How common is it for schools to take your most recent mcat?

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mrh125

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I'm really wondering about this because I'm not too thrilled about that and if a school says this will they still look at your older mcat score and use it as a context? I went from a 9/11/9 to a 10/7/11 and if they're just ignoring my first score completely that just sucks..
 
They're probably going to assume you're in the ball park of a 28-29 score if they look at both and that the fluctuation in your scores is a function of random chance. The only reason the second score sucks more is that it drops you below some cutoffs. You're going to have to look into it school by school though- some take the most recent, some take the highest, some look at all scores, and there's even a couple DO schools I've heard of that take your highest subsections from the different tests.
 
They're probably going to assume you're in the ball park of a 28-29 score if they look at both and that the fluctuation in your scores is a function of random chance. The only reason the second score sucks more is that it drops you below some cutoffs. You're going to have to look into it school by school though- some take the most recent, some take the highest, some look at all scores, and there's even a couple DO schools I've heard of that take your highest subsections from the different tests.

thanks for the feedback, yea the 7 really hurt me. Im hoping not too many schools look at the most recent and if they do they'll use the other score for context thus eliminating some of my worries.
 
There's really little difference between a 29 and 28, I think. What jumps out most from that is the fact that you retook the test and got the same score. That suggests you rushed into the second test and may call into question your decision-making ability. From what I understand, that doesn't look good for you.
 
The majority of schools will probably look at both. Your MCAT should be fine for DO schools depending on how strong the rest of your application is.
 
There's really little difference between a 29 and 28, I think. What jumps out most from that is the fact that you retook the test and got the same score. That suggests you rushed into the second test and may call into question your decision-making ability. From what I understand, that doesn't look good for you.


I improved in two sections though by studying and decreasing my gaps in bio sci and phys sci which went up by one 2 points and one point respectively. verbal was what brought me down =/.
The majority of schools will probably look at both. Your MCAT should be fine for DO schools depending on how strong the rest of your application is.
ehh, i'm mainly focused on MD schools. DO schools are more of a last option if I don't get accepted to any of the schools im applying to (i'm applying super broadly). good to know about scores though. The other areas of my application are also super strong.
 
How are your ECs? Your MCAT is well below median and you apparently have a solidly decreasing trend in your GPA. Two MCATs with about the same score. A long list of schools. Not really getting a fuzzy feeling from what I'm reading here and in your previous threads.

MD might be a bit of a reach. I would be thinking of DO as a realistic option instead of a last resort.

edit: Also realized you're the one who had a lot of dentist shadowing. There are a number of things on your app that will raise eyebrows. Not that any of it is necessarily bad, but you don't want an adcom reviewing the application and saying "huh, weird" 4 or 5 times.
 
Concur. Even a single take 29 is not optimal.

There's really little difference between a 29 and 28, I think. What jumps out most from that is the fact that you retook the test and got the same score. That suggests you rushed into the second test and may call into question your decision-making ability. From what I understand, that doesn't look good for you.
 
I improved in two sections though by studying and decreasing my gaps in bio sci and phys sci which went up by one 2 points and one point respectively. verbal was what brought me down =/.

ehh, i'm mainly focused on MD schools. DO schools are more of a last option if I don't get accepted to any of the schools im applying to (i'm applying super broadly). good to know about scores though. The other areas of my application are also super strong.

If money is not an issue, certainly apply to all the MD schools you can see yourself attending. But at this point, it would be prudent to start preparing yourself for the possibility of attending a DO school (which by no means is bad or anything).
 
How are your ECs? Your MCAT is well below median and you apparently have a solidly decreasing trend in your GPA. Two MCATs with about the same score. A long list of schools. Not really getting a fuzzy feeling from what I'm reading here and in your previous threads.

MD might be a bit of a reach. I would be thinking of DO as a realistic option instead of a last resort.

edit: Also realized you're the one who had a lot of dentist shadowing. There are a number of things on your app that will raise eyebrows. Not that any of it is necessarily bad, but you don't want an adcom reviewing the application and saying "huh, weird" 4 or 5 times.

the cosmetic dentistry is applicable to medicine in the right context. My LOR even talks about my interest in Medicine and why I observed/volunteered and it has to do with the fact conscious sedation techniques and procedures are just as applicable to medicine. It's also a fun activity I did on my side Nothing's wrong with exploration. 300 hours dentistry vs. 1000+ hrs medicine I think is showing enough.
my other ECs:
medical:
on the high end of 1500+ hours over radiology, hospital volunteering, pediatrics, cardiology, GI (GI and pediatrics were both done in underserved communities). much of it is medical scribing and I also translated for some patients.

volunteering:
leading beach cleanup groups across my state 8 hours/day every saturday and sunday.
helped found and facilitate a program to give expelled high school students a chance at the education they needed. raised money to fund curriculum, teachers, repair school, provide them computers. took them on field trips, tutored and mentored them. after 1 year they returned to their regular high schools
toys for children: raised over 2000 toys for children in poverty in my area to celebrate christmas w/ help of local military
leukemia awareness: marched with cancer survivors and gave guest lectures on the importance of platlet and blood donations because my grandfather had leukemia and I saw my family go through the worry of lack of blood and platlet donations.
commemorative military ceremony: put wreathes on the graves of veterans w/o. gave speeches
tutored in arabic farsi, and premed courses and provided other students emotional support.

research:
generic plant bio research. researched relationship between fungi and its plant host. computed data made slides.
global health research: programmed website, involved community and researched causes including aflatoxin load in african food, helping encourage women to pursue careers in science. Assembled grants.
evolution and ecology/environmental research: Researched NY major watersupply purification to see if the state adopted sustainable techniques based off an earlier paper. was going to be published, assembled several reports (no publication though).

work:
IT for GI, scanned files, entered charts, made sure all her technology was working.
Worked as clerk at a convenient store to help my family out.
Worked at a winery as a caterer, bartender, and cashier. Helped plan parties, some non-profit fundraisers, saturday bands.

hobbies:
studying languages and cultures to better understand those around. I've learned arabic, farsi, german and italian
jazz piano
tennis
defensive driving


As for the DOs, ehhh I can't say I consider them too realistic of an option for myself. I applied to 10 DOs, but i'm putting all my effort into MDs schools and MD secondaries. I'm not really interested in the whole having to have higher USLME scores than MD counterparts to get into the same residency programs, how 20% of residency programs (this may have changed with the merger) don't take DOs as seriously, limited research opportunities at DO schools as well as global health, and having to jump through additional hoops to get into certain specialities or not be able. I'm not trying to knock DOs or sound entitled, but i already had to jump through a huge number of additional hoops to even get the college education I needed. I had to take a proficiency exam to get the equivalent of a high school diploma, commute across my state in traffic and attend five community colleges to even transfer to a 4-year and when I did get into a four year I was given the shaft at most of the schools I got into because they wouldnt let me take premed courses and when I did get accepted to a state school I had to complete 4 years of science classes in a little over 2 years. I've put everything I've got into my education, schooling, volunteering, and application so I rather push myself for the best possible options I can get since Ive already jumped through a large number of hoops to get where I'm at. I'd like to be at a point where I can just enjoy my medical school education without having a huge number of additional concerns relative to the average med school student and not be on even ground.

If money is not an issue, certainly apply to all the MD schools you can see yourself attending. But at this point, it would be prudent to start preparing yourself for the possibility of attending a DO school (which by no means is bad or anything).

Money is an issue, but I'm still putting all I can into MDs due to the reasons above. I finished AACOMAS and applied to 10 DOs.
 
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