Non-Traditional MCAT 508. Should I retake?

[kbuztravel]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I posted this in the MCAT forum but didn't know if this was a better location since it also is related to non-traditional.

MCAT April 2018: 508 (128, 125, 127, 128)
MCAT July 2017: 503 (128, 125, 125, 125)
cGPA: 3.5 (strong upward trend undergrad is 3.17 for business degree, my DIY post bacc is 4.0)
sGPA: 3.8

I am a non-traditional applicant, age 32, white, female, Illinois resident. First and only member of family to graduate from college.
EC: I have a business background in healthcare as the owner of two healthcare companies. I have extensive patient clinical experience in the surgical setting for over 10 years. I am a member of multiple committees for healthcare-related organizations. One non-research publication related to perioperative standards. Data analysis research for the past year on Ventricular Assist Devices.
Volunteering: I have 500+ hours divided between performing surgery program assessments across the nation, board member of a charitable foundation, and organizer of charitable events.
Shadowing: ~50 hours of shadowing cardiothoracic surgeon, orthopedic surgeon, and multiple pathologists. Interviewed my primary care physician (just took her to lunch since the practice didn't allow shadowing). Attended heart transplant committee, VAD committee, and breast cancer committee.
LOR: I have strong LORs from my mentor (cardiothoracic surgeon and private practice owner) as well as three of my science professors.

I applied previously in 2017, complete late in the cycle, end of August. I had one DO interview with rejection. I would like to apply mainly to MD programs this year submitting application June 1st, but am nervous about my MCAT score and GPA combination. Since I am on the older side and will not have as much time to recoup the money that I put into becoming a physician, I am hesitant to spend even more money on classes to boost my GPA, MCAT, or get an additional degree for the sake of it, unless necessary.

Should I retake the MCAT?

 

[Lucky Day]

Your question is about retaking the MCAT, but if I may ask: Why do you think you only got one interview/weren't accepted?

 

[kbuztravel]

Your question is about retaking the MCAT, but if I may ask: Why do you think you only got one interview/weren't accepted?

I assumed it was because My application was complete late August 22 2017, my MCAT score was 503, and I still had to take second organic chemistry course. This was why I believed I only received one interview.

The reason I believe I was rejected from the DO school was because I was too nervous during my interview and it interfered with my performance.

Do think there is something I’m missing?

 

[Lucky Day]

Do think there is something I’m missing?

No, just trying to get more information and subjective opinions are usually pretty helpful.

I'm not sure a 503 would have held you back from DO schools. The mean MCAT score for DO school matriculants in 2017 was 503.05. I also don't think a application complete date of August 22 is late for either MD or DO, but especially not DO.

How many DO schools did you apply to?

 

[kbuztravel]

How many DO schools did you apply to?

I applied to 6 DO schools.
My DIY post bacc consisted of all community college courses. Could that have hurt my chances?

 

[kbuztravel]

I’m nervous now that there is something wrong with my application.

Does anyone know of a good resource for reviewing reapplicants?

 

[Lucky Day]

I applied to 6 DO schools.
My DIY post bacc consisted of all community college courses. Could that have hurt my chances?

Meh. I don't think so. How many hours did you do and over what period of time?

I think you applied to too few DO schools. With your 508, you should be good to go for DO on this round, apply liberally. I'm not sure you should get your hopes up on MD, though. What I also notice is a lack of altruistic community service. Do you have experience working one-on-one with people in need/vulnerable populations? Also, could you clarify your capacity/role in "extensive patient clinical experience in the surgical setting for over 10 years"?

 

[kbuztravel]

Meh. I don't think so. How many hours did you do and over what period of time?

I think you applied to too few DO schools. With your 508, you should be good to go for DO on this round, apply liberally. I'm not sure you should get your hopes up on MD, though. What I also notice is a lack of altruistic community service. Do you have experience working one-on-one with people in need/vulnerable populations? Also, could you clarify your capacity/role in "extensive patient clinical experience in the surgical setting for over 10 years"?

I did 41 credit hours at the community college since it was within walking distance of my house, so much more affordable than a formal post-bacc program, and because an advisor at University of Illinois told me to do that instead of the formal.

I will definitely apply to multiple DOs then. I had done a ton of volunteering in my youth (soup kitchen, hospital daycare, environmental cleanup) but that was 20 years ago that I figured wouldn't be worth mentioning on my application. I agree as an adult I have transitioned more towards leadership/administrative type roles when giving back to the community. I will be working as an instructor this summer for a program that provides STEM based activities to Chicago inner city highschoolers. This was a group that I had worked to raise money for previously and they asked me to come on as an instructor. I did volunteer at a hospital in my neighborhood for about 50 hours but I wasn't doing anything that felt worthwhile and left. I was just making marketing bags for new mothers in labor/delivery.

My experience is running machines called cellsavers in surgery that return shed blood to patients at the bedside. This was performed on surgeries that had significant blood loss (spine fusions, open heart, transplants, c-sections, joint replacements, trauma, etc). We could also carry these machines over to the post-op setting and continue to collect blood from patients drains to process. We did this to help patients reduce the exposure to allogeneic blood products. I also got involved making autologous blood products for wound healing in both surgery and the clinical/office setting.

Thank you for this feedback it is very much appreciated.

 

[Bobsaget121]

You seem to lack research and clinical skills. If you can't get into anywhere this cycle, take a break from the next cycle and try to shadow physicians, work as a scribe or do some type of research in a lab.

 

[Lucky Day]

Over how long did you do the 41 credits?

The one thing maybe you should be careful about is your reason/motivation for becoming a physician. For all but a very few people, the primary rationale behind being a physician should be dealing one-on-one with patients. To prove this, you should show a track record of face time and the stories/experiences to demonstrate that you are in touch with the humanistic side of patient care. You may very well have this, but the background you put forward here seems to be mechanical and business motivated. If you are at all demonstrating that you care more about the administrative/financial/leadership side of medicine more than the patient care, you may give some people cause to doubt your application. That's not a certainty, just a thought.

Either way, find someone with experience in medical school admissions/interviews to work with you on mock interviews. Pay for it if necessary. You should be fine though. Good luck!!!

 

[kbuztravel]

Over how long did you do the 41 credits?

The one thing maybe you should be careful about is your reason/motivation for becoming a physician. For all but a very few people, the primary rationale behind being a physician should be dealing one-on-one with patients. To prove this, you should show a track record of face time and the stories/experiences to demonstrate that you are in touch with the humanistic side of patient care. You may very well have this, but the background you put forward here seems to be mechanical and business motivated. If you are at all demonstrating that you care more about the administrative/financial/leadership side of medicine more than the patient care, you may give some people cause to doubt your application. That's not a certainty, just a thought.

Either way, find someone with experience in medical school admissions/interviews to work with you on mock interviews. Pay for it if necessary. You should be fine though. Good luck!!!

This speaks to me and has probably been the most real and helpful feedback I've received thus far. I can see how it comes off as mechanical and business motivated, which is not how I feel. I'll definitely reach out for some professional help on telling the right story. Thank you!

 

[I'mJustCurious]

I honestly think you’re ready. A 508 is good for DO schools as long as you apply broadly and early.

 

[RNthenDoc]

I feel like you have a good shot this time tbqh

 

[DSM_302.0]

One thing that helped me in my cycle was to find friends and even new friends via SDN to share feedback on your personal statement and activities in your primary application, and again during secondaries. Good luck!

 

[dushash]

I got 507 and 3.0 GPA and got accepted to a DO school. I'm 39, I have no research and nothing special about me lol. With your 508 and 3.5 GPA you should be good to go. The trick is to apply broadly and apply early - that's how I got accepted. I can't comment here on specific schools, but there are couple DO schools that have large class that accepts basically ALL applicants who applied and who has >3.0GPA and >505 MCAT - you are pretty much guaranteed to get accepted to those schools, unless you do or say something really silly on the interview (which I'm sure will be just fine given your are mature person). The only thing is as I said apply early, because spots are filled on first come first serve basis. When I applied to that school, I remember reading school specific thread and I don't remember ANYONE who got denied (given they have met cutoff requirements). People started to get wait-listed and rejected only after 95% of class was full. This may sound silly, but it's easy to get into if you apply broadly and early.
Now if you want to stay in specific area or have school of choice or have low GPA/MCAT - then it gets tricky and all best are off.

 

[EducatedGuesser]

One of the most important components is "telling your story," especially in your personal statement but also in your interview. What are the compelling experiences that have pushed in upon you to cause you to want to move in this direction. Many applicants believe it to be about your numerical metrics, but they can no longer stand alone. If a med school can push four years of education into you, what will that look like when they shove you out the back door with an MD degree to serve patients. The answer to that is found in your personal statement. I always used to say, "You need to come to us hardwired," with those characteristics. Reveal your compassion, empathy, wisdom, emotional intelligence, intellectual curiosity, character, integrity, etc, through the stories you tell. The reader will discern who you are through them.