Please help! Advice!

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molarseeker

molarseeker

Hopeful Future Int. Rad
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  1. Pre-Medical
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So here is the deal:

I want to apply to medical schools this coming June. However, something happened last summer and I wasn't able to take the MCAT, so I scheduled it for May 23rd. Right now I am at UCLA and have 3 weeks left of this quarter, then I graduate in June. Next quarter I am taking 16 units (I have to in order to graduate). My plan was to study for the MCAT starting February 23rd-May 23rd, however it has been much tougher than I expected and I haven't been able to put much time aside to study. I also do research 2 days a week. This is my question.

If I were to postpone my MCAT to September sometime, if I still applied to schools in June, would I screw up my chances or would they just hold my app till my scores came in in October? If I finish strong these last two quarters, these are my stats:
cGPA 3.4 and sGPA 3.5
neuroscience grad from UCLA
2 years of volunteer work at a surgery center
30+ hours observation of surgeons and anesthesiologists (M.D.)
1 year volunteer at Fresh Start (reconstructive surgery or underprivileged children)
4 quarters working in an Alzheimers research lab
20 or so hours of shadowing primary care physician (D.O.)

I am not asking for a "chance me." I am just saying, with these stats, would it be ok to wait to take the MCAT till September, or should I do my best to take it May 23? I will be applying broadly to D.O. schools and a few lower LOWER tier MD schools.
 
For MD schools September MCAT with you stats will likely ruin your chances -- you will not be complete till mid October, and 3.5 is not going to impress CA schools or most MD schools for that matter. October completion (based on anecdotal evidence) means they will not look at you/read your file till mid-NOV/DEC. This may result in FEB/MAR interviews, which are more likely to be waitlist spots.

For DO schools you will be fine, IMHO.

Obviously any prediction rendered is strongly dependent on your MCAT score.

Did you consider delaying graduation, taking time off/easy load and studying for spring MCAT and finishing off in the summer/autumn?
 
If we are talking strictly DO and you get > 27, you should be fine even that late, but why are you seriously contemplating taking it in September? Do you really think you need 4 months? You need like 2 months max to study for the MCAT if that's all you are doing. Spend 1 month reviewing the material and the next month taking full length practice tests. Get a range of 28-31 or more on practice tests and take the test as early as you can. Realistically, you should be ready to take it in August.

Alternatively, you can do what Woland said and take a break from school for 1 quarter, take the exam and then finish later in the year.
 
hallowmann said:
If we are talking strictly DO and you get > 27, you should be fine even that late, but why are you seriously contemplating taking it in September? Do you really think you need 4 months? You need like 2 months max to study for the MCAT if that's all you are doing. Spend 1 month reviewing the material and the next month taking full length practice tests. Get a range of 28-31 or more on practice tests and take the test as early as you can. Realistically, you should be ready to take it in August.

Alternatively, you can do what Woland said and take a break from school for 1 quarter, take the exam and then finish later in the year.
Click to expand...

The reason is bc I literally don't have time right now. However I may just work my ass off to do it in may
 
I was in the same boat as you last year and I also graduated from a UC. I ended up taking my MCAT late august but applied to both MD and DO beginning of Aug. This way my apps were varified by the time I received my MCAT scores. For DO schools you should be fine with this technique however for MD schools you need to do really well on the MCAT and have an amazing app since more people apply to MD schools and they are oviously a lot more competitive.
 
molarseeker said:
The reason is bc I literally don't have time right now. However I may just work my ass off to do it in may
Click to expand...

No, I understand it taking that long for you to study with school also, and that's fine, but you're graduating in June and you think the earliest you could take the MCAT is September. Really, you shouldn't take it later than August (which is already late for MD).

To give you an idea, I studied for a little less than a month (doing nothing else, but family stuff), and I got a score competitive for most MD schools. Really though, to get the score I really wanted I should have studied for another month. I also took 14 full length practice tests under test conditions in that month, so yeah it was rushed. Everyone is different, but for most people, 2 months devoted to studying is usually enough.
 
Last edited:
I don't think you should wait until September to take the MCAT.. can you do it in June or July? But don't take the MCAT until you're ready. You don't want a low score to haunt you. I would try to study and be ready to take the MCAT before August. You have to remember that you won't even know your score until a month later and some schools won't send you a secondary until they know your MCAT. The longer you wait, the lower your chances will become for this cycle.
Good luck!!! :luck:
 
My MD GPa will likely be around 3.3 because of my first 3 years at CC of screwing around with random classes and doing bad. The 3.4-3.5 was for DO because of grade replacement. I'm beginning to contemplate even applying to md because I don't feel I have a chance.
 
It's always best to put forward the best possible package, so suggest waiting to take MCAT and then apply. it won't be that late in the cycle.


molarseeker said:
So here is the deal:

I want to apply to medical schools this coming June. However, something happened last summer and I wasn't able to take the MCAT, so I scheduled it for May 23rd. Right now I am at UCLA and have 3 weeks left of this quarter, then I graduate in June. Next quarter I am taking 16 units (I have to in order to graduate). My plan was to study for the MCAT starting February 23rd-May 23rd, however it has been much tougher than I expected and I haven't been able to put much time aside to study. I also do research 2 days a week. This is my question.

If I were to postpone my MCAT to September sometime, if I still applied to schools in June, would I screw up my chances or would they just hold my app till my scores came in in October? If I finish strong these last two quarters, these are my stats:
cGPA 3.4 and sGPA 3.5
neuroscience grad from UCLA
2 years of volunteer work at a surgery center
30+ hours observation of surgeons and anesthesiologists (M.D.)
1 year volunteer at Fresh Start (reconstructive surgery or underprivileged children)
4 quarters working in an Alzheimers research lab
20 or so hours of shadowing primary care physician (D.O.)

I am not asking for a "chance me." I am just saying, with these stats, would it be ok to wait to take the MCAT till September, or should I do my best to take it May 23? I will be applying broadly to D.O. schools and a few lower LOWER tier MD schools.
Click to expand...
 
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Goro said:
It's always best to put forward the best possible package, so suggest waiting to take MCAT and then apply. it won't be that late in the cycle.
Click to expand...

Given that Goro is a DO adcom and this is pre-osteo forum, does this advice only apply to DO cycle?

molarseeker said:
Legggoooo!!
Click to expand...

OP, do yourself a favour and add MedPR to your ignore list. This will make reading these forums much faster and more informative.
 
Woland said:
This will make reading these forums much faster and more informative.
Click to expand...

Probably not. I'm known to give good advice.


Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
 
pinkstarr said:
I was in the same boat as you last year and I also graduated from a UC. I ended up taking my MCAT late august but applied to both MD and DO beginning of Aug. This way my apps were varified by the time I received my MCAT scores. For DO schools you should be fine with this technique however for MD schools you need to do really well on the MCAT and have an amazing app since more people apply to MD schools and they are oviously a lot more competitive.
Click to expand...

This time last year I posted this same exact post, as well as pinkstarr, same boat. I waited, studied all summer, and did perfectly fine. You would be surprised at how well you may do applying in Sept.
One thing most people don't realize is that if you apply with everything in June, your app will be in, it will just be pending your mcat score, so turn it in and when your mcat score comes in you can send it straight away. Also, prewrite your secondaries. When you are offered an interview inquire about an earlier date, if it wasn't for this I would most likely not have gotten into the school of my dreams.

Pinkstarr, I went to a UC and got into the same school you did ha. Good luck with everything.
 
amistret said:
This time last year I posted this same exact post, as well as pinkstarr, same boat. I waited, studied all summer, and did perfectly fine. You would be surprised at how well you may do applying in Sept.
One thing most people don't realize is that if you apply with everything in June, your app will be in, it will just be pending your mcat score, so turn it in and when your mcat score comes in you can send it straight away. Also, prewrite your secondaries. When you are offered an interview inquire about an earlier date, if it wasn't for this I would most likely not have gotten into the school of my dreams.

Pinkstarr, I went to a UC and got into the same school you did ha. Good luck with everything.
Click to expand...

If I were applying strictly to D.O. schools, I think I would feel a little better even taking it in August, because then my scores will be in by September. However, I want to apply to some lower tier M.D. schools (because of my lower GPA (3.3ish)) and see if I get any hits. I just don't know if it is worth it to take it early (May) and be able to apply M.D. with the possibility of not getting any interviews, or wait and get a possibly better MCAT score and possibly get into a better D.O. medical school. Decisions decisions. I should have just taken it last summer! Ugh!

And I do value MedPR's insight as he has given me some great information. I just feel he comes off as a very blunt person that could do better things with his/her time than scowling the forums for people who may or may not have used the search function. That is the job for the mods.
 
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molarseeker said:
If I were applying strictly to D.O. schools, I think I would feel a little better even taking it in August, because then my scores will be in by September. However, I want to apply to some lower tier M.D. schools (because of my lower GPA (3.3ish)) and see if I get any hits. I just don't know if it is worth it to take it early (May) and be able to apply M.D. with the possibility of not getting any interviews, or wait and get a possibly better MCAT score and possibly get into a better D.O. medical school. Decisions decisions. I should have just taken it last summer! Ugh!

And I do value MedPR's insight as he has given me some great information. I just feel he comes off as a very blunt person that could do better things with his/her time than scowling the forums for people who may or may not have used the search function. That is the job for the mods.
Click to expand...

My whole view going into it was, hey I am going to take my time to do the best I can on the mcat because I never want to take it again and apply this cycle kind of late, if I don't get in at least I can be almost positive I will get acceptances the next year by applying June 1. Not taking the MCAT twice was a big thing for me.
Ponder this, a low mcat is worse than applying late number 1, number 2 if you do poorly and want to retake, your most likely going to have to apply the next cycle anyway.
 
Rescheduled MCAT for August 16th. Thanks guys!
 
amistret said:
This time last year I posted this same exact post, as well as pinkstarr, same boat. I waited, studied all summer, and did perfectly fine. You would be surprised at how well you may do applying in Sept.
One thing most people don't realize is that if you apply with everything in June, your app will be in, it will just be pending your mcat score, so turn it in and when your mcat score comes in you can send it straight away. Also, prewrite your secondaries. When you are offered an interview inquire about an earlier date, if it wasn't for this I would most likely not have gotten into the school of my dreams.

Pinkstarr, I went to a UC and got into the same school you did ha. Good luck with everything.
Click to expand...

HIGH FIVE amistret!🙂 Will I be seeing you in mesa this summer?
 
pinkstarr said:
HIGH FIVE amistret!🙂 Will I be seeing you in mesa this summer?
Click to expand...

Ah man. You actually will not. I requested and was allowed a year deferment. I will spend the year dreaming about it though, and I do expect some tips when I arrive as a first year 🙂
 
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