Student Athlete - Taking MCAT July 26th... :(

[tfreshour08]

I was a 4 year division 1 athlete and managed a 3.57 GPA. I was the closer for my baseball team so I was going to mention I had to be in a lot of high stress situations. Also, there was a great deal of time management that went into do I sleep or do I study, do I do well on that test, or do I get some sleep and pitch well tomorrow... Anyway - I have an entire summer of shadowing in the ER back in 2010. Being as I went to school in Alabama, I aided in the tornado victims of the Tuscaloosa tornado for a week relocating people and their belongings as well as cleaning up wreckage. I have a couple C's in my application, 2 of them being in labs as I missed over half of them due to baseball so I'm not too worried about that.

As far as my GPA, in the fall its almost a 3.9... in the spring (in season) it is around a 3.0.. On my practice tests I've been taking I've been getting 8-10s in PS, 10-12's in Verbal and BS has been KILLING me getting from 4-7's..

I think my score will be around a 24-27 but if I don't let text anxiety get the best of me I may be able to pull it out.

I will be applying to Florida State as well as UAB and a few other bible belt schools, FSU and UAB both said I'd need at least a 24 to be looked at... For FSU, I have a sister who played basketball there and have gotten letters from coaches, trainers, and alumn all sent to the admissions office on my behalf.

To my question - With my extracurriculars, and shadowing.. What type of score do think I'll need to make the cut of (is his MCAT high enough)? I've been told by my advisers if I can make the cut of the MCAT and get to the interview, I'll be in great shape..

Comments... PLEASE

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[1289]

if you get between a 4-7 on bio in the real thing you really have virtually no chance at MD schools. the other sections look great, but typically bio is the highest score for most applicants, which translates into it being the highest subscore for most schools accepted applicants. it's pretty rare for a school to have a 10th percentile bio below an 8 or 9. figure out what is killing you in that section and commit to fixing it in the next week.

 

[Sandstorm]

I was a 4 year division 1 athlete and managed a 3.57 GPA. I was the closer for my baseball team so I was going to mention I had to be in a lot of high stress situations. Also, there was a great deal of time management that went into do I sleep or do I study, do I do well on that test, or do I get some sleep and pitch well tomorrow... Anyway - I have an entire summer of shadowing in the ER back in 2010. Being as I went to school in Alabama, I aided in the tornado victims of the Tuscaloosa tornado for a week relocating people and their belongings as well as cleaning up wreckage. I have a couple C's in my application, 2 of them being in labs as I missed over half of them due to baseball so I'm not too worried about that.

As far as my GPA, in the fall its almost a 3.9... in the spring (in season) it is around a 3.0.. On my practice tests I've been taking I've been getting 8-10s in PS, 10-12's in Verbal and BS has been KILLING me getting from 4-7's..

I think my score will be around a 24-27 but if I don't let text anxiety get the best of me I may be able to pull it out.

I will be applying to Florida State as well as UAB and a few other bible belt schools, FSU and UAB both said I'd need at least a 24 to be looked at... For FSU, I have a sister who played basketball there and have gotten letters from coaches, trainers, and alumn all sent to the admissions office on my behalf.

To my question - With my extracurriculars, and shadowing.. What type of score do think I'll need to make the cut of (is his MCAT high enough)? I've been told by my advisers if I can make the cut of the MCAT and get to the interview, I'll be in great shape..

Comments... PLEASE

Division 1 athletics is only a huge plus if it shows you can manage your time effectively. Unfortunately , the 3.0 in season and the C's that you "aren't worried about" bring you down in that area.

I had numerous d1 full rides offered to me for soccer and chose to go d3 because I knew I wanted to do medicine. This came up in interviews and it was a home run for me.

So to finally bring it around to my point...yea the EC including baseball do help because they show you were involved in a lot, but I'd avoid making it out to be " oh well lab wasn't as important as playoffs " because that will NOT go over well (obviously that's an extreme example).

Minimum ideal mcat? In-state 27 or 28, OOS 32-33 due to your low in-season GPA.

 

[tfreshour08]

I think the main reason I have been scoring so low is because Chemistry and Physics have always been my rival. So in the 7 weeks I had to study after our season ended, I spent a lot of time on that, and not enough time on the bio.

I've taken about 4 tests, scores have been from as bad as a 14, to as high as a 28. If I come around in the bio it usually means the score will be all right. I think the problem is as you all know, bio covers such a range of material so I have that tip of the tongue experience on those questions. I'm hoping with a solid review I will be able to get that score up to at least an 8.

As far as the time managing goes, it's pretty rough taking organic, or biochem with 6-9 hour bus trips when you can't study on the bus or you lose your lunch... too much?

Thank you for the comments so far!

 

[Sandstorm]

I think the main reason I have been scoring so low is because Chemistry and Physics have always been my rival. So in the 7 weeks I had to study after our season ended, I spent a lot of time on that, and not enough time on the bio.

I've taken about 4 tests, scores have been from as bad as a 14, to as high as a 28. If I come around in the bio it usually means the score will be all right. I think the problem is as you all know, bio covers such a range of material so I have that tip of the tongue experience on those questions. I'm hoping with a solid review I will be able to get that score up to at least an 8.

As far as the time managing goes, it's pretty rough taking organic, or biochem with 6-9 hour bus trips when you can't study on the bus or you lose your lunch... too much?

Thank you for the comments so far!

Again, with the excuses. Adcoms dont want to hear it was tough.


Not to be a complete see ya next Tuesday, but you're coming off a bit like you're excusing poor performance elsewhere because "I played d1 baseball!". Will not fly.

Don't make excuses. If asked about low GPA, mention your other time commitments and that in retrospect you wish you had put more time into your grades while in season. Mentioning time commitment is different than treating it as an excuse. The former you get to say oh yeah I wish I had had more time (a statement you'll never have to follow through on YIPPEE), the latter looks like...yeah I didn't do the best but it's cool cause I was the closer.

 

[tfreshour08]

Very well said. So don't bring any crutches into the interview (if I get one).

I have seen on here everyone saying you need a 30+ you need a 30+. I talked to a girl who graduated from UAB and got in with an 18? Given she was a female, Indian, and had a 3.9 GPA... Still... an 18?! Also I have been put into contact with a few other people who got in with 27's and 28's and slightly above avg GPA's.

Is the 30+ or your not gonna get in for people with mostly poor EC's? Or is it more of a if you don't get a 30+ you better have something else that they really like in your app?

 

[1289]

Very well said. So don't bring any crutches into the interview (if I get one).

I have seen on here everyone saying you need a 30+ you need a 30+. I talked to a girl who graduated from UAB and got in with an 18? Given she was a female, Indian, and had a 3.9 GPA... Still... an 18?! Also I have been put into contact with a few other people who got in with 27's and 28's and slightly above avg GPA's.

Is the 30+ or your not gonna get in for people with mostly poor EC's? Or is it more of a if you don't get a 30+ you better have something else that they really like in your app?

30+ is needed when you have a few poor grades, a late application, and poor ECs.

idk when that girl graduated from UAB, but the competition is much fiercer these days, assuming the earliest she applied was 4-5 years ago.

and your gpa of 3.57 is not above average. though its really good considering all the time commitments.

 

[tfreshour08]

Speaking of a late app.. If I take this MCAT July 26th (next Thurs). Do you think It'd be worth signing up for a Sept MCAT just in case I get a few schools that like me but want me to retake it? And if I make what I need, I can cancel it and still get a slight refund.

 

[1289]

i was in an almost exact same situation last year. idk what the scoring timeline is exactly with the mcat, but I know for me (I took it July 28th last year) I was screwed because you have to cancel at least 2 weeks before to get a refund and i would get my score 10 days before the last mcat date in september.

but anyway yeah see how you feel after. do you have a good state school?

 

[tfreshour08]

Well, I have instate in Indiana (where I'm from) and in Alabama where I played...

So IU is a type of school who loves out of state applicants which makes it a little rough.. UAB is a pretty good school with a great hospital and South Alabama is also in state.

My number one I am trying to get into is FSU as I have a TON of connections down there with the school and the medical school so we'll see...

If all else fails, I will probably send out 2 DO applications... But we'll just have to see. FSU told me with everything else I got, if I make a 24, I'll be in great shape.

 

[Sandstorm]

Very well said. So don't bring any crutches into the interview (if I get one).

I have seen on here everyone saying you need a 30+ you need a 30+. I talked to a girl who graduated from UAB and got in with an 18? Given she was a female, Indian, and had a 3.9 GPA... Still... an 18?! Also I have been put into contact with a few other people who got in with 27's and 28's and slightly above avg GPA's.

Is the 30+ or your not gonna get in for people with mostly poor EC's? Or is it more of a if you don't get a 30+ you better have something else that they really like in your app?

Honestly, when you're in the 27-29 range without sweet ECs or something else on your app, it becomes a crap shoot. Chances aren't wonderful but they're not not there.

 

[Sandstorm]

Honestly, when you're in the 27-29 range without sweet ECs or something else on your app, it becomes a crap shoot. Chances aren't wonderful but they're not not there.

D1 sport would be considered a good EC by the way. They do recognize the time commitment. My previous posts were just warning you against making excuses...not just for baseball but for any reason.

 

[tfreshour08]

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think.

 

[gmcguitar4]

roll tide?

 

[tfreshour08]

Roll Tide