Will my MCAT score last long enough?

[TheMightyBoosh]

I have a 3.17 GPA from a top 20 university. I'm studying to take the MCAT in September. If I get an awesome score I'll apply to an SMP for next fall (while hopefully taking additional post-bacc classes this fall if I can get into a local program).

Will my MCAT score last long enough to get me into medical school through this route?

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[klmnop]

Depends if you do 1 or 2 yr SMP, and if you apply while/before beginning the program or if you wait until you're done. Hypothetically for a 1-year:

9/2010 (MCAT)
11/2010 (Apply to SMP)
6/2011 (Apply to Med)
9/2011 (Begin SMP)
6/2011 (Complete SMP) (Med acceptance or Reapply)
9/2011 (Begin Med if accepted 1st round)
9/2012 (Begin Med if accepted 2nd round)

Most schools accept MCAT scores for 3yrs, you should be fine as long as you don't dilly-dally.

 

[DrMidlife]

Assume you have 3 years before your score is expired, and be vigilant about noticing whether the schools to which you'll apply expire scores faster than that. If your test date is Sept 2010, then a June 2012 app is very safe, and a June 2013 app is mostly safe.

I ran the numbers on this recently: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=9404186&postcount=7

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

Depends if you do 1 or 2 yr SMP, and if you apply while/before beginning the program or if you wait until you're done. Hypothetically for a 1-year:

9/2010 (MCAT)
11/2010 (Apply to SMP)
6/2011 (Apply to Med)
9/2011 (Begin SMP)
6/2011 (Complete SMP) (Med acceptance or Reapply)
9/2011 (Begin Med if accepted 1st round)
9/2012 (Begin Med if accepted 2nd round)

Most schools accept MCAT scores for 3yrs, you should be fine as long as you don't dilly-dally.

Thanks!

If I'm not mistaken, I think you meant...

6/2012 (Complete SMP) (Med acceptance or Reapply)
9/2012 (Begin Med if accepted 1st round)
9/2013 (Begin Med if accepted 2nd round)

correct?

 

[klmnop]

Correct, my bad...and like what drmidlife said. it would mean applying summer 2011 and/or summer 2012 which would more than fine.

 

[theWUbear]

Mightyboosh: I'm one year ahead of you in one of the routes you can take.

I took MCAT August 2009 after graduating with a 2.6 (derishous) from a top 20 university in Spring of 2009. Scored a 33. Summer 2009 Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 Summer 2010 post-bacc classes in bio/chem locally (3.9 final gpa it looks like). Applied and accepted to SMP for fall 2010/spring 2011. You may choose to apply before your SMP starts, but I am not at that luxury due to my still horrendous GPA. I am therefore stretching my smp into 3 semesters and applying in 2011 after 1 year of smp. while my applications are out, that fall i will do my 3rd and last smp semester, and the following spring i will study abroad in spain to obtain spanish fluency. I thought that if I didn't get in that round my mcat would be done, but Dr. Midlife has pointed out that possibly 70+ schools allow MCAT's of 3 or more years. Good luck with your journey.

 

[TheMightyBoosh]

theWUbear: Thanks for telling your story, and I hope your path turns out successful!

Did the SMPs get to see your post bacc GPA while you were applying? The reason I ask is because my senior year GPA is pretty low and I'm hoping they'll be able to take good grades from a post-bacc into account while they review my application.

 

[theWUbear]

Did the SMPs get to see your post bacc GPA while you were applying?

Yup! First of all, I applied in early December to the SMP. It's quite possible that I was the first person to apply for that cycle (for which people are still applying), since most people apply Feb to April, a lot of them only after they realize they need to work on a contingency plan after not receiving acceptance to med school. In my SMP application there was an essay portion: I wrote about my dedication to the healthcare field, how I have great mcat/volunteering/leadership/clinical experience, and how I feel the final piece of my application would be further academic success in a post-bacc and an SMP. I wrote in that essay that I have started the post-bacc and anticipate at/near 4.0, and will send a copy of transcript at end of semester.

After the semester ended, I wrote up a short update letter to the SMP. I told them that I received a 3.8 in the fall, I signed up to take a rigorous course load of this and that course i the spring, I have continued research, and I know their SMP is the place for me. I told them the post-bacc transcript was on the way, and I sent it out. I was accepted following their first adcom meeting