MD & DO Took MCAT twice but did poorly (27 1st time and 26 2nd time)

[aqua8708]

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I will be graduating this spring with a Biology Major and had originally planned to apply to low tier schools but after receiving my MCAT score, I feel like my plans are all out of wack. After seeing my MCAT scores I thought about applying to Post backs and spoke to some UC post bacc and they pretty much said not to spend time/money with post bacc. I'm planning to do paid research over the summer and was wondering what options I should do? I was considering applying to lower tier schools still and take an mcat course with a test date in september but I'm not sure if I have that much confidence in overcoming this MCAT hunch.

I took the mcat in 2012 and got a 27 (10/7/10) and retook it recently in January and got a 26 (8/8/10).

My GPA from UCLA is cGPA (3.79) and sGPA (3.73).

I have a good amount of research, volunteer, and shadowing experience as well.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I will be graduating this spring with a Biology Major and had originally planned to apply to low tier schools but after receiving my MCAT score, I feel like my plans are all out of wack. After seeing my MCAT scores I thought about applying to Post backs and spoke to some UC post bacc and they pretty much said not to spend time/money with post bacc. I'm planning to do paid research over the summer and was wondering what options I should do? I was considering applying to lower tier schools still and take an mcat course with a test date in september but I'm not sure if I have that much confidence in overcoming this MCAT hunch.

I took the mcat in 2012 and got a 27 (10/7/10) and retook it recently in January and got a 26 (8/8/10).

My GPA from UCLA is cGPA (3.79) and sGPA (3.73).

I have a good amount of research, volunteer, and shadowing experience as well.

Your stats are competitive for DO though!

 

[hallowmann]

If you think its unlikely you'll be able to retake and break a 30, I would just apply early & broadly as is. I think you'd get into a DO school, if not a few.

Your GPA is excellent. The only problem area for MD schools is your MCAT, which won't be fixed by a post-bac. Apply this coming cycle day 1, and you'll get into a DO school and maybe even get some MD interviews.

If you can, shadow a DO and get an LOR.

 

[ruedjgtc]

If you're not opposed to alternative programs, then you sound highly competitive. But, at the same time I don't think you should discount yourself completely from traditional MD schools if you're up for another retake. But, I think people will need to know more about your situation to offer better advice. For example, can you explain what happened between the two tests, 1 pt is statistically the same, but a 2 pt drop in PS is a drop -- so, what how do you feel this happened? Did you self study and it didn't work out? Were you over booked/over committed? Your grades are nothing to be ashamed and it's obvious you have potential to score well.

If it wasn't a scheduling problem, and perhaps a MCAT verbiage problem, perhaps consider a reputable tutor/prep course? We aren't made of money, so I can understand if these aren't realistic options, but depending on your situation they're probably worth the investment. However, like I said in the previous paragraph, I know very little about your situation.

 

[gyngyn]

Go DO.

 

[aqua8708]

If you're not opposed to alternative programs, then you sound highly competitive. But, at the same time I don't think you should discount yourself completely from traditional MD schools if you're up for another retake. But, I think people will need to know more about your situation to offer better advice. For example, can you explain what happened between the two tests, 1 pt is statistically the same, but a 2 pt drop in PS is a drop -- so, what how do you feel this happened? Did you self study and it didn't work out? Were you over booked/over committed? Your grades are nothing to be ashamed and it's obvious you have potential to score well.

If it wasn't a scheduling problem, and perhaps a MCAT verbiage problem, perhaps consider a reputable tutor/prep course? We aren't made of money, so I can understand if these aren't realistic options, but depending on your situation they're probably worth the investment. However, like I said in the previous paragraph, I know very little about your situation.

I took the berkeley review prep for the first exam and for some reason felt rushed after the berkeley prep ended because i spent more time on information loading as opposed to practicing. The second time around, (more than a year later) i self studied and spent more time on practice exams. At this point, i feel like i have exhausted all the possible practice exams.

I'm thinking of applying first day this cycle to lower tiered schools, taking the MCAT with another prep course (swartwood) and finding a paid research position for my two years out of school. What do you guys think? I really appreciate all the responses out there.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Don't waste your time on undergrad stuff anymore. Apply to osteopathic school and be a doctor as you've dreamt of being.

 

[ruedjgtc]

I took the berkeley review prep for the first exam and for some reason felt rushed after the berkeley prep ended because i spent more time on information loading as opposed to practicing. The second time around, (more than a year later) i self studied and spent more time on practice exams. At this point, i feel like i have exhausted all the possible practice exams.

I'm thinking of applying first day this cycle to lower tiered schools, taking the MCAT with another prep course (swartwood) and finding a paid research position for my two years out of school. What do you guys think? I really appreciate all the responses out there.

Well, you've tried both ways, but your score is pretty much the same. You definitely need to figure out what's happening there. If you have a gap year, yeah I think you should use it to help other parts of your application, as the whole process is holistic. However, 26-27 is a good place to be, if you have 1-2 years to raise your score. I would suppose since the national average is 24, you're doing okay with content review with a 27-26, the rest is critical thinking and application/interpretation.

I couldn't speak for the prep course you're speaking of (sorry), hopefully someone here will. I would encourage you to keep track of your skill sets, and maybe you'll see a trend of what's holding you back. A lot of the MCAT isn't really about the material on the test at all, it's learning use critical thinking and work from scratch while under pressure for each passage.

For myself, I broke my problems down into:
Is this an understanding problem?
Is this a memory problem?
Is this something I should of known before the passage, or because of the passage?
Did I misread the passage?
Did I misread the question or answer choices?
Did I have a brain fart?

My friends who have English as a second language, or main stream English not primarily spoken at home should also keep in mind the test was designed for natives. I recall missing a passage because I had no never heard an idiom apparently "most" people know.

Hope that helps, sorry you're in the phantom zone of scores. But, it's just a test, it doesn't really demonstrate your whole profile. I think you should consider applying DO, especially as the accreditation processes are merging now. You sound like a great applicant, just getting burned by an entrance exam.

Good luck!

 

[user3]

competitive for all DO schools. MD unfortunately, is unlikely. Do not be surprised at 100% pre-interview rejections.