Mappd is back with episode twentyone of Ask The Dean! This week, Dr. Scott Wright, Dr. Ryan Gray, and Rachel Grubbs answer questions about MCAT cutoff scores, downsides of taking the MCAT early, when to retake Cs in prerequisites, whether you can have a life in med school, and more!

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We cover the following topics this week:

0:00 Introduction
0:25 How much does the MCAT predict your ability to be a great doctor?
9:09 Should medical schools require a certain number of clinical hours?
13:20 Is there harm in taking the MCAT too early?
16:23 Does interacting with optometry patients count as clinical experience?
18:26 Should you retake all Cs in prereqs, even if you have limited funding?
21:15 Should I take a sociology class to prepare for the MCAT?
27:29 Should I withdraw my app after a low MCAT score late in the cycle?
31:10 Do old MCAT scores stay on your record forever?
33:12 What's the typical MCAT cutoff compared to a med school's median?
35:22 Should I include dental shadowing on my application, if I have it?
37:35 Does shadowing need to be unpaid, or can you get it while working?
39:36 What should I do with a 6month gap right before medical school?
43:07 Can you have a life in medical school?
45:16 Can you get an LOR from an online prof who doesn't really know you?

Have you checked out our other Mappd video series, Am I Ready? Watch all our videos at http://mappd.tv!

Dr. Scott Wright has served as the Director of Admissions at UT Southwestern Medical School, Associate Dean at University of Texas at Dallas, and Executive Director of the Texas Medical and Dental Application Service (TMDAS)

Mappd is cofounded by Ryan Gray, MD and Rachel Grubbs. Dr. Gray is also the host of the Premed Years podcast and the author of the Premed Playbook series. Ms. Grubbs has been serving and advising premeds for 20 years at companies like The Princeton Review and Next Step Test Prep (now Blueprint MCAT).