just curious

[aucslp]

i was just wondering if I have a chance on getting in to St. Matthews with a 14 MCAT? My GPA is solid, overall 3.43 and science of a 3.2. I have some research under me with an abstract that has been published. I also have a lot of medical experience where I have interned in different areas including neurosurgery, neurology, pathology, ICU, and cardiology.

I really want this. AUC already told me that I do not have what it takes to be a doctor, which of course I did not listen to. I just want a school to give me a chance and I hope St. Matthews will do that. Also, just tell me about the school, it sounds like a good school with a fun atmosphere.

Shawn

[MDTOB]

Don't let your MCAT score get in the way of your dreams!

St. Matthew's does not require the MCAT. With your GPA and medical experience, I think you have a good shot at getting in.

Good luck!

[jguru2]

never hurts to try

[aucslp]

just to add, i am in chiropractic school right now and i am not really happy at all. while the education (basic sciences) is the same as medical school..........once i get out into a practice i will be very limited. i thought about doing chiropractic neurology, which means i will be doing the same thing as a medical neurologist, i just feel i can offer more as an MD. the MD neurologists i intern under at KU Medical Center are very open minded when it comes to chiropractic neurology, however they have advised me if i want the full spectrum, i need to go to medical school.......the neat thing is if i get into st. matthews and graduate, complete a residency in medical neurology i can still get training in chiropractic neurology and that is what i would do so i can offer both to patients.........but just being a DC is really not for me

[AmericanIMG]

there are actually several students in the school that left Chiro school to come here, and they like it alot (i know of two in the first semester here alone). St Matthews does not take into account your MCAT, but rather your GPA and your other activities that show a propensity for achievement in the medical profession. i believe that with strong letters of rec and a good essay, you can give yourself a good shot at admission.

I believe that St Matts is at a crossroads right now. With the NY approval and California about to come on the 17th of june, St Matthews has a chance to be one of the top (if not the top) medical school in the Caribbean, and its a very exciting time to be a student. i hope that you get to be a part of this, i know that i made the right decision to come here (i got into AUC, Ross, Saba and the smaller schools too).

feel free to PM me if you have any other questions

good luck!!!
:wink:

[dxtran7]

Hi,
Is St. Matthews getting an approval decision from Cali. on June 17 th or is the state giving the school a site inspection on that date? Thanks.

[MDTOB]

Hi,
Is St. Matthews getting an approval decision from Cali. on June 17 th or is the state giving the school a site inspection on that date? Thanks.

The California Medical Board is doing their site inspection/visit of St. Matthew's on June 17th.

We are all very positive about this visit and expect a favorable decision by the Medical Board of CA, as was the case with the NY Medical Board. The site inspection is considered to be one of the final steps in the lengthy process for approval by a particular state.

It is a long and tedious process that can take up to a few years. Needless to say, this will be a very important day for all of us at St. Matthew's.

[hope2bdoc]

I don't see why MCAT should be a factor with AUC.....yet. They are supposedly requiring it starting only in September 2004. I have the opposite situation.....good MCAT, low gpa. My AUC admissions counselor essentially told me (after some fairly persistent but gentle badgering after the ding) that science gpa in particular is more important than mcat and overall gpa, and that most of my grades in chemistry/physics left something to be desired. It doesn't bother me because I have good grades in biology and the mcat and I personally feel that's more indicative of potential for med school but whatever, we'll see soon enough........

[DC, MD]

Just as bit of background information for you, I start SMU Jan 05 and have been a licensed DC in FLA for 18 years. I think its great that you are pursuing medicine to expand scope, although if you want to do Manipulation/Adjustments as part of your practice you need to have your skills on level with other DCs. I think you should most certianly graduate and get licensure as a DC to accomplish your ultimate goal of DC MD combination, just my thoughts,
Scott Michaels D.C., CCSP

[KDog]

This is my advice for AUCSLP.

I am a chiro as well currently practicing here in Toronto and I have my own wonderful multidisciplinary clinic. It has been 5 years now and although financially things are just fine (although Ontario medicare just completely cut out partial funding) I am already BORED STIFF. I am applying to AUC and Ross, my undergrad GPA was 3.2, chiro 3.7 and I am taking Kaplan review for August MCAT. Believe me it is good review, it is amzing how much you forget over 9 years.

I just feel it is time to widen my scope, and yes I have helped a lot of people. Despite that, if I were to do it all over again I would say forget about chiropractic entirely and just move right on to the MD. Like one of my insructors used to say at NYCC, "It's manual labour, you just wear nice clothes to do it"

Move on buddy, you are not making a mistake at all and it is never too late.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but that is truly how I feel.

KDog

[aucslp]

thank you so much for all the advice.............

i agree, it is manual labor. i just feel cheated here at Cleveland Chiropractic College. Don't get me wrong, it is a great chiro school, but for my own interests and what I really want to do, I would be kidding myself thinking I could do it as a chiropractic neurologist.

Again, I jumped on CCC for the wrong reasons. After AUC shot me down, I was upset and didn't know what to do.........so you could say CCC was my rebound (and we all know what happens to rebounds in relationships.........they never work out). Not sure why I didn't look into St. Matthews earlier, but I am happy I am applying.

Honestly, when I go to KU Medical Center and work with the neurology department I miss the hospital.........the smell..........the patients...........and the business of hospital. That is where I truely belong and chiropractic cannot offer me that. I can only image how depressed I would be if I stayed at CCC finished and practiced...........

Thanks for the words of encouragment and I will keep everyone up to date on my status with St. Matthews.

[KDog]

If you are absolutely sold on St. Mathew's then that is great but don't let that be your only choice because you didn't do well on the MCAT. With a solid GPA have you considered taking it again with hard effort? (i.e this August).

The reason I suggest this is because it doesn't close the doors for AUC, Ross or SABA. These are solid schools and if you are going to med school just put the effort in now.

For example if you took the MCAT in August and got 20 or above you would certainly be a good candidate for Jan 05. All my applications are in and as soon as the scores are released I will find out. I am told it is enough time for Jan entry. SABA is my back up though (No MCAT) and it is there for me.

Nothing against St. Mathews, I am just going by reputation and history and the others just have it.

KDog

[AmericanIMG]

we have so many transfers hereat St Matts from Saba, Ross and AUC obviously reputation and history dont mean crap. the most important thing to remember is that you will be a foreign doctor practicing in the US, and no one will care when you are practicing which college you went to, just as long as you have licensure. i personally think (from my experiences with all the schools) that St Matts is the best fit for me (i was accepted the other 3 as well). when you make the decision on medical school just remember that you need to find the best fit for you...and if its not St Matts you can always apply to transfer here :lol:

good luck!!!
:wink:

[Angdeep]

Did AUC really tell you that you don't have what it takes to be a doctor???? How can these schools be so selective considering they're up against so many US schools?! quite strange.

[aucslp]

here is the truth............

when i applied to AUC, i thought i had what it took. sure, my MCAT sucks, but i have a solid GPA, plus a very good CV with medical experience (not to brag), but internships at NYU - Dept. of Neurosurgery, UNC - Dept. of Neurosurgery, the Mayo Clinic - Dept. of Pathology and many more. I didn't just stand around at these places, i was very lucky and was able to get my hands dirty and do things and the main thing.........i learned.

i also had letters of rec from many doctors.

well, i got an interview. the guy who interviewed me was or still is the dean of students (something like that). he is also a psychiatrist. he asked why my GPA was so strong and my MCAT was low........

honestly, I have a LD, i read slow.....but i felt i had more to offer. he wanted me to get tested for ADHD (which i have been in the past when i was diagnosed with my LD). i am not ADHD, but he felt the only way for me to be successful was to be medicated. i did not agree and he basically told me that i did not have what it took, my MCAT predicted that i would not do well on my boards. that is such ** because your boards are based on our basic sciences. the MCAT and the USMLE are oranges and apples. you can't compare them at all. plus, if you do well in your basic sciences, prepare for the boards, you should do just fine.

that is my story with AUC. i am really hoping to get into St. Matts.........as said before........in the end it really doesn't matter where you go to medical school, what matters is that you work hard, have a dream, obtain it, and practice medicine in the US and be happy.

[AmericanIMG]

wow i can not belive AUC would pull something like that...totally ridiculous. the idea of the MCAT showing anything but how well you were taught your undergrad sciences is simply ludicrous, and for AUC to give you such trouble when they didnt even require the MCAT until the 04 fall class only makes it worse. St Matthews takes care of its applicants, and i can guarantee that you will not be treated the same by the staff here.

Does this show that AUC doesnt want to take disabled students??? your disability should NEVER have anything to do with your admission into any school, i believe the US government's disabilities act will vouch for this. reading your story made me pretty upset, and i am now very glad that i didnt attend AUC. someone should make a call to the ACLU...

if you need any information on St Matts, please feel free to IM me and i would be happy to help you out as much as i can. as for AUC i am in total disgust...

good luck!!!
:wink:

[teratos]

Statistically, the MCAT is the single best indicator on how well you will do on your boards. US schools also put a lot of weight on the MCAT, as do Ross and SGU. You can't get away from it.

You can call the ACLU. Set a new standard that anyone with a learning disability should be admitted to med school despite not having the grades or MCAT scores.

Did you know that people with documented learning disabilities can get more time for standardized exams such as the MCAT and USMLE? The extra time should allow you to perform according to your level of knowledge on the exam. It may take you a bit longer to get through, but in the end you should be able to aswer the questions you know the answer to correctly. When I was at AUC there was a guy in my class with a LD. He was given extra time for his exams and did pretty well. My suggestion would be to take the MCAT again, and this time ask for special consideration for your LD. I can't imagine they stopped doing that. Then the score you get will be the score you earned.

Why should AUC make exceptions to their new MCAT rules? The instituted the rule, and they should follow it.

I agree that it was inappropriate for someone to say you needed meds without a reasonable evaluation. I also think if you have a LD that affects you to the point where you cannot perform on standardized tests you need to have it documented. G

[aucslp]

while I do agree with what you are saying, you have to keep in mind that statistics are not always right..........we can't live our lives by them.........we must use them, but don't always assume because it is statistically significant.

sure, i may have not of done well, but i have taken practice exams of the USMLE step I and performed at the 95% level. this comes from my clinical/basic science education that i have gotten from my internships, so that tells me that i know i can do well

[teratos]

Actually, everything in life is based on statistics. Evidence Based Medicine, which is the "in thing" is entirely based on stats and not on temporal associations. MCAT is still the best predictor of passing the USMLE. Statistics are not 100%, and there are always exceptions. That's why there are confidence intervals, and we look at variance among our data sets. EVERYTHING is statistics. G

If you can do 95% on the USMLE practice exams, why couldn't you do the same on the MCAT? Probably cause you weren't too interested in physics and organic chemistry, and you are interested in medicine. Still, AUC is using the same criteria as most US med schools. It is AUC's loss, you sound like you will probably do well. G

[aucslp]

certainly agree.......we need stats and evidence based medicine SHOULD BE STANDARD ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ANY PRATICING DOCTOR

you are right. when i took the MCAT not only was i ILL prepared, but i also had no interest at all. actually, when i took the MCAT i had not completed my physics courses, nor my organic courses. that hurt me. so i am sure that things would be different. as i have shown through my practice USMLE step I tests, when i am interested, know the material, i can do well. that is why i have no fear about getting through medical school. sure it won't be easy, but i will do well........and plan on it. just wish that other schools, like AUC would look at the overall picture.

sounds like you are wanting me to give AUC a chance?

[AmericanIMG]

i personally wouldnt give AUC the time of day after the way that they talked to you...totally unprofessional and inappropriate. again how can they claim that you dont have what it takes to be a doctor based on your MLE scores when they havent even required them??? i wonder how many of their upper level students did badly on their MCAT scores, graduated and are now doctors...and how many of those doctors would have been told that they couldnt make it. by the way, didnt AUC say you couldnt come AFTER you told them of your learning disability? did they say anything about you not gaining admittance before you told them of your ld? if they didnt...well it unethical to say the least