Needing some advice....should I retake the MCAT?

[PumpkinMD]

I am trying to decided whether or not I should retake the MCAT. Here is my back story...I am an African American female. I attended an Ivy League University. I have very strong ECs and LORs; however, my sGPA is only a 2.8 and total GPA is 3.15. This is mostly the result of a few poor grades in freshman year but generally a strong upward trend including A's in organic. My MCAT breakdown was PS 9 BS 9 V 8 which is unfortunately lower than my practice scores. My plan is to submit my primary app this week even with the 26 but I should I retake it in August?

BTW I studied very thoroughly over a five month period, I honestly wouldn't even know where to start Any advice would be appreciated!

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[1 Ku MuDaPhuDka]

Well I think that you are on the fence to be quite honest with you. I do not think that your MCAT score is that bad at all. If the rest of your application is intact like you say they are, then I think the only that is holding you back is your GPA, science and AO. Apply as soon as you possibly can and broadly. I do not think that the Ivy League educations is going to do you any favors with a sub-par GPA (not being mean, just honest). Anything is possible with this admissions process, just put your best foot forward with what you have and don't look back. If you want to re-study in the mean time for a potential higher score for this application cycle or the next cycle if things don't go your way, I do not think it is a bad idea if it would be your second attempt.

 

[PumpkinMD]

The 26 was my first and only MCAT attempt. I don't think having an ivy league degree will help me too much but nevertheless it is a part of my back story and not to be mean either but its not a myth that ivy league schools (and the likes) are difficult....they really are!

Thanks for your feedback and having one ivy league degree I do not need another I just need to get in somewhere so i'll definately take ur advice and apply VERY broadly

 

[lepeej26956]

Your MCAT is certainly respectable, but it may be a little low combined with your GPA. If you think you it's realistic that you'll actually score higher, then I would say go ahead and retake. Otherwise, if you think it'll stay about the same, then just apply broadly with what you have and hopefully some of those will come through for you.

 

[lepeej26956]

I'm actually in need of retake advice as well. (Sorry this is so long.)

A little about myself:

I am registered in a recognized Native American tribe. I have a high GPA (cGPA: 3.99; sGPA: 4.00), tons of non-clinical volunteer work (over 200 hours per year), about 125 hours of physician shadowing, and an undergraduate scholarship worth over $130,000 (which I had to interview for). I was the outstanding student of the year for the College of Arts and Sciences at my university as a junior (usually only given to seniors). In addition, I'm very close to all three of my professors writing letters for me, and they've all directly told me that I'll be receiving glowing letters from each of them.

I just got my MCAT scores back yesterday, and I got a 31P (11 PS, 6 VR, 14 BS). I'm very excited about the science scores, but I'm completely bummed about the verbal score. I have absolutely no idea what happened because I took 6 AAMC practice tests in the 8 days leading up to my May 22nd MCAT, and my verbal scores in order were 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10. On the day of the test I felt okay about my performace (I thought not quite a 10 but likely a 9 and at absolute worst an 8). However, lo and behold I ended up with a 6 (a 6!!!!). I was in complete shock.

From what I've read on the forums already, anything lower than an 8 on any one section can even be grounds for automatic exclusion at some schools (although I don't believe so at my in-state school), so when I got my scores yesterday I immediately emailed my advisor and registered for the July 8th MCAT.

However, my advisor (hands down the best professor and advisor in the department of biology at my university) told me that she thinks I should be okay given everything else and is leaning toward suggesting keeping my current score.

My guess is that while my BS score could go down 1 or 2 points, both of my VR and PS could go up 1 or 2 points (which is really where my practice averages were).

I don't know the accuracy of the rumor, but I've heard that my in-state med school uses a formula to determine the order of interviews for rolling admission which includes only section score averages. Based on that, I would imagine that I would get an interview.

But that 6 just seems so glaring. If I had gotten a 31 with balanced scores (10, 10, 11), I wouldn't worry at all, but as it stands I'm freaking out. Especially since I only plan to apply to my in-state school (best shot school).

This is what my advisor emailed me regarding my circumstances:

I’m looking now at the State Board of Regents Admission Policy. (Policy # 200). It states “…all applicants must have a GPA of 3.0 or better and a MCAT average of 7.0 or better to be eligible applicants.”

So – average doesn’t mean each one must be a 7.0.

Also, here’s the average data from the class that just applied and who has been accepted for Fall 2010: (State residents only) -

(Total, GPA, MCAT)

Applicants: 378, 3.62, 8.96

Accepted: 142, 3.78, 10.08

(23 non-residents also accepted for class size of 165).

Also interesting – among all those Accepted:

Native American: 10, 3.84, 9.13

So – I’d say you’re in great shape with your GPA and a 31.

So, after all of that... Should I retake?

 

[lepeej26956]

Bump.

Sorry for stealing the thunder from your thread, pumpkin.

 

[Dartmouth2005]

I am trying to decided whether or not I should retake the MCAT. Here is my back story...I am an African American female. I attended an Ivy League University. I have very strong ECs and LORs; however, my sGPA is only a 2.8 and total GPA is 3.15. This is mostly the result of a few poor grades in freshman year but generally a strong upward trend including A's in organic. My MCAT breakdown was PS 9 BS 9 V 8 which is unfortunately lower than my practice scores. My plan is to submit my primary app this week even with the 26 but I should I retake it in August?

BTW I studied very thoroughly over a five month period, I honestly wouldn't even know where to start Any advice would be appreciated!

Maybe you should consider DO school. With your stats, you have a decent shot as a URM. Shadow a DO physician now for a LOR if you haven't already done so. Also, DO schools do grade replacement, so if you retook any of those classes your DO gpa will be higher.

 

[lepeej26956]

Bump

 

[mdbound1987]

OP, as others have said, as a URM your mcat score is fine, but combined with your gpa could pose an issue. Apply early, very broadly, and include DO schools and you should have a shot.

 

[ucsfstudents]

To OP: I wouldn't retake unless there was a significant correctable reason for the score (i.e. you were sick, etc). Your hurdle will be in explaining your GPA,not your MCAT. Your MCAT is somewhat consistent with your GPA (although probably better than expected) so there are no surprises there. In short, have a very good story for your GPA (but try to stress what you learned from your mistakes and how you have changed), your most recent GPA should be stellar, and you can apply with your MCAT score and try to make the rest of your application shine as well.

Medical school is tough, and requires that you learn and synthesize a vast amount of information in a short amount of time. Make sure that you have demonstrated the ability to do well while taking difficult courses. Make sure you express this capability in some way during your interviews (since they will probably try to determine this). The last thing a medical school wants to do is dismiss a medical student for academic reasons. So make sure you can advocate for yourself if you are asked to address your GPA during your interviews.

To Lepee: Your verbal score will limit you significantly. You can either retake or apply knowing that fact. I don't have a good answer for this. Many students who retake end up getting the same low verbal score, with a decrease in the other sections as well! If I were you and I had several months to review, I would retake. But if I didn't, I would apply with very realistic expectations (i.e. apply broadly, etc). Retake only if you can actually improve your verbal scores in practice -- a real feat for most. Good luck!

 

[AspiringJDMD]

Pumpkin I'm in a similar situation. I graduated from a top 10 non-Ivy and also earned a JD from a top 14 law school. I had to go to evening school to take most of my premed prereqs over 4 years so I'm very much a non-traditional application ( I still have to take Physics 2 ). My MCAT was a V-10, B-9, P-8. My GPA is a 3.65 and science/match GPA is a 3.87. Law GPA is 3.3.

I'm really hoping the adcoms understand how hard it is to practice law and take the premed prereqs and the MCAT. Anyone ever heard of how applicants such as myself faired in the application cycle? I'd especially like to hear about other the results of other Black men such as myself.