Reapplying help and CARS tutoring needed- Texas resident

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Hi everyone,

I’m a Texas resident getting ready to reapply for my third cycle, and I’m hoping to gather some advice from others who’ve navigated this before. I’m an Asian immigrant and ESL student. My MCAT scores were 513 (first attempt) and 508 (second), with CARS being my main hurdle (124 → 123). I earned two interviews in my first cycle but none this past one.

As I look toward the next application cycle, I’m focusing on two areas: improving CARS and strengthening my overall application strategy. My advisor encouraged me to raise CARS to at least a 125, but I’ve had trouble making progress. I’ve used the AAMC materials multiple times and now remember many of the passages, so I’m running out of fresh practice. I’m open to investing around $5–7k in a tutor who has strong experience helping ESL students with CARS—especially with grammar, vocabulary, and reading flow.


I’d also appreciate guidance on reapplying as a Texas applicant:

• How to adjust my school list (I only apply Texas school last year, hope to explore out-of-state options

• What changes reviewers expect in a reapplicant

• How to refine writing that may sound non-native

• Any recommended tutoring programs or high-quality CARS materials that closely match AAMC

Thank you to anyone willing to share insight. I’m working hard to approach this cycle with a stronger, more focused plan, and I’m grateful for any direction.

 

[LelouchLamperouge]

Hi everyone,

I’m a Texas resident getting ready to reapply for my third cycle, and I’m hoping to gather some advice from others who’ve navigated this before. I’m an Asian immigrant and ESL student. My MCAT scores were 513 (first attempt) and 508 (second), with CARS being my main hurdle (124 → 123). I earned two interviews in my first cycle but none this past one.

As I look toward the next application cycle, I’m focusing on two areas: improving CARS and strengthening my overall application strategy. My advisor encouraged me to raise CARS to at least a 125, but I’ve had trouble making progress. I’ve used the AAMC materials multiple times and now remember many of the passages, so I’m running out of fresh practice. I’m open to investing around $5–7k in a tutor who has strong experience helping ESL students with CARS—especially with grammar, vocabulary, and reading flow.


I’d also appreciate guidance on reapplying as a Texas applicant:

• How to adjust my school list (I only apply Texas school last year, hope to explore out-of-state options

• What changes reviewers expect in a reapplicant

• How to refine writing that may sound non-native

• Any recommended tutoring programs or high-quality CARS materials that closely match AAMC

Thank you to anyone willing to share insight. I’m working hard to approach this cycle with a stronger, more focused plan, and I’m grateful for any direction.

I think your pitfall was the drop in your MCAT score. Retaking it for one section is not wise in my opinion. Your 5 point decrease was not from CARS alone. If you want to retake, understand that you run the risk of doing even worse, in which your application will be DOA. You also run the risk of scoring the same as before (513, 508). And you run the risk of scoring with very little improvement.

It may suggest poor judgement, especially after a first retake in which you did worse on. However, some programs will average your two scores and you will be ok. If you are deadset on retaking, you have to make +10 jump to be meaningful

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Did you talk with schools about your first application for feedback? I think you are also overestimating the MCAT impact and not addressing other deficiencies.

Most admissions professionals grasp that non-native English applicants generally have lower MCAT CARS scores. That did not stop you from your first interview. I do think the decrease in your other scores contributed to your second application not getting picked up, but also likely your lack of significant progress in your activities, writing, or support letters. Your ship is taking on water, and I think you believe there's only one leak when you might have more.

 

[noface]

Welcome to the forums.

Did you talk with schools about your first application for feedback? I think you are also overestimating the MCAT impact and not addressing other deficiencies.

Most admissions professionals grasp that non-native English applicants generally have lower MCAT CARS scores. That did not stop you from your first interview. I do think the decrease in your other scores contributed to your second application not getting picked up, but also likely your lack of significant progress in your activities, writing, or support letters. Your ship is taking on water, and I think you believe there's only one leak when you might have more.

Both of my MCAT attempts were completed before my first application cycle. From what I understand, the schools I applied to don’t provide personalized feedback; they only offer a general reapplicant workshop for those who didn’t receive an interview.

During my second cycle, I continued my previous activities—clinical volunteering, where I also stepped into a leadership role—and I maintained a full-time job. Balancing work and the application process didn’t leave much room for additional new experiences. I did take on more responsibilities after submitting my second cycle, but I didn’t want to risk relying on those updates when applying again.

I also suspect part of the issue might be my school list. I only applied to Texas schools, and while I know being a Texas resident has benefits in-state, I’m uncertain whether applying out-of-state would realistically improve my chances. Texas residents often face an uphill battle OOS as well.

As for my stats: I have a 4.0 GPA, around 1,000 hours of wet lab research, about 1,000 hours of hospital volunteering, leadership roles in two organizations, and experience as a Teaching Assistant from my first cycle. For my second cycle, I added 400 more clinical volunteer hours and a leadership role within the volunteer program (which had been planned earlier). Other than my full-time job, I didn’t add brand-new activities—but it still feels surprising to have no interviews, even knowing how unpredictable the process can be.

At this point, I’m trying to regroup. Retaking the MCAT seems like a reasonable step, especially since I’m continuing to build experiences regardless. I trust my advisor’s perspective—he’s a former director of admissions—but I’d really value your insight if you’ve seen situations like mine.

What I especially need now is guidance on building an out-of-state school list that’s genuinely friendly toward non-rural applicants, since I come from an urban background.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Have you posted a WAMC profile in the What are my chances subforum? That's usually where we like to give school lists.

In-state Texas applicants are clearly advantaged, but you must communicate mission fit. It is harder to be an OOS Texas applicant, and mission fit must be clear; it's not impossible.

If you had both scores before you applied the first time, then the scores could have been averaged, or they could have taken your most recent (by policy). You had one interview your first time, so your writing may not be the issue. I warn that making your writing sound too polished could present a problem if your English skills in your interview are not consistent with your writing (again, pointing out the low CARS). You have 4.0, so I presume your writing-intensive grades were A's.

 

[noface]

Have you posted a WAMC profile in the What are my chances subforum? That's usually where we like to give school lists.

In-state Texas applicants are clearly advantaged, but you must communicate mission fit. It is harder to be an OOS Texas applicant, and mission fit must be clear; it's not impossible.

If you had both scores before you applied the first time, then the scores could have been averaged, or they could have taken your most recent (by policy). You had one interview your first time, so your writing may not be the issue. I warn that making your writing sound too polished could present a problem if your English skills in your interview are not consistent with your writing (again, pointing out the low CARS). You have 4.0, so I presume your writing-intensive grades were A's.

Thank you. I’ll post another post for WAMC

 

[Starr_key]

Both of my MCAT attempts were completed before my first application cycle. From what I understand, the schools I applied to don’t provide personalized feedback; they only offer a general reapplicant workshop for those who didn’t receive an interview.

During my second cycle, I continued my previous activities—clinical volunteering, where I also stepped into a leadership role—and I maintained a full-time job. Balancing work and the application process didn’t leave much room for additional new experiences. I did take on more responsibilities after submitting my second cycle, but I didn’t want to risk relying on those updates when applying again.

I also suspect part of the issue might be my school list. I only applied to Texas schools, and while I know being a Texas resident has benefits in-state, I’m uncertain whether applying out-of-state would realistically improve my chances. Texas residents often face an uphill battle OOS as well.

As for my stats: I have a 4.0 GPA, around 1,000 hours of wet lab research, about 1,000 hours of hospital volunteering, leadership roles in two organizations, and experience as a Teaching Assistant from my first cycle. For my second cycle, I added 400 more clinical volunteer hours and a leadership role within the volunteer program (which had been planned earlier). Other than my full-time job, I didn’t add brand-new activities—but it still feels surprising to have no interviews, even knowing how unpredictable the process can be.

At this point, I’m trying to regroup. Retaking the MCAT seems like a reasonable step, especially since I’m continuing to build experiences regardless. I trust my advisor’s perspective—he’s a former director of admissions—but I’d really value your insight if you’ve seen situations like mine.

What I especially need now is guidance on building an out-of-state school list that’s genuinely friendly toward non-rural applicants, since I come from an urban background.

1. Did you apply to all of the TX schools or only specific ones?
2. When did you submit your applications?

Instead of spending money on an MCAT course/tutor, I would honestly use it to get help/feedback on your application from someone familiar with TX schools. Your application is pretty good. Yes, your MCAT score drop isn't great, but it's not "no interview" bad. You also have a 4.0 GPA and GPA is still king in TX. I know this cycle was also rough, so keep that in mind.

As far as OOS schools, I only know one TX resident who got into an OOS MD school. Now, if you wanted to apply to DO schools, you'd have a shot.