What are my chances?

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Queen1234567

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Hey guys- this is my first time posting on here. Any and all advice/suggestions/insight would be very helpful. I am a senior at high tier school with a 3.9 GPA. I took the mcat twice (1st time I got a 30, and second time I got a 27). I took the second test within a week of the first test (long story). My top choices are Hofstra, Einstein and downstate. Do I have any chance at any of these schools?? I have a Lott of research/shadowing/community service etc

Thanks guys!

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I took the mcat twice (1st time I got a 30, and second time I got a 27). I took the second test within a week of the first test (long story).

Death sentence. As adcoms on this site often say, re-taking the MCAT when you clearly aren't ready is a sign of poor judgement, and taking it a week later looks awful. Also, many schools will use your most recent MCAT score, not your highest, so your score is a 27.

Even with a 30, your chances were so-so - all of the schools you listed have a median MCAT of 33 - but with a 27 they're zero.

Do you have any reason to believe you can score higher than a 30? What were your practice tests like?
 
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You might have had a better chance if you scored 27 on the first try and didn't take the MCAT a second time, at least at some low tier MD schools. I suggest you apply to several DO schools. If you live in NY, you can apply to :

1. Touro-NY (Harlem and Middletown)
2. NYIT-COM
3. ACOM
4. VCOM (all three campuses)
5. William Carey
6. Rocky Vista
 
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Thanks for the advice guys. I was scoring between 26-32 on practice tests and I really don't know why I can't do better. At schools that only take the highest score, do you think I'm okay tho?
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I was scoring between 26-32 on practice tests and I really don't know why I can't do better. At schools that only take the highest score, do you think I'm okay tho?

No school just takes your highest overall MCAT, as far as I know. A few schools will take your highest individual section scores for similar overall scores. E.g. if you scored a 10-10-10 for a 30 and then retook and got a 12-8-12 for a 32, those schools would consider your upper end as a 12-10-12; they won't evaluate it as a 34, but it'll look better than your highest score of a 32.

No school will ignore your 27. Had you gone from a 27 to a 30 you might be ok, but students are expected to score better on a retake, even if it's a week later.

You might consider retaking the 2014 MCAT for next cycle; this would give you time to really prepare, as well as to work on extracurriculars (medical job, heavy volunteering, something cool, etc). Is there a specific section giving you trouble/are you scoring much lower on one section every time? For example, a 10/9/11 followed by a 10/7/10 would probably look better than a 10/9/11 followed by a 9/8/10.
 
Ugh this really sucks so much. I got a 10-10-10 on the first test and a 10-8-9 on the second (ps-verbal-bs). I hope this doesn't screw me over too much
 
Ugh this really sucks so much. I got a 10-10-10 on the first test and a 10-8-9 on the second (ps-verbal-bs). I hope this doesn't screw me over too much

Albert Einstein - 90% of accepted students scored 31+ on the MCAT
Hofstra and SUNY Downstate - 90% of accepted students scored 30+ on the MCAT

At all of these schools, 90% of accepted students scored at least a 10 on VR and BS. Unfortunately, the only section you didn't drop on was PS, which is by far the least important.

I won't tell you not to apply to any schools, but your chances at Einstein in particular aren't stellar. If you have your heart set, though, go for it. Never know!
 
Ugh this really sucks so much. I got a 10-10-10 on the first test and a 10-8-9 on the second (ps-verbal-bs). I hope this doesn't screw me over too much
As previously noted, a drop in MCAT is a common but overlooked possibility among re-takers. There is a reporting bias on SDN toward dramatic increases. Your case is not uncommon. Your strategy will have to be correspondingly strong to overcome this. You need at least a dozen schools where your "new " score is near the median to have a fair chance this year. This would include DO schools.
 
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Thanks for all the info and advice guys. I will definitely add more schools to my list
 
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