Need Advice [Reapplying]

[eng_dude786]

Hey Everyone,

 

My MCATs that I wrote last year were: V=8, P=7, B=9, Writing: O

 

I was rejected before the interview stage.

 

I was wondering if I could get other people's opinion. Is it worth trying again? (i'm willing to write the MCAT again but then there are always the stories of people with higher gpas not getting in.) I have respectable extracurriculars i think.

 

Do I have a shot at it?

 

-eng_dude786

[blinknoodle]

Hey there,

 

it is really up to you to gauge your interest in pursuing medicine with the effort you are willing to expend to get to your goal.

 

I am sure you know that UWO needs an honours degree as well as the minimal MCAT and GPA requirements. You are right at the cusp of the GPA requirements, but will get an interview based on your first year of 3.87 provided you have a second year above the GPA cut-off. Your MCAT is fairly weak and will likely hold you back across the country. Are you a SWOMEN applicant? The minimums for SWOMEN applicants are lower but you still need a high total MCAT score. It is fairly cut-and-dry for who gets an interview - you would've been rejected pre-interview based on your MCAT and not having an honours degree (assuming you applied in third year). After you get an interview, everyone has a good chance at admission based on their interview performance.

 

If you can improve your MCAT scores, I would definitely apply again. But is it realistic? How did you prepare for it last time? How can your improve? A higher MCAT may open doors at other medical schools as well.

 

I recommend searching the forums for other stories - your plea is not that uncommon.

[daryn]

I think you are fine in terms of your GPA.

 

MCAT wise, you definitely need a boost. Find out what went wrong last time and do it again. The beauty about MCAT is that you can do it again (unlike cGPA).

[lucy98]

I'd definitely re-write the MCAT and try again if I were you. Last year, I missed Western's MCAT cut-off by one point. I had 30S (9PS, 10VR, 11BS). Based on the cutoffs from previous years, I assumed that I would get an interview. But that was the year the cutoffs went up. So, after being rejected pre-interview in January, I dusted off my MCAT books, cracked them open and re-wrote in April '06, this time scoring a 36S (13PS, 13BS, 10VR). I was just accepted to Western. I know rewriting the MCAT seems daunting, but just think, next year at this time, it will have all been worth it. It seems, aside from the honours degree, that is the only thing holding you back at this point.

 

Good Luck!

 

Lucy

[cary_fan]

Your MCAT is going to hold you back, particularly the 7 in PS. As an engineer, I assume you should have no trouble upgrading your physical sciences mark to a more respectable level! That alone would increase your score by a few points. The hardest section to upgrade is typically the verbal section. There's lots of good advice in the MCAT prep section of this forum.

 

Yes, there are stories of people being rejected with higher GPAs - just make sure that you're as complete a package as you can be!

[DiscoDoc]

Western needs 10's across the board AFAIK. Unfortunately their MCAT cut-off is rigid and done by computer (select * from ...... WHERE mcat_total >= 30). No humans read your application before then. They don't care about the rest of your app if you don't meet that requirement, hence the rejection. (I have to retake with a 29 ) You could find the cure for AIDS and your app would be rejected without a 30+.

 

It'll be extra tough for you as you need to pull up all 3 sections simultaneously. Get a tutor, take a course, do what you have to do to get that 30+.

 

BTW, as a fellow engineer, the PS stuff is nothing compared to the hell we had to go through. Make it your bread & butter.