LOW MCAT... there's hope - accepted!

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drdave2be

D.O.CTOR
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Here's my MCAT stats:
23M
8p 6v 9b

First of all, don't hate, cuz I am putting myself out there by revealing my stats. I am not proud of my MCAT scores or of the fact that I took the test three times to get such a low score. The first two tests were above 20.

Second, my case is rare. Don't expect to get into medical school with a sub-par application.

Third, I will not answer any questions as to where I am accepted or that will reveal my identity. Again, I am not proud of my MCAT score.

Lastly, I received 4 interview requests (I will not tell you where, but they are osteopathic schools and all US schools).

The point of this post is to raise hope for those of you who are struggling with your MCAT. If you truly want to become a physician, do NOT GIVE UP!!! I took the MCAT three years in a row (ughh), and it was a brutal experience each time. My low score still baffles me. I took all 8 AAMC practice tests and a Kaplan review course ($1700). I scored 26-32 on the practice tests and took 75 timed VR tests (purchased as many as I could find and took many of them more than once – my VR scores eventually showed a positive trend, but I attribute that in part to repeated tests). I was discouraged and defeated after each test result came through. I felt it probably would never happen for me, but I did get into medical school.

Here's what I think I did right to get 4 interviews and an acceptance:
Sci gpa 3.6, 7 strong letters of rec, 5000 clinical hours, teaching experience in anatomy and kinesiology labs, excellent interpersonal communication skills that helped a ton at the interview.

Furthermore, I feel that some luck was on my side: my background and personality are a perfect fit for my school and my interview went extremely well - I was 100% real, and not nervous. I simply put myself out there and had no expectations. I may have gotten lucky.

If I were to take the MCAT again, here's what I would do differently:
Wait to take a review course until I had re-learned the material. I was out of school for 6 years before taking the review course. It had been 8 years since physics, and 9 years since gchem. Also, I had not taken genetics or biochem until after my third attempt. Those courses would have helped a ton. If I had taken the prep course last, I might have done much better.

I hope this post gives some hope to those of you who are struggling. This post is for you. If you have anything negative to say, please save your time - I'm sure you possess the right combination of skills to do well on the test and your negative post will not help anyone who is looking for some inspiration. Again, this post if for the hopefuls that feel defeated.

Don’t ever give up. You may have to take the test more than once. Most importantly, please don’t take the test until you are scoring in your desired score range for the AAMC tests (save yourself some grief). Lastly, realize that very few people even attempt to take the MCAT to try to get into medical school. You should be proud of your accomplishments J

Best wishes to all of you on your MCAT!

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I find your post honest, realistic, and truly motivating. While I do have a good MCAT score, your post even helps to renew my hope in my peers. I want classmates who are honest, realistic, and want to encourage others, of all levels, in a HUMBLE way. IMO, it is very important for people like you to share your story. I think it helps others become comfortable with who they are. It also sends the message that it's okay to speak up if your stats aren't nearly perfect, that everyone's stats aren't nearly perfect, and it serves as an example for those with the lowest self esteem that there is no need to pretend to be better than you are. It's okay to be yourself and to be honest about your situation. It's often times a struggle in life that teaches people that their friends and loved ones will still be there even if they are not perfect, that imperfect and less intelligent people matter (sometimes learned by being on the other side), and that there are more important things than being, "the best" (life isn't a competition).

Now before someone jumps in and says, "If you were dying, wouldn't you want your doctor to be the best?" I would respond, "The best what?" Ideally, my doctor would be highly skilled at BOTH medicine, and also at understanding the importance of love and value of imperfect people. Both are ideal, not one or the other.

Your post struck a chord with me that the posts about, "how I did so good and here's my story for you to replicate," just couldn't strike. Thank you for sharing.

PS/Edit: I think your brand of honesty is particularly important in this day and age. On that note, I will once again (for the 2nd time on SDN), refer to my favorite article of late: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html I am also in generation y, and can relate to a good part of this.

Holy **** that article is literally my life
 
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Here's the thing. The first article gives a pretty good view of how we were raised, at least how I was and sums up some of my own unhappiness and the unhappiness of many of my peers. But I think it puts wayyyy to much blame on social media and on our own egos and not enough on how much we got ****ed over by the baby boomers. And the advice is laughable, get over myself? How about if I could get a job that has benefits? That would be great.
 
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Here's the thing. The first article gives a pretty good view of how we were raised, at least how I was and sums up some of my own unhappiness and the unhappiness of many of my peers. But I think it puts wayyyy to much blame on social media and on our own egos and not enough on how much we got ****ed over by the baby boomers. And the advice is laughable, get over myself? How about if I could get a job that has benefits? That would be great.

The Army's always hiring!
 
No offense, but if you could only get a 23 on the MCAT how do you plan on passing Step 1 and 2?
Both of my friends who scored poorly on the MCAT just aced STEP1. So apparently, they aren't necessarily correlated.
 
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Statistics, how do they work?
Saying they aren't correlated is misspeaking, for sure, because they are. BUT I should have said, they are definitely not predicated on MCAT score. After I wrote that too, I thought of my other friend who couldn't break a 28 who also did really well on STEP1. So, three out of the three people that I know that went to med school and did bad on the MCAT all did well on STEP1.
 
There's a big different is couldn't and didn't. Many people are capable of working hard enough to do well on Step 1 and the MCAT, but don't. The ones who don't do well on 1, but do well on the other, tend to not have put the effort in the time they performed poorly. If you are, however, actually incapable of doing well on the MCAT then I would seriously doubt that you are capable of performing on Step 1, or pretty much any other knowledge based standardized test.
 
I read your post about 3 weeks ago when I was worried about whether I would get an interview or not. I have a 23M mcat score too, I took it three years in a row as well and took the Kaplan prep course. My cum gpa 3.35 and scgpa is 3.3. A week after reading your post I received two interviews. Thank you for your post.
Where'd you apply/interview at if you care to share?...
 
I read your post about 3 weeks ago when I was worried about whether I would get an interview or not. I have a 23M mcat score too, I took it three years in a row as well and took the Kaplan prep course. My cum gpa 3.35 and scgpa is 3.3. A week after reading your post I received two interviews. Thank you for your post.
What on your application would you say is what really makes you shine? its not your #'s and getting 2 interview invites wasn't by chance either!
 
No offense, but if you could only get a 23 on the MCAT how do you plan on passing Step 1 and 2?
From my friends who are actually in medical school, they are completely different tests. The MCAT is more-so about understanding the structure of the test, while step 1 and step 2 are actual knowledge that is more dependent on content knowledge.
 
The MCAT and Step 1 exam have many similarities. I wasn't making this point to put you down, though. Instead, I was pointing out that since you didn't do very well on the MCAT you should take an honest look at how you prepared for it. You will probably need to make some changes for the Step 1 exam and it is better that you realize it now rather than figure it out after it is too late.


Your first question did seem like a put down. This is a much more constructive and helpful approach. So glad they're putting that Psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior section on the MCAT now.
 
This is an excellent point. Honestly, I appreciate your point of view. I don't have a good answer to this, however, after finishing the MCAT I have aced biochem, immunology, parasitology and genetics. I must be doing something right. Furthermore, I am no longer far removed from my coursework. As I mentioned before, my prereqs were more than 6 years old when I took the MCAT. Hopefully, with enough hard work I will pass Step 1 and 2. I am treating this like the opportunity of a lifetime, I will continue to give it all I can. What else can I do? Quit? No chance! OP, as a medical student, I know you are facing USMLE or COMLEX. I wish you the best!

That's a winning attitude. Best Wishes!!!
 
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