Take another year off due to mediocre MCAT?

[deeproots]

Hi. I'm in a sticky situation, and I'd very much appreciate advice from others who understand the med school application process. Thanks so much in advance. Here's my general info:

White female. Virginia resident. Senior at a top 25 university.
Biology major & in a selective (<15 students per major) research-based program
cGPA=3.844, sGPA=3.9something, Phi Beta Kappa
ECs: president of a university organization, new student advisor
2 years heavy research experience (but no publication )
~50 hours shadowing a physician
Part-time job working for a distinguished professor establishing a database for host-parasite relationships
Very good to excellent letters of recommendation

Before I transferred to my current university, I was also a varsity athlete and I volunteered at a hospital (~200 hours), a soup kitchen, and as a coach for a special olympics team.


And then there's the stupid MCAT. I took it on March 23rd, so I obviously don't know my score yet. I was averaging 32s on the AAMC exams (which is still lower than the score I wanted, but I couldn't afford to re-schedule), BUT I had some test center distractions that make me think my score will be lower (girl beside me talked incessantly to herself during the exam...seriously).

So, with the test-day distractions and the difficulty of the real thing, now I'm estimating that my score will be between 29-31. This is much lower than I wanted (and than what I'm capable of), so here's where the situation gets sticky:

I will be moving to TX after graduation this May. I originally planned on applying to med schools this June as a VA resident. However, my probable MCAT score and Virginia's propensity to accept 50:50 in-stateut-of-state, I'm starting to re-consider. The other option is to take another year off, gaining TX residency (i.e., making all those amazing TX med schools accessible), and hopefully increasing my MCAT score.

I feel like my application with a 35 MCAT would be good enough to get me into some really great schools (e.g., Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, maybe even some ivy leagues), which makes me consider taking another year off. BUT, for family reasons (I'm married), I really really really don't want to take another year off.

So, can you guys give me an idea of how I'd fair with my credentials and a 29-31 MCAT vs. a 34-35 MCAT? Also, I'd so appreciate any advice on my situation as a whole. My family keeps telling me that I shouldn't care about the prestige of my medical school (and thus, I should apply this year as planned), but I don't want to sell myself short. Plus, I'm not super familiar with how the "prestige" of your medical school affects residency, etc.

I'm so so sorry for the long post, but thanks so much for any help in advance! To show my gratitude, here's one of my favorite youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsqedge86DM

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[Weewee]

Come back when you actually get your score instead of going on hypotheticals. I thought I had gotten a 24 on the real thing because of test day distractions, problems with certain passages, etc....I scored 10 points higher. I know it is easy to go through what ifs constantly but in the mean time strengthen your app, volunteer, and be happy instead of worrying.

 

[deeproots]

Come back when you actually get your score instead of going on hypotheticals. I thought I had gotten a 24 on the real thing because of test day distractions, problems with certain passages, etc....I scored 10 points higher. I know it is easy to go through what ifs constantly but in the mean time strengthen your app, volunteer, and be happy instead of worrying.

Hi Weewee. The reason I'm worrying about this now is because I'm considering filing a test day complaint, which may allow me to void my previous MCAT. I don't want to void if I'm applying this cycle because I won't be able to re-take in time. I have to make the decision within 10 days after the exam, so unfortunately, I have to decide based on hypotheticals.

Awesome job on getting 10 points higher than expected on the MCAT, by the way. I can only hope that happens to me

 

[ninjiliu]

I don't have enough experience to tell you how your MCAT will affect your chances, but your family is right about your attitude of a school's prestige.

School's aren't going to like if you're all about becoming a physician because of the respect and honor that comes with an MD. If you really want to serve people by taking care of their health than don't look so much into what the school name carries, any medical school will help you achieve your career goals.

Yes the better the school the more likely you might get a better residency. But if you're reaching for a top school and you happen to get in, there's a chance that once you enroll there you'd be in the bottom spectrum of the class. A reason you would consider a mid-range school is that you would look much better if you excelled among your peers.

Some might disagree with me, but that's my advice to you.

 

[Goro]

Quit fussing, you haven't even received your score yet!
But, please keep in mind that a 3.8+ GPA is nothing to sneeze at, so I'd say that even with a 30, you're fine for plenty of programs. OK, maybe the Ivies or Harvard will sneer at you, but I still predict you'll get plenty of interviews.

Now kick back and chill.

Hi. I'm in a sticky situation, and I'd very much appreciate advice from others who understand the med school application process. Thanks so much in advance. Here's my general info:

White female. Virginia resident. Senior at a top 25 university.
Biology major & in a selective (<15 students per major) research-based program
cGPA=3.844, sGPA=3.9something, Phi Beta Kappa
ECs: president of a university organization, new student advisor
2 years heavy research experience (but no publication )
~50 hours shadowing a physician
Part-time job working for a distinguished professor establishing a database for host-parasite relationships
Very good to excellent letters of recommendation

Before I transferred to my current university, I was also a varsity athlete and I volunteered at a hospital (~200 hours), a soup kitchen, and as a coach for a special olympics team.


And then there's the stupid MCAT. I took it on March 23rd, so I obviously don't know my score yet. I was averaging 32s on the AAMC exams (which is still lower than the score I wanted, but I couldn't afford to re-schedule), BUT I had some test center distractions that make me think my score will be lower (girl beside me talked incessantly to herself during the exam...seriously).

So, with the test-day distractions and the difficulty of the real thing, now I'm estimating that my score will be between 29-31. This is much lower than I wanted (and than what I'm capable of), so here's where the situation gets sticky:

I will be moving to TX after graduation this May. I originally planned on applying to med schools this June as a VA resident. However, my probable MCAT score and Virginia's propensity to accept 50:50 in-stateut-of-state, I'm starting to re-consider. The other option is to take another year off, gaining TX residency (i.e., making all those amazing TX med schools accessible), and hopefully increasing my MCAT score.

I feel like my application with a 35 MCAT would be good enough to get me into some really great schools (e.g., Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, maybe even some ivy leagues), which makes me consider taking another year off. BUT, for family reasons (I'm married), I really really really don't want to take another year off.

So, can you guys give me an idea of how I'd fair with my credentials and a 29-31 MCAT vs. a 34-35 MCAT? Also, I'd so appreciate any advice on my situation as a whole. My family keeps telling me that I shouldn't care about the prestige of my medical school (and thus, I should apply this year as planned), but I don't want to sell myself short. Plus, I'm not super familiar with how the "prestige" of your medical school affects residency, etc.

I'm so so sorry for the long post, but thanks so much for any help in advance! To show my gratitude, here's one of my favorite youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsqedge86DM

 

[deeproots]

I don't have enough experience to tell you how your MCAT will affect your chances, but your family is right about your attitude of a school's prestige.

School's aren't going to like if you're all about becoming a physician because of the respect and honor that comes with an MD. If you really want to serve people by taking care of their health than don't look so much into what the school name carries, any medical school will help you achieve your career goals.

Yes the better the school the more likely you might get a better residency. But if you're reaching for a top school and you happen to get in, there's a chance that once you enroll there you'd be in the bottom spectrum of the class. A reason you would consider a mid-range school is that you would look much better if you excelled among your peers.

Some might disagree with me, but that's my advice to you.

Hi ninjiliu. I do not want to become a physician for respect or honor. There are plenty more careers that bring more respect and honor than a physician with less work

I want to attend a good medical school mainly because they offer more opportunities. To my understanding, a good medical school ---> more options for residency ---> more career options (assuming the student performs well). I realized this when I transferred from a "low tier" university to a top 25--so many more doors opened up to me. Whether we like it or not, this seems to be the general trend in life.

Since I have a family, I'm also concerned about having more options for location. For example, there are several great medical schools in Chicago that I would apply to if I were single, but I'm not considering them because I don't think Chicago is a great place to raise a family.

There are several more reasons for me wanting to attend a good medical school, but I think I've made it pretty clear that respect and honor are little motivation for me.

 

[deeproots]

Quit fussing, you haven't even received your score yet!
But, please keep in mind that a 3.8+ GPA is nothing to sneeze at, so I'd say that even with a 30, you're fine for plenty of programs. OK, maybe the Ivies or Harvard will sneer at you, but I still predict you'll get plenty of interviews.

Now kick back and chill.

Thanks for the advice, Goro. Unfortunately, I have to worry about all of this now (even before receiving my scores) because I'm considering filing a test center concern with AAMC which may void my exam or let me re-take. Since I won't be able to re-take in time to apply in June, I need to decide within the next week (can only file a concern with AAMC up to 10 days after the exam) if I'm comfortable applying with a mediocre MCAT. Thanks again!