Don't think my MCAT is going to cut it.

[pfaction]

Scoring very very low at the moment with only a month left, still not good with the background material and getting horrendously slaughtered in Verbal: 27 on my latest non-AAMC practice exam. Kicking it into high gear though with my conceptual passage practices and such. I know there's a WAMC up top, and I've spoken with Neuronix enough that I don't want to bother him now...does anyone know the actual absolute cut off for no MD/PhD? I think my max will be around 31-33. :\ I have the standard other pre-med requirements outside of a bachelors issue. Thanks!

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[Maebea]

The lowest score for an admitted applicant to MD-PhD training in the US in the past few years was 22. Here are the MD-PhD enrollment percentages for different MCAT groupings:

MCAT % Enrolling
0-26 3%
27-29 17%
30-32 33%
33-35 45%
36-38 55%
39-44 60%

Keep in mind that this is aggregate data, and the distribution may vary for individual programs.
I guess you could say that 22 is the absolute cutoff. Some programs will have a much higher bar.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Scoring very very low at the moment with only a month left, still not good with the background material and getting horrendously slaughtered in Verbal: 27 on my latest non-AAMC practice exam. Kicking it into high gear though with my conceptual passage practices and such. I know there's a WAMC up top, and I've spoken with Neuronix enough that I don't want to bother him now...does anyone know the actual absolute cut off for no MD/PhD? I think my max will be around 31-33. :\ I have the standard other pre-med requirements outside of a bachelors issue. Thanks!

Are you giving this the time you need?

The first time I took the MCAT I was studying along with my classes and not putting in sufficient time, scoring a 34.

The second time, I took a month off just for MCAT preparation during the summer between junior and senior year of college and scored a 40.

It may be better for you to postpone taking it now, revamp your study methods, and try again in 6 months time.

 

[pfaction]

Are you giving this the time you need?

The first time I took the MCAT I was studying along with my classes and not putting in sufficient time, scoring a 34.

The second time, I took a month off just for MCAT preparation during the summer between junior and senior year of college and scored a 40.

It may be better for you to postpone taking it now, revamp your study methods, and try again in 6 months time.

I have one shot to take this in April 28th before I graduate as a PharmD in June 2013, and then have to wait for 2015's cycle. I took March and April off; started studying in January with 40 hr/week of rotations through Jan and Feb. Practice tests have been:
January: 21 (5/5/10)N - did not even finish 1/4th of overall material.
Feb: 25 (7/7/11)N - finished just around half of material.
Mar: 27 (9/7/11)P - finished 75% material
This week i am taking another test. Non-AAMC. I'm working right now to get all concepts and content down. Verbal is KILLING ME. Bio and Ochem are my strongest for obvious reasons.

It looks like on those stats (thanks, Maeba) that 33 is the lowest I can achieve before I lose a lot of hope. I have to aim for the top but it seems realistic I will get around this or lower. So, if I graduate in 2013 June, will have to wait until 2014 to take MCAT for 2015 cycle.

 

[ladyluck2]

Why don't you try doing an actual AAMC exam? I found all the practice ones through other sources (e.g. Kaplan) to be completely useless. They DO NOT reflect what the test is actually like.

There is a free AAMC practice MCAT you can take online. I suggest doing it with the actual computer set up (vs. printing and doing on paper). Then, you can purchase about 7-9 more exams. Just use these. Since they reflect the real MCAT the best, they will be your best self-report.

 

[pfaction]

Why don't you try doing an actual AAMC exam? I found all the practice ones through other sources (e.g. Kaplan) to be completely useless. They DO NOT reflect what the test is actually like.

There is a free AAMC practice MCAT you can take online. I suggest doing it with the actual computer set up (vs. printing and doing on paper). Then, you can purchase about 7-9 more exams. Just use these. Since they reflect the real MCAT the best, they will be your best self-report.

Yes, TPR gives me all the exams, I am going to take them. I'm going to try AAMC 3 in two weeks, but I want to go in with full comprehension so that way I know exactly what to work on. Right now I'm about 90% done with the material and I feel about 60% confident - I still have to do/go over the last chapters of physics, Reproductory in Bio, and some Gen Chem stuff. I will let you guys know how it goes and where to take it from there.

But in all instances even with EK, verbal is my Achilles Heel. I got a 8 in EK, 7 in TPR. thumbdown

 

[ladyluck2]

IMHO the sooner, the better. Honestly, the MCAT is mostly about how well you can read and figure out a passage vs. memorizing a bunch of stuff (although that is a part of it). You get faster and better at it with practice.

I think I remember there being some tricks to the VR. Like common "wrong" answers, and other ways where you can sort of just tell which choices are in the running without even needing the passage (e,g. usually choices that sound really extreme are wrong).

All I can say is best of luck. And remember, your MCAT is just one of the factors the admissions committees look at.

 

[Neuronix]

I have one shot to take this in April 28th before I graduate as a PharmD in June 2013, and then have to wait for 2015's cycle.

Why can't you take in May or June?

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I have one shot to take this in April 28th before I graduate as a PharmD in June 2013, and then have to wait for 2015's cycle. I took March and April off; started studying in January with 40 hr/week of rotations through Jan and Feb. Practice tests have been:
January: 21 (5/5/10)N - did not even finish 1/4th of overall material.
Feb: 25 (7/7/11)N - finished just around half of material.
Mar: 27 (9/7/11)P - finished 75% material
This week i am taking another test. Non-AAMC. I'm working right now to get all concepts and content down. Verbal is KILLING ME. Bio and Ochem are my strongest for obvious reasons.

It looks like on those stats (thanks, Maeba) that 33 is the lowest I can achieve before I lose a lot of hope. I have to aim for the top but it seems realistic I will get around this or lower. So, if I graduate in 2013 June, will have to wait until 2014 to take MCAT for 2015 cycle.

Your MCAT is probably the most important early screener along with your GPA. If you want medical school, it is in your interest to reshape your other commitments around doing as well as possible on the MCAT, be that living with parents for two months and doing nothing but studying.

I think the fact that you are leaving so much of the test unfinished (25% of questions not answered is huge, not to mention 50%) means that you would do so much better if you could go through questions faster and more efficiently.

So it's not an issue of aptitude but efficiency. You can fix efficiency by repeating the process over and over and over. You can also get lots of old AAMC practice exams off of ebay as a pdf (at least I though you could?)

 

[Chicharita]

As I wait to find out where I matched, I figured I'd chime in with my 2 cents. As a former screener & interviewer, and someone who applied 8 years ago, a "30" got your foot in the door. Perhaps things have changed. I haven't read these forums and maybe someone already pointed this out, but at my institution, the verbal score was most imp bc it actually demonstrates critical thinking. Also, if you didn't get the 40 you wanted (sarcasm), don't be discouraged- your whole application is considered. I've read some amazing personal statements and rec letters that made the difference in terms of whether to interview an applicant or not. I've also read applications where people had amazing MCATs, grades etc, but wrote odd personal statements in terms of trying to be too clever, artsy, mentioned religion etc.. which are all no no's. Also, keep in mind, a 3.5 from a Joe Shmo school is not the same as a 3.5 from a prestigious, academically rigorous undergrad, and that is factored in. So if you don't have a 3.9 but a 3.5 from a great undergrad, people understand and will weigh that accordingly.

 

[pfaction]

IMHO the sooner, the better. Honestly, the MCAT is mostly about how well you can read and figure out a passage vs. memorizing a bunch of stuff (although that is a part of it). You get faster and better at it with practice.

I think I remember there being some tricks to the VR. Like common "wrong" answers, and other ways where you can sort of just tell which choices are in the running without even needing the passage (e,g. usually choices that sound really extreme are wrong).

All I can say is best of luck. And remember, your MCAT is just one of the factors the admissions committees look at.

Reviewing as hard as I can right now, going through all the material again. It may be too late to do Sn2's schedule but attempting it right now.

Why can't you take in May or June?

I'll be at hospital rotations both May and June instead of community, where community is a billion times easier than hospital.

Your MCAT is probably the most important early screener along with your GPA. If you want medical school, it is in your interest to reshape your other commitments around doing as well as possible on the MCAT, be that living with parents for two months and doing nothing but studying.

I think the fact that you are leaving so much of the test unfinished (25% of questions not answered is huge, not to mention 50%) means that you would do so much better if you could go through questions faster and more efficiently.

So it's not an issue of aptitude but efficiency. You can fix efficiency by repeating the process over and over and over. You can also get lots of old AAMC practice exams off of ebay as a pdf (at least I though you could?)

I intend to take all the AAMC's starting the last week of March until test day - two a week until test day. Hopefully by then I've had mastered all the material. I should have clarified- the amount I'm missing is CONTENT, not leaving questions blank - I guess when I don't know.

As I wait to find out where I matched, I figured I'd chime in with my 2 cents. As a former screener & interviewer, and someone who applied 8 years ago, a "30" got your foot in the door. Perhaps things have changed. I haven't read these forums and maybe someone already pointed this out, but at my institution, the verbal score was most imp bc it actually demonstrates critical thinking. Also, if you didn't get the 40 you wanted (sarcasm), don't be discouraged- your whole application is considered. I've read some amazing personal statements and rec letters that made the difference in terms of whether to interview an applicant or not. I've also read applications where people had amazing MCATs, grades etc, but wrote odd personal statements in terms of trying to be too clever, artsy, mentioned religion etc.. which are all no no's. Also, keep in mind, a 3.5 from a Joe Shmo school is not the same as a 3.5 from a prestigious, academically rigorous undergrad, and that is factored in. So if you don't have a 3.9 but a 3.5 from a great undergrad, people understand and will weigh that accordingly.

Understood, and my school isn't the most prestigous at all. I'll have to work on Verbal as it's definitely the worst part of my application.

 

[Fencer]

For MD/PhD, you don't need more than 100 hours of shadowing/clinical experience. As indicated MCAT and GPA are the two screening obstacles to get selected for interviews. Substantial research experience, passion for science, and being able to describe your research are the main factors to rank interviewees. Nevertheless, MCAT and GPA remain important in the rankings. Therefore the advice of research and studying for your MCAT are the two most important things you can do right now.

 

[bubbleteafilly]

I got accepted to the MD/PhD program at Illinois this cycle with a 28R (10 BS, 8 PS, 10 VR). Honestly, I think that good LORs from your PIs and extensive knowledge and passion about your research matters more and will pull you through. All you need is to get to the interview, and if you have good research background, high 20's-low 30's should do it.

 

[pfaction]

Thanks for the words, bubbletea; I'm taking AAMC5 tomorrow and will update.

AAMC3: 30
AAMC4: 31
AAMC5: 33 -> Adjusted for math mistakes in PS = 35; no adjustement in Bio because I have no idea how I even got the things I got right...right!
AAMC7: 32. I was completely unprepared for this Bio section and was clueless during the majority of it. Wow. Harsh wakening up. Additionally, I got a 9 in Verbal (29/40)...

I need a high score if I'm going to apply anywhere.

 

[pfaction]

Hey guys, small update. I'm taking AAMC 8 tomorrow, didn't really study Bio again, focused on TBR just reviewing. So I'm hoping mid 30's tomorrow.

But the thing is, I just found my high school transcript of college credits I took. I have 16 straight credits of B's. Overall GPA is 3.2 for the high school. From college, my lowest GPA is 3.51 and my highest undergraduate is 3.98, my average is something like 3.7. My graduate GPA is nothing short of 3.7, highest 4.0 and continuing as such. So obviously I have an upward trend, but I'm really scared that the 16 credits will plummet my GPA down to 3.6 or 3.5-ish levels. Is this a deal-breaker, or is it something I can address? Obviously I wasn't as mature in high school, but I cleaned my act up together in college and it is strongly reflected in an upward trend.

 

[marr5577]

Hey guys, small update. I'm taking AAMC 8 tomorrow, didn't really study Bio again, focused on TBR just reviewing. So I'm hoping mid 30's tomorrow.

But the thing is, I just found my high school transcript of college credits I took. I have 16 straight credits of B's. Overall GPA is 3.2 for the high school. From college, my lowest GPA is 3.51 and my highest undergraduate is 3.98, my average is something like 3.7. My graduate GPA is nothing short of 3.7, highest 4.0 and continuing as such. So obviously I have an upward trend, but I'm really scared that the 16 credits will plummet my GPA down to 3.6 or 3.5-ish levels. Is this a deal-breaker, or is it something I can address? Obviously I wasn't as mature in high school, but I cleaned my act up together in college and it is strongly reflected in an upward trend.

Just don't worry about anything except for getting a good mcat score right now. Focus all your energy on something you can control right now.

 

[pfaction]

I found my weakness:

So for this test, since I didn't prepare at all, I was expecting mid 20's. I approached the PS and BS sections one run straight through, not really caring at all. So I ended the sections with ~15 mins to spare in PS, and 30 flat minutes in BS. I'd say my content is up to par in those sections, maybe these curves are generous but in both I'm only one away from a 13. But I took Verbal really seriously, ended with exactly enough time to spare, adhered to my Verbal strategy and schedule. I got a 10 and 9 on previous ones so I was hoping for a 9 or 11. With a 9 my score jumps to 33...

But I just don't know what the hell to do in Verbal. If I got a 10 in Verbal I'd be set, a 34, which is according to WAMC, "okay". I'm gonna go cool off.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I found my weakness:

So for this test, since I didn't prepare at all, I was expecting mid 20's. I approached the PS and BS sections one run straight through, not really caring at all. So I ended the sections with ~15 mins to spare in PS, and 30 flat minutes in BS. I'd say my content is up to par in those sections, maybe these curves are generous but in both I'm only one away from a 13. But I took Verbal really seriously, ended with exactly enough time to spare, adhered to my Verbal strategy and schedule. I got a 10 and 9 on previous ones so I was hoping for a 9 or 11. With a 9 my score jumps to 33...

But I just don't know what the hell to do in Verbal. If I got a 10 in Verbal I'd be set, a 34, which is according to WAMC, "okay". I'm gonna go cool off.

In my view the Verbal is not always very logical. I think you need to read the answers to the questions, i.e. the explanations, and then try to remodel your thinking so that you think in the same way the question-writers who wrote the questions thought.

I recall reading some of their explanations and many times thinking that they were not logically rigorous, OR that I was thinking about them too deeply/shallowly.

 

[pfaction]

Here's my AAMC11, which I was really uncomfortable taking, because it was so much harder than the other AAMC's:

So...I don't think I have a great shot at MD/PhD, but I'll try no matter what.

 

[K31]

Maebea, where are those data from? Are they for all MD/PhD programs or just MSTPs?

 

[Maebea]

Maebea, where are those data from? Are they for all MD/PhD programs or just MSTPs?

They were compiled by the AAMC and include all MD-PhD programs.

 

[pfaction]

34R! Will make a WAMC soon enough

Clarification: PS/VR/BS: 12/9/13.

 

[miz]

congrats!