Do I need to retake MCAT with a 31 and low GPA?

[futuredr2kids]

Hey everyone!

I got a 31 on 9/18 with distribution - physics: 10, verbal: 10, and bio: 11
I have a 3.1 undergrad gpa from a top 25 school (with upward trend from freshman year first sem 2.8 gpa to senior year 2nd sem 3.8 gpa) and a 3.6 post bacc gpa from an Ivy.
I have a lot of ECs and shadowing. I am going to be working until I apply next cycle so I will have that experience as well. Also, I'm not a minority and am a CA resident but don't need to go to school in CA. I am interested in both M.D. and D.O.

Should I retake?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Jumb0]

First of all, rankings don't really mean all that much unless your undergrad was HYP. Where you did your post-bacc carries zero weight. I am in a very similar boat as you. I graduated from a Top 25 undergrad with a 3.2 GPA, with a strong upward trend by my senior year. I am now enrolled in a DIY post-bacc program, which will hopefully bring my GPA up to a 3.4+ by the time I apply. Your cGPA is really the most important factor at this point. You really need to work on bumping it up as much as possible. If you can get it up over 3.3 at least, then you will greatly increase your chances. How many classes have you done as part of your post-bacc? Your pbGPA would indicate that you have received at least one grade less than an A-. I don't mean to disparage you at all, but you really need to do better than a 3.6 in the post-bacc. A lukewarm post-bacc performance won't compensate for a 3.1 undergrad GPA. You need to buckle down and get basically straight A's in your post-bacc from now on. It sounds ridiculous, but it's the only option for people like you and me...Well, I guess there is another option, and that would be to score in the 90th+ percentile on the MCAT...more like 95th.

This only pertains to MD admissions, however. With a 31 and a 3.1+ cGPA, you should be good to go for many DO programs.

 

[efle]

First of all, rankings don't really mean all that much unless your undergrad was HYP.

Disregard this, plenty of other top science/premed schools like MIT, Stanford, Duke, Hopkins, U Chicago etc are well represented at interviews and have far better success getting students into medical schools than their numbers would predict (compared to similar numbers from an average university). HYP only grab a small piece of each year's top percentile of high schoolers, and being from a lower Top 20 like Cornell is still far better for your odds than being from Average UState.

Your cGPA is really the most important factor at this point. You really need to work on bumping it up as much as possible. If you can get it up over 3.3 at least, then you will greatly increase your chances.

This I agree with though. Even if you were at Princeton, a 3.1 would be an app killer - even a 3.2-3.3 is below the tenth percentile for most schools where a 31 is median MCAT, so clearly your MCAT is not what will hold you back. What you should do is be smart in where you apply (read: mid and lower MDs and then some DOs).