chances in August

[wineland2]

I'd love to hear a success story from someone that took the August MCAT and got into med school the same year.

I know most people are adamantly against taking the August exam because it diminishes one's chances for acceptance. Yet if someone was to score around a 34, then does the applicant still have a fighting chance?

Is it even worth applying this June if I don't take the exam until August? My stats should be above average, I hope

Thanks for any advice....

[This message has been edited by wineland2 (edited 04-11-2000).]

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[Tigger Tiger]

I recommend against taking the August MCAT for same year applicants.

Anecdote:
I scored a 35+ on my august MCAT and have received one interview. Mind you, the majority of the schools I applied to are in the top 20. I have a 3.7+ with a few pubs and lots of volunteer work. My personal statement was decent as well.

I think med school is a crap shoot though... I know people who wrote august and had lots of interviews as well.

My advice? Write when you feel comfortable...

 

[AJ]

I took the MCAT this past August (34R)& 3.6 GPA from a state school. I applied to 8 non-top 25 schools and interviewed at 6. So far I've been accepted to one. I however interviewed late at most schools and have therefore been waitlisted. I would have liked to have taken the April MCAT but wasn't ready. If you're planning on taking the August MCAT then get everything else in early and make sure you do well on the MCAT. It can be done.

[This message has been edited by AJ (edited 04-13-2000).]

 

[MCV]

I'm in a similar situation - I am going to apply in June and take the August test though. I've called the admission offices of a bunch of schools (Ohio) and asked if that was really too late to be considered a viable applicant - and they all said I'd still have a good chance - I think it takes until the middle of October for them to get the scores. Just make sure the rest of your stuff is in asap. Plus, you can always apply again next June - it is one more shot at it that you might not otherwise have had. I've heard applications in general have decreased the last couple years - so maybe this will work out - I know I'm hoping so! Good luck.

 

[buttercup]

Wow, I guess were getting an equal number of yes's and no's for the august MCAT. I am one of the yes's. I took it in august, spent the whole summer prepping and got a 39. I am SURE that if I had taken it in April I would have done a lot less well. I was waitlisted, but then accepted to my first choice medical school. Ive come away with this advice,
if you're GPA, like mine, is not stellar, and you think you can pull an awesome MCAT score with enough studying, by all means, take it in august, apply that same year, I dont think you're chances are too diminished, but you may have to deal with the stress of being waitlisted. If you are, consider taking a year off, volunteering, and reapplying. I ended up pulled off the waitlist in august, but I had already committed to working in a rural hospital in Nepal for one year. Surprisingly, the school (Cornell med- very nice people!) let me defer, even though I'd been taken off the waiting list. I just returned from Nepal and feel more prepared than ever to go into the medical world, after such a life-changing experience.

Hope this helps! Good luck

 

[zolie]

I took the August MCAT last year, and will be attending UC Davis in the fall. I wouldn't worry too much about doing this, but make sure the rest of your application is on time and excellent... especially because you don't know how you're going to do. I got a low 30's score, nothing exceptional, and have a sub-3.0 undergrad GPA. 3.8 grad school and 3.7 post bacc... Mere mortals can take the August MCAT and succeed.

 

[jpc]

During the summer of 1999 I took the second half of gen chem, both halves of Orgo, and the MCAT (31Q, GPA 3.94 from a state school, Psychology major). I completed apps to 22 schools, recv'd 19 interviews, attended 5 of them and gained 4 acceptances. I'm an non-trad. @ 28 years old and work 40 hrs a week while attending school full time, extensive background in the allied health field. It can be done! However, I had NO social life last summer. Several of my friends that wrote the august exam with me also gained acceptances this cycle. If you have further questions email me, I'd be happy to discuss further with you.

 

[scully]

Wow! Congratulations on your amazing record of successful applications! I was afraid that non-traditional applicants were slightly discriminated against, but you have demonstrated conclusively that if you have what it takes, it doesn't matter if you didn't just graduate from college. Do you have any tips to share with fellow non-traditional students with similar stats?

 

[ptbear1970]

Your story in enchanting, I hope mine will end the same. I am taking two Orgos this summer and the MCAT in August, I will apply soon after. My transcripts are already being forwarded to AMCAS, Do they start a file for me without the actual application? Will AMCAS hold my application until MCATS are received, or does everything else get forwarded first and then the MCAT scores as they arrive?

 

[jpc]

AMCAS will start a file without the application. You sound like you are in the same position I was in last year. Something you may want to consider: If you're taking Orgo this summer, why even bother forwarding your transcript to AMCAS until late August when your Orgo grades show up. You don't gain anything in forwarding them early, since your app won't be complete without the orgo grades. After your primary app is complete (mine was loaded into AMCAS's database on 9/2/1999) your transcripts will be verified. After this has been done, your primary application will be sent out to the schools you applied to without your MCAT scores. In all actuallity, your application will not be complete until somewhere around the very end of October, as that is when MCAT scores arrive. They are automatically forwarded to AMCAS and to all of the schools you applied to, if you indicated that you want to release your scores on the day you took the test. A word of caution: I applied to as many schools as I could that don't pre-screen based on GPA and MCAT score before sending secondary applications. This way, you'll at least have all of your secondaries filled out and at the school when the MCAT scores arrive, and will be complete at the end of October. If you apply to a prescreening school, you might not even get the secondary until the beginning of November, and this will put you at a serious disadvantage. Be smart about where you apply to. That's the best advice I can give.

[This message has been edited by jpc (edited 04-17-2000).]

 

[mj]

Originally posted by jpc:
If you're taking Orgo this summer, why even bother forwarding your transcript to AMCAS until late August when your Orgo grades show up. You don't gain anything in forwarding them early, since your app won't be complete without the orgo grades.

Is that right? Most of the stuff I've read says you can apply without all the prereqs. complete as long as they will be finished before you matriculate. I was thinking about holding off on Org. 2 until the fall. Will my app not be considered until Org. 2 is complete?
mj

 

[jpc]

I should qualify my remark: your application WILL STILL be complete with or without taking all of the prereqs. In my case, I felt it was important that I complete my prereqs before I applied as I am a non-science major. Thanks for calling this to my attention, I was kinda stuck in the mindset I adopted when I applied. I still think that you are better off having both halves of orgo on your transcript before you apply tho. I've heard some schools use orgo to "weed-out" certain applicants, but have never verified it. If I am going to be judged against many other applicants who have most or all of their prereqs complete, I want to be on a level playing field with them. Sorry for the misleading remark!

 

[mj]

Thanks jpc for the clarification!

 

[abbeydesert]

My experience: August MCAT, 34R, 2 graduate degrees in humanities, 4.0 grad, 3.6 undergrad, lots of diverse and interesting life experiences. Result: only 1 interview, rejected. I can't say for certain that it was the August MCAT that hurt my chances so much, but it certainly didn't help.

 

[Erin]

I have a question along these lines... I graduate in May 2001 with a degree in accounting. I want to go to med school though. Am I correct in assuming that if I graduate and then take an year to finish up the science prereqs, there is no possibility of me getting into med school the following year? I am thinking that I'm going to have to sit out a year (after taking those science classes following graduation) while I apply and wait on hearing back. If it's possible to avoid this, I'd like to (I don't want to put a two year delay on moving on with my life now that I know what I want to do), but I don't see any way around it. Can anyone come up with a plan for me? Just so you know, there is no way around it, I can't do summer school and I must graduate in May (out of state tuition is getting tough), so I'm going to have to do the fifth year of prereqs somewhere else. let me know what you think/what I can do.
Erin

 

[Tigger Tiger]

Originally posted by Erin:
I have a question along these lines... I graduate in May 2001 with a degree in accounting. I want to go to med school though. Am I correct in assuming that if I graduate and then take an year to finish up the science prereqs, there is no possibility of me getting into med school the following year? I am thinking that I'm going to have to sit out a year (after taking those science classes following graduation) while I apply and wait on hearing back. If it's possible to avoid this, I'd like to (I don't want to put a two year delay on moving on with my life now that I know what I want to do), but I don't see any way around it. Can anyone come up with a plan for me? Just so you know, there is no way around it, I can't do summer school and I must graduate in May (out of state tuition is getting tough), so I'm going to have to do the fifth year of prereqs somewhere else. let me know what you think/what I can do.

It will be near impossible. What you suggest is that you apply this summer, then take your science prereqs during the year.

The reason why I say that it will be very difficult is that AdComms don't know what your abilities are in science courses. Med school is all about science. Also, when will you take the MCAT? More importantly, do you know what you are getting into? Do you have clinical experience?

There is nothing wrong with taking a year off...