Teach the MCAT

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marymatthews

marymatthews

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I switched over from pre-med to pre-dental and I took the MCAT and applied to med school and everything. I am currently an MCAT instructor for Kaplan. Should I include this job position on AASDAS?
Thanks
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Last edited:
marymatthews said:
I switched over from pre-med to pre-dental and I took the MCAT and applied to med school and everything. I am currently an MCAT instructor for Kaplan. Should I include this job position on AASDAS? Why or why not?
Should I include my other medically related positions?... Such as shadowing a plastic surgeon and a mentor for the pre-med club, etc.
Thanks
Click to expand...

:soexcited::bang::beat::boom:
 
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marymatthews said:
I switched over from pre-med to pre-dental and I took the MCAT and applied to med school and everything. I am currently an MCAT instructor for Kaplan. Should I include this job position on AASDAS?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Yes you should include that. And don't answer the question of why you switched from pre-med to pre-dent here on the forums. It will cause a flame war. Make sure you know how to answer it when you have interviews. :)
 
Why do you think I should include that?
Why am I getting so much hate for it though?
 
Someone told me not to include it because dental schools will have higher expectations for me on the sciences of the DAT. Let's say I do average on the sciences, then I will be frowned upon because I am an MCAT teacher and I should be doing well on the sciences...
why do you think i should include it?
 
marymatthews said:
Why do you think I should include that?
Why am I getting so much hate for it though?
Click to expand...

Personally I would include it in my application, it seems to monumental to leave out. I don't think you'll bomb the DAT if you did very well at the MCAT; you had to have done well on the MCAT to become a Kaplan teacher.

I think people like Destiny are just indicating my thoughts with emoticons :p

Incidentally, I did not want to start a flame war by asking you why you made the switch. I was only curious. But since others say that it's such a bad idea, may as well not post I guess...
 
Lots of pre-meds switching to dentistry...What's up with that??? :laugh:

Honestly, make sure dentistry is right for you. DAT and GPA are not the only things dental schools are looking for.

to the OP - yes, include them.
 
What are your thoughts?
Will dental schools see my MCAT score?
 
They will know you took the MCAT, but they will not see your scores.

They will only know you took the MCAT if you check the box on the ADA website. I would suggest being completely honest and transparent on the ADA or your AADSAS application.

Either way, I don't think that saying you took the MCAT will hurt you at all :)

marymatthews said:
What are your thoughts?
Will dental schools see my MCAT score?
Click to expand...
 
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why do you suggest that i tell them that i took the mcat?
wont it be better if they dont know? what they dont know wont hurt them or me
 
marymatthews said:
I switched over from pre-med to pre-dental and I took the MCAT and applied to med school and everything. I am currently an MCAT instructor for Kaplan. Should I include this job position on AASDAS?
Thanks
Click to expand...

welcome to our pre-dental world.
May I ask you what you scored on the MCAT? I ask this because MAYBE some dental school adcoms are going to compare your DAT and MCAT scores (I dunno I am just guessing here)... so if your rocked your MCATs and got like a 35 and took the DAT and got an 18, theyr gonna wonder why the huge gap ya know what I mean?

Plus, being an instructor doesn't mean you have to ace your exams, people behave differently under stressful situations and I am sure adcoms underestand that. So don't be worried about what score your gonna get on the DATs. No one expects you to ROCK THE SCIENCES, but if you've shown competence in your MCAT and GPA, theyr gonna expect the same level of performance when it comes to DAT.

As far as including stuff on AASDAS, whatever they ask you, you should be honest and tell the truth. I know there is a section there that asks you what other schools / professions you've applied to, and what other tests you've taken (MCAT, GRE, etc etc).... You should be honest here, if you lie and they catch you, they can black list your application forever.

Good luck on your application
 
marymatthews said:
why do you suggest that i tell them that i took the mcat?
wont it be better if they dont know? what they dont know wont hurt them or me
Click to expand...

I think it's better to have your bases covered. For example, if during your interview you say you've always dreamed of being a dentist, and they see (somehow) that you took the MCAT.... uh oh!

Also, I don't mean to get on a high horse and accuse you of anything but that last statement just chillingly reminded me of what my periodontist told me today, about how some general dentist tried to do something he wasn't certified for and messed up, and he tried to hide it from the patient, who had gone to her for consultation. Patient was oblivious.

So, I think it's better to be up front first rather than having to think of an answer on the spot later. There's nothing wrong with switching career anyway.
 
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marymatthews said:
why do you suggest that i tell them that i took the mcat?
wont it be better if they dont know? what they dont know wont hurt them or me
Click to expand...

:eek:

As others said, this methodology is bad policy.

You should be honest or you may face some heavy consequences later.
 
its optional to tell them i took the mcat?
im going to tell them i applied for med school... because aasdas asks that
it asks if youve ever applied to another health professional school... i gotta say yes
right
 
I think its mandatory that you tell them you took the MCAT.
&& don't you need to take the MCAT to apply to med school?
&& yes you have to tell them you applied to another health profession.
 
I did not do well on the MCAT. In order to teach the MCAT I took a qualifying exam and I passed. That is why I am teaching the MCAT.
I did well on the MCAT practice exams, just not on the actual exam.
 
marymatthews said:
I did not do well on the MCAT. In order to teach the MCAT I took a qualifying exam and I passed. That is why I am teaching the MCAT.
I did well on the MCAT practice exams, just not on the actual exam.
Click to expand...

Okay thats fine, just take the DAT and go from there. If you decide to tell the truth about applying to med-schools / taking the MCAT (which I HIGHLY suggest you do), be prepared to answer interview questions about why you switched from med to dent.

Ya know, making a decision to medicine or dentistry or other bigtime schools is a HUGE commitment, and sometimes people get 2nd thoughts about whats best for their future, adcoms I am sure understand that. So the fact that your switching ISN'T a bad thing, it just means you had 2nd thoughts, that all.
 
2nd thoughts about what? i just realized that medicine is not right for me after visiting schools and stuff
so should i tell them that i teach the MCAT? is it to my benefit to do so?
 
If you did not do well on the MCAT or the DAT, I would not put your teaching experience on your application. Just my opinion.
 
laundry said:
If he didn't do well, he wouldn't be teaching it...
Click to expand...

Read Post #17 please. Apparently, Kaplan only cares if you can pass its qualifying test as opposed to doing well on the actual MCAT.

And with a name like Mary, the OP is most likely a she.
 
marymatthews said:
2nd thoughts about what? i just realized that medicine is not right for me after visiting schools and stuff
so should i tell them that i teach the MCAT? is it to my benefit to do so?
Click to expand...

2nd thoughts about medicine, which lead you to pursue dentistry.

I am very confused here, why would you not want to include your teaching experience? Thats a nice qualification to have on your application regardless of where you apply (medicine, dental, etc).... You gotta look at this as a huge advantage, a good health care provider is not just someone who finished their dental/medical schools with top marks, it also about you being able to teach your patients how to take care of their health..... Don't sell your self short by not including this experience, teaching experience is a GOOD thing to have
 
Was there somewhere in the application that they asked for MCAT scores? I remember the questions about applying to other professional schools, and it was pretty obvious from my personal statement that I had taken it at some point, but I don't remember putting down the exact numbers.

Anyway, imo it would be a nice thing to put down teaching experience. Working well with colleagues is important in grad school. Also, not being completely honest with the people you may be hanging out with/learning from for the next 4 years is not a good way to start.
 
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