In the rather opposite situation than many test-takers...

[SansNom]

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[ChubbyChaser]

I wouldnt retake the only place you can go from a 15 is down, and what are you gonna improve your sciences by 1 maybe 2 pts??

 

[SN2ed]

Have you tried calling the schools you want to apply to about your situation? This can get you the information you want and it gets you in touch with the adcoms. You could also think about getting your MBA first, show them how good your GPA is there, and then apply. I think the main way to get into a top tier school with your GPA would be to either get some more great ECs or get an MBA with a high GPA. Right now, I think you have a decent shot at getting into non top-tier schools. I don't see much of a reason to retake. Your verbal will go down, but your sciences can easily move up. You should ask the adcoms of the schools you're considering if a good MCAT will over=shadow a low GPA and by how much.

 

[halekulani]

Re GPA + MCAT: My next question is, with my GPA I know that I can't really aim for top-tier schools which is ideally where'd I like to be so what would I need to do to get there? Will doing EMT stuff help me or do I also need to do a post-bacc or SMP? Should I re-take MCAT?

SMP's don't necessarily help people get into top tier schools, just med schools (the process is hard enough). it's not that you can't get into a top tier school, it's just not the focus of the program. the programs are designed to help you get into ANY med school. the only really good chance to get into the top tier school from an SMP is if you attend an SMP at a top tier school (eg. Georgetown) and they select you for an interview and then an acceptance. it's pretty difficult and there are very few spots compared to the number of competitors you have...you pretty much have to finish at the top of all your classes.

 

[SansNom]

These are really good suggestions. Thanks for responding.

It's helpful to hear that I have a chance to get into some med schools now. I guess reading SDN my spirits kept sinking because of the number of people with high scores and high GPAs who weren't getting in.

I think I will in fact call places and ask whether it would be worthwhile to try and boost my MCAT. I know my verbal will go down by a point or two but I feel like if my PS goes up by two points and my BS by one at least my score becomes a lot less imbalanced looking, at the very least.

I'd be very happy trying to get my MBA and then go for med school but the problem for that is I need some work experience and then apply so it may mean by the time I'm done with the MBA I'll have to retake the MCAT 🙁. But that's definitely a thought.

Thanks for the suggestions. I feel a little cheered up by this. I guess I'll go give some med schools a call and see what they say. Any other advice on the EMT thing or ECs that could help me would be great! TIA.

 

[Old Grunt]

Hi all,

Posted this in the Official "Should I re-take?" thread but didn't get a response + my questions are slightly more involved and I didn't want to hijack that thread after thirteen pages of being relatively on-topic 😀.

I say in an opposite situation since I did pretty well on the MCAT but largely because of VR where I think most SDNers from what I see are hurt by VR. My questions follow. So this might be a little long but bear with me:

First I graduated recently w/ a B.S. Bio from an Ivy, but I don't have a very good GPA (3.2ish iirc). I had strong research experience (no pubs but I took over a project previously managed by a post-doc, trained and managed the person who eventually replaced me when I graduated, etc.) and pretty good extracurriculars but none really med-related. I took the MCAT 9/11 (retake) and scored 15 VR 9 PS 10 BS (34Q) which is pretty good but a)it's largely based on VR and b) coupled with my GPA I think it needs to be higher.

Re ECs:I am WFR certified so my first question was: Would it be worthwhile to do a WFR to WEMT bridge program and work as EMT to get some experience or does sort of thing not work well for med schools? Do they want to see shadowing or would EMT and Search and Rescue be good?

Re GPA + MCAT: My next question is, with my GPA I know that I can't really aim for top-tier schools which is ideally where'd I like to be so what would I need to do to get there? Will doing EMT stuff help me or do I also need to do a post-bacc or SMP? Should I re-take MCAT?

I'm interested in MD/MBA but am also more than willing to do my MD and then go back for the MBA after some experience. So I'm planning to apply next cycle (08) for MD programs and maybe some of the MD/MBA programs that I think are attainable. Is this reasonable? What can I do to make sure that I am actual candidate instead of just being screened out? I live near a pretty good university (not CC) and so I could take courses in the spring if I wanted to do that but I'll probably be working so at best I'd be taking like two. Any advice really would be much appreciated as I'm kind of all twisted around since getting my MCATs back. Thanks so much if you made it to the end! 😀😀

If I was sitting on a 34Q, you couldn't put a gun to my head and make me retake. I wouldn't worry about the individual scores (except for that kickass 15 in VR). They are all pretty close to the magic 10.

 

[SN2ed]

Another thing you may want to consider is if you're in-state for some of the schools you're looking at. Some top tier schools favor in-state residents meaning you don't need as high a GPA. Remember, you still have a solid MCAT and great ECs.

 

[MattD]

Your MCAT can only counteract your GPA so much. In my opinion, you've done all you can on that front. with a 15/10/9, your goal would be to get that 9 up one point. There is a huge risk in dropping that 15 numerous points and winding up with a lower score overall. In my opinion, and I'm not on any admissions committee, but I'd say it's not worth the risk.

 

[SansNom]

Cool thanks for the pretty level-headed opinions on this. I think I'll probably NOT burn another 3 months of my life on this exam and instead work on doing something exciting/fun/helpful to my resume by doing like EMT or Wilderness S&R or something. Hopefully this will help counter my GPA more. Plus I'll call the Med Schools and see what they think 🙂. Thanks all!

 

[MattD]

Cool thanks for the pretty level-headed opinions on this. I think I'll probably NOT burn another 3 months of my life on this exam and instead work on doing something exciting/fun/helpful to my resume by doing like EMT or Wilderness S&R or something. Hopefully this will help counter my GPA more. Plus I'll call the Med Schools and see what they think 🙂. Thanks all!

Good luck bud!