3.67 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA, 500 MCAT, Continue with DO app?

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examsandyams

examsandyams

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As the title says, I have a 3.67 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA, and a 500 MCAT. I have a good amount of leadership activities, volunteering, hospital-related work, and a study abroad in Asia. I already submitted my primaries to a large number of DO schools, and I have about 80% of the secondary questions written. I just got my MCAT results and was really disappointed.

I haven't submitted any secondaries, so should I submit them or reapply next year? My thinking was if I'm already considered a reapplicant during the next round should I try this round anyway to see if a school works out, or would it look bad that I continued my application after receiving my MCAT score? If you think I should apply, which schools do you recommend I focus on?

Also if I were to apply this round, not get in, and reapply during the next cycle, would the committee see both applications? Since some schools use similar secondary questions for multiple years, would I have to rewrite new essays or could I submit the same essays without being frowned upon when reviewed?

Sorry, for all the questions. I'm just really stressed and feeling down right now, and I'm trying to weigh my options before its too far into this application cycle.
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examsandyams said:
As the title says, I have a 3.67 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA, and a 500 MCAT. I have a good amount of leadership activities, volunteering, hospital-related work, and a study abroad in Asia. I already submitted my primaries to a large number of DO schools, and I have about 80% of the secondary questions written. I just got my MCAT results and was really disappointed.

I haven't submitted any secondaries, so should I submit them or reapply next year? My thinking was if I'm already considered a reapplicant during the next round should I try this round anyway to see if a school works out, or would it look bad that I continued my application after receiving my MCAT score? If you think I should apply, which schools do you recommend I focus on?

Also if I were to apply this round, not get in, and reapply during the next cycle, would the committee see both applications? Since some schools use similar secondary questions for multiple years, would I have to rewrite new essays or could I submit the same essays without being frowned upon when reviewed?

Sorry, for all the questions. I'm just really stressed and feeling down right now, and I'm trying to weigh my options before its too far into this application cycle.
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Hey man I’m in the same situation except 499 and 3.87 gpa. What I’m doing is just applying to like 5 schools, none of the ones with high mcat avg like kcu & stuff and retake September. Get your score by October and then if it’s a score ur okay with then add more schools. I believe if ur application is in b4 thanksgiving you’ll be okay (From what I read). You’re only a reapplicat to the schools you apply to I believe. This is if ur retaking & still trying for this cycle of course, but I think u can get in somewhere w those numbers
 
Once you submit a primary to a school, it's considered as if you applied there, even if you don't finish the secondaries. So if you apply again next year then yes you will be considered a re-applicant.

I think it's worth a shot applying with a 500 MCAT especially with your GPA. What's your MCAT breakdown ? As long as your B/B score is not below a 125 or so then you should try and go forward with your DO app. There are people who have gotten in with a score of a 500 and even less, so there's definitely a chance you can land an interview.

The DO cycle is really long, so if you wish to retake in January, you can do that and then update schools about your new score. I think the worst thing you can do is try and rush a September retake and mess up another MCAT attempt. Either retake in January or next year and apply again next cycle.

The Committee could look at your earlier application from last year for sure if they wanted to, however generally in your secondary most schools will ask you if you're a reapplicant and will ask you how your application improved from the year before.
 
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Xanias said:
Once you submit a primary to a school, it's considered as if you applied there, even if you don't finish the secondaries. So if you apply again next year then yes you will be considered a re-applicant.

I think it's worth a shot applying with a 500 MCAT especially with your GPA. What's your MCAT breakdown ? As long as your B/B score is not below a 125 or so then you should try and go forward with your DO app. There are people who have gotten in with a score of a 500 and even less, so there's definitely a chance you can land an interview.

The DO cycle is really long, so if you wish to retake in January, you can do that and then update schools about your new score. I think the worst thing you can do is try and rush a September retake and mess up another MCAT attempt. Either retake in January or next year and apply again next cycle.

The Committee could look at your earlier application from last year for sure if they wanted to, however generally in your secondary most schools will ask you if you're a reapplicant and will ask you how your application improved from the year before.
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Just as an aside, some schools won't accept a Jan MCAT for applicants to that years class.

Oh and OP, always rewrite secondaries.

Don't be afraid to apply with a 500 MCAT, your GPA is fine.
 
Xanias said:
Once you submit a primary to a school, it's considered as if you applied there, even if you don't finish the secondaries. So if you apply again next year then yes you will be considered a re-applicant.

I think it's worth a shot applying with a 500 MCAT especially with your GPA. What's your MCAT breakdown ? As long as your B/B score is not below a 125 or so then you should try and go forward with your DO app. There are people who have gotten in with a score of a 500 and even less, so there's definitely a chance you can land an interview.

The DO cycle is really long, so if you wish to retake in January, you can do that and then update schools about your new score. I think the worst thing you can do is try and rush a September retake and mess up another MCAT attempt. Either retake in January or next year and apply again next cycle.

The Committee could look at your earlier application from last year for sure if they wanted to, however generally in your secondary most schools will ask you if you're a reapplicant and will ask you how your application improved from the year before.
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Isn’t a Jan retake late tho? I was contemplating that date based on ur advice in my thread or sept. I just know that I’ll forget everything if I wait till Jan tho & I felt like I got the most done my last month of mcat studying due to time crunch. I really like my other sections (127,120,126,126) & it’s pretty on par with my practice exams, I usually always get a 127 or 126 on the sciences, but cars is way below my avg and I think if I really hoan in on it for a month I can get it up while maintaining my science sections. But idk :/, this stressing me out. I know my score screens me out at a lot of the og schools which is why I kinda wanna rush it so I can resubmit b4 all the seats get taken
 
A Jan retake is late; and as @Magus5454 said some schools won't accept it. However, it is a chance to try and boost your applications for some schools and still be considered for this cycle.

I think I've wrote on your other thread; A 120 in CARS could light your whole application on fire, but I would still give it a shot. You can try emailing some schools to ask them if you will get screened out because of your 120 and if they advise you to retake before applying.

Whether you retake next month or not is up to you, but remember that when adcoms see another retake in less than a 2 month span with either minimal improvement or non at all, that would be viewed in a very negative light. So this is a risk you should be willing to consider.
 
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Xanias said:
A Jan retake is late; and as @Magus5454 said some schools won't accept it. However, it is a chance to try and boost your applications for some schools and still be considered for this cycle.

I think I've wrote on your other thread; A 120 in CARS could light your whole application on fire, but I would still give it a shot. You can try emailing some schools to ask them if you will get screened out because of your 120 and if they advise you to retake before applying.

Whether you retake next month or not is up to you, but remember that when adcoms see another retake in less than a 2 month span with either minimal improvement or non at all, that would be viewed in a very negative light. So this is a risk you should be willing to consider.
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Ahhh I see. I might have to think about this a little then. Appreciate all your helpful advice!
 
Yes, schools will screen you. I did terrible on CARS (121). Not one of my finest moments and it devastated me but the result is the result and I have to live with that. However, I did pretty well on the other sections so I moved forward and applied. We shall see.

I got screened out of Burrell (which I didn't realize screened by section). I also got a quick reject (few hours after getting a "your application is complete" email) from AT-SOMA after secondary so I am guessing this was an automatic screen based on either MCAT or GPA. I did not receive secondary apps from several schools so I am not certain. Some schools publish data on what their minimum requirements are, others hide it and screen after you send them money.
 
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jczarnecki said:
Yes, schools will screen you. I did terrible on CARS (121). Not one of my finest moments and it devastated me but the result is the result and I have to live with that. However, I did pretty well on the other sections so I moved forward and applied. We shall see.

I got screened out of Burrell (which I didn't realize screened by section). I also got a quick reject (few hours after getting a "your application is complete" email) from AT-SOMA after secondary so I am guessing this was an automatic screen based on either MCAT or GPA. I did not receive secondary apps from several schools so I am not certain. Some schools publish data on what their minimum requirements are, others hide it and screen after you send them money.
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Ya, I feel you man. Gotta live with it & move on. I think it’s school dependent, but I guess we’ll just wait & see what happens
 
Xanias said:
Once you submit a primary to a school, it's considered as if you applied there, even if you don't finish the secondaries. So if you apply again next year then yes you will be considered a re-applicant.

I think it's worth a shot applying with a 500 MCAT especially with your GPA. What's your MCAT breakdown ? As long as your B/B score is not below a 125 or so then you should try and go forward with your DO app. There are people who have gotten in with a score of a 500 and even less, so there's definitely a chance you can land an interview.

The DO cycle is really long, so if you wish to retake in January, you can do that and then update schools about your new score. I think the worst thing you can do is try and rush a September retake and mess up another MCAT attempt. Either retake in January or next year and apply again next cycle.

The Committee could look at your earlier application from last year for sure if they wanted to, however generally in your secondary most schools will ask you if you're a reapplicant and will ask you how your application improved from the year before.
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I got 127/124/124/125...

Just to make sure I got this correct, if my current score doesn't meet a school's requirement, would they put my application on hold until January, assuming the school accepts January scores? And would schools whose minimum requirements are met keep me on hold too (in case I screw up and get a lower score in January) or would they continue to the interview process. Also, if a school accepts January scores, does that mean I can take the MCAT any time during the month? Finally, if I don't feel I'm ready to retake by January, do I just re-edit my application to drop that I'm going to be taking ? Sorry, if these are obvious questions.

Thank you for the help!
 
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Magus5454 said:
Just as an aside, some schools won't accept a Jan MCAT for applicants to that years class.

Oh and OP, always rewrite secondaries.

Don't be afraid to apply with a 500 MCAT, your GPA is fine.
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Thank you for the advice!

I understand I shouldn't use the exact same wording but for questions like "What do you like about our school?" or "Describe your worse failure," I wouldn't think a lot would have changed between this cycle and a possible future cycle. In that case would it be okay to keep the answer relatively the same, but edit small changes in wording or add minor details?
 
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examsandyams said:
Thank you for the advice!

I understand I shouldn't use the exact same wording but for questions like "What do you like about our school?" or "Describe your worse failure," I wouldn't think a lot would have changed between this cycle and a possible future cycle. In that case would it be okay to keep the answer relatively the same, but edit small changes in wording or add minor details?
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You will get in somewhere with that gpa and MCAT. Apply broadly.
What state are you from?
 
dial1010usa said:
You will get in somewhere with that gpa and MCAT. Apply broadly.
What state are you from?
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Glad to hear that there's some hope, and I'm from Illinois. I'd like to ideally stay in the Midwest, but I obviously can't be picky with my score.
 
examsandyams said:
I got 127/124/124/125...

Just to make sure I got this correct, if my current score doesn't meet a school's requirement, would they put my application on hold until January, assuming the school accepts January scores? And would schools whose minimum requirements are met keep me on hold too (in case I screw up and get a lower score in January) or would they continue to the interview process. Also, if a school accepts January scores, does that mean I can take the MCAT any time during the month? Finally, if I don't feel I'm ready to retake by January, do I just re-edit my application to drop that I'm going to be taking ? Sorry, if these are obvious questions.

Thank you for the help!
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Your MCAT score is good; I wish your B/B was a bit higher but I believe you're in the game and would land multiple interviews. I wouldn't worry so much about a retake at this point.

If you don't meet a school's requirement you will get rejected outright (Shouldn't be the case for you).

You can always email to schools to reconsider your application with a new set of MCAT score after you're put on hold. If you receive a rejection, the decision is final for the cycle.

If you do worse on your January MCAT attempt, well then you're kind of screwed. You'll have some explaining to do.

There are only two test dates in January I believe, and schools would list the final MCAT dates they will accept.

You can update your AACOMAS application if they should expect an MCAT for you. Generally if you say you have a new MCAT in the works, then everything gets put on hold until they see your scores.

In conclusion; Don't think about a retake for now, work on getting your secondaries back in as early as possible, and apply to a lot of DO schools. I'm thinking someone will bite.
 
Xanias said:
Your MCAT score is good; I wish your B/B was a bit higher but I believe you're in the game and would land multiple interviews. I wouldn't worry so much about a retake at this point.

If you don't meet a school's requirement you will get rejected outright (Shouldn't be the case for you).

You can always email to schools to reconsider your application with a new set of MCAT score after you're put on hold. If you receive a rejection, the decision is final for the cycle.

If you do worse on your January MCAT attempt, well then you're kind of screwed. You'll have some explaining to do.

There are only two test dates in January I believe, and schools would list the final MCAT dates they will accept.

You can update your AACOMAS application if they should expect an MCAT for you. Generally if you say you have a new MCAT in the works, then everything gets put on hold until they see your scores.

In conclusion; Don't think about a retake for now, work on getting your secondaries back in as early as possible, and apply to a lot of DO schools. I'm thinking someone will bite.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thank you for the help!
 
My advice would be to apply very broadly. I think you might rake in a few interviews from a big list.
 
@Magus5454 @gensurghopeful @Xanias @dial1010usa @Isoval

Hi, when do you all think would be a safe time to have all my secondaries out by? I've been trying to crack them out, but I've hit a slump lately and have had trouble focusing. I know ASAP is the best answer but was hoping for something a little more specific.
 
Last cycle my stats were 3.72 for both cGPA and sGPA, and MCAT 500/499 (ESL student, took it 4 times). I applied to 26 DO schools, got 11 IIs, but only attended 4 of them, and landed 2 acceptances. So I think you should be fine unless you have terrible interviewing skills.

Edit: A DO letter would help you greatly as well if you don't already have one.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
 
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lenspx said:
Last cycle my stats were 3.72 for both cGPA and sGPA, and MCAT 500/499 (ESL student, took it 4 times). I applied to 26 DO schools, got 11 IIs, but only attended 4 of them, and landed 2 acceptances. So I think you should be find unless you have terrible interviewing skills.

Edit: A DO letter would help you greatly as well if you don't already have one.
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That's awesome! If you don't mind me asking, which schools did you get IIs to? You can PM if you don't want to share publicly.

And I'm planning to get a DO letter, but it probably won't happen until September. Thanks!
 
examsandyams said:
@Magus5454 @gensurghopeful @Xanias @dial1010usa @Isoval

Hi, when do you all think would be a safe time to have all my secondaries out by? I've been trying to crack them out, but I've hit a slump lately and have had trouble focusing. I know ASAP is the best answer but was hoping for something a little more specific.
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Submit as early as you can to the schools you feel like you have the highest chance of acceptance there


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lenspx said:
Last cycle my stats were 3.72 for both cGPA and sGPA, and MCAT 500/499 (ESL student, took it 4 times). I applied to 26 DO schools, got 11 IIs, but only attended 4 of them, and landed 2 acceptances. So I think you should be find unless you have terrible interviewing skills.

Edit: A DO letter would help you greatly as well if you don't already have one.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Do you mind listing the schools where you got interviews? Thanks.
 
examsandyams said:
That's awesome! If you don't mind me asking, which schools did you get IIs to? You can PM if you don't want to share publicly.

And I'm planning to get a DO letter, but it probably won't happen until September. Thanks!
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PMed you

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
 
examsandyams said:
@Magus5454 @gensurghopeful @Xanias @dial1010usa @Isoval

Hi, when do you all think would be a safe time to have all my secondaries out by? I've been trying to crack them out, but I've hit a slump lately and have had trouble focusing. I know ASAP is the best answer but was hoping for something a little more specific.
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Set a date and get it done. Procrastination needs to be something of the past if you are to survive and succeed in medical school.
Good luck.
 
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examsandyams said:
@Magus5454 @gensurghopeful @Xanias @dial1010usa @Isoval

Hi, when do you all think would be a safe time to have all my secondaries out by? I've been trying to crack them out, but I've hit a slump lately and have had trouble focusing. I know ASAP is the best answer but was hoping for something a little more specific.
Click to expand...

I really like the October-ish answer, but I will parrot that you should take as long as it takes to do it right.
 
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lenspx said:
Last cycle my stats were 3.72 for both cGPA and sGPA, and MCAT 500/499 (ESL student, took it 4 times). I applied to 26 DO schools, got 11 IIs, but only attended 4 of them, and landed 2 acceptances. So I think you should be fine unless you have terrible interviewing skills.

Edit: A DO letter would help you greatly as well if you don't already have one.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
This is awesome, mind sharing some details as I’m in the same boat
 
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