Reapplying 2023-2024 cycle - need help with deciding on retaking high MCAT that expires for schools (school list included in thread)

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Hello all,

I am going to be a 2023-2024 reapplicant (CA ORM) after applying this past year (2021-2022). I received 3 interviews (Colorado, CUSM, Hofstra) this past year but fell short (1 R, 1 2nd tier WL, 1x WL --> R). It is clear my interviews did not go well. Despite this, I have other parts of my application I would like to get sorted out first including my school list. I did not reapply right away because I decided I needed to completely revamp my application.

My biggest conflict is whether or not I should retake the MCAT because it will expire for many schools that I fall within the range of stats-wise. I received a 522 (129/132/129/132) on 9/2020, which expires by 3 months for many schools (1/2021). I'm concerned about retaking and getting a lower score.

My cumulative gpa is 3.5 and from a "lower" Ivy.

I spent the last two years working in bench research, and as a mistake, I did not add that as my top three w/a, despite my top-heavy school list. At the time of applying, I did not know schools would weigh my research more heavily than the other activities that I listed as top 3 (D1 athletics, clinical volunteering, non-clinical volunteering). I have an IA that I am more than happy to share via DM.

I believe my biggest weakness in my application was my writing and inability to formulate a proper narrative. I am working on that by becoming a scribe to feel more confident in my clinical experiences and to have more stories to back up why I want to become a physician. I am currently looking to be a part of clinical research that I can do while scribing. I understand that next time, I will apply to schools that I match well with (outside of stats) in terms of long-term goals and school focus.

I will list all the possibilities (excluding some state schools with lower yield for OOS applicants) of schools I am willing to apply to without having to retake my MCAT and schools I would like to apply to but need to retake the MCAT for.

The schools I am providing are simply broad categories of schools I would apply to. I would like to know what people think about where I stand and whether I would fit better in the schools I have to retake the MCAT for. In my opinion, I think that the schools that I can apply to without retaking the MCAT is too top-heavy.

I would like input on the decision to retake the MCAT and any suggestions for tweaking the med school list. Please let me know if there is other information that is necessary to provide input.

Schools I've put (1st time) for are schools that I did not apply to last cycle.

Schools that I would like to apply to but my MCAT score would expire are the following (oldest MCAT taken is 1/2021 according to MSAR for my cycle):
Kaiser
Keck
UCSF
University of Colorado
Georgetown
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola University Chicago
Rush
UMichigan
Mayo Clinic
Geisel Dartmouth
Seton Hall (1st time)
NYMC
NYU Grossman
University of Cincinnati (1st time)
Drexel
Temple (1st time)
Penn State (1st time)
Brown
UVA (1st time)
Albert Einstein
Case Western
(22 schools)
Schools that I would apply to that I don't need to retake the MCAT for:
Cal Northstate
CUSM
Stanford
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC Riverside
UCSD
U Conn (1st time)
Yale
George Washington
University of Florida (1st time)
U Miami (1st time)
Emory
Northwestern
UChicago
Tulane (1st time)
Boston University
Harvard
Tufts
UMass (1st time)
JHU
Maryland (1st time)
Michigan State (1st time)
WashU
Duke
Wake Forest (1st time)
Rowan (Cooper) (1st time)
Albany (1st time)
Columbia
Hofstra
Mt. Sinai
Rochester
Cornell
UPenn
Thomas Jefferson
UPitt
Vanderbilt
(38 schools)
I was considering applying to schools in Texas via TMDSAS but am unsure as an OOS applicant.

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Last edited by a moderator:
What held you back were your interview skills, not whether you listed research as a most meaningful. Please follow the below template:


Don’t apply to Cal Northstate, they have an accreditation problem. Some of the other schools you listed also take few OOS students without ties (Maryland, Rowan, Michigan State).
 
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Suggested information to include when creating a WAMC thread are as follows:
1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
cGPA: 3.54; sGPA: 3.45

2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown
522 (129/132/129/132) - Wondering if I should retake the MCAT because it will expire for many schools (which I will list below).

3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
California

4. Ethnicity and/or race
Asian

5. Undergraduate institution or category
Lower ivy league

6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
Volunteer EMT (~540 hours)

7. Research experience and productivity
No pubs but 2 years full-time as research assistant at MGH

8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
30 hours - neurology

9. Non-clinical volunteering
Crisis Text Line (200)
Camp Kesem counselor (500)

10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
Division 1 collegiate athletics (4 years and 2 years captain~4500)
Lifeguarding (600 hours)
MCAT Tutoring (just added this past year)

11. Relevant honors or awards
Scholar All-American, All-Ivy B Team

Will be adding:
Scribing or Clinical Research

12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
IA which I can explain via DM. I am a reapplicant from the 2021-2022 cycle. I received 3 interviews (CUSM, Colorado, Hofstra), which resulted in 1 R and 2 WL's. For my upcoming application, I understand I will have to ramp up my interview prep. I also believe my writing/narrative fell short and will start working on them early in order to tailor each secondary to each school. My committee letter was submitted in the middle of September, so my secondaries were not submitted until then. For my next cycle, I will be applying without a committee letter (school doesn't offer one for people who have been out of school for 3+ years).

I have a scribing position at an ICU lined up currently. I have gotten conflicting advice on whether to do clinical research or scribing. Most people have told me to do clinical research because that is the only way to differentiate myself. I believe either will be helpful for me because I lacked direct clinical experience with physicians but would like to know what other people's thoughts are.

I would not apply to ALL of the schools listed. These are just schools I would look into further before finalizing a school list. Please recommend schools to add/remove.

Depending on the school list, would you recommend I retake my MCAT to add the schools from the first list? I would like to get others' opinions on whether risking a lower score would be worth adding the schools. I feel that my application fits with "middle-tier" schools (like the schools I got interviews from) and am worried the schools I wouldn't need to retake the MCAT for is too top-heavy.

Thank you!

School List:

Schools that I would like to apply to but my MCAT score would expire are the following (oldest MCAT taken is 1/2021 according to MSAR for my cycle):
Kaiser
Keck
UCSF
University of Colorado
Georgetown
Rosalind Franklin
Loyola University Chicago
Rush
UMichigan
Mayo Clinic
Geisel Dartmouth
NYMC
NYU Grossman
University of Cincinnati (1st time)
Drexel
Temple (1st time)
Brown
UVA (1st time)
Albert Einstein
Case Western
(20 schools)

Schools that I would apply to that I won't need to retake the MCAT for:
CUSM
Stanford
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC Riverside
UCSD
Yale
George Washington
U Miami (1st time)
Emory
Northwestern
UChicago
Tulane (1st time)
Boston University
Harvard
Tufts
JHU
WashU
Duke
Wake Forest (1st time)
Columbia
Hofstra
Mt. Sinai
Cornell
UPenn
Thomas Jefferson
UPitt
Vanderbilt
(29 schools)

I was considering applying to schools in Texas via TMDSAS but am unsure as an OOS applicant.
 
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What held you back were your interview skills, not whether you listed research as a most meaningful. Please follow the below template:


Don’t apply to Cal Northstate, they have an accreditation problem. Some of the other schools you listed also take few OOS students without ties (Maryland, Rowan, Michigan State).
Thank you for the feedback. I definitely agree that my interview skills were lacking and will remedy that before next cycle. I mentioned the research portion because I read how many of the schools I applied to are research-heavy and felt that not highlighting that experience was an additional mistake. I learned a lot in my second year of research that I will be able to highlight in my next application. My biggest concern at the moment is trying to get to the interview stage again next cycle and wondering if that seemed possible with the school list or if retaking the MCAT to add those schools is more beneficial despite the risks of getting a lower score.

I locked the post since I posted a WAMC, but I figured I'd leave this open to get as many opinions as possible.
 
School List:
I have merged your posts so other users can best provide help. TMDAS schools are 90% IS and their OOS applicants likely have a much higher GPA. I suggest the following, you will have to check which schools would take your MCAT score:

Kaiser
Keck
University of Colorado
Mayo Clinic
Geisel Dartmouth
University of Cincinnati (1st time)
Drexel
Temple (1st time)
Brown
UVA (1st time)
Albert Einstein
CUSM
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (only if from IE)
UCSD
U Miami (1st time)
Tulane (1st time)
Tufts
WashU
Wake Forest (1st time)
Hofstra
Thomas Jefferson
UPitt
Vanderbilt

Add:
Ohio State
Western Michigan
USF
Vermont
Rochester
Nova MD
VCU
EVMS
Creighton
UMass (maybe)

Since you are a reapplicant, add a few DO schools. You should receive MD interviews again though. I suggest:

Western
Touro CA
Touro NV
PCOM
AZCOM (high tuition FYI)
 
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