sunshine1035 Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Hi Everyone, I just found out that for UofCalgary the MCAT has to be written by august 27th. this effectively leaves me with 1 month to prep for the entire thing. for that one month i will be studying 8 hours/day 7 days per week with no other commitments. UofC looks at verbal and then also does a holistic review of the score. I am scared I might not be able to get the score I want in that much time. Is it worth it for me to even attempt this or should I just keep my Sep 17th date and lose out on UofC. I will be IP, good EC's, a few pubs, avg gpa for UofC something like 3.85ish. I would greatly appreciate any insight on this situation. I am feeling a little discouraged right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBronto2019 Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Hi Everyone, I just found out that for UofCalgary the MCAT has to be written by august 27th. this effectively leaves me with 1 month to prep for the entire thing. for that one month i will be studying 8 hours/day 7 days per week with no other commitments. UofC looks at verbal and then also does a holistic review of the score. I am scared I might not be able to get the score I want in that much time. Is it worth it for me to even attempt this or should I just keep my Sep 17th date and lose out on UofC. I will be IP, good EC's, a few pubs, avg gpa for UofC something like 3.85ish. I would greatly appreciate any insight on this situation. I am feeling a little discouraged right now. UofC does look at mcat holistically, but that is thrown into that global assessment criteria i think. Verbal is solely 10%. If you're doing prep, focus on verbal because it is weighed more than a holistic score. If you're IP, just write it and apply! Nothing to lose because you seem well-rounded and have a good GPA. Why do it Sept. 17th and miss out on our 1 of 2 IP schools? It's definitely not worth leaving this application cycle with less opportunities to get in since mcat change next year. Do it by Aug. 27th and if need be, do it again in September for other schools if you need a higher score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StriveP Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 UofC does look at mcat holistically, but that is thrown into that global assessment criteria i think. Verbal is solely 10%. If you're doing prep, focus on verbal because it is weighed more than a holistic score. If you're IP, just write it and apply! Nothing to lose because you seem well-rounded and have a good GPA. Why do it Sept. 17th and miss out on our 1 of 2 IP schools? It's definitely not worth leaving this application cycle with less opportunities to get in since mcat change next year. Do it by Aug. 27th and if need be, do it again in September for other schools if you need a higher score. What he said. At the end if you don't feel prepared, I wouldn't jeopardize 1 school for the sake of the other 5-10 schools you will be applying. So if you aren't ready by that date, then I wouldn't rush it and write it on that date. Last thing you want is a low score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBronto2019 Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 What he said. At the end if you don't feel prepared, I wouldn't jeopardize 1 school for the sake of the other 5-10 schools you will be applying. So if you aren't ready by that date, then I wouldn't rush it and write it on that date. Last thing you want is a low score. Really? I wouldve assumed that having a score (in Canada) even if its low, is alright...you can always rewrite and use the better score. In the US, if schools avg out scores, then it makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StriveP Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Really? I wouldve assumed that having a score (in Canada) even if its low, is alright...you can always rewrite and use the better score. In the US, if schools avg out scores, then it makes sense. That's true but i'm sure you don't want to write the MCAT more than once this summer. But if you are only gunning for Canadian schools then I guess writing it on August 27th or August 21 is fine. Also, the more important question is how far are you into studying for the MCAT at this point? Did you just get started or are you done content review? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine1035 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone. At this point I have just started. I am signed up for a Kaplan OnDemand course which is online and in 25 days covers all of the content. I have the EK book's and PR books as well. I haven't taken physics, orgo or chem for a couple of years and the only thing I could say I am confident in is bio. English is my first language and I am an avid reader and writer but I am not sure how much that will help for verbal. What kind of score in verbal is UofC looking for with respect to IP candidates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine1035 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 I should also add that I will be applying to as many US medical schools next fall in the case that I do not get a Canadian acceptance this year. So I should be careful since some American schools * I have not looked into how many of the CA-friendly ones* will average an applicant's multiple MCAT scores. This is sort of the main reason I am feeling discouraged... Don't know if it is worth it to rush for UofC and then not get in and then have sucky MCAT for US. (ps - for US my cgpa is 3.6 something due to a crappy first year which UofC was taking out, so the MCAT is critical.) I need to excel on the MCAT to prove that my gpa was a result of academic rigour of my program and institution. I have a solid upward trend in GPA. Also, bc of the chance to IP status I will no longer be an IP student next cycle for uofc... So is it worth the risk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StriveP Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 I should also add that I will be applying to as many US medical schools next fall in the case that I do not get a Canadian acceptance this year. So I should be careful since some American schools * I have not looked into how many of the CA-friendly ones* will average an applicant's multiple MCAT scores. This is sort of the main reason I am feeling discouraged... Don't know if it is worth it to rush for UofC and then not get in and then have sucky MCAT for US. (ps - for US my cgpa is 3.6 something due to a crappy first year which UofC was taking out, so the MCAT is critical.) I need to excel on the MCAT to prove that my gpa was a result of academic rigour of my program and institution. I have a solid upward trend in GPA. Also, bc of the chance to IP status I will no longer be an IP student next cycle for uofc... So is it worth the risk? You raise a valid point. I personally wouldn't rush it because you would be jeopardizing all the American schools. If you mess up on the MCAT then you don't have a shot at American schools. But I think it may be too early to give up. I think you should continue to study and aim for August 27th, if you can write it on that day and feel confident then by all means write it. Don't make a decision so fast, you have 5 weeks still left to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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