Guest depressed Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Well I got me MCAT scores back.... 7/11/12Q....this was my second time taking it....my last score that I got last April was 6/11/12Q..... I took it a second time to improve my verbal skills and I thought I did really well... This is really really discouraging and I don't think I want to write it in August... Does anyone know what my chances are of getting into meds (specifically U of T, Mac, Ottawa, McGill)? I am an Ontario Resident My current GPA (of 2 yrs) is 3.96 (90%)...I know thats pretty good and I shouldnt complain about it...its just that that verbal score is holding me back; or maybe Im just overreacting.. Yours truly, Sad and depressed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Neither Ottawa nor Mac look at MCAT scores. U of T has minimums of 8/8/8/N (and only uses the MCAT as a "flag") but I believe they've also stated they'll look at someone with a 7 if their application is "stellar" (I have no idea what that means.) As for rewriting the exam, should you decide to do so. . . it looks like your verbal score is the only weak part. It is possible to improve that with practice! When I started studying for the MCAT, I was getting (estimated) scores from the prep exams of 6, 7 and 8. I just kept reading and writing practice exams (MANY practice exams), though, and in the end ended up with an 11. Is it possible for you to rewrite in August? (I don't know that myself). Good Luck applying and if it comes to that, rewriting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest From Ottawa Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Hello sad and depressed. You should apply to at least Ottawa with those scores and good ECs you probably will get an interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest depressed Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 Hey I just wanted to say thanks for replying...nice to people care out there As for replying, I dont think I could handle the stress...Im working full time right now...also, Ill be travelling to Greece for a month (leaving two days after Aug 18th).... If I rewrite, this will be my 3rd time.....The only thing that is hurting me is the verbal.....and I dont think 2 months can really help that much....S*hit I just want to throw a rock at my T.V! Anyone else in the same boat?? Oh, btw, I went to Mcgill website and they said min 3.5X and 30 on the MCAT...does anyone know if they have elaborate marking schemes like Western, or are they just used as *flags*...man why do I have to be an OOP for McGill =( Thanks UWOMED2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shkelo Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 You can apply to U of A. Their minimum cutoff is 7s and the MCAT is worth 15% (you would get 10 marks out of those 15, which is average for those that gain entry). Your GPA is also very good. U of A, however, requires univerisity English as a prereq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest medicator007 Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Depressed, My understanding is that some form of ranking is based on the applicant's GPA and MCAT (as well as interview and letter) is used at McGill... To the best of my knowledge you are almost guaranteed an interview if you make both the GPA and MCAT cutoffs... but your scores come into play when determining who ultimately gets in. Hope that helps! Medicator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cassica Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 hey depressed. I hope you aren't really depressed....I got my marks back today too. I paid $15 us just to see that my mark went down... I was discouraged for a moment, but then I got over it. You'll get there eventually and for some reason, I feel that everything happens for a reason. I would be ecstatic with those marks... I went from 26P to 25M.ouch. Anyways, good luck and let us know what you decide to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BC Guy Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Your GPA was high and your MCat was low? Someone got in at Mac with both very low GPA and very low Mcat of 28M. Don't lose hope, apply to Mac as well as to UBC as the MCat is only used as a flag at UBC (but not too sure what that means). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clinicalchief Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Your mcat scores aren't bad! You got a 30! (if I added that right) The 7 doesn't work to your advantage, but I've heard of much lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Can you write the MCAT twice in one year? If so, I'd try in August. You don't think 2 months will help all that much? That's all the time I spent studying, studying one day a week (though that was pretty much a FULL day of studying). I found that was enough time to push my scores from the 6-7 range to the 10-12 range (as estimated by the practice tests). Get all of the ?AMCAS? (can't remember the organization's acronym. . . YongQ, can you help me out again? ) prep exams and just keep writing them over and over again, timed. Do even a few Gold Standard or Barron's as well, but remember their wording and biases are a bit different from ?AMCAS? If I remember correctly, the unfortunate thing about the verbal section is that with only 65 questions, you need to get almost all of them right (high 50s, low 60s) to get a score >10. Your BS & PS sections are almost higher than they need to be (from my experience, your actual MCAT score rarely makes a big impact at most schools so long as you're above a cutoff) so don't worry about them as much. Though if you choose not to rewrite, definitely apply to Ottawa. Your GPA is stellar, so you should get an interview there, and you might even have a shot at U of T. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest depressed Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Hi UWOMED2005, thanks for your response.. It is possible to take it in August, but I have a fulltime job from 9-5, and I dont know if I can improve my verbal in that time...I have ALL the material (Im a psycho ) and I did quite well on them.....Has anyone tried a full time job and studied for the MCAT? Geez, looks like Im in a rut.... take care And cassica, I also believe that everything happens for a reason...but its discouraging when you don't know what the "reason" actually is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest utapp Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 I studied for the verbal part of the MCAT on the TTC on my to and from work. For me it was all about mental preparation. At first it was damm near impossible to study with all the distractions but near the end I finally got the hang of it. You never know what could go wrong...the room might be too cold, someone might be tapping their pen, etc. My friend got 15,15,T on the other parts but...only a 7 on verbal! I sat beside him on the test and thought he was going to run out of the room screaming. BTW I did ok on the verbal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest verbal warrior Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 i had a full time research job last summer, but i got in about 1-2 hours per day of reading both the globe and mail and NY Times front sections. My verbal score improved 4 points (7 to 11!). So it is possible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest natalie Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 hi depressed, don't lose hope! i took the mcat last summer working 2 jobs (1 at 30 hours a week, and the second at 15 hours a week). i have to be honest though, i did take a prep course because i realized that i would need the extra motivation. in the end, if you really want it, you'll put in the time - pick two nights during the weekdays and maybe the morning or afternoon on a weekend. that should be more than enough to practice, practice, practice and still have a social life. if you're interested in obtaining materials from the princeton review for the verbal section (that would include practice passages, and their little booklet on how they think you should read those passages effectively), we can work something out. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Me Too Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Depressed, Last year I took the MCAT and got a 6-12-P-13. The 6 on Verbal totally tainted my Med's applications. Considering that I have a GPA of 3.9 and many EC's I am confident that it was the only thing that held me back. I recently re-took the April exam and got 6-13-P-10. Another blow. I have no choice but to re-take the MCAT in August. I'm not sure how to improve my score though. At this point all I really want is a 7 to make the UofA and UBC cutoff's. I wonder when Canadian Med school's will stop using a U.S. standardized exam as a way of weeding out perfectly elligible students like you and I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liana Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 If it hasn't already come into play, I've heard that AMCAS is changing the format of the verbal section on the MCAT (check out the MCAT forum for more info) - reducing the number of questions and reading segments, which may work in your favour if your trouble came from being able to read everything in time. I know rewriting in August would suck, but on the plus side, you should be able to retain a lot of the stuff you learned for April, and your verbal mark may rise significantly to allow you to apply this year. But I would check out the minimum requirements of the schools (emailing the department specifically is the best way to get the official response) before investing the time, money, and effort in rewriting if you can apply already to most of the schools you prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sympathetic Posted June 9, 2002 Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 Dear depressed, I don't know about you but I know that I always feel better when I hear about other people who have experienced the same obstacles as me. So here's my story (which I think you can relate to)... After completing my second year of undergrad I decided to write the dreaded MCAT. I was pretty confident that with three months of studying, I would be able to meet the cutoffs on each section. I had high marks in university and I good science background so the biology and physical sciences sections didn't scare me too much. Then I did a practice test and got a 5 in VR!! I realized that I really needed to improve on this section however the approach I took to raising my score was the wrong one: All I did was practice test after practice test. As my science scores improved with each full length test I tried, my verbal scores plateaued at 8. I just wasn't getting any better at verbal. I felt that improving in this section was hopeless for me so I just assured myself that I would get an 8 on the real test and that would enable me to meet the cutoffs for U of T, my first choice for med school. Test day arrived and unfortuneatly, the only thing that I can remember from the verbal section of that test was that some guy kept making sniffling noises! I couldn't focus on anything except the irritating sound eminating from this guy's nostrils! I don't think I actually "read" any of the passages, I just skimmed them in a panic. Anyway, I ended up with a 6 in VR (and 11s and a Q). I was "depressed" just like you say you are. I stayed in bed all weekend and couldn't focus on my school work. I was miserable. Eventually, I got over it (or forgot about it) and pulled myself together. I completed another successful year academically and I even interviewed at U of O (which didn't care about my stupid MCAT scores). Then came the next crisis...I was rejected from U of O-well, not actually rejected but I received a letter that stated that although I was on the waitlist (all interviewees are either accepted or waitlisted) it was unlikely that I would be accepted and I should therefore make alternate plans. I was "depressed" again. I was so upset and I felt like I was a failure. I wasted so much time and energy trying to get in to med school only to be rejected from everywhere. What was the point of having a high GPA? What was the point of spending three months studying for MCAT scores that got me nowhere? I also was working full time and the idea of rewriting that damn test made me ill. But once again, I pulled my act together and I made the decision to rewrite. I approached the test this time with a completely different strategy: I only focussed on verbal. I made sure to read for several hours a day. I read the New Yorker, The Economist (yuck!), Atlantic monthly and Harpers. I read the Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, Times, McCleans and any other challenging materials I could get my hands on. I supplemented this reading with practice tests (I also had every verbal practice test available in the city-I am also wacko!). I only started studying for the science three weeks before the test since I knew that I could handle those sections. Anyway, the end result is that I managed to pull off a 9 in VR (I was so ridiculously nervous on test day that I was extactic with that score) and this fall I will be attending med school!!! It is possible to improve in VR. You must practice-but not just by doing practice test after practice test. Do you study for exams just by doing old exams over and over again? Most likely you just use old exams to see how well you have learned your notes. Well, it's the same with verbal...it is possible to "study" for verbal. (The first time I wrote the MCAT I didn't believe that! But trust me it's true!) By reading for three months (I started in June also, so that's definately enough time. You mentioned that you're travelling for a month but you can still find time to read on your trip-on planes, buses etc or before bed.) you will be able to improve your score. I was getting 12s on practice VR tests and the only reason why I couldn't do that well on the real thing was my nerves. So, if you just read and relax you will be fine!!! Best of Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 9, 2002 Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 The reason I studied for the MCAT only on Sundays was that was the only day I had available. . . I was working a full time job in a research lab as well as coordinating Frosh Week for my undergrad school. So you CAN find the time to study. . . and it looks like the only thing you need to study (practically at all) is the VR. Nice post, sympathetic, BTW. Try following their suggestion - I've heard the 'Economist' and other dense reads have benefited a number of MCAT takers. Personally, I found writing practice tests to be the best strategy. . . but hey, that was me! Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snowball Posted June 9, 2002 Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 So.. if I want to improve my VR marks, do I just 'read' articles from the mags/newspapers mentioned above, or what? should I be analyzing it? noting words I don't know? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sympathetic Posted June 9, 2002 Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 Hi again, In answer to snowball's question: Yes, all you have to do is read challenging material. There is no need to annotate (except on actual practice passages) and it is my opinion that reading these materials and annotating/analyzing would be a very unpleasant experience. What I mean is that you're probably already annoyed at having to read these magazines/newspapers but knowing that as you sit there you must annotate and analyze too would make the process even harder. (Of course, if you are that dedicated then annotation/analyzation can't hurt. I just know that I would have been even more miserable sitting there for hours annotating material I didn't even want to read in the first place.) I beleive that the only thing you need to do while reading the material I suggested is make sure you understand it. Read it as slowly as you have to in order to grasp the ideas in the articles. Reread paragraphs until you can comprehend their main idea. Look up words you're not familiar with in a dictionary and keep a list of these words and their meanings. By training your mind to understand material that you are not used to reading your VR score should improve. For example, if you are a science student and you have no interest in art or poetry or history or politics then read material that deals with these subjects. That is what you will see on the actual MCAT-passages that you are so uninterested in that you can barely focus on reading them without your mind wandering-so if you get yourself used to carefully reading and understanding complicated ideas in areas that you are not interested in you will be prepared for the test. I also reccomend supplementing your reading with doing several practice passages a day. (These of course, you should analyze and annotate.) After a few weeks you should see an improvement in your ability to answer the passage questions correctly. Let me know if you have any other questions cus trust me, I understand what you're going through since this time a year ago I was experiencing the same thing! Sympathetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Motivation Posted June 9, 2002 Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 To improve verbal READ. I mean a novel a day. I went from a 6 to 10. What I did was increase my reading speed instead of comprehension. That way you can spend more time on the questions. This is the best advice, since (depressed) it seems that your problems does not lie in effort but time required to analyze. So speed up the reading and continue to spend more time. READ every spare minute. Goodluck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frivolous Posted June 9, 2002 Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 And no, coming to this web-site is NOT considered reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snowball Posted June 10, 2002 Report Share Posted June 10, 2002 thank you to those who answered my questions... since i am a poor premed student (with kaplan and all).... i have found some websites with the aforementioned difficult periodicals... enjoy! http://www.harpers.org http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=68&/?u http://www.theatlantic.com/ http://www.nytimes.com/ http://www.newyorker.com/ http://www.msnbc.com/news/WSJHIGHLIGHTS_Front.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carly Posted June 11, 2002 Report Share Posted June 11, 2002 I worked two jobs (total 55 - 60 hours per week) and still brought my verbal from 6 to 11. I agree with verbal warrior...I did it by reading the Globe and Mail everyday for about 5 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ella Posted June 11, 2002 Report Share Posted June 11, 2002 Dear depressed, Don't be depressed. You can get an interview at toronto with a 7. They allow one 7 to exceptional canidates. Call them and chat with them... It will make you fill better. Also, I got a 9,10,8 Q on the mcat and I got into 5 schools. Some schools look beyond MCAT scores - they look at the person. They asked me what I thought of my MCAT scores in my interview and I said. I am proud of them because I also worked 50 hours a week and volunteered a lot. I felt that my reaserch exp and hospital exp was more valuable to me as a future physcian than studying to get a good mark on the mcat. I already have a 4.0, which proves that I have the intellectual capacity to be a strong phsycian. I also originally thought I wanted to go to Ottawa or Mac - they don't need the MCAT. But, later I decided that I wanted to go to school ..... (which ever one I was interviewing at). They were very satisfied with my answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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