Two cycles down no acceptances, what to do now?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Chase K 13

Chase K 13

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
50
Reaction score
23
Members do not see this ad.
I have applied the last two cycles and have yet to obtain an acceptance. The first cycle I applied and interviewed at UK and UL in December (Kentucky resident). The second cycle I applied more broadly after having taken more upper level science courses (part time), retaking the MCAT (only improving one point), and a year of experience as an EMT. I interviewed at UK and UL in November and Northeast Ohio in October, but was rejected from all as of last week. I feel like I am so close to obtaining an acceptance, but it remains just out of reach. I have a few ideas for how to move forward and improve my application, but I wanted to hear some outside opinions.

Quick snapshot of my app:
Major: Chemistry Minor: Biophysics
cGPA: 3.69 with a positive trend until my senior year (medical condition developed, which I have described to admissions committees)
sGPA: 3.50
MCAT 1: 504
127/123/128/126
MCAT 2: 505
126/124/126/129
I have been held numerous leadership positions at my undergraduate institution, conducted my own research project and was part of a team involved in a NSF grant in Barrow, AK, worked in the medical field as an EMT, volunteered at my local firehouse (120 hours), volunteered with habitat for humanity (20 hours), volunteered with global brigades with a trip to Nicaragua, been a teachers assistant for chemistry and biophysics, shadowed about 150 hours in 10 different specialties, participated in 3 pre medical summer programs.

I feel my weakness lies in my very average academics. As I see it my options are: retake my MCAT (scheduled to retake in mid June) and/or enroll in an SMP program. I have taken more college courses at my regional university but its hard to find pertinent courses and stay motivated after having already obtained my bachelors. I am, however, currently enrolled in 11 upper level science credits but they will only improve my GPAs a few hundredths of points assuming I earn A's. What are your thoughts on what my next move should be?
 
Chase K 13 said:
I have applied the last two cycles and have yet to obtain an acceptance. The first cycle I applied and interviewed at UK and UL in December (Kentucky resident). The second cycle I applied more broadly after having taken more upper level science courses (part time), retaking the MCAT (only improving one point), and a year of experience as an EMT. I interviewed at UK and UL in November and Northeast Ohio in October, but was rejected from all as of last week. I feel like I am so close to obtaining an acceptance, but it remains just out of reach. I have a few ideas for how to move forward and improve my application, but I wanted to hear some outside opinions.

Quick snapshot of my app:
Major: Chemistry Minor: Biophysics
cGPA: 3.69 with a positive trend until my senior year (medical condition developed, which I have described to admissions committees)
sGPA: 3.50
MCAT 1: 504
127/123/128/126
MCAT 2: 505
126/124/126/129
I have been held numerous leadership positions at my undergraduate institution, conducted my own research project and was part of a team involved in a NSF grant in Barrow, AK, worked in the medical field as an EMT, volunteered at my local firehouse (120 hours), volunteered with habitat for humanity (20 hours), volunteered with global brigades with a trip to Nicaragua, been a teachers assistant for chemistry and biophysics, shadowed about 150 hours in 10 different specialties, participated in 3 pre medical summer programs.

I feel my weakness lies in my very average academics. As I see it my options are: retake my MCAT (scheduled to retake in mid June) and/or enroll in an SMP program. I have taken more college courses at my regional university but its hard to find pertinent courses and stay motivated after having already obtained my bachelors. I am, however, currently enrolled in 11 upper level science credits but they will only improve my GPAs a few hundredths of points assuming I earn A's. What are your thoughts on what my next move should be?
Click to expand...
Your mental health issues are a concern.

Medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break even healthy students. The #1 reason my school loses students to withdrawal, dismissal or LOA is to unresolved mental health issues.

The issue now isn't raising your GPAs. It's showing that a rigorous workload won't cause a relapse.

So either do a DIY post-ba or an SMP and ace them. I'm not sanguine that you'll do better on the 3rd MCAT try. DO schools will be more forgiving.

Being a KY resident, I'm surprised that you got an II from NEOMED. You might try U WV and Marshall next time.
 
I think if you haven't already, you should apply to DOs. With those stats you're almost a lock to get accepted if you apply wide enough and don't bomb the interviews...
 
UK and UL have median GPA's of 3.8 and median MCAT's of 512 and 508. Additionally, only two school (Meherry and Howard) have median scores below your scores. Lastly, taking the MCAT twice without improvement and applying twice has really put a dent in your future chances.

I'm only saying all of this so that you can truly capture the obstacles in your path. I'm not trying to be mean but just trying to let you know that it's possible but it will be long and difficult.
 
Long story short OP, if you haven't applied to DO programs in past cycles do it this upcoming cycle, I feel fairly confident you'll get accepted if you apply. If you're hardcore boning for MD, retake the MCAT and score 511+ (probably need higher). I've heard of one person taking it 3 times through 3 cycles and finally getting in, but if you want to be a physician and don't want to risk doing worse on the MCAT...Apply DO
 
I agree that your academics are probably your biggest problem (@Goro, I see from previous postings that the OP mentioned a recurring spontaneous pneumothorax that required surgical intervention, but if there are mental health concerns I missed them). Your GPA is good but not great, particularly as a reapplicant. I agree with Goro that you should do a post-bacc or SMP, and it's important that you pull out all the stops to ace it. Even if your senior year academic concerns were driven by a legit medical condition, it's important that you show adcoms the struggles are behind you.

I won't lie: your MCAT is a problem. It concerns me that your overall score improved by only one point. Even more concerning is the fact that your score actually decreased in two of the sections. To be frank, I think you're in worse shape on the MCAT front now than you were with your original score. I recommend that you not retake the MCAT again, at least for now: if you take it again without a marked improvement, your competitiveness will be damaged further.

I agree with the above posters saying you should apply broadly, including to nearly all DO schools nationwide. If you're hell-bent on MD, you need to give that up now. If it's really important to you to become a doctor, worry less about the letters after your name and more about getting accepted wherever you can.
 
If you haven't applied DO, I would say make that your goal from this point on. I think your GPA is doable with a great MCAT but, as stated above, I think that the relatively low MCAT and lack of improvement on the second go is pretty lethal for MD, unless you pull out a crazy score the 3rd time (and I think it would have to be super high). Best of luck to you!
 
I’m not sure what you’re referring to about mental health issues. I had reoccurring spontaneous pneumothoraces that required surgery after graduation. The undergraduate courses I’m currently taking are all pertinent to the MCAT and I feel confident in raising my science scores as a result especially when used in tandem with an in person KAPLAN course (which I have registered for) and an even more refined approach. My main deficiency is in the CARS section and I think tutoring specific to that section will guarantee some improvement.

Overall, I think you all are right about applying the DO route. I just wanted to exhaust every opportunity for MD before going DO. So the general consensus is pursue an SMP program and unless I’m extremely confident at obtaining a 510+ don’t take it.
 
You would only need to do the SMP if you still want to apply to MD schools. If your only applying to DO next cycle you do not need the SMP. It really depends on what you want to do.
 
Dr. Meliodas said:
You would only need to do the SMP if you still want to apply to MD schools. If your only applying to DO next cycle you do not need the SMP. It really depends on what you want to do.
Click to expand...
I think enrolling in a SMP program would have dual benefit in that it gives me a final chance at MD and if that doesn’t work out, still prepare me for DO coursework starting the following year.
 
Chase K 13 said:
I think enrolling in a SMP program would have dual benefit in that it gives me a final chance at MD and if that doesn’t work out, still prepare me for DO coursework starting the following year.
Click to expand...

If you really want your next application to give you a *good* shot at MD, and SMP is your final plan, make sure to complete the SMP at a MD school. SMPs hold the most weight at the offering institution and I like to believe crushing a SMP can help offset a lower MCAT. The only caveat being that you took the MCAT twice with little or no improvement. With taking it once, I like to think that crushing a SMP helps a school to think "maybe the test was a fluke/applicant had a bad day/something took away from focus/etc. With 2 takes, the SMP may not hold the same weight as far as offsetting a low-ish MCAT.

I wish you the best of luck!
 
Besides what all has been mentioned above, what about your interview itself? You somehow are getting interviews so could your interview skills also be a factor? Maybe having friends/family help with practice interviews as well or career services at your school. Sometimes they offer a feature where they record it so you can see what you did wrong or right.
 
Chase K 13 said:
I’m not sure what you’re referring to about mental health issues. I had reoccurring spontaneous pneumothoraces that required surgery after graduation. The undergraduate courses I’m currently taking are all pertinent to the MCAT and I feel confident in raising my science scores as a result especially when used in tandem with an in person KAPLAN course (which I have registered for) and an even more refined approach. My main deficiency is in the CARS section and I think tutoring specific to that section will guarantee some improvement.

Overall, I think you all are right about applying the DO route. I just wanted to exhaust every opportunity for MD before going DO. So the general consensus is pursue an SMP program and unless I’m extremely confident at obtaining a 510+ don’t take it.
Click to expand...
My apologies. Chase...it was late and I misread "medical" for "mental".

I agree 100% with the bolded.

I suggest that you contact the Admissions deans at the schools you interviewed at to see if you can get some feedback on the rejections.

Beggars can't be choosy...you have to have DO schools on the list next time
 
Last edited:
You need to apply to DO next cycle..... why didn’t you do this already?


If you’re an unhooked traditional applicant, to expect to get into a US MD school with a 504/505 MCAT and borderline GPAs is expecting too much. It’s not that you’ll make a poor doctor, it’s that they have applicants with better stats to choose from. I’m not saying this to be harsh, I just want you to understand the dynamics. If you were offering ethnic diversity, then the school might welcome your stats, but that can mean that they’ll want to accept a high stats non-URM to balance out the low stats to not hurt their reporting numbers.

Start shadowing DO docs. I think to apply to DO schools, you need to shadow DO doctors and maybe even get a LOR from one.
 
Still committed to avoiding DO after 2 unsuccessful MD cycles. That's commitment lol. Or stubbornness.

As someone who had an unsuccessful MD cycle and then applied DO the following cycle, the peace of mind of knowing you have a DO acceptance while you wait to hear back on your MD programs is huge. Why not apply both instead of trying the MD only route one more time?
 
Chase K 13 said:
I think enrolling in a SMP program would have dual benefit in that it gives me a final chance at MD and if that doesn’t work out, still prepare me for DO coursework starting the following year.
Click to expand...

An SMP won't really help you unless you get the MCAT up. The people who tend to do well in SMP's and ultimately land in MD schools generally are the low GPA/High MCAT cohort. Many of the SMP websites (the reputable ones) will usually list the profile of their successful students, at least they did when I was looking into them. Think people with 3.3 or lower and MCATs over 510, often with scores 512+. With two sub-par (for MD) scores you will likely need a third score north of 512 if you want to even have somewhat of a decent shot.

Remember every year you spend pursuing MD is another year of attending salary you are missing out on. One year isn't so bad, but you are looking at 3+ years including the two you've already spent. Even in family med that adds up quick and you could be north of 1 million dollars in lost salary. Anything else that pays even slightly better than that and its even more. You should think long and hard about this as, from the application you currently have, you are likely going to end up at a DO school anyway. Even with an SMP.
 
gonnif said:
Rule 1: Take a Breath

1) What I would really advise is not, repeat, not to apply in the next cycle but skip a cycle. The biggest mistake that reapplicants make is applying again too soon and you already made that error. Lets not compound it by jumping again to either MD or DO. Yes, if you want to be doctor have patience else you are likely to be doing something else the rest of your life

2) You already tried the MCAT retake and that showed no improvement. Still I prep really hard for a third but under direct tutor/analysis. you need to figure out why you did poorly. But do note, I would not advise taking it a third time unless you are consistently above 515 on practice.

3) Though I am not a huge fan of the time and expense of SMPs for most candidates as a first step, with the two cycles down, it may be the only way to go. Simple PostBacc is not gonna be enough to show improvement

4) Speaking of which, what is your AMCAS GP Grid; we need to see grade trends the way an adcom would

5) Research and prep for DO application

6) To repeat, skip the cycle and instead look into SMP.
Click to expand...


Totally agree that this student would need to skip a cycle if stubborn about going MD. However, what would your reasons be for skipping a cycle if the student were to apply DO this cycle? It seems like the stats are fine for DO. Sure the student would need to hustle between now and submitting the DO app to shadow some DO physicians, but would that be too difficult? Submitting the DO app in late July would allow time for shadowing and getting a DO LOR, wouldn’t it? Or am I missing something?
 
Chase K 13 said:
I’m not sure what you’re referring to about mental health issues. I had reoccurring spontaneous pneumothoraces that required surgery after graduation. The undergraduate courses I’m currently taking are all pertinent to the MCAT and I feel confident in raising my science scores as a result especially when used in tandem with an in person KAPLAN course (which I have registered for) and an even more refined approach. My main deficiency is in the CARS section and I think tutoring specific to that section will guarantee some improvement.

Overall, I think you all are right about applying the DO route. I just wanted to exhaust every opportunity for MD before going DO.


So the general consensus is pursue an SMP program and unless I’m extremely confident at obtaining a 510+ don’t take it.
Click to expand...

JMHO, but if I were an adcom and saw 504, 505, 512, I wouldn’t be impressed. To me, you’d still be a 504/505 applicant when compared to applicants who got a “one and done” 510-513. Otherwise, I’d have to imagine that those 510-513 applicants would also have much better scores if they had taken the exam 3 times to get a significant score boost. Do you see the problem?

If I were you, I’d stop wasting time and money. Start shadowing some DO physicians.
 
So the general consensus seems to be apply DO next cycle after shadowing and obtaining an LOR from a DO. From the feedback I've received from ADCOMs thus far, my interview skills were not stellar so this is an area I could improve on as well.

Let me ask this, given that I have competitive stats for DO would it be worth applying to MD this upcoming cycle too if I retake the MCAT in mid June (I feel extremely confident that at the very least I would improve a few points, I cannot confidently say 512+ right now until I take a few practice tests, but at least 2-5 points just based on having taken Anatomy I & II, Endocrinology, Genetics, Developmental Bio, Biochem II and having the experience of having taken two MCATs) and enroll in an SMP program starting in the fall as a last ditch MD effort, or would doing those things majorly jeopardize my chances at DO school and not be worth the risk? Lets say worse case scenario I retake the MCAT after feeling confident about a significant increase but for whatever reason only obtain a 507-508, would this be lethal for DO schools as well?
 
OP, if you are from the eastern oart of the state, KYCOM would be a very very good shot. Id have my money on you. Applying to UK with a 504.5 average is not the best plan. Next year, they are opening up the new Northern Campus so you may have a shot there. I would reapply with a hefty list if DO schools next time. If you want to stay close, try KYCOM, LMU-DCOM. I would also apply to more but i feel you would have a great shot at these two.
 
Chase K 13 said:
From the feedback I've received from ADCOMs thus far, my interview skills were not stellar so this is an area I could improve on as well.
Click to expand...


What specifics did they mention??
I speak with many high school seniors and college students about how they present themselves during interviews.

Days before the interview, research the history/background/mission of the school/employer/scholarship - whatever you are interviewing for. Think about some relevant questions to ask or comment on. Also, find out some things about the city if this is a job or med school interview.

Think about what are common or even uncommon questions that might be posed and how you’d answer them. You can often google possible interview questions for almost any given situation. Do your homework! But don’t give canned answers. Make your responses your own.

For MMIs, certainly google and find out frequent MMI questions, so you’re not totally caught off-guard ...altho there probably will still be a few that will throw you for a loop.

Be prepared to speak about what you’ve been doing, what your accomplishments are, etc. Be prepared for that frequently-asked question about your weaknesses.

Determine what the appropriate apparel should be and make sure everything is clean, pressed, and shoes don’t look like crap...don’t wait until the day before to check your clothes!! Get a haircut/style if needed! Good grooming goes a long way.

Practice standing up, extending your hand for a firm handshake, and saying the appropriate words (such as: good afternoon, giving your name, etc)...all with a pleasant expression. Again, practice this if you’re not used to doing this! If you don’t have anyone to practice with, stand in front of a mirror and practice. Never shake someone’s hand while you’re sitting down, unless you’re in a wheelchair. Stand up!

ARRIVE to the interview at least 15-30 minutes early to allow time to find parking and find the interview location. Be polite to everyone you come into contact with!! It’s not unusual for a receptionist or whoever to comment later that an interviewee was rude to them. When greeting the interviewer or others, use good eye contact, stand and give a firm handshake. While the interviewer or others are speaking, have a pleasant resting face, look them in the eye, don’t fidget, don’t look at your watch, clock, or phone, be prepared to ask MEANINGFUL questions, and it’s ok to pause for a second or two to properly form an answer to a question instead of blurting out some random babble that makes you look silly. At the end, stand, thank them for the opportunity to interview,
 
Last edited:
Dr.Cut.em.up said:
OP, if you are from the eastern oart of the state, KYCOM would be a very very good shot. Id have my money on you. Applying to UK with a 504.5 average is not the best plan. Next year, they are opening up the new Northern Campus so you may have a shot there. I would reapply with a hefty list if DO schools next time. If you want to stay close, try KYCOM, LMU-DCOM. I would also apply to more but i feel you would have a great shot at these two.
Click to expand...


True. Right now, an unhooked, nonURM, trad applicant/reapplicant who wants an MD school, really needs to have a 510+ and 3.65+ GPA to have the best shot (510+ from the get-go...not after retakes). Anything less just gives adcoms too many reasons to go with other stronger applicants who won’t hurt their reporting numbers.
 
Interview skills are going to be judged the same whether you apply MD or DO. You must improve your interviewing skills. Practice with someone who is hypercritical so you can get some good pointers. Also record yourself while you practice and then watch the recording (incredibly painful, I know) so you can see what other people are seeing. And practice in the outfit(s) you plan on interviewing in.
 
I'm still waiting to hear back from the Director at the Bowling Green campus where I interviewed (Graduated from WKU). Though I think it was just my lack in preparation to be honest. I naively had the mindset to practice the big questions but "be myself and answer honestly" for the rest. I realize now, that was a poor mistake and really manifested in this last cycle because the previous one I had much practice during my undergrad which was lost after another year. This is an easy fix compared to the rest of the application though -- I'm sitting down with an ex UK admissions board member to go over questions as well as other professors at my local university to practice as well.

I actually live in Northern Kentucky and is where I've grown up and lived the majority of my life, so the UK Northern campus might be my ticket in. I should also note that I am currently enrolled in Biochem II, Developmental Biology, and Genetics for a total of 11 credit hours and I am on track to get all A's. If this is the case, since my last application, my sGPA will improve to a 3.55 and my cGPA to a 3.70. I think I would have a decent shot at the UK northern campus given these improvements and enrolling in a SMP program and improving even to a 510 MCAT, especially with it being the first year of its implementation, agreed, or am I living in a fairy tail?
 
I am going to throw my hat in the “improve your interview skills” ring. You say that all three schools you interviewed at outright rejected you? Not even one waitlist? To me, that is a big interview-issue red flag. It’s easy for an adcom to add you to the waitlist, but once that rejection is sent out it’s over: they can’t consider you as a candidate anymore. I’ve heard from a lot of adcoms that they will waitlist pretty much everyone just in case, “you never know”. The fact that three schools rejected you leads me to believe your interview skills are your weakest point, not your grades. Your grades got you the interview and should have gotten you at least a waitlist.

BTW: I have the same MCAT as you, and received 5 DO interviews.
 
Another thing to consider that no one has really brought up is.....what if the SMP doesn’t go well. Two sub par MCATs and not impressive GPAs doesn’t exactly scream success going into that SMP. If you underperform there then you’re really digging yourself into a hole even for DO. I would just cut your losses and move on. You’re wasting time and this is a risk move. Plus even if it goes well you’re MCAT would have to be really good to offset those 2 scores. The unlikelihood of this happening doesn’t justify the risk.
 
On_The_Way_Up said:
Another thing to consider that no one has really brought up is.....what if the SMP doesn’t go well. Two sub par MCATs and not impressive GPAs doesn’t exactly scream success going into that SMP. If you underperform there then you’re really digging yourself into a hole even for DO. I would just cut your losses and move on. You’re wasting time and this is a risk move. Plus even if it goes well you’re MCAT would have to be really good to offset those 2 scores. The unlikelihood of this happening doesn’t justify the risk.
Click to expand...


A very excellent point. Wasting time and a risk move. Get shadowing DO docs.
 
Chase K 13 said:
I'm still waiting to hear back from the Director at the Bowling Green campus where I interviewed (Graduated from WKU). Though I think it was just my lack in preparation to be honest. I naively had the mindset to practice the big questions but "be myself and answer honestly" for the rest. I realize now, that was a poor mistake and really manifested in this last cycle because the previous one I had much practice during my undergrad which was lost after another year. This is an easy fix compared to the rest of the application though -- I'm sitting down with an ex UK admissions board member to go over questions as well as other professors at my local university to practice as well.

I actually live in Northern Kentucky and is where I've grown up and lived the majority of my life, so the UK Northern campus might be my ticket in. I should also note that I am currently enrolled in Biochem II, Developmental Biology, and Genetics for a total of 11 credit hours and I am on track to get all A's. If this is the case, since my last application, my sGPA will improve to a 3.55 and my cGPA to a 3.70. I think I would have a decent shot at the UK northern campus given these improvements and enrolling in a SMP program and improving even to a 510 MCAT, especially with it being the first year of its implementation, agreed, or am I living in a fairy tail?
Click to expand...
If you are bent on going MD you need to do a lot of research and studying. You need to research which schools take your most recent MCAT and then retake it and get a 512+. As far as interviewing goes, "being yourself" is actually correct because you want schools to see who you are. The issue most likely was not that. I would guess you were ill-prepared for your interviews. Schools ask different questions to assess what you say and to see if your response lines up with their mission and what they have come to believe about you on your application. You should practice all kinds of questions. The fact that you are already getting interviews says schools are not rejecting you purely based on stats. With this being your third cycle why were you unable to correct this after your first cycle? I would also wait a cycle and apply to MD/DO next year.
 
If you take a year between cycles, I would continue volunteering and get some more clinical experience outside of shadowing, possibly as a clinical volunteer - maybe with hospice or a free clinic, etc. It’s possible that your complete application shows more, so consider this advice within your that context. I know this was a weakness in my application this cycle and I started volunteering immediately in August in case I needed to reapply (I moved in June and had to quit my other positions). This is to get additional interviews next application cycle, or to be more competitive when they review your full file. Agreed with others that interview could be an issue, but you’ll need to get a foot in the door.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
As far as clinical experience goes, I have worked in EMS as an EMT for a year and a half and had patients directly under my individual care and as a team. I've also had volunteered at my local fire station in the same capacity responding to EMS calls for six months and accrued 120-140 hours doing this as well. I also started volunteering at habitat for humanity in late December but have only spent approximately 20 hours in this capacity. I think the interviewing skills may be a bigger issue than I'm realizing and, in tandem with the average academics, is keeping me from obtaining an MD spot.

I know I have what it takes to do well in an SMP program -- my cGPA and sGPA are not indicative of my academic capability. Without the medical issue I know my cGPA would have been around a 3.8 and sGPA around a 3.7, and those are conservative estimates. If you looked at the trend in my test scores and grades during my senior year semesters, you can easily point to where I would have a pneumothorax, struggle to keep up, fall behind, and subsequently see that impact in my grades. I realize this is a moot point and I can play the "could have been" game all day, but since graduation I've taken 22 credit hours of upper level sciences (albeit not all as a full time student) and am on track to receive A's in 18 of those 22 credits and B's in the other 4. So, I feel confident when I say my current GPAs are not a good indicator of academic performance.

As far as my MCAT is concerned, my sciences have ranged from a 65th percentile to 83rd percentile, I realize a mid 60th percentile is low for sciences, but I've shown I can score 75th to 83rd percentile based on the first attempt. The real crux in my score is the CARs which has consistently been my weak area, below the 50th percentile, both times. If I enroll in a KAPLAN course with tutoring to specifically help with this area, because as we all know this is strictly an approach and strategy based section, and bring that score up to a level comparable with my other sections, I feel I am almost guaranteed a minimal increase even if I maintain my performance on the other sections. As far as the other sections go, I feel like I really cracked how to study for the social sciences portion while preparing for my last retake. I will have also taken Anatomy I & II, Endocrinology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, and Biochem II since the last retake and I feel that I have a much better grasp on the bio/biochem section as a result. The remaining chem/phys section will obviously still require significant attention, but I feel with review and tutoring I can at least maintain and possibly improve here. This will be the first in person KAPLAN course I have taken with 25 hours of one on one tutoring, something that I believe will be pivotal in my preparation, and I wish I had done before my last retake. KAPLAN seems confident and has had great success with students in my situation to improve the CARS section to at least the mid 70th percentile, and if I score how I've shown I can in other sections based, I feel like I am looking at the 510-512 mark.

I guess my frustration/stubbornness lie in how my GPA and MCAT score do not accurately represent my capability. The GPA was truly resultant of the medical issues and the low MCAT score is primarily due to the CARs section. If you all think this is a fallacy, and I'm just plain wrong please say so and I will humbly take your advice. I also want to note that I am definitely going to apply DO when I apply next and that advice has definitely resonated.
 
Chase K 13 said:
As far as clinical experience goes, I have worked in EMS as an EMT for a year and a half and had patients directly under my individual care and as a team. I've also had volunteered at my local fire station in the same capacity responding to EMS calls for six months and accrued 120-140 hours doing this as well. I also started volunteering at habitat for humanity in late December but have only spent approximately 20 hours in this capacity. I think the interviewing skills may be a bigger issue than I'm realizing and, in tandem with the average academics, is keeping me from obtaining an MD spot.

I know I have what it takes to do well in an SMP program -- my cGPA and sGPA are not indicative of my academic capability. Without the medical issue I know my cGPA would have been around a 3.8 and sGPA around a 3.7, and those are conservative estimates. If you looked at the trend in my test scores and grades during my senior year semesters, you can easily point to where I would have a pneumothorax, struggle to keep up, fall behind, and subsequently see that impact in my grades. I realize this is a moot point and I can play the "could have been" game all day, but since graduation I've taken 22 credit hours of upper level sciences (albeit not all as a full time student) and am on track to receive A's in 18 of those 22 credits and B's in the other 4. So, I feel confident when I say my current GPAs are not a good indicator of academic performance.

As far as my MCAT is concerned, my sciences have ranged from a 65th percentile to 83rd percentile, I realize a mid 60th percentile is low for sciences, but I've shown I can score 75th to 83rd percentile based on the first attempt. The real crux in my score is the CARs which has consistently been my weak area, below the 50th percentile, both times. If I enroll in a KAPLAN course with tutoring to specifically help with this area, because as we all know this is strictly an approach and strategy based section, and bring that score up to a level comparable with my other sections, I feel I am almost guaranteed a minimal increase even if I maintain my performance on the other sections. As far as the other sections go, I feel like I really cracked how to study for the social sciences portion while preparing for my last retake. I will have also taken Anatomy I & II, Endocrinology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, and Biochem II since the last retake and I feel that I have a much better grasp on the bio/biochem section as a result. The remaining chem/phys section will obviously still require significant attention, but I feel with review and tutoring I can at least maintain and possibly improve here. This will be the first in person KAPLAN course I have taken with 25 hours of one on one tutoring, something that I believe will be pivotal in my preparation, and I wish I had done before my last retake. KAPLAN seems confident and has had great success with students in my situation to improve the CARS section to at least the mid 70th percentile, and if I score how I've shown I can in other sections based, I feel like I am looking at the 510-512 mark.

I guess my frustration/stubbornness lie in how my GPA and MCAT score do not accurately represent my capability. The GPA was truly resultant of the medical issues and the low MCAT score is primarily due to the CARs section. If you all think this is a fallacy, and I'm just plain wrong please say so and I will humbly take your advice. I also want to note that I am definitely going to apply DO when I apply next and that advice has definitely resonated.
Click to expand...
Honestly the CARS section has less to do with critical thinking and more to do with reading speed and comprehension speed. The whole test is critical thinking so I see where you are coming from. I cannot stand the CARS section
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
IA not on AMCAS, what to do now?
Replies
5
Views
848
awycecujo
A
L
What should I do now ?
Replies
4
Views
1K
Goro
Goro
G
MA job fell through. What should I do now?
Replies
3
Views
579
goldengunsz
G
pinkbowbunny
What to do before II?
Replies
3
Views
1K
LizzyM
LizzyM
T
Made a pretty apparent mistake on TMDSAS application I submitted. What to do now?
Replies
3
Views
1K
ecobio
ecobio
Top