What should I do for the fall?

[Yoyomama88]

X.

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[njbmd]

OK so here are my stats.

Top liberal arts school,
GPA 3.41 Overall,
Sci GPA 3.25
MCAT 31 (10,10,11) * Took 3 times, best score was the 2nd time I took it, I took it the third time before I got the second score back (aamc delayed scores and basically screwed me), because I made the decision to apply last year, did not want to take a break from studying, and wanted to make sure I would never have to take it again... Hindsight is 20/20 and it was clearly a bad decision...in chronological order, my scores are 25M, 31P, 26N...

That third MCAT coupled with your low uGPA has really killed you. I put the things in bold that would "tank" you if you applied to either of the two allopathic schools where I serve on the admissions committee.

If you want to attend medical school, at this point, you need to look into completing a SMP (Special Masters Program) and acing it. These programs are expensive but you have to prove that you can navigate a medical curriculum.

If your interest is in Neuroscience, you can certainly have a career in research with a Ph.D which involves teaching but clinical practice takes either a DO/MD and your 26 MCAT scores especially after scoring that 31 are a huge, huge red flag at either type of school.

Publications are not going to offset your academics. Research is not going to offset your academics. You have to find some way of showing that you can handle the rigors of medical school. Like I said, that 26 after a 31 especially since your first score was a 31 makes the 31 look like a fluke and your uGPA is below average of medical school matriculants (3.65). Taking more undergraduate courses is not going to help you much since you have those two 26 MCAT scores.

A special masters or a special masters with linkage would be your best bet. With your MCAT or 31 and your uGPA, you are likely competitive for one of these programs. These programs are expensive but if medical school is your goal, they are your best option (and you have to do well period). In this age of very, very competitive medical school applicants, you have to really put something out there that rocks if you are not competitive.

Overall: You started out below average on your uGPA (not that much below but still below) with a very below average MCAT. When you retook the MCAT, you should have stayed there. That third retake with a very, very poor score hurt mortally. I know hindsight is 20/20 but none of your proposed options in your original post will get you closer to medical school.



For other folks reading this: Do not retake the MCAT if you score matriculant average or above. The OP took a huge risk and it's really costly.

If you elect to re-take the MCAT, do so only once and blow the test out of the water. This means make sure you are going to score significantly higher on your retake. A string of mediocre or poor scores can put you in a hole that is very difficult to climb out of.

 

[Yoyomama88]

if my mcat scores were so detrimental, then why did i receive an interview last cycle and why was I placed at the top of the waitlist? I guess all adcoms will not look at it the same...right?

Also I have the option of taking medical school classes for the graduate program at Tulane, would this not be equivalent to doing an SMP?

 

[nikeshp]

if my mcat scores were so detrimental, then why did i receive an interview last cycle and why was I placed at the top of the waitlist?

dude, you asked for an opinion and you got one. i am still a premed, so i don't know much myself, but from what i read, you are going to need to somehow show that you are academically capable of doing well.

 

[Yoyomama88]

Sure, but I do know there are some medical schools which take your best MCAT scores regardless...I doubt this would hurt me too much at these schools.

 

[nfg05]

do they really not look at the other one AT ALL though? Does somebody filter out all but the best before they get to the ADCOM? Seems unlikely that they would deny themselves useful information like that no matter what they say about it...

 

[Yoyomama88]

does anyone else have any opinions on what I should be doing...is SMP really the only way to go for the fall?

 

[Lokhtar]

That third MCAT score just kills you, combined with your subpar GPA. I'd definitely go SMP, though you may get into DO right now if you don't want to take the risk of a SMP.

 

[Yoyomama88]

you guys act like my second score means nothing at this point. I really cannot imagine all schools saying, "hey, it was clearly a fluke" . Some might say , "hey, he still got a 31. It shows he can do well."

 

[Chuckwalla]

What are you getting defensive for? It seems you just want people to tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth.

I agree with the people here that the third MCAT was a nasty blow to your application. It is probably best NOT to take it again.

That said I do not think you are out of the running. You are taking the right steps right now, applying to MD and DO. I am confident you will get in somewhere.

 

[Yoyomama88]

I am getting slightly defensive, because after all this hard work, people are telling me I can't even get into an MD school b/c i made one stupid decision to take the MCAT again. Oh well, I guess in the end it doesn't matter what anyone says on here...we'll just have to wait and see. thanks for the input tho.

 

[Chuckwalla]

I am getting slightly defensive, because after all this hard work, people are telling me I can't even get into an MD school b/c i made one stupid decision to take the MCAT again. Oh well, I guess in the end it doesn't matter what anyone says on here...we'll just have to wait and see. thanks for the input tho.

I understand where you are coming from. My GPA is also sub-3.5 and I am applying this cycle, painfully aware that there is a good chance a MD school will not be in my future.

It is really hard to accept but you have to. Then you have to think of alternatives. Will you go to a DO school, SMP, or maybe a PhD neuroscience program in your case?

I am not saying do not give MD schools another shot, I really think you should. Just be ready to act if it does not happen.

 

[Gut Shot]

Dude, the fall happened, like, 6,000 years ago. All you can do now is repent and read all those books that Kirk Cameron was in.

 

[Lokhtar]

I understand where you are coming from. My GPA is also sub-3.5 and I am applying this cycle, painfully aware that there is a good chance a MD school will not be in my future.

It is really hard to accept but you have to. Then you have to think of alternatives. Will you go to a DO school, SMP, or maybe a PhD neuroscience program in your case?

I am not saying do not give MD schools another shot, I really think you should. Just be ready to act if it does not happen.

No, I'm saying you can get into a MD school, you just will have to do a SMP most likely.