Early chances/MCAT retake opinions

[csj10]

.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Goro]

Chances outstanding even with the imbalanced MCAT. Maybe skip the Ivies and Stanford. However, make sure you have excellent ECs if you want to go to excellent schools. You're going to need to show your altruism and humanism.

Hey all,

I'll be applying next cycle and will probably be doing a more detailed chances thread closer to that time, but I am hoping for some initial opinions, especially regarding my MCAT score.

Stats:
- 25 y/o white male (consider myself non-trad as I've been out of school for > 3 years now)
- BS biochemistry from a state school
- 3.96cGPA/3.98sGPA
- 34 MCAT; 14PS/8V/12BS

ECs:
- By application time I'm hoping volunteering/shadowing will be decent, but nothing out of this world.
- ~1.5 yrs applied biochemistry research, 1 year full time post grad
- ~2.5 yrs in the medical device industry, 1.5 yrs in a leadership role

I'm mainly concerned about that 8VR on the MCAT. How much is that going to hurt my chances? Should I even bother applying to top tier schools with that? I am happy with 34 overall and I know re-taking probably isn't smart, but I scored >10 on all my practice exams so that was definitely disappointing. Opinions? Thanks.

 

[csj10]

Chances outstanding even with the imbalanced MCAT. Maybe skip the Ivies and Stanford. However, make sure you have excellent ECs if you want to go to excellent schools. You're going to need to show your altruism and humanism.

Thanks Goro, that's encouraging. As long as the 8 isn't going to be too much of a red flag I think I'll continue working to strengthen my ECs rather than worry about a re-take.

 

[Catalystik]

Some schools don't regard the subscores individually. I agree that you should not retake, considering the strength of the overall score.

 

[khrisskhoras]

Don't retake

 

[IANKRISBANAWA]

well, good for you. it doesn't matter if you retake or probably retake more than 2.it is how you cope up or stand after circumstances that you did not obtain.there is always second chances.

 

[csj10]

Thanks all, I appreciate the input.

Some schools don't regard the subscores individually. I agree that you should not retake, considering the strength of the overall score.

Good to know, I hadn't considered that. Thanks. I'll do some research and see if I can find any schools that mention that specifically, if not, I may apply a little more broadly in hopes of capturing some that don't weigh the subscores heavily in comparison to the overall.