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wxman393
At least W19 is being honest. I definitely understand where they are coming from. If you are passionate about something and aren't doing it, you most likely won't be enjoying life. I have many close friends that are medics/nurses/firefighters that love their day jobs but truly want to be physicians. Some just can't make the grades while others just don't want to invest the time/money.
I was in my thirties with a family before starting medical school. I know that drive to be a physician, probably similar to W19.
To the OP: I would take Goro's advice and figure out if there are some underlying issues. But, you need to be realistic. I highly recommend a formal prep course. I know you might have other issues but if you need to be a physician to be happy, you need to find a way to invest in your future.
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Nothing against nursing (or nurses)... It does not matter how much you make sometimes; if you hate your job, your coworkers will notice and it's not a good thing.
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wxman393
I don't think you need to trash RNs as a whole. Correct me if I'm wrong but everyone has their place in healthcare. There are "simple RNs" that absolutely enjoy nursing. Everyone has their own motivations. This whole low level, mid level stuff is not necessary. Nurses and nurses; NPs are NPs; PAs are PAs: physicians are physicians. To each their own.
I for one really appreciate what these "simple RNs" do on a daily basis. They've saved my ass more than once, both as a paramedic and as a medical student. You earn respect by giving respect. No need to turn this into a flame war.
Edit: dual post
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From my understanding, it seems that a career path change is most reasonable. There are far too many well qualified applicants, making your MCAT track history a major deficit to overcome. Good luck and I hope you find the choice that works best for you.
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Really? You think no school would want him if he went from roughly 20 percentile to around 94+ percentile, wouldn't give him a chance to get in anywhere? I mean you could say any excuse for it. Such as "my mom was sick, my marriage was in danger," or really anything.
I mean I don't think it's relevant to be honest, because it shows how you persevered a test and increase over 70 percentile which is incredible. I would think some Med school(DO or MD) would want you, especially since he has a good gpa and good EC's. I would say if he could hit that, or better, he will definitely get in somewhere(MD or DO). I mean there must of been a major problem he did over come because he went up over 70 percentile.
I did not go NP. Did not want to take another shortcut and end up regretting it again. One of the physicians who wrote me an LOR is a RN--->NP--->DO... she kept telling me I was making the right decision by going straight MD (or DO).
I never said he wouldn't be accepted. CARS?
It will depend greatly on his explanation and the particular school. Some average scores and with 10000 applications for 150 slots they don't have to select anyone without a perfect profile. I actually think he has a good shot depending on him, where just depends.
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It will depend greatly on his explanation and the particular school. Some average scores and with 10000 applications for 150 slots they don't have to select anyone without a perfect profile. I actually think he has a good shot depending on him, where just depends.
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Op, a 490 is not the end of the world. Just do better.
I'm much more concerned with a 15. Isn't that like a 10th percentile?
Op, all u gotta do is score a 500. Once u do that, you can apply to the schools that take the highest or most recent.
If this is what you want, don't give up.
Look into podiatry, dentistry, and optometry also if u want to be a doctor.
I'm much more concerned with a 15. Isn't that like a 10th percentile?
Op, all u gotta do is score a 500. Once u do that, you can apply to the schools that take the highest or most recent.
If this is what you want, don't give up.
Look into podiatry, dentistry, and optometry also if u want to be a doctor.
A 500 is a low score even for DO.
It's still possible. Anything lower without an incredibly high GPA needs a retake.
OP, if you can't break a 500 on the next one, I would look at pod schools. Great career, and while 490 is on the low end, there were plenty of peeps who got in last year with that score.
What is it in the old scale?
Psh that's fine for DO schools as long as u got a reason to apply to DO school.
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What percentile is a 15/ what is it on the new scale
Not really. Not anymore anyways. It's really gone up in competitiveness in the past few years. I wasn't expecting any love from ccom/azcom, but with a 3.8/504(28ish) I got pre-interview rejections from kcu, rvu, and Marian (which I'm still like wtf?). 500/25 is the current floor for a DO acceptance at this point and that's for "low-tier" DO and even then your app has to be pretty great otherwise. Yes, people do get in with sub 500 once in a blue moon, but they're literally so rare you might as well call it miraculous (so if you took a bullet for the president you MIGHT be okay).
OP: I took the MCAT 5-7 years out from most of my pre reqs. I had to relearn everything from the ground up. I was originally pre-pa so I wasn't too focused on retention either. What really helped me was wiki premed. It's like a 6 month free online course taught by who got a 37 on the old MCAT. Thanks to this resource I got the fundamentals I needed. I'm sure I could have cracked 30 if I didn't work 50+ hrs/week.If you're interested, pm me and I'll go through it in a lot of detail and tell you what to buy and how to use the course. Your MCAT is low even for podiatry. But if I can do it, ANYONE can.
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https://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2014_Mat.pdf?sfvrsn=14
25 is borderline for only the lower-tier schools. The AVERAGE DO matriculant in 2014 has at least a 27.2 MCAT average, and will only go up in the subsequent cycles.
Source: https://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2014_Mat.pdf?sfvrsn=14
Now, I'm not surprised if it went to 28 this cycle. A 25 won't cut it anymore, and you would be limited hoping to get accepted into a new school. I would not consider that score "fine" for DO schools. A 27-28 would be fine, given a broad app.
25 is borderline for only the lower-tier schools. The AVERAGE DO matriculant in 2014 has at least a 27.2 MCAT average, and will only go up in the subsequent cycles.
Source: https://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2014_Mat.pdf?sfvrsn=14
Now, I'm not surprised if it went to 28 this cycle. A 25 won't cut it anymore, and you would be limited hoping to get accepted into a new school. I would not consider that score "fine" for DO schools. A 27-28 would be fine, given a broad app.
A 500/25 would be acceptable, if paired with a solid GPA (3.4+), at these schools: WVSOM, SOMA, WCUCOM, KYCOM, VCOM, LMU-DCOM, Touro-NV, ACOM, LUCOM, BCOM, NYIT-AR, ARCOM, UIWCOM.
For most other schools, you would need a very high GPA (3.7+), and/or a huge upward trend, and/or tons of healthcare experience to get an interview with a 500 MCAT.
Even then, nothing is guaranteed. And schools like CCOM, AZCOM, KCU could care less if you have a good story. They really want high MCAT scorers more than anything.
For most other schools, you would need a very high GPA (3.7+), and/or a huge upward trend, and/or tons of healthcare experience to get an interview with a 500 MCAT.
Even then, nothing is guaranteed. And schools like CCOM, AZCOM, KCU could care less if you have a good story. They really want high MCAT scorers more than anything.
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Woa you got rejected this cycle already? I haven't received anything yet D:
But doesn't depend on a variety of factors?
School, GPA, minor, major, Mcat, EC's, personal statement?
I'm shocked about RVU because you have a higher gpa and mcat score then their average
The midpoint was 25-26 (the mean of all MCAT test takers). A 500 is equivalent to that. A 490 is like a 17. That's low, especially if its after months of studying. I honestly don't know many people that were successful with 2 MCAT scores of 15 and 17. If it were me, and I couldn't afford to delay and retake, and I was OK with something else, I'd move on.
OP, in addition to PA school, it might be worth it to look into Podiatry school (I think the MCAT average is ~20 for Pod). It may be a great option if you like surgery, and you'd make a bit more than PAs with probably a greater earning potential depending on how you work. Another option if you liked anesthesia is becoming a CRNA.
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AnatomyGrey12
That was last cycle
At least OP is going the right way mcatwise. But u can't take the mcat anouther 6 times to get to the magic number.
OP, if you are set on being a doctor, deff look into the pod route. 490 is the bottom of the barrel for pod schools, but at least ur still on the map. Podiatrists are fully liscanced doctors that work exclusively on the foot and ankle. They make great money (150k+), lower stress, still get to be a surgeon, etc. the best part is that you don't have to take the mcat again.
It was last cycle. I was accepted elsewhere.
I have essentially no ECs because I worked 70 hrs/week through undergrad. That really hurt my app, but had to put food on the table. I discovered this site late when I was MCAT studying and after talking to my state MD schools, I realized without a complete app MD was off the table. Most DO schools are a little more accepting of nontrads that had lives while in premed. [emoji4]
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Also OP to everyone saying you don't have a chance. I should of mentioned, I started off with a 483 on the MCAT(practice of course). I studied for 3 months and got to a 504(And this was with a falter in the verbal section where I usually score best, but that is another story!) .
So you can improve your score! I did it by a ton but I took a course where studying alone just wasn't helping me enough. However if you think it will take so long, you can always go the other routes!
.
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Took it and did well enough to get in.
If you really want to go to medical school and that has been your dream since forever, work harder and keep trying. Go seek out a mentor and a tutor. Retake your MCAT another time (when the average of your three full-length scores is plus or minus three from your desired score). Screw what others tell you. Have some fire. Be unstoppable. You got this!
Learner, you're around scrambling to get into school. What is your MCAT? We may be able to help you better if you let us know.
took the new mact twice highest was 493..... English is not my first lang.............have a high sGPA ................time is my keller,,, I get to barley read 37 question out of 53-55 in each section
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AnatomyGrey12
I think working on your English skills would be a good first step. It is clearly affecting your MCAT performance, not to mention that you will need to be able to read a ton in medical school and synthesize information from the questions on exams. This isn't even getting into Step 1.
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Thanks for the input but I did great in my science classes so clearly the lang is not the problem,,.. its time!
Some of the questions/readings in med school are seriously complex with background, medications, biochemical reactions, etc and you will have little time to read and respond.
Time is probably the one commodity you will have none of during your first year of med school.
What were your subtest scores? You could bomb CARS and ace other sections and walk away with over a 500.
That's why you've not heard back.
how helpful!
Consider podiatry... You will be a surgeon without needing a 240+ step1
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I don't mean that to be rude, I mean it in an honest kind of way. That MCAT score isn't going to get you much love anywhere. It's either get it up or change career paths.
Don't lose hope. I took my MCAT in 2013 and was not prepared. Got a 14.
Studied for a while and took it again in Spring of 2017 and managed to get a 517.
Here is the thing. I did not even think of applying with a 14. Everyone here is right. That is an auto reject.
If medicine is really your true calling, you gotta study. There are a ton of courses out there which are way better and cheaper than 3k.
I used leah4sci.com and Jack Westin for my CARS. While his course is pricey it is worth the cost. He is the only one who knows how the do the CARS section. He has a payment plan as well. Make sure you also attend his office hours because it is worth it.
During my interviews, not even one school asked me about my first attempt or the 14. You can do it.
Studied for a while and took it again in Spring of 2017 and managed to get a 517.
Here is the thing. I did not even think of applying with a 14. Everyone here is right. That is an auto reject.
If medicine is really your true calling, you gotta study. There are a ton of courses out there which are way better and cheaper than 3k.
I used leah4sci.com and Jack Westin for my CARS. While his course is pricey it is worth the cost. He is the only one who knows how the do the CARS section. He has a payment plan as well. Make sure you also attend his office hours because it is worth it.
During my interviews, not even one school asked me about my first attempt or the 14. You can do it.
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AnatomyGrey12
I would beg to differ.
Why are you bumping this thread?
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What the hell does that even mean? Stop coming on these threads if you have nothing positive to say
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AnatomyGrey12
So why are you bumping this thread?
He got butthurt almost 3 months later. 
