JohnDough Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hi everyone, This is my first post here. I'm applying for the first time to med schools - both Canadian and US. I'm not sure which schools I have the best shots at - especially since there are so many US schools... so the following are my stats and based on these, I am hoping some of you more informed people can give me some assistance. 3.5 gpa, but 3.8 in my past 2 years of undergrad, 27O on mcat (10 PS, 7 V, 10 BS; I plan to re-write in July). I have a masters in pharmacology from King's College London (UK) and a year's worth of full-time research experience. I missed the application cycle for Sept 2009 entry, but I did apply to some Irish schools... I got into 1 but decided to reject it now because I couldn't justify going out there without even applying in North America. I appreciate any help you can give me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 biggest flag is the mcat, 27O is not good. are your practice ones higher now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDough Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Yeah... my PS and BS was a fluke I think. Usually I score between 12-14 on those ones. However, my VR sucks. I've never gotten over a 9 on any practice test. I consistently get 7-8. I am hoping there are some schools out there that accept lower VR scores... Hopefully my rewrite in July goes better. But I don't know what to do if I can't get my VR up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UserName Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 However, my VR sucks. I've never gotten over a 9 on any practice test. I consistently get 7-8. keep practicing. people don't score well on verbal because they underestimate the importance of practice and think they either have the verbal skill or not.. but with practice you can spot the right answers faster and learn who to get the most out of the passage with the least amount of time.. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 A 9 in verbal would be fine but not below that. The MCAT is really important so we can't suggest schools to apply to until you have your score. What you can do is submit your AMCAS with one school in June, then when you get your new score add more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDough Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 That's another thing that I was wondering about... I'd like to get my AMCAS application in to schools as early as possible (ie: June). Will my current MCAT score hurt me on my application even if I score better later on during this summer? Also, what benefit would there be in submitting my application to just one school in June? Aren't all applications independent of each other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 If you've registered to take the exam again, it will say so on your application. Schools won't look at your application until they get your new score. It's very important to get your AMCAS in as early as possible so it can be verified (can take up over a month if you wait until later in the summer). If you submit your AMCAS early with one school, you'll be verified and ready to go by the time your scores come out. When you add additional schools, you don't have to wait for verification again since AMCAS shares your application information with all the schools you apply to automatically. At the same time, you won't waste thousands of dollars in fees applying to schools blindly (without your score). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rach Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 If you've registered to take the exam again, it will say so on your application. Schools won't look at your application until they get your new score. It's very important to get your AMCAS in as early as possible so it can be verified (can take up over a month if you wait until later in the summer). If you submit your AMCAS early with one school, you'll be verified and ready to go by the time your scores come out. When you add additional schools, you don't have to wait for verification again since AMCAS shares your application information with all the schools you apply to automatically. At the same time, you won't waste thousands of dollars in fees applying to schools blindly (without your score). I am considering doing this. Do you know if this causes any kind of delay or is it pretty automatic for schools to receive the rest of your app along with scores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 IIRC it was around one business day. But some schools send you their secondary either before or within hours of receiving your verified app, some take closer to a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rach Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 IIRC it was around one business day. But some schools send you their secondary either before or within hours of receiving your verified app, some take closer to a week. hmm that just reminded me that I was planning on writing all of my secondaries while I waited on my score so that I could get everything back to them ASAP. Tough decision. Guess I could always write secondaries based on prompts from SDN and then trash a few if my score changes my school list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDough Posted May 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 If you've registered to take the exam again, it will say so on your application. Schools won't look at your application until they get your new score. It's very important to get your AMCAS in as early as possible so it can be verified (can take up over a month if you wait until later in the summer). If you submit your AMCAS early with one school, you'll be verified and ready to go by the time your scores come out. When you add additional schools, you don't have to wait for verification again since AMCAS shares your application information with all the schools you apply to automatically. At the same time, you won't waste thousands of dollars in fees applying to schools blindly (without your score). Okay. Thanks a lot for your help - I'm new to the application system. One more question though... Since I am rewriting the MCAT on July 2nd, is it considered late to send in the primary, already verified, application to the schools at the beginning of August? That is when I would receive my scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRnonymous Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Honestly, and I don't mean to be rude at all, but it is not looking too good for you if you plan on applying for MD. I would say that you do have a chance at applying for DO though Check out this forum to give you an idea of what US schools are expecting in terms of GPA and MCAT: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=418 One thing you have to be aware of though is that international students are set to a higher standard, which is why it looks even worse for you since your stats are already below average Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRnonymous Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Forgot to add, if you insist on MD then your only hope is killing the MCAT to compensate for the GPA and international status Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRnonymous Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 hmm that just reminded me that I was planning on writing all of my secondaries while I waited on my score so that I could get everything back to them ASAP. Tough decision. Guess I could always write secondaries based on prompts from SDN and then trash a few if my score changes my school list. I wrote all my secondaries right when I submitted AMCAS. People will post what the question for that year is here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=602 I think it's safe to just do all of them before hand. Of the 25 schools I applied to in the US, 23 of them sent me secondaries. The only 2 that didn't are schools that don't take international applicants, which I inconveniently forgot to read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 mcat is not looking pretty. dont apply this year, redo the mcat try and get 30+, apply broadly and you're in. oh and make sure you've got a diverse array of extracurricular stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermen85 Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 Get your VR to 9+ to even have a remote shot at successful application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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