MD & DO Low MCAT Non-Trad Lots of Clinical Exp.

[Doctor_Beez]

Hey guys and gals,

I got a 494 MCAT (took prior to completing any chem.)
3.8 GPA.

20,000+ clinical hours as a paramedic, Field Training Officer, and preceptor.
Highly recommended by notable physicians in my area, science class instructors, etc.
Under-represented minority (50% Lakota Sioux)

I will have all standard pre-reqs other than OChem II or Biochem prior to starting semester (unless I can find a Maymester class or something.)

I applied fairly broadly to 18 MD and 8 DO schools.

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[Gurby]

Hey guys and gals,

I got a 494 MCAT (took prior to completing any chem.)
3.8 GPA.

20,000+ clinical hours as a paramedic, Field Training Officer, and preceptor.
Highly recommended by notable physicians in my area, science class instructors, etc.
Under-represented minority (50% Lakota Sioux)

I will have all standard pre-reqs other than OChem II or Biochem prior to starting semester (unless I can find a Maymester class or something.)

I applied fairly broadly to 18 MD and 8 DO schools.

You didn't just shoot yourself in the foot with this application, you blew it clean off with a .50 cal.

You potentially have a really strong application being URM with that background, but you need to fix your MCAT score before going further. Taking a career-defining test without even taking chemistry first does not reflect well - it looks like you jumped into this without preparing, doing any research, doing any practice tests, etc. Would you want your grandmother to be operated on by a surgeon who flew by the seat of his/her pants like that?

I'm pretty sure you NEED to WITHDRAW your application asap. When did you submit it? Will you be a reapplicant next time? @Goro what do you think? MD is a lost cause for this cycle, but does he have a shot at the DO schools he applied to?

 

[Goro]

Agree here. OP, you have not one but two problems. The low MCAT score is equivalent to a 22 on the old exam. This is a disastrous score. The other is more serious: why would you take a career-deciding, high stakes exam without being fully prepared? I have Adcom colleagues who would reject you outright for poor choice making.

Being URM is a saving grace, and might garner you some IIs (although you'll need a tribal membership or ID card and/or evidence of commitment to NA communities). However, URM or no, no med school will be doing you a favor by admitting you if there's a risk that you'll fail out of med school.

Hence, I strongly recommend sitting out this cycle and retaking the MCAT. As an alternative, retake the MCAT (when you're 100% ready) and try DO schools; the DO cycle is longer.

You didn't just shoot yourself in the foot with this application, you blew it clean off with a .50 cal.

You potentially have a really strong application being URM with that background, but you need to fix your MCAT score before going further. Taking a career-defining test without even taking chemistry first does not reflect well - it looks like you jumped into this without preparing, doing any research, doing any practice tests, etc. Would you want your grandmother to be operated on by a surgeon who flew by the seat of his/her pants like that?

I'm pretty sure you NEED to WITHDRAW your application asap. When did you submit it? Will you be a reapplicant next time? @Goro what do you think? MD is a lost cause for this cycle, but does he have a shot at the DO schools he applied to?

 

[Doctor_Beez]

Well the chemistry thing was totally unintentional. I tried every semester for the last year to get a class that would work with my ridiculous work schedule. I hate to be the guy to make excuses but my job has been adding more and more mandatory overtime and I just couldn't do anything about it. (Remedy coming soon since I'm quitting to focus on chemistry and MCAT prep for next cycle)

I had decided to take a shot at the MCAT and admissions aiming at schools that recommend classes rather than requiring specific sciences and rely on the rest of my stats to get in.

I took bio and phys, etc...

Thanks for the input. I feel pretty bad about it now. Maybe next cycle


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[AnatomyGrey12]

took prior to completing any chem

Well that was dumb, but no use crying over the past now. Quit your job like you said and out 100% into the MCAT. Make sure you are very prepared. Having chem alone will bump your score up 5-8 points. But even with that a 494 tells me that you didn't prepare very well either, regardless of the chem issue. How much did you study and for how long? Did you do practice tests? Did you do the qbanks from AAMC?

 

[Doctor_Beez]

Almost all of my studying came from khan academy and I didn't spend much time at all on them. I did well on the free stuff, but I'll definitely buy some of the question bank materials and maybe even a Kaplan prep course next time around. Is there a prep course that you guys recommend?


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[bigindian4891]

Ooof... head over to the MCAT forum and make your home there.