32M MCAT Retake/Application Advice

[futuresurgeon83]

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August 2011 MCAT: 32 (11 PS, 10 V, 11 BS)

Bottom line - is it worth it retaking my MCAT this summer? I realize the writing component is bad. I plan on applying to a wide range of schools in the top 50, as well as the New Jersey state schools (Robert Wood Johnson and New Jersey Medical School), what are my chances. Any thoughts on 2013 vs. 2014 application cycle also appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your replies!

 

[BigBlueBear]

You could easily get into DO schools with those stats. If you're hellbent on MD though, why not study a ****-ton and just take it next spring? That'll give you a whole year of domination.

 

[annabanana1690]

In 2013 they are taking out the writing portion and putting in an experimental portion which will reflect the changes to the MCAT set for 2015. So your writing score may not even matter next cycle.

 

[Thego2guy]

Your stats aren't that terrible... maybe it would be worth applying for NJMS and RWJMS? UMDNJ is known to have lower stats averages, plus they got like 3,000 apps (very low), and 2,000 of them are from NJ. Your grades are high enough the 3.00 line to be OK. See if you have a few hundred bucks to apply this cycle!

Your E.C.'s are also very very good, and your MCAT is definitely above average. You have a difficult major... and this is where the name/prestige of your school comes in to help you out.

Seriously, if you write a killer PS and secondaries, you have a legit shot this cycle.

 

[futuresurgeon83]

i originally wanted to apply for the 2013 cycle. the reason i am a bit uneasy about applying this cycle is that because of the SMP, the med schools will essentially put my application on hold until december when they receive my 1st semester graduate transcript, correct me if i'm wrong?

that way, i feel like i will be at a disadvantage because many interview spots/acceptances will already have gone out by december/january, and i will have less of a chance. although, it does suck to have another gap year if i wait for the 2014 cycle...i just thought maybe the advantage of having a full year of hopefully stellar graduate level grades and applying early in the cycle would help me more, please any input on this would be great!

also please continue to give me MCAT retake input

thank you so much for everyone's responses so far!!

 

[kestralray]

I doubt the schools will put you on hold and wait for the SMP grades. They'll probably just look at the grades they see when they receive the application.

However, I agree with a BigBlueBear and The Guardians, you should probably apply to mostly DO schools if you apply this cycle with those stats. Your GPA is really low, and your MCAT is not high enough to offset it. You're definitely below average GPA-wise for the NJ state schools you mentioned, and 32 is their average MCAT.

I would disagree with one of the posters above, too. I don't think your EC's are that stellar. The research is great (did you get any publications? can you talk about it eloquently?), but I'd suggest shadowing other specialties (like internal medicine as opposed to surgery) and doing more volunteering. One summer doesn't show much commitment.

Anyway, I'd say either apply for DO schools now (though I know very little about them, their timing, etc) or wait a year and fit in more shadowing and volunteering. Maybe retake the MCAT if you have the time and energy (though not because of the writing component. I don't think that really matters. Just write a really good PS).

 

[Slack3r]

No reason to retake that MCAT.

 

[Thego2guy]

I doubt the schools will put you on hold and wait for the SMP grades. They'll probably just look at the grades they see when they receive the application.

However, I agree with a BigBlueBear and The Guardians, you should probably apply to mostly DO schools if you apply this cycle with those stats. Your GPA is really low, and your MCAT is not high enough to offset it. You're definitely below average GPA-wise for the NJ state schools you mentioned, and 32 is their average MCAT.

I would disagree with one of the posters above, too. I don't think your EC's are that stellar. The research is great (did you get any publications? can you talk about it eloquently?), but I'd suggest shadowing other specialties (like internal medicine as opposed to surgery) and doing more volunteering. One summer doesn't show much commitment.

Anyway, I'd say either apply for DO schools now (though I know very little about them, their timing, etc) or wait a year and fit in more shadowing and volunteering. Maybe retake the MCAT if you have the time and energy (though not because of the writing component. I don't think that really matters. Just write a really good PS).

His EC's are way above average (that is a lot of research compared to your typical applicant [not SDNers], and that is a lot of shadowing. He has good volunteer work too), his MCAT is above average, his GPA is below average (not terribly low) AND he is doing an SMP. His major + school might cut him a tiny weeny bit of slack on that GPA too. All in all, I think his chances are favorable enough at all 3 UMDNJ schools, that he should spend the couple of hundred bucks on the apps. Otherwise, the primary and main goal, should still be next year.

Conclusion? In my opinion a few hundred bucks + 10 hours spent on apps = worthy shot given the circumstances on your three state schools. If this was any other state, I may not have been so lenient.

 

[futuresurgeon83]

Thank you everyone for the responses, keep them coming, I appreciate everyone's opinions. For clarity, I'm interested in applying to MD schools only (NJ state schools and top 50 MD schools), so I am more and more inclined to apply for the 2014 cycle...so no retake for the MCAT it seems from most of you?

also - ideas for this summer and for the year after my SMP? what would most improve my application? shadowing/volunteering?

 

[Thego2guy]

Thank you everyone for the responses, keep them coming, I appreciate everyone's opinions. For clarity, I'm interested in applying to MD schools only, so I am more and more inclined to apply for the 2014 cycle...so no retake for the MCAT it seems from most of you?

also - ideas for this summer and for the year after my SMP? what would most improve my application? shadowing/volunteering?

No, no retake. A 32 is a proud trophy you should flaunt to your family members 👍 Give yourself a nice pat on the back for that. Then kick yourself in the balls for messing up your GPA 😛

As for the year, do what you love? It appears you did a lot of research, so maybe you can get a stable gig somewhere that will pay you some pocket change $$. Or go sky diving on every continent. idk, pick which ever one. But definitely enjoy yourself!

 

[FattySlug]

What's your practice score? If you consistently score 36 37 on the practice and extremely confident you will do better then yeah you can go ahead and retake it. I retook a 32 too but only because I had an 8 in VR. My retake did not improve that much a 33 but with a 10 in VR. If 32 is pretty much the median of your practice score then your chances of improving is slim.

 

[haloschief]

I would try to boost your GPA is much as possible and also work on your ECs. Contrary to what others have said on this thread, your ECs don't seem too good. Research is fine but your other experiences are really mediocre. Not to be pessimistic but 4 years of undergrad and all you had to show for it was 1 summer of shadowing, volunteering and working...

 

[kestralray]

His EC's are way above average (that is a lot of research compared to your typical applicant [not SDNers], and that is a lot of shadowing. He has good volunteer work too), his MCAT is above average, his GPA is below average (not terribly low) AND he is doing an SMP. His major + school might cut him a tiny weeny bit of slack on that GPA too. All in all, I think his chances are favorable enough at all 3 UMDNJ schools, that he should spend the couple of hundred bucks on the apps. Otherwise, the primary and main goal, should still be next year.

Conclusion? In my opinion a few hundred bucks + 10 hours spent on apps = worthy shot given the circumstances on your three state schools. If this was any other state, I may not have been so lenient.

Eh, I stand by most of what I said, though I'll admit that I may have inflated standards (too much SDN?) and I know little about NJ state schools. I agree that his research is great, but he needs to be well rounded (otherwise, they'll wonder why not PhD/MDPhD).

I think you need to continue volunteering. I've always been told it's more important to have longitudinal experiences--hence why 2 years of research is so strong. That is a lot of shadowing, but it's only one field, and you can only learn so much from shadowing anyway. The whole point is to learn about the different fields of medicine so you know what you're getting yourself into (though I don't know exactly what your shadowing experience was, perhaps you did get to interact with a lot of different physicians). Also, you'll want strong ECs to make up for the low GPA.

(btw, volunteering doesn't have to be hospital volunteering (though clinical is always a plus). The main point is to show that you're an altruistic person who likes people and you're willing to donate some of your time).

 

[kestralray]

I would try to boost your GPA is much as possible and also work on your ECs. Contrary to what others have said on this thread, your ECs don't seem too good. Research is fine but your other experiences are really mediocre. Not to be pessimistic but 4 years of undergrad and all you had to show for it was 1 summer of shadowing, volunteering and working...

I don't mean to sound mean, but what did you do with your time? I would like to assume that your low GPA is due to you being busy during undergrad with ECs. It doesn't have to be volunteering or shadowing, but being an active member of a club or a sports team would still help. (key work: active)

 

[WorldChanger36]

No reason to retake that MCAT.

+1👍

 

[futuresurgeon83]

what type of volunteering/shadowing suggestions do you guys have that I could do this summer?

thanks a lot

 

[kestralray]

forgot to add some EC's

what type of volunteering/shadowing suggestions do you guys have that I could do this summer?

For shadowing, I'd suggest shadowing a few other surgery specialties (since that seems to be your interest) AND some internal medicine specialty. I'm also interested in surgery, but was advised to explore the other side of medicine to be more well rounded. If you know anyone in the hospital, you can ask them to suggest people who are open to being shadowed. Otherwise, you can cold call. I'd suggest contacting residency directors instead of directly contacting physicians, since they're more used to dealing with students.

I'd suggest volunteering for more than a summer. If you can, volunteer from now until you get accepted to med school. The easiest (and most boring/cookie cutter) route is to volunteer in the hospital. Otherwise, do whatever you're interested in. I think people should do some hospital volunteering to get some clinical experience, but otherwise, they shouldn't volunteer just to pad their application. Do something that you're really interested in, even if it's not directly clinical. It will make your application/interview that much better if you can talk about your ECs with genuine interest.

(for example, I'm volunteering at an animal shelter. I don't know how much this really helps my application, but I LOVE it. It's fun. I get to play with kittens. what else do you need? 😀)

 

[notbobtrustme]

yea, unfortunately, engineering gets no slack from adcoms.

 

[kpcrew]

you might get some love from a state school but since you have time, you might want to give yourself the best chance possible. the quickest way is to raise your mcat. if you're confident that you can raise your score and don't mind a few extra weeks of studying, the pros of retaking the mcat outweigh the cons. i've seen someone get in with an L but always be wary of the outliers.

 

[BenzylAcetate]

I'm basically in the exact same situation. Biomedical engineering degree, 3.38 cGPA, 3.19 sGPA, 32 O MCAT. Different ECs, but similar in that they were typically full time over the summer.

I applied this past cycle and received no interviews. The few admissions officers I was able to talk to told me that the biggest problem with my application was the brevity of my ECs. They weren't looking for a particular amount of time (for me it was 300+ hours each summer) but for a small commitment over the long term. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about EC longevity at this point. Find some type of volunteer activity which you can start soon and continue with throughout the coming year to help beef up your ECs.

I'm planning on retaking the MCAT, so I don't think a retake is such a horrible idea. The average accepted MCAT is above a 31 and the average GPA is above a 3.6, so you have a slightly above average MCAT and a very below average GPA. Bringing the MCAT to very above average might help get your foot in the door.

Also, definitely consider DO schools. You need to be realistic and realize that with your stats you only have 38% chance of being accepted to any MD school.

https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf

Is it worth it to spend another year reapplying if you aren't accepted?

Kill the SMP and apply early and you should have a shot. I apologize if my tone came off as harsh, but we're in such similar situations that I want you to do everything you can to get in. Good luck, I'll race you to an acceptance in 2014!

 

[Thego2guy]

I'm basically in the exact same situation. Biomedical engineering degree, 3.38 cGPA, 3.19 sGPA, 32 O MCAT. Different ECs, but similar in that they were typically full time over the summer.

I applied this past cycle and received no interviews. The few admissions officers I was able to talk to told me that the biggest problem with my application was the brevity of my ECs. They weren't looking for a particular amount of time (for me it was 300+ hours each summer) but for a small commitment over the long term. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about EC longevity at this point. Find some type of volunteer activity which you can start soon and continue with throughout the coming year to help beef up your ECs.

I'm planning on retaking the MCAT, so I don't think a retake is such a horrible idea. The average accepted MCAT is above a 31 and the average GPA is above a 3.6, so you have a slightly above average MCAT and a very below average GPA. Bringing the MCAT to very above average might help get your foot in the door.

Also, definitely consider DO schools. You need to be realistic and realize that with your stats you only have 38% chance of being accepted to any MD school.

https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf

Is it worth it to spend another year reapplying if you aren't accepted?

Kill the SMP and apply early and you should have a shot. I apologize if my tone came off as harsh, but we're in such similar situations that I want you to do everything you can to get in. Good luck, I'll race you to an acceptance in 2014!

Hey man, thanks for being nice, helpful, and awesome. 👍

OP, I still stand by what I said earlier. http://njms.umdnj.edu/admissions/prospective/stats.cfm

Look at MCAT, look at GPA. Next, look at the total applicants (the number is sooooooooooooo low, most schools get 5,500+, and schools like NYMC, Drexel, Georgetown, George Washington, BU can reach to 11,000!). Finally, look at the percentage of applicants who applied from NJ, AND WHO GOT IN, versus the total percentage of applicants outside of NJ, AND WHO GOT IN. Its insane. Only 31 people got accepted out of state, and only 10 of them enrolled. The rest of the peeps come from NJ.

What is your competition? Oh, only about 1,200 kids from NJ... 368 of which got in.

Idk man......... it might be worth those few extra bucks, your app is not ******ed (literal meaning - stupid political correctness) by your GPA so much. They really do look at the whole package. Am I saying that you are competitive? Not exactly... but if it were my 150 bucks, I'd shoot for it.

 

[sector9]

Thread moved to "What are my chances"