Ask AdmissionsConsultants

[KeeblerElf]

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Originally posted by twu

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Originally posted by jaidev86

Could you please give me a list of aamc schools that do not require the mcats. Thanks.

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The majority of AAMC medical schools require the MCAT as an admission requirement. There are fewer than five, I believe, that don’t require the MCAT and the only two that come to mind are Brown University and either the University of Rochester or Georgetown.

In any event, the complete list of AAMC schools that don’t require the MCAT can be found on the AAMC website or through the AAMC’s annual pubilcation of Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR).

Good luck to you.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

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That is news to me! I didn’t know few schools did not require the MCAT scores. Do you or anyone else know why this is so? Are those schools basing their students’ competitiveness on grades, essays, and volunteer experiences but not student MCAT scores?

Keebs

[twu]

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Originally posted by KeeblerElf
That is news to me! I didn’t know few schools did not require the MCAT scores. Do you or anyone else know why this is so? Are those schools basing their students’ competitiveness on grades, essays, and volunteer experiences but not student MCAT scores?

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Correction: Both Rochester and Georgetown currently require the MCAT for admission.

Several years ago Rochester did not require the MCAT, but wanted to see performance on the SAT as a measure of intellectual prowess. The talk of the admissions community back then was that Rochester would soon move to expect MCAT scores from all their applicants and it looks like they did.

Sorry for the confusion.

Even if there were a handful of medical schools out there that do not require the MCAT, unless you have to go to one of these schools, why wouldn’t you take the MCAT anyway?

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[ucgabby]

Hi I had a few questions about med school:
I am 40 years old at a local JC transferring to UCB or UCD in Fall 2004, I haven’t decided which is better for med school adsmissions.
I chose to raise my children and focus on their education and they are now entering college – mission accomplished. So now after 10 years dabbling in GE courses at the JC I’m ready to transfer and I’m wondering if med schools will want to interview a 42 year old applicant? I am well capable of rigorous study even with a full time job. I am dedicating myself to school this fall and quitting my job even though it creates an economic hardship on our family. This has been my dream since I was 8 years old that I put on hold because of a very young start at the age of 15. I’m really ready to invest in myself and my passion for medicine. Do you have any suggestions for which school is more respected and in general any advice for an applicant such as myself? I can only attend CA med schools and prefer Northern CA. Thanks for your help

[twu]

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Originally posted by ucgabby

I am 40 years old at a local JC transferring to UCB or UCD in Fall 2004, I haven’t decided which is better for med school admissions.

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The assumption I’ve made is that you are now working toward your first undergraduate degree at either Berkeley or Davis. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Another assumption is that you’re transferring to a senior college now after ten years at a junior college, and thus you’re probably entering as a sophomore or junior depending on how many credits are carrying over and if you’ve satisfied certain undergraduate requirements. Again, please correct me if I’m wrong.

At the age of 42 you’re looking to apply in probably two years making you 44 at the time of application. Forty-four would certainly not make you the oldest medical student, since I believe that honor goes to a gentleman from New York City who entered at the age of about 54, however, it defintely puts you well above the average age of matriculants to the AAMC-allopathic medical schools. At the moment, I would not worry so much about your age until we have everything else set — namely your courseload and your MCATs.

To answer your original question, from what I understand, Berkeley is considered the flagship campus of the UC system and probably its most selective. Its reputation correlates very well with this selectivity over the other UC campuses and I’m sure their students enjoy the school’s prestige when applying for graduate/professional school. Davis is not too shabby either. One advantage I see Davis having over Berkeley is the fact that Davis operates its own medical school, while Berkeley does not. This can potentially afford you many opportunities to work with the medical school faculty and make inroads while an undergraduate. Berkeley, of course, may not have its own medical school but is in an area that’s ripe with pickings. UCSF and Stanford come to mind, so the opportunities, though not as immediately accessible as those at Davis, are probably just as plentiful if you’re willing to look.

I absolutely don’t doubt your drive for the study of medicine, but there will be a lot of questions from the AdComs on why you decided at this stage in your life to take on a new career. What happened recently that made the drive for medicine come back?

These and other questions will undoubtely come up during your interview. If you have other questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[ucgabby]

quote:

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Originally posted by twu

quote:

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Originally posted by ucgabby

I am 40 years old at a local JC transferring to UCB or UCD in Fall 2004, I haven’t decided which is better for med school admissions.

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The assumption I’ve made is that you are now working toward your first undergraduate degree at either Berkeley or Davis. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Another assumption is that you’re transferring to a senior college now after ten years at a junior college, and thus you’re probably entering as a sophomore or junior depending on how many credits are carrying over and if you’ve satisfied certain undergraduate requirements. Again, please correct me if I’m wrong.

At the age of 42 you’re looking to apply in probably two years making you 44 at the time of application. Forty-four would certainly not make you the oldest medical student, since I believe that honor goes to a gentleman from New York City who entered at the age of about 54, however, it defintely puts you well above the average age of matriculants to the AAMC-allopathic medical schools. At the moment, I would not worry so much about your age until we have everything else set — namely your courseload and your MCATs.

To answer your original question, from what I understand, Berkeley is considered the flagship campus of the UC system and probably its most selective. Its reputation correlates very well with this selectivity over the other UC campuses and I’m sure their students enjoy the school’s prestige when applying for graduate/professional school. Davis is not too shabby either. One advantage I see Davis having over Berkeley is the fact that Davis operates its own medical school, while Berkeley does not. This can potentially afford you many opportunities to work with the medical school faculty and make inroads while an undergraduate. Berkeley, of course, may not have its own medical school but is in an area that’s ripe with pickings. UCSF and Stanford come to mind, so the opportunities, though not as immediately accessible as those at Davis, are probably just as plentiful if you’re willing to look.

I absolutely don’t doubt your drive for the study of medicine, but there will be a lot of questions from the AdComs on why you decided at this stage in your life to take on a new career. What happened recently that made the drive for medicine come back?

These and other questions will undoubtely come up during your interview. If you have other questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

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[ucgabby]

Thanks for your reply.
You are correct I am transferring as a Junior and I will be interviewing at age 42, I am 40 now. Could you explain what you meant by my courseload and MCATs? Should I carry a heavy science load? I am enrolling in O-Chem, Calc. & BioChem in Fall. I will start my Physics in Spring so that all of my med school courses will be completed when I take my MCATs. I will take the MCATs in April of the following year (senior year).
My interest in medicine has never wavered but up until this point I could not attend college full time because I work. My grades so far in med school prereq courses reflect this, so far I have:
Bio 1A: B Chem 1A: B Calc 1: A
Bio 1B: A Chem 1B: A Calc 2: A
I would prefer all A’s as I feel I must do better than the rest of the applicants, true? I know that everything is possible I just feel the more information I have the better my chances at successful entry into med school. I am leaning towards Davis because of the on site med school as you said and I can form relationships that could prove beneficial to my admission. I know non-traditional students have a tougher time so any advice is appreciated. Thanks again

[twu]

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Originally posted by ucgabby

Could you explain what you meant by my courseload and MCATs? Should I carry a heavy science load? I am enrolling in O-Chem, Calc. & BioChem in Fall. I will start my Physics in Spring so that all of my med school courses will be completed when I take my MCATs. I will take the MCATs in April of the following year (senior year).
My interest in medicine has never wavered but up until this point I could not attend college full time because I work. My grades so far in med school prereq courses reflect this, so far I have:
Bio 1A: B Chem 1A: B Calc 1: A
Bio 1B: A Chem 1B: A Calc 2: A
I would prefer all A’s as I feel I must do better than the rest of the applicants, true? I know that everything is possible I just feel the more information I have the better my chances at successful entry into med school. I am leaning towards Davis because of the on site med school as you said and I can form relationships that could prove beneficial to my admission. I know non-traditional students have a tougher time so any advice is appreciated. Thanks again

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The AdComs look at not only the grades you’ve earned in your coursework but the type of courses you’ve taken and where you’ve taken them. You can have two applicants, both of whom did very well and earned 4.0 GPAs, who will not be so similar in the view of the AdCom because applicant A took mainly rigorous courses and applicant B majored in cheese-making. Your courseload needs to be one that is rigorous to the point that the med school AdComs are convinced of your ability to handle a med school curriculum.

I noticed that you took about half your prerequisite science courses at a junior college. You no longer need to take another calculus course as the one-year you spent in calculus at the junior college will have satisifed most mathematics requirements. In general junior college courses are less rigorous than senior college courses. Taking the biology and chemistry at a junior college was probably jumping the gun a bit, though I’m glad you did well. I would take an extra set of biology and chemistry courses to show your competitiveness on the senior college level. You’re already taking Biochemistry, now what do you think about Molecular or Cellular Biology?

Your courseload need not be science-heavy, but it does need to have at least one science course a semester. You are, after all, an undergraduate with all sorts of liberal arts requirements.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[CinOrganic]

Hello,

My sincere appreciation for the creators of this board. I have learned a lot from it, and it serves as a guide for me. I hope it provides me direction in the years to come.

I am a freshman at a community college, thanks to my whimsical academic record. Being a curious and easily distracted student, my high school record was the antithesis of what I had wanted and planned it to be. Anyhow, the past has passed, and now I am concerned with the challenges of the future, and the realisation that if I err this time, I will thereby end the possibility of achieving my most ardent desire.

Not to digress any further, Here is my situation in which I needed opinion.

During High School, I completed mathematics until differential equations, all with A grades at a community college. I also took interest in Physics, and completed calculus-based mechanics with the same grade. Now the eccentrities commence, I was browsing the college catalogue when I saw the listing for Organic Chemistry, and was attracted by what it had to offer. Ignoring the pre-requisites (which weren’t enforced), I registered for the class. I had some background in chemistry, and I realised that I didn’t have much interest in the lengthy lab experiments, so I ended the class with a C. Previously Not concerned about it, I realise the foolishness of my act now.

So cutting my 2 paragraphs into a question… Is this damage irreversible? I am certain, that I can get an A in it, but have to wait after I complete one more semester of general chemistry.

Also, I tried really hard to do calculus-based electricity and magnetism at college when I was in High School, but got a “W” in the course thrice, since it was too difficult, and I lost interest.

Believe me, I have changed as a person. I am much more responsible, and less concerned about being interested by my courses, moreover I am focused to accomplish this invaluable goal.

What could be the consequenses of my peculiar pre-collegiate coursework?

P.S. Would a ‘5’ in AP biology be of any use? I don’t plan to bring it to use, since I have forgotten all that I had learned.

[lost]

Hi,
I am currently a senior graduating this year with a degree in chemistry and economics. I am going to be working at the NIH after graduation and am also currently applying to medical school. I have a gpa of around 3.2 and 29 mcat. I was wondering if retaking the mcat in August would do more harm than good because of the subsequent delay in the application process. I am also a Texas resident, and I’ve seen that the tx schools seem to interview really early in the season. Will taking the August MCAT put me at a greater disadvantage than I already am in?
I really appreciate your help!
Thanks.

[twu]

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Originally posted by CinOrganic

So cutting my 2 paragraphs into a question… Is this damage irreversible? I am certain, that I can get an A in it, but have to wait after I complete one more semester of general chemistry. Also, I tried really hard to do calculus-based electricity and magnetism at college when I was in High School, but got a “W” in the course thrice, since it was too difficult, and I lost interest. What could be the consequenses of my peculiar pre-collegiate coursework?

P.S. Would a ‘5’ in AP biology be of any use? I don’t plan to bring it to use, since I have forgotten all that I had learned.

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The premed courses you’ve taken, namely the Organic Chemistry and Physics, were completed while you were in high school. So far in your post-secondary education you haven’t taken any premed courses, is this correct?

My assumption is that you were a pretty good student in high school and got yourself into some “early college” program where you were allowed to take college-level classes while in high school. You also got a 5 on the AP Biology exam, which is further testament to your scholarly abilities.

Why did you decide to attend a community college?

My advice would be to work toward transferring to a competitive senior college and only then should you start the premed sequence. The AdComs generally view premed courses taken at community colleges to be less rigorous, therefore a good grade in a community college-level course is neither here nor there, but a poor grade can really set you back. It’s not a good situation.

Now with regard to how the AdComs will view those pre-college grades, they don’t necessarily have to know about the grades or that you even attempted college-level work as a high school student. The AMCAS rules regarding this kind of reporting are fairly easy to interpret and I’ll be glad to talk to you more about that at a later time.

I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be “salvaged” at this point as there is no wreck. I think you most benefit from taking courses at a more competitive college, so let that be your primary objective at this point in your career. The premed course stuff can wait until you go on to a senior college.

And an AP grade qualifying you for college credit doesn’t satisfy the AMCAS requirement of one year for that science.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[twu]

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Originally posted by lost

I have a gpa of around 3.2 and 29 mcat. I was wondering if retaking the mcat in August would do more harm than good because of the subsequent delay in the application process. I am also a Texas resident, and I’ve seen that the tx schools seem to interview really early in the season. Will taking the August MCAT put me at a greater disadvantage than I already am in?

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Your applicaton, for all intents and purposes, would be considered complete the moment you send it in. You have your MCAT score of 29 on hand and your application will immediately begin making rounds with the AdCom. Taking the August MCAT in this instance, in regards to how the late arriving score (usually in October) will delay your application, can be done without giving the question any more thought. Taking the MCAT in August will simlpy NOT delay your appliation at all. Once your scores in October come back, you can have them fired off to your chosen schools and the AMCAS and the AdComs will have an updated application. If you do siginficantly better on the MCAT in August you may notice that you’ll be getting more interviews after October.

The more important question to ask is whether you think you’ll do better than a 29 on this MCAT, which I’ll assume will be your SECOND attempt. Statistically you’ll score within the same range — 27 to 31 by some of the published data, however, so it may not be a worthwhile attempt. You may have a bigger chance at losing than you do at gaining for your application.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[zypher84]

Hi I am going to start my junior year undergrad in the fall, here are my stats so far:

gpa: 3.0
MCAT: 34

My gpa is really low in part because I go to a very competitive school (UPenn) but my MCAT score is pretty decent. I am a Bio major and I also have 3 scientific publications, 2.5 years of research lab experience, going to start hospital volunteering in the fall, and many other social activities on my resume. I plan on raising my GPA significantly but my question to you guys is even if I raise my gpa to like a 3.3 or so, will I still have a decent chance at getting into a medical school, even with a couple C+’s that have tainted my record? what about a DO program as opposed to a MD program? Thank You.

[twu]

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Originally posted by zypher84

Hi I am going to start my junior year undergrad in the fall, here are my stats so far:

gpa: 3.0
MCAT: 34

My gpa is really low in part because I go to a very competitive school (UPenn) but my MCAT score is pretty decent. I am a Bio major and I also have 3 scientific publications, 2.5 years of research lab experience, going to start hospital volunteering in the fall, and many other social activities on my resume. I plan on raising my GPA significantly but my question to you guys is even if I raise my gpa to like a 3.3 or so, will I still have a decent chance at getting into a medical school, even with a couple C+’s that have tainted my record? what about a DO program as opposed to a MD program? Thank You.

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There are lot of data points the med school AdComs consider when reviewing an application. Grades and MCAT scores are only the tip of the iceberg, but nonetheless important. The data we have from the Association of American Medical Colleges over the last several years shows that the middle fiftieth-percentile of matriculated medical students had a cumulative GPA of 3.56 and a science GPA of 3.55. MCAT scores for this same group over the same time period were 29-30. Your numbers fall above and below the averages, but as you mentioned, you did attend a competitive college.

Given only the data you’ve provided through this forum, I think it’ll be an uphill climb for you to get into a US M.D. medical school. Your application will have to be presented in an expert way that takes away the AdCom’s attention from your grades. It’s difficult, but not impossible. D.O. programs are a little more lenient when it comes to grades and MCAT scores. What D.O. programs tend to focus on is selecting candidates who are not using D.O. programs as back-ups to traditional medical school.

What the AdComs essentially look for is a good story. If you have had the proper motivation toward becoming a physician and you can demonstrate that on your application, you should have little difficulty getting into medical school.

Good luck to you.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[mjm]

I am currently a junior at Seattle University and am contemplating medical school. I was originally planning to attend graduate school (taking the GRE instead of the MCAT), but am looking into medical school now. As for the prerequisite coursework for medical school, most schools say you need at least one-year of organic chemistry (three quarters). I took the two-quarter (200 level) instead of the three-quarter (300 level) and have a chance to take the 300 level this summer.

So basically, my question is if I should take the 300 level organic chemistry this summer even though I received A’s in both the 200 level organic chem classes I’ve already taken.

Or would it be sufficient to not bother taking all three 300 level organic chem classes, and just take one 300 level organic chem class to satisfy my one year of organic chem?

Also, does the AdComm specifically look at what level courses are being taken?

Thank you.

[twu]

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Originally posted by mjm

As for the prerequisite coursework for medical school, most schools say you need at least one-year of organic chemistry (three quarters). I took the two-quarter (200 level) instead of the three-quarter (300 level) and have a chance to take the 300 level this summer.

So basically, my question is if I should take the 300 level organic chemistry this summer even though I received A’s in both the 200 level organic chem classes I’ve already taken.

Or would it be sufficient to not bother taking all three 300 level organic chem classes, and just take one 300 level organic chem class to satisfy my one year of organic chem?

Also, does the AdComm specifically look at what level courses are being taken?

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The AdComs do pay attention to how rigorous the coursework is in evaluating your overall candidacy. In other words, calculus-based physics courses are looked at a little more carefully than the non-calc based courses, however, regardless of which you take you are required to take one-year of each of the prerequisite courses. You need to take one-year of organic chemistry, and if that means taking the 300-level course at your insitution, then that’s what you should take.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

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