Just bombed AAMC FL 2

[RocuROMANium]

I got a 503. Last week I got a 510 on FL 1 and two weeks ago my total % for the prep sample test was 80%. At this point I have taken 9 practice exams and I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. All sections went down except for C/P.
I have done all of the AAMC material (except for FL’s 3 and 4) and I’m going through it again. I don’t know what else to do. I feel like I did worse probably because I don’t have anymore new material or maybe I’m just burned out. Any advice? I’m definitely trippin right now.

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[GreenDuck12]

Well damn...I got a 507 (127,125,128,127). Pretty disappointing but I really don’t want to retake this Godforsaken exam. I’m not sure what I’m going to do...

What’s your state of residence and GPA? I think you should still apply this cycle.

 

[RocuROMANium]

What’s your state of residence and GPA? I think you should still apply this cycle.

Georgia resident from a low SES background and I'm a 1st generation college student.
Graduated in 2015 with a 2.7 cGPA and 2.38 sGPA after 185 credits. I didn't know I wanted to pursue medicine despite taking most of the prereqs.
Took two years off and then did a 67 credit DIY postbac in two years and achieved a 4.0. I also worked, volunteered, did research and kept my wife happy (relatively) during those two years.
Unfortunately, even after a great postbac my cGPA and sGPA are only a 3.05 and 3.03 respectively.

I went ahead and applied to Mercer and MCG but I'm not sure if I should apply to other schools. I made a list on MSAR of 14 schools where my MCAT score is greater than the 10th percentile and they accept a high amount of OOS applicants. What do you think?

 

[GreenDuck12]

Georgia resident from a low SES background and I'm a 1st generation college student.
Graduated in 2015 with a 2.7 cGPA and 2.38 sGPA after 185 credits. I didn't know I wanted to pursue medicine despite taking most of the prereqs.
Took two years off and then did a 67 credit DIY postbac in two years and achieved a 4.0. I also worked, volunteered, did research and kept my wife happy (relatively) during those two years.
Unfortunately, even after a great postbac my cGPA and sGPA are only a 3.05 and 3.03 respectively.

I went ahead and applied to Mercer and MCG but I'm not sure if I should apply to other schools. I made a list on MSAR of 14 schools where my MCAT score is greater than the 10th percentile and they accept a high amount of OOS applicants. What do you think?

Make a school list post and you should get some suggestions about where to apply for some MD and DO programs

 

[RocuROMANium]

Make a school list post and you should get some suggestions about where to apply for some MD and DO programs

I did and was advised to apply to IS MD schools and DO schools.

If it doesn't go well this cycle, and I'm going to carry on as if it will not, what recommendations do you have for retaking the MCAT?

 

[GreenDuck12]

I did and was advised to apply to IS MD schools and DO schools.

If it doesn't go well this cycle, and I'm going to carry on as if it will not, what recommendations do you have for retaking the MCAT?

The first thing I recommend is taking a break from the MCAT after a disappointing score. Folks need time to process and figure out what they want to do differently. I would take 3-4 months off from the MCAT before starting to study again. Three sections of your MCAT were 127-128 which indicates sufficient content knowledge. I think focusing on cars would get you a couple extra points in that section and a point or two in the others. Cars is the trickiest section to improve and is the key to doing well on the MCAT. I spend a lot of time with my students trying to identify strategies that work for that section. Once it “clicks” other sections begin to rise as well. I can give more specific advice if I know more about how you prepared the first time.

In the meantime, I would recommend reading a bit more each day. Check out American Scientific, the Economist, Nature, etc and read through the articles. Focus on tracking changes in arguments and summarizing things quickly. Reading speed is definitely something that helps on the MCAT.

 

[Isoval]

Well damn...I got a 507 (127,125,128,127). Pretty disappointing but I really don’t want to retake this Godforsaken exam. I’m not sure what I’m going to do...

I'm probably late to the punch here, but I probably wouldn't bother retaking a 507.

 

[El-Rami]

To be honest, a 507 is still good for certain MD programs (especially state schools), but with your GPA you should aim for DO schools primarily. If your GPA was higher, I would say 507 wouldn't be a big deal.

Honestly, osteopathic training is just as great as allopathic training, if not better. If you go to a DO program, you will most likely end up doing primary care, so if you are okay with that, go for it. Don't look at DO programs as something "lesser" than MD, and be sure to not give anyone the impression that DO wasn't your first choice.

The way that pre-meds look at MD vs. DO is NOT how people who actually are medical students/physicians (except the older physicians perhaps) look at it. It is very well respected, and their training is very good.

Pre-meds look at it as inferior but don't know anything. So take any negative comments about DO that you may hear from fellow pre-meds with a massive grain of salt.

 

[JimKimSlim]

Thanks for the kind words. Yea I'm going to apply with a well researched list because I can't retake this year anyways, my son will be born in late August/early September.

Go and slay the dragon my friend. Good luck, I hope you kill it.

Congratulations on your parenthood, assuming he's your first child. Regardless, you should be proud of yourself for successfully taking the MCAT and still sticking to your medical dreams. Birth of your son is a major accomplishment and life event that deserves its own essay for your secondaries. I have no doubt you will at least have a great, memorable life story to tell to the ad coms.

 

[RocuROMANium]

The first thing I recommend is taking a break from the MCAT after a disappointing score. Folks need time to process and figure out what they want to do differently. I would take 3-4 months off from the MCAT before starting to study again. Three sections of your MCAT were 127-128 which indicates sufficient content knowledge. I think focusing on cars would get you a couple extra points in that section and a point or two in the others. Cars is the trickiest section to improve and is the key to doing well on the MCAT. I spend a lot of time with my students trying to identify strategies that work for that section. Once it “clicks” other sections begin to rise as well. I can give more specific advice if I know more about how you prepared the first time.

In the meantime, I would recommend reading a bit more each day. Check out American Scientific, the Economist, Nature, etc and read through the articles. Focus on tracking changes in arguments and summarizing things quickly. Reading speed is definitely something that helps on the MCAT.

I spent the 1st month reviewing content with Kaplan and I did not read the last 2-4 chapters for all of the books because the consensus on SDN is to not spend too much time on content. The 2nd month I started the q packs for the AAMC and Khan Academy for CARS. 3/4 of the way through that 2nd month I started taking NS exams once a week. I would study M-Th, take a practice exam on F and then review over the weekend. The 3rd month I was doing the section bank, q pack for CARS and reviewing as much as I could. Also, I was continuing my NS practice exams.

Then my real exam was cancelled and I waited in purgatory for 3 weeks. I did not study at all during that time because I was almost out of material and I didn't want to take my AAMC FL's until it was a more appropriate time. I finally got scheduled and had a month and a half to prepare for the real thing. I took 2 more NS FL's and then all of the AAMC FL's.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Congratulations on your parenthood, assuming he's your first child. Regardless, you should be proud of yourself for successfully taking the MCAT and still sticking to your medical dreams. Birth of your son is a major accomplishment and life event that deserves its own essay for your secondaries. I have no doubt you will at least have a great, memorable life story to tell to the ad coms.

Thanks for the kind words! That's a good idea to discuss him on my secondaries whenever I receive them.

 

[RocuROMANium]

I'm probably late to the punch here, but I probably wouldn't bother retaking a 507.

Can you elaborate?

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Your 507 is significantly higher than Mercer's median for matriculated students(503). As long as the rest of your application is competitive, you appear to be in good shape for Mercer.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Your 507 is significantly higher than Mercer's median for matriculated students(503). As long as the rest of your application is competitive, you appear to be in good shape for Mercer.

My Extracurricular's are great, I feel really good about my personal statement, but I don't know how Mercer will interpret my GPA's. My cGPA and sGPA are 3.05 and 3.03 respectively but I did a two year 67 credit postbac and achieved a 4.0 which is great. Are medical schools going to look at me as the 4.0 applicant, 3.05 applicant, or somewhere in between?

 

[GreenDuck12]

My Extracurricular's are great, I feel really good about my personal statement, but I don't know how Mercer will interpret my GPA's. My cGPA and sGPA are 3.05 and 3.03 respectively but I did a two year 67 credit postbac and achieved a 4.0 which is great. Are medical schools going to look at me as the 4.0 applicant, 3.05 applicant, or somewhere in between?

Somewhere in between, your upward trend will certainly be viewed favorably as will the 4.0 postbac. I am biased, of course, but I recommend following my advice and taking time off for the MCAT till January. If you ultimately decide to retake the MCAT, shoot me a DM and I can send you some specific suggestions.

 

[El-Rami]

Like GD said, schools will look at you with a ~3.0 GPA with a strong upward trend. It won't be like you are a completely new person with the 4.0, but it can help frame a narrative that you had some academic problems in the past that you overcame. I personally think you are golden as far as applying to DO schools this cycle, given that you said that your ECs are great.

It's your call. I believe DO schools will be much more forgiving regarding the GPA issue because of the upward trend than MD programs. Honestly, in-state MD programs might be a reach with those stats, so your application should certainly be more focused on going to osteopathic schools.

Do a lot of research on the differences between osteopathic and allopathic medicine and how each is trained. Be sure to shadow a DO physician or two and get a LOR from one of them. Your MCAT is good enough for DO programs as it stands.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Somewhere in between, your upward trend will certainly be viewed favorably as will the 4.0 postbac. I am biased, of course, but I recommend following my advice and taking time off for the MCAT till January. If you ultimately decide to retake the MCAT, shoot me a DM and I can send you some specific suggestions.

Yea I completely agree with you in not rushing the retake but also my son will be born soon so I don't even have to think about it. Thanks for the help as always!

 

[Isoval]

Can you elaborate?

Exactly as I stated. I wouldn’t bother with a retake. You are well within the reasonable range based on your practice exams and a 507 should not hinder you from getting an interview or acceptance at most schools.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Exactly as I stated. I wouldn’t bother with a retake. You are well within the reasonable range based on your practice exams and a 507 should not hinder you from getting an interview or acceptance at most schools.

Well thank you for the optimism, I hope you are correct.

 

[Isoval]

Well thank you for the optimism, I hope you are correct.

Not necessarily saying it’s a boon, but I doubt it would be the sole reason you would be rejected from a majority of schools.

 

[RocuROMANium]

Update*

I received my first interview this past Friday! Man, it has been a long journey since that bombing of FL 2 and it even feels like a long time since I received my disappointing MCAT score. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I will be working extremely hard to make sure I present my best self on that day.

Again, I want to continue thanking everyone who has helped me on SDN and on this thread. Y'all da true MVP!

Oh yea and @Isoval you were correct on the interview part so I hope you're correct on the acceptance part too!