EMT2ER-DOC said:
I am reading these threads about people getting interviews with below 20 MCATs or people with low 20's MCAT getting 7 interviews and 4 acceptances yet I have a low 20's MCAT (yes I am taking it again in April), a high Grad SChool GPA, lifetime experience, more than 10 years clinical experience and have nothing to show for it? 😡 😡
Sure my UG is crap but it has been 10 years and the Graduate school recently finished.
UGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH This sux.
Hey, hang in there, no one said getting into med school was going to be easy.
🙂 Remember, getting in is the hard part, attrition rate for med schools are pretty low, and residency placement is very high (when's the last time that someone couldn't match into Podunk, USA for family practice?).
A couple things to keep in mind:
1. Many people who talk about their 'low MCAT' score and still got in probably had something else exceptional. I noticed quite a few that had less than steller scores but had something that stood out and/or spent ten years as an ICU nurse---I noticed you said you had ten years of clinical experience, did you work in health care? It seems the ones who work fulltime in healthcare have an advantage even if they may have a lower academic credential.
As previous poster stated, people with low MCAT scores were
exceptional in other areas---they more likely didn't just do everything else 'right', but did something, or everything else 'really well'.
An average DO school with MCAT score of say, 26 means there are people with 28, 29 and also 23, 24. And the 23, 24 probably had steller everything else (probably above average science GPAs, and/or great ECs etc).
2. People who get in with low MCAT scores are exceptional cases, rather than the norm. The format of threads makes it easier for people with similar experiences to congregate and discuss, hence making the appearance that low MCAT scores is common for med school acceptances. I mean, if you go to the allo thread and asked about people with 'low MCAT' score who got in, there will also be people with mid-20's MCAT score who will reply.
Heck, I was discussing my MCAT score worries with a friend last year, and she said she saw tons of students with below average MCAT scores who get into the local (MD) med school---but knowing 'people who have low MCAT scores' doesn't equate to it being a common phenonmen.
3. Med school is a crapshot. It's the reason why people apply to so many. It's also the reason why Carribean schools contains kids who can successfully pass their boards and practice in the US.
I mean, if the med school admissions were truly basing their acceptances on the applicant's ability to pass med school, then why is it that there are so many that don't get in, and then go abroad and do fine on their boards and get a residency? Ditto with DO schools. I know there are plenty of DO students that were rejected from their MD schools, yet they manage to successfully match into good residencies---yet the adcoms thought these students weren't 'med school worthy'?
There are just more qualified students than spots in med school---hence, the 'randomness' of the process. As long as your application is 'normal', the chance a school will pick you for an interview will be based, in part, on luck. It's part of the reason that DO schools have successfully proliferated without massive amounts of attrition (to my knowledge). There are just so many qualified applicants who would probably do well in med school if allowed in.
Just keep chugging along. Get that MCAT score up up UP! Even though my MCAT score was only a few points above most DO schools' average (and everything else was so-so), the application process for DO schools was relatively painless. Those few points really count! A few points lower and I think I may have had to push harder to get in.
Sounds like your grades are fine...maybe take a few undergrad courses just in case some schools tend to stress undergrad more than grad? Your ECs seems fine....so just focus on MCAT. Apply early and apply to as many schools as you can. I did that and I find that location does matter---some schools prefer students in their own areas while other schools liked to interview any qualified applicant so you never know! Also, apply early (yeah, I know I already said that, but that really makes a difference!).
