Retake MCAT? Need advice

[lghaf01]

Hi I am planning on applying to osteopathic schools for the cycle of 2012.
I graduated from UVA, Virginia resident, and I am currently taking physics + lab at ODU. I did not have Physics before I took my MCAT, so my breakdown was a 6/10/8 (PS, VR,BS)--so overall 24Q (which I believe is the minimum for the average DO school). My science GPA is a 3.75-3.8 (retook 2 classes) and my cgpa is a 3.8.
I am interested in VCOM (VCOM's average is 24-25), WVSOM (average 24-25), and LMU-DCOM (average 24). I have contacted these schools and asked about the issue with the 6 in PS, and I explained that it was because I hadn't taken any physics yet. The director of admissions from LMU told me I would be fine, the director of admissions from VCOM didn't really give me an answer, it was just more like "its up to you" but the admissions counselors from VCOM and WVSOM told me I should be fine. The admissions director from WVSOM told me if she was looking at my application, she would grant me an interview, but she said that I would have to explain the 6 in PS, and why I didn't retake it after my physics classes to see if I could pull it up.
I will be finished with my physics classes by May 2012, in time to apply. I really don't want to have to retake the MCAT because of the time/money factor. Also I am worried that I may slip in my other sections.
I am very interested in DO schools, and I just need some advice from SDN members on whether or not I should retake or not. I would really appreciate all of the advice I can get.

EXTRA-CURRICULARS
--Bio Lab T.A.
--Patient-based Research at EVMS
--volunteered 3 years in hospital
--shadowed in multiple family practices, shadowed DO
--volunteered in retirement home program 4 months
--volunteered in FREE CLINIC for 4 months
--'"going to" work as scribe next year
--Multicultural Education facilitator for 4 months

Thanks again! And best of luck to all of you!

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[dntke1518]

Hi I am planning on applying to osteopathic schools for the cycle of 2012.
I graduated from UVA, Virginia resident, and I am currently taking physics + lab at ODU. I did not have Physics before I took my MCAT, so my breakdown was a 6/10/8 (PS, VR,BS)--so overall 24Q (which I believe is the minimum for the average DO school). My science GPA is a 3.75-3.8 (retook 2 classes) and my cgpa is a 3.8.
I am interested in VCOM (VCOM's average is 24-25), WVSOM (average 24-25), and LMU-DCOM (average 24). I have contacted these schools and asked about the issue with the 6 in PS, and I explained that it was because I hadn't taken any physics yet. The director of admissions from LMU told me I would be fine, the director of admissions from VCOM didn't really give me an answer, it was just more like "its up to you" but the admissions counselors from VCOM and WVSOM told me I should be fine. The admissions director from WVSOM told me if she was looking at my application, she would grant me an interview, but she said that I would have to explain the 6 in PS, and why I didn't retake it after my physics classes to see if I could pull it up.
I will be finished with my physics classes by May 2012, in time to apply. I really don't want to have to retake the MCAT because of the time/money factor. Also I am worried that I may slip in my other sections.
I am very interested in DO schools, and I just need some advice from SDN members on whether or not I should retake or not. I would really appreciate all of the advice I can get.

EXTRA-CURRICULARS
--Bio Lab T.A.
--Patient-based Research at EVMS
--volunteered 3 years in hospital
--shadowed in multiple family practices, shadowed DO
--volunteered in retirement home program 4 months
--volunteered in FREE CLINIC for 4 months
--'"going to" work as scribe next year
--Multicultural Education facilitator for 4 months

Thanks again! And best of luck to all of you!

Honestly as much as you don't want to you probably should retake after you have your physics classes complete, in the mean time study and take practice tests so your other sections don't slip. When the next application cycle comes around you can submit your primary with the old mcat score and update it when you get your new scores, no need to wait on MCAT scores...

 

[lghaf01]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[lghaf01]

I actually just found out that aacomas will probably not accept my retake grade in ochem lab because at UVA it was 3 credits, and at ODU it was 2 when I took it, so they won't replace the better grade!! It sucks, its funny because they didn't mention it anywhere on the actual application.
Anyways so now my sgpa is not a 3.75, its a 3.56
so I think I should definitely bring up my 24Q to a 26 or 27.

Thanks again, and best of luck to you!
I would also appreciate any other input from other SND members, thanks guys!

 

[dntke1518]

I actually just found out that aacomas will probably not accept my retake grade in ochem lab because at UVA it was 3 credits, and at ODU it was 2 when I took it, so they won't replace the better grade!! It sucks, its funny because they didn't mention it anywhere on the actual application.
Anyways so now my sgpa is not a 3.75, its a 3.56
so I think I should definitely bring up my 24Q to a 26 or 27.

Thanks again, and best of luck to you!
I would also appreciate any other input from other SND members, thanks guys!

Well that's not cool... 3 credit hour O Chem lab? My O Chem was 2 cr hrs and it seemed like we were in there for half the day lol.

 

[help2]

From someone who has taken the mcat three, yes three, times, I can definitely understand how daunting the thought of investing the time and money into doing it, yet again, can be.
I spent a lot of time debating whether or not to go for my third retake.
Ultimately, I felt that the most important thing was to make my application the absolute best it could possibly be. Really, my mcat was the weakest link. So I had to try, because medical school was far too important to me to take the chance on my current scores.
If you retake, I'm sure you can pull your score up- you have a lot of time and can work on practice tests for as long as you need until you're ready.

 

[lghaf01]

im really not trying to make this whole thing into a therapy session lol but i guess i just feel like im moving a few steps back, because i felt like my gpa is high enough and my mcat is good enough to get me somewhere, i dont want to go through that again. so i feel like by retaking it, im back at square one, studying for this test all over again. it just bums me out... i feel like it will take forever to just get in somewhere and be done with all the anxiety, at least until med school lol.

but i definitely hear what you're saying, i really should take the test again, and i will. do you think with my s/c gpa, extracurriculars, and maybe a 25-26 (even) mcat i could get into a d.o. school?

thanks so much again for all your advice and i wish you guys the best of luck!

 

[DrWily]

im really not trying to make this whole thing into a therapy session lol but i guess i just feel like im moving a few steps back, because i felt like my gpa is high enough and my mcat is good enough to get me somewhere, i dont want to go through that again. so i feel like by retaking it, im back at square one, studying for this test all over again. it just bums me out... i feel like it will take forever to just get in somewhere and be done with all the anxiety, at least until med school lol.

but i definitely hear what you're saying, i really should take the test again, and i will. do you think with my s/c gpa, extracurriculars, and maybe a 25-26 (even) mcat i could get into a d.o. school?

thanks so much again for all your advice and i wish you guys the best of luck!

Your problem isn't so much the total score. It's that 6 in PS. Your verbal is awesome, BS could use a boost but its fine where it is. Luckily, it has been said that PS and BS are way easier to raise than Verbal is. Study hard, and go over your mistakes. Don't just count things as careless mistakes. You missed it for a reason. Find out why.

 

[lghaf01]

thank you for your feedback . my mistake was not taking physics before the mcat...not fun lol im taking it now, so i think i should be good for the test for the PS. im planning on just rereading my kaplan books for the other stuff (gen chem, bio, orgo) and doing the kaplan on demand stuff and practice tests, with a couple vr practice tests.

do you think that would help me get a 26?

thank you

also how is my gpa? im so upset about the whole 3 credit lab not being replaced with the 2 credit lab.

your feedback is so helpful, wish you luck!

 

[lghaf01]

anyone have anymore feedback?

 

[scrubbedup]

Retake (unless you feel you will absolutely do worse). Your MCAT is an important part of your application, and unfortunately a 6 is a pretty mediocre score, especially in PS and an 8 in BS is not too impressive either.
Though the MCAT is not an absolute indication of how you'll do in medical school it does test your ability to integrate knowledge rather than just regurgitate what you read and that's a very important distinction that you'll have to learn quickly in medschool.

Besides, you want you application to be the most competitive it can be so you can have the most choices possible when you're ready to make you decision. Your have a great GPA. Retake the MCAT and make your application truly stand out.