Pre Med advisor tells me not to apply...

[texaspremed]

Long story short, GPA around 3.6, MCAT 24, Current Graduate GPA 3.8, Texas Resident

I applied at the very end of the last cycle, like last week of applications being accepted. In the past year I have began working on my masters, shadowed more physicians and more volunteer work, Also a research project with the United Way.

My advisor pretty much said that since I did not retake the MCAT and show improvement and that I didnt receive a masters degree, I shouldnt apply for this cycle. That I should wait until I do one or the other.

I am thinking that no one really looked at my application last year because it was so late, which was my first year to apply. Is it kind of understood that I really should wait until I have done one of those things?

Does it look bad to possibly be applying 3 years in a row?

Please Help!

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[brucecanbeatyou]

Long story short, GPA around 3.6, MCAT 24, Current Graduate GPA 3.8, Texas Resident

I applied at the very end of the last cycle, like last week of applications being accepted. In the past year I have began working on my masters, shadowed more physicians and more volunteer work, Also a research project with the United Way.

My advisor pretty much said that since I did not retake the MCAT and show improvement and that I didnt receive a masters degree, I shouldnt apply for this cycle. That I should wait until I do one or the other.

I am thinking that no one really looked at my application last year because it was so late, which was my first year to apply. Is it kind of understood that I really should wait until I have done one of those things?

Does it look bad to possibly be applying 3 years in a row?

Please Help!

While applying earlier will certainly help, I would definitely retake with that score.

 

[UVAbme2009]

Listen to her. Why didn't you retake the MCAT?

 

[rocketbooster]

while I wouldn't always listen to premed advisors, I would definitely listen to yours in this case. you MUST retake your MCAT. need that 30+

 

[BlueElmo]

You must redo the MCAT before you apply.

 

[texaspremed]

I was studying for it for last month, but with working full time and going to school, and studying for it, i didnt feel like i was prepared enough to do better. I didn't want to end up doing worse.

 

[nick_carraway]

You will need to convince med schools that you have improved your application since last cycle; that you're mature enough to know what needs to be fixed and that you're determined to fix them.

You have not done anything substantial to recover from the large problem in your app, which is your MCAT score. Apps cost money and time and there's no reason to reapply if you don't even have the time to retake your MCAT.

Consider it meaningful that no one on SDN (a population that traditionally loathes premed advisors) has disagreed with your advisor.

 

[Mattabet]

I was studying for it for last month, but with working full time and going to school, and studying for it, i didnt feel like i was prepared enough to do better. I didn't want to end up doing worse.

I think your instincts are right, no sense in taking it unless you're sure that you're ready to kick ass. But I kind of side with the advisor on this one. Your application is good, solid except for the MCAT score. The problem is that some schools are going to screen based on that, and never get to the good parts because of that MCAT. If you never got the MCAT score up, the master's degree might be enough to turn some heads, but as that's not done yet, you're a bit quagmired. It would suck to apply and not have it work on minor details when the major bases are all covered, y'know?

I would apply next year. Find a couple months this year and nail the thing in like January, and you'll be in great shape for the next cycle. If you must, you can roll the dice this year, but I don't think it's a 'guarantee' at this point.

 

[witness23]

i agree w/ others

 

[ksmi117]

Moving to "What Are My Chances?"

 

[Rzarecta]

Agree with above. You need to retake MCAT and make time to study. No exceptions, this will be what keeps you out of medical school.

As an aside, why did you not get your masters?

 

[Mobius1985]

If you applied only to DO schools you might get in somewhere with the current MCAT score, considering your decent GPA. Is that an option you'd consider?