Need advice asap

[dacrazyman]

I am in desperate need of help. I submitted my primaries for DO schools and received my secondaries for a good amount of them. First time I took my MCATs Back in 2015 I received a 489. 125-121-122-121
I took them again this year July 28th exam received a 491. 122-121-124-124

Prior this this mcat exam I was scoring 508 on nk3(this was my recent exam before the July 28th exam) I don't remember the exact score break down.

I don't think this score is even close to what I need for DO schools. I need to improve these scores right away.
My undergrad cGPA is 3.02 sGPA is 2.78.
My masters GPA (biomedical sciences at Rowan's DO school) is 3.45

Now I'm lost and don't know what to do. There's an exam date for September 9th and I could go ahead and take that. Or wait for January then I'm worrying for being extremely late in the cycle. Please advise.

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[bears1992]

That MCAT would be accepted at VCOM but they put a ton of weight on GPA. You'll need to get your science GPA to a 3.0+ and your MCAT to a 500+.
I would not apply this cycle. Study for the MCAT full time and retake early next year (Januaryish) and then retake in April/May if needed. Get two or three semesters of 3.8+ GPA and you should be set to apply next cycle.

I had a sub 3.0 GPA two years ago when I decided to go the med school route. Since then I took 60+ credits at 3.8 GPA and got a 500+ on my MCAT. Just received my first acceptance. If you really want this, grind it out for the next year and get your MCAT over 500 and GPA 3.x. I took 8 practice tests and studied for 6 months for the MCAT. A 500+ score is absolutely doable with six months of study time.

Good Luck!

 

[ReapPremed]

I'm sorry.

It seems unlikely to me you'll be able to change your score that much in just 10 days. Not only that, but you're stressed from the bad news, and writing secondaries. If you got 490 twice its might be a deep-seeded issue in how you're preparing, unless something really bad happened on test day. There's no way you're just going to grit your teeth, cram exhaustively for 10 days, and get a better score.

How did you prepare? If you only took the one practice exam, you should definitely be taking more to get a feel for test-day.

You have to assume it will be poor or a dice-roll since you're out of practice. I don't know how adcoms will view a third attempt in September, but its my understanding that new scores don't wash away old scores so consider that carefully.

 

[workaholic181]

I am in desperate need of help. I submitted my primaries for DO schools and received my secondaries for a good amount of them. First time I took my MCATs Back in 2015 I received a 489. 125-121-122-121
I took them again this year July 28th exam received a 491. 122-121-124-124

Prior this this mcat exam I was scoring 508 on nk3(this was my recent exam before the July 28th exam) I don't remember the exact score break down.

I don't think this score is even close to what I need for DO schools. I need to improve these scores right away.
My undergrad cGPA is 3.02 sGPA is 2.78.
My masters GPA (biomedical sciences at Rowan's DO school) is 3.45

Now I'm lost and don't know what to do. There's an exam date for September 9th and I could go ahead and take that. Or wait for January then I'm worrying for being extremely late in the cycle. Please advise.

Don't take the sept 9 exam. Accept that this cycle is over for you and begin planning how you will improve both your MCAT and app in general so that you can have something to show adcoms when you reapply.

EDIT: I dont mean to come off as harsh OP. You absolutely can still achieve this goal. It will just take more time. It's a marathon, not a sprint!

 

[dacrazyman]

I'm sorry.

It seems unlikely to me you'll be able to change your score that much in just 10 days. Not only that, but you're stressed from the bad news, and writing secondaries. If you got 490 twice its might be a deep-seeded issue in how you're preparing, unless something really bad happened on test day. There's no way you're just going to grit your teeth, cram exhaustively for 10 days, and get a better score.

How did you prepare? If you only took the one practice exam, you should definitely be taking more to get a feel for test-day.

You have to assume it will be poor or a dice-roll since you're out of practice. I don't know how adcoms will view a third attempt in September, but its my understanding that new scores don't wash away old scores so consider that carefully.

I have taken 3 Kaplan exams, 3 NK exams, sections banks, aamc sample test and practice exams. I just posted the recent exam I took before the actual exam

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

I agree that you need to take year off and prepare for next cycle. You need a much higher MCAT. Have a plan B as well.

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[Cardboard101]

Don't apply.
Your cGPA is borderline, your sGPA would get you rejected or screened out pre secondary/pre interview from most schools. The SMP helps, but you still "beesed" it.

The MCAT would have been your saving grace had you done well on it, but you're now sitting on two 20th percentile scores. You should not be rushing a retake or rushing to apply late in January, this is just a recipe for being a reapplicant.

Prioritize studying for the MCAT, take some science classes in the meantime if you can and apply in the 2018 cycle.

 

[Goro]

I am in desperate need of help. I submitted my primaries for DO schools and received my secondaries for a good amount of them. First time I took my MCATs Back in 2015 I received a 489. 125-121-122-121
I took them again this year July 28th exam received a 491. 122-121-124-124

Prior this this mcat exam I was scoring 508 on nk3(this was my recent exam before the July 28th exam) I don't remember the exact score break down.

I don't think this score is even close to what I need for DO schools. I need to improve these scores right away.
My undergrad cGPA is 3.02 sGPA is 2.78.
My masters GPA (biomedical sciences at Rowan's DO school) is 3.45

Now I'm lost and don't know what to do. There's an exam date for September 9th and I could go ahead and take that. Or wait for January then I'm worrying for being extremely late in the cycle. Please advise.

Why do you think that you're doing so poorly? IF you have test taking anxiety, that needs to be fixed first. I can't recommend a retake until you fix your deficits. Write off this year, and always have a Plan B.

The MS GPA is not that overwhelming either. You should be aceing that.

 

[dacrazyman]

Why do you think that you're doing so poorly? IF you have test taking anxiety, that needs to be fixed first. I can't recommend a retake until you fix your deficits. Write off this year, and always have a Plan B.

The MS GPA is not that overwhelming either. You should be aceing that.

You guys gave me a lot of advice. Right I'm thinking to rescind my application I still have a full years of masters left. So I'm just extremely stressed out

 

[Peach Newport]

Delete

 

[OnePodRanger]

You guys gave me a lot of advice. Right I'm thinking to rescind my application I still have a full years of masters left. So I'm just extremely stressed out

In my opinion, don't give up but at the same time, don't rush. Continue your masters and apply for the next cycle. Since the MCAT seems to be your issue, I would take a lot of your time to figure out what you are doing wrong when taking this exam. Strange enough your practice exam is great but I am assuming every exam is programmed differently.

Work on your CARS for sure because it is a difficult skill at first but when mastering it, it could improve your score dramatically. My advice is to take your time and analyze your situation if you think heading into medical school is for you (I am not saying that you shouldn't, medical school isn't for all)

 

[dacrazyman]

In my opinion, don't give up but at the same time, don't rush. Continue your masters and apply for the next cycle. Since the MCAT seems to be your issue, I would take a lot of your time to figure out what you are doing wrong when taking this exam. Strange enough your practice exam is great but I am assuming every exam is programmed differently.

Work on your CARS for sure because it is a difficult skill at first but when mastering it, it could improve your score dramatically. My advice is to take your time and analyze your situation if you think heading into medical school is for you (I am not saying that you shouldn't, medical school isn't for all)

I've decided to continue my masters make sure I get a 4.0 next two semester then take my mcat January of next year. I think this is the best route. It's time to grind even more and figure out what my flaws are

 

[ReapPremed]

Is there a reason you're so eagero to apply next year? I understand you want certainty in your future, and to get your life started, but you should take one thing at a time. Focus on your master's then the MCAT. It seems like you're really, really struggling and you should spend a few months focusing on that alone.

 

[dacrazyman]

Is there a reason you're so eagero to apply next year? I understand you want certainty in your future, and to get your life started, but you should take one thing at a time. Focus on your master's then the MCAT. It seems like you're really, really struggling and you should spend a few months focusing on that alone.

That's a good point. I'm gonna first figure out a game plan. Then focus on myself and find flaws