got a low verbal score....twice

[Sh1ZA]

So i took the mcat twice and got 28 both times and each time my verbal score was below an 8. I graduated highest honors ( > 3.9 gpa) with b.s. and a b.a. from a top 50 university, have two papers in different labs, 150+ clinical volunteering, etc.
I guess none of that matters because of my low verbal score. is it even worth applying? im calling schools and they are telling me they have cut offs. Does having a b.a. matter at all? I'm going to apply strategically to MD schools that don't screen and hope for a couple of interviews. any advise?

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[J ROD]

So i took the mcat twice and got 28 both times and each time my verbal score was below an 8. I graduated highest honors ( > 3.9 gpa) with b.s. and a b.a. from a top 50 university, have two papers in different labs, 150+ clinical volunteering, etc.
I guess none of that matters because of my low verbal score. is it even worth applying? im calling schools and they are telling me they have cut offs. Does having a b.a. matter at all? I'm going to apply strategically to MD schools that don't screen and hope for a couple of interviews. any advise?

Take it a 3rd time......

 

[faith2]

So i took the mcat twice and got 28 both times and each time my verbal score was below an 8. I graduated highest honors ( > 3.9 gpa) with b.s. and a b.a. from a top 50 university, have two papers in different labs, 150+ clinical volunteering, etc.
I guess none of that matters because of my low verbal score. is it even worth applying? im calling schools and they are telling me they have cut offs. Does having a b.a. matter at all? I'm going to apply strategically to MD schools that don't screen and hope for a couple of interviews. any advise?

wow just two times i got a 7 all 3 times. apply early you have a chance
wwxxwwww x

 

[Catalystik]

Add some DO schools to your list when you apply to improve your odds of acceptance somewhere. Or retake it again.

 

[Sh1ZA]

I thought about retaking it but I'm not sure if I want to put myself through that nonsense again. I really studied hard both times and have exhausted almost every MCAT resource, I just get the jitters when I read those damn passages.
As far as DO is concerned, id rather get a Ph.D (no disrespect)

 

[J ROD]

I thought about retaking it but I'm not sure if I want to put myself through that nonsense again. I really studied hard both times and have exhausted almost every MCAT resource, I just get the jitters when I read those damn passages.
As far as DO is concerned, id rather get a Ph.D (no disrespect)

 

[Catalystik]

You might then consider Caribbean med schools as a backup plan.

 

[illegallysmooth]

i thought about retaking it but i'm not sure if i want to put myself through that nonsense again. I really studied hard both times and have exhausted almost every mcat resource, i just get the jitters when i read those damn passages.
As far as do is concerned, id rather get a ph.d (no disrespect)

hahahahaha.

 

[J ROD]

Where's all the DO folks? I mention that maybe someone will have a chance at MD when all they think they have is DO and I get beat.....

 

[anna01106]

Where's all the DO folks? I mention that maybe someone will have a chance at MD when all they think they have is DO and I get beat.....

as a potentially matriculating DO student who also applied to MD schools, if the OP doesn't intend on going into primary care and wants to specialize, then DO may not be the best choice. save the spot for someone who wants to go the DO route.

to the OP: i took the MCAT three times. i also exhausted many of my study resources (princeton review, exam crackers, kaplan, AAMC practice test, etc etc etc). i scored a VR 6 the first time, 8 the second time, and 10 the third time. you sound smarter than me, so don't sell yourself short. i really think the more you practice on the verbal and time yourself, review solutions, etc then the better off you'll be. don't let the verbal intimidate you. the more you do, the less you'll be afraid of it. they're just words and bubbles anyway.

 

[docelh]

Taking an MCAT the third time is pointless until OP figures out how to beat the verbal section. Have you considered hiring personalized tutoring from TPR for this?

 

[Sh1ZA]

what would a TPR tutor offer, really? I can't really afford that and I'm not sure if it would work. I took 2 months off work to study the last time I took it and I'm not sure I can afford doing that again. You think its smart to just take it with just a week or two of review? All I really want is an 8, I just want to get past the screening.

 

[Mesican24]

I didnt find TPR verbal too helpful. If you dont want DO then might as well take the chance and apply, or go and take the GRE

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

as a potentially matriculating DO student who also applied to MD schools, if the OP doesn't intend on going into primary care and wants to specialize, then DO may not be the best choice. save the spot for someone who wants to go the DO route.

to the OP: i took the MCAT three times. i also exhausted many of my study resources (princeton review, exam crackers, kaplan, AAMC practice test, etc etc etc). i scored a VR 6 the first time, 8 the second time, and 10 the third time. you sound smarter than me, so don't sell yourself short. i really think the more you practice on the verbal and time yourself, review solutions, etc then the better off you'll be. don't let the verbal intimidate you. the more you do, the less you'll be afraid of it. they're just words and bubbles anyway.

I know 3 DO's, 1 is a neurologist, 1 is a psychiatrist and the other is a surgeon. DO's do not have to go into primary care and it isn't that difficult to get into a competitive specialty. Hell I know anesthesiology residents who got into MD programs with just the comlex done.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I thought about retaking it but I'm not sure if I want to put myself through that nonsense again. I really studied hard both times and have exhausted almost every MCAT resource, I just get the jitters when I read those damn passages.
As far as DO is concerned, id rather get a Ph.D (no disrespect)

Alrighty, why not DO. Create a well written and educated response. I'm just going to guess your a MD or bust type.

 

[DocMcCoy]

I'd like to say something encouraging and helpful but it is hard because on the surface it doesn't look like you are committed to being a doctor. I respect the fact that you don't want to consider DO schools, but it seems foolish to rule out any path that could lead you to your dream of becoming a doctor.

I would suggest sticking with your plan of applying to non-screening schools. If it doesn't work out this time, you know you will have to take the MCAT again or consider Caribbean if you hell bent on having 'MD' initials after your name.

 

[amine2086]

So i took the mcat twice and got 28 both times and each time my verbal score was below an 8. I graduated highest honors ( > 3.9 gpa) with b.s. and a b.a. from a top 50 university, have two papers in different labs, 150+ clinical volunteering, etc.
I guess none of that matters because of my low verbal score. is it even worth applying? im calling schools and they are telling me they have cut offs. Does having a b.a. matter at all? I'm going to apply strategically to MD schools that don't screen and hope for a couple of interviews. any advise?

I would recommend taking the MCAT for the third time before throwing the towel. You mentioned you have utilized many MCAT resources but have you practiced VR. VR is a section of the MCAT that requires the most practice to improve. Read scientific journals, newspapers such as the NY Times and try to figure out the main idea of the story/article. Practice for good 6 months and take the test again.

 

[docelh]

what would a TPR tutor offer, really? I can't really afford that and I'm not sure if it would work. I took 2 months off work to study the last time I took it and I'm not sure I can afford doing that again. You think its smart to just take it with just a week or two of review? All I really want is an 8, I just want to get past the screening.

If all else fails, you got to try to something different.

Nobody here can see what is holding you back on VR. A real live person can. Doing poorly on VR usually comes down to a few things like English not being a person's first language, complete of lack of comfort with critical reading in non-science courses at the college level, or more often, the inability fine-tune one's test-taking skills.

A tutor may help with the third one. If the other two is your problem, a tutor won't be able to solve those.

 

[cleothecat]

If you would rather go PhD than DO then you really are not committed to be a physician.

Thank-goodness the verbal has screened you out.

MD, MBA

 

[Pisiform]

If you would rather go PhD than DO then you really are not committed to be a physician.

Thank-goodness the verbal has screened you out.

MD, MBA

Not to be rude, become a Janitor

 

[anna01106]

OP can you quickly summarize how you studied for the VR in particular? that way we can cross out resources you've already used and offer more cost-effective, plausible study methods for you.

 

[illegallysmooth]

If you would rather go PhD than DO then you really are not committed to be a physician.

Thank-goodness the verbal has screened you out.

MD, MBA

 

[dand1]

Hold on, hold on,

everyone seems to be railing the OP because he/she does not want to do a DO. Why does this make OP someone who doesn't deserve to be a doctor? You don't become a doctor using any means possible. It isn't about your dreams, it's about knowing that you can serve at the highest possible level of excellence. Maybe the OP doesn't believe in the DO education style and feels he/she would only be well prepared to take on such an important responsibility having a regular MD.

I personally think a DO is great..... but thats me. Stop attacking, stick to helping with suggestion on how to raise ones VR score.


On that note, OP, I did not practice verbal at all but managed to get a 10, not great but adequate. It depends on how you think but for me I tried the strategies for a few days and,given I had a time limit, found it looked like learning them would be a long process making one worse before one became batter. For a friend the TPR worked wonderfully. For another he just did verbal passages very slowly (like 1 per hour) till he got >90% right and then started speeding up. This takes a dedication but can be spread out over a long time so if it's the only section your working on you can hold a job and catch up in the last month on BS/PS. Find a strategy that works. That fact that you have not broken 8 means that (assuming your English is OK and you have adequate critical thinking skills) you just have not found a method that works for you. Keep looking, re-write.

 

[Sh1ZA]

thanks for the feedback,
I'm calling schools and they are all saying that they don't have a minumum cut off and that they consider the entire applications, so whoever started that rumor should be found and dealt with.

As far as the verbal goes, I did exam krackers, kaplan, and a little princeton review, I re-read all of my readers from my upper div humanities classes two months prior to the test, I started reading newsweek, I've been involved in different research labs for about 4 years now so I'm exposed to all types of scientific articles. The only thing I can say about verbal is that it has been an epic fail.

For those people who got butt hurt for the DO comment, I have nothing against DO (my bro is going to DO school) I just feel the curriculum is strange. And its not only me that feels this, a lot of MDs feel the same which is why it is especially hard to specialize as a DO.

 

[anna01106]

thanks OP.

it sounds like you should also utilize the AAMC practice tests for the verbal. i personally found that the most helpful in preparing me for the verbal. it's also worth going through all the solutions and reading the explanations for the correct and incorrect answers. this might help you understand and start to think like the test makers.

also, find a method of getting through the verbal that works for you. practice will help you figure that out.

in my own study, i found that reading scientific articles isn't that helpful. it just seems liek the style of writing doesn't reflect the style of writing on the verbal. most of the passages will be around humanities (history, literature, etc), art, and political science rather than clinical trials. i would also expand my reading repetoire beyond newsweek. a lot of people here like to also read the economist, new york times, the new yorker, wall street journal, etc.

and in re to your comment about DO, i think people just got a little snippy because you stated you'd rather get a PhD than go to DO school without really saying why.

hope that helps a little.

thanks for the feedback,
I'm calling schools and they are all saying that they don't have a minumum cut off and that they consider the entire applications, so whoever started that rumor should be found and dealt with.

As far as the verbal goes, I did exam krackers, kaplan, and a little princeton review, I re-read all of my readers from my upper div humanities classes two months prior to the test, I started reading newsweek, I've been involved in different research labs for about 4 years now so I'm exposed to all types of scientific articles. The only thing I can say about verbal is that it has been an epic fail.

For those people who got butt hurt for the DO comment, I have nothing against DO (my bro is going to DO school) I just feel the curriculum is strange. And its not only me that feels this, a lot of MDs feel the same which is why it is especially hard to specialize as a DO.

 

[deleted248403]

I'm calling schools and they are all saying that they don't have a minumum cut off and that they consider the entire applications, so whoever started that rumor should be found and dealt with.

Rumour? They told you the truth but with a low score in the MCAT or a low GPA whilst you might not make an auto-reject; you also dont get picked out of the stack very quickly. Thats the point. A low VR is concerning because I think there was a stat that said VR score correlated most closely with USMLE Step 1 scores (not sure how strong of a correlation but interesting nonetheless).

For those people who got butt hurt for the DO comment, I have nothing against DO (my bro is going to DO school) I just feel the curriculum is strange. And its not only me that feels this, a lot of MDs feel the same which is why it is especially hard to specialize as a DO.

Its curriculum is strange? Have you talked to your brother about his schedule and curriculum?
You keep making these strange comments about DOing which leads me to believe you dont really know what you are talking about regarding DO. As someone already mentioned, plenty of DOs specialize and a decent number pursue (and get) allopathic residencies - just take a look at the most recent match-list for true stats

 

[illegallysmooth]

People are responding this way because you don't seem to demonstrate an understanding of the DO profession. If you'd rather be a PhD than a physician with a D.O., you don't seem to really want to be a physician. The only difference is the addition of OMT in the curriculum. Actual curriculum structures vary from school to school, whether MD or DO, but accomplish the same basic result.

 

[SteveJMarist]

I'd way rather go to a DO school than become a PhD. Heck, if it comes down to it and I bomb the MCAT in April, I might even go to the Caribbean .

But, we really don't know this person. I think judging him or her based on a post on this forum isn't fair. There could be more to the story...

 

[mcm628]

To the OP:

I know exactly what you are going through. My first application cycle was devastating because despite a near 4.0 GPA, solid EC's, research, volunteering, and clinical experience, I did not get accepted. From what I heard, I was extremely fortunate to have even received the three interviews I did. In the end though, those schools told me it was due to my MCAT--26 with a 5V--that did not allow them to better support my application. I know what it feels like to have one section of one test that only takes up one hour of your life ostensibly prevent you from pursuing the career you dedicated so much time and effort chasing.

This cycle has gone much better, I retook the MCAT and got my score up to a 30...with a 6 on verbal (insert lingering bitter emotions about that section) and have an acceptance, 4 completed interviews and 2 on the dock all at MD schools.

I felt the same way about not retaking the MCAT a third time. I did not think that I could do anything else to lift my score in the verbal section. I say apply to a range of schools, apply early, and it could work out for you!

ps, I also applied to some DO schools and took an interview before withdrawing due to my MD acceptance. Consider them! They present an interesting persective on the medical field. Just a thought...