Advice needed

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roxy88

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I am planning to apply this incoming cycle (June 2012). However, I am worried that although I am applying early, my grades and my MCATs won't be good enough. Here are my stats: 3.20 sGPA, 3.70 nsGPA, 3.40 overall GPA, and 24 on my MCATs.

I'm planning on retaking my MCATs this summer, and hopefully update my scores by august. Is that reasonable?

Am I rushing too much? Or, should I wait another cycle before applying, and meanwhile, focus on increasing my science grades?

Thanks in advance! 🙂

SORRY I JUST REALIZED I SHOULD HAVE POSTED THIS IN "WHAT ARE MY CHANCES"! my bad!!
 
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1) Are you taking science classes right now? Because you should be. Retake any with a C or below.

2) A 24 MCAT will NOT get you into medical school, you need to get a 27+, especially with a low science GPA.

3) When are you retaking the MCAT? If you take it in June, that will give you 3 full months of hard study time and won't delay your application. That's when I would take it. I took mine on Aug 19th and it set my application back by a couple of months. Make sure you have all your shadowing and letters of recommendation ready in the next couple of months!
 
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Yes, I'm currently taking 5 science classes and I'm planning to take 1 course this summer to pull my sGPA up. I'm also planning to take my MCATs on July 27th (I decided to take a prep course beforehand).

And yes, my letters of recommendations are ready! 🙂 I've also been doing clinical research for 4 years and have over 500 hours of community service.

Will submitting in august jeopardize my chances?

And thank you, I will work on my mcat score.
 
Submitting in August will be fine. My app wasn't complete until mid-Nov and it didn't cause me any problems. If your ECs are good, you have a chance of getting in with the numbers you have now. Lots of people have acceptances with MCAT scores of 22-24. They have good ECs to compensate though. Of course, if you can raise that score a couple of points by retaking then by all means do that.
 
You will definitely stand a chance as is at some of the newer schools (like WCU, LMU, PCOM-GA, ATSU-SOMA), WVSOM and Pikeville (if from those regions), as well as the 3 that will be opening next app cycle. I'm not sure you should even retake the MCAT unless it is crazily unbalanced.
 
I was hoping to apply to schools on the west coast including ATSU-SOMA, TUNCOM, AZCOM, WUCOMP, TUCOM-CA, and MWU. Can anyone tell me how realistic my goal is considering my current grades? I researched the average gpa and MCATs scores of each entering class, and I'm slightly below the averages. I know I still need to improve my sGPA and MCAT score, but I'm not confident of my chances if I'm still slightly below these averages after this semester.
 
I was hoping to apply to schools on the west coast including ATSU-SOMA, TUNCOM, AZCOM, WUCOMP, TUCOM-CA, and MWU. Can anyone tell me how realistic my goal is considering my current grades? I researched the average gpa and MCATs scores of each entering class, and I'm slightly below the averages. I know I still need to improve my sGPA and MCAT score, but I'm not confident of my chances if I'm still slightly below these averages after this semester.

I would advise grade replacement. 😎
 
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