Is there any hope :(

[Gjackson64]

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I'm not looking for an ego boost here because I'm genuinely distraught and confused rn and seeing if anyone believes that there is still hope for medical school. I took my MCAT in July 2017 and got a 502 (124/125/128/125) and decided to retake it. I studied for 4 and a half months and was averaging around 509, with my last full length practice being AAMC #3 and I got 508 (125/127/127/129). I took the MCAT April 20th and got a 500(124/123/126/127). I am literally so confused and upset because I just don't understand and I feel like my chances of getting into medical school are essentially over. I have a 3.5 GPA & 3.3sGPA, worked in a research lab for 2 years, held various leadership roles, volunteered long term, and have significant clinical experience I am currently gaining in my gap year working as a CMA at a dermatologist. Realistically, is this drop in score by 2 points going to ruin my chances? I know it sounds dumb but I honestly do not understand how this even happened when I was consistently scoring 9-10 points higher on all my full lengths. Ideally the plan was MD, but in my situation I recognize that the end goal here is to be a physician, and I will take whatever way necessary to get there (MD, DO, caribbean schools). Any insight would be nice so my mom doesn't think I like wanna die after crying to her on the phone for half an hour. Sorry this was kinda annoying but appreciate literally any insight as I try to determine how to regroup and go forward with my dream.

 

[Master Thinker]

If I were you, I would consider looking at all DO schools. If you can get your MCAT to ~505-508, that should get you to DO range...maybe try to find out what you are getting wrong on the mcat and retaking it? Caribbeans should usually be avoided.

 

[Gjackson64]

If I were you, I would consider looking at all DO schools. If you can get your MCAT to ~505-508, that should get you to DO range...maybe try to find out what you are getting wrong on the mcat and retaking it? Caribbeans should usually be avoided.

My thought is that its too risky to even attempt taking it again. I was score above that range on the AAMC practice exams, I never imagined that I would score a 500. I don't understand what went wrong on test day so I dont even know what to fix

 

[Master Thinker]

With a 3.5/3.3 GPA, a 500 is on the low side for DO. Not saying it is impossible, but they do look for a bit higher. Maybe @Goro can chime in here

 

[Gjackson64]

With a 3.5/3.3 GPA, a 500 is on the low side for DO. Not saying it is impossible, but they do look for a bit higher. Maybe @Goro can chime in here

Could having a lot of other activities be helpful? Im sorry if thats a dumb question im literally just lost on what to do rn

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

With a 3.5/3.3 GPA, a 500 is on the low side for DO. Not saying it is impossible, but they do look for a bit higher. Maybe @Goro can chime in here

The median for DO matriculants is 502. Literally 30% of DO matriculants have below a 500. And if you’re getting a 500 on the MCAT, you probably don’t have much higher than a 3.5.

 

[Master Thinker]

The median for DO matriculants is 502. Literally 30% of DO matriculants have below a 500. And if you’re getting a 500 on the MCAT, you probably don’t have much higher than a 3.5.

Ah ok thanks for pointing that out. I was of the impressions that higher GPAs are needed to offset slightly lower MCATs?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Ah ok thanks for pointing that out. I was of the impressions that higher GPAs are needed to offset slightly lower MCATs?

That’s true, but clearly when the median mcat is 502 and the median gpa is 3.5, close to half the matriculants have sub-500/3.5 stats (I said close to half to account for the people who had high GPAs and bombed the MCAT, but I doubt that is a significantly number).

 

[Goro]

With a 3.5/3.3 GPA, a 500 is on the low side for DO. Not saying it is impossible, but they do look for a bit higher. Maybe @Goro can chime in here

OP being a 2x MCAT taker who went slightly down means that OP should apply broadly to DO schools.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these DO schools with your stats:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
UIWSOM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
NYIT-Arkansas
CUSOM
LECOM (all schools)
MU-COM
PCOM Georgia and South Georgia