Session 135

Today’s guest is somebody who has overcome a lot to get into medical school and now finally has an acceptance at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City.

35-year old Brian shares with us the surprising number of times he took the MCAT and applied to medical school, as well as how he persevered and found his path to success.

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

Course Correction on the Premed Path

This episode seeks to help you realize how critical course correction is. Course correction is all about figuring out what you’re doing wrong and what you need to do to change your habits to get to where you need to go.

Brian’s Premed Path

• When Brian decided to be a physician
• Being a hockey player in college
• Exposure to medical care as a patient
• Being a freshman in college going to tech school

How He Researched the Path to Medical School

• Went to a local school’s premed office and got some brochures
• Choosing his coursework
• Developing his study skills and test-taking skills

Taking the MCAT Multiple Times

• Had a summer job at the library tutoring chemistry.
• Didn’t get any advice.
• He wasn’t close with any other premed students.
• His lack of focus contributed to low MCAT scores.
• He took a Kaplan course, but he still got distracted.
  • Only slightly improved his score with the Kaplan course.
• Brian took the MCAT nine times!

Note: Since the new MCAT came out in 2015, there is now a lifetime limit on the number of times you can take the MCAT. Currently, you can take the MCAT at most three times in a year, four times in any two years, or seven times in your life. So although Brian took the MCAT nine times, this would no longer be allowed today! We discussed these annual and lifetime MCAT limits in Session 58 of The MCAT Podcast.

How He Finally Did Well on the MCAT

• Determination
• Getting the best MCAT prep materials he could find
• Study, study, study!
• Practice, practice, practice!
  • How many MCAT practice tests should you take?

Why Brian Was Rejected from Medical School 3 Times

• Applying way too late in the cycle
• Writing half-hearted, poor essays
• Not applying to enough schools

[Related post: How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To?]

Applying to Medical School the Fourth Time

• Worked on MCAT.
• Worked on coursework.
• Got more clinical experience.
• Got solid application advice from The Premed Years podcast.
• As a result, he got 6 interviews and one acceptance.

Preparing for His Medical School Interviews:

• Resources offered by MSHQ
  • Medical School Interview Question Generator
  • The Premed Playbook: Guide to the Medical School Interview
  • 1-on-1 Mock Interview Prep
  • Anytime Mock Interview Platform
• Learning from mistakes he made in his past interviews

Some Pieces of Advice for Premed Students

• Decide if this is what you really want to do.
• Look at the big picture of your application. Look at your grades, MCAT, clinical experience, and how you put together your application. Identify which areas could be a problem.
• Get feedback and advice directly from the schools.
• Determine what you need to improve on, and develop a strategy on how to improve that.

Links and Other Resources:

• Check out my Premed Playbook series of books (available on Amazon), with installments on the personal statement, the medical school interview, and the MCAT.
• Related episode: MCAT Retakes: Change and Improve to Get the Score You Want.
• Related episode: 54-year-old Med Student Overcame 5 MCATs, Rejection, and More.
• Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” for 10% off Next Step full-length practice tests or “MSHQTOC” for $50 off MCAT tutoring or the Next Step MCAT Course at Blueprint MCAT (formerly Next Step Test Prep)!