<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I posted here last summer asking advice with my GPA and volunteering background if people thought I'd have a good chance of getting in. I got some really excellent advice before and I'm looking for some again. I'm currently enrolled in Kaplan Advantage Anywhere Plus and I'm looking for a good MCAT study schedules, especially because I did poorly in Physics I. I don't need to retake it or Physics II because the school I'm applying to does not require it, just need it for the stupid MCAT. I'm doing the Early Decision Program so I'm locked into that school anyways so I'm just going to apply to other schools next year if I don't get in this year.</p>
<p>Here are my grades:</p>
<p>Anatomy - A (retook from D-)
Physiology - A (retook from B-)
Biology I - A
Cell/mole Bio - A-
Anatomy and Physiology - A
Chemistry I - A
Chemistry - A-
Organic I - A- (retook from C-)
Organic II - A-
Physics I -D+
Physics II - not taken
Intermediate Algebra - C
College Algebra - B</p>
<p>I have about 150-200 hours ish of volunteering/clinical experience with probably 70-80 hours clinical. I'm not taking classes (besides the Kaplan one) or working this semester so it's all about the MCAT. I'd like to get into a routine, any suggestions?</p>
<p>I also didn't do well on my MCAT diagnostic, I got a 15 :( does this mean my hope of a 32-34 MCAT is too out of reach? Are my grades not strong enough for medical school? I'm taking a few upper levels after my MCAT in January before I apply in May.</p>
<p>Here is an expalnation for your poor Physics:
Intermediate Algebra - C
College Algebra - B</p>
<p>Should never ever ever have B/C in Algebra. You should have turned it around. Please, get tutoring in math. Not a good idea to have the low math level. It is something that you should overcome, leave behind you no matter what you do in your life. This one is easy, no memory requirements, jsut simple understanding of very simple concepts. I strongly recommend to start with this. I do not understand why you were not pointed out to this obvious weakness by somebody else.</p>
<p>Kaplan always said that you could expect to gain half the points you’re missing, so if you have a 15 diagnostic, a reasonable expectation is a 30. Someone expecting to score in the 32-34 range would be expected to have a diagnostic in the 19-23 range. That’s not to say 32-34 is impossible, it’s going to depend on what your deficiencies are, but I certainly wouldn’t think it’s likely without seeing what was wrong.</p>
<p>It is fair to predict 35 if you had 25 in diagnostic.<br>
But as I said, take care of the Algebra first.</p>
<p>Miami, I think you misread OP who said their diagnostic was a 15, not a 25.</p>
<p>I saw 15, but he was asking if 34 is reasonable to predict.
I also would like to point to more reliable predictors, although they do not work 100% of the time, but both of them worked for my D.
Your real MCAT score is frequently 2 points below your BEST practice MCAT score and within 2 points of your ACT. These predictions were absolutely true, but I heard that they did not work for some others.</p>
<p>I’m a “she” by the way lol. Not trying to be sexist either but I figured that was worth pointing out and Im 23. I wish they would have told me about the math grades sooner because that’s a very good point. I’m actually doing the math review right now so ill make sure to spend extra time on that.</p>
<p>Not to make excuses but the C was in my last year of high school I was dual enrolling. I had that class, intro to Sociology, then my high school classes, (2 English classes, Functions Stats and Trig, Physics and College prep Bio) and I was playing on the volleyball team and I had an hour drive to an from school so I was pretty proud of that C but I agree I probably should spend more time on that. I always struggled with setting up story problems, the math was easy I just have a hard time figuring out the setup which is why I struggled in Physics. My tutor thought it was weird cause usually its the other way around.</p>
<p>As far as my ACT goes, I really hope that’s not the case for everyone! I didn’t study for my ACT and I slacked off in HS until my junior/senior year. Not to mention the weekend I took it my dad was in the hospital, my family dog died, my sister got married and I was running on 2 hours of sleep when I took it. I was just glad I stayed away during the whole thing lol.</p>
<p>But alright math good place to start, any suggestions on how long to study each subject for in a day? Should I take notes and go through each chapter thoroughly or read each chapter even if I don’t understand it and then take notes second time around?</p>
<p>how are those retakes going to affect your GPAs? Have you done the math?</p>
<p>Yeah unfortunately not good. With my both grades calculated its only a 3.0 and with just the retakes it’s a 3.26 however I talked to the medical school I want to goto and they said they look for an upward trend which I have done successfully. The C from my math and D- from anatomy were from 2007-2008 and when I jumped back into premed I got mostly As up until I took Physics with Organic and physiology (stupid idea btw). The semester after that I had almost a 4.0 with cell biology, orgo and physiology and I took organic II this summer and also got an A- so it’s essentially an upward trend but on paper the sGPA is lower.</p>
<p>^Your GPA needs lots of injections of A kind. 3.26 is not high enough.<br>
And, you are correct, Physics with Organic and physiology is NOT a good idea to take at the same time. D’s rule was 2 hard classes and the balance should be easier (but she had Music minor - she draw her easy class from the requirements of her minor).
Another broken rule - should not take summer classes, not pre-reqs at least. But opverall, summer is for R&R, no classes, please.
And the last comment. Never, ever mention ANY personal problems as an excuse. Please, do not sot yourself in a foot doing so. Med. Schools want people who are able to perform under any pressure, if you are in pain walking, still should be able to stand on your feet for 15 hours straight, this type of pressure as well as any emotional burden. Stop mentionning it to anybody to get into good habit of disregarding your personal feelings, pains, sickness in your family, 2 hours of sleep or no sleep at all, any obstacles that every person (including all MDs) has in her life, IRRELEVANT to the sick person who are there seeking help from MD</p>
<p>Sorry I didn’t mean it to come across making excuses, I know everyone has problems, I just meant that I feel like I could have done better in those situations and that my improvement may be a better indicator of my MCAT score. I realize I had no discipline and made excuses then and I’m still learning. I just feel bad having the Cs Ds from those classes and there’s nothing I can do to change that, but I have learned from my mistakes and I think that’s really important. Every time I retook a class I got the (A/A-).</p>
<p>Just like I’m learning now, this test is big so I need to show a really good score on the first time around. I want to prove myself now and that’s why I’m asking what other people do for study tips, maybe theres something I can improve on. I’m not snapping at you either, I sincerely appreciate all the comments. I just feel stupid for letting things get in the way before and Im stressed that its gonna ruin my dream.</p>
<p>If I were in your shoes, I’d be nervous about applying with these stats. Did you know that both the original grade AND the retake grade are calculated into your AMCAS GPA (the only one med schools look at) regardless of your school’s policy? </p>
<p>I don’t know how you’d go about figuring this out, but it might be worth a shot. At my med school, the early decision program (EDP) applicants are expected to be stronger/better than the regular decision applicants. The successful EDP applicants’ MCAT average was 3ish points higher than the regular decision applicants’ average. At my school, you don’t have better odds of acceptance with the EDP; (same %age interviewed, same %age of interviewees accepted, etc) you just find out earlier. I imagine EDP practices vary by school–and I think you should speak with your desired school’s EDP program or director of admissions or his/her assistant or someone else with direct knowledge about that school’s program before you apply.</p>
<p>You mentioned your desired school expecting an upward trend in GPA. I agree that your GPA is improving and that you have an upward trend, but if I were in your shoes, I’d be worried that the upward trend is not “enough.” I’d want at least 1-2 semesters of 4.0 or extremely close to it under my belt before applying, ideally. Would a gap year and more coursework be possible? </p>
<p>After going through this process a few years ago, I can assure you, you should do everything possible to only go through it once. It’s expensive, time consuming, and exhausting. Knowing what I do now, I’d rather postpone my application a year or two to bulk up my stats than apply once to give it a shot, risk rejection, and then have to apply again as a reapplicant. It seems like treatment of reapplicants is so unpredictable that I’d never want to be one. </p>
<p>Worth noting that these are just my preferences/assessments/risk-benefit tolerance. Just wanted to give you some food for thought.</p>
<p>I agree, give yourself more time…</p>
<p>I am aware I the retake policy with MD schools, I just did both because DO schools have a retake policy doesn’t it?</p>
<p>Are you sure you arnt confusing EDP with EAP? Early Assurance Program is designed for students to interview early, take their MCAT early, they are usually outstanding students that get accepted way before anyone else and they usually apply their Junior year. What I’m talking about is a little checkbox on the AMCAS application that allows you to commit to a school but it locks you out of the system so you can’t apply to other schools until your chosen school has made a decision. Doing this is risky but medical schools like to see the committed students so as a reward sort of they tend to appreciate more and somewhat favor those applicants because they can’t apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>I’m planing on taking a full semester load of classes (upper levels) winter semester and bumping up my volunteering as well. I think with a good MCAT score I could pull it off, but I’m definitely nervous and overwhelmed. Time will tell. I really appreciate all your advice. Ill definitely let you know how it goes, I’m going to make that MCAT my new full time job between now and January! Thanks for the feedback :)</p>
<p>I decided to take my MCAT in March/April</p>
<p>I signed up for 2 science classes (Micro + Bio 2) this semester</p>
<p>I’ll take a couple Winter semester to help boost my GPA (Adv. Cell + some other upper level)</p>
<p>I’m going to take my MCAT Kaplan class from now until April</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice everyone, I feel a lot better about this :)</p>
<p>Yep, I’m talking about EDP. While I agree with you that they like to see commitment, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll overlook other shortcomings. My school, in fact, won’t even consider early decision applicants with MCAT < 32 (which it clearly states on its website). Before deciding to do EDP, I think you should be sure it’s in your best interest! (I go to a state school in the midwest). As far as I can tell, it really just varies by program–which is why a little legwork on your part will be very useful! Good luck.</p>
<p>Forgot to ever mention this but as far as I am concerned, EDP is a sham. You destroy your chances at every other school in the country so that you can get your acceptance potentially a few months early (and depending on the schools you’re considering, potentially not early at all since some schools give decisions at the same time as other schools are doing EDP results). I think the ONLY situation where it’s maybe justified is if you have some non academic reason where you are forced to consider only one school (e.g. you have a family and can’t move).</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I agree with IWBB.</p>
<p>For many reasons, I would hold in your situation, do not rush, take another year, improve your stats, math background, grow personally. Many do it…</p>