Didnt get in this app cycle, need advice for next round

[ikirazic]

Sorry if this is a long post.

I am trying to reapply this coming cycle but need advice to strengthen my application. My MCATs scores are 25P (6V, 9P, 10P) and 28P (6V, 11P, 11P) with an undergraduate nonscience and science of 3.67 and 3.67. The 6 in verbal is a horrible and a huge redflag to adcoms, but I am trying to work on that before the June 15 CBT. For starters, I am practicing verbal passages provided by Kaplan and Exam krackers. I often find myself kind of getting the gist, but spending too much time rereading or frequently referring back to the passage.

In the past application cycle, I applied to all the UC's and 18 private schools across the country. I received all rejections, which wasnt too surprising given the repeated 6's in verbal.

For extracurricular activities, Ive been working in a private research lab for 6 years with a 2 publications, 5 accepted abstracts and 2 presentations at national meetings. Ive volunteered at a local hospital and shadowed a doctor for a year. I graduated college in winter of 2006 and have taken time off to work in the research lab. Have I covered the basic necessities? and what could I do differently? I thought of EMT certification or medical missions to Mexico. Any suggestions?

Since Ive been out of school for over a year, should i ask my previous letter writers to update their letters? My current LORs are over a year old.

Thanks, any advice/suggestions/help would be much appreciated!

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[relentless11]

Yep its the MCAT. Did you even get an interview? Considering you applied to the UC's, your MCAT score might have screened you out. Although I've always said that the cut-off is around a 24-26, there might be some cut-off for individual section scores too. A 6 on VR is not good. An 8 might not even cut it for the UC's.

Your extracurriculars are commendable but not uncommon. Publications are becoming more common, but 1st author in a peer-reviewed article is still pretty rare. In the end extracurriculars do not make up for academic deficiencies.

Med schools are pretty keen on seeing what NEW things you have done. They want to see a evidence of your passion to improve yourself and get into med school. Therefore I would at least seek to update the LORs. Your undergrad GPA is good, however it might be good to show some evidence of recent academic coursework as time goes on. This is for your own sake and possibly for med schools as well. The reason being, not going to school for a few months really blunts your academic edge. Med schools know this. I mean come on, if you had a 4.0 GPA 2-4 years ago, then its not really a good indicator of your performance in 2007-2008.

This is a good example of how important the VR score is. I think the dean of admissions at Tulane once said that they're not too hard on the BS or PS scores, since they can always teach you science. However the VR score is something that can't be taught. Its something you learn over a life time. So yea, get that VR score up. Do whatever floats your boat in terms of extracurriculars, and do your best to update the LORs. Its not impressive to read an application that hasn't changed much from the past year. I'm sure med schools keep some record of why one was rejected the last time.

Good luck!

 

[Blondnuttyboy]

Yeah I agree...verbal is way too important and I hear it's more indicative of how someone will perform on the boards than BS or PS.

The reason I'm frustrated is b/c my first MCAT went 7,10,9 and my second was 10,5,12....LOOK AT THAT 5!?!?

I dropped and was rejected during this cycle.

 

[deleted113029]

VR important? please. What passages are contained in the VR section of the MCAT? humanities, social and natural sciences. What does one study in medical school? you guessed right! natural science...with a sprinkle of social science. Relentless, you said something interesting about VR can't be taught, but then say in the next sentence it's something that's learned over a lifetime. I improved my VR score along with my PS and BS scores by the same amount in the same amount of time. VR can be taught as with anything else...all it takes is a good teacher.

Blondnuts and relentless: I scored <10 on my VR and >12 on PS and BS. (590 on SAT verbal). One study said that BS is most predictive of Step 1 and MCAT VR/SAT verbal is most predictive of Step 2CK, these are weak correlations with r values of around 0.4. My Step 1 and 2CK scores were >250 and >260, respectively. i would argue that BS is the most important section of the MCAT...and this does not pertain only to me.

i agree that a 6 on VR is bad, but to say VR is the say all end all of the three MCAT sections is laughable.

ikirazic: apply very broadly and to PUBLIC schools. you shot yourself in the foot by applying to top schools and only private universities.

 

[relentless11]

VR important? please. What passages are contained in the VR section of the MCAT? humanities, social and natural sciences. What does one study in medical school?

I don't think anyone stated that the VR section is the end all component. However, in view of the fact that the vast majority of applicants at the UC schools, and I am speaking from experience AT a UC school, then the VR IS important. In fact the median MCAT score for each section is around an 11. To state that one should "apply broadly" rather than apply to top public schools and private schools does not take into account if the OP is a California resident. Most CA residents would have to do just THAT given their status.

I'm baffled as to where you read that either myself or Blondnuttyboy said that VR is the end all component. Perhaps a little bit of verbal reasoning is required in this thread, where the word importance doesn't mean that "VR is the say all end all of the three MCAT sections." Maybe you are not familiar with applying to the UC's, or being in the UC's or just being in California in general. The situation and standards are a tad different over here.

 

[deleted113029]

This is a good example of how important the VR score is. I think the dean of admissions at Tulane once said that they're not too hard on the BS or PS scores, since they can always teach you science. However the VR score is something that can't be taught. Its something you learn over a life time. So yea, get that VR score up. Do whatever floats your boat in terms of extracurriculars, and do your best to update the LORs. Its not impressive to read an application that hasn't changed much from the past year. I'm sure med schools keep some record of why one was rejected the last time.

Good luck!

you speak in absolutes in your answer so how can you blame me when i say VR is not the say all end all of the three MCAT sections? sounded to me that you place extreme importance on the VR...but i agree to disagree with you.

thank you for your sarcasm in your previous post. i do believe 'tone of the passage' was one of the concepts the MCAT tested.

 

[Cold Penguin]

Also, in the past cycle, when was your AMCAS materials submitted and when were they verified? Were you August MCATer? Apply early the next time.

I also think what really hurt your chance was your MCAT score. Having a decent GPA means that you have the potential of having a high MCAT score. Also, you should make an appointment with an admissions officer at one of the schools you were rejected and ask for honest opinions on how you can improve your chance of getting accepted. This will be an excellent opportnity to get all your questions answered since they have your materials in file and know who you are. Admissions officers are really interested in helping you get in and will serve you better in getting answers to all your questions listed above.

Good luck,
CP

 

[vixen26]

OP, I think that your problem is verbal as well. My first verbal I also spent too much time reviewing the answers and analyzing the "explanations" for the answers when what helped me a bit more (11) was just a lot of practice of doing the passages (at least a few passages a day for 6 weeks). You should consider retaking it again, but don't do it before you're prepared, even if it takes you another year. A third bad score may seriously hurt you. If you run out of MCAT verbal practice sources maybe try LSAT verbal passages because they make you eliminate 4 out of 5 choices....got me thinking a little faster.
Good luck

 

[relentless11]

i was getting mostly 9's & 10's on my AAMC and Examkrackers 101...
A few 8s and a coupl 11s too. however, i ended up with 8 on the real thing... should I retake? My Sciences are 10+ and my both GPA is 3.7+...
Also, would schools be more softer on ur verbal and overlook it if ur GRE verbal is like 720? thanks. i am wondering since i am still waiting for acceptance...

Or just reapply early?

The GRE has no bearing on med school admissions. Well maybe some MD/PhD programs require it for the PhD component but the GRE is not equal to the MCAT in anyway. To say that you did well on the verbal on the GRE is like saying the same thing for getting an A in some critical thinking/reading english class. Thats good GRE score though!

An 8 on the VR in terms of UC's is kinda low. I know people have gotten in, but thats probably like 1 or 2 people. So playing the statistics game, you would be in a better position if you had at least a 9, if not a 10 or 11.

Again, as stated above, UC's and most other med schools view GPA and MCAT equally, so doing well in one may not make up for the other. An 8 isn't "bad", its actually average. BUT, if you want to be competative at higher end schools such as UC, then you may want to retake it. Your call! Good luck!