Retake 31 MCAT

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PagingDr.F

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I'm currently applying this cycle but haven't received any IIs yet (I know it's still early...).
My Stats:

31 MCAT (10PS 10VS 11BS) - 83 percentile
cGPA: 3.28
sGPA: 3.38
Postbac (Undergrad) GPA: 3.91 - I went back to school after taking the MCAT and took around 40 credits to get my second B.S in Biology.

Would retaking the NEW MCAT and scoring ~515 help my chances for next cycle? I have over 205 credits taken in undergrad - any more classes won't budge my GPA. Short of curing cancer, is there anything besides retaking the MCAT that I can do to strengthen my application? I feel like the 3.28 GPA is my biggest problem despite going back to school for a second B.S and maintaining a 3.91 GPA.

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I think getting a 515 would greatly improve your chances but I wouldn't worry about it until like January. At that point it would be wise to start planning for next application cycle and your old MCAT would have expired by then anyway so you would essentially be required to take the new one.
 
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Do you have all the other boxes checked off?

Volunteering, shadowing and other clinical exposure, interesting EC's, leadership, etc?
 
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What are some of the schools you are applying to?
MD only?
 
I am a FL resident BTWs (but have family in Chicago so I'm interested in Chicago and FL schools)
This is the list of schools I've applied to:
BU (reach)
Drexel
FIU
FAU
FSU
George Washington
Georgetown
Indiana (my friend with similar stats applied and got an interview so I added it to my list)
Loyola Chicago
Mayo MN (hey I got an LOR request! lol...)
Mayo ARZ
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
UM
UCF
U. Chicago (talk about reaching)
UF
USF
3 Puerto Rico Schools - really don't want to do this...

50 hours ER volunteer
60 hours feeding the homeless at a shelter
50 hours tutoring (paid)
350 hours shadowing an orthopedic surgeon
~1300 hours doing research in a genetics lab (doing this at the school where I got my second B.S)
~50 hours of research with the orthopedic surgeon I shadowed. My involvement was minimal, I honestly just carried out the tests but it was still an awesome experience that I really enjoyed.
Under hobbies I have taekwondo - I am a 3x USA National champion, have competed and placed in several US Opens and other international competitons - my personal experiences with injuries are what led me to pursue a career in medicine - I did my first undergrad in exercise science and graduated with a 3.18 and took the MCAT a few months later. Got a 31, realized I didn't know how to study back then (HS was always pretty easy for me and I just coasted..) so I went back to school to get a Bio B.S and prove that I can get A's.

Could my ECs be the problem? I know it's September so perhaps I will get an II in the near future but I want to have a plan in motion for next cycle.
The reason I don't want to apply DO is not because I have anything against them - I think they can be great physicians - I just don't want to blatantly lie on "Why DO?" because my only reason would be "because I want to be a doctor and I couldn't get into an MD".
 
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I honestly think youre going to be fine. Your stats and ECs are solid. However, I would still add at least a few DO schools. Research a little about osteopathy and come up with better reasons than it just being an alternative to MD. Long story short, there is much more to it. Consider shadowing a DO during the cycle. If you are adamant about MD, like you said, it is still very early, and you should have a good shot especially at FL schools (FIU, FAU, UCF). General rule of thumb per SDN consensus is to start worrying by Thanksgiving if you have not heard back from any schools.
 
3 Puerto Rico Schools - really don't want to do this...

Then why apply? Do you speak Spanish fluently?

You need to add some DO schools because your issue is your GPA. Finding something to say to "why DO" isn't that hard and there really isn't a need to blatantly lie, it's all about spin. They know a lot of applicants use them as a back up and they don't care.
 
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Yes, but it also depends upon your target list.

You're fine for any DO school

Would retaking the NEW MCAT and scoring ~515 help my chances for next cycle? I have over 205 credits taken in undergrad - any more classes won't budge my GPA. Short of curing cancer, is there anything besides retaking the MCAT that I can do to strengthen my application? I feel like the 3.28 GPA is my biggest problem despite going back to school for a second B.S and maintaining a 3.91 GPA.
 
Then why apply? Do you speak Spanish fluently?

I am hispanic and do speak Spanish fluently. It's more of a back-up than anything else but I think I would go ahead and reapply next cycle if it were my only acceptance...they don't have secondaries either so I said wth why not? But now I'm like ehh...

Is it too late to add DO schools at this point in the cycle? @Goro
 
I am hispanic and do speak Spanish fluently. It's more of a back-up than anything else but I think I would go ahead and reapply next cycle if it were my only acceptance...they don't have secondaries either so I said wth why not? But now I'm like ehh...

Is it too late to add DO schools at this point in the cycle? @Goro

Nah it's not too late, the DO cycle is longer. Get your app in soon though. Do a little research in which schools will take the old MCAT because some won't.
 
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So are your GPAs including your post bac? Your ECs are skimpy and if those are your GPAs you are not a great MD candidate. Rush is a waste with your ECs. They have huge service requirements and you don't have anywhere near their requirements. Your 31 is fine. I think it's your GPAs and ECs and list of schools. Apply to DO schools and hope for the best. But only if you'd consider going to DO schools. It seems like you wouldn't go to the 3PR schools even if they were your only acceptances so you probably should withdraw now and not waste their time. What country do you represent as a Hispanic?


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I got a 31, non-URM, and got accepted.

I am a FL resident BTWs (but have family in Chicago so I'm interested in Chicago and FL schools)
This is the list of schools I've applied to:
BU (reach)
Drexel
FIU
FAU
FSU
George Washington
Georgetown
Indiana (my friend with similar stats applied and got an interview so I added it to my list)
Loyola Chicago
Mayo MN (hey I got an LOR request! lol...)
Mayo ARZ
Rush
Rosalind Franklin
UM
UCF
U. Chicago (talk about reaching)
UF
USF
3 Puerto Rico Schools - really don't want to do this...

50 hours ER volunteer
60 hours feeding the homeless at a shelter
50 hours tutoring (paid)
350 hours shadowing an orthopedic surgeon
~1300 hours doing research in a genetics lab (doing this at the school where I got my second B.S)
~50 hours of research with the orthopedic surgeon I shadowed. My involvement was minimal, I honestly just carried out the tests but it was still an awesome experience that I really enjoyed.
Under hobbies I have taekwondo - I am a 3x USA National champion, have competed and placed in several US Opens and other international competitons - my personal experiences with injuries are what led me to pursue a career in medicine - I did my first undergrad in exercise science and graduated with a 3.18 and took the MCAT a few months later. Got a 31, realized I didn't know how to study back then (HS was always pretty easy for me and I just coasted..) so I went back to school to get a Bio B.S and prove that I can get A's.

Could my ECs be the problem? I know it's September so perhaps I will get an II in the near future but I want to have a plan in motion for next cycle.
The reason I don't want to apply DO is not because I have anything against them - I think they can be great physicians - I just don't want to blatantly lie on "Why DO?" because my only reason would be "because I want to be a doctor and I couldn't get into an MD".
Others will tell you otherwise but your volunteering ECs are pretty paltry. I don't know what the mission statement of the majority of your schools is, but I know that BU likes to see a commitment to underserved populations. 60-110 (the extra 50 coming from assuming your ED was at a public hospital) hours is not a commitment; that's around 2 semesters of time tops. However, that you are Latino and are fluent in Spanish is definitely a plus, but I wouldn't count on it making up for your lack of hands-on clinical experience. 350 hours shadowing one specialty? It's good to be interested in something but you really only needed like 50 hours, and the rest of those 300 could have been used volunteering in the ED more or at the homeless shelter more.
 
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In my opinion:

Pros:
Hispanic/fluent in Spanish
Good commitment to research (I assume you have a LOR from your PI)
Great postbac GPA/upward trend
Interesting path to medicine (Taekwondo + orthopaedics shadowing/research sound like they fit together really well; not sure if this is how you spun your personal statement or secondaries).
Balanced MCAT

Cons:
Low GPA
Minimal clinical experience/volunteering
Minimal non-clinical volunteering
Meh school list given your GPA/application in general

Adcoms and the more experienced can give their perspective, but I think it's fine to not have as many clinical/non-clinical volunteering hours, so long as the activities show long-term commitment (i.e. at least 6 months, the longer the better). Of course, the best situation is to have both long-term commitment and more dedicated hours, but in general, long-term is better than short burst, if we're talking about the same number of hours put into the activity.

Suggestions: Add DO schools and more MD schools that fit your metrics or have some affiliation with serving Spanish-speaking populations. During this app cycle, spend more time volunteering in the hospital and homeless shelter in the event that you have to reapply, but I think you can get in somewhere.
 
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Also, this may be an old wives tale but retaking increases the likelihood of scoring lower. Is that a risk you want to live with?
 
Also, this may be an old wives tale but retaking increases the likelihood of scoring lower. Is that a risk you want to live with?

this is true but If I have to reapply next cycle I have to re-take it anyways so I guess my OP is moot at this point. Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
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