Questions for you experts

[Mandy22]

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Hi, my name is Amanda, I am 22 and just graduated from Emory University. My stats are as follows:

GPA: 3.6 from Emory University
Science GPA: 3.3 (taking graduate level biochem at Columbia right now and hopefully getting 2 A's to raise it to almost a 3.5 but not quite)
Research: 2 years at A brain research lab, a summer doing research at columbia, hours of physician shadowing and volunteer work, an emt. Currently, I am doing cancer research at sloan-kettering in NYC.

My big question is:
I took the mcat 2 days ago and really do not think I did well despite an entire summer (may-sept) of intense studying and tutoring. I know I knew the material really well (my tutors agreed) but am not a good test taker. I will most likely have to retake it.

Here is my big question: Should I put my applications in (which are kind of late at this point anyway) in this year and not expect to get in? I would only do this because I have heard they like re-applicants. I want to show persistence. I will probably have to retake the mcat in january or april. Everyone is saying I probably did better than I think, but I kind of doubt it.

Also, my other question is: how much does legacy matter with medical school. For example, my dad, my mom and my uncle went to a certain medical school. Does this give me a better chance at all? Or is it totally different than college where legacy actually means something.

Thanks 🙂

 

[RxnMan]

I've never heard of legacy helping or not.

I went through 3 rounds of applications, and each time I got my hopes up, only to get rejected. In my opinion, the it's not worth the stress, let alone the financial cost, to intentionally go through the process twice. The "looking better," and "showing dedication" effects, if they exist, aren't a good reason either (why create a situation where you hope to fail?).

But the good news - you don't know your score yet. You may, just like a bunch of other people out there, think you did horribly, only to get you scores and see you did fine. Don't sell yourself short and wait until you have that number before you decide anything.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I can't say much about the MCAT question, but I did want to add something about legacy status. My dad attended a certain medical school that has a high emphasis on training doctors that will remain in the state. My older brother applied there last cycle and they actually have a separate interviewer that speaks with all the legacy applicants. Granted, he was interviewing for the wait list and didn't get in that cycle. I suppose that means there are at least some implications to being a legacy if they have a special interviewer. That might just be because they're looking for people with strong ties to the state that will surely stay around after graduation, so a private, research-oriented med school might not work the same way.

 

[Mandy22]

Yeah, it is a state med school I am talking about though.

 

[Blade28]

I haven't heard too much about legacy helping. That's more in college, or even residencies/fellowships (where people you know will help by picking up a phone and calling someone).

Hard to say what you should do since it's (1) relatively late, but (2) you don't have your MCAT score yet.

 

[Courtknee]

In my experience at my medical school (and from some other stories elsewhere that I can personally confirm), legacy does help. Connections matter to some degree in everything in life. If the applicant is sub par, it may take one extra year with a little bit of polishing the ol' resume.

As far as applying, I say go for it. The worst they can say is no. The best they can say is yes. Your stats look good. Wouldn't it be nice to be on your way to becoming an MD one year sooner??

 

[shadowclaws]

Legacy definitely helps. Apply to where your parents went to med school. It gives a big boost for getting interviews. Probably one of the easiest ways for answering the why this school question.