What do you think?

[DanMusSciRel47]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums, so first off, I would like to salute all of my fellow pre-meds.

Now, I could use some advice...

I am signed up to take the MCAT on Sep. 7th, and am wondering if I should go through with the test, i.e. take it and have it graded, or wait for a later date, which means I would just void this test after taking it.

I have been studying very hard for a while, and my AAMC practice CBT scores are as follows, in the order I've taken them:

Practice Test 3: 33 - 11P/12V/10B
Practice Test 10: 34 - 12P/10V/12B
Practice Test 4: 31 - 12P/10V/9B (it could've been just me, but both the biology and the orgo seemed unusually difficult)

I understand these aren't bad scores, but I'm getting very nervous here, as the test is less than a week away. My ideal score would be a 36 - 12's all the way across, and, given that I've scored 12's in each individual section, I have no doubt that I can do it. I just need to internalize some more of the bio, and I think I'll be okay. I'm just very scared about the verbal. Ever since high school, verbal has been one of my strengths (4 Eng Lit AP, 5 Eng Lang AP, 800 SAT), but I feel as if I am very out of practice now, and I just haven't gotten used to working under these time constraints once again.

Does anyone have any advice? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill, and should I just study my butt off and take the test and get it done with? See, I am very new to the idea of becoming a doctor...only in the past year or so have I realized that my primary interest is not research, but interacting with patients and maybe teaching as well. Because medicine is still a new thing to me, I'm not very keen on the application process and have relied up to this point primarily on info from my friends.

Thanks for all of your help.

P.S. Some more information, just so you can get a better picture of me as an applicant. I'm doing my undergrad at a top-ten institute in the northeast, but am a Texas resident. My current GPA is 3.9 (as an entering junior), and I have both research experience and volunteer hours. I'll be getting some clinical experience this year. My top choice school is Baylor Med School.

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[Corpus Callosum]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums, so first off, I would like to salute all of my fellow pre-meds.

Now, I could use some advice...

I am signed up to take the MCAT on Sep. 7th, and am wondering if I should go through with the test, i.e. take it and have it graded, or wait for a later date, which means I would just void this test after taking it.

I have been studying very hard for a while, and my AAMC practice CBT scores are as follows, in the order I've taken them:

Practice Test 3: 33 - 11P/12V/10B
Practice Test 10: 34 - 12P/10V/12B
Practice Test 4: 31 - 12P/10V/9B (it could've been just me, but both the biology and the orgo seemed unusually difficult)

I understand these aren't bad scores, but I'm getting very nervous here, as the test is less than a week away. My ideal score would be a 36 - 12's all the way across, and, given that I've scored 12's in each individual section, I have no doubt that I can do it. I just need to internalize some more of the bio, and I think I'll be okay. I'm just very scared about the verbal. Ever since high school, verbal has been one of my strengths (4 Eng Lit AP, 5 Eng Lang AP, 800 SAT), but I feel as if I am very out of practice now, and I just haven't gotten used to working under these time constraints once again.

Does anyone have any advice? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill, and should I just study my butt off and take the test and get it done with? See, I am very new to the idea of becoming a doctor...only in the past year or so have I realized that my primary interest is not research, but interacting with patients and maybe teaching as well. Because medicine is still a new thing to me, I'm not very keen on the application process and have relied up to this point primarily on info from my friends.

Thanks for all of your help.

P.S. Some more information, just so you can get a better picture of me as an applicant. I'm doing my undergrad at a top-ten institute in the northeast, but am a Texas resident. My current GPA is 3.9 (as an entering junior), and I have both research experience and volunteer hours. I'll be getting some clinical experience this year. My top choice school is Baylor Med School.

I would say you are solid, go for it and get it over with I am taking mine on sept 7th too, and can't wait to get this crap over with, everyone here knows by now how much I hate mcat
best of luck.

 

[chad5871]

Go for it. Your scores are well above average. If you postpone, you're just going to have to re-study a lot of information because you will have forgotten it by the time the next administration rolls around.

 

[DanMusSciRel47]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I've been fairly convinced the last few days that I should just go through with it. I still have over a week and I've never studied for any test (including finals) for more than one week, so I'm sure I have plenty of time to memorize the little factual bio stuff I'm not currently comfortable with, if just for the few days surrounding the MCAT .

I understand that the verbal is somewhat more haphazard than the other sections, in that guessing is fairly common. Maybe that's why my verbal scores have varied so much. I can only hope that I guess correctly on judgment day!

Corpus: Where are you planning on going? What are you looking to specialize in? I can only guess from your name that you're a neuro kinda guy (as am I). Is that correct?

Chad: What about you? What are your top choices?

 

[chad5871]

Chad: What about you? What are your top choices?

Well my top choices are going to depend on where I get accepted (LOL), but if I got accepted everywhere, it would be between VCU, NYU, and probably UVA. As far as specialties, I'm pretty open to almost anything. I know that I probably don't want to do OB/GYN, peds, or geriatrics -- I want to explore everything with an open mind. I was shocked to find that I really enjoyed my time in the pediatric emergency room when I was a Unit Secretary in the ER - I'm sure I'll have an "Aha!" moment like that sometime during my third year in Med School. Right now I'm particularly interested in forensic pathology (my major is Forensic Science after all!) and surgery (who isn't at this point?), but I'm sure all of that will change in the next few years.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I've been fairly convinced the last few days that I should just go through with it. I still have over a week and I've never studied for any test (including finals) for more than one week, so I'm sure I have plenty of time to memorize the little factual bio stuff I'm not currently comfortable with, if just for the few days surrounding the MCAT .

I understand that the verbal is somewhat more haphazard than the other sections, in that guessing is fairly common. Maybe that's why my verbal scores have varied so much. I can only hope that I guess correctly on judgment day!

Corpus: Where are you planning on going? What are you looking to specialize in? I can only guess from your name that you're a neuro kinda guy (as am I). Is that correct?

Chad: What about you? What are your top choices?

'

Exactly I am a neurophysiology type of person and man I just love it.
Neurosurgery is my ultimate objective if I can, let's see If I will still have the nerve for school untill then, I am 27 years old

 

[Corpus Callosum]

and as for where I will go, I prefer michigan state medical school because I can get almost any residency I want there (hopefully), because my first cousin is a physician in their hospital, and his words counts,
but any school that accepts me, I would be more than happy to hopp in,

 

[chad5871]

and as for where I will go, I prefer michigan state medical school because I can get almost any residency I want there (hopefully), because my first cousin is a physician in their hospital, and his words counts,
but any school that accepts me, I would be more than happy to hopp in,

Residencies depend more on your grades, USMLE scores, and interviews, not on where you attend school.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Residencies depend more on your grades, USMLE scores, and interviews, not on where you attend school.

when you know someone it may make a difference, (not just know, but you know what I mean)