bonermeister
Member
Elf Doc, what medical school did you go to and when did you graduate? Also, what was your undergrad GPA and MCAT if you remember?
OT: elfdoctors
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elfdoctors
Active Member
S.U.N.Y. @ Stony Brook - 1988
elfdoctors
Active Member
Oops, I pressed submit too soon.
Undergrad - Cornell University ~3.4. This was in the days before grade inflation became rampant.
MCATs - Six separate scores totaled 75 (I'm not sure they are reported this way anymore) This was around the 98-99%.
Good Luck if you are considering entering medical school. There has been a dropoff of applicants the last few years.
Undergrad - Cornell University ~3.4. This was in the days before grade inflation became rampant.
MCATs - Six separate scores totaled 75 (I'm not sure they are reported this way anymore) This was around the 98-99%.
Good Luck if you are considering entering medical school. There has been a dropoff of applicants the last few years.
dacia
Active Member
MCATs are reported with 4 scores these days. Three of them are added together (they are between 1 and 13) and the other is a writing assessment score given by a letter.
The average score for those entering medical school is a 27 meaning you have to have a 9 on physical science, 9 on biological science, and 9 on reading & writing skills to really be concidered. I was also told that the letter grade for the writing assessment was mainly used as a "tie-breaker" for equally qualified applicants.
However, I have known people to score over 30 and be rejected...here in North Carolina, one med school at ECU receives over 10,000 applications each year and they narrow is down to 87 people. I would hate to have their job.
I used to want to go to medical school myself, but now I am more interested in forensic microbiology and pathology. Which is why I ducked out of med school to attend graduate school.
The average score for those entering medical school is a 27 meaning you have to have a 9 on physical science, 9 on biological science, and 9 on reading & writing skills to really be concidered. I was also told that the letter grade for the writing assessment was mainly used as a "tie-breaker" for equally qualified applicants.
However, I have known people to score over 30 and be rejected...here in North Carolina, one med school at ECU receives over 10,000 applications each year and they narrow is down to 87 people. I would hate to have their job.
I used to want to go to medical school myself, but now I am more interested in forensic microbiology and pathology. Which is why I ducked out of med school to attend graduate school.
elfdoctors
Active Member
I think that the scores still up to 15. However 14's and 15's are extremely rare. I knew of only one doctor who scored a 15. If you could get 60 (average of 10) you were usually assured of getting in. I got four 13's, a 12 and an 11. The MCAT's got me into my choice of medical schools as my grades were okay but certainly not great. (Thank-you Stanley Kaplan!
).
Usually MCAT's however only assure that an applicant will meet certain minimal standards so they can keep up with the work. A well rounded resume with outside interests and volunteer work goes a long way. (For my essay I actually wrote about angelfish (freshwater)! - all the paragraph transitions had water metaphors).
Good Luck in grad school, Dacia. I would have gone to grad school in microbial genetics if I hadn't got into med school. Personally, I think that grad school is harder.
Usually MCAT's however only assure that an applicant will meet certain minimal standards so they can keep up with the work. A well rounded resume with outside interests and volunteer work goes a long way. (For my essay I actually wrote about angelfish (freshwater)! - all the paragraph transitions had water metaphors).
Good Luck in grad school, Dacia. I would have gone to grad school in microbial genetics if I hadn't got into med school. Personally, I think that grad school is harder.
dacia
Active Member
(Thank-you Stanley Kaplan!
).
I bet that class wasn't nearly expensive back then as it is now. My friend from UNC took the Kaplan class and paid nearly as much for as she did for a semester of college.
This May I completed my first year in the Ph.D. program for biomedical technology...and quickly changed over to forensics and criminal justice. At least the specimens in their department are already dead.
I went into the program to study immunology and microbiology, but was a little naive...nobody will make me infect with disease or kill any animal "in the name of science." Defeats the purpose of what I wanted to do...now my goals are slightly different. I will be using my knowledge of biology for the purpose of trying to right the wrongs or the scuds of society. In the CJ program I also get to research why people do what they do...so I can not only catch the killer, but I can help LE officers do a better job to prevent future crimes...anyway...I'm just really excited about my work now. Didn't feel that way last year. Maybe someday I will graduate and be done with school. :cheer:
Just a little bit about me. As if anyone cares. :jumping:
I bet that class wasn't nearly expensive back then as it is now. My friend from UNC took the Kaplan class and paid nearly as much for as she did for a semester of college.
This May I completed my first year in the Ph.D. program for biomedical technology...and quickly changed over to forensics and criminal justice. At least the specimens in their department are already dead.
Just a little bit about me. As if anyone cares. :jumping:
elfdoctors
Active Member
The Kaplan course was only a few hundred dollars back then, much cheaper than college tuition. I meant the thank you in jest, the course allowed me to focus on specific areas to review. I don't think it actually taught me anything.
There are probably lots of opportunities available in your field as many tests (such as DNA testing) have been developed. I would think that bioterrorism may be an area that is encouraged in your line of study also.
I hope our little town doesn't send you any business. I got called in this past week around 2 am to help with the resuscitation of someone who overdosed on drugs. They didn't make it. Fortunately cases like that are rare up here.
Good luck in school and your field of study!
There are probably lots of opportunities available in your field as many tests (such as DNA testing) have been developed. I would think that bioterrorism may be an area that is encouraged in your line of study also.
I hope our little town doesn't send you any business. I got called in this past week around 2 am to help with the resuscitation of someone who overdosed on drugs. They didn't make it.
Fortunately cases like that are rare up here. Good luck in school and your field of study!
bonermeister
Member
Wow Elf Doc! Pretty impressive. I hope I can manage a 3.4 or better. It would certainly give me more security. My biggest fear is to be in debt from undergrad and not make it to medical school.
elfdoctors
Active Member
Debt is a big issue these days. I was initially accepted at one medical school (New York Medical College) which I could not afford. I went through the application process and physical to join Navy ROTC but when Stony Brook accepted me I told the Navy goodbye! I just read in the alumni newsletter that the average graduate last year had $106,000 in debt (and that's for a state school!).
I am lucky to be free of debt. After medical school I knew I wanted to do family practice so I wanted to get away from New York. I did my residency at the University of Iowa (an area of the country where family practice never died out). I then joined the National Health Service Corps (the town I practice in is medically underserved) and got my loans paid off with a 3 year committment. I almost wish I had taken out more loans and enjoyed myself more in college and med school! However, I set down some roots and after almost 13 years, I'm still here. There are some nice benefits to being a big fish in a small pond. Our little hospital probably would have closed if I hadn't come. There was quite a change from living in downstate New York to living in a town of less than 1500 (with no traffic lights in the county when I moved here!) In short, there are ways to deal with debt but they may not be palatable for your social life. I have to stay in the county most of the time and have to be available most holidays. At least I can take care of saltwater fish from home!
Good Luck with your studies. Are finals going okay?
I am lucky to be free of debt. After medical school I knew I wanted to do family practice so I wanted to get away from New York. I did my residency at the University of Iowa (an area of the country where family practice never died out). I then joined the National Health Service Corps (the town I practice in is medically underserved) and got my loans paid off with a 3 year committment. I almost wish I had taken out more loans and enjoyed myself more in college and med school! However, I set down some roots and after almost 13 years, I'm still here. There are some nice benefits to being a big fish in a small pond. Our little hospital probably would have closed if I hadn't come. There was quite a change from living in downstate New York to living in a town of less than 1500 (with no traffic lights in the county when I moved here!) In short, there are ways to deal with debt but they may not be palatable for your social life. I have to stay in the county most of the time and have to be available most holidays. At least I can take care of saltwater fish from home!
Good Luck with your studies. Are finals going okay?
bonermeister
Member
Finals are going ok. I have my last one, physics :scared:, tomorrow morning at 8AM. Gotta hit the sack here soon. Sounds like everything worked out well for you. Any advice or words of wisdom to a pre-med student?
elfdoctors
Active Member
Good Luck tomorrow!
There was a study which compared MCAT scores with residency directors' perception of which residents made the best doctors. The only association was that students who had the best physics grades on their MCATs made the worst doctors! There is a lot about medicine that is not as straightforward as physics often makes the world out to be. People are unique.
Enjoy your life now. There is often a perception among premed students that things will get better when I am in medical school. Unfortunately those same people will say the same things about residency, practice, retirement, etc.. I'd love to do college again knowing that I was going to get into medical school. I'd have had a lot more fun. Work hard and do your best, but play hard too!
Enjoy the holidays!
There was a study which compared MCAT scores with residency directors' perception of which residents made the best doctors. The only association was that students who had the best physics grades on their MCATs made the worst doctors! There is a lot about medicine that is not as straightforward as physics often makes the world out to be. People are unique.
Enjoy your life now. There is often a perception among premed students that things will get better when I am in medical school. Unfortunately those same people will say the same things about residency, practice, retirement, etc.. I'd love to do college again knowing that I was going to get into medical school. I'd have had a lot more fun. Work hard and do your best, but play hard too!
Enjoy the holidays!
bonermeister
Member
Thanks for the advice, I will definitely take it to heart!
bonermeister
Member
Well, I think I did well enough on the final to pull an "A" in physics. I guess I'm going to be a crappy doc! LOL!
FYI: The MCAT is split into four sections: physical sciences, biological sciences, verbal reasoning, and a writing sample. The physical sciences, biological sciences, and verbal reasoning are each graded on a scale of 1-15, and the writing sample is graded on a scale of J through T. A perfect MCAT score would be 45T. The mean score is 24O and a 30P or better is a competitive score.
FYI: The MCAT is split into four sections: physical sciences, biological sciences, verbal reasoning, and a writing sample. The physical sciences, biological sciences, and verbal reasoning are each graded on a scale of 1-15, and the writing sample is graded on a scale of J through T. A perfect MCAT score would be 45T. The mean score is 24O and a 30P or better is a competitive score.
elfdoctors
Active Member
Congrats on the A!
Hope your other grades were as good.
Dacia - Uniqueness of people has little to do with genetics. Identical twins are certainly different even though they are genetically identical. It is essential to have a good understanding of evolutionary topics for a good career in medicine. There are many other areas of human understanding that are not as straightforward as certain groups try to make them out to be. I would suggest terminating this part of our discussion as it may get censored by a moderator.
Hope your other grades were as good.
Dacia - Uniqueness of people has little to do with genetics. Identical twins are certainly different even though they are genetically identical. It is essential to have a good understanding of evolutionary topics for a good career in medicine. There are many other areas of human understanding that are not as straightforward as certain groups try to make them out to be. I would suggest terminating this part of our discussion as it may get censored by a moderator.
elfdoctors
Active Member
About 2 hours north of you, fairly close to the Minnesota border.
elfdoctors
Active Member
I don't think that my avatar would make people relax either. I chose Gollum because of his quote "we likes our fishes rraww and wwrriggling!"