My MCAT score didn't really improve. Help!

[Toofscum]

---

Members do not see this ad.

MCAT scores are up. My score was 26L 10 V 9 BS 7 PS

My August '04 score was 25: 10 V 8 BS 7 PS

I spent all winter studying 8 hours per day, especially for PS. I took Kaplan again, I did EK, I memorized everything. I guess I feel like I could take a regular test on the material and ace it, but when it comes to the tricky MCAT questions I can't seem to crack them.

What should I do? I applied last year with basically the same stats: 25 MCAT, 3.5 cum GPA, 3.8 post-bacc. I haven't hit submit on AMCAS yet, but basically I'd be applying with the same stats. I didn't get any interviews last year and I applied to schools in my ballpark.

What should I do? I am so sad and confused right now. I truly gave the April test my all, whereas I studied for only 3 weeks for the August '04 test. How could I have gotten the same score almost? I knew NOTHING for the August '04 test.

I only want allopathic.

ARRRRGGGGHHH.

 

[MJB]

Are Caribbean not an option?

Strongly against DO?

Guess you just apply and take it again.

 

[Toofscum]

Yes to the first two questions

And I truly don't think I'm capable of higher than a 26. What should I do?

 

[Law2Doc]

Yes to the first two questions

And I truly don't think I'm capable of higher than a 26. What should I do?

While there are a few people you can find (on Mdapplicants and the like) who have gotten in with a 26, the odds just aren't all that good. You would have to manage to be the exception rather than the rule. I think if you really want into allopathic you have no choice but to retake, but probably shouldn't retake until you are consistantly scoring higher on practice tests. Maybe give TPR a try this time as Kaplan and EK didn't pan out for you. The good news is that you are consistantly doing fine on verbal, which is harder to learn/improve, whereas a lot of the science portion of the MCAT is information that can be learned, not aptitude. Good luck.

 

[Arien's Dad]

I didn't have to retake the test, but certainly know about trying to figure out the best way to study. I found that the majority of the review books had too much narrative and too little in the way of working problems out. I have just posted my study materials from last year on the "For Sale" part of this site, and in that post I mentioned that for me the best investment was the Schaum's Outline series workbooks (Applied Physics, Organic, Inorganic and Biological Chemistry, and Trigonometry). They have tons of problems to work out and are great for checking your comprehension of a subject. I felt they were actually closer to MCAT questions than the other review books. I also used the Princeton Review "Cracking the MCAT" for practice exams and they were right on for predicting my science scores.
Good luck!

MCAT scores are up. My score was 26L 10 V 9 BS 7 PS

My August '04 score was 25: 10 V 8 BS 7 PS

I spent all winter studying 8 hours per day, especially for PS. I took Kaplan again, I did EK, I memorized everything. I guess I feel like I could take a regular test on the material and ace it, but when it comes to the tricky MCAT questions I can't seem to crack them.

What should I do? I applied last year with basically the same stats: 25 MCAT, 3.5 cum GPA, 3.8 post-bacc. I haven't hit submit on AMCAS yet, but basically I'd be applying with the same stats. I didn't get any interviews last year and I applied to schools in my ballpark.

What should I do? I am so sad and confused right now. I truly gave the April test my all, whereas I studied for only 3 weeks for the August '04 test. How could I have gotten the same score almost? I knew NOTHING for the August '04 test.

I only want allopathic.

ARRRRGGGGHHH.

 

[MJB]

Not sure what to say...I'm gonna be a doctor whether I have to go to DO or not...

Actually, I think I might prefer it.

 

[QofQuimica]

Not sure what to say...I'm gonna be a doctor whether I have to got to DO or not...

Actually, I think I might prefer it.

Yes, I was wondering too. OP, why are you so opposed to going the DO route? I can understand it if you want to go into research or into a very specific specialty (like maybe pediatric cardiosurgery). If your problem is that you want to do research, why don't you look into going MS or PhD? And if you want to be a superspecialist, maybe you should consider going DO and then completing a fellowship. But if you want to be a clinician in a broad area like ob/gyn, internal medicine or general surgery, DO might be a BETTER way to go. Personally I really like its more holistic clinical philosophy. If I were going to be a clinician, I would prefer to go DO.

 

[Paws]

Yes to the first two questions

And I truly don't think I'm capable of higher than a 26. What should I do?

Yes, you are.

Otherwise, if that's what you believe then you will really struggle once you get in because it only gets much, much harder from here on out.

Stop and look at your distribution of scores: Ok on Verbal, not so good on the PS, and also not so good on the Bio. What I did was take the examcrackers 1001 chem/physics books and I worked through them three times. Yes, three times each. I also read other books and made sure I understood the concepts behind the problems and could do those problems in my sleep. I did the same for Bio.

I took the MCAT twice and more score went up. I did best in the PS section.

And, so can you - but you need to believe that you can do it. This will be the begining of many difficult challenges in medicine, start thinking about ways to problem-solve and work out options for how to best succeed.

 

[Toofscum]

Hi there,

I did work through exam krackers 1001 series, I thought I covered them pretty in-depth, also I took Kaplan and did a lot of their stuff too (twice). I didn't use EK the first time I took the MCAT, only the second time.

I will be taking the April 2006 MCAT; I just don't have it in me to take the August test. I think I'm a pretty strong candidate for allo except for: a) my JD degree and b) my MCAT score. My grades, clinical experience, medical work experience, etc. are all very good. But I know adcoms don't like lawyers and of course then there's my MCAT score. I applied last year and got 0 interviews with my 25 so I know this year would be a repeat performance.

I am most interested in derm, optho, neurology, PM and R, and anesthesia. I really don't want to do DO--I don't want to be limited in residency choice for the more competitive specialties, and I absolutely do not want to do primary care. So I think allo is a better choice for me.

Any other thoughts?

 

[Em&M]

Hi there,

I did work through exam krackers 1001 series, I thought I covered them pretty in-depth, also I took Kaplan and did a lot of their stuff too (twice). I didn't use EK the first time I took the MCAT, only the second time.

I will be taking the April 2006 MCAT; I just don't have it in me to take the August test. I think I'm a pretty strong candidate for allo except for: a) my JD degree and b) my MCAT score. My grades, clinical experience, medical work experience, etc. are all very good. But I know adcoms don't like lawyers and of course then there's my MCAT score. I applied last year and got 0 interviews with my 25 so I know this year would be a repeat performance.

I am most interested in derm, optho, neurology, PM and R, and anesthesia. I really don't want to do DO--I don't want to be limited in residency choice for the more competitive specialties, and I absolutely do not want to do primary care. So I think allo is a better choice for me.

Any other thoughts?

How many schools did you apply to?

Your stats seem average/decent. The MCAT is a little low but certainly not out of range at some allo schools.

I guess that you have to make a decision of how much you truly want to be a doc. If you are deadset about going allo, apply to 50+ schools. Yes, it seems ridiculous and many might advise against it but with average stats, you need all of the "chances" you can get.

If you have the money available to do it, just start applying to virtually everywhere that will take an out-state-student and maximize your chances of getting in somewhere...

 

[Law2Doc]

I think I'm a pretty strong candidate for allo except for: a) my JD degree and b) my MCAT score. My grades, clinical experience, medical work experience, etc. are all very good. But I know adcoms don't like lawyers and of course then there's my MCAT score. I applied last year and got 0 interviews with my 25 so I know this year would be a repeat performance.
... Any other thoughts?

I suspect your MCAT score had a lot more to do with the lack of interviews than your JD. There are a handful of us former lawyers on SDN who haven't found their prior career to be a significant impediment, and most of the adcoms I met with seemed pretty receptive to individuals who had already been a professional in a demanding, long-hour career which involved "helping and advising people with problems", as long as such applicant could legitimately explain their reason for wanting to change professions.
If, however, you got a JD and never used it, then you may have a harder time demonstrating that you really know what you want, or that medicine (rather than just being a high paid professional) is something you actually aspire to.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

Your stats seem average/decent. The MCAT is a little low but certainly not out of range at some allo schools.

I guess that you have to make a decision of how much you truly want to be a doc. If you are deadset about going allo, apply to 50+ schools. Yes, it seems ridiculous and many might advise against it but with average stats, you need all of the "chances" you can get.

If you have the money available to do it, just start applying to virtually everywhere that will take an out-state-student and maximize your chances of getting in somewhere...

a 25 is most likely "out of range" for MD schools, and applying with this score to 50 medical schools will most likelt be a complete waste of time and resources. if the rest of your application is solid, then just focus on raising this score. unfortunately the medical profession is one in which you will be faced with standardized examination after standardized examination... adcoms want to see that you can achieve a minimum score on a basic medical science exam covering subjects that are fairly basic. With a 25 mcat, adcoms will be worried about your ability to advance through an md curriculum, and later residency.

prepare as hard as you possibly can for the mcat, and aim for a 30 or higher.

best of luck.

 

[Em&M]

a 25 is most likely "out of range" for MD schools, and applying with this score to 50 medical schools will most likelt be a complete waste of time and resources.

It seems that you are going to get a lot of conflicting advice. Check MDapplicants, pop in your own stats and check out the laundry list of students who have been admitted to ALLO schools with your stats and lower.

There are plenty, you might have to accept MD from a "lower-tier" school but if you are deteremined to go allo (you would be a great candidate for DO) and your application has successfully presented all of your qualifications, you should get an interview. Also remember that many students with much better stats were rejected. There is no guarenteed formula to getting accepted when your stats are not perfect, you have to remember that SOMEBODY will be the exception to the rules, why shouldn't it be you?

If you have confidence in your abilities, you will prevail.

Also, maybe your PS wasn't convincing enough or maybe it was the way you presented your EC's. Did you talk to any schools about why you were rejected? If they all specifically said, "MCAT" than I would suggest forgoing applying this year but if you only suspect it was because of the MCAT and not some other loop-hole, you should consider "revising" your app this year.

I am suggesting this because it seems that you want this process to be over and are not highly convinced that your MCAT will improve much. Keep in mind that a 26 is higher than a lot of DO applicants and most of them make it through school with flying colors and many of them get very competetive residencies (check out residency match list on DO forum) Just going allo will not guarentee a better residency, you will have to pull the great board scores and experiences/rotations to get those spots no matter what your initials read...

Please remember that many, many students apply each year with deficiencies in some part of their application and many of them still gain entrance to school because they were able to overcome their deficiencies by presenting themselves in a mature and dedicated manner. I believe, just from what you have mentioned this far, that you have all of the qualities needed to make a good doc (good clinical experience, great post-bacc., maturity, compassion...) You just need to make sure that those qualities shine through on your AAMCAS and in your secondaries.

I know that many will tell you to retake but go with your gut instinct. If you apply (how many did you apply to last year?) and still don't get accepted you will have to retake it anyway; but if you really don't want to wait another year and have the available funds, get your butt moving and get applying

 

[Law2Doc]

It seems that you are going to get a lot of conflicting advice. Check MDapplicants, pop in your own stats and check out the laundry list of students who have been admitted to ALLO schools with your stats and lower.

There are plenty, you might have to accept MD from a "lower-tier" school but if you are deteremined to go allo (you would be a great candidate for DO) and your application has successfully presented all of your qualifications, you should get an interview. Also remember that many students with much better stats were rejected. There is no guarenteed formula to getting accepted when your stats are not perfect, you have to remember that SOMEBODY will be the exception to the rules, why shouldn't it be you?

While I think one who wants something bad enough can get there if they are willing to work for it (and in the OPs case, this probably means mastering the MCAT), I think it's an expensive proposition to try to "be the exception to the rules". Frankly a lot of the MD Applicants posts are fake, and with those that aren't, you can't always know what kind of non-posted intangibles people had -- particularly pull. I suspect a lot of people with extremely low stats had something else working for them (unusual ECs, LORs from the right people, family connections to the school and the like) and didn't just fire out applications and hope one would stick. While I agree that there is no guaranteed formula for admissions, it is not completely random; there are applicants with significantly better odds. Even the "lower tier" allopathic schools have average MCAT scores significantly higher than 25, so if you are insistant on allopathic, unless you have some special pull, it pays to retake.

 

[OSURxgirl]

sounds to me like you have the material itself down...you just need to do practice exams, practice exams, practice exams...period. Take all the AAMC practice exams, all the Kaplan practice exams you have access to through the course, and any others you can get your hands on. Review and use test taking strategies like process of elimination, active reading and underlining of passages, and effective clock management. Zero in on your lowest subscore and try hard to really learn the material related to it. Memorization isn't the key as much as understanding. Also, I'd go back to Kaplan. If you do not raise your score by a certain amount, aren't you supposed to get your money back? Good luck and do not give up or go DO if that's not what you want.

 

[Toofscum]

I totally did have the material down. I memorized everything in those review books. What I feel I had the most problems with was "understanding the test." Meaning, if I was tested on the MCAT material in a class I'd get an A, but I felt I could not crack the nature of the MCAT on some fundamental level, often I'd read a PS passage and have no idea what PS topics they were trying to test. For instance, I'd read a passage on the solar system and not realize they were testing thermodynamics....how do you get to this point of recognition? Maybe more tests were the answer....I re-took Kaplan the second time for their higher score guarantee--guess I'll do that again.

Anyhow, I've pretty much decided not to apply for fall 2006. Honestly I am very burned out right now, I am poor as a mouse, and I need to find a job now. I have been job searching for months with nothing....networking up the wazoo. It seems that a JD is yet another detriment in the working world when you're not practicing law (why did I ever get this awful degree???????)

I am starting to feel very beaten down and discouraged....I'm running out of contacts to contact for networking.....I've applied to over 300 jobs in 3 months....been on 15 interviews...nothing. Keep getting told I'm "overqualified." This sucks.

I'll plan to take the April 2006 exam and also take more upper level science to show adcoms that I can handle the material---biochem, genetics, immunology, etc.

 

[Paws]

Hi again Toofs,

I hear you bro. (sis?) I read your post and I was there in your shoes. No $$, no job and stuck in between all these heavy duty, important decisions. No pressure or anything. When I was studying for my second exam, the economy was in the toilet and I couldn't pay my rent. It was a nightmare. I could hardly concentrate for the worrying about how I was going to survive. It was terrifying, actually.

Burned out is a natural state under the circumstances. Is there anyway to just get some sort of job that will just get you by and keep your spirits up? I did temp work between semesters and lab projects and I was always grateful for the $$ and the opportunity to just pay my bills. Sometimes, we just need to be carried over the rough spots.

I don't know how you feel about squshy things like God or anything, but in my difficult moments, I would say: God (or whomever), if this is your will for me - please show me the path. Something like that. And then I would let it go. And, I have to say that for me sometimes the most amazing things would happen. Your law degree is a good thing, not a hindrance. It's just something you chose not to use right now. As for work, well I have been a babysitter/cook/house cleaner/waitress/checkout person, etc. It's just for today and we are not our jobs. When I was interviewing, no one really asked me about what I was doing at the time for work and if they did, it was't such a big deal.

Looking back at your scores, I would spent the most energy on the PS. When I did the examkrackers, I actually wrote out the answers for the 1001 problems in chem/physics 3 x and memorized the flash cards, etc and made sure I could flip through their weird problems quickly. That's why when I got to the real PS I could move through it so fast. Otherwise your verbal and bio are ok. If you could bring your PS up to even a 9 that would give you a 28, which is in a better group and you would more likely get interviews with that. Plus, schools might be impressed that you stuck with it and tried again - and suceeded.

Keep the faith -

 

[Senor.Frog]

I can't say that my method will work, but the second time I took the MCAT I approached it with a "killer instinct" type attitude. More or less, I told myself that I would kill this test. For my first test I studied for like 6 months with so-so quality focus about 4-6 hours a day. The second time I studied for 1 month, completely focused and driven for about 11 hours a day. Long story short, my score went from 25 to 32.

I've been reading the forums on USMLE and I think if you approached the MCAT as many med school students approach the USMLE you will definately improve your score. In other words, I think if you absolutely focus and concentrate for ~5 weeks / 12 hours a day with the mentality that this is an all-or-none process you will drive yourself to success.

Another thing that was interesting was how many med students use the FA to collectively bring all of their resources into that one book, so instead of using like 20 books they use just that one book to study. For your purposes you could use the Kaplan study guide book (BTW I took Kaplan and have to say that my first score was drastically affected because I tried to use their style to read passages and answer questions, the second time I just used the method that "worked" best for me and results showed)

Well, long story short, read the USMLE forum for study tips and the stories of some of these peeps. It's actually really motivating and inspirational.

OBTW, Celiac Plexus is right. If you apply now with your MCAT score with no changes in your app you will just be wasting your money.

Anyways, good luck! Oh, and JD is not a waste at all. If you want a job you should look to find a job teaching somwhere by using your JD (eg, JC, vocational schools or colleges, etc...)

Peace!

-Senor.Frog

 

[1Path]

I can't say that my method will work, but the second time I took the MCAT I approached it with a "killer instinct" type attitude. More or less, I told myself that I would kill this test. For my first test I studied for like 6 months with so-so quality focus about 4-6 hours a day. The second time I studied for 1 month, completely focused and driven for about 11 hours a day. Long story short, my score went from 25 to 32.

I'm curious as to how long it had been since you last took your prequisite courses, ie Physics, General Chem, ect. before retakign the MCAT. Thanks for the info!

 

[cindy4443]

I too expect that your MCAT has more to do with getting into school than your JD. I too have a JD and was accepted off the Creighton waitlist for entrance in 2005 (MCAT 28 R, science GPA 3.8). Also, I never used my JD degree and instead stayed home and raised babies. Now I'm on my way to being a doctor at 36. My advice is to pick schools that are more receptive to an additional degree, like some private schools and some med schools that actually offer dual JD/MD programs. My experience is that some state schools seem to be a bit more rigid and have a harder time viewing your degree as the asset that it really is. Try to raise your MCATs,research schools and you will make it. Good luck to you!

 

[Senor.Frog]

I'm curious as to how long it had been since you last took your prequisite courses, ie Physics, General Chem, ect. before retakign the MCAT. Thanks for the info!

I took the MCAT after a hiatus of around 4.5 years from basic sciences. But I did pretty well in my science courses in undergrad so the material wasn't really hard when I tried to review.

I think it was more of getting used to the style of the MCAT. Once you have that down, the material really isnt that bad.

 

[medworm]

Sounds like you need a different test-taking strategy.
Get some coaching or advice from your Kaplan instructors
or peers.

Hope that helps