3.77c/3.74s, 510 to 520 MCAT, ORM. School List Help

[CaffeineJunkie]

University of Washington (in-state)

Mt. Sinai
Cornell
NYU
Columbia
Vanderbilt
Michigan
Pittsburgh
Northwestern

Case Western
Rochester
Hofstra
UVA
USC
Boston U
Ohio State
Emory
Dartmouth

VCU
Loyola
St. Louis
Tufts
UVM
Jefferson
MCW
Cincinnati

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[ChymeofPassion]

Why did you retake a 510?

 

[PreMedStudent55555]

Why did you retake a 510?

Prob cuz a 510 is like a 32 on the last MCAT. And she went from the 83rd percentile to 98 percentile. Congrats btw on the new MCAT score but just curious on whether adcoms view such an increase in MCAT score favorable?

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

Prob cuz a 510 is like a 32 on the last MCAT. And she went from the 83rd percentile to 98 percentile. Congrats btw on the new MCAT score but just curious on whether adcoms view such an increase in MCAT score favorable?

Thanks! I retook for a couple reasons, partly because my committee asked and partly because I knew I could do better (510 is a 31) and I did! I'm hoping this opens up some new schools I could be competitive at. I've been considering incorporating some research into my time in med school and future career so I'm happy to have these options.

Any school suggestions?


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[ChymeofPassion]

Prob cuz a 510 is like a 32 on the last MCAT. And she went from the 83rd percentile to 98 percentile. Congrats btw on the new MCAT score but just curious on whether adcoms view such an increase in MCAT score favorable?

True, but most schools average all MCAT scores, so it would be viewed like a 515, or 94th percentile. I guess 84th to 94th percentile is a decent increase, just seems like a lot of time and energy to work for a couple percentage points.

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

True, but most schools average all MCAT scores, so it would be viewed like a 515, or 94th percentile. I guess 84th to 94th percentile is a decent increase, just seems like a lot of time and energy to work for a couple percentage points.

Do most schools average scores? I was under the impression that only a small handful averaged and most looked at your most recent ones with the caveat that it's obviously not great to retake.

In any case, for my demographic, even if the increase is only from 510 to 515 I'm happy to be in a better spot at the schools I would have applied to and to have opened up some doors where I'm more competitive. Jumping 10 percentile points (if averaging) or 14 percentile points (if not averaging) seems pretty significant to me, with all due respect.


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[CaffeineJunkie]

Bump! I'm really not sure what mix of schools to be targeting so I would appreciate any help!


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[ScreenName23]

Bump! I'm really not sure what mix of schools to be targeting so I would appreciate any help!


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Hey I'm not sure about your school list, but I will say that most people I have talked to have said that schools look at the most recent scores. And I have a friend who had a huge MCAT jump who only got interviews from the top 10 which seems to confirm it. Obviously some schools average, also it's a disadvantage when they have so many other applicants with only the 520. What I'm getting at is proceed with caution as you build your school list, but at least for screening, the vast majority take the most recent.

We have really similar stats so fingers crossed we make it!

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

Hey I'm not sure about your school list, but I will say that most people I have talked to have said that schools look at the most recent scores. And I have a friend who had a huge MCAT jump who only got interviews from the top 10 which seems to confirm it. Obviously some schools average, also it's a disadvantage when they have so many other applicants with only the 520. What I'm getting at is proceed with caution as you build your school list, but at least for screening, the vast majority take the most recent.

We have really similar stats so fingers crossed we make it!

Thanks for the reply! Just read your thread so congrats on the big jump for you as well! I didn't have my first score expire...just thought I could do better so hopefully they don't hold that against me too much. May I ask what kinds of schools you're aiming for?

 

[ScreenName23]

Thanks for the reply! Just read your thread so congrats on the big jump for you as well! I didn't have my first score expire...just thought I could do better so hopefully they don't hold that against me too much. May I ask what kinds of schools you're aiming for?

The girl who I mentioned did well with two scores got into 3 top tens (nothing like urm or vet on her app) and retook it without her first score expiring...So I think it should be OK!

Another user who I explained my app to more in depth suggested these for me:

UCSF
Harvard
Stanford
JHU
U Penn
Duke
Columbia
Wash U
Yale
U Chicago
U MI
UCLA
UCSD
Emory
USC/Keck
Pitt
Northwestern
NYU
Vanderbilt
Sinai
Cornell
Case
Oregon
UVa

*I'm a CA resident though...
So I'll probably apply to those and then maybe a few more 'safety' like Hofstra, U Miami, Rochester, Loyola.

It's hard because I really don't want to be in Florida or New York (outside of the NYC) so I'm not super interested in those schools and he didn't suggest I add them...But...I'm really scared applying for the second time so I'll probably add at least 5-7 lower ranked 'safety' schools like that. Feel free to pm me if you have other questions about apps and what not. Good luck!

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

The girl who I mentioned did well with two scores got into 3 top tens (nothing like urm or vet on her app) and retook it without her first score expiring...So I think it should be OK!

Another user who I explained my app to more in depth suggested these for me:

UCSF
Harvard
Stanford
JHU
U Penn
Duke
Columbia
Wash U
Yale
U Chicago
U MI
UCLA
UCSD
Emory
USC/Keck
Pitt
Northwestern
NYU
Vanderbilt
Sinai
Cornell
Case
Oregon
UVa

*I'm a CA resident though...
So I'll probably apply to those and then maybe a few more 'safety' like Hofstra, U Miami, Rochester, Loyola.

It's hard because I really don't want to be in Florida or New York (outside of the NYC) so I'm not super interested in those schools and he didn't suggest I add them...But...I'm really scared applying for the second time so I'll probably add at least 5-7 lower ranked 'safety' schools like that. Feel free to pm me if you have other questions about apps and what not. Good luck!

Yea I understand fully. And it's hard to generate "safeties" with such polarized stats like ours.

What did distribution did you end up settling on (reaches vs non reaches)? And did you apply with only your old score on the first go?


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[ScreenName23]

Yea I understand fully. And it's hard to generate "safeties" with such polarized stats like ours.

What did distribution did you end up settling on (reaches vs non reaches)? And did you apply with only your old score on the first go?


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Yeah the first time was just an old score for me. For ratios you should check out what libertyyyne just posted in my thread he usually has great school lists and this one is tailored to the MCAT disparity issue we have (though yours isn't as intense as mine haha).

Pretty much I'm going to end up applying to my favorites in the top 20 and then adding 7-10 more back up kinda schools. Idk that you need to add so many safeties though. I'm adding so many because I've applied before and I really don't want to become a third time reapplicant. Good luck!!!

 

[Yorick]

True, but most schools average all MCAT scores, so it would be viewed like a 515, or 94th percentile. I guess 84th to 94th percentile is a decent increase, just seems like a lot of time and energy to work for a couple percentage points.

The "couple percentage points" is a 10 point jump and to a 520 which is pretty damn impressive and will probably leave an impression regardless. Difference also being OP is competitive for top ranked schools which otherwise wouldn't be with a 510, like Vanderbilt for instance (which superscores the MCAT also, a lot of schools consider the highest scores as well) and could even affect getting merit money.

@CaffeineJunkie I'd also add U Chicago, Wash U, Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, and U of Miami. If you want to swap schools, I'd take out NYMC, Jefferson, and St. Louis

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

The "couple percentage points" is a 10 point jump and to a 520 which is pretty damn impressive and will probably leave an impression regardless. Difference also being OP is competitive for top ranked schools which otherwise wouldn't be with a 510, like Vanderbilt for instance (which superscores the MCAT also, a lot of schools consider the highest scores as well) and could even affect getting merit money.

@CaffeineJunkie I'd also add U Chicago, Wash U, Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, and U of Miami. If you want to swap schools, I'd take out NYMC, Jefferson, and St. Louis

Thanks so much for the kind words, dude! I would honestly never have dreamed I'd be able to apply to these kinds of schools so it's very exciting. Do you have any advice on what ratio of high/mid/low tiers I should be aiming for? Pre-health advisor is adamant we limit it to about 18 schools or so. And how did you learn that about Vandy? Just going through all the top schools and seeing how they view multiple MCAT's? Here's a tentative list, what do you think?

University of Washington (in-state)

Mt. Sinai
Cornell
NYU
Columbia
Vanderbilt
Michigan
Pittsburgh
Northwestern

Case Western
Rochester
Hofstra
UVA
USC
Boston U
Ohio State
Emory
Dartmouth

VCU
Loyola
St. Louis
Tufts
UVM

 

[mwsapphire]

I'd say you're good to go! You're EC"s are very strong, keep up the good work!
I 94th percentile MCAT was definitely worth the effort.

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

I'd say you're good to go! You're EC"s are very strong, keep up the good work!
I 94th percentile MCAT was definitely worth the effort.

Thanks so much for the reply and the kind words! So you think I'll probably mostly be seen as a guy with an averaged 94th percentile mcat instead of as a guy with two separate tries of 84th and 98th?

And what do you think of the tentative schools list? Thanks so much !


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[CaffeineJunkie]

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[CaffeineJunkie]

AAMC data suggests averaging

http://www.med.wisc.edu/education/md/admissions/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/108
Data from the AAMC suggest that applicants who took the MCAT more than once perform in medical school most like applicants who only took the MCAT once and had the average of the multiple scores. In other words, someone who took the MCAT twice and had total scores of 505 and 509 is most likely to perform in medical school like someone who took the MCAT once and had a score of 507.

Well that's unfortunate but understandable, thanks for the info! Do you think I should think of myself as a 515 and try to target schools more in that range?


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[CaffeineJunkie]

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[CaffeineJunkie]

I dont provide school selections advice based numbers. Without seeing an application, especially the narratives in the PS, I cant make arm chair judgements

applicants lose sight of their overall application presentation by focusing too much on numbers.

PS: personally I think you are research heavy and could use additional healthcare experience.

That was a good reminder for me to have. Thank you again!


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[libertyyne]

Here is what I would reccomend


Pick 10

U of Pittsburgh
Columbia
Pritzker Chicago
Harvard
Hopkins
Case Western
Boston
NYU
U of Michigan
Weill Cornell
U of Virginia
Duke
Icahn
Einstein
Unversity of Colorado School of Medicine
Dartmouth
U of Vermont
Albany


Apply to all of these 15 of these

Emory
Mayo
Ohio State University College Of Medicine
University of Cincinnati
Hofstra
U of Miami
U of Rochester
University of Iowa
St Louis
Thomas Jefferson
Floria Atlantic
Tufts
loyola
George Town
Oregon Health
Medical college Wisconsin
Virginia Tech
Tulane
Wake Forest


You have a tough list to make, because you dont quite know who averages and who doesnt. You dont want to sell yourself short, but you dont want to get yield protected either. If you want to apply to less than 25 keep the ratios the same. Good Luck.

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

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[pdog20]

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Hey can you PM me? I have some questions