Not even worth applying, is it?

[jl lin]

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Ultimately, SDN is just a bunch of people talking over the Internet. If you apply, it will cost you only time and money, and the bruises to your ego that stem from rejection. You're not going to damage yourself by applying to LUCOM and the other DO schools that tend to be more forgiving on the MCAT.

From an adcom's perspective, a person with a 24 shouldn't be admitted, because them failing Step 1 would damage the school's reputation. (can't DO students take COMLEX instead of USMLE? What are the pass rates for that for someone with a 24?) Adcoms are risk-averse and have the privilege of selecting from the best applicants. From a student's perspective, a 10% chance of them failing Step 1 probably doesn't have a big deterrent effect.

There are three outcomes here: either the student gets rejected and finds a new career, or the student gets accepted and passes Step 1 and lives happily ever after, or the Catastrophic Bad Outcome of the student getting accepted and failing Step 1 and being saddled with massive debt and no marketable skills. The Catastrophic Bad Outcome is exceedingly unlikely, occurring probably only about 2% of the time, with the most likely outcome being simple rejection. I suggest the student applies next cycle (getting a bit late for this one) one last time just to get any regrets that may arise down the road out of the way. It's better to try and fail than to give up and live the rest of your life regretting not even trying.

OK, you make good points. But why not allow the OP to consider what in the world is wrong with them, if possible, and if indeed they can fix it? After doing due diligence, which I concede, the OP should have done before taking the MCAT a second or third time, it is then that she will need to firmly face finding a new career. If she indeed has text anxiety amenable to remedy, it may be worth it to try again. It depends, and only she along with some WISE counsel, can determine this.

 

[Cotterpin]

OK, you make good points. But why not allow the OP to consider what in the world is wrong with them, if possible, and if indeed they can fix it? After doing due diligence, which I concede, the OP should have done before taking the MCAT a second or third time, it is then that she will need to firmly face finding a new career. If she indeed has text anxiety amenable to remedy, it may be worth it to try again. It depends, and only she along with some WISE counsel, can determine this.

Lol. What in the world is wrong with you, OP?!

For real, anxiety is sooooooo common in the U.S. and OP seems to be doing pretty well otherwise, so I'm not super worried about her.

 

[Ismet]

There is a difference between being at risk of failing step 1 versus not scoring highly on it. The data suggest the OP is not at risk of failing Step 1. If her bio section was high, then the data suggest that OP is in good shape for step 1.

Measuring "success" on step 1 depends on which field of medicine the student is interested in pursuing.

Being "in good shape" for Step 1 is not just barely passing Step 1. You know how bad a very low Step 1 score looks? So bad that it would almost be preferable to actually fail it so they can get help, correct their deficits, and try for a solid score on the second time around, even though most programs in certain fields don't even consider applicants with more than one Step 1 attempt. The goal is to get a solid Step 1 score so that you can open doors or keep doors open so that you can be competitive for whatever you want to go into. Just because you're going for IM and not derm doesn't mean you're "successful" with a 220. You're probably thinking of "success" as "matching, no matter in what or where as long as I'll be a doctor" when there's really a lot more to it than that. That's something I didn't fully understand as a 1st/2nd year med student, certainly something I don't expect a pre-med to fully understand yet. That one number alone can close a heck of a lot of doors.

I don't claim to know much about DO admissions so I'm not sure if OP has a shot at some DO schools with those scores, but if they do, best of luck. More importantly, I hope OP gets the help they need before attempting again. From an admissions perspective, 3 attempts at the MCAT with the highest being a 24 is an incredible gamble. It demonstrates extreme lack of knowledge, crippling test anxiety, or likely both. It demonstrates poor judgment, retaking the exam several times without reasonable expectation that there will be improvement. And finally, if test anxiety really is the culprit, do you realize how much that will be magnified for Step 1? If you can't demonstrate that you overcame your test anxiety, I would be very very concerned that it will come back x10000 for a board exam.

When a school receives several thousand applications for 100-150 spots, I hope you can see how someone with 3 attempts and a high of 24 is an unlikely contender, no matter what lies in the rest of the application.

 

[jl lin]

Lol. What in the world is wrong with you, OP?!

For real, anxiety is sooooooo common in the U.S. and OP seems to be doing pretty well otherwise, so I'm not super worried about her.

Hahaha No, didn't mean it like that CP 🙂. It's just that some folks with TA also have other issues, such as reading comprehension or inferential analysis issues as well. So, again, she needs to hunker down and get some really good outside analysis for accurately diagnosing her issues . It's nice when one thing happens in a vacuum apart from other things, but often enough, one thing is mixed in and triggering the other.

She needs some strong adult learning needs assessments. Even if she went with Huntington or a university that as a strong teacher's college or psych dpt. There are many educational assessment resources out there. She could find a psychologist that has experience with these kinds of issues.

Point is, for this person, it's a serious issue that requires sound problem-solving skills if she seeks to move forward in any field that requires intensive standardized testing.

I can't say it's all just simply test anxiety. There most certainly could be other components making the TA worse. Smart people often compensate for one learning issue or another; hence they may get good grades--up to a point where their compensation tools fail.

And let's be completely honest. An MCAT equivalent of 24 x 3 is w/o question highly problematic for a person seeking to enter (and stay in) MS. The sooner she can hone in on what exactly the real problems are and find effect treatment, the better. If she cannot change this situation, she's wise to consider doing something else.

 

[jl lin]

Being "in good shape" for Step 1 is not just barely passing Step 1. You know how bad a very low Step 1 score looks? So bad that it would almost be preferable to actually fail it so they can get help, correct their deficits, and try for a solid score on the second time around, even though most programs in certain fields don't even consider applicants with more than one Step 1 attempt. The goal is to get a solid Step 1 score so that you can open doors or keep doors open so that you can be competitive for whatever you want to go into. Just because you're going for IM and not derm doesn't mean you're "successful" with a 220. You're probably thinking of "success" as "matching, no matter in what or where as long as I'll be a doctor" when there's really a lot more to it than that. That's something I didn't fully understand as a 1st/2nd year med student, certainly something I don't expect a pre-med to fully understand yet. That one number alone can close a heck of a lot of doors.

I don't claim to know much about DO admissions so I'm not sure if OP has a shot at some DO schools with those scores, but if they do, best of luck. More importantly, I hope OP gets the help they need before attempting again. From an admissions perspective, 3 attempts at the MCAT with the highest being a 24 is an incredible gamble. It demonstrates extreme lack of knowledge, crippling test anxiety, or likely both. It demonstrates poor judgment, retaking the exam several times without reasonable expectation that there will be improvement. And finally, if test anxiety really is the culprit, do you realize how much that will be magnified for Step 1? If you can't demonstrate that you overcame your test anxiety, I would be very very concerned that it will come back x10000 for a board exam.

When a school receives several thousand applications for 100-150 spots, I hope you can see how someone with 3 attempts and a high of 24 is an unlikely contender, no matter what lies in the rest of the application.

Yes, all you and others have said here has helped to emphasize the point that it's foolish for anyone to say the hardest part about becoming a physician is getting into medical school. The hoop-jumping doesn't stop for a while, and when it does, it's only temporary. Presumably the test anxiety will worsen after a person has spent that much money and time and there is so much riding on testing in the licensing process. One has to also consider Board Certification, if one is indeed eligible. It's all intense, and it's all a big deal. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try to smile, laugh, and enjoy life whenever you can. It just means there is a lot riding on doing well all the way through to BC, and then practicing w/ excellence and maintaining and growing one's education and skills--b/c that is what any reasonably intelligent patient will want and what all patients should get.