Low MCAT, Decent GPA - What should I do?

[2iamboss2]

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I'm going into my senior year getting ready to apply to medical schools. I took my MCATs in June '10 and I got a 16L. I was planning on taking them again in August but I don't know how much better I'll do on them.

Aside from the low MCAT I have a GPA of 3.54 with a science GPA of 3.5. My major is Life Science with a minor in Pysch. I also have research experience, volunteered for hospitals with direct patient care and I'm in the Honors society. All in all I have a lot of ECs.

The question is if I have decent enough of a GPA to help me out with my low MCAT in order to get into any Caribbean schools?

Thank you.

 

[Aphtalyfe]

I'm going into my senior year getting ready to apply to medical schools. I took my MCATs in June '10 and I got a 16L. I was planning on taking them again in August but I don't know how much better I'll do on them.

Aside from the low MCAT I have a GPA of 3.54 with a science GPA of 3.5. My major is Life Science with a minor in Pysch. I also have research experience, volunteered for hospitals with direct patient care and I'm in the Honors society. All in all I have a lot of ECs.

The question is if I have decent enough of a GPA to help me out with my low MCAT in order to get into any Caribbean schools?

Thank you.

I don't think any of the Big 4 will accept you with a MCAT of 16.

 

[Pierce]

2iamboss2

dude, you should forget medical school and pick another career.
Life science + psych minor don't mean **** for basic sciences of med school.
You have the equivalent of "a snowball's chance in hell" .
A caribbean school will take your money and send you home in 1 or 2 semesters.

 

[CaribKid]

2iamboss2

dude, you should forget medical school and pick another career.
Life science + psych minor don't mean **** for basic sciences of med school.
You have the equivalent of "a snowball's chance in hell" .
A caribbean school will take your money and send you home in 1 or 2 semesters.

Extremely helpful advice. I am pretty sure the question was "What should I do about my low MCAT?" and not "Should I pick another career?" or "Will my degree help me for Basic Sciences?" or "What is the current temperature in hell?" It is consistently amazing to me what people will write on a forum where they don't have to actually look the person in the eye.

To answer the original question: Aphtalyfe is correct that you won't get in with a 16. However, significant improvement on the MCAT will go a long way. Take it again, and study. Really study. Make a plan, study every day, do practice exams, etc etc. If you have already studied as much as you think you can, then unfortunately maybe you should move on to something else. You will encounter standardized tests for the USMLE, and if you don't pass you won't be a doctor, period. BUT if this is something you really want, take the exam again after a lot more studying. You may surprise yourself. If not, then you answered your own question, right?

And finally, as always, when someone tells you that you can't do something, aren't smart enough, or that a Life Sciences degree doesn't equate to you going to med school (which is quite possibly one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard.....you can major in whatever you want as long as you take the pre-reqs), just laugh and work twice as hard. I hope this helps, and good luck.

 

[Raigon]

Extremely helpful advice. I am pretty sure the question was "What should I do about my low MCAT?" and not "Should I pick another career?" or "Will my degree help me for Basic Sciences?" or "What is the current temperature in hell?" It is consistently amazing to me what people will write on a forum where they don't have to actually look the person in the eye.

To answer the original question: Aphtalyfe is correct that you won't get in with a 16. However, significant improvement on the MCAT will go a long way. Take it again, and study. Really study. Make a plan, study every day, do practice exams, etc etc. If you have already studied as much as you think you can, then unfortunately maybe you should move on to something else. You will encounter standardized tests for the USMLE, and if you don't pass you won't be a doctor, period. BUT if this is something you really want, take the exam again after a lot more studying. You may surprise yourself. If not, then you answered your own question, right?

And finally, as always, when someone tells you that you can't do something, aren't smart enough, or that a Life Sciences degree doesn't equate to you going to med school (which is quite possibly one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard.....you can major in whatever you want as long as you take the pre-reqs), just laugh and work twice as hard. I hope this helps, and good luck.

Thank you Caribkid.

You want my advice? Rewrite the MCAT. A standardized test can be retaken and most schools will only consider your most recent score. A GPA cannot be changed unless you study another few years of college and I'm sure you've had enough of college.

A 16 on the MCAT means you probably didn't put any effort into preparing. Read through some of our MCAT preparation threads and form a schedule. The MCAT in America is taken so many times a year that you can just simply make a 3 month schedule and rewrite it. Take practice MCATs, focus on your weaknesses and try again.

If you don't have the courage or determination to rewrite the MCAT, then you probably won't make it through medical school, either, because being a doctor means constantly learning through your mistakes, accepting them, and strengthening yourself. If you can't understand that, then don't be a doctor.

Just being realistic here.

 

[Gfliptastic]

As an ex-Kaplan Test Prep teacher, I will tell you, and anyone who reads this thread that it's easy to be dismissive of the MCAT when you do poorly - and you shouldn't! Do you think the AAMC continuously pours research $ into the MCAT because it's meaningless (and Kaplan continues to make $ off it also)?

The MCAT is a predictive exam. Like the SAT is a predictive exam. There has been so many studies done by the AAMC that shows the correlation between your Verbal Score and your Step 1 board score. And your Biological Sciences score and your grades in medical school.

Predictions are never 100% accurate. I don't need to hear about your 1 friend who got a VR 6 but got a 250 on the Step 1. There ARE exceptions. But the statistics the AAMC got are significant.

And it's meant to work to your advantage. Say you have a low GPA - like a 3.0 in sciences (cuz your dad died your sophomore year of college like me for example). An admissions committee will be looking for an MCAT score that shows that your GRADES were a fluke and not indicative of your true abilities. And they can't argue w/ a standardize test.

The MCAT tests your critical thinking skills. YOU CANNOT MEMORIZE YOUR WAY TO A BIG MCAT SCORE!!! I will put $ on that bet every single time! 1/3 of the questions pure critical thinking questions. You might memorize your way to 2/3 of the MCAT, but the 33% you fail to answer correctly is what will give you a 24-27.

Build workable logical mental models of every topic covered, and you'll do well. Don't just memorize facts. It's not enough to just know the speed of a wave will equal the product of the wavelength and the frequency. It's knowing that a sound wave is longitudinal, and needs a medium to propagate by vibrating molecules and picturing a crowd of molecules waiting somewhere, and someone in the back starts pushing. The push will spread til it hits the front. If they are far apart, it will take longer. If they are right on top of each other the chain reaction happens quickly. (So sound travels quicker in a solid than it does in a gas).

The MCAT will test you and your working model. So make working models for the topics.

 

[PteFabulous]

Frankly you probably could get into a Caribbean school depending on your extra curriculars and everything. But you're probably better off retaking the MCAT to try and get a better score and apply to US schools.

 

[neurome]

Please , illd love to hear from actual medical school students or people who have gone through this...

Really depressed right now and i dont know what to do🙁. Just got my second mcat scores back and they were pitifull espeacially after 6 months of studying.. i have no idea how else to study for this exam and i really dont want to take it a 3rd time.

Educational Info: Biology major, cgpa 3.5, scigpa 3.7

Stats
1st try: 16N... B7,P6,V3
BTW: I offered a merp position in Ross u with this score but didn't accept it.
2nd try: 18Q...B5,P6,V7.

Ive been doing a lot of thinking and here is what i have come up with
1. Apply to 8 low tier allopathic US schools.. with some major faith..
2. Apply to 6 osteopathic schools.. Also with some major faith..
3. Apply to SGU and AUC.. Faith required..
4. Do a accelarated BSN somewhere
5. Apply for a PA somewhere

Note: number 4 and 5 are my absolute last resort but i dont know if they make any sense because i have no interest in becoming anything else but an MD or DO. The only reason i am even considering is because i think they might help with my application in the future.

I am burnt outta ideas and sick of staying home. Really need help and advise.

Thank you

 

[dragonfly99]

I don't think the PA or nursing thing should be done with the expectation it will help you get into med school.

Your GPA is OK, but depending on which undergrad school it is from,it may not be helpful at some med schools. They know which schools grade hard.
The MCAT - 2nd score was a little better. You did better on the essay part and a little better on the verbal. At this point I would invest in a test prep class. Also, you need to read read read (New York Times, other nonscience reading, etc.) to improve your reading speed and comprehension. I see misspelled words in your post, which makes me think that you need to work on this also. The bio section you can memorize some of the stuff, but as the test instructor mentioned above, the MCAT is a thinking/problem solving test too.

 

[J ROD]

If you cant break at least a 21 on the MCAT, I dont think you should try med school.....

there are some Caribbean schools that will take your money but I dont you will finish...

 

[mrab123]

.

 

[PteFabulous]

Please , illd love to hear from actual medical school students or people who have gone through this...

Really depressed right now and i dont know what to do🙁. Just got my second mcat scores back and they were pitifull espeacially after 6 months of studying.. i have no idea how else to study for this exam and i really dont want to take it a 3rd time.

Educational Info: Biology major, cgpa 3.5, scigpa 3.7

Stats
1st try: 16N... B7,P6,V3
BTW: I offered a merp position in Ross u with this score but didn't accept it.
2nd try: 18Q...B5,P6,V7.

Ive been doing a lot of thinking and here is what i have come up with
1. Apply to 8 low tier allopathic US schools.. with some major faith..
2. Apply to 6 osteopathic schools.. Also with some major faith..
3. Apply to SGU and AUC.. Faith required..
4. Do a accelarated BSN somewhere
5. Apply for a PA somewhere

Note: number 4 and 5 are my absolute last resort but i dont know if they make any sense because i have no interest in becoming anything else but an MD or DO. The only reason i am even considering is because i think they might help with my application in the future.

I am burnt outta ideas and sick of staying home. Really need help and advise.

Thank you

Why did you turn down MERP?