help i'm lost!

this is my first time on and I’ve got a bunch of questions!

  1. How do I find out when I can apply to schools on aamcs?! I know i can start adding informaiton now, but I was told i can’t submit anything until June, is that true?

  2. I graduated with a bio degree 3 years ago and have taken the mcat 3 times (18, 18, 22) My overall gpa is 3.2 ( what’s a good site to calculate my science gpa?) I have 3 years of research experiance, I’ve got to volunteer in the clincs over in africa and I’ve volunteered in the ER for sometime. Any suggestions on schools, MD/DO or other alternative routes to get me in, that i can consider besides the carribean?

  3. how many letters of rec is too much? I’ve got 8.


    thanks!!

Just glancing at your MCAT, I think you need to improve by taking a prep course. 18-22 is on the low side and will significantly hurt your chances of admission. If you look at the admission stats on various school websites, the average is around 26 or higher. Your GPA could improve a bit too. Maybe aim for 3.5 or higher and take some additional science (upper level) courses. Your volunteer experience/research is a plus. Overall, I think you’ve got to bring that MCAT up.

  • ramyakumar Said:
this is my first time on and I've got a bunch of questions!



we'll try and give you a bunch of answers

  • In reply to:
1. How do I find out when I can apply to schools on aamcs?! I know i can start adding informaiton now, but I was told i can't submit anything until June, is that true?



the AMCAS system for most US-based medical schools does not allow submission on the online application until early june (this year is june 1st I believe). Are you referring to submitting materials such as transcripts? That can begin in early May (this year I believe it is May 4th). It has been also recommended that you do not submit on the very first day but wait a few in case glitches in the system.



2
  • In reply to:
. I graduated with a bio degree 3 years ago and have taken the mcat 3 times (18, 18, 22) My overall gpa is 3.2 ( what's a good site to calculate my science gpa?) I have 3 years of research experiance, I've got to volunteer in the clincs over in africa and I've volunteered in the ER for sometime. Any suggestions on schools, MD/DO or other alternative routes to get me in, that i can consider besides the carribean?



As was recommended by the previous poster, you're MCAT scores are at the low end and you would be well advised to improve them. While you you have significant other experience, surveys of medical schools admissions officer show that GPA and MCAT are the top 2 factors in 75% of the US-MD schools

  • In reply to:
3. how many letters of rec is too much? I've got 8.



Usually 4 to 6 is sufficient. The quality of the letter , who they are from, how strong the recommendation, how well the writer knew you and your work is more important than the quantity. Also, I presume that when you say "you have 8" letters, you don't mean that they have been physically given to you?



  • In reply to:
3. how many letters of rec is too much? I've got 8.



  • gonnif Said:
Usually 4 to 6 is sufficient. The quality of the letter , who they are from, how strong the recommendation, how well the writer knew you and your work is more important than the quantity. Also, I presume that when you say "you have 8" letters, you don't mean that they have been physically given to you?



Schools usually require three and five are usually accepted. Six is generally frowned on, and more than that are too many.

BTW, currently the national matriculating average MCAT score (for AMCAS schools) is 33: 10 Verbal, 11 for each of the science sections.

Cheers,

Judy