3.62/3.5, 513 MCAT

[claerwen]

cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS:

—3.62/3.5

MCAT score(s) and breakdown:

—513 (129/128/128/128), retaking for 520+

State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US):

—California

Ethnicity and/or race:

—Asian

Undergraduate institution or category:

—top 15-20 university, grade deflation

Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer):

—hospice life review volunteering

Research experience and productivity:

—1600+ hours

—one 3rd author publication

—8 posters/presentations

—summer internships at JHU, Stanford, and at a university in Japan

Shadowing experience and specialties represented:

—70 hours—emergency medicine, neurosurgery, psychiatry, organ transplant surgery

Non-clinical volunteering:

—planning blood drives

—teaching violin to disadvantaged children

—working at a student run cafe/bar

Other extracurricular activities:

—intro biology lab TA

—sales associate in retail

—worked at music center and notetaker for a semester

—cultural club executive board

—interviewing for undergraduate admissions

—blogger for school run fashion magazine

Relevant honors or awards

—national merit scholarship

—dean’s list

Other

—worked abroad in a lab for a summer in Okinawa, Japan

—studied abroad in Europe for a semester, clinical exposure includes taking patient histories, learning basic clinical skills

—taking a gap year, will probably try Americorps or something similar abroad in Asia, clinically related volunteering



List:

Cornell University

UCSD

University of Virginia

Boston University

UC Irvine

Tufts University

Drexel University

Thomas Jefferson University


I have a longer list, but these were my favorites. Will be trying to raise GPA for last semester of college, but don't know how much that can help me. What do you guys think?

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[GrapesofRath]

I wouldn't retake an unexpired 513
You have two schools on your list where the MCAT median isn't 34+. That's not going to work here
You can be competitive for a number of MD schools as is you just need to actually target them. Go through MSAR and find at least a dozen OOS friendly schools with an MCAT median around roughly 32. Those that get <11k apps are where Id prioritize( i.e. MCW Oakland etc)

 

[Goro]

Retaking a 513 is an act of hubris, and will get you rejected from UCLA, UCSD and/or Keck.

I suggest:

U VM
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush (note: very service/experience oriented with a 150hr service requirement. Avg student has 800 hours of community service, and >1800 hours of health care exposure.)
Rosy Franklin
BU
MCW
Hofstra
NYMC
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
George Washington
Emory
USC/Keck
Tulane
Dartmouth
Loyola
Oaklnd-B
Hofstra
Western MI
UCD
UCI
UCR IF you're from the Inland Empire
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, LUCOM or Wm Carey, for different reasons

cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS:

 

[Happyface025]

Retaking a 513 is an act of hubris, and will get you rejected from UCLA, UCSD and/or Keck.

I took my MCAT two months too early for UCLA (took May 2016, planning to apply 2018-2019) but my score will still be good for UCI, Keck when I apply. Would it still look bad to retake a good score (517) this year, so that it is good everywhere, even when my old score was still viable (but borderline expired) for a lot of schools?

 

[Goro]

Retaking a good unexpired score is an act of foolishness.

I took my MCAT two months too early for UCLA (took May 2016, planning to apply 2018-2019) but my score will still be good for UCI, Keck when I apply. Would it still look bad to retake a good score (517) this year, so that it is good everywhere, even when my old score was still viable (but borderline expired) for a lot of schools?

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Retaking a good unexpired score is an act of foolishness.

How come? A 513 is below average marticulation scores for most top 20 schools, many of which reach up to 518.

 

[Paramagnetic]

How come? A 513 is below average marticulation scores for most top 20 schools, many of which reach up to 518.

Trading coming across as Dr. #GUNNER probably looks worse than an additional 2 points (which will likely get averaged out anyway).

Any if you botch the retake at all...