Huge Setup With Mcat-please Read...ed?

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supertrooper66

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just got my mcat back and it didn't do go nearly as well as i had hoped. I got a 26R ehhh...8, 10, 8. I know I can do better on the physics cuz i ran out of time. i think that can easily be improved to a 10 by just working a bit faster. on the bio...8 really shocks me that's for sure! i wish i could see the errors i made on it...

when do you think i should retake it? i wanted to apply to schools this cycle but now i'm not so sure. i really only have a chance at my state school now. i have a 3.6 gpa...both science and cumulative. i'm thinking since i wont be competitive anywhere else, then i shouldnt waste my 1st time applying to a bunch of places. i'm thinking of only applying to my state school this year...and doing early decision. what do you think? cuz by the time i get my next mcat back it's early september and ill be super late. get what i'm saying? also, i dont even know if i can improve a lot on the mcat? i mean, i really only had a solid month to study...but i've used ALL but one AAMC practice tests so i don't have much to practice with. i'm sure i can get it to like 30 but i don't know?

does it really help applying ED? i know you get screwed if you don't get in cuz youre so late to apply other places, but i won't really be competitive anywhere else anyways. if i retake mcat i wont get it back till early september and thus ill doubtfully be complete before October. at that point i'm already SUPER late and everyone on here says there's no hope at that point. so what do you think? should i just try ED this year? btw, the state school's site says they recommend a 28 and 3.5 to apply early. if i don't get into state school, the next year i'll hopefully have a better mcat, gpa, and more experience. thanks everyone

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People who typically apply Early Decision are exceptionally-well qualified for that particular program, and have showed an interest in attending only that institution. You state that your state school recommends a 28 on the MCAT to apply ED, but it seems as though that is the minimum requirement.

What you can try to do is schedule for the July MCAT, practice non-stop in June, and bump that score up by 4 points. It will be tough, but it's possible. The scores will come out in August, and I think you'll have a better shot applying Regular Decision (ED deadline will have passed). I'm sure sources like Kaplan, Examkrackers, or Princeton Review have many other practice materials, and save that last AAMC until the last week before the exam.

But first, speak with representatives from your state school and ask them how a 26 stands with their entrance requirements.
 
just got my mcat back and it didn't do go nearly as well as i had hoped. I got a 26R ehhh...8, 10, 8. I know I can do better on the physics cuz i ran out of time. i think that can easily be improved to a 10 by just working a bit faster. on the bio...8 really shocks me that's for sure! i wish i could see the errors i made on it...

when do you think i should retake it? i wanted to apply to schools this cycle but now i'm not so sure. i really only have a chance at my state school now. i have a 3.6 gpa...both science and cumulative. i'm thinking since i wont be competitive anywhere else, then i shouldnt waste my 1st time applying to a bunch of places. i'm thinking of only applying to my state school this year...and doing early decision. what do you think? cuz by the time i get my next mcat back it's early september and ill be super late. get what i'm saying? also, i dont even know if i can improve a lot on the mcat? i mean, i really only had a solid month to study...but i've used ALL but one AAMC practice tests so i don't have much to practice with. i'm sure i can get it to like 30 but i don't know?

does it really help applying ED? i know you get screwed if you don't get in cuz youre so late to apply other places, but i won't really be competitive anywhere else anyways. if i retake mcat i wont get it back till early september and thus ill doubtfully be complete before October. at that point i'm already SUPER late and everyone on here says there's no hope at that point. so what do you think? should i just try ED this year? btw, the state school's site says they recommend a 28 and 3.5 to apply early. if i don't get into state school, the next year i'll hopefully have a better mcat, gpa, and more experience. thanks everyone
I talked to a Dean about ED...He said it doesnt really help with the exception that it shows you are committed to that school....So chances are if you are admited EDP you would be admitted regular decision, but a 30/3.6 candidate regular decision vs a 30/3.6 candidate EDP...the EDP would probably get the nod.
 
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Don't apply ED, both for the reasons above and because you will be prevented from applying to other schools while you wait for your early decision. You don't want to handicap yourself further by scrambling to get apps in late in the season.

You say that your state school is the only one you'd be competitive at - I doubt that. All med schools are difficult to get into - maybe some more than others, but there is probably quite a few schools with similar admissions criteria as your state school. You have to apply broadly.

Were you the poster who was asking about pre-secondary screening? If so, I'll add that perhaps you can apply to non-screening schools before your second MCAT results, then apply to screening schools later upon receiving your new results.
 
Don't apply ED, both for the reasons above and because you will be prevented from applying to other schools while you wait for your early decision. You don't want to handicap yourself further by scrambling to get apps in late in the season.

You say that your state school is the only one you'd be competitive at - I doubt that. All med schools are difficult to get into - maybe some more than others, but there is probably quite a few schools with similar admissions criteria as your state school. You have to apply broadly.

Were you the poster who was asking about pre-secondary screening? If so, I'll add that perhaps you can apply to non-screening schools before your second MCAT results, then apply to screening schools later upon receiving your new results.

yeah, i just talked to my premed advisor and he said ED is usually for the most qualified students. thus, not really gonna help me much haha...and he said if i don't get in then i'll be thrown into the rest of the RD pile but will already be behind them since my app. was seperated for a while.

yes, i was the person who made the other post. i was thinking doing what you suggested, but my advisor was just like "yeah, so try applying to a few schools and see what happens." i don't know...he doesn't seem to advocate applying broadly for anyone. i don't know if he's against it but i've never heard him give anyone that advice. do you really think i should apply broadly with a 26? i mean, honestly, i pray i do better on the mcat but there's no guarantee till i actually get a better score. i was thinking i might not want to apply broadly cuz i dont wanna apply to all the schools i could be competitive at now this year, get rejected, and have nowhere new to apply next cycle if needed. my understanding is it's real hard to get in somewhere that you've already applied to and been rejected from. if i end up having to apply again, i think my gpa could maybe go from a 3.6 to a 3.7, MAYBE. in that case id like some fresh schools to apply to with it, ya know?

if you recommend any schools i should apply broadly, too, then by all means plz list me some schools. my state school's medians are 3.7 and 29.
 
I don't think it's true that getting rejected once will necessarily make it harder to get accepted later on. If nothing changes on your app between submissions this may be true - why bother reassessing the same application? - but if things improve I think you'll at least be on an even playing field, and may even get some props for persistence and effort. If there is any truth to the "one-shot" school of thought, I would bet it would be for those who got rejected after an interview - and if you're getting interviews, then the MCAT is not necessarily your problem.

If you really want to get in this year, then yes, apply broadly. However, it sounds like you're not averse to taking a year off for improvement, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It certainly costs a ton of money to apply to a bunch of places, not to mention applying twice. So yeah, in that case I guess you can shoot for ED, and plan for the likely event of having to apply next year.

I don't have the MSAR in front of me, but you can probably find plenty of schools with those average stats (3.7/29)...
 
I don't think it's true that getting rejected once will necessarily make it harder to get accepted later on. If nothing changes on your app between submissions this may be true - why bother reassessing the same application? - but if things improve I think you'll at least be on an even playing field, and may even get some props for persistence and effort. If there is any truth to the "one-shot" school of thought, I would bet it would be for those who got rejected after an interview - and if you're getting interviews, then the MCAT is not necessarily your problem.

If you really want to get in this year, then yes, apply broadly. However, it sounds like you're not averse to taking a year off for improvement, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It certainly costs a ton of money to apply to a bunch of places, not to mention applying twice. So yeah, in that case I guess you can shoot for ED, and plan for the likely event of having to apply next year.

I don't have the MSAR in front of me, but you can probably find plenty of schools with those average stats (3.7/29)...

okay, thanks. i'm definitely not applying ED anymore. i'll apply to a few schools but i just don't know if i'll apply SUPER broadly. we'll seeee.
 
and, you know, i'm really not too far off my state's schools MCAT stats. their medians are 9, 10, 10, O. my mcat was 8, 10, 8, R. So my writing is significantly greater than their median (altho i don't know how seriously they look at writing), my physics is 1 less, my bio is 2 less, and my verbal matches theirs. their median gpa is 3.7 and mine is 3.6. while i'm below their medians, i'm not totally screwed...especially with a retake!
 
Yeah, I think you should retake the MCAT before you apply. My advice is to study like crazy over the summer and take it in July. Right now the information is fresh, so don't wait too long to retake.
 
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