewing your answer (THIS is where you spend the time reading the book and looking stuff up). By practicing relentlessly you will get your knowledge base down, you will start to learn stupid tricks that they constantly try to get you to fall for, and you get your speed up. Again this was another important lesson that I learned, that probably affected my score by 2-3 points.

Thats about it really, its not too bad.

And yes if you take the MCAT May of 2015, you would apply June 2015, do secondaries and interview during summer and fall of 2015, and matriculate Fall of 2016. Just as another small piece of advice. Take the MCAT before May if you can. You never know if you will need some wiggle room to retake or whatever, plus having your scores available before the application (it takes a month to score), its always reassuring to have.

Interesting, I am the other way around. I started to study in mid June. I did about a solid 5-6 hours a day. Wasn't entirely sure what to do until I got a set schedule around early July. Ever since then following a schedule my tutor help me make (modified SN2), I spent about 12-14 hours a day. I don't take days off but once a week, I only study for 5 hours a day and get a nice movie to watch. Also occasionally on a Friday or Saturday night, I would go out with friends but I would still study for at least 8 hours and just study a little longer the next day. Within about a month of very solid studying, I've covered about 70-80% of the course material and my verbal has increased leap folds from an 8 to a 11. Took a practice test last summer and was at a 24 with a 7 in verbal. Hopefully I can reach my goal at 30+ on my first practice test that I plan to take in about 3 weeks.

However, I do admit there are some mornings I burn out and lightened up my schedule that day. This morning was one of them.

I agree entirely that you should be studying at least 40 hours a week.

Entirely agree, I took Kaplan last year and didn't like it whatsoever. My score didn't improve from the 24 (granted I was also working 40 hours a week and could only study late at night and in the AM after an eight hour day). Princeton Review is great from what I've heard. Most of my friends who have taken that prep course have gotten 31-33s. Few who got lower than 30 but still got into a medical school eventually. I still remember how many students in my Kaplan classes used to talk about their practice tests. The highest score I heard after the whole class was a 25 on a practice test and the lowest being a 17.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

The thing is about Kaplan is that they are definitely a preparative course. But they prepare you for the Kaplan exams (particularly the final one so that way you "improve" and they don't have to give you your money back). The Kaplan exams are absolutely not representative of the actual MCAT. So while Kaplan does hit on material covered on the MCAT, they direct that material to doing better in the Kaplan exams rather than the aamc full lengths.

Princeton also does the same thing, but to a significantly smaller degree.
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