Hi, I have an interview coming up for a school and I have a 3.9 overall GPA, 4.0 non-science, and 3.83 science. My mcat score was low for the school. (Low 20's) and i took the test twice and the second time i dropped by a point. I have all of the other extracurricular activities and this is the only gap in my application. How do i explain this when they ask me about it?
Low mcat High GPA
- Thread starter bob89010
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Well, why do you feel like your score is low and dropped a point? Were you busy with a lot of extra thins (work, volunteering, family, etc)? Whatever it is, own up to your mistakes. Don't make excuses. Give legitimate reasons for what happened and what you've done to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. My 2 cents at least.
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Retake the test. Study for it like you have nothing else to do. Seriously, I would drop a lot of activities or cut back on them while studying for it. Do you have another chance to retake? Are you set on going to med school next year? Are you still in school? If not, I would set aside 2 or 3 months where you do nothing but study for the MCAT, 6-8 hours a day.
You may have a chance with an MCAT in the low 20's, but it would dramatically increase your chances at both DO and MD schools if you get a 30+.
You may have a chance with an MCAT in the low 20's, but it would dramatically increase your chances at both DO and MD schools if you get a 30+.
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This is tough because I think it's easier to explain a low GPA/High MCAT than the other way around.
Essentially with a low GPA/high MCAT you can make the claim that even though your GPA may not show it, your MCAT indicates you have a certain level of proficiency with the material when all is said and done. It does however leave huge questions about your day to day study habits, your ability to keep up with the pace in medical school and even your work ethic.
But the other way around just leaves the window open for speculation about the rigor of the applicant's undergraduate training, and would leave me wondering why if a student performed so well in class, they couldn't perform well on the MCAT.
I'd also wonder about the ability to retain knowledge long term, and the student's ability to apply concepts across disciplines.
It also leaves open the possibility that the student leaned heavily on the knowledge of others, or perhaps even that significant cheating may have occurred.
I'm making no insinuation whatsoever so please don't take it that way. None of these things were directed at anyone. They are more just general statements of how a GPA-MCAT mismatch may be viewed.
Essentially with a low GPA/high MCAT you can make the claim that even though your GPA may not show it, your MCAT indicates you have a certain level of proficiency with the material when all is said and done. It does however leave huge questions about your day to day study habits, your ability to keep up with the pace in medical school and even your work ethic.
But the other way around just leaves the window open for speculation about the rigor of the applicant's undergraduate training, and would leave me wondering why if a student performed so well in class, they couldn't perform well on the MCAT.
I'd also wonder about the ability to retain knowledge long term, and the student's ability to apply concepts across disciplines.
It also leaves open the possibility that the student leaned heavily on the knowledge of others, or perhaps even that significant cheating may have occurred.
I'm making no insinuation whatsoever so please don't take it that way. None of these things were directed at anyone. They are more just general statements of how a GPA-MCAT mismatch may be viewed.
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I'd like to take a stab at this.. and play devils advocate for the opposing perspective to the points (valid as they may be) that SLC made. Keep in mind, these come from perspective being in the situation of a high GPA/ mid-low mcat category...
For me, there are a variety of factors that contributed to having a GPA that doesn't come close to correlating with my MCAT score. When I was asked about this in most my interviews I was honest and straight-forward. I feel like my high GPA has proven I have the ability to take the long-term rigors of school and stay focused on it. The main reasons for my poor MCAT are reflected in both where my priorities were while studying for the MCAT and with the way I went about studying for it.
1. I didn't prioritized my mcat prep as I was studying last spring while balancing many other commitments. This isn't an excuse but it is an explanation. I made a personal decision to stress my personal life and college course work rather than the mcat prep and this didn't cut it for me as reflects my less than impressive mcat score. However, if it had ended up being a hindrance to my app I would have studied more intensely and hopefully rocked it
Luckily... I had a handful of acceptances, more interviews than I can afford to attend and I am happy with how things worked out
2. I studied the wrong way, flat out. I prepared in a similar way you would for regular college class, spending what time I had going over the details of the science. What I should have done was practice, practice, practice problems. The MCAT is its own beast and as such, you do need to know material but not in the detail you would in a class. It's about learning to use what knowledge you have and problem solving. Much of the MCAT can be reasoned through with less than a full theory of knowledge of all the science memorized coming in.
I explained these things in my interviews and let them fall where they may. It was never used as an excuse but rather was the honest reflection on what I did and what I could do differently. I am using this potential negative as an opportunity for learning and my interviewers seemed to appreciate that.
I agree with SLC that sometimes the GPA/MCAT discrepancy can be a red flag but you need to know yourself and figure out why that problem exists. Ultimately you need to know why because all the boards are "standardized" exams and if you have a problem with them, you need to know how to fix your issues early on because it's not going to magically improve in a few years.
In all fairness though too, I feel high MCAT/low GPA can be a sign of problems too. GPA is the result of long term patterns and trends seem to be more an indicator of a student than overall GPA. I don't believe a high MCAT score proves your ability to handle becoming a physician any more than the reverse because while it may indicate you have the brains to handle the science it begs asking why your GPA wouldn't reflect the time/dedication that that score may show the potential of. This may not be the case with non-traditionals but just again, just an opposing question.
I think my ultimate point is, you need to do some serious reflection and figure out your own situation and why you are where you are, with a unimpressive MCAT and high GPA. You need to know because schools want to know and also because by fixing a weakness you can improve your chances of becoming the best possible physician.
For me, there are a variety of factors that contributed to having a GPA that doesn't come close to correlating with my MCAT score. When I was asked about this in most my interviews I was honest and straight-forward. I feel like my high GPA has proven I have the ability to take the long-term rigors of school and stay focused on it. The main reasons for my poor MCAT are reflected in both where my priorities were while studying for the MCAT and with the way I went about studying for it.
1. I didn't prioritized my mcat prep as I was studying last spring while balancing many other commitments. This isn't an excuse but it is an explanation. I made a personal decision to stress my personal life and college course work rather than the mcat prep and this didn't cut it for me as reflects my less than impressive mcat score. However, if it had ended up being a hindrance to my app I would have studied more intensely and hopefully rocked it
Luckily... I had a handful of acceptances, more interviews than I can afford to attend and I am happy with how things worked out2. I studied the wrong way, flat out. I prepared in a similar way you would for regular college class, spending what time I had going over the details of the science. What I should have done was practice, practice, practice problems. The MCAT is its own beast and as such, you do need to know material but not in the detail you would in a class. It's about learning to use what knowledge you have and problem solving. Much of the MCAT can be reasoned through with less than a full theory of knowledge of all the science memorized coming in.
I explained these things in my interviews and let them fall where they may. It was never used as an excuse but rather was the honest reflection on what I did and what I could do differently. I am using this potential negative as an opportunity for learning and my interviewers seemed to appreciate that.
I agree with SLC that sometimes the GPA/MCAT discrepancy can be a red flag but you need to know yourself and figure out why that problem exists. Ultimately you need to know why because all the boards are "standardized" exams and if you have a problem with them, you need to know how to fix your issues early on because it's not going to magically improve in a few years.
In all fairness though too, I feel high MCAT/low GPA can be a sign of problems too. GPA is the result of long term patterns and trends seem to be more an indicator of a student than overall GPA. I don't believe a high MCAT score proves your ability to handle becoming a physician any more than the reverse because while it may indicate you have the brains to handle the science it begs asking why your GPA wouldn't reflect the time/dedication that that score may show the potential of. This may not be the case with non-traditionals but just again, just an opposing question.
I think my ultimate point is, you need to do some serious reflection and figure out your own situation and why you are where you are, with a unimpressive MCAT and high GPA. You need to know because schools want to know and also because by fixing a weakness you can improve your chances of becoming the best possible physician.
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Low 20's meaning <25? Retake it. You have a high GPA meaning you did well in pre-reqs meaning there's no reason why you can't do well on the MCAT. Suck it up and study.
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That's not what he's asking. He has an interview coming up.
Should he say "My score sucks, and I'm going to retake it unless you accept me."?
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No way, he should say "my score sucks and this is the what I did wrong... and if this is the deciding factor I will retake it". When some schools asked if I was going to retake it I said "based on how the cycle is going (with interviews and even acceptances" I likely won't. Retake is last resort if you have options
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Shame on me for not reading the whole OP.
They might not even ask you about it. If they do ask you about it, you tell them the truth. You didn't prepare as well as you should've, etc.
