<p>Hello - My MCAT score is 13PS, 11BS, 6VR T. I'm not sure how much it will help my appliation by stating that English is my second language (I came to U.S. during middle school). Also, I have been taking almost one English/Literature class every semester since freshman year, and I do very well in these classes. How "high" a medical school should I apply to and what are my chances?</p>
<p>You should retake the MCAT.</p>
<p>Due to certain cirumstances, I really can’t retake the MCAT. But what other kind of options do I take to enforce my application?</p>
<p>There is nothing you can do to improve your application with a VR score of 6. You absolutely must retake the MCAT if you want to get into a US allopathic school.</p>
<p>agree that you absolutely must retake the MCAT…i would be surprised if any US MD school wouldn’t automatically reject you with a 6 on an MCAT section. The general rule is that if you have less than 8 on any one section that you will likely be auto rejected from many schools</p>
<p>unlike college admissions there is no allowance for english being your second language…also you’ve been here for at least 8 years…that doesn’t sound to me like a very good excuse</p>
<p>I am not yet as experienced as others with the MCAT, but considering what has been said, if you cannot retake because of timing, it would be of your best interest to hold off on applications and get the good score under your belt. </p>
<p>I don’t know what you used for prep, but you seem bright from scoring high on the other sections. You might want to check this book out,</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> MCAT Verbal Reasoning Mastery: The Complete Reading Comprehension Program (How to Turn a VR Score 6 into an 11): Charles A. Chaney, Charles L. Chaney: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/MCAT-Verbal-Reasoning-Mastery-Comprehension/dp/0981672108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237078224&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/MCAT-Verbal-Reasoning-Mastery-Comprehension/dp/0981672108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237078224&sr=1-1)</p>
<p>Pricey, but it may be what gets you past that barrier</p>
<p>I looked through the OP posting history, and it appears that this is the second time they’ve taken the MCAT. In September of 2008 they posted on this forum asking for advice about a 12 PS 12 BS 6 VR score.</p>
<p>Yes, it was. That’s the reason I don’t think taking it again is a good idea, since I got the same verbal score.</p>
<p>Taking the MCAT the second time was a bad idea. You shouldn’t have taken it since you clearly did not have the preparation necessary to boost your verbal score. That was a big mistake.</p>
<p>I don’t know what to tell you at this point. You will not be successful as an applicant to US allopathic schools with your first and second MCAT scores. But a third MCAT score, I think, is going to send up huge red flags with admissions committees. I’m concerned that your application may not even be looked at.</p>
<p>If you look at the [data</a> provided by the AAMC for MCAT retakes](<a href=“http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/tables.htm]data”>http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/tables.htm), you can take a look at [your</a> chances, statistically speaking, for boosting your verbal score](<a href=“http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/retestvr.htm]your”>http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/retestvr.htm). Given your initial score of 6, you have a 16% chance of scoring lower (which would be catastrophic) and a 19% chance of getting a 9 or higher. Unfortunately, you also have a 24% chance of seeing no change, and a 41% chance of getting a 7 or 8, which isn’t going to be enough for you.</p>
<p>I’m no admissions expert, but I think your best bet is to take some time off. Go work for a few years. Get a master’s degree. Do research. I think you need to put some time between you and those bad MCAT scores, and you need time to improve your English skills. If you decide to try again at the MCAT, you really need to do something to get your verbal score up. You might consider trying a test prep program like Kaplan or Princeton Review - if I were you, I would consider private tutoring through those programs to target the verbal section.</p>
<p>If you can’t retake it, you might try for DO or carib. schools. I guess your BS and PS are pretty good so it might help to compensate your verbal at DO schools. And most of carib. school don’t even requirer MCAT.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Think of it as a chemical reaction, OP: a VR of less than 7 is like a strong, bulky base and ALWAYS leads to ELIMINATION. Even an 8 leads to elimination from consideration in most cases.</p>
<p>Seriously, though, if you can’t get above a 6 on the VR, your only choice is to go Carib and with that VR, you might very well end up being one of the majority of students who end up failing out. If you are from another country, your best option is probably to pursue a medical education in your home country using your native language. Your chances will almost certainly be better at both getting in AND making it through the program.</p>
<p>
At least you’ve done better than me. My practice VR scores were like 2~3 and I came to U.S. during elementary school. LOL</p>
<p>There’s a lot about this story that confuses me. For one thing, he’s been in the States a LONG time. If he came to the States at age 12 or 13, then English shouldn’t really be his “second language” anymore. Obviously there could be some pronunciation gaps, but really his reading and writing scores should be up to speed over the course of 9 years.</p>
<p>Second, the BS and PS sections are still mostly reading comprehension, so it baffles me that somebody could get a 12.5 on those sections but a 6 on the VR.</p>
<p>And a 6 VR with a T on the writing section should be virtually impossible.</p>
<p>Something’s not right here.</p>
<p>
There are exceptions like this kid and myself. There may be more than one possible reasons, but for me, it’s because I’ve never read a book on my own (except a few I had to read for school) until I got into high school. Another possibility is if a person has a language-related disability (Such a person can be competent in all other areas except for languages). Also, it’s perfectly possible to not acquire a second language but still be intelligent and not have any language impairment; some people just don’t have much talent for acquiring new languages.</p>
<p>
The kinds of reading in the sciences and in non-sciences like humanities and history are completely different, though you may disagree. So it’s possible that you have a high reading speed and comprehension when reading science materials, and very low speed and comprehension when reading sociology, for example (at least for me).</p>
<p>
I can see how this may confuse you. After all, it is generally true that reading and writing skills are directly proportional to each other. But this isn’t always true for ESL students. Some ESL students can be great at writing but not so at reading. This all has to do with the fact that ESL students process the English language differently compared to native English speakers.</p>
<p>I just realized that this thread is over a year old!</p>
<p>What’s worse is the OP’s last activity: 07-27-2009 03:12 PM. :(</p>
<p>I think we should start a facebook community for ESL students applying to med school. what you guys think? I think that way we may able to support and advice each other!</p>
<p>I would advise to apply for many schools, and I am sure you will get in some of those. I am currently in med school, and I was able to get in with verbal of 6, and less then what you get on the science. As long you have strength in other areas, the admission guys sometimes go beyond numbers, and since english is not your second language they will consider that. In addition, I am doing very well in my classes, and verbal was not predictor of my success, thanks for the admission guys to let me in.</p>
<p>This thread is from 2009. Please use old threads for information only.</p>