Has anyone gotten accepted with a 26?

[DOCoptimist]

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First time posting.....


I am devastated with my 26 (9vr, 8ps, 9bs Pws) that I found out about a few days ago from the August MCAT. I am not an URM and my science GPA is 3.53 and overall is 3.73. I have lots of clinical experience as well as research and pretty good LORS. I already submitted my primary as well as 8 out of 23 of my secondaries because I was surely expecting 30+ from my practice scores.

I have been hearing that I should not continue to send in the rest of my secondaries because this would put me at a disadvantage if I have to reapply to those schools next year. Is this true? or should I go ahead and send them in anyways? Has anyone gotten interviews with similar stats who is not an URM?

Thank you so much!

 

[dmtang2]

First time posting.....


I am devastated with my 26 (9vr, 8ps, 9bs Pws) that I found out about a few days ago from the August MCAT. I am not an URM and my science GPA is 3.53 and overall is 3.73. I have lots of clinical experience as well as research and pretty good LORS. I already submitted my primary as well as 8 out of 23 of my secondaries because I was surely expecting 30+ from my practice scores.

I have been hearing that I should not continue to send in the rest of my secondaries because this would put me at a disadvantage if I have to reapply to those schools next year. Is this true? or should I go ahead and send them in anyways? Has anyone gotten interviews with similar stats who is not an URM?

Thank you so much!

dont worry man, im in the same boat. i got a 27 twice. combined score is a 29, but schools dont care about combined. gpa is 3.52 with bcpm 3.45. i go to a top 20 school, and am also not a URM.

 

[popolus]

your numbers are pretty even and that will help, you can certainly get in somewhere, especially if you live in a state with lots of schools. That said, please don't go into your interview and make statements about URM and thier numbers especially if you are really young with limited life experiences, I actually know of a school that include some questions about how you feel about URM in the interviews without making it obvious, If you fall in that trap then the little chance you have will...well...

 

[Mutt]

I have been hearing that I should not continue to send in the rest of my secondaries because this would put me at a disadvantage if I have to reapply to those schools next year. Is this true?

Did whoever told you this, explain their reasoning, experience and or logic?

 

[Mutt]

First time posting.....


I am devastated with my 26 (9vr, 8ps, 9bs Pws) that I found out about a few days ago from the August MCAT. I am not an URM and my science GPA is 3.53 and overall is 3.73. I have lots of clinical experience as well as research and pretty good LORS. I already submitted my primary as well as 8 out of 23 of my secondaries because I was surely expecting 30+ from my practice scores.

I have been hearing that I should not continue to send in the rest of my secondaries because this would put me at a disadvantage if I have to reapply to those schools next year. Is this true? or should I go ahead and send them in anyways? Has anyone gotten interviews with similar stats who is not an URM?

Thank you so much!

I think you need to be specific about what you mean by "accepted" - accepted to where? Yale? Meharry?

 

[dmtang2]

I think you need to be specific about what you mean by "accepted" - accepted to where? Yale? Meharry?

i'm wondering the same thing. i think he means accepted ANYWHERE that is MD. no carribean schools.

 

[DOCoptimist]

I meant accepted anywhere... I only applied to all my state schools (NY) and some lower tier schools (albany, drexel, temple...) I am a non-trad, already in my year off and was really hoping to matriculate next year. I don't know what happened with my MCAT because I never scored that low in my diagnostics.....

But the people I have been talking to said that if I have to reapply as a reapplicant next year, they would expect me to have made some tremendous improvement (not just my MCAT score), so it is better for my chances to have only applied once. I don't know who to listen to.

 

[popolus]

I meant accepted anywhere... I only applied to all my state schools (NY) and some lower tier schools (albany, drexel, temple...) I am a non-trad, already in my year off and was really hoping to matriculate next year. I don't know what happened with my MCAT because I never scored that low in my diagnostics.....

But the people I have been talking to said that if I have to reapply as a reapplicant next year, they would expect me to have made some tremendous improvement (not just my MCAT score), so it is better for my chances to have only applied once. I don't know who to listen to.

go ahead and apply you will be fine. SDN is not a good indicator of numbers

 

[gujuDoc]

First time posting.....


I am devastated with my 26 (9vr, 8ps, 9bs Pws) that I found out about a few days ago from the August MCAT. I am not an URM and my science GPA is 3.53 and overall is 3.73. I have lots of clinical experience as well as research and pretty good LORS. I already submitted my primary as well as 8 out of 23 of my secondaries because I was surely expecting 30+ from my practice scores.

I have been hearing that I should not continue to send in the rest of my secondaries because this would put me at a disadvantage if I have to reapply to those schools next year. Is this true? or should I go ahead and send them in anyways? Has anyone gotten interviews with similar stats who is not an URM?

Thank you so much!

2 of my friends last year with similar stats got in. Actually, one had a slightly higher GPA then you. The other had around the same as you. Both both got into one of our state schools.

 

[dmtang2]

I meant accepted anywhere... I only applied to all my state schools (NY) and some lower tier schools (albany, drexel, temple...) I am a non-trad, already in my year off and was really hoping to matriculate next year. I don't know what happened with my MCAT because I never scored that low in my diagnostics.....

But the people I have been talking to said that if I have to reapply as a reapplicant next year, they would expect me to have made some tremendous improvement (not just my MCAT score), so it is better for my chances to have only applied once. I don't know who to listen to.

honestly, as a follower of a medicine, if you dont get in at all this year, your app for next year should be different... whether a new job, experience, etc.

but more importantly, u should contact the schools that you did not get into and ask them for some pointers on what kept u out of that school. most schools actually tell you.

if they all say low mcat.... they u know what u have to do.

 

[gujuDoc]

One more thing.............consult the MSAR if you wish to see what the statistics of actual number of people accepted with a 26 is.

 

[Law2Doc]

One more thing.............consult the MSAR if you wish to see what the statistics of actual number of people accepted with a 26 is.

But take it with a grain of salt. Those who get in with lower scores often have some other "in" going for them that may not be readilly visible from the MSAR and may not work for anyone else.

With a 26, I personally would probably regroup, stop working on the secondaries, study and retake the test -- a few more points will make a huge difference.

 

[_ian]

Seems to me you have a fairly solid app outside the MCAT. If you can afford it, you might as well give it a shot.

 

[Medinsane]

Im in the same predicament. Scored well on practice tests (11's on Bio, 9-10's on Verb, and 8-9's on Phys) but bombed the real MCATs (8V, 9B, 9P). The odd thing is that I thought I did well on Bio and Verb section and bad on Physical, but it turned out the other way around. Not that it matters, of course, but I'm asian and a cali resident (sarcasm). I'm not applying this year. I figure I apply next year early. I hope I hope I hope. But April MCAT is an option but I really really dont want to take it again. Really. Oh Jeebus give me strength!

 

[Pewl]

Im in the same predicament. Scored well on practice tests (11's on Bio, 9-10's on Verb, and 8-9's on Phys) but bombed the real MCATs (8V, 9B, 9P). The odd thing is that I thought I did well on Bio and Verb section and bad on Physical, but it turned out the other way around. Not that it matters, of course, but I'm asian and a cali resident (sarcasm). I'm not applying this year. I figure I apply next year early. I hope I hope I hope. But April MCAT is an option but I really really dont want to take it again. Really. Oh Jeebus give me strength!

Yup, I'm a "Cali Asian" too. We really have it bad. I don't care if this sounds racist but if I were Native American or Hispanic or African American, with my numbers I'm sure I'd have a great chance of a top tier school. But, alas, I am Chinese and we are definitely overrepresented in schools.

But, I'm getting my share of interviews right now so I'm happy =D

 

[gujuDoc]

But take it with a grain of salt. Those who get in with lower scores often have some other "in" going for them that may not be readilly visible from the MSAR and may not work for anyone else.

With a 26, I personally would probably regroup, stop working on the secondaries, study and retake the test -- a few more points will make a huge difference.

As I pointed out above, I had 2 friends in the same exact situation.

One of them was caucasian, was not part of any 7 year program, did not save the world by doing an int'l mission trip, did not have any publications.........did the typical premed stuff, had a 3.9 gpa, and only took the MCAT once with a....

10 6 10 breakdown

He was also a late applicant, being that he was an August MCATer.

His ECs were more typical premed stuff like volunteering for a few years, doing some research, etc. but nothing too significant.

He may not have gotten as many interviews as he would have with a 30+ MCAT score or even 27+, but he did get 2 MD interviews. One was at one of our state schools, and the other was at Rosalind Franklin. he also had some DO schools lined up as back ups and did have some acceptances from them as well.

By your standards he would have to take out his application and reapply the following year only to waste a year. THANK GOD he didn't, because HE IS AN MS I THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The other friend, who is in the same medical school may have had the benefit of doubt of being of a foreign background, but he too did not have anything significant. Just your typical premed stuff......research, volunteering, shadowing.

So while chances are slimmer, WHO ARE YOU TO SAY, that it is a lost cause and that one should automatically pull out.

Also...... this past spring or summer, there was a guy who posted on here from NY, to encourage students by telling how his son had a 24 MCAT. His son had nothing super significant and still got two interviews and acceptances and is also an MS I currently in one of the SUNY's if I recall correctly. The only thing that helped is that he had a 3.9 GPA. But still.....nothing super significant.

 

[CHEEEZ]

Keep your head up.

 

[dave613]

Guys and girls, whoever scored in the 20s on the actual MCAT, but was averaging in the 30s on the practice exams, please come to the MCAT forum and post in my thread, and mention which form of the test you had. The OP and myself had form CS.

 

[excalibur]

I got in to Tulane with a 27M (9,9,9). It took me two years, but I got in. I'm a LA resident, and I only applied to the three LA schools my 1st and 3rd time applying. I applied to 5 out of state schools my second time applying and got 0 interviews from them. BTW, I only got accepted into Tulane, and that was the only time I took the MCAT.

I would suggest to apply to as many schools as possible. The reality is that there is no certainty that you will get in this year. That's just the harsh reality. So I think that it's better for the schools to get to know you. Once a school interviews you, that means that your stats are good enough for them, if they don't accept you first time around, you just need to tweak a couple of things on your application, and most importantly be persistent and keep applying, so I think the more times you apply to a school the better your chances are in the long run.

 

[riceman04]

your numbers are pretty even and that will help, you can certainly get in somewhere, especially if you live in a state with lots of schools. That said, please don't go into your interview and make statements about URM and thier numbers especially if you are really young with limited life experiences, I actually know of a school that include some questions about how you feel about URM in the interviews without making it obvious, If you fall in that trap then the little chance you have will...well...

No no no....by all means let him walk into an interview without a facade.....Then if he does not get accepted he will be one of the ones complaining that a unqualified URM took his spot.

 

[DOCoptimist]

I had no intention of bringing up the URM status issue. I have seen that URMs with low to upper twenties MCAT scores statistically have a better chance than non-URMs. I just did not want to leave anything out when trying to gather other people's perspectives. Geese~

 

[riceman04]

I had no intention of bringing up the URM status issue. I have seen that URMs with low to upper twenties MCAT scores statistically have a better chance than non-URMs. I just did not want to leave anything out when trying to gather other people's perspectives. Geese~

ok cool! I understand! That's just me being extremely defensive b/c I am afr. amer........ 😛 😛

I say go for it especially since you have already submitted your primary, right?

cya

 

[txkiwieyes]

a buddy of mine made 26 TWICE, and was still accepted! he even had a lower science GPA than you.

the rest of your app seems solid! it's worth a shot! however, you may have better luck at your state schools than higher tier schools. not sure what you're aiming for...

 

[goinverted]

i have almost the exact same stats, but spent a couple years in a foreign country doing some mission work and speak three languages. I've been accepted to 3 DO's so far and I was sent a high priority interview e-mail from Virginia Commonwealth and am interviewing at my state school. If your EC's are strong make sure you apply to schools who look at what else you've done other than that one stupid day in april or august. Good luck and don't give up! 👍

 

[Law2Doc]

So while chances are slimmer, WHO ARE YOU TO SAY, that it is a lost cause and that one should automatically pull out.

Also...... this past spring or summer, there was a guy who posted on here from NY, to encourage students by telling how his son had a 24 MCAT. His son had nothing super significant and still got two interviews and acceptances and is also an MS I currently in one of the SUNY's if I recall correctly. The only thing that helped is that he had a 3.9 GPA. But still.....nothing super significant.

I'm pretty sure I just said what I personally would do, not that anyone was a lost cause. But while there will always be a handful of people who get into med school with the lower scores, that is certainly the exception, not the rule.
Far more people damage their chances to get in, I suspect, by not putting their best foot forward, and applying before they have all their ducks in a row. Again, this is my personal opinion, and everyone is free to follow their own path.
There are also states with multiple state schools (eg. TX) which tend to have very different threshholds then faced by most applicants on here, which present a skewed view of what is a competitive score.

 

[bio-chik]

I have a friend that is in her 3rd year at BU, we went throught the M.A. program together and she had a 3.6 graduate GPA and lots of ECs and good LORs and got into BU with a 25!!!! So keep you're head up! I would still apply!

 

[bio-chik]

I have a friend that is in her 3rd year at BU, we went throught the M.A. program together and she had a 3.6 graduate GPA and lots of ECs and good LORs and got into BU with a 25!!!! So keep your head up! I would still apply!

 

[C'estlavie]

Definitely a top half medical M.D. program. I did a Masters first though