Ask AdmissionsConsultants

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by chocaddict3000

1.) should I enter my courses on AMCAS
2.) If I do, will schools know that my 70% marks are actually good?

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The answer to your first question is easy. Entering your post-secondary coursework is not an option when applying to medical school. You must enter all post-secondary work onto your AMCAS application.

Foreign transcripts need to be verified through a recognized verification service. If you’ve got documentation that clearly states 70% is considered a level of “distinction,” I would definitely include it in your application. If no such documentation exists, have the Dean or the Director of your program at Edinburgh write a letter stating that fact.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[UCBShocker]

I have just graduated UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular and cell biology and have a Berkeley GPA of 3.698. However, with my one semester of community college and a summer at merrit college for emergency medical technician training my total GPA comes to 3.706. I took the MCATS in April and received a 33P (Verbal – 9, Physics – 11, Biology 13).
I was wondering if you could tell me how many medical schools I should apply to beyond my 2 or 3 top choices as I have heard conflicting reports. Thank you very much for your time.

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by UCBShocker

I have just graduated UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular and cell biology and have a Berkeley GPA of 3.698. However, with my one semester of community college and a summer at merrit college for emergency medical technician training my total GPA comes to 3.706. I took the MCATS in April and received a 33P (Verbal – 9, Physics – 11, Biology 13).
I was wondering if you could tell me how many medical schools I should apply to beyond my 2 or 3 top choices as I have heard conflicting reports. Thank you very much for your time.

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It sounds as though you are competitive from a numbers standpoint. The issue of how many schools to apply really varies from one applicant to another. We need to take into account your geographical preference, your interest in going to a large research-oriented medical school, and a whole bunch of other things. With the limited amount of data you provide in this forum, it’s difficult to assess exactly how many schools you should apply to this year.

Good luck with your applications.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[y82benji]

UCBShocker,

I was in a similar boat – where I had 4 schools I was really interested in but didn’t know to how many more I should apply. I ended up completing secondaries to 13 schools. I am told that the average is 15-25 schools. My issue was trying to find schools that I was interested in attending (I wanted a relatively specific geographic area). What I found was that by going to interviews you learn so much more about schools that you didn’t know before and your preferences will change a lot. So the fact that you are maybe only interested in 2 or 3 schools should not impact how many schools you apply to. Also, if those schools are extremely competitive, earlier interviews at lower tier schools will act as warm-ups for later interviews at the tougher schools. I would recommend trying to apply to at least 15 schools on your AMCAS application and make sure that you have approximately one sub-50 school for every top 50 school.

[josh81883]

Hi, I’m a rising senior pre-med student at the University of North Carolina. I have a 3.76 GPA with a B.S. in Bio and a B.A. in Chem as well as plenty of extracirricular activites plus volunteering, clincal and non-clincal. The only problem is that I took the MCAT in a April and got a 30M — PS 13, VR 6, BS 11. I had taken a prep course and my verbal scores on the practice tests were never outstanding (usu. 8-9), but not as low as I made on the actual MCAT. My main concern is getting into one of the med schools in North Carolina with UNC first, then WFU next, then ECU or Duke. Should I plan on retaking in August or just take apply now with my current score?

Josh

[josh81883]

Another quick question regarding this. How will signing up for MCAT in August affect my chances for admission if I’ve already taken it once. Will some schools send me a secondary based on my first score despite seeing that I’m signed up to take it again, or will they wait until they recieve the August score?

Also regarding my last question, I’ve had all A’s and A-‘s in all my humanities and englishes except for a B+ in an intro to drama class.

Josh

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by josh81883

Hi, I’m a rising senior pre-med student at the University of North Carolina. I have a 3.76 GPA with a B.S. in Bio and a B.A. in Chem as well as plenty of extracirricular activites plus volunteering, clincal and non-clincal. The only problem is that I took the MCAT in a April and got a 30M — PS 13, VR 6, BS 11. My main concern is getting into one of the med schools in North Carolina with UNC first, then WFU next, then ECU or Duke. Should I plan on retaking in August or just take apply now with my current score?

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The question of whether or not you should retake the MCAT in August depends on one thing: will you do better? According to the numbers available you’re likley to do about the same on another attempt at the MCAT. Your verbal reasoning score is low, and should you hit a 8 or 9, what would that ultimately prove to the admissions committee? The fact is you’ve hit a 13 on the Physical Sciences section (that’s about the 92nd percentile) and an 11 on the Biological Sciences section (that’s in the 88th percentile). Those are great scores.

Multiple MCAT attempts only serve to confuse the AdComs.

Beyond grades and MCAT scores, however, a well-written application will help to diffuse any question a verbal score of 6 may generate. Application spins help get applicants interviews despite subpar scores and grades.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by josh81883

Another quick question regarding this. How will signing up for MCAT in August affect my chances for admission if I’ve already taken it once. Will some schools send me a secondary based on my first score despite seeing that I’m signed up to take it again, or will they wait until they recieve the August score?

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Different AdComs will send secondaries based on different criteria. Some med schools will send out AdComs to everyone who applies and some will only send out a secondary after an initial screening. Once you send in your AMCAS, your application will essentially be complete. Any future attempt of the MCAT will only be a footnote, and my belief is that the majority of AdComs out there will just look to your first set of MCAT scores and not wait for the second set to send out a secondary.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[seemaMB]

Hi.
1- My VR is really bad. My scores are 4VR/11PS/9BS/P. This was my third time writing and my VR stayed the same. Anyways, is there any school in the States which doesn’t require MCAT?

2- Also, am I eligible for financial loans if I am planning to study in the States (OSteopathy or even MD) knowing that I am a Canadian citizen.

3- Finally, is writing the MCAT overseas going to do me any better? I am predicting that because I will be curved with non-english speakers? and btw, English is my second language.

Your reply is appreciated.

[wannabedoc]

Hi,
I will be attending UVA this fall as a first year. I was wondering if Anthropology was a good major to take with my pre-med requirements. Also I was wondering if UK medical schools are a good option when considering medical schools (are they “easier” to get into and what are the problems of going to schools in UK and practicing in the US?)

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by seemaMB

1- My VR is really bad. My scores are 4VR/11PS/9BS/P. This was my third time writing and my VR stayed the same. Anyways, is there any school in the States which doesn’t require MCAT?

2- Also, am I eligible for financial loans if I am planning to study in the States (OSteopathy or even MD) knowing that I am a Canadian citizen.

3- Finally, is writing the MCAT overseas going to do me any better? I am predicting that because I will be curved with non-english speakers? and btw, English is my second language.

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1) About ten years ago there were medical schools which didn’t require the MCAT for admission, but today all medical schools require the MCAT for consideration. Having taken the MCAT a total of three times and scoring a 4 on the Verbal Reasoning three times, you’re kind of stuck. Even if you were to take the MCAT a fourth time and score closer to the national average of 8, you’ll have a lot of explaining to do to the admissions committee regarding a score of 4. If English is your second language, you may have a compelling reason for the 4 and that may fly with the admissions committee. Regardless, a score of 4 is poor on any section of the MCAT.

2) I don’t think you’d be eligible for United States Federal Government-sponsored student loans being a Canadian citizen.

3) MCAT test-takers the world over are scored against all MCAT test-takers for a given administration. So even if you take the MCAT in, for example, (no offense meant) China, you’d still be scored on a scale reflective of all test-takers for that administration.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by wannabedoc

I will be attending UVA this fall as a first year. I was wondering if Anthropology was a good major to take with my pre-med requirements. Also I was wondering if UK medical schools are a good option when considering medical schools (are they “easier” to get into and what are the problems of going to schools in UK and practicing in the US?)

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An important piece of advice I can give you regarding selecting a major is to choose something you’ll do well in, but even more important than this, you should major in something that you’ll enjoy. Anthropology, therefore, should be a fine major if you actually enjoy it. There is data available that shows the relative chances of one type of major getting in versus another, but that’s another discussion for another day.

The difficulties with going to a medical school outside the U.S. and returning for practice are the same no matter where that medical school is located. I don’t have much data on getting into medical school in the U.K.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[seemaMB]

Thank you very much Dr. Timothy Wu. Can u just clarify for me the third point?

Thanks again.

[twu]

quote:

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Originally posted by seemaMB

Thank you very much Dr. Timothy Wu. Can u just clarify for me the third point?

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The MCAT is a competitive examination. That means that your score on the MCAT depends on how everyone else does on the MCAT. Thus regardless of where you take the MCAT, you are graded against all MCAT test-takers for that administration. So if you take Form VJ of the MCAT in Country A you’ll be graded against not only those in Country A, but those who took Form VJ in Countries B, C, and everywhere else in the world.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[Jessknopp]

I already posted this, but in the wrong place, so I repeat:

I am a 31 y.o. non-trad going back to school from a career in engineering. My first two years of my undergrad were horrible, but I took those classes over before graduation making my overall GPA 3.65 (because my university forgives retaken class grades), but the AMCAS fators those bad ones in so my AMCAS GPA is 3.08.

My question is: To provide a reasonable explination for my accademic record (like many essay writing guides tell me I must do) takes a considerable portion of my 5300 characters available for my personal statement. I’d rather focus on my strengths, but I have read that if you don’t adequately address application weaknesses they’ll write you off quickly.
I have also read that you can send a supplimental letter to the schools to which you are applying explaining bad grades and the like. Is this true or is it a red flag?

What is the best option for me in your opinion.
My MCAT is P:11, V:9, B:9
Thanks-
Jess

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