To Retake or Not to Retake, that is the question

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TinyPanda

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Hi all,

I'm a 2nd time reapplicant currently wait-listed at a medical school that typical favors in-state students (I'm out of state) -- I'm still hopeful about getting accepted, but I'm starting to think of my back up for next year - I have a couple of job interviews for research/scribe positions and would most likely be doing that if all else fails.

My question is whether or not I should retake my MCAT - I thought my MCAT 2 times before, got a 27 and then a 29 the second time - and so I'm wondering whether I should attempt a third retake in order to be a better applicant for MD/DO schools -- I definitely don't want to wait till the 2015 MCAT so I need to make a decision soon. I graduated in 2013 and have a 3.7+ cGPA and 3.5+ sGPA from undergrad, and I spend this year doing a hard post-bacc where I took hard medical school classes but didn't do well in it....had a lot of personal/family issues this year that definitely affected me. I have a lot of research and volunteering experience with 1 publication, currently working on gaining some shadowing experience and a DO letter/MD letter which I didn't have in my previous application.

Please let me know what you think, any advice is appreciated. I'd really like some advice from an admin like @Goro or @gyngyn if possible.

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The path of least resistance is via DO, and you're fine for any DO program, including mine. With a 27 and a 29, I'm worried that you've hit your ceiling for the MCAT and a 3rd try will at the same level. Do NOT retake unless all of your diagnostics are consistently >30.

Would you mind PMing me about your state of residence, and where you interviewed? This info will help be better advise people.

Hi all,

I'm a 2nd time reapplicant currently wait-listed at a medical school that typical favors in-state students (I'm out of state) -- I'm still hopeful about getting accepted, but I'm starting to think of my back up for next year - I have a couple of job interviews for research/scribe positions and would most likely be doing that if all else fails.

My question is whether or not I should retake my MCAT - I thought my MCAT 2 times before, got a 27 and then a 29 the second time - and so I'm wondering whether I should attempt a third retake in order to be a better applicant for MD/DO schools -- I definitely don't want to wait till the 2015 MCAT so I need to make a decision soon. I graduated in 2013 and have a 3.7+ cGPA and 3.5+ sGPA from undergrad, and I spend this year doing a hard post-bacc where I took hard medical school classes but didn't do well in it....had a lot of personal/family issues this year that definitely affected me. I have a lot of research and volunteering experience with 1 publication, currently working on gaining some shadowing experience and a DO letter/MD letter which I didn't have in my previous application.

Please let me know what you think, any advice is appreciated. I'd really like some advice from an admin like @Goro or @gyngyn if possible.
 
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Seems like DO is your best route if you want to reapply this year. Considering that you didn't do so hot in your post bacc it seems like you will struggle with MD admissions. It might be useful to let us know what your postbacc GPA was and if you plan on taking any additional courses in the coming year that could show improvement.

In regards to the MCAT, I agree with Goro that you need to be scoring consistently over 30 or else a retake will be useless. If you have the time, I would study for a month and then take a practice test and see where you are. However, if you are going to apply in June, it's pretty late to be studying for a retake in June/July espcially because you need so much improvement. It will be hard to apply early in that case as well, so then MD is out anyways for this cycle. In that case, if you are set on MD, take a year off kill the MCAT, get some new experiences, and reapply next year.

Good luck!
 
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I have a question. I took the MCAT once, and got a 28 (10,9,10). I only got one interview at WVU,but I got a rejection letter. They asked me if I would apply again and I said yes, I love WVU and want to go there, but I am not a resident. What should I do? I am afraid to take the MCAT again because I think I will do worse. My GPA is 3.96
 
I have a question. I took the MCAT once, and got a 28 (10,9,10). I only got one interview at WVU,but I got a rejection letter. They asked me if I would apply again and I said yes, I love WVU and want to go there, but I am not a resident. What should I do? I am afraid to take the MCAT again because I think I will do worse. My GPA is 3.96

Why did they ask you to apply again? Did they say something along the lines of 'Apply again with an improved MCAT and you'll have a chance at matriculating...'
 
I have a question. I took the MCAT once, and got a 28 (10,9,10). I only got one interview at WVU,but I got a rejection letter. They asked me if I would apply again and I said yes, I love WVU and want to go there, but I am not a resident. What should I do? I am afraid to take the MCAT again because I think I will do worse. My GPA is 3.96

Hey, I'm currently wait-listed at WVU - I would suggest making an appointment with Dr. Hazard to discuss your application - she would probably give some good feedback on your application.
 
Hey, I'm currently wait-listed at WVU - I would suggest making an appointment with Dr. Hazard to discuss your application - she would probably give some good feedback on your application.

Are you a resident of WV? I feel like I don't have a chance because of my low mcat and the fact that I'm not a resident. If you don't mind me asking, (You don't have to answer, I'm just curious) what was your mcat score?
 
Why did they ask you to apply again? Did they say something along the lines of 'Apply again with an improved MCAT and you'll have a chance at matriculating...'
I don't know, during my interview they asked me twice if I would consider applying again. I interviewed really late in January, and it could have been that they knew I wouldn't be accepted even before the interview because they filled most the spots. They did comment on the fact that I had no research experience, which I will have by this year, so hopefully that helps
 
I don't know, during my interview they asked me twice if I would consider applying again. I interviewed really late in January, and it could have been that they knew I wouldn't be accepted even before the interview because they filled most the spots. They did comment on the fact that I had no research experience, which I will have by this year, so hopefully that helps

What @Goro said above is true, the path of least resistance for you is certainly DO program. As a reapplicant you've already delayed a year, and as a second time reapplicant you'll delay 2 years. There's added costs associated with delaying and 'lost salary' for every year you're further from being a doc.

If the MD means that much to you press on, retake the MCAT, get above a 30, get your research in, and reapply next year- you'll probably get in somewhere! If the MD isn't as important? you know what to do

Good luck :)
 
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Are you a resident of WV? I feel like I don't have a chance because of my low mcat and the fact that I'm not a resident. If you don't mind me asking, (You don't have to answer, I'm just curious) what was your mcat score?

My stats are in the first post - 29 mcat,
OOS and I also interviewed late January
 
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