Well, I asked one of my senior friends who got a 35 on the MCAT how was the exam in general and this is what her said, "In a way, it felt like all those hours I spent studying were in vain--you know, like memorizing chunks of o-chem material and physics formulas--the exam is set up in way that an English major who has good thinking skills can do well. You do not need to know any advance science knowledge. Im not saying that you shouldnt study; just make sure you know the general idea of fundamental biology, chemistry (organic and inorganic), physics-related material." He also said that the test does not require you to recall chunks of facts instead the answers are within the passages and you have to deduce them with your assessment skills. Is that true?
----The way he said it seemed like that mcat isnt that difficult as it sounds, however, that was his idea of it. Thats why I am asking my fellow SDNers how they feel about the mcat (assuming you took it already) and is this guy just really a good test taker or the stuff about the mcat he said is true?
Having gone through med school, I think I might be able to shed some light on this topic. For starters, your friend is either very smart, very lucky, or some of both to have done so well on their MCAT's. I would imagine she is a very good test taker and/or has great grades. Regardless, her opinion probably doesn't reflect the reality of the MCAT, which is you should study your a## off and knock it out of the ballpark (30+ combined score). And it sounds like she did, although she walked out thinking she knew nothing (this is a common occurence after board type tests, as you will come to find out).
Here are several things you must absolutely do if you want to have any chance of getting into a decent medical school:
1. Ace the MCAT - it is by far the most important thing school's look at when screening/accepting applicants. If they say otherwise they are lying. I would HIGHLY recommend anyone who is serious about med school take the KAPLAN MCAT prep course. Don't worry about the cost/time. One test has never meant so much to your future, and believe me, the ends justify the means. I didn't, and it probably hurt me (score 27).
2. Get good grades - 3.5+. I had a 3.9, which helped me. Most accepted average around 3.5, so you could stand out by doing better.
3. Volunteer. This looks good, and shows the committees you are indeed a human and not a closet case or jerk.
4. Do research. By any means necessary. If you can get hooked up cleaning rat cages in the summer, the PhD will likely write you a great letter of rec (I did, and so did he).
5. Work in a health field. I worked as a nurse assistant emptying bed pans for 2 years in college. Great experience. Also gave me a tremendous appreciation for the intracacies and challenges of real life in medicine.
6. Shadow docs. Also a great way to get a good letter of recommendation. If you have a connection with a doc or know one personally, they will probably write you a great letter of recommendation.
It can be challenging to fit all these in, but try your best. Also, many applicants don't get into med school straight out of college, and had to go on to a masters programs to boost the CV. There is something to be said for this as well, because it's more experience and a masters degree can help land a nice residency after med school.
So there are many things you can do to boost your chances. And apply to a lot of places - allopathic and osteopathic. Once you finish med school, it doesn't matter if your a DO or MD (unless going to a top 5 program is your dream), as most residencies take DO's.
Just my opinions. Feel free to drop me a private note if you have any questions. I wish I would have had someone/this website when I was going through college (med school advisors or undergrad advisors are typically clueless about what you really need to do to get into med school).
Take his advice with a grain of salt. Without his copious amounts of prep who knows maybe he would've scored lower.
