I honestly don't think I'll ever be ready

[Dr. Josh]

what if i postpone and still don't feel ready in 2 years? I've already put this off for a year. I'll admit there's no way I could get any studying done until after I finished organic chem this past summer. I've been quite diligent at studying for the past 7 months or so, taking about a months break when i got really depressed after my first kaplan test. But I'm really not breaking a 30 and I'm not convinced I regularly will. I'd be happy with DO school; I really like their philosophy. So do I stand a chance? What do I need for DO school? (for DO school, my gpa is probably 3.9 science and 3.6 other) HELP!!

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[aggie08]

I understand your worry about never being ready. There is far too much information on the MCAT that there really will never be a point where you go, "There's no way they'll give me something I don't know." There will always be curve balls - you still have to swing at something eventually, right?

If you can't get over the 30 hump, perhaps considering studying differently. What are you missing? Go back over your questions and figure out WHY you're missing what you're missing.

However, 30 + your GPA will more than likely get you into a low tier DO school. Just stop being paranoid and take the test. =)

 

[Chuckwalla]

I understand your worry about never being ready. There is far too much information on the MCAT that there really will never be a point where you go, "There's no way they'll give me something I don't know." There will always be curve balls - you still have to swing at something eventually, right?

If you can't get over the 30 hump, perhaps considering studying differently. What are you missing? Go back over your questions and figure out WHY you're missing what you're missing.

However, 30 + your GPA will more than likely get you into a low tier DO school. Just stop being paranoid and take the test. =)

Are you saying with a 30 MCAT, 3.6 Overall GPA, and 3.9 science he will get into a low tier DO school? The sky is the limit for him.

If you do that you will get into any DO school (obviously it is more than numbers) and you will get into quite a few MD schools. Harvard and Washington would be a stretch but you certainly will have choices. You have been on SDN too long, you are in great shape.

 

[aggie08]

Are you saying with a 30 MCAT, 3.6 Overall GPA, and 3.9 science he will get into a low tier DO school? The sky is the limit for him.

If you do that you will get into any DO school (obviously it is more than numbers) and you will get into quite a few MD schools. Harvard and Washington would be a stretch but you certainly will have choices. You have been on SDN too long, you are in great shape.

No, all l I was saying is that he is guaranteed to get into at least a low tier school with that - as in YES if you get a 30 you WILL get in somewhere....emphasizing that he should just TAKE THE TEST since that was his real question. I mean - I wasn't going to say anything more....I know nothing about his ECs, LORs, Volunteering, Clinicals, nothing.

 

[physics junkie]

If you want to pursue a DO go for it.

 

[RSAgator]

Hope this doesn't turn into an MD/DO debate

I don't know if you've taken any AAMC's but if not take one to see where your score is at. If your goal is DO, check the average MCATs for DO matriculants and keeping that in mind see how comfortable you'd be applying with your practice score range.

 

[JA Prufrock]

Hope this doesn't turn into an MD/DO debate

Fortunately this isn't the pre-allo forum, so I doubt it will. I like to think of this as the more peaceful corner of SDN, if only because everyone is too stressed out over the test to be contentious.

 

[Dr. Josh]

Are you saying with a 30 MCAT, 3.6 Overall GPA, and 3.9 science he will get into a low tier DO school? The sky is the limit for him.

If you do that you will get into any DO school (obviously it is more than numbers) and you will get into quite a few MD schools. Harvard and Washington would be a stretch but you certainly will have choices. You have been on SDN too long, you are in great shape.

Yikes I would think with my grades and a 30+ I should get into more than low tier DO schools but who knows? Anyway i will not get a 30+ or even a 30; that's my concern. My overall is also probably higher than a 3.6 but i posted the lowest I ever had; it's been awhile since I calculated and that was with a grade I retook and without grades at another school which was much higher. I also have research and shadowing (including DO shadowing) and volunteer clinical and research experience and hopefully a unique experience if i can ever finish it; which won't be until after I take the MCAT. This is even worse than I've been fearing.

Thanks Chuckwalla; I don't think I'm in as good shape as you imply and I've actually taken a loooong break from sdn and just came back to post this in fear of the MCAT.

 

[Dr. Josh]

If you want to pursue a DO go for it.

I love DO but I'll go wherever anyone accepts me.

 

[GeorgianCMV]

I have a friend who had a 3.75 science gpa, 27 on the mcat (took it 3 times and got a 27 all 3 times), and i think 3 years of clinical experience. she got 7 MD interviews.

 

[fabulous20]

been studying for 7 months?...i think the mcat is the kind of test that you should not be overstudying for, otherwise, you will burn out like i did. so, i suggest you relax, take a break for a month or two, study for the mcat for about 3 months, and take it. nothing more, nothing less.


just do it.

 

[SN2ed]

I think your problem may lie in how you're studying and not how long. What does your study routine look like? Also, what was your first Kaplan test? Was it the diag or Kaplan FL#1? There are very big differences between the two.

 

[Dr. Josh]

I have a friend who had a 3.75 science gpa, 27 on the mcat (took it 3 times and got a 27 all 3 times), and i think 3 years of clinical experience. she got 7 MD interviews.

That's awesome, but did she get into any of those schools after the interview? i have clinical experience but not 3 yrs of it, so i'm not nearly as good as she is.

 

[Dr. Josh]

I think your problem may lie in how you're studying and not how long. What does your study routine look like? Also, what was your first Kaplan test? Was it the diag or Kaplan FL#1? There are very big differences between the two.

Honestly i don't know; it was one of those things they offer you a free exam to try to sell you their course. It was done at my school on a Saturday and i got a 25.

I'm not saying my study routine is the best and it varies but I generally read through chapter of examkrackers, take the questions and on weekends (recently) I take the tests.

been studying for 7 months?...i think the mcat is the kind of test that you should not be overstudying for, otherwise, you will burn out like i did. so, i suggest you relax, take a break for a month or two, study for the mcat for about 3 months, and take it. nothing more, nothing less.

just do it.

I'm not waiting another 3 months. I need to be early in my application and I'm not convinced 3 months will make any difference anyway. I already did the month break thing and then picked it up for about 4 months.

 

[SN2ed]

First and foremost, that was probably their diag. There diag is completely worthless. It's meant to degrade students so they feel like they should take their course. Think about it from a business perspective, do you want students to score decently on a test that will help decide whether they take your course or not? That said, a 25 is great for their diag, most score about 16-18. Take an AAMC practice MCAT. Also, the key to MCAT success if doing insane amounts of TIMED practice problems and thoroughly going over your results. You MUST do more practice problems, that's your biggest mistake. Just studying the material won't get you anywhere fast. I bet if you delayed your test and focused on practice problems, your score would jump up rather quickly. Again you are not taking enough practice problems. I'll say it again, the key to this test is doing practice problems. Lastly, being early in your app is worthless without a solid score. For example, I could have taken the MCAT without studying last year and been really early in the app cycle, but I would have gotten something in the low to mid 20s at best. Instead, I took the time and got a decent score and can be in the early round this cycle.