MCAT Revisited

It takes a full month before your MCAT scores are released. This is just enough time for everyone you know to pester you and ask if you’ve gotten the scores, make jokes about taking forever, and for you to perfect your explanation of how scoring works. I mean a month might seem long, but you want them to grade everything correctly and that curve they make comparing you to everyone else in the country taking that same exact test only given on that one particular day…well there better not be any mistakes.

So the moment finally came at 2pm-Pacific Time when that dreaded email was scheduled to pop up in my inbox. I was out with my mom on this particular sunny afternoon as we were picking out shoes for my dad. Being the classic Pre-Med I was armed and ready opening the email on my phone to discover the news that sadly I had not gotten the scores I wanted. Though they were fine enough for Masters programs which I’ve been considering, they were not high enough for MD schools. I glanced at the detailed percentages and scores broken into the 4 sections and quickly turned the screen black. My mom asked how I did and I told her in the fewest words possible that there is yet another turn in my not so straight road to becoming a doctor.

I let it simmer for a while, about a week went by as I considered retaking the test or applying to PA school instead. I didn’t sit down and brew over the internet trying to lay out more options. This next decision had to be mine….and mine alone. I felt defeated yet again by a system of standardized tests that I’ve never been quite good at. Cut short of taking an easier path. I wondered if maybe this was some cosmic sign that I should have become a journalist instead. I emailed an old mentor. In fact, the first doctor to ever take me under his wing and show me what medicine was all about. When I got a reply, I realized it wasn’t the content of the letter that made me realize what I wanted to do. The simple fact that he emailed me back let me know that I have people rooting for me, who think that I’ll make a great whatever I want to be, but know that I’ll make a great physician.

I’ve decided to re-take the MCAT on April 1^st half because it has perfect timing with med school applications and half because well….its April Fool’s Day and I really like “punny” coincidences. Luckily I planned ahead and made sure to put in extra work to get the High Score Guarantee from Kaplan Test Prep. I’ve recently called them and set up a new online course. (They’re so kind there, just the best ever) It starts the Tuesday before Thanksgiving which is just about when I wanted to dive into it all again. I also put out several job applications and received two wonderful job offers one of which I was very excited to accept. So I am currently training to work as a medical scribe via ScribeAmerica at Valley Heart Medical Center. It’s a great opportunity to work with a cardiologist one-on-one writing out the medical jargon on the patient’s charts. Not going to lie it’s a bit challenging, but I’m expecting it to get a lot easier with practice. Plus side: all the hours count toward PA school just in case 🙂

Gotta make sure to always making sure to plan ahead! It can be a rough and rocky road out there trying to become a doctor. Some people have it easier than others and some people have it harder. Just remember it’s all those unique twists and turns that you can talk about in interviews later on. 🙂

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– Megan 

#lifeinthegap #lifeasapremed