Late app + 29 MCAT = my biggest issues?

[owling19]

Hi everyone

I was complete at about 15 schools by late September. I applied with a 3.75/3.65 and a 29 (10P, 10V, 9B). I'm a late twenties non-trad with a sociology degree. NC resident with strong VA ties. These were my main activities on my app:

-2 years full time ED scribe.
-200+ hours shadowing 5+ physicians.
-completed half of a master's degree in education. I left in good standing to pursue med school. I had 2 letters of rec from program faculty to be sure med school adcoms knew I was in good standing.
-one poster presentation for education research during my grad work
-free clinic volunteering x 2 years
-high school gen chem tutor
-6 months full-time medical assistant in derm office before being a scribe.
-minor non-medical volunteering (a few charity events, etc.)

I've had one interview and haven't heard back yet. I was nervous and did not answer certain questions as well as I should have. One of my rec letters from my ED doc was a big talking point (in a good way).

Looking to next year, I have gone back to scribing in a new ED where I have more responsibilities. The docs know I'm trying to get to med school and they let me interview patients briefly, develop ddx's, etc. I'll have another letter from a doc i work with.

Was my late app the dagger, or do I not have a strong app with my 29 MCAT and other ECs? What else can I do to prepare for the potential re-app?

Thanks!!


Edit: of the 15 schools, 3 were top tier programs. The rest seemed to be in my range of stats (although my MCAT is low across the board). I applied MD only.

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[Goro]

Yes and yes. A 29 will be lethal at a top tier school as well.

Was my late app the dagger, or do I not have a strong app with my 29 MCAT and other ECs? What else can I do to prepare for the potential re-app?

Get some more non-clinical volunteer work to show off your altruism, and apply to all new MD schools (except Hofstra and Va Tech), all DO schools, and the low-tier MD schools, especially Wake, VCU and EVMS.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

How was the fit of the 15 schools you applied to? What was your third letter?
I am wondering if your application didn't reflect a strong science background with only one (I presume) science LOR and lower side science MCAT.
Your clinical experience looks good.
How was your personal statement? Do you have a solid story and reasons on going from education to med? did you write about med ed ?

 

[9iron]

OP, I applied with a lower MCAT as well and I am in a similar position as you. You might want to peruse threads like 'Anyone with 27-29 MCAT...' (I can't remember the exact title) if you need a confidence boost. There are plenty of people who are admitted each year with sub 30 MCAT scores. Plus, it sounds like you have a unique story. Apply broadly as Goro mentioned and submit your app ASAP in June. Good luck

 

[owling19]

Thank you all for the replies.

@Goro - I will be sure to work on more non-clinical volunteering. And I actually do have about 50 more hours doing two other activities that I forgot to add before submitting my app (it was in undergrad doing HS tutoring).

@hobbes23 - I think the fits for each school were pretty strong, at least the mid tier programs. I've been shooting for UNC, ECU, Wake, UVA, VCU, EVMS, VA Tech. As for the science background, you're right that only had one science LOR (the rest, although strong, were from soc, ed, and my patient care experiences). However, I took enough science credits in undergrad to almost double major, so I was hoping the 3.65 would justify my ability to handle that coursework. I only studied for about a month and a half for the MCAT which was easily a bad decision. I essentially finished content review a week before the exam. So I think I could do better than a 29, but I don't know about the new MCAT and trying to study again while working full time. And my PS was pretty strong according to my readers. It was all about my soc and teaching experience and why I want to pursue med school.

@9iron - thanks for the tip! I've seen that thread and it seemed like many of them applied really early. I'm going to try and submit on the first day possible if I don't get in this go around.

Do y'all think I need to retake the 29 to be successful at one of those schools?

 

[gyngyn]

Hopefully you will get in at the school where you interviewed.
Your stats are good for many schools. A sufficient number of well written timely submissions with more reflection on your experience will likely yield results.
Never count on a physician letter (however strong) to put you over the top at an MD school.

 

[j4pac]

I wouldn't retake your MCAT. You are just on the fringe of MD acceptance. You just need to fill out your portfolio. Be sure that you have a VERY strong LOR...get objective people to critique.

You will want to apply DO next cycle as a fall back.

You could potentially do worse on your MCAT and screw yourself. A 29 is a respectable score...I would stay put.

 

[owling19]

Hi everyone,

Instead of creating a new thread, I decided to just reply to this original one I made last year (stats/ECs are in the 1st post)

I was ultimately rejected from the one interview I received. It was pretty heart breaking given the leap I took withdrawing from my graduate education program. But, I bombed the interview and I did not deserve the acceptance. I decided against re-applying this cycle, and I have returned to complete my master's in education -- I will be done by May 2017.

If I reapply either this upcoming cycle or in 2017, will my application be "enough" to justify a reapplication? I have not done much else that is new aside from re-enroll in my graduate degree program. The only new aspect of my application would be a new, strong letter of recommendation. I like to think that my overall application is well-rounded, but my MCAT still remains as a 29 (10/10/9). If I apply right away in June, will I have a shot? One of my biggest downfalls was not being complete until the end of September / mid October last cycle. I'm looking mainly at NC schools (in-state), VA (strong ties), SC (strong ties).

Thanks for the advice.

 

[kenjixshadow]

Hi everyone,

Instead of creating a new thread, I decided to just reply to this original one I made last year (stats/ECs are in the 1st post)

I was ultimately rejected from the one interview I received. It was pretty heart breaking given the leap I took withdrawing from my graduate education program. But, I bombed the interview and I did not deserve the acceptance. I decided against re-applying this cycle, and I have returned to complete my master's in education -- I will be done by May 2017.

If I reapply either this upcoming cycle or in 2017, will my application be "enough" to justify a reapplication? I have not done much else that is new aside from re-enroll in my graduate degree program. The only new aspect of my application would be a new, strong letter of recommendation. I like to think that my overall application is well-rounded, but my MCAT still remains as a 29 (10/10/9). If I apply right away in June, will I have a shot? One of my biggest downfalls was not being complete until the end of September / mid October last cycle. I'm looking mainly at NC schools (in-state), VA (strong ties), SC (strong ties).

Thanks for the advice.

You're ultimately looking for another down fall if you only to those three states. When is your MCAT expired? You may want to retake it if getting to an MD school is your goal. If you want to be a physician, you should've applied to all DO schools last cycle. Think of this, you would be a second year by next fall in lieu of applying to medical schools again and you wasted a year by finishing a master degree albeit it does look good if your master GPA is excellent. You literally lost over $400,000 from 2 years of attending salary in addition to second round primary & secondary application fees. Anyway, the damage is done. I would retake the MCAT and apply broadly. You don't want to waste another year by being picky.

 

[FMDoge2020]

I heard some schools will stop taking the old MCAT score soon. Make sure your score still can be considered. Otherwise you might be rushed to retake.