Okay to mention low mcat score in PS?

[JennieLeigh]

Is that cool?

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[DrMom]

No. It just isn't info that belongs in your PS.

On another note...why do you have this posted as a poll with nonsense questions?

 

[relatively prime]

YES DEFINITELY!! Almost all admissions people will tell you "what you don't explain in your PS, we will use our imaginations to explain." You don't want to leave them quessing... becuase chances are they are not going to guess in your favor. Don't whine... and don't make excuses... but ~definitely~ address it... perhaps with a bit of shophisticated humor if you can pull it off.

 

[Trek]

Ummm...NO. Sophisticated humor or not, the PS is not the place to bitch about why you got low scores. --Trek

 

[JennieLeigh]

yes or no. I have mixed reviews here

 

[CaNEM]

Hey Jennie,

How low is low? What were your scores?

Also, what are some ideas you have about what you might say about the scores in your statement?

I think both of these are important considerations.

 

[lola]

I wouldn't mention it unless there is a legitimate reason for your low score. If you were extremely ill or if English isn't your first language or something, I think it might be ok to incorporate a sentence or two about it in your personal statement.

 

[praying4MD]

NO NO NO. They are looking for a reason not to interview you. You don't have to give them one; they will try to find them on their own. If they want to know about it, they will ask you at the interview. There is no need to bring up any faults on your PS. Your PS is there to tell them more about YOU as a person. If your MCAT score defines you in any way (please tell me it doesn't) then go ahead and mention it. If not, LEAVE IT OUT! Focus instead on your positive attributes, your personality, your experiences and what you've gained from them. Make yourself unique.

 

[kathleeya]

in general, i agree with prime. the personal statement is the place for you to explain your journey towards medicine, both the highs AND the lows. if you have a point in talking about your low MCAT (i.e. there were special circumstances surrounding the low score, how it does not reflect your true potential, etc.) then by all means, discuss it.
if you were going to simply say, "hey, i have a low-ass mcat score, but pretty please, let me in!" (which i assume you weren't planning on doing) then of course do not talk about it.
it's always a plus to be able to take those hard times in life and turn them into something positive. THey are going to see the score whether you write about it or not, so if you can explain yourself, go for it!
good luck!

 

[wfu2005]

i don't recommend it. first of all, as sad as I am to say it, schools that definitely won't let you in b/c of your MCAT scores probably won't read your PS. You'll make the filtered category and will get a "We would like to thank you for applying to the class of 2007, unfortunately..."
if they aren't sure b/c of your mcat and want to see how you are as a person, they'll read your PS, and if you spend it talking about your MCAT, you aren't convincing anyone. Essentially, you're saying "take my word for it, I can do better" but you aren't offering any proof. Instead you should want them thinking, "her MCAT's are low, but she sounds like our kind of student, let's bring her in for an interview and see". you gotta learn to let it go and be yourself, and if you think you've got a good essay with MCATs in there, then send it. in a few years you are going to have some big decisions to make about people's lives and won't always have someone else to ask, so here's one for you to answer about your own.

 

[Trek]

Those of us that went through the process give an ardent no, while those that haven't say yes. You can risk it, but why shoot yourself in the foot? --Trek

 

[irongirl]

I would say that you should not include specific information about your gpa or mcat scores in your personal statement. Many schools hold blind interviews in which the interviewers have access to everything in your file EXCEPT for your gpa and mcat scores. If you have low scores and make it to an interview, it would help you for the interviewer to not know those scores.

 

[wfu2005]

irongirl makes a really good point. i know at my school they had one that had the whole file, one with just the personal statement, and one with nothing at all. no sense pointing out deficiencies to those who might not know or might not care.

 

[jmejia1]

i've been through the process as well, and I say NO. Don't mention it on the PS, unless you had a grand mal seizure during the MCAT or something drastic like that.

 

[SMW]

I agree with all the seasoned veterans here, don't do it! And what's up with the poll? It's impossible to vote.

 

[mamadoc]

NO NO NO. Your PS is your sales pitch where you want to present yourself in the most interesting and positive light. Like someone else said, if the score is THAT awful they won't read your PS anyway. If the score can be overlooked so that the application screener gets to the PS, the last thing you want to do is remind them of your score. The only time I would agree that you should discuss an MCAT score is if it is waaaaay out of whack with everything else in the application - e.g. you were a physics major and got a 4 on the PS because you got a severe nosebleed during that section and ended up only having 15 minutes to complete the 100 minute test. (deliberately giving a rather bizarre example, because you don't want to call attention to anything short of bizarre!)

 

[Doctora Foxy]

uncool

 

[Olanzapine]

Not OK. Even if you did have a legitimate excuse, you should just take it again instead and let your improved score do the explaining.

 

[jlw2004]

Like I said in the thread about explaining a bad semester, I applied to med school twice -- 1993 and 1999. In 1993 I used my PS to explain a semster of bad grades and got rejected, in 1999 I used my PS to focus on my positives and got in. So my vote would be "don't mention it". Let them bring it up in the interview and explain yourself then.

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

fdsfds !!!!!!!!

Don't dwell on the negatives.

 

[mcwmark]

The last thing I want to read in a personal statement is excuses (even if they are true).

NO NO NO NO NO.

 

[rxfudd]

Absolutely not. If there's any way to guarantee that they will emphasize the low score, that is the way to do it. Besides, that is NOT what your personal statement is for.