3.8gpa, 21r

[gooseman]

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I took the MCAT in July, did pretty poorly and want to retake in Sept. Advice? I just don't want to wait another year and I'm working as a clinical research assistant now in Boston..just graduated...

Also, any schools I should apply to that MIGHT except such a low score?

Thanks!

 

[Cujo]

Nice GPA...that says a lot about what kind of student you are over several years worth of work rather than one 5 hour test. Having said that, the 21 MCAT is a real tough sell to just about any medical school, even osteopathic schools. Retaking the test in September is late but it's the best you can do this application cycle. Many schools do accept September MCAT scores, but just be realistic that you are playing from behind now and will be getting late consideration. If you can bring up your MCAT even by four points you'll stand a significantly much better chance at osteopathic schools and a puncher's chance at allopathic schools. Good luck.

 

[daniellema13]

It's highly doubtful that any allo schools will accept you even if the rest of your app is amazing... but only do a sep. retake if you're ready for it and feel confident that you can score much higher, otherwise it's a bit pointless. One year is no big deal in the grand scheme of things... study hard for a january or early spring re-take then apply early next cycle. If your practice scores are much higher (30+) and you think your score was a fluke, do a sep retake but in the meantime have everything else (secondaries) complete. And make sure schools hold off on your file until new scores are in.

 

[Lokhtar]

If you apply widely to osteopathic schools, you may get some attention. Though with a 21, its far from guaranteed.

 

[Piston95]

When you were studying and taking practice tests, were you getting a lot higher?...If you were, then it may have just been a fluke, or an off day. Your obviously a good student, so dont let the score get you down too much...Whenever you retake next, just make sure your going into it scoring where you want to on your practice tests. Nothing is like the real thing, but the only thing you can do is prepare as best you can. And, as you can probably guess, I would also advise a retake, i dont think a 21 will fly at any allopathic schools. But, just think about it on the positive side. You have a good gpa and ECs etc, the mcat is really the last hurdle you have to clear.

 

[gooseman]

Thanks all for the advice, much appreciated!!

 

[WannaBePreMed]

Retake Mcat, get 30+ and you'll be fine for Allopathic, or apply for DO; as of now your stats are competitive for DO.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'm not trying to piss on the parade here, but does a high GPA with a very low MCAT indicate a strong student who just had a bad day or a student who wasn't really challenged all that much during school and didn't get a firm grasp on the material? Hopefully it's the former.

 

[WannaBePreMed]

I'm not trying to piss on the parade here, but does a high GPA with a very low MCAT indicate a strong student who just had a bad day or a student who wasn't really challenged all that much during school and didn't get a firm grasp on the material? Hopefully it's the former.

I was thinking this too.....


Anyway too add to what I said before, I think you should get your Mcat score up and apply to MD, because it would be such a waste of your high gpa to go to a DO school. Not to say anything about DO schools😛

 

[gooseman]

In response to the comment about not being challenged, I think a double major in Biochemistry and Music with a pre-med concentration makes it invalid...

 

[MilkmanAl]

In response to the comment about not being challenged, I think a double major in Biochemistry and Music with a pre-med concentration makes it invalid...

Not if your tests and other evaluations were incredibly easy. There's a huge disparity in curriculum difficulty at various schools even though the core subject matter is largely the same everywhere. A friend of mine who did not go to UNC had tests that I would characterize as absurdly easy. The hardest question on any of them was roughly akin to an above-average difficulty question on my exams.

 

[thomyorke]

Couldn't agree more with the previous post. I don't post often on this site but I do spend eons more time than I should reading other people's posts and I have to say that an absurd amount of emphasis is placed on raw GPA on SDN without other considerations. My undergraduate cumulative GPA was a 3.3. My science is somewhere between 3.4-3.5. This, by SDN user standards, is not good. However, I can't help but feel like this is missing a HUGE part of the story. I went to a top national university in Cornell which for much of my tenure had a grade inflation policy and additionally, I have a strong upward trend in my grades.

That said, you may have a 3.8 GPA but your low MCAT score might potentially be highlighting some aspect that was missing in your education. Your poor grammar (except vs. accept- look into it) also seems to hint at this. At my school, we were taught to think critically and this is a huge aspect of the MCAT examination.

I'd like to make it clear that my purpose in this response is not to take shots at the original poster. I wish you and all of the other people on this site the best of luck in their medical aspirations. I might be completely wrong about you and please forgive me if I am, but too often people on this site fail to consider the myriad of other factors that medical schools consider in looking at one's peripherals. My father is a professor and he has explained to me on many occasions the prevalence in grading disparity between academic institutions at different levels of prestige. In laymans terms, It is NOT all about GPA!!!

 

[Lukkie]

Couldn't agree more with the previous post. I don't post often on this site but I do spend eons more time than I should reading other people's posts and I have to say that an absurd amount of emphasis is placed on raw GPA on SDN without other considerations. My undergraduate cumulative GPA was a 3.3. My science is somewhere between 3.4-3.5. This, by SDN user standards, is not good. However, I can't help but feel like this is missing a HUGE part of the story. I went to a top national university in Cornell which for much of my tenure had a grade inflation policy and additionally, I have a strong upward trend in my grades.

while i agree with your point that a 3.3 from a top institution like Cornell might be worth more than a higher GPA from a lesser school, the fact of the matter is that the mean/median GPA of acceptances/matriculants to medical schools is still very high (like 3.7+?) and i'm willing to wager that most people that get into top medical schools are also from top undergrad universities. so what i'm saying is, the majority of people accepted went to a 'difficult' school but still held a high GPA.

 

[gooseman]

Couldn't agree more with the previous post. I don't post often on this site but I do spend eons more time than I should reading other people's posts and I have to say that an absurd amount of emphasis is placed on raw GPA on SDN without other considerations. My undergraduate cumulative GPA was a 3.3. My science is somewhere between 3.4-3.5. This, by SDN user standards, is not good. However, I can't help but feel like this is missing a HUGE part of the story. I went to a top national university in Cornell which for much of my tenure had a grade inflation policy and additionally, I have a strong upward trend in my grades.

That said, you may have a 3.8 GPA but your low MCAT score might potentially be highlighting some aspect that was missing in your education. Your poor grammar (except vs. accept- look into it) also seems to hint at this. At my school, we were taught to think critically and this is a huge aspect of the MCAT examination.

I'd like to make it clear that my purpose in this response is not to take shots at the original poster. I wish you and all of the other people on this site the best of luck in their medical aspirations. I might be completely wrong about you and please forgive me if I am, but too often people on this site fail to consider the myriad of other factors that medical schools consider in looking at one's peripherals. My father is a professor and he has explained to me on many occasions the prevalence in grading disparity between academic institutions at different levels of prestige. In laymans terms, It is NOT all about GPA!!!

I appreciate your insight. You are completely wrong about me and best of luck in the future.

 

[MilkmanAl]

i'm willing to wager that most people that get into top medical schools are also from top undergrad universities. so what i'm saying is, the majority of people accepted went to a 'difficult' school but still held a high GPA.

That's definitely true. The only thing that makes me think twice is the unusually low MCAT score.

 

[Lokhtar]

I would say this to anyone - you should never be taking the MCAT if you are scoring that low on the practice tests. And you shouldn't take the MCAT without a bunch of practice tests!

 

[Bacchus]

I was thinking this too.....


Anyway too add to what I said before, I think you should get your Mcat score up and apply to MD, because it would be such a waste of your high gpa to go to a DO school. Not to say anything about DO schools😛

Having a 3.8 and 21 isn't going to open doors freely for those that apply to DO schools. This is a bad assumption.

 

[carolinagirl1]

Hello Gooseman don't worry about it ... some people are just not really good at taking these sort of tests... I have heard about ppl who just study for like 2 weeks n make like 30's. Ppl like us on the other hand put in soooo much time but end up not doing as good as we want to. It definitely has nothing to do which univ/college you went to b/c I am 100% sure that you took the same classes as students at harvard univ. are taking n yes you probably had to read through the same type of material..whether you were tested in the same way as harvard students depends on your prof. not the college/univ. that u r attending. So, whatever you do..do not give up. Take it again and hopefully God will be by your side and you will do wonderful. I am in the same boat .. i do not want to take a year off but one of my prof. adviced me to take it again saying that my mcat score doesn't reflect who I am. So, I will be retakin my mcat in january and mayb u should do the same. Good luck! 🙂