<p>I went to a Health Sciences Academy for high school and was accepted to UVa with around a 1200 on my SAT out of 1600 (now, I think they changed to 2400) and a 4.1 GPA (AP credit). I'm now a second year in the College of arts and sciences and I'm a bio major, because I don't really like anything else. I hate math so I can't be an engineer, and I don't really like business, I'm not a bad writer, but I don't enjoy it. Ever since I was young I've wanted to go to Med school. BUTTTT UVa, unfortunately, is tough and the competition is ridiculous. My back-up school was ODU/VCU but I'm competing with Harvard's Rejects..!!!</p>
<p>My current GPA is a 3.0, but I know that by the end of the three years it should be around a 3.3-3.4 hopefully. If I take the MCATS and score around a 29-30, what are my chances of getting into a Med School in the U.S. I don't care what Med school I go to, as long as it's in the U.S., im fine. I also do a lot of volunteer work at the hospital..I do not know if that helps. I would really love to go to EVMS or MCV but I think my only chances with those numbers is like Howard Univ in D.C. or on an island :(</p>
<p>Look, your brain might not be wired to be an MD... 99.5% of people's brains aren't. The same could be said for a lot of Wall St. postions, and partnerships is prestigious law firms. Are you part of the 0.5% that is? I'm not, that's for sure, and I was 99+ and 96 on my two SAT sections. Based on 1200 SAT, I would say the chance you'd get 30/31 on the MCAT is not high. when I see a doctor, sometimes I don't care if they're brilliant problem solvers, but sometimes I absolutely do. I want my physician to be not just smart, but brilliant... my life might be on the line. I don't mean to be offensive but I wouldn't want a 1200 SAT guy trying to recall and see some pattern in hundreds of thousands of pages of diagnostic material read over the past 15 years to peg what might be wrong with me.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should reevaluate your desires and skills and see if they're realistic. Agree with oreo45... speak with your advisor. There are other medically related, well paying jobs like nurse practitioner, EMT, selling medical products and assisting in the OR, etc.</p>
<p>Well, I'm a hardworker, and I do not think that my SAT score will reflect how well I can diagnose a patient with a disorder. I'm not trying to be offensive, but forget about brilliance, but not every doctor is even smart. Doctors can be simply passionate and hardworking. Obviously if I went to a health sciences academy, and I am at UVa currently (not the easiest school to make a 3.8 in pre-med) and I am still hopeful in pursuing an MD route, I think that would pretty much suggest that I AM passionate to be a doctor. Personally, I want to save lives not try to draw out an organic chemistry reaction with lewis acid-base complexes. I'm not giving up that easily, but thanks for your comment. I'll speak with my pre-med advisor, maybe this was a bad idea.</p>
<p>Again...I'm not saying I'm smart enough or not smart enough. I asked a simple question, do I have chances of getting into med school or not, yes no maybe...that's it. Why is it that when everyone else asks this question, they get a suitable answer...maybe I'm just not clear enough, but thanks guys. I'll be sure to study hard and make you proud oreo.</p>
<p>If you have a 3.0 right now, what makes you think you'll end up with a 3.4? What changes are you making?</p>
<p>A 3.4 GPA would put you around one std. dev below the average for matriculants. You might be able to get into med school with a 3.4/30 if the rest of your application is excellent (not merely good). One of my friends this year had a 3.4/38 but only got one acceptance and that was off the waitlist.</p>
<p>See, last year first semester I had just transitioned from high school to university, and I guess I didn't really adjust that well, so my grades were lower. Believe it or not, if I hadn't messed up my first semester I would already have a 3.4 GPA which ****es me off more than anything, but there's no point in looking at the past I guess. Which is why I am just trying to be optimistic about it, and hope that I can raise it to a 3.4 now, since my grades are a lot better and I've been working really hard. I mean, I see what you're saying, but I just don't think that I can allow myself to give up that easily, by simply looking at statistics and having doubt that I will raise my GPA...but thanks for your comment.</p>
<p>If you want to be doctor then stay the course & work hard to do your very best. If you will only consider US Med Schools that could possibly be the end of your dream if you do not get accepted. Keep an open mind to get where you want to get. Other realistic options are available to you. Depends how much passion you have.</p>
<p>You may want to consider DO schools. Given that you're at a 3.0 now, it's possible that in the end, you may not be competitive enough for MD schools. Going to a DO school would be much better than going to a foreign medical school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Based on 1200 SAT, I would say the chance you'd get 30/31 on the MCAT is not high.
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There is little correlation between SAT and MCAT score, though it might seem counterintuitive at first. The pool of test takers is radically different for the MCAT vs the SAT, and the tests are also very different. There've been a few very informal "studies" (by people on SDN, and myself), but I'm pretty sure legitimate studies have also found similar results.</p>
<p>Just wanted to point that out; just because you may have done well on the SAT, does not mean you will do well on the MCAT. Likewise, if you did poorly on the SAT, it does not mean you will do poorly on the MCAT.</p>
<p>Note that when I make those statements, I'm restricting it to the pool of students that actually takes the MCAT. Obviously, someone who scored 800 or 900 (out of 1600) will probably not do well on the MCAT at all. But the type of student who gets an 800 or 900 SAT will generally not be the type of student that goes premed and ends up taking the MCAT.</p>
<p>Agreed GoldShadow! If you prepare UVaStudent you can get a high score. Its material knowledge -not an intelligence test. </p>
<p>BTW it turns out that many of the most amazing doctors/people in my community are Americans that went out of the country for med school. And the DOs are as amazing too. People don't care where you go to school as long as you care about them and are a good doctor.</p>
<p>I think Oreo is mischaracterizing the MCAT, which has vastly more emphasis on critical thinking than it does on memorization.</p>
<p>GS, if I remember correctly, the correlation is strong and statistically significant, but (unlike, say, the LSAT) not so strong that it overwhelms things like preparation.</p>
<p>Some people who go out of the country for medical school will succeed very nicely. Many more will end up without a license to practice medicine, no residency, four years of their life gone, and $240,000 of debt.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!! I did'nt think I would get so many responses, I appreciate all of your advice, information, and support. I am definitely sticking to med school, and I will do my best and I will not give up regardless of what happens; I think that that's what really counts. I will let you all know how everything goes, I still have three years... pray for me :)</p>
<p>You really do not have to make any decisions right now. You want to major in biology, and you want to be a doctor. So your path is pretty much laid out for you for the next few years. Once it comes time to take the MCAT, do an assessment of where you stand. Not everyone goes straight from college to medical school. Lots of people take some time out of school, work in a related field, polish up their academic preparation and their application. Take the MCAT when they have time to study without detracting from their course work. Speak with your premed advisor now, but it is way too early to give up, or even consider it. You DO want to make full use of the academic support at UVa.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is quite a high correlation between SAT and MCAT. There have been quite a few studies over the years. One, a very long time ago, found such a high correlation that it suggested just using the SAT without bother with having people take the MCAT. They did not discuss how they would deal with the incentive to learn the basic science embedded in being forced to take the MCAT, but the correlation was distressingly high.</p>
<p>It would be entirely unfair to allow a correlation to discourage or prevent motivated, hard-working students who do not perform well on the SAT from pursuing a career in the medical field, would it not? </p>
<p>I know tons of people who are great at memorizing and applying information, particularly in the sciences, but who don't do so well at the basic-level type of thinking that the SAT requires: perhaps they overanalyze the questions. This type of person would make an excellent doctor, despite poor performance on a test that assesses, like, middle-school level knowledge.</p>
<p>Im a sophomore and they say if you go to ODU or William and Mary and keep a 3.4 gpa in high school and college, you are guaranteed a spot at EVMS.</p>