HLADRB1 Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Hi everyone, I know it's typically considered a bad idea to take the MCAT if you intend on applying to PA schools, but I'm taking it. I'm not using PA school as a "fall-back" option. I must sound just about crazy for taking it, haha. With that out of the way, will PA schools be able to see my scores if I don't tell AAMC to send my scores to the schools I'm applying to? (Another question I've been pondering: can schools see what other schools I'm applying to?) Thanks a bunch! Edit: I thought I posted this in the Pre-PA section; could a moderator please move this if appropriate? That's what happens when I open too many tabs, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 If you are not using PA school as a fall-back option, then why are you taking the MCAT? There are very few schools that require it, and those who do often let you submit scores from the GRE in lieu of the MCAT. If you don't have your scores sent to the schools and do not report them on CASPA, I don't see how any school would find out (I could be wrong). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator True Anomaly Posted April 24, 2013 Moderator Share Posted April 24, 2013 I'd ask the same question- why take the MCAT if you're only applying to PA schools? it's a huge investment of time and mental energy. I don't know the answer to your question....but I guarantee that IF a PA program knows you're taking the MCAT, the very first question is WHY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdavis Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I would have no problem with an applicant having taken the MCAT... Especially as we are always telling applicants to consider the MD /DO. Option if they are not quite "sure" about PA. one of the ways to seriously consider your options is to see if you are competitive. If you MCAT 38 and chose to apply PA, then it's a pretty good bet you really want PA over MD... both options probably being open to you... If you MCAT 20, MD probably ain't a realistic option... But PA May still be... I don't have a problem with folks becoming PAs rather than MDs... As long as they will have no problem in that role. So the answer to The "why" question ( a valid question) , of course is " to see how competitive I was for med school". Asked and answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator True Anomaly Posted April 24, 2013 Moderator Share Posted April 24, 2013 I would have no problem with an applicant having taken the MCAT... Especially as we are always telling applicants to consider the MD /DO. Option if they are not quite "sure" about PA. one of the ways to seriously consider your options is to see if you are competitive. If you MCAT 38 and chose to apply PA, then it's a pretty good bet you really want PA over MD... both options probably being open to you... If you MCAT 20, MD probably ain't a realistic option... But PA May still be... I don't have a problem with folks becoming PAs rather than MDs... As long as they will have no problem in that role. So the answer to The "why" question ( a valid question) , of course is " to see how competitive I was for med school". Asked and answered. I'll buy that. It's just having trouble wrapping my mind around that if it came down to equal applicants, I'd have a hard time taking the applicant who took the MCAT as opposed to the one who did because it's only PA for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 A good friend at school took the MCAT "just for fun". She casually studied for it and ended up with a 35, but chose to apply to PA school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Duper Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I took the MCAT and put it on my CASPA application. I didn't have any problems getting accepted to most of the schools I applied to. Only once during an interview did they mention it. <edit> to sort of back up what rcdavis said, my MCAT was good enough to get into med school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Duper Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I'd ask the same question- why take the MCAT if you're only applying to PA schools? it's a huge investment of time and mental energy. I don't know the answer to your question....but I guarantee that IF a PA program knows you're taking the MCAT, the very first question is WHY? Because I'm a science nerd and I love standardized test... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator True Anomaly Posted April 24, 2013 Moderator Share Posted April 24, 2013 Because I'm a science nerd and I love standardized test... More power to you then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 On the interview day I helped with, at my school, having an MCAT score on file was not necessarily a red flag, but it definitely didn't help. It most assuredly raised the "why?" question. And yes, I got the impression that we knew about it without the applicant having specifically made it known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLADRB1 Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Thank you all for your replies, they are very appreciated! Part of the reason I signed up for the MCAT was to keep as many doors open as possible before deciding what to commit my life to. Part of the reason was because I am shadowing an incredible physician who really pushes towards medical school, and so naturally I wanted to see how competitive I am (like rcdavis said). Part of the reason was because I felt like I wanted toPROVE once and for all to myself that I actually learned and retained info in undergrad. ...Turns out the MCAT is just as much "do you know how to take this test?" as "do you understand undergrad science?" so that last point kinda backfired. Alas, one question remains in my head: if I do not tell AAMC to release my MCAT scores, will PA schools know I took the MCAT? I spoke with my o-chem professor (who I just happened to run into today) and he says he doesn't know how they would know if I didn't release my scores. But like Febrifuge said, I am kind of getting the impression that the schools are aware of my taking the test without me telling them... somehow.... It would really settle my mind on the matter if I knew for certain, especially since I have to cancel it soon if I'm going to cancel. Does anyone know for sure? Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 TeamScience: just take the MCAT and stop worrying about who sees your scores. The government can pretty much find out anything you do nowadays, there is no privacy. If you must know, call up a PA program and ask them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloak25 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have an MCAT score as well but it's on the low side. Not sure if I should just go ahead and send it in or start studying for the GRE :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloak25 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have an MCAT score as well but it's on the low side. Not sure if I should just go ahead and send it in or start studying for the GRE :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloak25 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have an MCAT score as well but it's on the low side. Not sure if I should just go ahead and send it in or start studying for the GRE :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloak25 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have an MCAT score as well but it's on the low side. Not sure if I should just go ahead and send it in or start studying for the GRE :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I would start studying for the GRE. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I would start studying for the GRE. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktheshark89 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I would start studying for the GRE. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakr Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I took the MCAT (and did respectable on it) because I was undecided between the two professions. It never came up with my PA school discussions and I believe a few PA schools actually require the MCAT. I don't see how one could fault you for it, as they are similar professions - with the caveat that you do well on it like a previous poster suggested. If you do poorly, I think it would look like you were using PA school as a back-up. Which I suppose is ok if you really want to practice medicine but just can't beat the MCAT; however, if you really really wanted to be a physician you will likely always have a degree of regret. One thing I do have to say is that I took the Kaplan MCAT prep class and it taught me a lot about not only how to "beat" the MCAT, but also how to study efficiently in general and do well on many other kinds of standardized tests, which has been invaluable in my opinion so I'm glad I did it and carried the experience forward in many aspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakr Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I took the MCAT (and did respectable on it) because I was undecided between the two professions. It never came up with my PA school discussions and I believe a few PA schools actually require the MCAT. I don't see how one could fault you for it, as they are similar professions - with the caveat that you do well on it like a previous poster suggested. If you do poorly, I think it would look like you were using PA school as a back-up. Which I suppose is ok if you really want to practice medicine but just can't beat the MCAT; however, if you really really wanted to be a physician you will likely always have a degree of regret. One thing I do have to say is that I took the Kaplan MCAT prep class and it taught me a lot about not only how to "beat" the MCAT, but also how to study efficiently in general and do well on many other kinds of standardized tests, which has been invaluable in my opinion so I'm glad I did it and carried the experience forward in many aspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakr Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I took the MCAT (and did respectable on it) because I was undecided between the two professions. It never came up with my PA school discussions and I believe a few PA schools actually require the MCAT. I don't see how one could fault you for it, as they are similar professions - with the caveat that you do well on it like a previous poster suggested. If you do poorly, I think it would look like you were using PA school as a back-up. Which I suppose is ok if you really want to practice medicine but just can't beat the MCAT; however, if you really really wanted to be a physician you will likely always have a degree of regret. One thing I do have to say is that I took the Kaplan MCAT prep class and it taught me a lot about not only how to "beat" the MCAT, but also how to study efficiently in general and do well on many other kinds of standardized tests, which has been invaluable in my opinion so I'm glad I did it and carried the experience forward in many aspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLADRB1 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 I spoke with a someone from the AAMC. They said they will not release scores unless specifically told to (i.e. if I don't tell AAMC to tell PA schools, the PA schools won't find out). However, if I do decide to disclose my scores, they will release all scores from 2003 onwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLADRB1 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 I spoke with a someone from the AAMC. They said they will not release scores unless specifically told to (i.e. if I don't tell AAMC to tell PA schools, the PA schools won't find out). However, if I do decide to disclose my scores, they will release all scores from 2003 onwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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