PA program to Med school... making the switch! Advice?

[moe_eves]

Hi everyone,
I am currently in the middle of my 3rd year in a 5-year BS/MS physician assistant program at a small liberal arts school in Pennsylvania. However, I have decided to take the leap and pursue medical school rather than continue my path in the PA program. To do this, I will switch to a biology major and spend my senior year of college fulfilling the requirements to complete a bachelor's in biology and completing any prerequisites necessary for medical school. Fortunately, I have already fulfilled most necessary classes through my undergrad so far in the 5-year PA program.
I am posting to see if anyone has any advice for this transition. When should I take the MCAT for the first time? I have a cumulative GPA of 3.91, but a realize that my MCAT score will be a huge factor in terms of my acceptance (or rejection... let's hope not!) to medical school. What is a safe MCAT score that could get me into a medical school?
I greatly appreciate any advice or information!
Thanks!
Matt

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[ConfusedChemist]

Can you not stay in your program and take the pre-reqs? Then you have a BS still but also a back up

 

[DrMidlife]

I have already fulfilled most necessary classes through my undergrad so far in the 5-year PA program.

Make sure you're looking at the real med school prereqs. Find the premed advising web page and check. Common mistake.

When should I take the MCAT for the first time?

Uh, there's no "first" time. Retakes do NOT look okay, period, end of story. Give it all you've got, with months of rigorous prep after you've built a stable foundation in the content. Generally if you want to apply to med school in early June 201x you want to take the MCAT by the end of May 201x so your score is in hand when you apply.

What is a safe MCAT score that could get me into a medical school?

There's no such thing as a safe MCAT score that will "get you" into med school. It's part of a package. Look at the average matriculant scores at your med schools of interest for a ballpark estimate.

The MCAT is only the first, easiest, shortest of the extremely long multiple choice exams covering painfully massive piles of content between you and medical practice. It's not a finish line. It's not a burrito punch card. Being good at these kinds of tests is your job in med school.

Now's a good time to review the reapplicant forum, to learn about mistakes you can avoid by being in a hurry, excessively cheap, unrecommendable, unrounded, or crappy at interviews.

Best of luck to you.