What are my chances at Ross?

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Doctoor

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GPA: 3.05
Major: Biochemistry
Minor: Physics

MCAT:
P: 5
B: 5
V: 3
Writing: O

I have worked part time at a major hospital as a CNA for nearly 5 years (since high school).
I have done science research for a year now.
I have done clinical research at a busy ER at a different hospital from the one I work on.
I am the vice president for my university's ACS (American Chemical Society) club.
I tutored gen chem, calculus, and physics for a semester about 2 years ago.

I know that my MCAT score is complete crap, but I had a death in the family while I was studying for it last year, and my entire semester was complete crap (two of my science classes I had a 2.0 in actually) and my MCAT score is what you see about, a 13O. I also was taking 17 credits while studying for the MCATs and taking a PR course during that semester.

I did take the GREs a couple of months ago for PA school, and got a 690 on my Quantitative and 430 on my Verbal and a 3.5 on my writing, for a total of 1123.5, which is apparently very good for PA schools (which require an 800 total).

I know that Caribbean schools have been getting way more competitive, and I certainly don't want to waste my time unless I had to with studying for months for the MCATs and retaking it for a possible score that is much like the one I had.

From what you know about me, would I be able to get into Ross? Would the GRE score help me at all?

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i know that carribean schools are less competitive, but i don't think the competition is that low. retake the MCAT. if what you said is true, devote time to studying for it.
 
i know that carribean schools are less competitive, but i don't think the competition is that low. retake the MCAT. if what you said is true, devote time to studying for it.

You don't think my research, tutoring, an okay GPA, decent GRE, and 5 years of CNA work would compensate for it?

I also forgot to mention that I had ~56 hrs of volunteer work at an ER.
 
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i don't know, i have never considered going to med school at Ross because I don't want to have a problem getting a residency when I get done. maybe they will, but a 13 MCAT is insane.
 
i don't know, i have never considered going to med school at Ross because I don't want to have a problem getting a residency when I get done. maybe they will, but a 13 MCAT is insane.

Could you recommend a different part of the forums to ask? Because it took a long time to hear back from someone, and that someone didn't really know much about the school I was asking about.

Sorry as you can tell I am new here, maybe the long time and the lack of sufficient advice is usual here.

I am thinking about signing up for the MCATs this summer and seeing how much my score will raise/drop.

If hypothetically I get it up to let's say a 30 and I take a year's worth of med school work as a post-bac, like histology, anatomy, microbiology, etc. with 3.6-4.0 grades, would it be possible to get into an MD or a DO school in the US?
 
Caribbean doesn't give a **** about your volunteering. They only care about your scores. With a 13, I'd be aiming at most for SABA or lower tier Caribbean.
 
Caribbean doesn't give a **** about your volunteering. They only care about your scores. With a 13, I'd be aiming at most for SABA or lower tier Caribbean.

I thought it was just the opposite. People went since their scores were ****. And I also thought that they didn't give a **** and admitted you if you had the money and a pulse.

Recently, my advisor told me about University of Medicine and Health Sciences in St. Kitts, which opened in 2008. It was opened by Robert Ross, Ross's original founder.

I heard that their facilities are extremely nice, much better than any other Caribbean medical school, and better than most US med schools. They're accredited in the US and their first class is just now graduating in June. I heard that 7 out of 7 of the graduates that applied to residencies got them.

I also heard that they offer MBA's through Davenport University during your first 4 semesters.

The only bad part is that there is no federal assistantship like the big 3 Caribbean schools (Ross, SGU, and the other one). Tuition is $8000/semester for the first 4 months, then when it's back in the US for the 5th semester in Portland, Maine it's $11,000 and the same goes for the 5 months of rotations. So it's A LOT of money if you have it. It's actually the only reason I'm not going there. The bad part is that I have only heard of one side of this school, the nice side from my advisor and the school itself. Can someone talk to me about this or should I just make a thread about it?
 
They want money, but they prefer someone that can pay 4 years of money than someone that'll drop after 2 years. There is competition even in the Caribbean, albeit not as bad. 13 MCAT though, that's doomsday.

I wouldn't even consider any medical school in the Caribbean aside from the big 4. Can you become a physician that way? Yes, but you will be on an uphill battle like no other. Even if 7 of 7 got residency, so what? Did they all get family practice? Were they the only 7 students that the entire school had? It's all relative. If you're willing to pay that much money out of pocket, I suggest you pay a personal tutor to get a good MCAT score and then go to DO school or a better Caribbean.

I thought it was just the opposite. People went since their scores were ****. And I also thought that they didn't give a **** and admitted you if you had the money and a pulse.

Recently, my advisor told me about University of Medicine and Health Sciences in St. Kitts, which opened in 2008. It was opened by Robert Ross, Ross's original founder.

I heard that their facilities are extremely nice, much better than any other Caribbean medical school, and better than most US med schools. They're accredited in the US and their first class is just now graduating in June. I heard that 7 out of 7 of the graduates that applied to residencies got them.

I also heard that they offer MBA's through Davenport University during your first 4 semesters.

The only bad part is that there is no federal assistantship like the big 3 Caribbean schools (Ross, SGU, and the other one). Tuition is $8000/semester for the first 4 months, then when it's back in the US for the 5th semester in Portland, Maine it's $11,000 and the same goes for the 5 months of rotations. So it's A LOT of money if you have it. It's actually the only reason I'm not going there. The bad part is that I have only heard of one side of this school, the nice side from my advisor and the school itself. Can someone talk to me about this or should I just make a thread about it?
 
I am thinking about signing up for the MCATs this summer and seeing how much my score will raise/drop.

If hypothetically I get it up to let's say a 30 and I take a year's worth of med school work as a post-bac, like histology, anatomy, microbiology, etc. with 3.6-4.0 grades, would it be possible to get into an MD or a DO school in the US?

Just reposting that part to see what you thought.
 
You plan on going from a 13 to a 30? Did you not crack a book?

I'm a genius.

All kidding aside, I took a PR course and only studied the notes and not the books. Did only 2 practice exams. Relied on my past knowledge of physics from AP physics from high school. Didn't read more than the 1st chapter of my biological book. And I don't mean to repeat myself, but I was taking 17 credits of school (which included a genetics course, a physiology course, and a quantum mechanics course), was still working part time at the hospital, and I had a death in my family near the exam.

I was looking at the Exam Crackers books, and they're significantly smaller, and I know someone who got a 39Q on their MCAT from studying just from them for 3 months.
 
Retake the MCAT. It's your only choice.

Stop bringing up hypotheticals, or offering excuses, it's a useless exercise.
 
Retake the MCAT. It's your only choice.

Stop bringing up hypotheticals, or offering excuses, it's a useless exercise.

Yeah but it makes me think that I can do it!

It's psychological my dear Watson.
 
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First and foremost, retake that MCAT (there's a whole other subforum dedicated to it with lots of great advice). I find it hard to believe that if you put in even some effort studying that you would do worse. I would caution you against EK though, since the reason it's smaller is that it's meant to be a review for people that have mostly had the content before and your previous score would seem to indicate you're not anywhere close to ready for reviewing yet. The exception is EK101 Verbal, which is pretty good for verbal, and you really have nothing to lose.

The advice in this forum actually tends to be pretty good. I'm sure at some point Catalystik or aSagacious will stop by and weigh in. I'm pretty sure the general consensus is going to be retaking the MCAT and taking advantage of grade replacement to apply to DO schools.
 
Regardless of whether or not you get in, I would hesitate to take out the loans for school if the best you can crack on the MCAT is a 13. What happens if you get through 2 years of school and can't pass the USMLE? Then you're out tens of thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it.

Retake the MCAT and give yourself some confidence about being able to do well on standardized tests.
 
First and foremost, retake that MCAT (there's a whole other subforum dedicated to it with lots of great advice). I find it hard to believe that if you put in even some effort studying that you would do worse. I would caution you against EK though, since the reason it's smaller is that it's meant to be a review for people that have mostly had the content before and your previous score would seem to indicate you're not anywhere close to ready for reviewing yet. The exception is EK101 Verbal, which is pretty good for verbal, and you really have nothing to lose.

The advice in this forum actually tends to be pretty good. I'm sure at some point Catalystik or aSagacious will stop by and weigh in. I'm pretty sure the general consensus is going to be retaking the MCAT and taking advantage of grade replacement to apply to DO schools.

What do you mean by grade replacement?
 
What do you mean by grade replacement?

I'm by no means an expert on the AACOMAS, but my understanding is that if you retake a class, DO schools will only count the most recent retake when calculating your GPA, which would help you bring up that 3.05 pretty quickly (assuming you do well in the courses the second time). By taking advantage of that, and by retaking your MCAT (and really studying this time), you might give yourself a shot at DO schools.
 
I'm by no means an expert on the AACOMAS, but my understanding is that if you retake a class, DO schools will only count the most recent retake when calculating your GPA, which would help you bring up that 3.05 pretty quickly (assuming you do well in the courses the second time). By taking advantage of that, and by retaking your MCAT (and really studying this time), you might give yourself a shot at DO schools.

So let's say I do get a 30 on my MCATs this summer. I'm planning a late summer retake of the exam, (mid-Julyish). I retake my Zoology class which I got a 1.6 in, my Biochemistry 1 course, also a 1.6, and my Gen Biology course with a 2.4 in, and get a 4.0 in every one of the courses.. and let's say I applied before I retook these courses in the fall.. how would the DO schools know about the grade changes?
 
Sounds like OP is trying to find a way that requires the least amount of work. LOL
 
Who isn't?

I call it being efficient!


Which may very well translate into incompetence, hence harm to a patient. Not very efficient, I would say.
 
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Which may very well be translated into incompetence, hence harm to a patient. Not very efficient, I would say,

Nah I can't harm a patient. I just need to know how to diagnose, avoid anything they're allergic to, and give the right dose. I don't see how I can mess that up. It seems quick and efficient enough. Plus, I love 1-on-1 time with my patients now, so that's a plus and I take my time with that because I love listening to people.

Oh yeah I'll be super careful when reading up on their history. Everything else should be handled by the RN's/PA's/NP's and I'd be informed by them if anything goes wrong such as a dramatic change in vitals.

PS: I have decided that I am legitimately aiming for a 40 on my retake. If I get anything near that you all have my word that I will provide hard proof to the entire forum of someone increasing their MCAT score that much by just actually studying.
 
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Not trying to be mean, but there is no way you will even come close to passing usmle step 1, if you can at least score in the 20s.

Regardless of "what the carribean schools will accept" if you cannot score at least a 23 dont go to med school, its a bad idea.

Edit:
Additionally its not healthy to just say I am aiming for a 40 or whatever, thats not a productive way to study, instead you should set the most aggressive study schedule and make sticking to the schedule the goal.
 
MCAT:
P: 5
B: 5
V: 3
Writing: O

Oh yeah I'll be super careful when reading up on their history.

For some reason I do not see these two things going together very well :rolleyes:

Anyways, I have a feeling we should stop feeding the troll. It started out seeming legit, but went off the deep end in these last few posts

Edit: this thread goes from "can I get into a Caribbean school with a 13?" to "I'm going to get a 40" :laugh:
 
Nah I can't harm a patient. I just need to know how to diagnose, avoid anything they're allergic to, and give the right dose. I don't see how I can mess that up. It seems quick and efficient enough. Plus, I love 1-on-1 time with my patients now, so that's a plus and I take my time with that because I love listening to people.

Oh yeah I'll be super careful when reading up on their history. Everything else should be handled by the RN's/PA's/NP's and I'd be informed by them if anything goes wrong such as a dramatic change in vitals.

PS: I have decided that I am legitimately aiming for a 40 on my retake. If I get anything near that you all have my word that I will provide hard proof to the entire forum of someone increasing their MCAT score that much by just actually studying.

They see me trollin'. They hatin'.
 
Well you could make fun of my verbal score. I don't care.

I wasn't born in the United States, or any English-speaking country for that matter. I didn't speak a word of English until 8 years ago when I was 13. I am a slow reader, I'll admit it.

I admit, I slacked off in studying for the MCATs, and I had some family issues, along with a tough schedule, so that accounts for the miserable score of 13. Plus my exam was much tougher than any practice exam I have ever taken.

That's why I believe I can get a higher score. I say 40 to boost my own confidence -- I know that I can't get a 40, sort of like how a mom knows Bobby won't be president, but she won't crush his dreams, she'll let him try and he'll be mayor instead. There's no shame in trying.
 
Well you could make fun of my verbal score. I don't care.

I wasn't born in the United States, or any English-speaking country for that matter. I didn't speak a word of English until 8 years ago when I was 13. I am a slow reader, I'll admit it.

I admit, I slacked off in studying for the MCATs, and I had some family issues, along with a tough schedule, so that accounts for the miserable score of 13. Plus my exam was much tougher than any practice exam I have ever taken.

That's why I believe I can get a higher score. I say 40 to boost my own confidence -- I know that I can't get a 40, sort of like how a mom knows Bobby won't be president, but she won't crush his dreams, she'll let him try and he'll be mayor instead. There's no shame in trying.

I wish you nothing but the very best. I hope you study hard and do well on the retake. Make sure to keep us updated. Good Luck. :luck:
 
+1. OP's grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc is too polished for someone who got a 3 on the verbal section. Nice try OP.

I did get an O in my writing, I'm not denying that. I'm totally screen-capping my score from the site later today. Never knew that I had to prove how bad my score was to someone.

Edit:

n3x5ck.png
 
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I did get an O in my writing, I'm not denying that. I'm totally screen-capping my score from the site later today. Never knew that I had to prove how bad my score was to someone.

Wow, I guess it's not the first time I've been wrong (throw it into the pile). It's just that a 13 puts you so far down the list (like bottom 4 percent) that it's almost incredulous. My apologies.

Well, to add some constructive criticism to the thread, yes I agree that a retake is in order. Once you've retaken the exam, post another thread and we'll figure out where to go from there.
 
Nah I can't harm a patient. I just need to know how to diagnose, avoid anything they're allergic to, and give the right dose. I don't see how I can mess that up. It seems quick and efficient enough. Plus, I love 1-on-1 time with my patients now, so that's a plus and I take my time with that because I love listening to people.

Oh yeah I'll be super careful when reading up on their history. Everything else should be handled by the RN's/PA's/NP's and I'd be informed by them if anything goes wrong such as a dramatic change in vitals.

PS: I have decided that I am legitimately aiming for a 40 on my retake. If I get anything near that you all have my word that I will provide hard proof to the entire forum of someone increasing their MCAT score that much by just actually studying.

The bolded part is what really scares me. Your GPA needs work, but if you can nail the MCAT and have great EC's, you might have a shot (before interview). But if you think that the part I bolded is "all a doctor does" then you clearly don't have valuable EC's, or you learned nothing from them. I'd hope you'd never get past an interview committee.

I have my doubts that this is your real MCAT score. I hate to come off rude, and I swore I'd never do this on here, but I feel inclined to tell you that you should probably pursue other plans and forget med-school. Your ignorance of the duties of a physician, and your inability to accept criticism, (both displayed in this thread) make me think there's something going on that even 4 gruelig years of medical school won't fix.

Sorry but the thought someone with your attitude making it into med-school really makes me nervous.
 
Wait,

Did anyone else notice that the OP mentioned having needed to rely on AP physics for the MCAT?

yet he/she lists Physics as the minor degree emphasis? How can he/she be a physics minor and be needing to remember back to AP physics in highschool for the physics portion of the MCAT?

This is a troll for sure people!
 
Wait,

Did anyone else notice that the OP mentioned having needed to rely on AP physics for the MCAT?

yet he/she lists Physics as the minor degree emphasis? How can he/she be a physics minor and be needing to remember back to AP physics in highschool for the physics portion of the MCAT?

This is a troll for sure people!

My university's physics minor requires 20 credits of physics work including:

Physics 1, 2 (both covered with my AP exam)
Physics Lab (I took it my sophomore year)
10 credits of Physics courses above 300 level. I research for a physical chemist, so my research course was a 400 level course and the physics department approved of doing research to satisfy the 10 credits of the remaining physics.

Honestly what is wrong with you people? Do I need to post my passport and an unofficial transcript for you to believe my story?
 
The bolded part is what really scares me. Your GPA needs work, but if you can nail the MCAT and have great EC's, you might have a shot (before interview). But if you think that the part I bolded is "all a doctor does" then you clearly don't have valuable EC's, or you learned nothing from them. I'd hope you'd never get past an interview committee.

I have my doubts that this is your real MCAT score. I hate to come off rude, and I swore I'd never do this on here, but I feel inclined to tell you that you should probably pursue other plans and forget med-school. Your ignorance of the duties of a physician, and your inability to accept criticism, (both displayed in this thread) make me think there's something going on that even 4 gruelig years of medical school won't fix.

Sorry but the thought someone with your attitude making it into med-school really makes me nervous.


Not everyone has the same personality as yourself or the personality that you see yourself having. There are good doctors, and there are crappy ones. There are doctors that are very book smart and when it comes to talking with a patient they sound like they're reading straight from a med school book. I've had many many many complaints about physicians from many many many patients.

I have a very good attitude. I am very good with patients at my job now and have been awarded for my care for the patients.

You don't know me as a person, so please don't judge my personality or mentality based on a couple of sentences.

I'm not saying that I am perfect, nor am I saying that I am going to be a great doctor. Frankly, I don't know, and if I make it out there as a physician, my MCAT scores or anything I say now won't have any influence on my ability to treat and consult patients.
 
I guess I can try to believe you, but here's my question: how did you get a 5 in Physical if you tutored others in gen chem, physics, and calc?????? You'll have to forgive the incredulousness, because this (and other things you've said) just don't really jibe. Anyone who has a basic basic understanding of gen chem and phys should get at least an 8, just by getting the easy questions right.

EDIT: Also, if you don't think you're going to be a great doctor, then it's probably best to...not be a doctor.
 
I guess I can try to believe you, but here's my question: how did you get a 5 in Physical if you tutored others in gen chem, physics, and calc?????? You'll have to forgive the incredulousness, because this (and other things you've said) just don't really jibe. Anyone who has a basic basic understanding of gen chem and phys should get at least an 8, just by getting the easy questions right.

EDIT: Also, if you don't think you're going to be a great doctor, then it's probably best to...not be a doctor.

Yeah. I had a 3.3 and a 3.2 in Gen chem 1 and 2.
I had the A's in high school physics and a 4 on my AP exam.
I had a 4.0 and a 3.4 in Calculus 1 and 2.

All I had to do is get above a 3.0 in those classes to tutor at my university's academic skills center, and showed my grades to the supervisor of the center for my physics classes. Mind you I only tutored for a semester, was done with all of the above classes by the end of the summer semester following my freshman year in college, and calculus does no help at all with the MCATs.

I see where you're coming from though.

Also, I'm just being realistic. I know this doesn't add up either, since I was super hyped up about the MCATs and saying that I'll get a 40, and now I'm being realistic about my future. I'm very good when it comes to being a people person -- maybe you can't see that on the forums, so I say that I will at least have that with the patients. I don't know what kind of doctor I will be because I have only seen physicians do what they do, and I'm not sure what kind of a person I will be. I just hope to be a decent person and that to reflect into my career as a physician.

I don't cheat, and have never cheated on anything before in my entire life, so I guess I am sort of less likely for malpractice. I think I read an article about this a year or two ago, where a study was done, and persons who have a history of cheating are much more likely to be sued for malpractice.

Maybe I'll end up a physician who teaches med school students. I don't know. Maybe I will cross the road today and get hit by a semi and die. No one knows these things, we can only be realistic and predict things while being relatively optimistic.

My plan:

Apply to Ross now since I have nothing to lose.
Apply to PA schools as soon as CASPA opens up this summer.
Retake the MCATs this July.
If my MCAT score is around a 30 I will retake some courses the next year to get my GPA to about a 3.2, take anatomy, histology, and another med school course that I haven't taken yet, do lots of volunteering, and apply to DO schools.
If my MCAT score is improved but is in the mid-to-low 20s I will apply to Ross again (assuming that I don't get in the first time).

If all fails I will use every penny that I have saved up and travel around the world, visit rural areas in South America and learn some more about life. If I'm lucky, I'll live another 60 years, and that's nothing. Maybe I'll find out that medical school isn't for me, and pursue something else.

I'll keep everyone posted I suppose.
 
I guess I can try to believe you, but here's my question: how did you get a 5 in Physical if you tutored others in gen chem, physics, and calc?????? You'll have to forgive the incredulousness, because this (and other things you've said) just don't really jibe. Anyone who has a basic basic understanding of gen chem and phys should get at least an 8, just by getting the easy questions right.

EDIT: Also, if you don't think you're going to be a great doctor, then it's probably best to...not be a doctor.

This is true. I'm extremely weak in physics and gen chem. I didn't review anything before the MCAT, just took it blind. I managed a 7 in Physical Science. I also got a 12 in Bio, and 11 in Verbal, I'm not that smart of a guy generally. That's why I'm having a hard time believing this.

This guy has to be trolling!
 
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Bro if this is seriously your score, dont pursue medicine, we are not trying to be mean. You will not make it through med school....i hate to tell you, but med school and medicine is really just a big collection of tests. You need to be a better test taker, find another career pls.
 
I retake my Zoology class which I got a 1.6 in, my Biochemistry 1 course, also a 1.6, and my Gen Biology course with a 2.4 in, and get a 4.0 in every one of the courses...

Yeah. I had a 3.3 and a 3.2 in Gen chem 1 and 2.
I had the A's in high school physics and a 4 on my AP exam. I had a 4.0 and a 3.4 in Calculus 1 and 2.

To add to what everyone else has already said, I'm glad to hear that you've invented a GPA scale that reports grades to the tenth (ie 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6).
:laugh:
 
To add to what everyone else has already said, I'm glad to hear that you've invented a GPA scale that reports grades to the tenth (ie 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6).
:laugh:

My university does this.

Wow this entire site is filled with snobbish *******s that think they are better than others based on numbers.
 
My university does this.

Wow this entire site is filled with snobbish *******s that think they are better than others based on numbers.

People don't believe your story because your numbers are cartoonishly low. And your screenshot is obviously photoshopped for reasons I don't care to get into. We're not snobbish. We hate time-wasters.
 
People don't believe your story because your numbers are cartoonishly low. And your screenshot is obviously photoshopped for reasons I don't care to get into. We're not snobbish. We hate time-wasters.

Wow. You can all go **** yourselves.

You seriously are making me feel like crap right now for having that score.
 
I just joined this forum to say that, yes, you guys indeed lack empathy. I honestly don't believe he is being a troll, but rather is coming to you guys for help.

Yes your scores are terrible, we all know it. But again, there is no need to continue this discussion if you/we all know what you should do, aka retake the mcats.

But OP, you do realize this is somewhat like getting punched in the face, and coming back for more by continuing this discussion.

We all doubt you will get into Ross, so yes, your best bet is to just retake the mcats. Done.
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY[/YOUTUBE]

EDIT: No I'm not a troll, but oh I wish I was one so these scores wouldn't be real. Heading to the MCAT section now to get some tips.

Thanks for all of your help and criticism. Many of you were not so sympathetic, but it's okay, I'll take it as tough love.
 
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It's a troll!

Anyone can photoshop. This took me literally less than 1 minute. I didn't even bother adding them up.

2u94wsk.jpg
 
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