Should I wait a year to apply?

[sunmedk]

Hi

I had a few questions overall question should i apply this year?

Ive taken the kaplan course and am taking the april 4th mcat, im scoring low 20's on the practice tests which is disappointing, i just cant seem to increase my score. Im not going to void my test because i dont want to waste the money.

So i was wondering if i dont do so well and retake over the summer and get a better score should i apply this year with my stats:

My stats are:
Gpa: 3.2 science and cumulative.
Ive got B's in most of my science classes and have 2 C's

I have great EC's, I have been doing research for the past 2 years and have presented multiple times at local and will be presenting at a national conference in april as well. I also will be submitting a paper which i am first author on this may.

I have pretty good science letters of Rec, but dont really have a non science prof to ask for a letter.

So I was wondering if with my stats i should retake over the summer and apply this year or study more and retake during the year and apply the following year hoping that my gpa will be higher.

sorry for the long post and thanks for any advice.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Hi

I had a few questions overall question should i apply this year?

Ive taken the kaplan course and am taking the april 4th mcat, im scoring low 20's on the practice tests which is disappointing, i just cant seem to increase my score. Im not going to void my test because i dont want to waste the money.

So i was wondering if i dont do so well and retake over the summer and get a better score should i apply this year with my stats:

My stats are:
Gpa: 3.2 science and cumulative.
Ive got B's in most of my science classes and have 2 C's

I have great EC's, I have been doing research for the past 2 years and have presented multiple times at local and will be presenting at a national conference in april as well. I also will be submitting a paper which i am first author on this may.

I have pretty good science letters of Rec, but dont really have a non science prof to ask for a letter.

So I was wondering if with my stats i should retake over the summer and apply this year or study more and retake during the year and apply the following year hoping that my gpa will be higher.

sorry for the long post and thanks for any advice.

3.2 and <30+ aren't going to get you into an MD program. Getting a low 20's score now will place you even further behind. If you really want MD (and I'm making that assumption because the post is tagged as JUST MD, not MD/DO) and you aren't getting practice scores in that range, postpone. If you're ok with DO, you still will need high 20's, I would guess. Also, You will need shadowing and volunteer EC's to round out a low-stats application.

 

[Catalystik]

Ive taken the kaplan course and am taking the april 4th mcat, im scoring low 20's on the practice tests which is disappointing, i just cant seem to increase my score. Im not going to void my test because i dont want to waste the money.

So i was wondering if i dont do so well and retake over the summer and get a better score should i apply this year with my stats:

My stats are:
Gpa: 3.2 science and cumulative.
Ive got B's in most of my science classes and have 2 C's

I have great EC's, I have been doing research for the past 2 years and have presented multiple times at local and will be presenting at a national conference in april as well. I also will be submitting a paper which i am first author on this may.

I have pretty good science letters of Rec, but dont really have a non science prof to ask for a letter.

So I was wondering if with my stats i should retake over the summer and apply this year or study more and retake during the year and apply the following year hoping that my gpa will be higher.

sorry for the long post and thanks for any advice.

With more med schools moving toward averaging multiple MCAT scores, you'd be making a mistake to let a low score stand. Why not reschedule for August or September, take the next year to raise your low GPA and generate a steep upward grade trend, garner appropriate excellent LORs, and apply summer 2014 with more terrific ECs and a publication in the bag.

 

[sunmedk]

With more med schools moving toward averaging multiple MCAT scores, you'd be making a mistake to let a low score stand. Why not reschedule for August or September, take the next year to raise your low GPA and generate a steep upward grade trend, garner appropriate excellent LORs, and apply summer 2014 with more terrific ECs and a publication in the bag.

Well the date to reschedule was last week so the only thing i would be able to do is go take it and void it. But i really dont want to do that i feel like its wasting the money i put in. If I do keep the score i get from this first MCAT and then retake over the summer again would i still be able to try to apply this cycle or is it not worth my time and money? Im also totally fine with waiting a year.

 

[survivordo]

It might seem like you are wasting money now but in the long run you will be saving yourself a lot of grief (and probably money too because you won't have to re-apply!) by not having a low to mid 20's score on your app. Throughout the entire process you are going to feel like you are wasting money for one thing or another, get used to it and do what is right!

Survivor DO

 

[Catalystik]

If I do keep the score i get from this first MCAT and then retake over the summer again would i still be able to try to apply this cycle or is it not worth my time and money?

Yes, you would still be able to apply this summer. Whether it's worth your time and money depends on the two scores. And how late you apply.