horrid mcat!

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camshark

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so i got my mcat back...23 :( 9PS/4VR/10PS. makes me sick about the VR i dont know what happened! so im retaking but would you all suggest not submitting until i get my new score (prob sept) or do i submit mArking that im retAking? i know i can get 7-8 on VR'. my ECs are good, greAt LORs, cgpa 3.2 / sgpa 3.4 major upward trend. whats the advice??
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camshark said:
so i got my mcat back...23 :( 9PS/4VR/10PS. makes me sick about the VR i dont know what happened! so im retaking but would you all suggest not submitting until i get my new score (prob sept) or do i submit mArking that im retAking? i know i can get 7-8 on VR'. my ECs are good, greAt LORs, cgpa 3.2 / sgpa 3.4 major upward trend. whats the advice??
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If I were you I would count this app cycle out and just worry about getting that MCAT score up.

See if you can do something about that GPA too? Really need to get as close to 3.5 as possible.
 
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September is a little late, depending on your mcat your gpa may be fine though. If you get a 28-29 mcat I dont think your gpa would be bad at all. Your only issue is VR.

if it was me, i dont think id apply in septemmber. Mainly because im in your shoes as far as gpa goes and i want every advantage i can get (see my mdapps). But thats your call, do what you think you have to do.
 
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Get to be best friends with examkrackers VR over the next year and retake.
 
tide11189 said:
Get to be best friends with examkrackers VR over the next year and retake.
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I actually did not like them for VR. But then again I dont think anything helped me for VR, i just really kinda winged my way through it and got a 9.
 
Agreed about EK. Also TPR hyperlearning for verbal. If you take in Sept and rock out and submit immediately thereafter, you may get interviews. What is your school list?
 
I went from 6 to 10 with Examkrackers VR. I swear by it. You can do it :thumbup:
 
you should sit this one out
 
camshark said:
so i got my mcat back...23 :( 9PS/4VR/10PS. makes me sick about the VR i dont know what happened! so im retaking but would you all suggest not submitting until i get my new score (prob sept) or do i submit mArking that im retAking? i know i can get 7-8 on VR'. my ECs are good, greAt LORs, cgpa 3.2 / sgpa 3.4 major upward trend. whats the advice??
Click to expand...

Apply next year.
 
camshark said:
so i got my mcat back...23 :( 9PS/4VR/10PS. makes me sick about the VR i dont know what happened! so im retaking but would you all suggest not submitting until i get my new score (prob sept) or do i submit mArking that im retAking? i know i can get 7-8 on VR'. my ECs are good, greAt LORs, cgpa 3.2 / sgpa 3.4 major upward trend. whats the advice??
Click to expand...

I say you submit it, get verified and take it in sept. and then submit it fully with the new MCAT score, You still have a good chance, dont give up on it. (If you know you can afford a year off then just work on your verbal and mcat score this whole year). If you cant afford a year off then work hard on that verbal, just do 1 verbal practice exam everyday and hopefully you will see improvement, Try EK verbal and TPR.

My Source for all this information: My buddy that was in the same exact situation last year as you.
 
I think what happens is sometimes people get blindsided by a difficult PS section and then they don't recover their concentration for the verbal. Something similar to that happened to me on AAMC11, I got blindsided by the PS and I didn't concentrate like I should have and went from a 10 average to a 7 on that test.

On the real test I made it a point to filter out the PS section no matter what happened and to concentrate as best as I could on the verbal. If you've been getting 7-8 I suspect you just had a lapse in concentration.

Even though some DO schools say they look at the overall score, a 4 would be very difficult to get into a school with. A 23 is below every DO school's average, so I would say you have to retake. If you can retake in August you could still be complete by mid September otherwise I think it would be best to hold off a year and apply after rocking your MCAT.
 
Kaplan has some interesting strategies for VR. I'm a verbally-minded guy and was averaging 9-10 on the verbal section. Simply by using their strategies (back in 2006, mind you), I increased my score to 13 on test day.

You eluded to part of what their strategy is re: the PS --> VR transition. They advise taking a social science text or book to read between sections to help with the transition. Worked wonders.

Back to the issue at-hand. Practice test until you are more comfortable with VR. Review some note-taking strategies. I wish you guys still got to do the paper version bc underlining and writing in the margins were clutch.
 
When you guys say examkrackers verbal are you referring to EK 101 passages or something different?
 
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I also studied with examcrackers and got a lousy VR score last year, despite having fine practice scores. I found some reading comprehension software at my school's academic support lab that really helped for the 2nd test.

I say apply to 1 safety or unlikely school to get amcas verified, see if you can retake, & add to your school list if things work out with the retake. I don't see a reason not to try this cycle if you can get the VR up. Expect to be grilled about it in interviews.
 
tide11189 said:
Get to be best friends with examkrackers VR over the next year and retake.
Click to expand...

NeuroLAX said:
I went from 6 to 10 with Examkrackers VR. I swear by it. You can do it :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Ditto. I used EK exclusively for verbal content and passages. Went from a 9 on my Kaplan diagnostic to a 13 on the real thing.
 
4 Verbal will get you screened out to most, if not all, med schools you apply to. Grab an EK/TPR workbook(s) and get to work, that score needs to at the very least, double.
 
ColeSmalls said:
I actually did not like them for VR. But then again I dont think anything helped me for VR, i just really kinda winged my way through it and got a 9.
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Please help me wing my way through to get an 8 at least. I have tried every strategy and neither works for me.
 
Sorry for disappearing...have been out of town. Thanks for all the replies. I decided to apply this year. So will be submitting to a school I don't mind if they screen me out but will be marking that I'm retaking in August or Sept 1st....haven't decided. I know it's important to submit early but on the individual school posts there are many people with interviews in like march/April who get in so I'm hopeful it goes well.
 
I wouldn't get your hopes up
 
Study for a year for the MCAT. Do kaplan. and READ BOOKS. There are some really good books out there. For example, take The Republic. Read a couple of pages and then write down what you think/ideas on what they are talking about. Then repeat. This type of stuff goes a longgg way with critical thinking..just my thought.
 
camshark said:
so i got my mcat back...23 :( 9PS/4VR/10PS. makes me sick about the VR i dont know what happened! so im retaking but would you all suggest not submitting until i get my new score (prob sept) or do i submit mArking that im retAking? i know i can get 7-8 on VR'. my ECs are good, greAt LORs, cgpa 3.2 / sgpa 3.4 major upward trend. whats the advice??
Click to expand...
You need to get that VR to a 7+ and maintain your PS/BS scores to have shot...I dont think September will be too late if you have a good mcat (28+). Your sGPA is good and your overall GPA is not that bad.
 
A late mcat plus his gpa numbers= waitlist at best


Unless he gets a ridiculous score which I don't see happening
 
WorldChanger36 said:
If I were you I would count this app cycle out and just worry about getting that MCAT score up.

See if you can do something about that GPA too? Really need to get as close to 3.5 as possible.
Click to expand...

I agree, a 4 is really bad. I think you need to take a couple months off to work on verbal. Don't rush the MCAT or you might end up with another bad verbal score. I think it's best to wait until January to test, so that you can improve your basic reading comprehension skills. I wonder if schools will see the 4 and screen you out right away even if you plan on retaking.
 
A Four? Come on, they aren't making you read Finnegans Wake for christs sake
 
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