Non-Trad: Med School Chance?

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

This year or next year?

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

Want to retake the MCAT in the next few months. Will probably still apply this cycle (probably late sept/ early oct) with the realization that my chances are slim and I probably will need to apply straight away next June.

What are my chances if I apply early next cycle?

Re-applicants are at a significant disadvantage at many schools (especially in CA). A strong first application is the best strategy.

 

[zzxxzz]

Don't take this the wrong way, but some of your non-clinical volunteering looks like you were just "getting it over with." 36 hours total over two positions?

Your chances aren't great with a 25. Unfortunately, you probably shouldn't apply this cycle unless you improve drastically on your retake. Even a 30 on an October submission isn't giving yourself much of a chance.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

If i were to score a 30 cum on the MCAT, would I be competitive for lower-tiered schools as a first-time applicant next year?

For OOS, sure. And you would be in range for Western and Touro as well.

 

[V5RED]

Hello all! What do you guys think about my chance of getting into medical school? I went to a California CC for 4 years before I transferred to UCLA.

CC GPAs:
Cum: 3.78
Science: 3.66
Non-S: 3.94

UCLA GPAs:
Cum: 3.54
Science: 3.51
Non-S: 3.85

Combined GPAs:
Cum: 3.71
Science: 3.59
Non-S :3.93

Clinical Volunteering:
- 220 hours: patient transportation/discharge
- cardiologist shadowing: 20 hours
- rheumatologist shadowing: 12 hours

Volunteering:
- Boys & Girls Club Tutoring (2 hours a week for 10 weeks)
- Soup Kitchen (4 hours/week x 4 weeks)

Clubs/Honor Societies/Organizations:
- CC's Student Government --> STARTED a Student Health Center at the college -- was a major project and I delivered a 15 minute presentation to the Board of Trustees and got a unanimous approval
ALSO: I organized a campus wide student appreciation day: Free food, activities, live band, opportunity drawing
- CC's Honor Society
- 2 Honor Societies @ UCLA
- Pre-Med Club @ UCLA - general member

Research:
100 hours in an Alzheimer's dry lab -- delineated patient's MRI Full Brain Scans

Work:
Past: Restaurants, Shoe Store, Grocery Store... part-time jobs
Currently: Full time in a dermatology cancer clinic, working as a lab technician. I process patient skin samples/biopsies and stain the tissue with H&E then I sit with the dermatologists as the pathology is being determined.

MCAT:
Jan 2014: 25 cumlative score...
Studying for a retake

If I get a 30 or higher on the MCAT during my retake, what do you guys think are my chances of getting into medical school?

P.S.: I just graduated from UCLA after 2 years of attendance ('12-'14) with a B.S. in physiology.

Thanks for the feedback!

Your CC GPA is great, but why the sudden drop when you went to UCLA? Were you a full time student at CC? Was there one really bad semester at UCLA?

What happened with the MCAT? What was your score per section? Was that close to your practice score average? Do you have a good reason to think a retake would be near a 30?

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[V5RED]

The full lengths AAMC tests prior to the tests were a bit all over the place: 30,29,26,31

On test day I panicked and went into a "fight or flight mode" which has never happened to me during a test before. My PS section which is usually my strongest section (11-12) was low (8). Also, my verbal score really fluctuates. I typically score around an 8 or a 9 but occasionally will get a 5 or a 6.. which really stings. I entered the test knowing, If i do normal on PS and BS and hold my own on the VR then I'll have a shot at a good score... but I ended up doing worst than normal on the PS and got beat up by the VR (6).

All together that's:
VR: 6
PS: 8
BS: 11

I think I can get:
VR: 8+
PS: 11-13
BS: 10-12

leaving me to think I can earn 29-33.. roughly.

I started off well at UCLA (3.7gpa my first quarter) and did okay my 2nd quarter (3.67gpa) but my 3rd and 4th quarters were not good with my worst quarter being a 3.2GPA. I had a grade issue which eventually got fixed but it was really took a toll on my focus. I was a full time student all 4 years at the CC while I worked part time and after 6 years of college that was the only grade issue I ever had.

I'm glad I regained my focus towards the end of UCLA but I definitely struggled for about 2 quarters.

Have you been to the MCAT forum? Scores fluctuating like that makes me wonder if there are some gaps in your knowledge base or some other issue that sometimes gets hammered on the tests. There are a lot of useful posts there, especially the stickied stuff, that can help you.

Don't rush it. If I were in your shoes I would not apply this cycle, rather I would work on my MCAT and get some more volunteering in between now and the next cycle.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[zzxxzz]

My non-clinical volunteering is admittedly a weaker aspect of my overall application. Transportation issues have limited some of my opportunities but I feel right now my main priority should improve my MCAT score before I get too concerned with shortage of volunteer hours. Hopefully I have the right philosophy on this.

Absolutely. Just nitpicking as is the SDN way any application, including those which get into every Ivy, can theoretically be improved upon.

The full lengths AAMC tests prior to the tests were a bit all over the place: 30,29,26,31

On test day I panicked and went into a "fight or flight mode" which has never happened to me during a test before. My PS section which is usually my strongest section (11-12) was low (8). Also, my verbal score really fluctuates. I typically score around an 8 or a 9 but occasionally will get a 5 or a 6.. which really stings. I entered the test knowing, If i do normal on PS and BS and hold my own on the VR then I'll have a shot at a good score... but I ended up doing worst than normal on the PS and got beat up by the VR (6).

All together that's:
VR: 6
PS: 8
BS: 11

I think I can get:
VR: 8+
PS: 11-13
BS: 10-12

Yea, I wouldn't apply with that score. A 6 in VR is a red flag, unfortunately; it implies you just had no idea on several passages. And you aren't alone, many people react that way. I have a friend who scored 11 points below their exam average after having a panic attack during the MCAT. They drastically improved on their second take.

It's just a test. Just questions to which you know the answers. Just take a deep breath, and, if you don't know how to solve a problem when you first look at it, just mark it and come back. Doing problems you can solve warms up your mental gears. Vacillating frantically on an early question = time issues = adrenaline that fogs your mind. Just relax. Few people can make it through the MCAT without a couple educated guesses.

My personal observation? People who do poorly on PS on the real thing often think they need to do the math for everything. Hint: you don't, and if you try, you're more likely to overthink or make a small error that'll lead to the wrong answer.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

I have a question about how my GPA will be displayed to the schools I apply to. Will they see my California CC's GPAs seperately from my University GPAs? Or will they only see my combined cumulative, science, and non-s GPAs?

We will see them by year, not by institution.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

Oh interesting. So in my case, there will be 6 Cumulative, Science, and Non-Science GPAs for each school year and then one final cumulative, science, non-science GPAs with all 6 years combined?

If that is the case, that is a lot of numbers for adcoms to consider, are the all combined C,S,NS GPAs what they consider the most?

There is only one set of cumulative scores. All post bac grades are considered together, not by years.
The whole set of numbers tells a story. The cumulative gpa is what is reported to the MSAR.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

I went to California CC for 4 years and a university for 2 years, no post bac.

One set of cumulative scores?
Whole Set of Numbers?

I'm a bit confused on what you mean.

Are you saying they will get a C GPA , S GPA , NS GPA for each of the following school years:
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
2012-2013
2013-2014

AND a final set of C GPA , S GPA , NS GPA values which combines all the classes/grades from 2008 to 2014?

THEN, for statistical purposes they release the 2008-2014 cumulative GPA to MSAR?

No, your grades will be divided roughly into years by credits not actual years. If it took three years to complete the equivalent of freshman year, they will all be lumped into the first year of credits. They do not give a running cumulative score, rather a single set of cumulative scores for BCPM, all other and total.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

Okay great. Let me make sure I fully understand.

Grades will be divided up into years of credits, in my case there will be a total of roughly 5-6 years of credits worth (was always a full-time student)

Then all years of Grades are then compilled into a single set of 3 values: S GPA, NS GPA, & C GPA

Any credits that exceed those sufficient for graduation will appear in a separate line as post bac.

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[gyngyn]

I see. They will still receive a single set of 3 values: S GPA, NS GPA, & C GPA for me though right?

Or is there a set of 3 GPA values for the 4 years of credits and a set of 3 GPA values for the post bac credits?

There will be a line of GPA's corresponding to the credit equivalent of each of 4 years, then a separate line for post bac gpa's, and a single set of cumulative gpa's (that includes post-bac).

 

[w4nt2badoc]

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[blueharbor]

No, your grades will be divided roughly into years by credits not actual years. If it took three years to complete the equivalent of freshman year, they will all be lumped into the first year of credits. They do not give a running cumulative score, rather a single set of cumulative scores for BCPM, all other and total.

I know other apps have had this happen but for mine, they kept it exactly as I put it in on AMCAS. So for freshman through senior and then my postbacc, my credits are 25, 25, 21, 45, 47. They didn't include my 24 AP credits in my freshman year either, although I believe they have for some people. And my postbacc credits were limited to the credits I received after graduation, just as I labeled them, even though I had more than I needed when I graduated.

Just throwing that out there to say it's not always broken down by credits, unless my app was a total anomaly.