MD & DO 499, worth applying or mandatory retake?

[Sheppard47]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I did not do great on my MCAT, (125,125,125,124). My cGPA is 3.65 and sGPA is 3.65 . I do not have research experience, but I have a lot of clinical hours, and volunteer hours. I have about 150 hours shadowing a Dr. his practice (and will double that by applying), I have 400+ hours non clinical volunteering, and I have 1000+ clinical experience (which will grow significantly by the time I apply). I am a EMT-B and I work weekends and nights on a 911 truck (not IFT) and I will finished a AEMT course and will be getting my cert and practicing as an AEMT in about a month. So my GPA is okay I suppose. but I know not out standing, and I know my MCAT is just bad. I won't bother you all with the details, but life issues arose and I did not prepare adequately (couple weeks of prep, and 2 practice tests total). I know I could get my MCAT up, but it will not be easy due to the time requirement, and especially the cost of doing it over. I am a senior planning to apply this upcoming cycle (taking a gap year to work EMS and for personal reasons). So do I have a decent shot, and should just apply, or do I need to suck it up and retake my MCAT this spring? Thanks for any advice. Oh and since I know it matters for in state preferences, I am a NC resident.

 

[diasterdream]

I would recommend a retake, but only if you feel like you have improved your life situation and studying.

 

[Faha]

The only realistic MD schools where you could receive an interview is East Carolina. You could receive interviews at some DO schools and I suggest all these:
CUSOM
VCOM (all 4 schools)
WVSOM
UP-KYCOM
LUCOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
ACOM
ARCOM
NYIT-Arkansas
PCOM Georgia and South Georgia
LECOM (all schools)
Most of these schools have MCAT medians in the 498 to 502 range so you should receive several interviews.

 

[candbgirl]

So I did not do great on my MCAT, (125,125,125,124). My cGPA is 3.65 and sGPA is 3.65 . I do not have research experience, but I have a lot of clinical hours, and volunteer hours. I have about 150 hours shadowing a Dr. his practice (and will double that by applying), I have 400+ hours non clinical volunteering, and I have 1000+ clinical experience (which will grow significantly by the time I apply). I am a EMT-B and I work weekends and nights on a 911 truck (not IFT) and I will finished a AEMT course and will be getting my cert and practicing as an AEMT in about a month. So my GPA is okay I suppose. but I know not out standing, and I know my MCAT is just bad. I won't bother you all with the details, but life issues arose and I did not prepare adequately (couple weeks of prep, and 2 practice tests total). I know I could get my MCAT up, but it will not be easy due to the time requirement, and especially the cost of doing it over. I am a senior planning to apply this upcoming cycle (taking a gap year to work EMS and for personal reasons). So do I have a decent shot, and should just apply, or do I need to suck it up and retake my MCAT this spring? Thanks for any advice. Oh and since I know it matters for in state preferences, I am a NC resident.

Really? Do you want to go to med school? If so, do what you have to do to get there. One way to free up some hours is stop shadowing. You only need around 50 hours and some should be with a primary care doc. So there is that. Your GPAs are a little below average . You are going to have to make some decisions. You SEEM to have clinical and nonclinical covered. And of course shadowing. But nothing will make up for your very low MCAT. I’m assuming you’d like MD but if not a retake would still be beneficial,as it will open more doors.

 

[Goro]

So I did not do great on my MCAT, (125,125,125,124). My cGPA is 3.65 and sGPA is 3.65 . I do not have research experience, but I have a lot of clinical hours, and volunteer hours. I have about 150 hours shadowing a Dr. his practice (and will double that by applying), I have 400+ hours non clinical volunteering, and I have 1000+ clinical experience (which will grow significantly by the time I apply). I am a EMT-B and I work weekends and nights on a 911 truck (not IFT) and I will finished a AEMT course and will be getting my cert and practicing as an AEMT in about a month. So my GPA is okay I suppose. but I know not out standing, and I know my MCAT is just bad. I won't bother you all with the details, but life issues arose and I did not prepare adequately (couple weeks of prep, and 2 practice tests total). I know I could get my MCAT up, but it will not be easy due to the time requirement, and especially the cost of doing it over. I am a senior planning to apply this upcoming cycle (taking a gap year to work EMS and for personal reasons). So do I have a decent shot, and should just apply, or do I need to suck it up and retake my MCAT this spring? Thanks for any advice. Oh and since I know it matters for in state preferences, I am a NC resident.

I can't recommend applying with a score < 500. That's lethal for MD and also at many DO schools, including mine.

 

[Sheppard47]

I can't recommend applying with a score < 500. That's lethal for MD and also at many DO schools, including mine.

I assumed as much thank you for your time and advice.

 

[Sheppard47]

Really? Do you want to go to med school? If so, do what you have to do to get there. One way to free up some hours is stop shadowing. You only need around 50 hours and some should be with a primary care doc. So there is that. Your GPAs are a little below average . You are going to have to make some decisions. You SEEM to have clinical and nonclinical covered. And of course shadowing. But nothing will make up for your very low MCAT. I’m assuming you’d like MD but if not a retake would still be beneficial,as it will open more doors.

I believe I may have not phrased that correctly, and apologize for any confusion. Yes, of course I want to go to med school and be a Dr. I simply meant the cost of the MCAT, and I will not be able to work so I can study will be difficult monetarily. You are right, I do not need any more shadowing time, and will instead study and retake my MCAT. (the clinical hours are from my job, that is why the number is so large and growing). Thank you for your time, and the advice, I really do appreciate it.

 

[Sheppard47]

The only realistic MD schools where you could receive an interview is East Carolina. You could receive interviews at some DO schools and I suggest all these:
CUSOM
VCOM (all 4 schools)
WVSOM
UP-KYCOM
LUCOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
ACOM
ARCOM
NYIT-Arkansas
PCOM Georgia and South Georgia
LECOM (all schools)
Most of these schools have MCAT medians in the 498 to 502 range so you should receive several interviews.

Thank you for the list I will really consider those. At this point I may be retaking since I have time before my application and am confident I can improve my score. I really appreciate you providing those options, so thank you.

 

[Cnthinkoname]

I can eerily relate to your situation. Halfway through my bachelor's in business I took an EMT course and got hooked, changing paths to pursue medicine. I went and got my AEMT and have been working in EMS in some capacity for the last 5 years. I took the MCAT a year ago and scored a 501. I was on full-time nights and found that my study time was not productive, my motivation was at an all-time low from being exhausted. I eventually got on a 10a-10p truck, took the MCAT seriously, and scored a 509 on the retake. I applied this cycle and had an interview at ECU, but haven't heard back from around 25 other schools.

I applied to ECU with the 501 last year and did not receive an interview. I took a few weeks to think through what I could change to improve my score. Be brutally honest with yourself and review your study habits and motivation. When I retook, I started from the beginning. Being a business major, my content knowledge wasn't as strong as I would have liked, this was my weakness. Here's how I studied:
- Read all of the Kaplan books again, reviewed all the questions in the chapters, and wrote Anki cards.
- Spent 1-3 hours daily on Anki
- Did a daily CARS passage from Jack Westin
- Took 3 NS Full Lengths
- Reviewed weak areas with Khan Academy
- Went through all of UWorld
- Q Banks, FL1, Section Banks, FL2, Weaknesses for a week, FL3. I scored 508, 512, 516 on the FLs. I definitely recommend scoring comfortably outside of your goal score, the stress of a retake definitely affected my mindset on test day.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, stay safe out there!