Applying with a late retake/ AMCAS App submitted

[Dr. To Be]

Hi all!

I know ideally the MCAT should be taken earlier, however, I can't seem to get my CARS score up. I already submitted my AMCAS application (06/19) and applied broadly to 28 schools. I have taken the MCAT twice before ( 493, 501) so I am aiming for the 505+ range this time around. My LORs are already complete and my stats and info are as follows:

Graduated in UF 2013, Degree in Health Education, Cum Laude
Finished post-bacc courses at FIU

Overall GPA: 3.4
Overall Science GPA:3.2
Post-Baccalaureate GPA: 3.8

~100 hours of shadowing
~600 hours of research ( no publications/posters)
>100 hours of non-clinical volunteering
>1000 clinical volunteering

URM/ First-generation

I work full-time at a pediatrician's office and have worked in hospitals in the past.

I planned to write the exam 07/20 but I am debating if I should push it back to August or September and receive a higher score?


Thanks!

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[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Which URM group do you belong to ? If Hispanic are you fluent in Spanish ? Which schools did you apply to ?

 

[Dr. To Be]

Where is your state of residence ? Which URM group do you belong to ? If Hispanic are you fluent in Spanish ? Which schools did you apply to ?

Florida Resident
URM: Black ( Afro-Caribbean)

Meharry
Morehouse
FSU
FAU
FIU
UM
UCF
FSU
Central Michigan
Wright State
Nova
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Upstate
Rutgers (Robert Wood)
New York Medical College
Howard
George Washington
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin at UChicago
University of Illinois
UMich(Reach)
Columbia(Reach)
Wayne State
Loma Linda
Drexel
Temple
Michighan State
UF

 

[Faha]

Schools such as Central Michigan, Wright State, Rutgers, SUNY Upstate, Michigan State, UMich accept few non residents with your stats and no connection to the state. I suggest adding these schools:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Georgetown
Medical College Wisconsin
Creighton
St. Louis
Do not retake the MCAT unless your practice scores are consistently over 505.

 

[Dr. To Be]

Schools such as Central Michigan, Wright State, Rutgers, SUNY Upstate, Michigan State, UMich accept few non residents with your stats and no connection to the state. I suggest adding these schools:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Seton Hall
Georgetown
Medical College Wisconsin
Creighton
St. Louis
Do not retake the MCAT unless your practice scores are consistently over 505.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Do not retake the MCAT unless your practice scores are consistently over 505.

I can second this; as an MCAT tutor, I'd say that if you need a 505+ MCAT, you should have two back-to-back 508+ practice tests. That should give you a very high likelihood of cracking a 505 on the real deal.

 

[mariposas905]

I can second this; as an MCAT tutor, I'd say that if you need a 505+ MCAT, you should have two back-to-back 508+ practice tests. That should give you a very high likelihood of cracking a 505 on the real deal.

@Walter Raleigh as an MCAT tutor, you might have an idea with this! Do you know how students scoring 510-511 on Next Step FLs and 507-508 on Altius typically do on the real deal?

 

[Dr. To Be]

I can second this; as an MCAT tutor, I'd say that if you need a 505+ MCAT, you should have two back-to-back 508+ practice tests. That should give you a very high likelihood of cracking a 505 on the real deal.

Thank you!

 

[Walter Raleigh]

This is a quite conservative metric. Scores can fluctuate by two points in either direction, sometimes three or more. Usually, students score close to their last full-length AAMC practice test. However, if you absolutely need a 505 or better, it's best not to take the test until you are very sure you can achieve that score!

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Hi all!

I know ideally the MCAT should be taken earlier, however, I can't seem to get my CARS score up. I already submitted my AMCAS application (06/19) and applied broadly to 28 schools. I have taken the MCAT twice before ( 493, 501) so I am aiming for the 505+ range this time around. My LORs are already complete and my stats and info are as follows:

Graduated in UF 2013, Degree in Health Education, Cum Laude
Finished post-bacc courses at FIU

Overall GPA: 3.4
Overall Science GPA:3.2
Post-Baccalaureate GPA: 3.8

~100 hours of shadowing
~600 hours of research ( no publications/posters)
>100 hours of non-clinical volunteering
>1000 clinical volunteering

URM/ First-generation

I work full-time at a pediatrician's office and have worked in hospitals in the past.

I planned to write the exam 07/20 but I am debating if I should push it back to August or September and receive a higher score?


Thanks!

I agree with Faha. Please don’t retake your MCAT. The schools that I’m about to list below are ones that I personally know have accepted URM’s with similar stats

Indiana State University
Wright State University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Penn State
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Upstate
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan/Stryker
Loyola
Central Michigan
Tulane (depending on your EC’s and volunteering hx)
Seton Hall (must be IS or have strong ties)
Albany Med
Wayne University
University of Missouri-Columbia
Ohio State University
UCLA Drew + Geffen
UMiami
Also, apply to all your state (Fl) schools

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Take official AAMC practice tests. Students' scores tend to be close to those AAMC FLs. Third party tests...aren't exactly the real deal. They're good as fodder for getting you used to taking the long, grueling MCAT. @mariposas905 I'd very roughly ballpark you around a 508 for the real deal. However: you really want a couple AAMC FLs under your belt before you rock up to the real deal MCAT.

 

[mariposas905]

Take official AAMC practice tests. Students' scores tend to be close to those AAMC FLs. Third party tests...aren't exactly the real deal. They're good as fodder for getting you used to taking the long, grueling MCAT. @mariposas905 I'd very roughly ballpark you around a 508 for the real deal. However: you really want a couple AAMC FLs under your belt before you rock up to the real deal MCAT.

Only a 508? That's upsetting I thought NS were slightly deflated, so was expecting the prediction to be 512 on AAMC stuff. I already took the AAMC material. I got 520 on AAMC FL 1 and 515 on AAMC 2, but these were retakes from last May. So, they are probably inflated. I scored 510 on AAMC FL 3, but made A LOT of stupid mistakes on that one.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Mariposas: this one is going to be a little bit tough to ballpark 'cause your scores are all over the place. I'd suggest that you take the AAMC Sample Test, using this image to convert your raw scores to scaled scores. Use the Verbal scale for psych/soc and CARS, use the Bio scale for bio/biochem, and the Physics scale for chem/phys. That should give you at least a decently accurate measure of how you're going to do on Test Day. 512 might be the median of where you'd do on Test Day...but it could be as low as 506 or as high as 518. Your previous tests are a high-variance indicator of how you'd really do. Good luck!

You might also retake AAMC FL 1 and 2; it's been over a year so you shouldn't remember much. That's likely to either not be inflated at all or be inflated maybe a point or two. The Sample Test, assuming you haven't seen it, is probably your best bet.

 

[mariposas905]

Mariposas: this one is going to be a little bit tough to ballpark 'cause your scores are all over the place. I'd suggest that you take the AAMC Sample Test, using this image to convert your raw scores to scaled scores. Use the Verbal scale for psych/soc and CARS, use the Bio scale for bio/biochem, and the Physics scale for chem/phys. That should give you at least a decently accurate measure of how you're going to do on Test Day. 512 might be the median of where you'd do on Test Day...but it could be as low as 506 or as high as 518. Your previous tests are a high-variance indicator of how you'd really do. Good luck!

You might also retake AAMC FL 1 and 2; it's been over a year so you shouldn't remember much. That's likely to either not be inflated at all or be inflated maybe a point or two. The Sample Test, assuming you haven't seen it, is probably your best bet.

I've seen the sample test already lol I did all the AAMC FLs (except FL 3) last May. Then, I didn't touch them again until this May, when I retook them. FL 3 was new and I scored 510 on that, but made a bunch of stupid mistakes. I guess my score would be around a 511, which would be nice because I am trying my best to get above 510. Thanks for your input though!

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Optimistically? You might get a 514. However, your spread is really wide and not something I can really comment on. Good luck. I can say that you may make significant improvement but the variance on those scores is big.

 

[mariposas905]

Optimistically? You might get a 514. However, your spread is really wide and not something I can really comment on. Good luck. I can say that you may make significant improvement but the variance on those scores is big.

Thanks for lmk, do you know why my scores could be all over the place? Lol it seems like this is pretty atypical.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Your scores could be all over the place because you've had sky-high scores (520 on a retake of AAMC FL 1) and much lower scores (507-508 on third-party Altius tests). Your best bet would be to retake AAMC 2, which might either be dead on or inflated by not more than a couple points. Good luck!

 

[mariposas905]

Your scores could be all over the place because you've had sky-high scores (520 on a retake of AAMC FL 1) and much lower scores (507-508 on third-party Altius tests). Your best bet would be to retake AAMC 2, which might either be dead on or inflated by not more than a couple points. Good luck!

I did retake AAMC FL 2 about a month back and scored 515. It sucks that I can't figure out where I stand. Oh well, I guess I better take it and hope for the best. Altius is harder than AAMC though right? So hopefully, I'm at the 511 range.

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Yeah...based on those scores, there's a good chance you'll see significant improvement but the spread is wide. If you're willing to go for it, go for it. I don't really have anything else to say, other than that you've been performing around a 512 level, with a huge variance. You've probably improved since your last real MCAT. How much, very hard to tell.

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

I scored 511-513 on next step, 519 on AAMC FL2, 514 on FL 3 and 515 on real thing. FL3 is most predictive, and I wouldn't discount "stupid mistakes" because they WILL occur on the real thing since you'll be nervous.