Texan Dreams: Lost Cause?

[Kam3725]

I'm a Mississippi resident with a strong desire to go to TX for med. school. After Katrina, the majority of my family moved there and since 2005, it's pretty much been like a second home to me. I realize getting in OOS in TX is fairly difficult and here's the kicker, I'm probably not going to have my TMDSAS fully submitted and ready to go until mid-August on account of me taking the MCAT in mid-July. From the looks of it, my stats are about average (based on SDN standards) 3.99 cGPA/3.98 sGPA and I'm averaging about a 35 on the AAMC practice tests. My EC's are probably average as well with 1 year of working at a neurology clinic, 2 years of research, 1 year of clinical volunteering, a primary care internship, and about 3 years of ongoing community service in one way or another. Assuming I'm able to crank out a 35-36 on the real MCAT, do I have a realistic shot of getting in due to my late application submission? Any advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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[CodeBlu]

With a nearly perfect GPA and a 35-36 MCAT, I think you'll be made in the shade if you submitted the last possible date.

Ok not the last possible date. But August is fine.

 

[western1]

and I'm averaging about a 35 on the AAMC practice tests.

Assuming I'm able to crank out a 35-36 on the real MCAT, do I have a realistic shot of getting in due to my late application submission?

I'm not sure if the Texas application service is different than AAMC, but you could have your application ready for submission as soon as you take your MCAT, especially since you still have a month or so to get it all squared away.

Second, plan optimistically, but realistically. I've read and seen a number of people who average 35 or 36 on the AAMC exams but end up with a 31 or 32 on the MCAT (myself included, 35 to a 32). A lot of forums compare the differences so I won't get into detail. With the addition of a more focused evaluation towards genetics on the MCAT after it was re-vamped, the BS on the AAMC compared to your achieved score fluctuates a lot (from what I have seen in the threads and forums).

On the other hand, you could kill it! I struggled with VR on all of my practice exams, usually getting 8 or 9, but got an 11 on the test.

But definitely get that app in as soon as you can! Best of luck on the test.

 

[Kam3725]

Thanks for the feedback. I know TMDSAS lets you submit your application earlier than AMCAS and based on a little bit of research (creeping on MDApps and SDN), apparently a lot of people have already submitted their applications making me feel like I'm terribly late in the game. On the topic of the MCAT, can you send me a link to a thread comparing the focal points of the new "revamped" MCAT with the AAMC practice tests?

 

[Whatyousay]

Be sure to strongly emphasize your ties to Texas in the residency portion of the application.