Advice for upcoming medical cycle - Texas applicant

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PlayUrCards

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Last cycle, I was severely undereducated about the application process. Thus, I am trying to figure out the complete logistics for my upcoming application. I aim to keep my expectations realistic.

This past cycle, naive me, decided to apply to all the medical schools in TX (in September) with a 3.5GPA, 3.5BCPM, and 502 MCAT. (126,125,123,128) As expected, no interviews and certainly no acceptances. What I didn't realize is that being a re-applicant can harm your chances of admission on the following cycle.

Now, I am registered to re-take my MCAT this June 30 / July 7 depending on readiness. I struggled early on in my undergrad with a 2.5GPA my first semester. I also didn't realize the true beast that the MCAT is. Now, it all makes better sense to me. I am, realistically, shooting for a 508-512 on my MCAT. I have taken biochem, genetics, and anatomy since my first attempt.

I have gone through a process, HPE, through my school to gain a cover letter for my application as well as 2 mock interviews. Post-interview I was told they went extremely well, but I need to be able to ensure I get an interview for these to hold any relevance. I have also improved my EC's since my last application. I still have my own company that I run full-time and I have added shadowing + community service to my resume. I am also scribing this summer until starting medical school since I will have at least 1 gap year. My essays were revised to include this medical experience, though they still contain some of the same underlying themes.

Do any of you have advice for me to increase my chances of acceptance at a Texas Medical School this cycle? Is a June 30 or July 7 MCAT too late? Will it give schools enough time to review my application? Also, I was planning to submit my application as soon as my grades for this final semester are added to my transcript. If I add that I am retaking my MCAT is it okay to apply early so that my application can process in the meantime? Or will the application be thrown out with the previous 502 MCAT? Is it best to start with an application to only one school?

Thanks for anyone's time.
-less naive 'me', 2018

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If the MCAT score you get is not good it can thwart your app. If I were you, I would take the MCAT in jan and kill it then apply next cycle, do not rush your retake. It would suck if you did not do well on the MCAT and then had to reapply next year as a third time applicant.
 
There are only two significant things you can do to affect your chances at this point: Apply early and score as high as possible on the MCAT. Unfortunately, these two things often work against each other. Only you can honestly assess your MCAT readiness. If you aren't truly in a place to get the score you need, then I agree that you should continue prepping, push your app back a year, and take it in January. The extra year allows significant improvements in ECs as well. Good luck.
 
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