Hello! I was just wondering what people think about my chances. It's really tough to gauge how each person will fare given the craziness of the entire process. I started out with a 3.1 my freshman year and made my way up to a 3.96 in my final semester. Overall, I ended up with a 3.55 overall and a 3.45 BCPM. I'm going to be working with AmeriCorps in the fall while applying to medical schools, but does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should apply? I already have 20 schools listed, and I'm not really sure which are reach schools. I thought my numbers were competitive except for my MCAT score, which turned out low because of an unfortunate tragedy a few days beforehand. Needless to say, being grief-stricken doesn't give rise to a great score (PS: 11 VR: 7 BS: 10 WS: R). I'm not sure that anyone going to medical school likes to hide behind some sort of excuse or reason, whether it was out of his or her control or not. With all of that being said, I plan on taking the exam again in August. I don't really know how to prepare for the MCAT this time around, as it seems that I've exhausted all of my resources (Kaplan...PR...AAMC practice exams.) I sympathize with everyone who did not do well on the MCAT, despite scoring highly on the AAMC exams available online. The same happened to me...but does anyone have any experience with taking it a second time as far as what resources they used? I'm planning on using the princeton review books and kaplan books and retaking the AAMC exams that I took online. I'll be applying as an under-represented minority, but I'm not really sure how true that is. I met with an adviser and she said that for the most part I will be at most schools (I'm filipino/spanish). Does anyone think my EC's will compensate for my lower GPA? I refuse to lose hope after all of my hard work and I accept that some kids are just better at school than I am. But it's no longer about that... I know a lot of you will say "wait and see what happens on the August MCAT"...but apart from this, please let me know what you think! Thanks!
OK i'll take a shot, since no one has replied. Your GPA is fine, and especially with taht upward trend, I think you're fine. I'm going to assume that your MCAT will be 31-33, just to have something to work off of. Your EC's are pretty much amazing. I'd say if anything, your list is bottom-heavy and state-school heavy. Is there a reason U Miami, UNC, and UV are on here? You might want to take a look at out of state admission rates (US News book is good for that). I'd actually add a few reach schools. With your gpa and EC's and the explanation of your low mcat score (granted you do well next time), you should be fine. Dont worry, be happy As for studying the 2nd time around, I'd actually just redo everything you did before. Dont worry about sutdying new material, or taking new tests... theres so much material you probably wont remember specific questions. I know i wouldnt! hope this helps, and good luck!
The first time I took the MCAT, I got a 29Q just from studying from a Kaplan book. The second time I took the MCAT, I got a 35N. I took a Kaplan course and made a study guide of everything I didn't already know. I studied this frequently. Then about 2 weeks before the test, I took a practice test each day (Kaplan and then AAMC) and tried to replicate the testing conditions...started at the same time as the test would be, 10 minute breaks, even had the big headphones. This helped with getting rid of nerves on the actual test day. Good luck!
