I Have 7 College Transcripts. What Will Med Schools Think? | Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A Ep. 134

[@mikell.6064]

I know it’s easy to judge from outside looking in. However, you never know what people go through to get their education. She might be a bit scattered, but at least her focus is straight forward. We all go through struggles, and some of us go trough struggles and then some. Please remember to be humble and kind, this is a premedical channel, not judge Judy.

[@augustortiz]

I agree.. super judgemental comments here, its really a shame that many of the people criticizing will become future physicians with the same attitudes.

[@Lionforaday]

Maybe so - but no one's cutting you slack at your interview. At my school, there are 100 spots for 400 people being interviewed. No one is thinking of what you've maybe been through. Sorry, but that's how it is for everyone. I'm not referring to this applicant here - I'm just talking generally (as I think you are). Also? Med school isn't all that hard - but the practice of medicine can be grueling. You're held to an *extremely* high standard. You can't be scattered. And yes, maybe that's just now, maybe you won't be scattered in years to come after training - but given the choice, the panel is going to choose someone who already looks "together." Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

[@Lionforaday]

@@augustortiz When someone gave me critical feedback (and I got lots in my FIVE years of rejections and then of course all through med school and residency) you know what I said? I said THANK-YOU! And I learned from what they told me. Feedback is gold. If you're not open to feedback now - even harsh feedback, you will crumple when standing with a staff-person tearing a strip off you in front of colleagues and patients, pimping you for facts you don't know. You seem to have a fairly altruistic view of physicians - just wait until you see what your supervisors are like, lol! Sorry to say, but this generation seems very emotionally fragile. I agree that kindness is an important virtue, and I strive to be kind and compassionate in my practice - I've helped a number of my own patients get into med school, reading their essays in my (small amount of) spare time, helping them practice for interviews. But I've also learned just how judgmental my colleagues are. By all means, try to change the world, but for now, you also have to deal with it the way it is.

[@chengalvalavenkata2401]

He may have presented it slightly harshly (though without anger or ill intent) but he was likely correct. He was just trying to make it clear the most likely reason why the person didn't get in.

[@Djkhalid1234]

497 is not test skills. Sorry but that shows massive content gaps and it makes sense given her GPA. This girl is not ready to apply this cycle. She needs to take a gap year to study for the MCAT after she finishes her classes.

[@israeliana]

When he said "your MCAT score sucks" I was 😶 at least Dr Gray gives it to you straight

[@sohyangworld1544]

He wasted no time 😭

[@andrisatkinson6747]

None what so ever 😭

[@OrganicDolphin]

Can you time stamp this pls I can’t find it. Also what’s her actual mcat score.

[@rosegold.sunset4749]

I’m surprised she didn’t even know that lol. Everyone knows you need over 510 to get an interview lol

[@rosegold.sunset4749]

@@OrganicDolphin she got 497

[@rosegold.sunset4749]

So she’s scoring 497s when she’s timing her practice tests but rebuttals with “I’m doing better when I don’t time myself” lol what!!?? Not sure how a tutor is giving this strategy and expecting her to do better.

[@snackattaackHD]

Agree with a lot of the advice but please don’t discount the mcat content. If you know your content to a T, you’ll improve tremendously despite your skills. Obviously skills are very important, but they need to be developed simultaneously.

[@SourChip123]

Agree 100%. I firmly believe content alone can get you 510 atleast

[@hannahmccarthy4516]

Yupppp i went from a 499 to a 510 solely doing Anki/content review

[@snackattaackHD]

@@hannahmccarthy4516 agreed. Content will get you to 510 skills will get you above that. But skills without content will get you nowhere.

[@sadafaftab4560]

Girl! Please don’t complicate things , keep it simple !!!

[@ShinySephiroth1]

I am so confused why she thinks having a lot of transcripts matters.

[@marbs8615]

Yeah, it's super weird. That's not her issue as to why she is not getting in.

[@Lionforaday]

I think when people don't get in, they look for any possible reason that it's not happening. It's odd that they often overlook the most obvious things, but people can perseverate on the tiniest, most irrelevant details. Or I can't tell you the number of people I've heard say, "I think it's because I'm a woman." And I'm like, seriously? Med school are 60% women - try again! If someone gets to the interview stage and doesn't get it, especially if it happens more than once, they need to take a serious look at how they present in-person.

[@ShinySephiroth1]

@@Lionforaday I posted twice about her perhaps needing interview skills but deleted it each time becuaae I was worried I might be too nitpicky. Glad you mentioned it!

[@peytonmanthing6533]

@Lanis Price she’s not the only person who has this scenario, do you guys think the med schools can’t figure out scenarios like these? Of course they can

[@Lionforaday]

I went to a med school that didn't require the MCAT - to my knowledge, it's the only med school that didn't (it now requires just the verbal reasoning part). And thank the GL for that, bc otherwise I'd never have gotten in! I'd gone to 7 universities by the time I applied - I don't think anyone cares. I took my GPA from a 3.1 to a 3.9 in 3 years. I took any course I knew I could get 90 in - if I didn't have a 90 on the first test, I'd drop the course. The school I went to has 5,000 applicants a year for 100 spots - you can bet they aren't musing over any individual's courses. They're looking at overall things. Put yourself in the position of a person with 50 applications in front of you - they're spending, tops, 5 minutes reviewing your applications. Painful but true.

[@Lionforaday]

@In Her Blues It certainly was!

[@Lionforaday]

@In Her Blues If it's your dream, then make it happen. I believe you can do it. I met a woman once, a psychotherapist, and when I told her I went to Mac she said, "I applied there, but I was so nervous at the interview that I didn't get an offer." I said, "You got an interview your first time applying? How awesome! What happened the next year?" She never applied again (!!) So that? That's someone who I'd argue didn't want to go that badly - at least not as badly as I did! I applied SIX times - all that was stopping me was my GPA, and once I got it high enough, I got an interview. I knew if I got an interview I could get in, because I believed they'd see how very badly I wanted this. I'm stunned by the LOW ENERGY individuals who show-up on interview day. Maybe it's nerves, but I always feel like shaking them! Don't they want this? Maybe not, eh? Mac was fine - I don't have anything to compare it to. Not stressful. Getting-in? That's stressful. Med school itself isn't very stressful. Once you're in, it's very hard to get kicked-out, and I think it's better to power-through. Once you're an adult, you don't need "summers off" - that's for kids, in my opinion. You don't get summers off in the real world, so best to get used to it! Am happy to chat with you and give you any tips I can. You can bet that loads of people helped me (in 6 years, lol), so I always like to give back.

[@jeann3860]

@@Lionforaday Thank you for sharing your story. I have started my applications this year. I feel encouraged when reading your comments.

[@Lionforaday]

@@jeann3860 Go for it Jean! It won't happen if you don't make it happen - and I used to think of dumb doctors I knew and think, if them, why not me, lol? It's not like you're looking for a spot on the space shuttle... it's only med school :D

[@claireworld_]

@In Her Blues In most schools a 90 is an A- which makes a huge difference. I wish my school would do 90 and an A, it would have changed a lot in my college career stress.

[@koolkittykat04]

It’s definitely possible to do well on the MCAT while working full-time with a lengthy commute. Also, she never answered Dr. Gray’s question about if she was finishing the test section in the allotted time. That’s way different than finishing each section.

[@lordofallanime4363]

Wait, what is this BS about not studying content with an MCAT

[@johngrey1074]

I had 9 transcripts when I applied, mostly because I took college courses in high school and received credits from random institutions in my local area. Cycle went fine.

[@laurenbenson7780]

I felt like I was watching a tennis match😭 Back and Forth

[@DevinThomas-b2b]

I was accepted this cycle to a US MD school with a 497.

[@niyofrancis1]

What school?

[@ceetaylorr]

So many excuses. It’s common knowledge that a

[@LB-jw3ly]

Yeah it can easily be content gap at that score. My baseline was a 503 without studying but the PS was 132 and CP 123. If you are making

[@premedrdh1122]

Dang I feel bad she got sucked into her MBS program 💸💸💸 she just needs a better MCAT score.

[@Djkhalid1234]

Her gpa can be buffed as well tbf. But it doesn’t sound like she’s doing too well in that program unfortunately with a 3.4 in first semester it’s not helping and is a waste of money

[@JoeG2324]

do they take into account the difficulty level of the college from which you graduated? A 3.2 at some schools could be a 4.0 at lesser quality colleges

[@12116david]

ya I was wondering the same thing. At my school you need to get an A+ for a 4.0 90s won’t cut it.

[@01234567729]

And that's where the MCAT becomes the equalizer. I also don't like the fact that you say "school of lesser quality". What does that mean? it all depends on the Professor. We could both be in the same school and I work 10 times as hard for a "C" compared to another student who gets an easy "A" simply because they have a different Professor. Also, some of the hardest classes I have ever taken were actually community college nursing classes. I still feel as if even some of the hard sciences I took does not even compare to the challenge I had in those nursing classes.

[@MY-hc5fb]

Short answer no. Some schools do have biases against 2-year colleges and most schools against online courses pre covid though. It's pretty much the same with what major you choose, they look mostly at your science gpa > cum gpa > >>>>>>> school/major.

[@mcbaggins12]

@@12116david amcas gpa equalizes that

[@sohyangworld1544]

He's getting a lot of sunspots😬 sunscreen guys.

[@Taylor-ex8nl]

Damn savage let the man breathe

[@OrganicDolphin]

@@Taylor-ex8nl man he roasts people all day for a living 😂 he can handle a lil bit coming his way.

[@rosegold.sunset4749]

She’s very long winded... this isn’t Application Renovation lol

[@alexmartinez3683]

It would be nice if you could put the stats of the student in the description. Like the GPA, MCAT, and summary of what he/she should do to improve if they need to.

[@rahuldhillon7464]

she looks like candice

[@christinacopeland5951]

She’s such a queen. I wish the best for her

[@LB-jw3ly]

Dr Gray be like Your MCAT has stage 4 brain cancer.