should i apply to the carib?

[uclakid]

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-3.6 gpa
-27P mcat
-decent ECs=1 year clinical, ongoing shadowing of a trauma surg, med. office assistant, 10 weeks of research (this was a class), student health advocate (dorm doctor)
-decent LORs=the profs knew me since i went to office hours and showed interest in their courses...
-personal statement good

my main worry is my mcat score..i have been placed in possible interview pools at almost every school...that's all i've heard so far..so what should i do?

thanks

 

[virilep]

u know.... there's no magic 8ball that tells u what to do. ur scores are decent. go to MDapplicants and do a search. talk to ur advisor.. and the whole caribbean thing, if u want to, u can, but make sure u talk to people that have done it before.

 

[davidus]

could you improve on the 27? If you can afford another year before applying, I'm sure you could bump up your score a few points so that your chances are much higher. I'd say it's probably worth a year of your life not to deal with the hassle of going to the Caribbean...

 

[dopaminophile]

-3.6 gpa
-27P mcat
-decent ECs=1 year clinical, ongoing shadowing of a trauma surg, med. office assistant, 10 weeks of research (this was a class), student health advocate (dorm doctor)
-decent LORs=the profs knew me since i went to office hours and showed interest in their courses...
-personal statement good

my main worry is my mcat score..i have been placed in possible interview pools at almost every school...that's all i've heard so far..so what should i do?

thanks

You don't have a chance. You should definitely apply to Caribbean and you'd prolly be lucky to get that. 3.6 GPA... average MCATs. What do you think schools are looking for... humans? If you're not a Rhodes scholar I'd give up right now.

 

[Jason110]

A 27 is on the low side in terms of MCAT scores for U.S. MD-granting programs. Your GPA is solid and your ECs are look decent too.

With regard to the Caribbean, I think you should consider that option for next year. I would wait out this year and try to get in. Remember, you have interviews! That doesn't mean you're completely out of the running.

If it's late Jan. and you feel you still won't receive an acceptance this year, I would sign up and start studying for the April MCAT. If you improve, you will have a solid chance for '06. If you don't do better, I would then start seriously considering Caribbean options.

What to do for that year? I'm sure many clinical/research positions are available. Some of them pay really well. Perhaps work at a research lab full time or doing something more clinically relavent.

 

[thatuvicguy]

What are you looking for in medicine? If you're at all interested in primary care, look into an osteopathic medical education. You get more bang for your buck than just an MD school and there's less of the elitism rampant in the allopathic community - they'll look at your whole package, not just your numbers (more so than MD programs). You get everything you would in an MD education plus the added ability to directly help patients with musculoskeletal problems rather than just giving a pill or referring to PT. Just a few ****-stirring thoughts for you.

hehehehe....

 

[crys20]

shoo in at DO schools 🙂

 

[CharlieVN]

From one ucla kid to the "uclakid". I was definitely in your shoes a coupla months back...kicking myself in the arse for not destroyin the MCAT but all is not over. I actually did apply to some Carribean schools but the more I read on the forums and the more I knew of people struggling to get into competitive residencies in the states, I eventually decided to put all my eggs into a basket and apply like CRAZY to US schools.

You can click my mdapps and see how I'm doing. Pretty much the same stats so I relate to you (3.7, 29Q). IMHO, if I were in your shoes and did not get in (and sincerely still wanted to be an MD vs a DO), I would take a year off do some solid research/clinical activities and possibly retake the mcat to reapply widely for '06.

 

[uclakid]

From one ucla kid to the "uclakid". I was definitely in your shoes a coupla months back...kicking myself in the arse for not destroyin the MCAT but all is not over. I actually did apply to some Carribean schools but the more I read on the forums and the more I knew of people struggling to get into competitive residencies in the states, I eventually decided to put all my eggs into a basket and apply like CRAZY to US schools.

You can click my mdapps and see how I'm doing. Pretty much the same stats so I relate to you (3.7, 29Q). IMHO, if I were in your shoes and did not get in (and sincerely still wanted to be an MD vs a DO), I would take a year off do some solid research/clinical activities and possibly retake the mcat to reapply widely for '06.

hey charlievn. congrats on your acceptances. i'm glad everything worked out for you, and i understand how happy you are. good luck in med school!!

 

[Code Brown]

-3.6 gpa
-27P mcat
-decent ECs=1 year clinical, ongoing shadowing of a trauma surg, med. office assistant, 10 weeks of research (this was a class), student health advocate (dorm doctor)
-decent LORs=the profs knew me since i went to office hours and showed interest in their courses...
-personal statement good

my main worry is my mcat score..i have been placed in possible interview pools at almost every school...that's all i've heard so far..so what should i do?

thanks

I would suggest sending some letters/emails to the deans of each of these schools, telling them you are really interested. You'd be surprised how far that gets you. Btw, your 27 is not too low (despite the madness you see on here). That said, it's also not a shoe in either. From what I recall from another thread and the MSAR, 50% of the people who apply with a 27 get into medical school.

As for the caribbean, I think the deadlines for the September entering classes is sometime in April/May, so you've still got some time before you begin to look at that route.

Good luck!

 

[flash]

have you considered Israel....I really believe that the Sackler program is way better than carrib, i would have done that if I hadn't been accepted. But you generally need to be looking for NY residencies, in addition to the fright factor.