3.2 sGPA, 3.2cGPA, 22MCAT

[Hopefulonco21]

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Hi all,

I posted last year and got some good advice so I figured I would do it again and see what everyone has to say. My application looks as follows:

GPA: sGPA:3.2 (ACCOM), 3.0 (AMCAS)
cGPA 3.4 (ACCOM), 3.0 (AMCAS)
MCAT: 22 6/8/8 on September 2014 one, and 20 6/6/8 on January 2015 one (rushed it 🙁 )
ECs: Over 200 hours of research with 5 presentations and 1 pending publication
Shadowing: over 300 hours with direct patient contact in the office and this is resulting in a strong LOR
Internship: Patient Navigator for American Cancer Society with over 200 hours of direct patient exposure in the cancer ward at a hospital
LORS: 3 strong teacher evaluations and 1 strong physician evaluation he even put in that I have raised the bar for his residents at Rutgers Med in a good way.

Certified in CPR and AED usages due to the fact that I was a lifeguard and I worked over 20 hours a week at another job while doing that and carrying a heavy course load

My GPA took a hit in my second year in college due to a family member's passing and so I have been working at it ever since. I have received mostly As and Bs in the upper level courses and I am currently enrolled in a 5 yr BS/MS program so I have been doing graduate level courses for over a year now in combination with one or two undergrad courses. All of these grad courses are As.

Also I had cancer at the age of 3 so my personal statement should not be a huge problem in terms of writing my motivation for wanting to go into medicine.

I am currently applying to SMPs but I am not sure if I should even bother with this application cycle given the fact that my MCAT is so low. I am going to take the new one in August sadly but I know I have no choice. I just want to know if I should apply and wait to submit the apps until my new mcat comes out in September or if I should just scrap this whole cycle, hope I get into an SMP program and apply next year.

 

[Goro]

I strongly suggest skipping this app cycle for MD. Your numbers are quite lethal for MD schools, but fair for DO schools

If you're boning for MD, ace the SMP, and MCAT as well.

Do DO schools, I strongly suggest a retake. You'd be autorejected at mine and many other schools.

 

[Hopefulonco21]

I definitely am going to do the SMP if I get into it, just because I want to keep myself moving during my gap year. However, I fear that my third MCAT may actually hurt be because I had to take it 3 times. Also I was told the MCAT may be too low at some DO schools.....are there any specific ones that may show me love?

Thoughts? @Goro

 

[Doug Underhill]

Going from a 22 to a 20 is a very adverse change. I'd try the new MCAT after extensive preparation and hope for at least a 50th percentile score. The new test is supposed to better represent the skills demanded by the doctors of the future, and if you do better, it may overshadow the poor previous MCATs.

 

[Goro]

Even more than that, OP shows poor choice making skills. Adcoms will prefer people who dont' rush career deciding, high stakes exams. Poor MCAT performance correlates with failing out of med school, or failing Boards.

OP, absolutely do NOT retake the MCAT until you fix your deficits!

Going from a 22 to a 20 is a very adverse change. I'd try the new MCAT after extensive preparation and hope for at least a 50th percentile score. The new test is supposed to better represent the skills demanded by the doctors of the future, and if you do better, it may overshadow the poor previous MCATs.

 

[Hopefulonco21]

Ok so I obviously need to skip this application cycle correct?

Also I only rushed to take it to try and avoid the new one that has no information out on it but unfortunately that did not work out.