Postbacc feeder programs like bryn mawr. Are there others like that? how hard is to get into them?

[mrh125]

editted.

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[DrMidlife]

WTF? Why aren't you applying this year? If you're balking because your MCAT is low, then retake the MCAT. That will cost maybe $2500 including a rigorous prep course. Don't try to get a retake done for the 2014-15 app year. Too late.

Or you can spend about $50k on a formal academic program that does nothing for your MCAT.

If you take 5 minutes to review the Bryn Mawr program website, you'll see that it's designed for a totally different audience than you. If you take 30 seconds to review this SDN subforum, you'll find vast piles of info on other academic programs. Which you don't need. But if you have $50k to spend, apply to the Temple program. Which won't get you out of having to learn how to succeed on hours-long standardized exams that cover years of content. It gets a LOT harder during med school.

Just get a better MCAT, max out your clinical experiences, and apply next year.

Best of luck to you.

 

[mrh125]

WTF? Why aren't you applying this year? If you're balking because your MCAT is low, then retake the MCAT. That will cost maybe $2500 including a rigorous prep course. Don't try to get a retake done for the 2014-15 app year. Too late.

Or you can spend about $50k on a formal academic program that does nothing for your MCAT.

If you take 5 minutes to review the Bryn Mawr program website, you'll see that it's designed for a totally different audience than you. If you take 30 seconds to review this SDN subforum, you'll find vast piles of info on other academic programs. Which you don't need. But if you have $50k to spend, apply to the Temple program. Which won't get you out of having to learn how to succeed on hours-long standardized exams that cover years of content. It gets a LOT harder during med school.

Just get a better MCAT, max out your clinical experiences, and apply next year.

Best of luck to you.

I am applying this year, but I want MD admissions and I'm a CA resident. I've retaken the mcat and scored lower after going through all of the available prep sources so I've pretty much hit diminishing returns for the mcat and another score that's low would be a nail in the coffin. I realize i'm not the main audience because my GPA isn't that low, however, I'm mainly interested in a postbacc because they're feeder programs into medical schools. I realize it'll be harder in medical school on the USLME and stuff, but I'm willing to go the extra mile for that and be extremely proactive to get the score I need. I think a postbacc could do wonders for me if I find the right one and they actually would admit me with me stats. would they though? I'm set on finding an alternative to the mcat.

 

[DrMidlife]

I am applying this year, but I want MD admissions and I'm a CA resident. I've retaken the mcat and scored lower after going through all of the available prep sources so I've pretty much hit diminishing returns for the mcat and another score that's low would be a nail in the coffin.

What's your plan for getting past the hours-long standardized exams that cover years of content that you will run into during med school and during residency and during practice? Too hard to think about it? Do you realize that your Step 1 score is going to determine which medical specialty you can pursue? Do you realize that "shelf exams" are nationally standardized tests used starting in the first year of med school, including SMPs? Have you figured out what an SMP is yet?

I've interacted on SDN with thousands of CA residents with decent GPAs and low MCATs who are looking for a way out of wrestling with the MCAT. Please understand that getting in is no gift if you're not ready to succeed on standardized exams.

I realize i'm not the main audience because my GPA isn't that low, however, I'm mainly interested in a postbacc because they're feeder programs into medical schools.

Either you're getting bad advice about what "postbac" means, or you're not following my advice above to spend a measly 30 seconds educating yourself about the various programs you could consider.

Here's a hint: I mentioned one in my previous post. You could easily find out what's special about that program if you spend another 30 seconds in this forum. I'd like to assume you're not lazy, but here's some tough love for you: you've given up on the MCAT and you want other people to figure out what you should do. Is that not lazy?

I realize it'll be harder in medical school on the USLME and stuff, but I'm willing to go the extra mile for that and be extremely proactive to get the score I need.

And you're not willing to do that on the MCAT because...? You'll be a different person in 3-4 years by what miracle...?

I think a postbacc could do wonders for me if I find the right one and they actually would admit me with me stats. would they though?

That's magical thinking. Pure fantasy. You will still be you. An SMP is a terrible place to try to magically become somebody who can do well on standardized tests.

I'm set on finding an alternative to the mcat.

Then you need to either:
a. establish a domicile in another state by moving there, getting a job, and paying taxes
b. focus on DO schools
c. consider other careers

Be the grownup. Like a doctor has to be.

Best of luck to you.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

You cannot handle BMC. The undergrads would eat you alive. Regardless, it's a program for career changers and are for students who have already demonstrated they can hack rigorous coursework and testing. I also think you over-estimate how much influence an SMP (which is the program you want, btw) will have on your chances. There are no "feeder" programs, and the linkages that do exist have very stringent requirements. Usually, the requirements are GPA and MCAT-based, and no flowery essay could save you.

 

[mrh125]

What's your plan for getting past the hours-long standardized exams that cover years of content that you will run into during med school and during residency and during practice? Too hard to think about it? Do you realize that your Step 1 score is going to determine which medical specialty you can pursue? Do you realize that "shelf exams" are nationally standardized tests used starting in the first year of med school, including SMPs? Have you figured out what an SMP is yet?

I've interacted on SDN with thousands of CA residents with decent GPAs and low MCATs who are looking for a way out of wrestling with the MCAT. Please understand that getting in is no gift if you're not ready to succeed on standardized exams.

Either you're getting bad advice about what "postbac" means, or you're not following my advice above to spend a measly 30 seconds educating yourself about the various programs you could consider.

Here's a hint: I mentioned one in my previous post. You could easily find out what's special about that program if you spend another 30 seconds in this forum. I'd like to assume you're not lazy, but here's some tough love for you: you've given up on the MCAT and you want other people to figure out what you should do. Is that not lazy?

And you're not willing to do that on the MCAT because...? You'll be a different person in 3-4 years by what miracle...?

That's magical thinking. Pure fantasy. You will still be you. An SMP is a terrible place to try to magically become somebody who can do well on standardized tests.

Then you need to either:
a. establish a domicile in another state by moving there, getting a job, and paying taxes
b. focus on DO schools
c. consider other careers

Be the grownup. Like a doctor has to be.

Best of luck to you.

I've invested an astronomically high amount of time into studying for the mcat and I took responsibility in every way I could. Someone who isn't an adult wouldn't spend 7-10 hrs a day studying for about 6 months on top of volunteering, going through every resource possible and flying to hawaii just to take the exam a second time because it wasn't available in my state. I scored well on the SAT, just not the mcat and I will prepare myself the best I can for the upcoming exams. I know my limitations with the mcat and know that a lower score or the same score will be a nail in the coffin. I'm well aware of the step 1 hence my reference to the USLME in my previous post. I'm not trying to necessarily cheat the system and dodge standardized tests magically. It's just that the mcat is holding me back. Between my first and second mcat I tightened my knowledge in the science section and ended up improving on both of them, but my verbal went down. I'm not looking to make excuses, I'm looking to allocate my time efficiently instead of putting myself in a situation where I don't have much of a chance of benefitting. I went through every single prep material multiple times: AAMCs FLs, kaplan, TPR, TBR, Examcrackers, examcrackers 1001, barrons, gold standard and several other misc resources. I have around 7000 flashcards too. Furthermore, I know there are plenty of people who end up doing well on USLME that did less than stellar on the mcat for example a neurosurgeon here who got a 27 onthe mcat. I'm also willing to prep myself the hardest I can to prepare USLME. I don't think I will be a different person, but I've been able to radically alter my study habits through hardwork and determination. I went from failing and nearly dropping out of high school to my current scigpa in college. I put as much effort as possible into what I do.

I know postbaccs include premed courses and the object is to better your scigpa mainly for those with low gpas that prevent them from getting admitted to med schools and some offer guarantees to improve your mcat score. I'm mainly interested in the feeder aspect some of them have and while posting here (one of the main ways I learn is through interacting with others on top of research because I've had zero guidance for most of the process) I've found out about other programs such as John Hopkins and Goucher which are also feeders. That's what I'm looking for.

a) I was thinking about texas, that takes a year with employment, but with these SMPs they offer linkages to many medical schools I'm really interested in which makes it even more appealing.
b) Not to rag on DOs, but DOs severally limit the amount of options available to me. MDs have stronger research components, global health which I'm very much interested in, and less discrimination against them in residency (from what i've researched 20% of residency programs don't take DOs seriously and another large portions makes DOs have even higher test scores than equivalent DOs) and complications for specializations that simply aren't available. DO school is just another more complicated sets of hoops for me and after all the hoops I had to jump through to even get a college education I'd rather not complicate the process even further. In order to even get into college and take premed courses I had to take courses at five different community colleges and commute across my state daily to get the courses I needed to transfer and premed courses weren't even available to me because they were so impacted. When I transferred only one school even let me take premed courses and my scigpa is the result of 4 years of science curriculum condensed into 2 years. That isn't the result of making or hiding behind excuses or not being an adult
I'm not saying that I don't expect it to be challenging in medical school, it's just these additional complications that bother me, especially when DOs aren't my main choice.
c) I have over 3000 hours of medical volunteering, I've written 60 drafts of my personal statement for medical school, and invest 10 hours a day each day to this process.I'm extremely invested in medicine and have explored other careers in the past. I'm sticking with medicine though and I have very strong reasons. Don't take my frustration with the process as entitled and fantasy thinking.

I've done more through hard work than anything you've ever done with privilege and having everything handed too which is why you have such a delusional perspective of the merit of mcat and the entire process.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

I know postbaccs include premed courses and the object is to better your scigpa mainly for those with low gpas that prevent them from getting admitted to med schools and some offer guarantees to improve your mcat score. I'm mainly interested in the feeder aspect some of them have and while posting here (one of the main ways I learn is through interacting with others on top of research because I've had zero guidance for most of the process) I've found out about other programs such as John Hopkins and Goucher which are also feeders. That's what I'm looking for.

False. Goucher and JHU's post-bac are career-changer programs and too competitive for you to get into. Again, they are not "feeder" programs, they offer linkages for competitive students.

 

[deleted248403]

I am applying this year, but I want MD admissions and I'm a CA resident. I've retaken the mcat and scored lower after going through all of the available prep sources so I've pretty much hit diminishing returns for the mcat and another score that's low would be a nail in the coffin. I realize i'm not the main audience because my GPA isn't that low, however, I'm mainly interested in a postbacc because they're feeder programs into medical schools. I realize it'll be harder in medical school on the USLME and stuff, but I'm willing to go the extra mile for that and be extremely proactive to get the score I need. I think a postbacc could do wonders for me if I find the right one and they actually would admit me with me stats. would they though? I'm set on finding an alternative to the mcat.

lol delusional. my personal favs are highlighted

 

[mrh125]

lol delusional. my personal favs are highlighted

Is it really that hard to be helpful? I also realize that one of the objectives for SMPs is for people who dont have the prereqs, what about those who do? are they out of luck?

 

[DrCharlemagne]

if you can't contribute anything to the thread aside from arrogance and self-gratifying sycophancy gtfo. I'm really proud of you and your little unique circle jerk about smps not remedying low mcats, but I'm looking for feeders. Also, when there are so few options to remedy a low mcat score you're pretty damn delusional if you don't expect people to come here looking for SMPs. Is it really that hard to be helpful? I also realize that one of the objectives for SMPs is for people who dont have the prereqs, what about those who do? are they out of luck?

You've confused SMPs and career changing programs again. Special Masters Programs are for applicants with low GPAs who are seeking the opportunity to demonstrate their capacity to handle medical school coursework. Post-bacs/career changers, like the programs you've referenced, are for applicants who do not have the pre-reqs and usually having taken an MCAT disqualifies you from entering the program. I'm guessing you've ignored me since you aren't replying, but it bears repeating that there are no "feeder" programs. Even Temple post-bacs and SMP students are not guaranteed admission to Temple, and the statistics those programs cite are matriculation into ANY medical school, not necessarily the affiliated program.

 

[DrMidlife]

You could spend that 30 seconds, any time now, to get oriented to what's available in this forum, to help you figure this out. Everything you need is here. We are not your spoons.

You're telling us to tell you about feeder postbacs where you don't have to have a good MCAT score, and we're telling you there aren't any. Should we plan on doing a few more laps of this, or are you teachable?

DO schools have masters programs that spare you an MCAT retake. You might have some luck with RFU but that's a gamble. Regardless, if heavy repeated efforts got you a 29 on the MCAT then you'd better make friends with primary care. Think it over. And those were hints for you. Look them up. Look up Temple. Look up RFU. Be your own spoon.

Andy Roddick once said "at the end of the day you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don't." Your 29 is the reason you don't have what you want.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

RFU BMS might be your best shot if you can get A's. They accepted MCATs of 27. Read the last few posts about the stricter cutoffs of "unofficial" auto-acceptance that students are unfortunately going through right now. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/rosalind-franklin-bms-2014-2015.1032544/page-16

If you get waitlisted this cycle, then Tulane ACP looks like they accept a lot if you are above the mean. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/tulane-acp-2014-2015.1067874/

 

[deleted248403]

if you can't contribute anything to the thread aside from arrogance and self-gratifying sycophancy gtfo. I'm really proud of you and your little unique circle jerk about smps not remedying low mcats, but I'm looking for feeders. Also, when there are so few options to remedy a low mcat score you're pretty damn delusional if you don't expect people to come here looking for SMPs. Is it really that hard to be helpful? I also realize that one of the objectives for SMPs is for people who dont have the prereqs, what about those who do? are they out of luck?

Dear god do some reading. SMPs are not for people who haven't done the pre-reqs, those are called post-bacs. Lose the attitude, and do some research reading.

Learn how to study for the MCAT. Retake it. These skills will serve you well in medical school as Midlife referenced studying for shelves and Step 1

 

[mrh125]

Dear god do some reading. SMPs are not for people who haven't done the pre-reqs, those are called post-bacs. Lose the attitude, and do some research reading.

Learn how to study for the MCAT. Retake it. These skills will serve you well in medical school as Midlife referenced studying for shelves and Step 1

k

 

[DrCharlemagne]

It's hard not to have an attitude when you come in hear being berated by a bunch of smug fedora-wearing know-it-alls. If you know so much how about you actually try being helpful?

Why can't you do your own work?

 

[deleted248403]

Dear god, learn how to give helpful personalized advice instead of crummy "OMG RETAKE" when it obviously didn't work the first time or the second time and there's very little to do improve and that can just be used against. I'm talking about SMPs and postbaccs. It's hard not to have an attitude when you come in hear being berated by a bunch of smug fedora-wearing know-it-alls. If you know so much how about you actually try being helpful?

People have already told you the answer. Sorry you didn't like it. Good luck.

 

[mrh125]

People have already told you the answer. Sorry you didn't like it. Good luck.

k

 

[deleted248403]

that's not an answer, that's not constructive, and that doesn't contribute anything to the discussion. usually when there's a flaw in the application there's a different way of handling it instead of being given advice that sets you up for failure.

that doesn't even make sense. Here are two things that will be helpful if you read them, if not, you are SOL.
1) http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-new-improved-official-low-gpa-thread.125347/
2) http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-official-guide-to-special-masters-programs.346106/

I'm done with this nonsense, good luck to you.

 

[mrh125]

RFU BMS might be your best shot if you can get A's. They accepted MCATs of 27. Read the last few posts about the stricter cutoffs of "unofficial" auto-acceptance that students are unfortunately going through right now. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/rosalind-franklin-bms-2014-2015.1032544/page-16

If you get waitlisted this cycle, then Tulane ACP looks like they accept a lot if you are above the mean. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/tulane-acp-2014-2015.1067874/

Thank you for the helpful post. I didn't notice yours in between the others.

 

[DrMidlife]

...and a new standard has been set for ignorant, entitled Californians.

 

[mrh125]

...and a new standard has been set for ignorant, entitled Californians.

k

 

[DrMidlife]

they're so adorable when they get mad

 

[mrh125]

they're so adorable when they get mad

In the real world one size doesn't fit all, hence why i'm looking for other options besides the mcat.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

So what exactly is wrong with looking at post baccs if you have a high gpa if they're feeders into med schools? If you dash out all the discouraging airy diatribes you've got going on you still haven't explained anything.

What's sad is the fact that I have explained what's wrong with your reasoning, and as an alumna of the program referenced in your title I could have given you the "constructive advice" you so crave, but you're too petty to handle e-criticism and have ignored me.

they're so adorable when they get mad

It's even cuter when the truth is spelled out in refrigerator magnets for them and they still cannot handle it.

 

[DrMidlife]

...and cue the ad hominem.

 

[mrh125]

...and cue the ad hominem.

nvm. it's in your post buried between everything else. I'll admit I was wrong about you not posting and you have my apology for that. I didn't see it before, but you and the other dudes narcissistic posts challenging me when i'm working my ass off in every way and telling me to take the mcat again isn't helpful in the slightest. Especially with your comment about primary care. A rough correlation doesn't mean the mcat predicts your step 1 score. Plenty of others have placed into neurosurgery with lower step 1 scores thus shattering your pitiful glass ceiling.

 

[deleted248403]

 

[mrh125]

from the dude who tells me to retake the ****ing mcat when that didn't work the first time and is busily circle jerking with the dude who thinks getting a lower than 30 mcat score pushes you into the depths of primary care. you guys should get married and open up a practice together. I can hardly wait to see how you treat patients. You'd probably quadriplegic that he should get the **** over it and try walking.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

from the dude who tells me to retake the ******* mcat when that didn't work the first time and is busily circle jerking with the dude who thinks getting a lower than 30 mcat score pushes you into the depths of primary care. you guys should get married.

I will be very sad when you get banned. That being said, your having taken an MCAT would preclude you from the programs you've cited thus far. Since your GPA is decent, you should really try to figure out why you cannot break 30 on your MCAT if you're still hellbent on throwing money at an MD acceptance.

 

[mrh125]

I will be very sad when you get banned. That being said, your having taken an MCAT would preclude you from the programs you've cited thus far. Since your GPA is decent, you should really try to figure out why you cannot break 30 on your MCAT if you're still hellbent on throwing money at an MD acceptance.

I've had you on the ignore list so i didn't see any of your posts. your first post makes sense and that's all I needed to know.

 

[DrMidlife]

...and cue the defensive backtracking. Yawn.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

I've had you on the ignore list so i didn't see any of your posts. your first post makes sense and that's all I needed to know.

Trust me, I noticed buttercup. Funny how three of us have all said basically the same thing, but all you've done is shriek and wail that you don't want to do what you know you should do to achieve your own goal.

 

[mrh125]

...and cue the defensive backtracking. Yawn.

it's not defensive backtracking. A lesson you should learn is that if you're going to post something helpful you shouldn't bury it in a **** ton of condescending garbage.

 

[mrh125]

editted.

 

[mrh125]

False. Goucher and JHU's post-bac are career-changer programs and too competitive for you to get into. Again, they are not "feeder" programs, they offer linkages for competitive students.

what makes you say they're so competitive? Could you give an example of why I'm not competitive that doesn't dabble in baseless assumptions? I'm all ears. I'm on the edge between not competitive enough for MD schools, but too high of a gpa for post bacc.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

Let's be realistic, pal, would you retake the mcat if you've utilized all the available material and studied 7-10 hrs a day and have over 5000+ flashcards?

TL;DR

And no, I would not re-take the MCAT. I considered re-taking my 33, and was advised against it by the Post-Bac program adviser I paid very well to tell me such things, and SDN agreed. If you're having such difficulties with this one standardized test, you might want to fall back and consider whether this is your true path since the testing will become more difficult, relatively asinine, and expensive. I pulled my 33 while working full time, and while my score does not reflect what sort of physician I will ultimately become, it proved I would survive the training process.

 

[DrMidlife]

...and cue the Low MCAT Rights Movement spokesperson. Honestly, we've seen this a million times.

You're doing tons of work to badly interact with anonymous individuals on the internet. Forget about us. Follow up on some of the info you've been given. Try some Google. Unfortunately your fate rests on your ability to absorb more than 140 characters at a time, but with some effort you might get past that limitation.

 

[mrh125]

TL;DR

And no, I would not re-take the MCAT. I considered re-taking my 33, and was advised against it by the Post-Bac program adviser I paid very well to tell me such things, and SDN agreed. If you're having such difficulties with this one standardized test, you might want to fall back and consider whether this is your true path since the testing will become more difficult, relatively asinine, and expensive. I pulled my 33 while working full time, and while my score does not reflect what sort of physician I will ultimately become, it proved I would survive the training process.

You act like because you're capable of something in your own world that everyone's brain functions the same as yours, w. I'm not going to consider falling back on a thing because I know there's far more to becoming a doctor than the mcat and I'm ready to prep myself for the USLME to the best of my abilities and work on what I don't know. I went from failing high school to my current gpa. I can work on my standardized test scores.

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

Hey all - mod here. Keep it professional and keep the language clean or I will close the thread.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

what makes you say they're competitive? Could you give an example of why I'm not competitive that doesn't dabble in baseless assumptions? I'm all ears. I'm on the edge between not competitive enough for MD schools, but too high of a gpa for post bacc.

1) You're not coming off as a very nice person on the interwebs, and your GPA is on the lower end of acceptable for those programs. My peers at the BMC program were generally not so hysterical when told what they didn't want to hear, and they were all from very good schools with superb academic pedigrees.

2) They're not for students who have already taken the pre-reqs for medical school. They're for career changers. It's not even just your GPA, but the fact that you've taken an MCAT which would put your app on the "Thanks for the fee/donation!" pile.

 

[DrMidlife]

Please close it.

 

[mrh125]

1) You're not coming off as a very nice person on the interwebs, and your GPA is on the lower end of acceptable for those programs. My peers at the BMC program were generally not so hysterical when told what they didn't want to hear, and they were all from very good schools with superb academic pedigrees.

2) They're not for students who have already taken the pre-reqs for medical school. They're for career changers. It's not even just your GPA, but the fact that you've taken an MCAT which would put your app on the "Thanks for the fee/donation!" pile.

Put yourself in my position. How would you deal with unnecessarily arrogant diatribes know-it-who could just cut that out and stick to useful responses seeing as this place is about helping people, not about trying to show off how supposedly well-endowed you are? Thanks for the helpful comments in that post, but you guys should work on your interpersonal skills since they're lacking.

here's an example of a constructive post: "post baccs aren't an option for you because you've taken the mcat and your gpa is too high. Smps work. check out these perhaps. There are no guarantees, but consider them if you're not interested in taking the mcat again ". See? no condescension or over-generalizations.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

Put yourself in my position. How would you deal with unnecessarily arrogant diatribes by smug know-it-alls who could just cut that out and stick to useful responses seeing as this place is about helping people, not about trying to show off how well-endowed you are. Thanks for the helpful comments in that post, but you and all your lackies should work on your interpersonal skills since they're lacking.

I really can't put myself in your position because I don't see how anything that has been said to you is unnecessarily arrogant. I get how frustrating being reduced to a number is, really, I do. And for all my score is allegedly great, I still feel like I could go back and try harder and do better. But the answer is to not attack those who tell you things you disagree with, or to belittle their circumstances. The answer is to do more research, take more time and invest in yourself without taking the anonymous knocks so close to heart. You might want to start by figuring out what the differences *between post-bac/SMP programs are, and then focus on programs that might suit you. *You're not mistaken that your GPA is realistic for allo, but if you're deadset on MD you have very few options left beyond addressing your MCAT score. Bryn Mawr, Goucher, Reed, Scripps and JHU's post-bac pre-med programs are not your answer.

 

[mrh125]

I really can't put myself in your position because I don't see how anything that has been said to you is unnecessarily arrogant. I get how frustrating being reduced to a number is, really, I do. And for all my score is allegedly great, I still feel like I could go back and try harder and do better. But the answer is to not attack those who tell you things you disagree with, or to belittle their circumstances. The answer is to do more research, take more time and invest in yourself without taking the anonymous knocks so close to heart. You might want to start by figuring out what the differences *between post-bac/SMP programs are, and then focus on programs that might suit you. *You're not mistaken that your GPA is realistic for allo, but if you're deadset on MD you have very few options left beyond addressing your MCAT score. Bryn Mawr, Goucher, Reed, Scripps and JHU's post-bac pre-med programs are not your answer.

Thank you. I've figured that out now I believe with your help and reading that post of the other guy who got buried between everything. I thought SMPs and post baccs were both options in the beginning and I was especially encouraged by the medical school linkages they offered. That definitely isn't the case for me though. I'm frustrated and burnt out at this moment in all honestly. I've went through 60 drafts of my personal statement, have prewritten 47 secondaries, and have everything except the mcat lined up which frustrates me even more.

Retaking the mcat doesn't bode well for me. I improved 2 sections scores, and the third section sunk me. I also had to travel to hawaii to even take the mcat again, which sounds far more enjoyable than it really is (try camping inside all day practicing computer-based exams which I did for 14 hours a day the week before the mcat) and I dedicated a colossal amount of time for studying for it both times. I also believe that if I would've gotten my second mcat the first time I probably would've performed about the same and there is a bit of luck involved in getting the score I need. Also, since I've used every resource multiple times I don't have any honest indicators of how I would perform, which also really through me studying the second time around ("Am I really improving or did I just memorize all the right answers?") I will do some digging and come back. I will also look at retaking if I don't get any interviews. I still have time for that and i'm hoping that in that time it'll be enough for me to forget all the right answers for practice material.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

Have you checked out this program?

http://www.mcatquestion.com/ecourse.php

 

[mrh125]

Have you checked out this program?

http://www.mcatquestion.com/ecourse.php

No, I havent. I'm reading about it now on the link you've provided. Can you vouch for it? I'm liking the sounds of this way more, especially since I've spent a lot of money studying for the mcat and it's relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of the courses. I really need to work on consistency of my scoring as I went from a 9/11/9 to a 10/7/11. if you take the highest score from each section that's a 32. This is why I've had the thought process that I am capable of a 30, but am extremely concerned about risking retakes on the chance I perform worse. I can also see a couple areas where I could seriously improve my study techniques like not using a bulk of flashcards over and over again. This also would be my last chance before January 2015, since I took it twice this year.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

No, I havent. I'm reading about it now on the link you've provided. Can you vouch for it? I'm liking the sounds of this way more, especially since I've spent a lot of money studying for the mcat and it's relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of the courses. I really need to work on consistency of my scoring as I went from a 9/11/9 to a 10/7/11. if you take the highest score from each section that's a 32. I've also had the thought process that I am capable of a 30, but am extremely concerned about risking retakes on the chance I perform worse.

I used them, as well as Exam Krakers. I told you my score, so I guess I'm satisfied? I really dug the online class attendance (I took my classes after work, at work, which was awesome), the schedule they imposed on me, and the fact that at that time the class size was ridiculously small. I think I had two other classmates. When I ran into problems, Alec was able to speak to me directly and helped me with mainly my physics hangups. Their materials were meh, but they'll be new to you so you will have more practice material. A friend of mine sat in on a week of classes and decided it wasn't for him. He went on to the PCOM SMP and for all I know is doing well, so YMMV.

 

[mrh125]

I used them, as well as Exam Krakers. I told you my score, so I guess I'm satisfied? I really dug the online class attendance (I took my classes after work, at work, which was awesome), the schedule they imposed on me, and the fact that at that time the class size was ridiculously small. I think I had two other classmates. When I ran into problems, Alec was able to speak to me directly and helped me with mainly my physics hangups. Their materials were meh, but they'll be new to you so you will have more practice material. A friend of mine sat in on a week of classes and decided it wasn't for him. He went on to the PCOM SMP and for all I know is doing well, so YMMV.

Can I PM you with some questions? Sorry about earlier. I'm just really pissy about this process.

 

[DrCharlemagne]

Can I PM you with some questions? Sorry about earlier. I'm just really pissy about this process.

PM DrMidlife and apologize to her. Taking out your ire on bystanders is a habit you need to curb now, even on the Interbutts. You're welcome to ask any questions you like, I'll do my best to answer.

 

[mrh125]

PM DrMidlife and apologize to her. Taking out your ire on bystanders is a habit you need to curb now, even on the Interbutts. You're welcome to ask any questions you like, I'll do my best to answer.

lol pmed you