Retake a 509 mcat?

[RosesAreRedVeinsAreBlue]

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[lull]

see I have done well in my Biology/Biochem classes and am a successful STEM student?

B/B doesn't really test content so much as reasoning complicated passages. I saw some meme floating around on reddit that summarized B/B to the tea:

 

[RosesAreRedVeinsAreBlue]

B/B doesn't really test content so much as reasoning complicated passages. I saw some meme floating around on reddit that summarized B/B to the tea:

View attachment 317589

So are you saying I should retake? I was scoring 128-130 bio practice but like I said,test-day fluke I guess :/

 

[lull]

So are you saying I should retake? I was scoring 128-130 bio practice but like I said,test-day fluke I guess :/

Oh no, not at all. Do you have MSAR? You could put your MCAT and gpa score into it and to help you identify schools where you're in range stats-wise. You could post on the 'what are my chances' thread on here and get some advice on school lists there.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you fluent in Spanish ? What are your ECs including hours ?

 

[RosesAreRedVeinsAreBlue]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you fluent in Spanish ? What are your ECs including hours ?

From Florida and yes fluent in Spanish. EC: 360 hours of shadowing, founded nonprofit in high school to donate necessities to foster children in south Florida (raised ~$10k) and continued working with it 2 yrs post grad, program coordinator for local boys and girls club, captain of my university's equestrian team, midfielder on my club lacrosse team, Gen Chem Peer Tutor, leadership position in religious club, will begin chemical biology research next semester for my major so by the time I apply next summer I will have 100+ research hours

 

[Faha]

Schools such as McGovern and Oklahoma accept few non residents with no connection to the state. I suggest these schools with your stats:
U Florida
Florida State
Miami
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Central Florida
USF Morsani
NOVA MD
Emory
Wake Forest
Georgetown
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Seton Hall
Hofstra
Einstein
Boston University
Tufts
Dartmouth
TCU-UNT
Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson)
Kaiser
USC Keck
Creighton
St. Louis
Loyola
U Illinois (but check out their OOS tuition)
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Accumulate 200+ hours of clinical volunteering or employment with patient contact before you apply.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hello,

Strong STEM student (Chemistry B.S. Intensive) at a top 3 private school; hispanic female with GPA of 3.75 (very difficult major). Had an average practice MCAT of 512 scored 509 on exam, unbalanced (128/128/125/128). Overall happy about distribution except the fluke 125 in bio (never got that low on practice; however, happy about C/P, one of my best). I am debating a retake. How much will that 125 affect admission at mid-tier schools? Will the admission reader check my undergrad work and see I have done well in my Biology/Biochem classes and am a successful STEM student? I am aiming for schools with 511-515 ranges, banking on them noticing my 128 across the board and realizing bio was a fluke (compared to my undergrad grades). Target schools are Wake Forest, Univ. Illinois, MSU, UM, Oklahoma, Emory, George Washington, Georgetown, Indiana, McGovern, UConn, Penn States, Dartmouth, etc.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!! You will probably be fine as a URM with a 509, but no, you do not retake looking for 3 points. Your actual score was right within your expected band based on your FLs, and you're as likely to drop a few points on a retake as increase. All scores have a confidence band of +/- 2 points, and you are only one point away from that.

A small increase, when averaged with your 509, will not move the needle on your app. 125 is not that far from 128 -- your subsections are actually incredibly balanced, especially CARS, which is quite good. You are fine!!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

509 is good enough for Spanish speaking URM. I believe Miami and USC(Keck) value Spanish skills more.

 

[KnightDoc]

509 is good enough for Spanish speaking URM. I believe Miami and USC(Keck) value Spanish skills more.

But here's a question, based on the user name -- is Cuban considered Hispanic, specifically URM? This is important for OP and the advice we are giving about 509! Not about the retake, which is what it is, but about where OP stands with a 509. Fine for MD for a URM; otherwise, not so much.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

But here's a question, based on the user name -- is Cuban considered hispanic, specifically URM? This is important for OP and the advice we are giving about 509! Not about the retake, which is what it is, but about where OP stands with a 509. Fine for MD for a URM; otherwise, not so much.

My understanding is Cubans are considered URM, but I am not an adcom. I heard adcoms says language skills don't matter but I also heard from my N=1 they do matter and that applicant (non native Spanish speaker) had success because of Spanish skills at Keck and Miami also invited despite being from CA.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hispanic is a general term that includes many groups that are not under-represented in medicine.
One could make the case that Cubans are extremely well represented.
Their immigration pattern was the reverse of most others. The professional class fled Cuba at the time of the revolution.
They do add cultural diversity and hopefully, language skills, though.

I think we need to be careful assuming Cuban is URM for med school.

 

[KnightDoc]

My understanding is Cubans are considered URM, but I am not an adcom. I heard adcoms says language skills don't matter but I also heard from my N=1 they do matter and that applicant (non native Spanish speaker) had success because of Spanish skills at Keck and Miami also invited despite being from CA.

Yes, N=1 again!!!! It seems like you know everybody!!!

Language skills are great. How far below the statistical median was your N=1?

 

[RosesAreRedVeinsAreBlue]

I think we need to be careful assuming Cuban is URM for med school.

I'm half cuban half Puerto Rican. But I my main questions is, when applying to schools with 512 averages, is a low score of a 125 in bio going to kill my chances?

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Yes, N=1 again!!!! It seems like you know everybody!!!

Language skills are great. How far below the statistical median was your N=1?

I have N=1 for each category my friend

I believe 3.5 GPA and 95 percentile MCAT (Asian ORM) from UC, took a gap year to accumulate service hours.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I'm half cuban half Puerto Rican. But I my main questions is, when applying to schools with 512 averages, is a low score of a 125 in bio going to kill my chances?

You can find averages/percentiles for each section on MSAR.

 

[gyngyn]

My understanding is Cubans are considered URM, but I am not an adcom. I heard adcoms says language skills don't matter but I also heard from my N=1 they do matter and that applicant (non native Spanish speaker) had success because of Spanish skills at Keck and Miami also invited despite being from CA.

Cubans are well represented in US medicine. Language skills are appreciated, though.

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm half cuban half Puerto Rican. But I my main questions is, when applying to schools with 512 averages, is a low score of a 125 in bio going to kill my chances?

No, again, you're fine. The half Puerto Rican will definitely help, and 3 points below an average or median is fine. Remember, if it's a median, half of the people are below it, and 3 points are not a lot. Some schools don't screen subsections at all, and, of those that do, 125 is pretty typical, so you are really fine there.

Please stop stressing about something you can't control. 125 is perfectly acceptable, and is 509. If you were averaging 520 on your FLs and something crazy happened on test day, I'd advise you to figure out what it is and retake. But there is no reason to retake a 509 looking for a 512.

Getting a 512 will only raise your average to 510.5. Even 512 itself is only 3 points higher. And heaven forbid you get a 506 or 507, now you've hurt yourself for no reason at all. Leave it alone and focus on the rest of your application!!!

 

[KnightDoc]

Cubans are well represented in US medicine. Language skills are appreciated, though.

I took the liberty of sharing your quote on the subject from 2018 above!

 

[gyngyn]

I took the liberty of sharing your quote on the subject from 2018 above!

Sorry, missed it.

 

[KnightDoc]

I have N=1 for each category my friend

I believe 3.5 GPA and 95 percentile MCAT (Asian ORM) from UC, took a gap year to accumulate service hours.

Yeah, so not exactly an outlier that received a huge preference due to Spanish language skills!

 

[Goro]

Hello,

Strong STEM student (Chemistry B.S. Intensive) at a top 3 private school; hispanic female with GPA of 3.75 (very difficult major). Had an average practice MCAT of 512 scored 509 on exam, unbalanced (128/128/125/128). Overall happy about distribution except the fluke 125 in bio (never got that low on practice; however, happy about C/P, one of my best). I am debating a retake. How much will that 125 affect admission at mid-tier schools? Will the admission reader check my undergrad work and see I have done well in my Biology/Biochem classes and am a successful STEM student? I am aiming for schools with 511-515 ranges, banking on them noticing my 128 across the board and realizing bio was a fluke (compared to my undergrad grades). Target schools are Wake Forest, Univ. Illinois, MSU, UM, Oklahoma, Emory, George Washington, Georgetown, Indiana, McGovern, UConn, Penn States, Dartmouth, etc.

Do NOT retake. Score is fine, the Bio subscore is not lethal.

I suggest:
Dartmouth (maybe)
Rochester
Emory
U CO
Tufts
Pitt (maybe)
Nova MD and all other FL schools
U WI
U VM
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wayne State
Wake Forest
Netter
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Seton Hall
TCU/UNT
Any DO program. I can't recommend Nova, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites. UIW refuses to post their Boards scores, which is fishy.