Do I have a chance?

[mayson4]

I have a BS in Biology( as most premeds) from a competitive university with a 3.2 GPA. I took a graduate program(Cytotechnology) at the same school for one year upon my graduation to slightly boost my gpa to 3.7. I have done several clinical rotation during Cyto.program. I have also shadowed a ped. surgeon for one semester as well as other docs. My problem is the mcat..my score never seemed to increase. I took the mcat three times and still having an average score. Iam so frustrated and don't know how to get into medical school. Re-take mcat??
Appreciate your advice a lot!

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[Weoh]

Going from a 3.2 to a 3.7 is more than just a slight boost! That looks good, but just to make sure-- the 3.7 comes when you calculate the BCPM from both undergrad and grad courses? or is your undergrad at 3.2 and your grad gpa at 3.7? I'm asking because that seems like a REALLY big gpa boost from just one year of additional classes. If it's the latter, then you'll need to put together a cumulative gpa (both BCPM and other) because it will make a big difference in terms of how you should approach the application process.

Also, what's the "average" that you're talking about with regard to the mcat? If you mean you're hitting 30 (which is about the average score for matriculating into med school), don't retake it unless you're trying to offset a really subpar gpa-- which bring us back to my first 2 questions.

 

[njbmd]

I have a BS in Biology( as most premeds) from a competitive university with a 3.2 GPA. I took a graduate program(Cytotechnology) at the same school for one year upon my graduation to slightly boost my gpa to 3.7. I have done several clinical rotation during Cyto.program. I have also shadowed a ped. surgeon for one semester as well as other docs. My problem is the mcat..my score never seemed to increase. I took the mcat three times and still having an average score. Iam so frustrated and don't know how to get into medical school. Re-take mcat??
Appreciate your advice a lot!

You may want to consult the MCAT Forum on this website for strategies and possible solutions to increasing your score. I can tell you that every time you retake and score either below average (below 30) or do not significantly improve, you do yourself a disservice. A string of mediocre MCAT performances becomes a negative and gets more negative with each retake if you are not significantly increasing your performance.

At this point, you may want to apply with what you have and apply broadly to both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. If your uGPA is close to being competitive (3.65 or above) and your LORs, PS and extra curriculars are competitive, you may be able to get into a medical school.Most schools look at the entire applicant and application. Needless to say, if your MCAT is low, you have an uphill battle.

Depending on what you state is "average" in terms of your MCAT scores, will determine what kind of success to expect. The average MCAT score is around 28 but the average for medical school matriculants is around 31 and thus averages are quite different.

 

[thoffen]

Graduate GPA is not factored into your total GPA. It is a separate (graduate cum, bcpm, and ao) category that is unfortunately for you not weighted very much at all in medical school admissions.

What's your goal? US allopathic MD schools? Or are osteopathic DO schools an option?

 

[gman33]

Your ug GPA is quite low for US MD schools. The grad gpa means next to nothing unless it is a SMP. Apply to DO schools or do something to increase the UG gpa. Another option is a SMP.

Don't retake the MCAT until you are have really boosted your score on multiple practice tests. It's one thing for a school to assume you could do better if you only have one score of 28. If you have 3-4 of them, they figure you probably can't improve.

 

[Blade28]

I'm also a little confused by your numbers.

Your undergrad cummulative GPA was 3.2? What was your BCMP?

And the undergrad and grad school GPAs always remain separate. Was the 3.7 grad school only?