What are my chances? 2020

[Mica45]

Hi everyone,
I have 4.00 GPA, a lot of activities and I’m in my junior. I’m taking my mcat in mid August and I already submitted my application.
I know I’m not gonna do good on the Mcat because I’m a really bad test taker. What is the minimum mcat that i need? I don’t mind moving out of state.

thank you in advance,

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[GreenDuck12]

Median mcat for accepted students is just north of 511. That’s a good target to aim for. Can’t gauge your chances without an mcat score.

 

[Mica45]

Unfortunately I don’t see myself getting 511.

 

[GreenDuck12]

You can look up what percentage of applicants are accepted with different mcat and gpa combinations on the AAMC website. You can also get a copy of the MSAR to look up the 10/25/50/75/90 percentile bands for gpa and mcat at different schools. If you’re in a high band for gpa you may get away with being in a lower band for mcat score. If you live in NM and have a lot of work with underserved communities a 505 or 506 on the mcat may be ok but if you’re in CA then a 511 may not be sufficient. State of residence can have a big impact. What’s your state of residence?

 

[Mica45]

I live in Michigan. I worked with refugees and mostly undeserved communities.
I am also disadvantaged.
Also, do you think August mcat is late ? Should i wait and apply next year?

 

[GreenDuck12]

All dates in August are not created equally. When are you taking the test and when would you get your scores?

 

[RJ McReady]

Don’t assume you are going to do poorly because you’re a poor test taker. That kind of negativity will become a self fulfilling prophecy. Focus on test preparation and expect to do well.
that said, August is a bit late, but you should still apply now if you get a good score. If not, you can retake, consider DO schools or apply next year.

 

[Mica45]

All dates in August are not created equally. When are you taking the test and when would you get your scores?

Right now I’m scheduled for August 1st but i want to reschedule to August 7ish.

 

[Mica45]

Don’t assume you are going to do poorly because you’re a poor test taker. That kind of negativity will become a self fulfilling prophecy. Focus on test preparation and expect to do well.
that said, August is a bit late, but you should still apply now if you get a good score. If not, you can retake, consider DO schools or apply next year.

I really appreciate it but I couldn’t apply for accommodation which really affects my ability to take the test. I have fibromyalgia and it’s very difficult for me to sit for 6 hours.

 

[RJ McReady]

Why can’t you apply for accommodation?

 

[GreenDuck12]

Right now I’m scheduled for August 1st but i want to reschedule to August 7ish.

August 7 will be fine for this cycle. You can submit your primary application after testing for verification. Make sure you start your application before so that you can have your transcripts sent and be received by AMCAS. Aim for secondaries to be completed by mid September.

 

[Mica45]

Why can’t you apply for accommodation?

Because my dr office was close due to covid and now it’s too late to apply.

 

[Mica45]

August 7 will be fine for this cycle. You can submit your primary application after testing for verification. Make sure you start your application before so that you can have your transcripts sent and be received by AMCAS. Aim for secondaries to be completed by mid September.

I already submitted my application and only applied to one school. (Basically applying blind). I just wanted my application to get verified. Thank you so much for your help.

 

[GreenDuck12]

I live in Michigan. I worked with refugees and mostly undeserved communities.
I am also disadvantaged.
Also, do you think August mcat is late ? Should i wait and apply next year?

Michigan isn’t a bad state of residence to have. Based on your other response about requesting an accommodation, it may make sense to wait till you can get such an accommodation. A few points in the mcat can make a big difference in an application cycle.

 

[akg0119]

@DO_MICH are you also applying DO? I believe anything 505+ would put you in solid DO territory, although it's possible 500+ would too. @Faha may have more advice about this.

 

[Mica45]

Michigan isn’t a bad state of residence to have. Based on your other response about requesting an accommodation, it may make sense to wait till you can get such an accommodation. A few points in the mcat can make a big difference in an application cycle.

I emailed AAMC but unfortunately it takes them at least 60 days to verify my accommodation documents. This will push my mcat to late September

 

[Mica45]

@DO_MICH are you also applying DO? I believe anything 505+ would put you in solid DO territory, although it's possible 500+ would too. @Faha may have more advice about this.

I really want to get into MD school but I’ll also apply for DO school too.

 

[akg0119]

@DO_MICH Right now I would focus on your MCAT prep 100%. What are you using to study? I would recommend checking out MCAT Reddit (r/MCAT), there are some great resources discussed there. There is also a discord that people use to discuss content questions and study tips. There are a lot of resources you can get for free online or at a reduced cost.

That being said, I think pushing your MCAT to September would be too late. I think even mid August is a little late, especially if you're applying MD with a <511, but the #1 thing right now is for you to get the best possible MCAT you can get.

Have you started studying? If not, time to start!!!

 

[Mica45]

@DO_MICH Right now I would focus on your MCAT prep 100%. What are you using to study? I would recommend checking out MCAT Reddit (r/MCAT), there are some great resources discussed there. There is also a discord that people use to discuss content questions and study tips. There are a lot of resources you can get for free online or at a reduced cost.

That being said, I think pushing your MCAT to September would be too late. I think even mid August is a little late, especially if you're applying MD with a <511, but the #1 thing right now is for you to get the best possible MCAT you can get.

Have you started studying? If not, time to start!!!

Yes i have started. I signed up for Prinction review MCAT Ultimate LiveOnline. The course ends on July 23rd. I have like 2 weeks to just practice.
I really appreciate your help guys. Thank you so much

 

[GreenDuck12]

I emailed AAMC but unfortunately it takes them at least 60 days to verify my accommodation documents. This will push my mcat to late September

I know. I just wanted to point out that it may be beneficial to do so since you had asked about applying next year instead of this year if August was too late to test.

 

[Mica45]

I know. I just wanted to point out that it may be beneficial to do so since you had asked about applying next year instead of this year if August was too late to test.

I guess I will try to take it this year without accommodation and if I don't get above 505 I'll take it again next year with accommodation.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hi everyone,
I have 4.00 GPA, a lot of activities and I’m in my junior. I’m taking my mcat in mid August and I already submitted my application.
I know I’m not gonna do good on the Mcat because I’m a really bad test taker. What is the minimum mcat that i need? I don’t mind moving out of state.

thank you in advance,

I think you should strongly consider taking a gap year. I'm not an adcom, but all of the adcoms stress applying when you are ready, and not trying to shoe horn everything you need into an artificial timeline to fit a target application (or test) cycle. You have a great GPA, but are an admittedly weak test taker who needs an accommodation that you have not yet obtained.

You are therefore very likely setting yourself up for failure on this MCAT, and that will be an albatross you'll have to overcome when you have to retake the exam later with an accommodation. You should also realize that 2/3 of all MD matriculants have at least one gap year, so lacking that will be another strike against you if your MCAT score is not consistent with your GPA.

TL;DR -- the odds are pretty high that you'll be a reapplicant if you rush an application this cycle with no gap year and a sub par MCAT score because you failed to obtain a needed accommodation.

 

[FallenYeeter]

I do not consider myself a "good test taker" either but I made a strong effort to familiarize myself with the test by taking several full length exams during my preparation and was able to score a 512 on test day. Do not rush an application cycle if you don't feel prepared. Take a year and study the material, take several practice exams, and become comfortable with the test. You don't have to be a "good test taker" to perform well on this exam, but if you take this too early in an attempt to apply this cycle then it probably won't go in your favor. Also applying late in the cycle for MD is difficult due to the sheer volume of applications and competition at the MD level, however, if you wish to apply DO then go for it as their cycle runs very late.

 

[Mica45]

Unfortunately, it's due to family pressure that I'm trying to apply this cycle. I got an email from AAMC that they received double the number of transcripts for this cycle which means this cycle is more competitive and I personally prefer to take a gap year and apply early next year.

 

[JustAUser]

Have you taken any practice exams yet? Any official AAMC practice exam? If so, how are you doing on it?

From what you've said so far, it seems like you haven't really done much justice to the exam. It's a pretty tough exam that covers a lot and you have to put in a lot of time studying for it.

I think you should really really consider pushing back your MCAT and applying next cycle. The last thing you want to do is take the MCAT pre-maturely and then have a poor score to explain. Not only will it ruin your current application, but you would also be shooting yourself in the foot for any future applications as well.

Do yourself a favor and put your all into it. And submit the best possible application you can next cycle, thus increasing your chances of getting accepted.

Maybe I'm reading what you're saying wrong, but you'll definitely need way more than two weeks of practice especially if you're not doing as well as you want to (and considering you just signed up for the TPR class as well). Do keep in mind that a test prep class is not a guarantee for an improved score. It might help, but at the end of the day, you sow what you reap. Keep working hard, but also work smart!

 

[Mica45]

Have you taken any practice exams yet? Any official AAMC practice exam? If so, how are you doing on it?

From what you've said so far, it seems like you haven't really done much justice to the exam. It's a pretty tough exam that covers a lot and you have to put in a lot of time studying for it.

I think you should really really consider pushing back your MCAT and applying next cycle. The last thing you want to do is take the MCAT pre-maturely and then have a poor score to explain. Not only will it ruin your current application, but you would also be shooting yourself in the foot for any future applications as well.

Do yourself a favor and put your all into it. And submit the best possible application you can next cycle, thus increasing your chances of getting accepted.

Maybe I'm reading what you're saying wrong, but you'll definitely need way more than two weeks of practice especially if you're not doing as well as you want to (and considering you just signed up for the TPR class as well). Do keep in mind that a test prep class is not a guarantee for an improved score. It might help, but at the end of the day, you sow what you reap. Keep working hard, but also work smart!

No, I have not.

 

[KnightDoc]

Unfortunately, it's due to family pressure that I'm trying to apply this cycle. I got an email from AAMC that they received double the number of transcripts for this cycle which means this cycle is more competitive and I personally prefer to take a gap year and apply early next year.

A lot of us have family pressure. Unfortunately, the family isn't the one doing the work, and the family usually doesn't know what the hell it is talking about!!! You might want to consider just giving your family the information and telling them what you are going to do, rather than allowing them to pressure you.

Honestly, while a gap year is a great idea for most of us, just based on the numbers, without regard to whether or not this cycle is going to be unusually competitive, the best reason for you to slam on the brakes is the unsatisfied need for the testing accommodation. If you really don't need the accommodation, it's a non-issue, but if you do and you don't have it, it will be a game changer for you in a bad way if you rush forward to give in to pressure.

Countless people have come on SDN wishing they could do things over after taking the test too soon and having a bad score follow them forever, because, unfortunately, it does, to a greater or lesser degree depending on the school. Same thing with being a reapplicant.

 

[penguinsfan71]

The other thing to mention is that schools see all of your MCAT scores. If you do poorly this year, you'll have to do even better in order to offset your first score. It would be much better to score a 511 on your first try a year from now than a 502 now and a 513 on a retake, for example. Taking the MCAT two months from now when you haven't even really started to study without the accommodation is not a good idea if you are strongly leaning MD over DO.

 

[FallenYeeter]

Additionally, consider the possibility this cycle does not work out. Most institutions will not consider an application unless they have had several improvements to their reapplication. With application cycles running as late as June or July (with COVID only god knows how much later now) you will have very little time to improve your application for the following cycle and may have to take an additional year prior to reapplying. If this is a time sensitive situation then this will only become more of a burden.

 

[Mica45]

thank you so much for your comments guys. I'll absolutely think about taking a gap year and rescheduling my exam.

 

[Mica45]

Additionally, consider the possibility this cycle does not work out. Most institutions will not consider an application unless they have had several improvements to their reapplication. With application cycles running as late as June or July (with COVID only god knows how much later now) you will have very little time to improve your application for the following cycle and may have to take an additional year prior to reapplying. If this is a time sensitive situation then this will only become more of a burden.

I only applied to one school which doesn't accept any out of state applicant. That's because I just wanted to get my application verified. I am not planning to apply to any schools without knowing my MCAT score. I don't want to be a reapplicant.

 

[Mica45]

I have one more question. I already asked for letters of recommendation from my professors. can I use those for next year?

 

[GreenDuck12]

I have one more question. I already asked for letters of recommendation from my professors. can I use those for next year?

Yes, you can use letters from prior years. I used letters that were written over a two year period. One thing you can do is reach back out to your letter writers later and ask that they update the date of the letter. However, having letters that are a year old isn't a problem and I wouldn't stress about it.


Just to summarize a few key points from the thread:
- You only want to take the MCAT once as each school will see all score attempts. The AAMC recommends that schools take the average of all MCAT scores but each school is free to set their own policy for evaluating multiple scores.
- You want to put yourself in the best position to do well on the MCAT. If you believe you will be in the best possible position this august, then you should take the exam then. If you think that pursuing an accommodation would positively impact your performance, then you should pursue that.
- Your 4.0 GPA will open a lot of doors but your MCAT score needs to keep those doors open.

Best of luck to you