Need Advice ..URGENT

[FutureDoc6181]

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I need advice on which schools to apply that do not weigh MCAT as much as GPA. I have 3.6 GPA but 21 MCAT. Thanks.

 

[stoic]

That's gonna raise eyebrows at every school.

Your best bet is to apply to many schools and do everything you can to strengthen to other areas of your application (research, clinical experience, other EC's)

You may get in, or you may need to retake the MCAT.

Good luck,
S

 

[tupac_don]

With that MCAT, your chances are minimized. You might be able to get into a DO school. But even for DO school a competitive MCAT is ~26-27, not quite as high as 30 for allo, but not low as 21. Your best bet would be to retake the MCAT and see if you can score higher. B/c your chances are pretty weak with such a low MCAT. I also think that most schools will automatically reject you if you have less then a certain MCAT score. So your best chance is to improve your MCAT. Good luck. I wouldn't even apply with that score.

 

[Amy B]

I disagree. DO schools will look at applicants with an MCAT as low as that. Everything else needs to be great though. They are more willing to look at the overall application rather than focus on one small part of the application. But yes, you have a chance. It is going to be hard, but you do have a chance. Average for DO school is 25 and as you know an average means there are people higher than 25 and there are people lower than 25.

It is not unheard of to get into a DO school with a 20 to 25. But you have to have a great overall package. Luckily your GPA is good so make sure everything is great.

I would say apply to a lot of the schools to increase your chances. As for MD schools taking 21, that would be very hard, but it has been done. Really there is no way to find out if you can get accepted except to pay the money and go through the process.

Good luck.

 

[DireWolf]

Amy B to the rescue. Good advice as always.

*high five* 👍

 

[sistahnik]

I agree with AmyB totally and it is not unheard of to get into an allopathic with below a 25. I have a friend who got into med school(allo) with a score like yours or actually according to her, lower than yours, but I know for a fact that she is in and going to be a 2nd year this month. good luck and don't give up hope! 👍 😉

 

[Freakingzooming]

Amy B to the rescue. Good advice as always.

*high five* 👍

Yes, but I want to add that some of the previous advice is worth looking into.. try to retake the MCAT. Who knows, maybe if you prepare for it this time around, you can get a higher score. But best of luck

 

[tupac_don]

I agree with AmyB totally and it is not unheard of to get into an allopathic with below a 25. I have a friend who got into med school(allo) with a score like yours or actually according to her, lower than yours, but I know for a fact that she is in and going to be a 2nd year this month. good luck and don't give up hope! 👍 😉

Question:

A) Is that friend a minority?
B) Is that friend's father on the board or adcom?
C) What does he have, spectacular to overcome that poor MCAT. Say a PhD or another advanced degree.

Trust me, without some extraneous circumstances or really thick connections, no way you will get into any school with such a low MCAT. Yea maybe if your avg is 3.98, you can show convincingly why u did so poorly on MCAT, you are applying to instate school. Your other extracurrics and letters of reference are amazing. Otherwise, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell to get into allopathic school.

Also although MCAT is not a true sign of ability to be a physician, a successful student should do at least 9's on every section. It's doable, and I think doing less than that, u must be doing something wrong. Either you are just not capable to handle material or your study methods are all wrong. Or you are running out of time. Or you have a problem of performing under timed conditions.

Well that's my 2 cents. Later.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I think you're OK to apply only if it's a 7/7/7... a breakdown of 4 7 10 or 5 7 9 looks much worse than a 7 7 7... what's your breakdown like?

 

[Aaron Earles]

I would go ahead and apply. But I would also plan to take the MCAT again.

I will tell you that I got in with a very very very low MCAT score. I had two years work experience in a hospital doing rehab, a masters degree, lots and lots of extracurriculars, some very good rec letters, and a certification in ACLS and BLS.

I was accepted to two DO schools with these stats. I can speak from 4 years experience that it is very difficult to get in with low mcats unless you are very strong in other areas.

I interview very well too. Both schools that I was accepted was more of a conversation than an interview. Pikeville's interview session is just great. Very laid back and they try their best to make you comfortable. I think my personality had a lot to do with me getting in as well.

If you dont apply, you will always look back and say, Man, I should have applied because I could have got in. It never hurts to apply, except the wallet will suffer with repeated application cycles. Good luck to you and I hope that you will get accepted. Just dont give up and dont beat yourself up over the MCAT scores. Once you get the acceptance call, all the hardships that you have endured will be worth it.

ACE

 

[Docgeorge]

That MCAT is low. Yeah people get in with MCAT's that low, but usually they have some other major things going for them. I'd apply but I'd also plan on takeing the MCAT again.

 

[coolness]

I think you should retake the MCAT. 21 is a little low. As others have said, you still have a chance to be accepted to a DO school, but if you can get your score to around 25-28, you've increased your competitiveness. Good luck!

 

[DORoe]

I need advice on which schools to apply that do not weigh MCAT as much as GPA. I have 3.6 GPA but 21 MCAT. Thanks.

I think we are getting away from his/her original question here. He/she wants to know which schools they should apply for. I would say that with your MCAT score it might be difficult to get into a public school as an out-of-state student. Also it might be difficult to get into a school that has preferences for certain regions of the country if you are not from there. To be prefectly honest I don't know a lot about all of the schools so I am just going to rattle some off that I think you might want to take a look at and someone correct me if my list if wrong or there is something that I don't know. LECOM, LECOM-B, PCOM (this is a private institution is it not?), TUCOM Mare Island as well as Nevada, NSUCOM, NYCOM, and maybe a few others I do not know. I don't know anything about the entrance stats from these schools as I do not have my book with me at the moment, but that might give you a place to start.

 

[raptor5]

PCOM (this is a private institution is it not?

Yes, but a large part of students are from PA. They are not that anal on MCAT scores if everything else is in place. I say apply everywhere as the whole process os a crapshoot.

Raptor5
PCOM 2008

 

[Aaron Earles]

Well, I think that this person should apply to PCSOM in Pikeville, KY. I have classmates from all over the US. If you would like more info on Pikeville and the info on the school, go to www.geocities.com/pcsom2008/index

You can also visit the schools website at www.pcsom.edu

I hope this helps.

ACE

 

[smc927]

As I've been deciding which schools to apply to I've gone to the aacom.org web site and visited the link for each school. They all have, somewhere on their individual school site, statistics for average MCAT and GPA. I recall one or two mentioning 24 as a minimum MCAT, although I believe even thay said that was not solid. But I also recall several specifically mentioning that the MCAT was not the most important factor, seeming to encourage low MCAT scorers to apply anyway. Visit each school's site, then you'll have a much better feel for where to apply.

 

[sistahnik]

futuredoc6181, don't get discouraged because of what other ppl say. just stay calm and try to make a plan that will enhance your application. I think that you should definitely apply with the current score, but put on the app that you will retake in august, if you plan to. make sure you apply to a good scope of schools and keep your faith level up. don't worry just do it!! good luck!! 😉

 

[Aaron Earles]

futuredoc6181, don't get discouraged because of what other ppl say. just stay calm and try to make a plan that will enhance your application. I think that you should definitely apply with the current score, but put on the app that you will retake in august, if you plan to. make sure you apply to a good scope of schools and keep your faith level up. don't worry just do it!! good luck!! 😉

I think this is great advice. Futuredoc, If I discouraged you with my post, I am extremely sorry. My intent was not to discourage, but to encourage. I think it would be wise to go ahead and apply to school. I agree with the above poster that you can always tell them you took the August MCAT as well.

What schools are you interested in?

ACE