When do you know to pack it in?

MCAT Discussion
1

I’m taking MCATs on Thursday morning, and considering how badly I seem to be going on the practice tests, I’m starting to wonder if I just need to give up and forget this stupid pipe dream I’ve been having for the past three years.


I think the highest score I’ve gotten was a 27 and the lowest, GULP was an 17. I’ve been reviewing for the past month, and I truly thought I understood this stuff, but looking at it now, I wonder if I’ve just been fooling myself.

2

I think, depending on what the rest of your application looks like, a 27 is good enough to give you a shot. 27 is about the norm for most D.O. schools, and is a little above average for some of the big 4 Caribbean schools if I’m not mistaken.


If this is your dream, go where you gotta go and do what you have to do. Don’t give up, make it happen.


Dan

3
  • starri Said:
I'm taking MCATs on Thursday morning, and considering how badly I seem to be going on the practice tests, I'm starting to wonder if I just need to give up and forget this stupid pipe dream I've been having for the past three years.

I think the highest score I've gotten was a 27 and the lowest, GULP was an 17. I've been reviewing for the past month, and I truly thought I understood this stuff, but looking at it now, I wonder if I've just been fooling myself.



The question I always ask students is your goal to get into medical school or to get into medical school quickly?

Instead of questioning all of medicine lets deal only with your MCAT for now

There are several unknowns that raise flags with me from even your brief note.

1) As Judy Colwell, former admissions staff at Stanford Medical School, you should take the MCAT only when you are ready. With a 27 high and a 17 low makes me wonder if you are averaging 22-24. I would suggest that you are not ready.

2) Taking an MCAT so late in the cycle and presumably applying so late in the rolling admissions cycle do appreciably lower your chances.

I am a firm believer nontrads should makes themselves the strongest candidate possible on their FIRST application to medical school. Even without knowing the rest of background, the two factors above make me strongly advise that you should NOT take the MCAT this year and NOT apply this cycle.

I think you would be better served stepping back and working on why you are not mastering the MCAT exam. Mastering is beyond content, beyond how to take the exam, beyond timing, beyond panic, etc. It is feeling in control on the exam.

A great MCAT can make a reasonably good candidate a very competitive candidate, especially for nontrads
4

Thanks for the kind words. I came to the conclusion that I’m putting off my DO applications until January, when I have more time to prepare, and hopefully those schools I’m looking at will let me squeak in under the wire. Then there’s always applying for MD programs for 2013. Now if I can only figure out how to afford a Kaplan review course…

5

I agree with what gonnif posted above. Don’t give up on your dream. Instead, give yourself the time to make yourself the most competitive applicant you can.


In the meantime, consider whether something like a Kaplan course is the answer to your problems. YMMV, of course, but I’m not a big fan of Kaplan et al. They may be helpful with some material, and with some tips and tricks that may or may not help… but I don’t think they hit the main point. The MCAT is not a science test. It is a critical thinking test that uses the language of science. Find ways to approach it more like that, and that may help you more than some $1500 course that tries to teach you which questions to skip.


I’ve got a post around here somewhere with some more detail.

6

27 was far better than I did on any practice exam, and did much better on the real test, so I wouldn’t give up based on practice exams. I am a big fan of Kaplan. I have never been comfortable with standardized exams. That’s why I took Kaplan. They taught me how to take the exam, thus becoming comfortable with the exam. So for me, the money and time was well worth it. The techniques they taught me continue to serve me well, including studying for my neurology boards last fall.


Also, gonnif has great points about taking the time to do this process so you are set up for success.


Hope this helps.

7

I’m just not entirely sure what the best course of action is going to be. I’ve been using Examkrackers for a self-directed study, and I thought I was doing pretty well, at least until I started getting those wildly varying scores. It doesn’t help that my academic schedule for this semester is pretty rigorous.


I don’t feel ready, and so I know this is the right thing to do, but I still can’t decide if I need a more formal review session or not.


It’s stupid, but I want this more than I’ve wanted anything in a long, long time, and after I asked my husband if he thought I was making a mistake, he said that a bigger mistake would be taking a test I wasn’t read for.


The other part that drives me nuts is that I’ve got to re-solicit L/O/Rs when the 2013 AAMCAS opens back up, which has never been my strong suit.


Stupid, huh?

8

After a long discussion with my husband, I decided to try a Kaplan course this fall (which meets the only two days that I don’t have class) and try to get in all my DO applications before their deadlines this year. I think I’ll be cutting it close for some of the dates, but I should get in under the write for most of them.


EVMS has a med-masters program that’s designed for non-trads, and their deadline is April 1st, so as long as I can get at least a 26, I have a good shot there too.


It’s a funny thing. The closer I get to this actually paying off, the more scared I get.

9

while DO schools technically have application open until later into the fall, I would suggest that for all intents and purposes that the primary application season is essentially over. You will be spending money on something that not only will have reduced chances for this cycle but may negatively impact your chances for next cycle. I urge you to seriously reconsider and delaying any application until the next cycle

10

Seriously?


I’m not doubting what you’re saying, but I wonder why they hold their cycles open so long if they’re just going to penalize anyone who takes advantage of it.


I guess I really just can’t win.


See, this makes me think I should just give up, since no matter what I do, it just hurts my chances.

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  • starri Said:
Seriously?

I'm not doubting what you're saying, but I wonder why they hold their cycles open so long if they're just going to penalize anyone who takes advantage of it.



The collective behavior of students has most submitting primary application (likely 95%+) by the end of July. The way the process is structured with rolling admissions, the number of seats simply gets reduced as the cycle continues.

  • starri Said:
I guess I really just can't win.

See, this makes me think I should just give up, since no matter what I do, it just hurts my chances.



Rule 1: take a breath.

This isn't about giving up on medicine, this is about getting you in. That is the goal. And this isn't a sprint to that has one winner; it is a marathon that you have to finish. In a corny analogy you starting late out of the box, you have the MCAT which may hobble you. Maybe you need to bow out of this year's marathon and finish next year That's my point.

I have seen too many oldpremeds feel the pressure of time to apply NOW even though it will make them a weaker candidate. I am trying to suggest that you can be a stronger candidate if you don't apply this year.

Rule 10: Beware of FUD -- Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.




12

I guess I just don’t understand now that would hurt my chances for next year.


I don’t know, I’m 33 now, I’ll be 34 when the next application window opens, and 35 when/if I start med school. The pre-health committee at my school told me this about about average, but, vanity aside, I don’t envy being a 40-year-old intern.


I hope you realize how much I appreciated your kind words.

13

Hi Starri


I agree with gonnif. don’t apply now. I was looking over the “other” forum the other day and there were candidates there that applied late (Nov/Dec) and best they did was waitlisted. This year they applied early and already have loads of interviews lined up. The later you apply in the cycle, the more picky the admissions offices are being because they have practically filled all their spots and have solid candidates on the waiting list. Its a waste of money. Not sure if it hurts you, but usually on a reapplication schools are looking for something different which if apply late and then reapply early - not much change.


Don’t worry about your age. I just started year 1 so I will be a 49 year old resident chronologically speaking but mentally I am not there so I don’t let it worry me.


Deep breath. You can do this one step at a time. Get properly prepared for the MCAT and knock that baby out of the park!!! I too did slightly better on my actual MCAT than any of my practice versions.


Good luck.


Lynda

14

Starri


I can only speak of my own experience here. First I agree with what was said and you certainly shouldn’t apply this cycle.


Second, I can tell that you are not ready for the MCAT. On my own practice tests, I has been scoring between 33 to 38 if I remember, with an average of 35+. Always scoring at least 12 in the science sections and between 7 and 10 on VR (average was 8.8 or so).


The day of the exam I did (by my own standard) quite poorly scoring 30. I scored 12 in the sciences (which was the lowest I had scored during practice) and a miserable 6 on VR. I must add that it was a very difficult time for me and my prep was cut short about 3 weeks before the exam. In other words, I didn’t work more than 2h on the MCAT during the 3 weeks leading up to the exam.


I would have never thought I would do that poorly. I was expecting a 32 for the lowest possible score and yet managed to do worse. My point is that I would not even dare to register with a 27 as the highest score. I hate to be discouraging, but you are more likely to get below 27 than above.


I wouldn’t rush and would take my time to do well. Age shouldn’t be that big of a deal.


I would listen to all the great advice given on this forum. You can trust the folks here. They all want you to succeed.


Good luck.

15

I don’t think that I’m ever going to do that well, so I guess you made up my mind for me.

16

Starri


if you don’t try, you won’t know. You should simply take time to prepare a bit more diligently and seek advice on how to improve.

17

I guess I just don’t know what I need to prove. Being able to do ten points better than my practice scores just seems so daunting. I guess that’s why I signed up for the Kaplan test.


If we’ve learned anything, it’s that self-study does no one favors. Maybe I’m just impatient, I don’t want to half to wait another year.


I’ve already e-mailed NYCOM, and was told much the same thing. I was also looking at LECOM, KCOM, and all three Touro campuses, even though their application year runs bast 02/01, but I guess it’s just best to skip them anyway.


Is it really so terrible to be waitlisted?

18

The issue is not so terrible to be wait listed or to take a MCAT when you are not ready. In addition to the reduced chances that the later in the cycle brings that I talked about in my previous posts, there are other negative impacts that you should be aware of. Taken together, the admissions committee can view them as a negative to your commitment and/or motivation, These are a poor MCAT, a late MCAT, a late application and a rejected application

  1. poor MCAT: It is generally perceived that admissions committee like to see no more than 3 attempts at a MCAT else they will likely conclude that you cannot do well on the exam. While this is not the specific case yet with you, you may wind up taking the exam more than once. Taking it when your are not ready, can put you in a bad spot later on

  2. late MCAT: Admissions committee can see when you took the exam and may wonder why so late? Was it they were taking a prereq over the summer? was it a last minute thing? Is this person committed or is this a half assed try?

  3. late application: Similar to the above. It can be noticed for good reason (your were just finishing an overseas mission or summer internship) or, more common, trying to retake a prereq over the summer.

  4. rejected application. While a fully a quarter of applicants to MD are beyond their first application, when you apply again, it raises a flag. Why were you rejected the first time? Was it a poor MCAT, a not so good PS, poor grades, etc? What have you done to correct those issues? Did your MCAT improve?


    As I say to all applicants, you want to be the strongest possible candidate on your first application.



19
  • LJSimpson Said:
Hi Starri

Don't worry about your age. I just started year 1 so I will be a 49 year old resident chronologically speaking but mentally I am not there so I don't let it worry me.



Mentally she is only 16 (of course I am only 12)

Whether you'll be an intern at 41 or a resident at 41 or a failed medical school applicant at 41, you are still gonna be 41. The rate of aging never varies and should not be considered a variable or factor.

  • LJSimpson Said:


Deep breath. You can do this one step at a time. Get properly prepared for the MCAT and knock that baby out of the park!!!! I too did slightly better on my actual MCAT than any of my practice versions.

Good luck.

Lynda



Rule 1: take a breath

everyone here is trying to give you the best advice to get into medical school. Sometimes that advice is to wait. So wipe the tears and frustration away and lets help you do better on the MCAT


20

In all seriousness, thanks for the pep-talks. 9 days out of ten, I’m really excited about this, and there’s that one day where I feel nothing but overwhelmed. Those days have gotten fewer and farther between, but sometimes when they happen, they’re a doozy.


New semester stresses, same old, same old. I guess it just hit me all at once.


And, for the sake of saying it, I have a much better husband than I deserve.