MD acceptance with low MCAT - there's hope!

[AnonMD2017]

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I’ve lurked on SDN for many years and have drawn on similar posts for inspiration, so I wanted to return the favor. Recently I was outright accepted (not off waitlist) to my state MD school which is ranked in the top 20-30. I applied with a ~ 3.7 cGPA, ~ 3.5 sGPA, and 27 MCAT (503-504). My GPA’s include taking an extra year of upper division science classes to raise my numbers. I am not a URM. I am a white male non-traditional student whose sole focus the last 5 years was to improve my competiveness for medical school.

In 2014 I applied the first time and wasn’t granted a single interview. I had planned to retake my MCAT and try again. Due to taking one of the last available dates for the old MCAT I would need to study for an entirely new test, which was the plan. At the same time I started employment as a medical scribe in a very unique clinic. I decided to take an additional 2 years before applying again, giving me a chance to gain more clinical experience and to retake the MCAT. During this time period life happened, and some unfortunate events in my personal life interfered with my MCAT preparation. I did not take a re-take lightly, and was concerned I would make little improvement or even possibly do worse. With the application season quickly approaching I decided against a retake and to stick with my 27. This cycle I applied broadly to both MD and DO schools, knowing full well MD was extremely unlikely. While in the past I had never considered DO, now I was very comfortable with my decision and knew a DO school was very likely where I would end up. I was at peace with this. Early in the cycle I received an interview at my top DO school and shortly after was accepted. A few weeks later I received an MD interview, which would turn out to be my one and only one. 6-7 months later I learned I was accepted, which came as a huge surprise and was one of the best moments of my life.

My case is a rare one, as many on this site will attest, but a low MCAT can be overcome if everything else is in order. Due to taking ~4 years between graduating from undergrad and applying this cycle I was able to accumulate many diverse EC’s, many of them involving working with the underserved. I was able to very insightfully reflect on these experiences in my application and personal statement, and this absolutely played a role in me being accepted. I had no research experience, which I regretted, but I had good leadership experience. In addition I had accumulated many hours shadowing, volunteering in hospitals, and working as a medical scribe. My medical scribe experience was particularly impactful, and in fact was the one major addition to my application between the first time I applied and now. I received 3 very strong letters from this experience. I also spent a great amount of effort on my AMCAS and personal statement, making sure to properly reflect on each of my experiences. When granted my one and only MD interview I prepared well, and I am fortunately a strong interviewer.

The moral of the story is yes, it is possible to be accepted to an MD school as an ORM with a sub-par MCAT. The rest of your application must be strong though. State residence also plays a role. However if you are not as fortunate as me, but truly want to be a physician, you should absolutely apply DO. I was extremely happy to receive my DO acceptance and was honored that I would be a physician one day. Hopefully my experience can help someone.

 

[mcat199313]

If you don’t mind me asking- which school were you accepted to?

I’ve lurked on SDN for many years and have drawn on similar posts for inspiration, so I wanted to return the favor. Recently I was outright accepted (not off waitlist) to my state MD school which is ranked in the top 20-30. I applied with a ~ 3.7 cGPA, ~ 3.5 sGPA, and 27 MCAT (503-504). My GPA’s include taking an extra year of upper division science classes to raise my numbers. I am not a URM. I am a white male non-traditional student whose sole focus the last 5 years was to improve my competiveness for medical school.

In 2014 I applied the first time and wasn’t granted a single interview. I had planned to retake my MCAT and try again. Due to taking one of the last available dates for the old MCAT I would need to study for an entirely new test, which was the plan. At the same time I started employment as a medical scribe in a very unique clinic. I decided to take an additional 2 years before applying again, giving me a chance to gain more clinical experience and to retake the MCAT. During this time period life happened, and some unfortunate events in my personal life interfered with my MCAT preparation. I did not take a re-take lightly, and was concerned I would make little improvement or even possibly do worse. With the application season quickly approaching I decided against a retake and to stick with my 27. This cycle I applied broadly to both MD and DO schools, knowing full well MD was extremely unlikely. While in the past I had never considered DO, now I was very comfortable with my decision and knew a DO school was very likely where I would end up. I was at peace with this. Early in the cycle I received an interview at my top DO school and shortly after was accepted. A few weeks later I received an MD interview, which would turn out to be my one and only one. 6-7 months later I learned I was accepted, which came as a huge surprise and was one of the best moments of my life.

My case is a rare one, as many on this site will attest, but a low MCAT can be overcome if everything else is in order. Due to taking ~4 years between graduating from undergrad and applying this cycle I was able to accumulate many diverse EC’s, many of them involving working with the underserved. I was able to very insightfully reflect on these experiences in my application and personal statement, and this absolutely played a role in me being accepted. I had no research experience, which I regretted, but I had good leadership experience. In addition I had accumulated many hours shadowing, volunteering in hospitals, and working as a medical scribe. My medical scribe experience was particularly impactful, and in fact was the one major addition to my application between the first time I applied and now. I received 3 very strong letters from this experience. I also spent a great amount of effort on my AMCAS and personal statement, making sure to properly reflect on each of my experiences. When granted my one and only MD interview I prepared well, and I am fortunately a strong interviewer.

The moral of the story is yes, it is possible to be accepted to an MD school as an ORM with a sub-par MCAT. The rest of your application must be strong though. State residence also plays a role. However if you are not as fortunate as me, but truly want to be a physician, you should absolutely apply DO. I was extremely happy to receive my DO acceptance and was honored that I would be a physician one day. Hopefully my experience can help someone.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

I’ve lurked on SDN for many years and have drawn on similar posts for inspiration, so I wanted to return the favor. Recently I was outright accepted (not off waitlist) to my state MD school which is ranked in the top 20-30. I applied with a ~ 3.7 cGPA, ~ 3.5 sGPA, and 27 MCAT (503-504). My GPA’s include taking an extra year of upper division science classes to raise my numbers. I am not a URM. I am a white male non-traditional student whose sole focus the last 5 years was to improve my competiveness for medical school.

In 2014 I applied the first time and wasn’t granted a single interview. I had planned to retake my MCAT and try again. Due to taking one of the last available dates for the old MCAT I would need to study for an entirely new test, which was the plan. At the same time I started employment as a medical scribe in a very unique clinic. I decided to take an additional 2 years before applying again, giving me a chance to gain more clinical experience and to retake the MCAT. During this time period life happened, and some unfortunate events in my personal life interfered with my MCAT preparation. I did not take a re-take lightly, and was concerned I would make little improvement or even possibly do worse. With the application season quickly approaching I decided against a retake and to stick with my 27. This cycle I applied broadly to both MD and DO schools, knowing full well MD was extremely unlikely. While in the past I had never considered DO, now I was very comfortable with my decision and knew a DO school was very likely where I would end up. I was at peace with this. Early in the cycle I received an interview at my top DO school and shortly after was accepted. A few weeks later I received an MD interview, which would turn out to be my one and only one. 6-7 months later I learned I was accepted, which came as a huge surprise and was one of the best moments of my life.

My case is a rare one, as many on this site will attest, but a low MCAT can be overcome if everything else is in order. Due to taking ~4 years between graduating from undergrad and applying this cycle I was able to accumulate many diverse EC’s, many of them involving working with the underserved. I was able to very insightfully reflect on these experiences in my application and personal statement, and this absolutely played a role in me being accepted. I had no research experience, which I regretted, but I had good leadership experience. In addition I had accumulated many hours shadowing, volunteering in hospitals, and working as a medical scribe. My medical scribe experience was particularly impactful, and in fact was the one major addition to my application between the first time I applied and now. I received 3 very strong letters from this experience. I also spent a great amount of effort on my AMCAS and personal statement, making sure to properly reflect on each of my experiences. When granted my one and only MD interview I prepared well, and I am fortunately a strong interviewer.

The moral of the story is yes, it is possible to be accepted to an MD school as an ORM with a sub-par MCAT. The rest of your application must be strong though. State residence also plays a role. However if you are not as fortunate as me, but truly want to be a physician, you should absolutely apply DO. I was extremely happy to receive my DO acceptance and was honored that I would be a physician one day. Hopefully my experience can help someone.

OP - I love what you said. Gives folks like myself hope. However, the qualifier you pointed out "My case is a rare one" is something everyone really should listen to. I had a slightly higher, but still sub-30 MCAT. I had an extremely strong cGPA, sGPA, and very diverse ECs. My letters of rec were great as well. I too received a handful of interview invitations from MD schools. Like you said, state of residence is a big factor in this discussion. I just want to point this out: Be cautiously optimistic. Are there kids getting into MD schools with a 500? Hell yes. There's probably students with high 490s as per extensive research on the MSAR. I don't want students to be crushed like I was. A lot of admissions committee members that hang out on SDN and guide us pre-meds say its impossible to gauge your interview. That's true. Upon have a few decent interviews, I ended up on waitlists and just didn't make the cut. When I inquired why I was rejected, all of the schools told me the following: interview, GPA, ECs, and LoRs were fine. Your MCAT is just a bit worrisome, so we couldn't take you. Sorry. Retake and come with a higher score and we'll be happy to consider you again and admit you this time. My moral of the story comes from the other side of the coin: it hurts getting a low MCAT. Especially coupled with a high GPA. I studied like there was no tomorrow for my MCAT and to see a less than ideal score come back to me was devastating. Still, I believed in the MSAR and went for it. Be cautiously optimistic folks. It works out for some people, it doesn't work out for others. I tend to take the more conservative approach now'a'days: it ain't easy, but relax, when you're ready to get back into the swing of studying, go get that MCAT! Seriously, don't hate a retake: think of it as a second chance to prove yourself worthy. Its not the end of the world taking one or two gap years to study diligently and retake the exam, especially if that helps you getting admitted to whatever school of your choice.

 

[Catalystik]

I’ve lurked on SDN for many years and have drawn on similar posts for inspiration, so I wanted to return the favor. Recently I was outright accepted (not off waitlist) to my state MD school which is ranked in the top 20-30. I applied with a ~ 3.7 cGPA, ~ 3.5 sGPA, and 27 MCAT (503-504). My GPA’s include taking an extra year of upper division science classes to raise my numbers. I am not a URM. I am a white male non-traditional student whose sole focus the last 5 years was to improve my competiveness for medical school.

In 2014 I applied the first time and wasn’t granted a single interview. I had planned to retake my MCAT and try again. Due to taking one of the last available dates for the old MCAT I would need to study for an entirely new test, which was the plan. At the same time I started employment as a medical scribe in a very unique clinic. I decided to take an additional 2 years before applying again, giving me a chance to gain more clinical experience and to retake the MCAT. During this time period life happened, and some unfortunate events in my personal life interfered with my MCAT preparation. I did not take a re-take lightly, and was concerned I would make little improvement or even possibly do worse. With the application season quickly approaching I decided against a retake and to stick with my 27. This cycle I applied broadly to both MD and DO schools, knowing full well MD was extremely unlikely. While in the past I had never considered DO, now I was very comfortable with my decision and knew a DO school was very likely where I would end up. I was at peace with this. Early in the cycle I received an interview at my top DO school and shortly after was accepted. A few weeks later I received an MD interview, which would turn out to be my one and only one. 6-7 months later I learned I was accepted, which came as a huge surprise and was one of the best moments of my life.

My case is a rare one, as many on this site will attest, but a low MCAT can be overcome if everything else is in order. Due to taking ~4 years between graduating from undergrad and applying this cycle I was able to accumulate many diverse EC’s, many of them involving working with the underserved. I was able to very insightfully reflect on these experiences in my application and personal statement, and this absolutely played a role in me being accepted. I had no research experience, which I regretted, but I had good leadership experience. In addition I had accumulated many hours shadowing, volunteering in hospitals, and working as a medical scribe. My medical scribe experience was particularly impactful, and in fact was the one major addition to my application between the first time I applied and now. I received 3 very strong letters from this experience. I also spent a great amount of effort on my AMCAS and personal statement, making sure to properly reflect on each of my experiences. When granted my one and only MD interview I prepared well, and I am fortunately a strong interviewer.

The moral of the story is yes, it is possible to be accepted to an MD school as an ORM with a sub-par MCAT. The rest of your application must be strong though. State residence also plays a role. However if you are not as fortunate as me, but truly want to be a physician, you should absolutely apply DO. I was extremely happy to receive my DO acceptance and was honored that I would be a physician one day. Hopefully my experience can help someone.

Congratulations!