Hello all! I need insight...

[medicnj]

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I am a non-traditional student that has always had a passion for medicine! Finally after marriage, 2 wonderful boys and a terrible divorce, I have decided to take the plunge! I work full time as a paramedic, I am a single parent to my boys (with the help of my mom - thank G_d!!!) and have been involved in EMS for over 10 years. Needless to say, i have lots of patient care experience, I have some volunteer work out of the country in both the Dom. Republic and Brazil in medical clinicas as well... I speak 3 languages fluently and I believe I can obtain good references.
I have a 3.82 cGPA and similar Science GPA. I took the MCAT on July 29 and do not feel as though I did well... I was scoring in the 27-31 range in my AAMC practice tests. Does anyone have any advice on: what MCAT score would be competitive for me? What should i concentrate on in my personal statement and should I profilactically register to retake the exam in September in case my score comes back sub-par? Help!
Thank you!!!

 

[SisterDisco08]

I am a non-traditional student that has always had a passion for medicine! Finally after marriage, 2 wonderful boys and a terrible divorce, I have decided to take the plunge! I work full time as a paramedic, I am a single parent to my boys (with the help of my mom - thank G_d!!!) and have been involved in EMS for over 10 years. Needless to say, i have lots of patient care experience, I have some volunteer work out of the country in both the Dom. Republic and Brazil in medical clinicas as well... I speak 3 languages fluently and I believe I can obtain good references.
I have a 3.82 cGPA and similar Science GPA. I took the MCAT on July 29 and do not feel as though I did well... I was scoring in the 27-31 range in my AAMC practice tests. Does anyone have any advice on: what MCAT score would be competitive for me? What should i concentrate on in my personal statement and should I profilactically register to retake the exam in September in case my score comes back sub-par? Help!
Thank you!!!

Do you have a preference on MD vs DO? You seem like you would be a good candidate for DO (based on your practice exams), but a lot does depend on that MCAT score 🙂

As for "not feeling good about it" I wouldn't worry just yet--some of my best practice exams were ones I didn't feel good about (32s and 33s) 🙂

It's up to you if you want to re-take this cycle. I don't know when you're thinking of applying, but you're kind of late for this cycle.
I would suggest waiting to get it back and evaluating your score.

PS is "why you want to be a dr" 😛 we can't really advise on that, but I would probably focus on your medically relevant experiences, and how you came to the decision to pursue medicine further than your current career

 

[theseeker4]

I am a non-traditional student that has always had a passion for medicine! Finally after marriage, 2 wonderful boys and a terrible divorce, I have decided to take the plunge! I work full time as a paramedic, I am a single parent to my boys (with the help of my mom - thank G_d!!!) and have been involved in EMS for over 10 years. Needless to say, i have lots of patient care experience, I have some volunteer work out of the country in both the Dom. Republic and Brazil in medical clinicas as well... I speak 3 languages fluently and I believe I can obtain good references.
I have a 3.82 cGPA and similar Science GPA. I took the MCAT on July 29 and do not feel as though I did well... I was scoring in the 27-31 range in my AAMC practice tests. Does anyone have any advice on: what MCAT score would be competitive for me? What should i concentrate on in my personal statement and should I profilactically register to retake the exam in September in case my score comes back sub-par? Help!
Thank you!!!

You don't mention it specifically, but you have completed all of the pre-reqs you need for medical school, correct? Are you planning on applying next cycle? If you don't have any LOR's lined up, and have not started the applications yet, you may be too late for this cycle. Given this fact, I would wait until you know your score, then have a few months to study to take the MCAT again if you need to, so it is ready to apply for next cycle. I would not assume you did poorly on the MCAT though; most people think they did poorly when they walk out, even if they did great.

If you are applying this cycle, you would need to write your essay, obtain all of your college transcripts, obtain LOR's, etc. Unless your original post is misleading and you have all of these lined up, I don't think applying this cycle is a good idea.

As far as competitive MCAT scores, assuming you just want to get in somewhere, and are able to move across the country if necessary, anything at or above 30 gives you a great chance at getting in somewhere. If you are geographically restricted, it depends entirely on what schools are within your area.