Should I even bother taking the MCAT?

[Mr Doc Turr]

I'm a junior in college now. I am planning on taking the MCAT in either April or May.

My school GPA is 3.034 ( I know, its low)

I put my grades into a reliable AMCAS GPA calculator and it shows my GPA as 2.97. My science GPA is even lower at 2.73 (brutal)

I have a good, but not great amount of volunteer hours as well.

My GPA has been on a slight, slight incline since the end of my sophomore year. I still have 40 credits to take so that might increase my GPA... BUT the AMCAS will only factor in my grades after this semester if I apply this summer. So, not much of a difference there.

I am going to study my heart out for the MCAT and my question is...

Would a great MCAT score give me a chance to get into medicals school, or should I just give it up and try again next year?

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[Medaholic Dr]

If you are truly passionate about Medicine and can't think of doing anything other than being a Physician, I would suggest working tremendously hard for the remaining courses you have to take as well as the MCAT. You can apply to DO schools too because their average GPA is low compared to MD. If your GPA isn't good enough for DO school as well, I would suggest looking into Special masters program which will better help you by providing graduate level courses to perform better in and with additional opportunities for Volunteering and stuff. I'm just like you. I don't have stellar GPA. I haven't taken MCAT yet, but will be working hard to overshadow poor GPA. It all comes down to how badly you want to become a Physician and then options are many. So, work hard for remaining courses and show upward improvement trend. Good luck.

 

[pithy84]

Let's crack out the old AAMC Table 24 and have a look:

A GPA of 3.00 to 3.19 and an MCAT of 39+ gives a success rate of 55.2% for MD programs. That means 55.2% of those people got at least one MD acceptance. That is better than the overall average of 44.5% success.

However, if the MCAT score drops even slightly with that GPA, the success rate plummets. A 33 to 35 on the MCAT gets you a 39.1% success rate.

I say go for it. Try to get a grand slam on the MCAT. Maybe take a postbacc program to boost your GPA. Work on your ECs.

Don't give up. Unless you want to give up, that's always your choice.

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

I love how people say get a grand slam on your MCAT. I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure its proven the MCAT is correlates well with your GPA and the type of student you are. A lot of the MCAT is hard work so you can dedicate 4+ months and go for a high score, but with the new MCAT its going to be harder to knock it out of the park. AAMC is predicting even more scores towards the median, meaning less sharp of a bell tower.

You are not out of the running however. Get some research this summer. Much more than just your GPA and MCAT goes into your application. Next year, rock all your courses and go for A's in the BPCM courses. Do NOT do a minor. It's pointless. If you have the financial means you could go an extra year and get another major however. With the new psych and soc emphasis on the MCAT, getting a psych major may look good. I was able to get one in a year and retake some science courses. You may be able to do the same and bring that science up to a 3.2 and with a fairly competitive MCAT should get into a DO program no problem.

 

[Mr Doc Turr]

I love how people say get a grand slam on your MCAT. I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure its proven the MCAT is correlates well with your GPA and the type of student you are. A lot of the MCAT is hard work so you can dedicate 4+ months and go for a high score, but with the new MCAT its going to be harder to knock it out of the park. AAMC is predicting even more scores towards the median, meaning less sharp of a bell tower.

You are not out of the running however. Get some research this summer. Much more than just your GPA and MCAT goes into your application. Next year, rock all your courses and go for A's in the BPCM courses. Do NOT do a minor. It's pointless. If you have the financial means you could go an extra year and get another major however. With the new psych and soc emphasis on the MCAT, getting a psych major may look good. I was able to get one in a year and retake some science courses. You may be able to do the same and bring that science up to a 3.2 and with a fairly competitive MCAT should get into a DO program no problem.

Unfortunately my school requires me to minor in something in order to graduate.

 

[ilovemedi]

Unfortunately my school requires me to minor in something in order to graduate.

Yeah, though @ladysmanfelpz claim may be true for some people, it depends. my friend had to minor in something because it came with his major. although he was smart, he basically had to minor in something and take classes in something he did not enjoy, or else he couldn't graduate. he ended up doing good on the mcat.

 

[Abraxas305]

I know a few people who have gotten in an MD with a 3.1. I know quite a bit more who got into DO.

 

[Mr Doc Turr]

I know a few people who have gotten in an MD with a 3.1. I know quite a bit more who got into DO.

Do you know their science gpa, mcat, or extracurricular by any chance?

 

[Abraxas305]

sGPA was a bit higher for MD, like 3.4 and I forgot to say the DO replacement actually bumped the real GPA up to 3.35.
They all had years of research under their belts and worked at a hospital while going to school.

 

[raiderette]

If you think that you will not be applying this summer, wait to take the MCAT. More information and test material will be available once people start taking the new test.

 

[Abraxas305]

^ Agreed.