Need advice on application and possible gap year

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summerlennox

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I took the MCAT 7/23 and it wasn't that good... I got a 501. I don't feel too bad about it because CP was extremely difficult and there was information on there that I learned in my quant chemistry class smh. I'm retaking this Saturday but I'm not ready at all. I told my mom I wanted to cancel it but she said I should still try anyways. I'm aiming for at least a 504 but I would still apply with a 503 lol. Is my application going to be extremely late??? I won't get my score back until 9/15

It's crazy because I had everything set to apply with a strong application, but who would've known my own major would hold me back on my MCAT. Here are my stats if anyone wants to know:
URM, NC resident
250+ hours shadowing (21 from shadowing program, rest from an internship where I basically worked as a medical assistant and shadowed at the same time)
600+ hours research (400 from REU+poster presentation)
68 hours mentoring
300 hours gen chem lab teaching assistant
200 hours clinical volunteering
80 hours non clinical volunteering
Founder and president of a pre-health organization on campus. Served on 2 other executive boards

I really need advice because I'm now facing an unexpected gap year!
 
Retaking the MCAT so quickly (especially when you aren't prepared for it) will signal poor decision making to adcoms. If you're planning to retake, you should be scoring at least 5-6pts higher on practice exams. Otherwise, it won't do you any favors. You can take this with a grain of salt as I am only just applying this cycle, but this has been the general sentiment I've seen on this site.

As far as your gap year goes, it sounds like a good time to beef up your non-clinical experience, perhaps to those less fortunate. I've noticed that adcoms don't tend to put much stock into on-campus positions, but rather prefer to see you out of your comfort zone.
 
Retaking the MCAT so quickly (especially when you aren't prepared for it) will signal poor decision making to adcoms. If you're planning to retake, you should be scoring at least 5-6pts higher on practice exams. Otherwise, it won't do you any favors. You can take this with a grain of salt as I am only just applying this cycle, but this has been the general sentiment I've seen on this site.

As far as your gap year goes, it sounds like a good time to beef up your non-clinical experience, perhaps to those less fortunate. I've noticed that adcoms don't tend to put much stock into on-campus positions, but rather prefer to see you out of your comfort zone.
This^^^^. You haven't mentioned your GPA, so we can't really tell how strong your application would be. Your ECs are okay, but not spectacular, especially, as @EpilepticRat pointed out, the non-clinical volunteering. No, you are not extremely late, but it's no longer early, and is only going to get later from here. If you don't even have a primary verified yet, you should take care of that ASAP. Filing secondaries for MD in October is not going to be ideal, but won't be fatal, depending on the rest of your application. Into November for MD will definitely be pushing it. For DO you would still be fine.

The biggest thing to point out is that the MCAT score has a confidence band +/- 2 points, so retaking and only seeing a 2-3 improvement (or decrease) will not move the needle on your application at all. It was a mistake to sign up to take it again so soon, but if you are committed to applying this cycle, you really had no choice.

The problem now is that you say you don't feel prepared. Again, as @EpilepticRat said, little to no improvement will evidence poor decision making. A decrease will be even worse. Since you don't feel you are in a position to see a significant improvement justifying a retake after only 5 weeks, you have everything to lose and nothing to gain by not cancelling. This is not the SAT. Your mom is wrong. You don't take this test just to see how it goes.

You are URM. You haven't told us your grades, or whether you are applying DO, MD, or both. Depending on the answer to those questions, you might be fine with a 501. Either way, it's difficult to see how the difference between a 501, and a 501 plus a 503 or 504, will be the difference between success and failure for you this cycle. Good luck!!!
 
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Do you really think a 2-3 point score increase is going to help you out? As just about everyone has said, we don’t know much else about your application so we can’t even begin to advise you! But if you aren’t feeling confident in a big score jump just cancel. What are you scoring on your FL practice tests at this point?
 
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