3.5 cGPA 3.4 sGPA Reapplicant

[Jabronie]

Hi all. I applied last year after graduating from a UC school to a couple low-tier schools with a 3.37 cGPA and a 3.28 sGPA and a 31P MCAT. I knew my chances were low but I already had plans to complete a year of post-bacc at UC Berkeley Extension and thought I could use the application cycle to practice and potentially by some miracle get an interview. I got no interviews but some schools held me on a to-be-interviewed waitlist (which I suppose could simply be a euphemism for "denied") so I suppose they didn't write me off immediately.

Anyway, after a full year of postbacc consisting of 21 semester units of straight As including endocrinology, immunology, anatomy, hematology, cardiopulmonary physiology, molecular biology, and a health policy course (with one A+ in molecular biology), I felt like I enhanced my record a good amount, sitting at around 3.5 cGPA and 3.4 sGPA. My GPA doesn't move much at this point and I feel like admissions has to appreciate that. I also had a perfect 4.0 year my senior year of undergrad so I hope 2 years of flawless academic performance qualifies as an upward trend. Then came my MCAT retake.

I was told that retaking my MCAT would be greatly beneficial if I could raise it a couple points and I was confident that I could do it. I was dedicated; I went through all of the material again, I did AAMC practice tests (though I'd already done them the previous year), used TPR and examcrackers books for practice questions, and most importantly tried to apply what I learned to my life every day to better understand the concepts and the world around me. I took my retake, felt better about it than my first test, ended up with a 30. I was pretty shattered and frustrated, I didnt expect that at all.

My extracurriculars consist of:
1 year environmental science research
1 year cellular biology research (w/ letter)
1 year volunteering at the local hospital (~110 hours)
1 year working for a pediatrician as an MA
2 years on-campus club (global public health brigades), 1 year of which i was an officer

Also, I now have 2 strong science letters, a great letter from a doctor i worked for, a letter from a grad student i did research for, and a letter from a writing professor.

California resident, white male. The 1-2 punch to the gut.

Now, if I apply to the lowest of the low and I submit in the next few days, do I have a chance despite my MCAT mistake?

Any help would be great, I'm not sure where to go from here.

Thanks

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[AlteredScale]

Hi all. I applied last year after graduating from a UC school to a couple low-tier schools with a 3.37 cGPA and a 3.28 sGPA and a 31P MCAT. I knew my chances were low but I already had plans to complete a year of post-bacc at UC Berkeley Extension and thought I could use the application cycle to practice and potentially by some miracle get an interview. I got no interviews but some schools held me on a to-be-interviewed waitlist (which I suppose could simply be a euphemism for "denied") so I suppose they didn't write me off immediately.

Anyway, after a full year of postbacc consisting of 21 semester units of straight As including endocrinology, immunology, anatomy, hematology, cardiopulmonary physiology, molecular biology, and a health policy course (with one A+ in molecular biology), I felt like I enhanced my record a good amount, sitting at around 3.5 cGPA and 3.4 sGPA. My GPA doesn't move much at this point and I feel like admissions has to appreciate that. I also had a perfect 4.0 year my senior year of undergrad so I hope 2 years of flawless academic performance qualifies as an upward trend. Then came my MCAT retake.

I was told that retaking my MCAT would be greatly beneficial if I could raise it a couple points and I was confident that I could do it. I was dedicated; I went through all of the material again, I did AAMC practice tests (though I'd already done them the previous year), used TPR and examcrackers books for practice questions, and most importantly tried to apply what I learned to my life every day to better understand the concepts and the world around me. I took my retake, felt better about it than my first test, ended up with a 30. I was pretty shattered and frustrated, I didnt expect that at all.

My extracurriculars consist of:
1 year environmental science research
1 year cellular biology research (w/ letter)
1 year volunteering at the local hospital (~110 hours)
1 year working for a pediatrician as an MA
2 years on-campus club (global public health brigades), 1 year of which i was an officer

Also, I now have 2 strong science letters, a great letter from a doctor i worked for, a letter from a grad student i did research for, and a letter from a writing professor.

California resident, white male. The 1-2 punch to the gut.

Now, if I apply to the lowest of the low and I submit in the next few days, do I have a chance despite my MCAT mistake?

Any help would be great, I'm not sure where to go from here.

Thanks

Wow bravo on the post-bac BTW that is awesome. You should get into schools now. I think you have a better chance especially since you are a re applicant. Don't risk re taking the MCAT your score is good!

 

[gyngyn]

Wow bravo on the post-bac BTW that is awesome. You should get into schools now. I think you have a better chance especially since you are a re applicant. Don't risk re taking the MCAT your score is good!

Read on. He already did. That's one of his problems.

 

[gyngyn]

Where did you apply this cycle? You can get in with a 30 if you have a sound strategy. I'm betting you applied mostly IS. That won't work in CA.

 

[Jabronie]

Actually I only applied to 1 CA school, Davis. I figured my best chances were at Albany, VCU, VTC, Michigan state, Rosalind Franklin, Hofstra, and a few others. I did apply somewhat late due to the quarter system...I think I ended up being verified early August.

 

[juskeepswimmin]

im pretty much in the same boat as you. My first MCAT was a 32 and i studied hardcore for 7 months and felt super confident..ended up with a 31 on my retake. it was devastating. I even scored higher on my initial diagnostic the second time around. so i don't know what happened. oh well **** happens there's really nothing we can do. i'm an asian female so my demographic doesn't really help either. but here's my school list, maybe it'll help you since we're in similar situations

albany
einstein
BU
Cooper Rowan
Drexel
Dartmouth
GW
Georgetown
hofstra
howard
jefferson
mayo
MCW
NYMC
sinai
quinnipiac
rush
stony brook
temple
tufts
UMASS
rochester
VCU
cornell
uconn
wake
duke

 

[gyngyn]

Actually I only applied to 1 CA school, Davis. I figured my best chances were at Albany, VCU, VTC, Michigan state, Rosalind Franklin, Hofstra, and a few others. I did apply somewhat late due to the quarter system...I think I ended up being verified early August.

Keep going through the MSAR. Identify at least 20 OOS schools with median stats like yours and a history of accepting a significant proportion of the class from OOS. You had the right idea last time just right size the list and apply stat.

 

[Jabronie]

Is a third MCAT even an option at this point? I feel like I'm putting a nail in my own coffin each time I take it now.

 

[gyngyn]

Is a third MCAT even an option at this point? I feel like I'm putting a nail in my own coffin each time I take it now.

There's nothing wrong with a 30. It ought to get you in if you apply early, get some interviews and your personality sparkles.