I am in a little bit of a situation here and would love to hear insight on the matter.
Despite having a MCAT score of 502 (504 being the highest of the attempts; both from last year) and sending in a late application during the cycle, I received two IIs in TX. I was then wait-listed at one and matched into TCOM. ...
In taking both MCAT exams, I went in without full preparation (lacking full content review and practice test attempts) - I can't make excuses for myself and I know it has put me in the position I am in today; I am ok with dealing with the repercussions, but would still like to know and consider all options before moving forward with my life/career decisions.
What has changed in preparation, this time, is that I am utilizing resources like UWorld and AAMC/TPR Practice Tests to gauge and predict my score. Is there a score - of which I could guarantee - that would insinuate I should take the gamble?I know I can do significantly better on the MCAT (512+) and have been preparing for well over a month for the July 20th exam.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to become a physician and join TCOM's community, but in light of recent research, I have found that it is incredibly difficult to specialize in residencies that I deeply care about (specifically, ortho) when coming from an osteopathic school (please let me know if I'm wrong - I used the NRMP data from 2019 to try to gain more insight).
Ultimately, I am wondering what are thoughts on:
1) Accepting TCOM, work hard, perform well on Step, and try to land an orthopedic residency at a top-tier program
2) Declining TCOM, retake MCAT and try my luck through this app cycle (I submitted my primary on May 31st just in case, to ensure I would be much earlier in the cycle than I was in the past) at MD schools
