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- Thread starter DrSumdae
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I hope I don't come across as harsh, but if you plan to pursue a stateside MD, you are going to have to retake the MCAT and score at least upper 20's. Your stats will look very ordinary to the admissions, since biology is a very common pre-med major. Also, almost everyone has some sort of volunteer/clinical/research experience. You are going to need something that will make you stand out as a good candidate. However, you could throw your hat in the ring for D.O. or carribbean programs. I have seen at least one guy on this forum who got into a program with a 20 MCAT. I have a similar background from a small liberal arts college in Ohio and not a super competitive MCAT score or G.P.A. for that matter. I did complete a master's in an allied health field, which I hope will be my saving grace. Bottom line, if you want to be House M.D. you had better retake the MCAT, however, if you just want to be a good physician, regardless of title, give the other options a shot. Unfortunately, you are getting late into the application cycle, so if you want a chance for admission next fall, you're gonna need to scramble. Much success.
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I don't think a post-bacc program is the right choice for you. Those are generally done if someone hasn't yet completed all the pre-reqs or to improve a poor undergraduate GPA. In your case, your GPA is fine - spending all that money on a post-bacc program would be a waste, imo.
I think you already know the main thing you need to improve on in your application, and that's your MCAT score. I'd suggest taking as much time as you need to identify exactly why you did so poorly on the MCAT. Then study like a madman and retake it again. You likely have a decent chance at DO schools if you can get your MCAT into the mid to high 20's range.
I think you already know the main thing you need to improve on in your application, and that's your MCAT score. I'd suggest taking as much time as you need to identify exactly why you did so poorly on the MCAT. Then study like a madman and retake it again. You likely have a decent chance at DO schools if you can get your MCAT into the mid to high 20's range.
N
njbmd
I am not sure what a post bacc is going to accomplish for you. Your GPA is fine and you have already taken the pre-med courses. Your problem (and you stated it well) is the MCAT.
You NEED to find out why you tested so poorly on that exam. If you have a sheer knowledge deficit, then prep courses like Kaplan, EK, TPR can get your knowledge up to speed. If you have a problem with manner of testing on the MCAT, then doing loads of practice tests can get you up to speed.
If you have a problem with test-taking in general, then you may need to do some remedial work in overcoming things like test anxiety, poor reading skills etc. I suspect that this may be part of your problem but not your entire problem as you have a solid undergraduate GPA.
If you have an undiagnosed learning disability, you may want to check out getting tested and then getting into some work to compenstate for your LD. There are plenty of folks who have undiagnosed learning disabilities that do fine with coursework until they get to an exam like the MCAT.
Before you invest thousands in a post-bacc, invest in assessment of your learning tools and study skills so that you can get the maximum out of whatever course you elect to pursue. Good luck!
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I took the MCAT a while ago (ie more than 10 years), but here are my 2 cents. I taught a prep course on the test, and this is my guess as to what may be the issue.
The MCAT is essentially one big reading exam. When I took it, it had a reading section, 2 essays, and 2 science sections. The 2 science sections tested fairly simple concepts, but in a very verbally analytical way by way of information synthesis. They had very few fact / recall types of Q's.
Chances are that you probably know the concepts well, but may just need to improve your overall reading skills. Since you have done well at school, it may be that you learn best through instructors (ie writing, hearing, and then reading). Well, unfortunately, the MCAT does not test previous lectures!
When I taught the MCAT, I found that many people knew their stuff, but bombed the MCAT because they were not good readers. i.e. studying more science stuff may not really pay off, except that it makes you more "comfortable" with the various science passages/sections.
On the contrary, I knew people that did not do too well in the science courses, but rocked the MCAT because they were good readers.
Improving upon reading skills is not as hard as it may seem. For starters there tons of books you can get on speed reading & improving comprehension. Stay away from fancy/pricy prep courses. Everything you need can be bought much cheaper by getting the right books.
Finally, try reading more and more every day. You CAN DO IT! Trust me. I used to suck at reading, and I'm still getting better. Try and read well written periodicals.
Another secret. The LSAT passages are much harder than the MCAT verbal passages. Try and get up to speed to where you can jam on those. There are MANY MANY actual LSAT's released -- another great way to prep and improve your reading skills.
On a final note: I don't think the MCAT is fair, since it overwelmingly tests too much reading. I think they should at the very least communicate this better! Perhaps they think you need to have this skill for med school, but that is bunch of crap. My kid brother sucks at reading and graduated top of his med school class.
Oh well. Hate the game, not the playas.
I wish I had your troubles. You can read about mine. I'm basically screwed for life. I'm doin life behind bars baby.
The MCAT is essentially one big reading exam. When I took it, it had a reading section, 2 essays, and 2 science sections. The 2 science sections tested fairly simple concepts, but in a very verbally analytical way by way of information synthesis. They had very few fact / recall types of Q's.
Chances are that you probably know the concepts well, but may just need to improve your overall reading skills. Since you have done well at school, it may be that you learn best through instructors (ie writing, hearing, and then reading). Well, unfortunately, the MCAT does not test previous lectures!
When I taught the MCAT, I found that many people knew their stuff, but bombed the MCAT because they were not good readers. i.e. studying more science stuff may not really pay off, except that it makes you more "comfortable" with the various science passages/sections.
On the contrary, I knew people that did not do too well in the science courses, but rocked the MCAT because they were good readers.
Improving upon reading skills is not as hard as it may seem. For starters there tons of books you can get on speed reading & improving comprehension. Stay away from fancy/pricy prep courses. Everything you need can be bought much cheaper by getting the right books.
Finally, try reading more and more every day. You CAN DO IT! Trust me. I used to suck at reading, and I'm still getting better. Try and read well written periodicals.
Another secret. The LSAT passages are much harder than the MCAT verbal passages. Try and get up to speed to where you can jam on those. There are MANY MANY actual LSAT's released -- another great way to prep and improve your reading skills.
On a final note: I don't think the MCAT is fair, since it overwelmingly tests too much reading. I think they should at the very least communicate this better! Perhaps they think you need to have this skill for med school, but that is bunch of crap. My kid brother sucks at reading and graduated top of his med school class.
Oh well. Hate the game, not the playas.
I wish I had your troubles. You can read about mine. I'm basically screwed for life. I'm doin life behind bars baby.
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Agree. No way around it. No postbac is going to help, and it is sheer folly to apply to med school with a 20. Try a different prep course. Hire a private MCAT tutor (Kaplan and others have these). Take every practice test under the sun, and just keep working until you master that test.
I hate to admit this- but I did fairly poor on one MCAT and received a score very similar to yours (after taking the Kaplan class). It wasn't necessarily nerves and not knowing the test because Kaplan students take about 5 full length exams prior to the real deal. It wasn't not knowing the material- if you've done that well in your coursework, you obviously have a solid grasp on the content. It may indeed be that, as previously mentioned, you need to strengthen the speed-reading (and comprehension) portion of your testing skills. After my bad score, I dug my heels in thinking "no way, I'm a strong reader, I love to read, that can't be it." Once I was honest with myself, though, things got better. FYI- I retook the Kaplan class, focusing on my reading and comprehension, and my score went up *8* points. Yes, forking out all that hard-earned money seemed redundant and was unbelievably painful, but it was a good lesson in taking my investments more seriously. 🙄
