Appropriate Medical Schools

[ishqbina]

Hi,

I got a 28Q on my the MCAT. My breakdown was P=11, V=7, B=10 and W=Q. I have an overall GPA of 3.59 majoring in biomedical engineering. I was just wondering if anyone had ideas about some safety schools that I should apply to. I know that my verbal score is somewhat low, but I think I am capable enough to go to a competitve school.

I am involved in extracurricular activities at school and I have also been working between 15-20 hours/week since my freshman year at high school.

I am really stressed about where to apply and how many schools to apply to. I was thinking about applying to about 25 schools, including the top schools in the country.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

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[DrBowtie]

28 isnt a bad score but its most likely not going to get you into the "top schools in the country." Have you thought about hitting the verbal hard for the august test? I would suggest that if you want to try to get into the top schools.

 

[kenmc3]

First, I wouldn’t recommend wasting your time and money to apply to the top schools. Granted there is a slim chance that you could get accepted and there are certainly stories to support that scenario, but it is highly unlikely. Remember, applying to medical school is expensive and time consuming. If you don’t mind losing over $100 per school (not including interviews) then go ahead and apply to the top schools. Personally, I wouldn’t apply to any more than 20 schools. Here are some simple guidelines:

1) Apply to all your state schools (you prob have the best chance here)

2) Don’t apply to ANY state schools not in your state of residence (So unless you live in CA, don’t apply to UCLA)

3) Look through the MSAR for some schools that typically have low MCAT averages, I believe Rosalind Franklin and Creighton are some.

4) I wouldn’t recommend applying to any private school whose MCAT average is above a 32.

5) Be sure to apply AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE!

6) Be sure to complete ALL scondaries as early as possible

7) Go to all interviews (Unless you are accepted)

Good luck – you prob have at least an 80% chance of getting in somewhere

P.S. I really think taking the August MCAT will put you at a major disadvantage. Schools won’t look at your application until October-November. Even though most of the top schools are not rolling admissions, it will hurt your chances at all the schools that have rolling admissions (most of the others) – which are your best chances.

 

[MeowMix]

There is a lot of expertise over in pre-allo - they actually have more current info about this stuff than we do. Try them.

Also, look at mdapplicants.com and see what people have accomplished with your stats. That will give you some idea of the extremes. Be sure to also look at people's experience with higher and lower stats - it'll give you a sense for the huge scatter in what med schools do with an application.

Aug MCAT is fine, if you have to do it. If you apply in June, your app will get reviewed by some schools before your MCAT score even shows up. I had half my secondaries by September.

If I were you, I would apply to at least 1 top school that I really liked, just so I knew that I had tried. You don't want to be sitting there thinking, for $20 more I might have gotten into X.

 

[YzIa]

People often get in with 28's, people sometimes get in with 7's, the combination does not inspire faith. I would honestly either apply MD and DO or retake and boost your verbal.

 

[14022]

Word of advice from a third-year medical student. Verbal is VERY important. I scored a 33P (8V, 14P, 11B). I applied to 8 places. Only interviewed at the 4 places that were least competitive on my list. I was waitlisted from 2, withdrew from 1 because I did not like the program, and accepted to 1. The one I was accepted to is an average school. During my interview at the school at which I was accepted, he flat out asked me if I could read well. He said I would have problems passing the boards (which was far from the case...I scored among the highest of my class on step 1). Point is, they said it was a major red flag on my app.

I am now on the Admissions Committee at my school. And when white US born applicants score in the 6-8 range on verbal, they have some serious discussions about the applicant. I am not saying do not apply to medical school. And I am not saying do not apply to your dream schools. Just do not get over confident and only apply to highly competitive schools. The prestige of your medical school (assuming it is in the US and not the caribbean) doesnt really matter in the long run, unless it is the top 10 or bottom 10 or so. As long as you do well at whichever school you are at, you will have no limitations of your options for residency in the future. Good luck.

 

[Hoya11]

People often get in with 28's, people sometimes get in with 7's, the combination does not inspire faith. I would honestly either apply MD and DO or retake and boost your verbal.

100% agree

you would be MUCH better with a 10 9 9. I know many people who did not get in solely because of the verbal section. If your science sections were in the teens, maybe they would overlook it, but a 7 is murder. And trust me I know how easy it is to get a 7. The year I got a 7 I got in nowhere of 40 schools. I turned the 7 into a 9 the next year and i was in easily. YOu have a red flag with that 7, I would honestly apply, explain it was a fluke, hope for the best, if it doesnt work, take the mcat again.

Verbal is the easiest section to master. I got a 10 in it both times. But on my initial practice tests i was in the 7 range. I knew that this was going to be my weak area and practiced and practiced and practiced. WIth continued practice you will see that the questions are easier than you think, and most often the answer is the no-brainer choice. Dont read any of the paragraphs, go to the questions first. Unfortunately, your problem is a common one.

Low verbal, white male, 28 overall. Honestly the guy who said you have an 80% chance has no idea. I would give you a 30% chance.

BUt given your other scores are awesome and gpa is good. All you would have to do is raise that verbal one or two points and you are definitely in.

NYMC
Drexel
Your State schools
Your undergrad school

good luck man

 

[Tallguy]

I always get annoyed when people consider certain schools they are applying to as "safety schools"... Even if they have a MCAT of 40...and a 4.0... The admissions process is just too random to make judgements of that nature.

I think the best advice is to check out pre-allo.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

but one thing is 90% sure.
that 7 verbal score is gonna keep you from getting accepted at tons of schools.
yeah, people get int with 28, but they have a more balanced score. like 9,9,10, or 10, 9,9, etc etc.

take a look at the lowest ranked schools, and apply to the bottom 5 that are not state-funded. those are your safeties

 

[burlypie]

Agreed -- the verbal is going to hurt you. The admissions director at my school actually told us students once that in "numbers" algorithm they put together for each applicant, they give twice as much weight to the verbal score as they do to the science scores. She also said they dont't even take the writing sample into consideration at all.

I did well on verbal by doing lots of practice tests and trying to figure out what kind of answers they like. Also, READ OUTSIDE OF YOUR STUDIES!!! (try the NY times online, the new yorker mag, WSJ, and a little Danielle Steele). Reading comprehension can be much less linear/black and white than the sciences where you just memorize a formula or a fact, and it can take practice to get back into it if you've just been going engineering for a while. And if you have to take a year off to improve your scores, you'll only be that much more of an attractive applicant.

good luck!

 

[jennie 21]

Agreeing with the consensus here. Unless you are a URM or foreign-born and English is your second language, that 7 is going to be a problem. Very simply, unless you are a URM maybe, you are not competitive at any of the top schools with that kind of score. If a top school is important work on improving your verbal and retake the MCAT. Otherwise, apply to your state schools, apply widely, and hope for the best.

 

[YzIa]

Agreeing with the consensus here. Unless you are a URM or foreign-born and English is your second language, that 7 is going to be a problem. Very simply, unless you are a URM maybe, you are not competitive at any of the top schools with that kind of score. If a top school is important work on improving your verbal and retake the MCAT. Otherwise, apply to your state schools, apply widely, and hope for the best.

I would go as far as to say this post is sugar coating it and that your MCAT score is not competitive at any top school unless you are a URM or have some unreal uniqueness. It may or may not be competitive at any allopathic schools - I am not trying to be harsh, just really pushing you to realize the situation. My advisor who I would say was fairly knowledgable after going through the process, said that a 7 is where you retake, an 8 is a push if your other scores are strong, and 9 is where you become competitive for that single section score.

 

[ishqbina]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I was foreign born and I started my high school in the United States. That's just for the clarification. Any more suggestions are welcome.

 

[makesomerheum]

The KEY is EARLY application and unique qualities. The MCAT score gets you an interview but not an admission. Your MCAT definitely qualifies you for a state school. Unique experience and early application give you an outside shot at a top 25. Putting in the effort with excellent essays on a few apps and getting them in EARLY is a better use of your energy. Generally 12-15 apps is more than sufficient. Use 4-5 for dream schools, 4-5 for mid-tier, and 4-5 for safety. Hope that helps.

 

[skypilot]

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2004/2004school.htm


Use this list and apply to the schools which take the most out of state matriculants. Good luck

 

[MGoBlueDO]

If you read newsweek and the NY times you're verbal will jump...the first time I took the MCAT I had a 7 in verbal and boosted it to an 11...if you took kaplan...ignore their strategy and just read for content...and answer the questions by remembering what you read...maybe that'll improve your score the most...just read like you were reading something for leisure. You can try that strategy and it worked for me...but I read a ton of them since my dad subscribed to newsweek and time magazine...just FYI you can try it...

 

[14022]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I was foreign born and I started my high school in the United States. That's just for the clarification. Any more suggestions are welcome.

That helps as long as by foreign born you don't mean Britain or Australia or somewhere else where English is the promary language. But, if foreign born is India, China, Japan, or a silmilar country that is overrepresented in the medical school admissions process, that will not be much help.

 

[lfesiam]

i was state born but moved to another country when i was 2 months old. English wasn't my first language. I did not go to an international school either. Start high school in US, got a 10 on verbal. heh Don't underestimate us FOBs =)

 

[14022]

i was state born but moved to another country when i was 2 months old. English wasn't my first language. I did not go to an international school either. Start high school in US, got a 10 on verbal. heh Don't underestimate us FOBs =)

No one is underestimating. No one is insulting. No one would expect a plumber to come into your home and fix your car as good as the mechanic. Nor would a medical school admissions committee expect someone that doesn't speak English as their primary language to do as well on an English test as someone who does speak English as a primary language.