GOT 18 on MCAT any HOPE?

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DaBEARZ

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I am 25 years old and took my MCAT on December 2014 and this was my third attempt and got an 18. I got my bachelors and finished with a 3.1 GPA. I want to go to a osteopathic Medical School and I know I can not directly apply into the program the only option I have is doing a post bacc program. My question would be does any one Know anyone that has gotten a low MCAT and got into Medical School thru the post bacc program? and what schools should I apply at that will take me in ? Please I need hope in life I work a lot and I help out the less fortunate, and I do it willingly because I know how it feels to be hungry and not have money. I am thinking about taking the MCAT for the fourth time the new 2015 does anyone have any suggestions on how I should study and what study material I should use to improve my score ?

Thank you.
 
NO! Retake it. Don't take it until you are at your goal.

Edit: That was your 3rd retake and you got 18? You need a serious prep for the new MCAT. Idk how Adcoms will view your 4th retake though.
 
You've taken it 3 times and your Highest is an 18? And your GPA is a 3.1? Did you do any prep for the MCAT at all?
The lowest MCAT I know of someone getting in with was a 20, at a brand new school in their hometown.
I hate to be the one to say it but I think it's time to look into other careers.
 
Are you sure medical school is for you? Don't mean to put you down or anything but if you're doing the MCAT for a fourth time that should be an indication of your abilities. With that being said, there are plenty of other options in the healthcare field that you might be interested in? RN/NP/CRNA/PA?
 
Yea I havent taken any prep courses and I haven't taken Organic Chemistry, and I do not want to quit I have been in contact with DO schools and they told me to do a post bacc program and I told them if I retake it that its going to be my fourth attempt and they told me they look for improvements. I read some earlier post and there have been students accepted into Medical School that have scored under 20.
 
DaBEARZ said:
Yea I havent taken any prep courses and I haven't taken Organic Chemistry, and I do not want to quit I have been in contact with DO schools and they told me to do a post bacc program and I told them if I retake it that its going to be my fourth attempt and they told me they look for improvements. I read some earlier post and there have been students accepted into Medical School that have scored under 20.
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Why would you take the MCAT without any prep? That's a poor life choice. Your GPA isn't stellar either, and I'm sure those who have been accepted the less than 20 score wasn't on their 3rd attempt.
I'm just trying to give you a realistic view. If you love health care that much go to nursing school, but it's not going to be easy.
 
samac said:
Why would you take the MCAT without any prep? That's a poor life choice. Your GPA isn't stellar either, and I'm sure those who have been accepted the less than 20 score wasn't on their 3rd attempt.
I'm just trying to give you a realistic view. If you love health care that much go to nursing school, but it's not going to be easy.
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I had pressure from Family and I had to help out the family with money as well and worked a lot, and I was on youtube learning Organic chemistry from Freelance and Chads videos.
 
DaBEARZ said:
I have never heard of that School ? can you elaborate more on the school if you have any knowledge about it.
Thank you
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a new for-profit school, with a large class size, taking apps starting next cycle. you might have an outside chance of getting an interview if you apply the very first day.
 
Take All your requirements before you even do a prep course. That includes biochem, both organic Chems and behavioral sciences
 
DaBEARZ said:
I had pressure from Family and I had to help out the family with money as well and worked a lot, and I was on youtube learning Organic chemistry from Freelance and Chads videos.
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I'm sorry but you're doing it all wrong. P.s. are you being pressured from the family to become a doctor?
If you want to have any chance, you need to bring up your GPA. Take all the required courses then seriously study for the MCAT.
 
Sorry to disappoint but it's not gonna happen. 3 times and your highest score is an 18 is telling admissions committees that you would not be able to handle the workload and depth of material in medical school. Since you're obviously interested in entering a medical related field I would consider podiatry school- even with an 18 you should be able to be accepted.
 
Med school isn't happening. Three MCATs and all you can muster is an 18? There is something seriously wrong here, you should not be allowed to be in charge of people's lives. I believe even if given the opportunity to attend medical school, you wouldn't make it out. Try another career path.
 
samac said:
They're fine with sub 24, but sub 20 is pushing it, even for podiatry.
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An 18 is really pushing it for podiatry, but still doable at places like Kent. That's prolly the only place OP would get accepted.

What will prolly happen is pod school will accept him with the notion he will drop out after the first year

OP, if u still want to do healthcare , look at podiatry, pharmacy, and optometry . Optometry requires an OAT score.
 
GypsyHummus said:
I don't think so. Not with that low of mcat score
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As long as you've signed up for the MCAT, user3 will give you hope of getting in. Kinda like that SAT myth where you get points for just putting your name on the paper
 
TopTomato said:
As long as you've signed up for the MCAT, user3 will give you hope of getting in. Kinda like that SAT myth where you get points for just putting your name on the paper
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18 will probably be too low, but I think a good number of people will be able to get into Burrell COM with low 3.0's and low-mid 20's MCATs.
 
user3 said:
18 will probably be too low, but I think a good number of people will be able to get into Burrell COM with low 3.0's and low-mid 20's MCATs.
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Maybe, but people have been saying this year how even LUCOM had a decent MCAT and was not considering grade replacement for it's applicants. Beggars can't be choosers, and OP is definitely not the chooser. Personally I think giving out false hope does more harm than good.
 
No, you're not doing anything with an 18.

If you want a chance at med school you start taking ochem, start MCAT study with a nice, pricy but worth it program like Kaplan, and take some practice exams a year from now. You are not close, you need to buckle down and do the hard stuff to have a chance in the future
 
OP, your biggest mistake was to take the MCAT without all of the proper preparation and studying and then retake it 2 more times using the same strategy and hoping to see different results. If you decide to take it for a 4th time you need to go into it with a different mind frame on how you are going to study for it. This is make it or break it time. You need to first make sure you have taken all of your pre-req classes and then I would suggest dishing out the money for a study course since self study for you hasn't worked. While you are in the course you need to completely adopt their strategy, forget your strategy and pour yourself into studying and doing 12+ practice exams until it is routine and you are consistently hitting a score that is 3-4 point (equivalent) above what is useful to get into a DO school (you will probably drop a bit on the real thing). Also I would suggest taking a post-bac once you have a useful MCAT. Since at this point you will have taken the MCAT 4 times you will need some more recent proof that the student you are now is not who you were during your previous 3 attempts at the MCAT and can now handle taking tough science classes. You have shot yourself in the foot, but you can mend and recover from this, it will just take quite a bit of additional hard work on your part.
 
You have a nearly zero shot at any health related field. You might as well muster up the the strength to do a 4th retake.

1) First and foremost, take care of your family stuff first! It is ridiculous that they are shoving the medicine route down your throat at a rapid pace while expecting you to help with the family financially. If you can handle both that then it is good, but if you can't you shouldn't. Help your family first and shove back the MCAT. If they don't allow you to do this and you can't work out something with them, then you need space from them (i.e. move out). You need some control of your life in order to do this.
2) Take all pre-reqs and do well. I have heard the counter argument of "how you study for the MCAT is far more important than how well you did in your pre-reqs." This is true to a certain degree. There is a lot of low yield stuff learned in class, but the detail of the high yield stuff is greater in class than in the MCAT. My best section was biology and part of the reason is how well I did in my classes.
3) Seek a learning specialist/learning counselor if you are still in school. They are a fantastic resource under utilized in undergrad. They teach you HOW TO STUDY effectively.

I apologize for being blunt, but all issues should not be side stepped at this point. It is a 4th attempt and should be taken seriously.
 
It's not just about "getting in". If you can't do relatively well on the MCAT, you're most likely going to struggle with medical school tests.

Just giving a personal comparison. When I want to do well (top 10-20%), I put as much, if not more effort studying for a medical school test as I did for the MCAT.
 
If you can't get above an 18 after multiple tests, imagine how much you will struggle during medical school when the coursework and course load are greater
 
NontradCA said:
It's not just about "getting in". If you can't do relatively well on the MCAT, you're most likely going to struggle with medical school tests.

Just giving a personal comparison. When I want to do well (top 10-20%), I put as much, if not more effort studying for a medical school test as I did for the MCAT.
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. These tests and hoops are not just for the benefit of the admissions committee to weed you out. They're for you're benefit too.
If you're getting a 18 on the Mcat on your best day and have a 3.0 gpa then you need to seriously figure out something else to do and be happy with it.
 
They will do you a favor by denying your application in its current state. You are in no shape whatsoever to be successful in the medical school setting.
 
DaBEARZ said:
I am 25 years old and took my MCAT on December 2014 and this was my third attempt and got an 18. I got my bachelors and finished with a 3.1 GPA. I want to go to a osteopathic Medical School and I know I can not directly apply into the program the only option I have is doing a post bacc program. My question would be does any one Know anyone that has gotten a low MCAT and got into Medical School thru the post bacc program? and what schools should I apply at that will take me in ? Please I need hope in life I work a lot and I help out the less fortunate, and I do it willingly because I know how it feels to be hungry and not have money. I am thinking about taking the MCAT for the fourth time the new 2015 does anyone have any suggestions on how I should study and what study material I should use to improve my score ?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Let put it this way. 95+% of MD/DO accepted applicants possesses GPA in the range 3.5 to 4.0 and Mcat in the range of 25~40. They also have vast experience in research, leadership, volunteer. There are also countless rejected applicants who possesses the same things. So why do you think medical school needs to accept someone like you while they have this vast pool of great, intelligent, dedicated applicants ?


You should know your chance. If you fail once or twice on Mcat , they may overlook it. But fourth time, and may be a fifth, is kind of pushing it.......your best bet should be post bac to improve your knowledge, because-to be honest- I will not entrust my health to a doctor who failed mcat 3 times and had a meager GPA.......And please stop with the false hope of getting in because one or two unknown, strangers are able to get in.......You are hoping on easy way in instead of demonstrating your determination to grow, to improve. THAT is why you fail
 
I think if you retake the MCAT and score well like a 26+ you should have a good chance. Pretty sure schools will appreciate your perseverance and your commitment to a mission and acknowledge that you are not a quitter. Anyways the rode ahead of you is steep but whose to say that none of us hard it hard. Good luck you can do it OP.
 
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