someone help - what are my chances.....

**near0015** · 28-06-2006, 02:40 PM

well, im writing because i need advice on whether to retake the mcat. I scored a 26Q with 10-biology, 9-physics, 7-verbal. I know my verbal is low and I am questioning retaking the test because of that. But because I studied just about as hard as I could have I'm not sure just how much my score would improve.....or maybe even drop. Plus my science scores aren't too bad. My overall gpa is a 3.8 and my science gpa is about the same.

I have the lots of shadowing and volunteer work in hospitals, and I play soccer at a large division 1 university. Do you think my extracurriculars and gpa will be enough to possibly compensate for my mcat score? do schools look at being an athlete and will that help me in any way as well? I'm just trying to decide whether to take the mcat again in august and i need to decide SOON!!

thanks for any advice you can give!

**Scottish Chap** · 01-07-2006, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by near0015

well, im writing because i need advice on whether to retake the mcat. I scored a 26Q with 10-biology, 9-physics, 7-verbal. I know my verbal is low and I am questioning retaking the test because of that. But because I studied just about as hard as I could have I'm not sure just how much my score would improve.....or maybe even drop. Plus my science scores aren't too bad. My overall gpa is a 3.8 and my science gpa is about the same.

I have the lots of shadowing and volunteer work in hospitals, and I play soccer at a large division 1 university. Do you think my extracurriculars and gpa will be enough to possibly compensate for my mcat score? do schools look at being an athlete and will that help me in any way as well? I'm just trying to decide whether to take the mcat again in august and i need to decide SOON!!

thanks for any advice you can give!

You didn't say where you want to apply. If it's the U.S., you'll probably have to retake the MCAT. That's not to say that you might not get an interview somewhere. I have a friend who gained admission to a state schools with a 25, but know assuredly that she is an exception rather than the general rule (sort of like getting a 2:2 hons degree in the U.K. - not unheard of to gain admission to medical school but far less likely). If you're applying to the U.K., then the MCAT score is a moot point as most medical schools don't know much about it. Your GPA is excellent - for both the U.S. and the U.K. If your first coice is the U.S., I urge you to retake the MCAT before you consider being educated in medicine overseas. It will be much more expensive and you'll have all kinds of issues later if you want to work in the U.S.

About the MCAT: I'm a Kaplan MCAT instructor and your score (and GPA) suggests someone who has a lot of detailed knowledge but may have issues with time constraints and critical reading, which the MCAT exposes rather acutely. Practicing the VR and trying to resist the temptation to 'apply outside knowledge' might be enough to raise the VR up a few points with a comcomitant rise in the sciences which, for the most part, also rely heavily on critical reading and less on outside knowledge. I see this a lot. Good luck!

**Scottish Chap** · 02-07-2006, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by 2b-MD

Compare your scores to the schools near you; this site has the average mcat scores and gpas of all US med schools: MCAT Scores

Good luck!

This site is not accurate at all - at least for all the medical schools I appied to. There's no way the University of Maryland has a higher GPA than Johns Hopkins. Several of the application closing dates are wrong, too. I always recommend the MSAR for medical school statistics; it changes every year and is the most up-to-date and the most accurate.
(http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/msar.htm)