Retake MCAT? 29?

[treeper]

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I am most interested in attending an allopathic school.

I scored 29P (PS-10, BS-9, V-10) on the MCAT. I graduated college last year with a cGPA 3.6 and sGPA 3.45. I will finish an MPH in Epidemiology in December. I also hold a research assistant position right now, and will first author at least one paper, and be published on 3-4 others. Also have 6 publications from previous research experience in college. Decent amount of volunteering. Losts of ECs in college, and doing stuff now in grad school too. Do I really need to retake the MCAT?? Having a difficult time focusing on studying and really putting in the time (that was my problem the first time!).

Thanks for any advice!

 

[virusgirl]

Your call, but I would suggest a retake. A 29 is okay for someone with above average cum and science GPAs, but if you're low or average, the MCAT needs to be pretty solid. My GPAs are pretty similar to yours (cum 3.66, sci 3.49), and I got a 33T on the MCAT -- I was invited to 8 allopathic interviews. The good news is you don't have to go very much higher to get a competitive MCAT score -- just a couple points.

I would recommend taking a Kaplan class or something. I work full-time so, like you, I would have had a lot of trouble putting in the necessary study time. If nothing else, Kaplan keeps you accountable and makes you study, because otherwise you will feel guilty about blowing off something you paid $2000 for.

 

[Mobius1985]

If you have a forgiving state school, you'd have a good chance at acceptance as you are. There are some other less-selective med schools that might give you a shot too. For more choices and a better chance, I agree with virusgirl that retaking the MCAT is a good idea.

If you have trouble focusing on studying for the MCAT, how do you suppose things will go for you in medical school?

 

[dynezxice]

If you have trouble focusing on studying for the MCAT, how do you suppose things will go for you in medical school?

Ouch. Those are some harsh, crude words.

But I agree with others, retake the MCAT to get a double-digit in each section to have a better application.

 

[BlueElmo]

If you have a forgiving state school, you'd have a good chance at acceptance as you are. There are some other less-selective med schools that might give you a shot too. For more choices and a better chance, I agree with virusgirl that retaking the MCAT is a good idea.

If you have trouble focusing on studying for the MCAT, how do you suppose things will go for you in medical school?

He has trouble it seems because he has a lot of things going on with his grad school stuff and research, I would imagine those would take a huge chunk of his time.

 

[utjsm08]

I made a 29 on the MCAT...I got in this cycle w a 3.80 cGPA and a 3.68 BCMP. If I were in your shoes I would retake....just because I might not feel comfortable that my GPA is strong enough to compensate (im not saying your gpa is bad at all, but just looking at it relative to the averages of accepted applicants) Good luck 🙂

 

[Siverhideo1985]

My stats: 29R MCAT, Undergrad GPAs science 3.46, overall 3.51, graduate GPA 3.8 in SMP

--> 6 allo interviews, 1 acceptance (at my top choice), 4 awaiting decision, 1 interview still to go, (applied to a total of 18 schools)

I had a lot of clinical ECs and some research (not as many publications though, haha).

I think it is possible to get acceptances with your stats. Retake it if you are really going to put the work into it...another 29 or a 30 won't help your application.

Best of Luck!

PM when you get that acceptance :-D

Edit: P.S. I am jealous of your epidemiology degree!

 

[chewsnuffles]

I am most interested in attending an allopathic school.

I scored 29P (PS-10, BS-9, V-10) on the MCAT. I graduated college last year with a cGPA 3.6 and sGPA 3.45. I will finish an MPH in Epidemiology in December. I also hold a research assistant position right now, and will first author at least one paper, and be published on 3-4 others. Also have 6 publications from previous research experience in college. Decent amount of volunteering. Losts of ECs in college, and doing stuff now in grad school too. Do I really need to retake the MCAT?? Having a difficult time focusing on studying and really putting in the time (that was my problem the first time!).

Thanks for any advice!

What were you getting on the practice tests? If it is far higher, retake. A 27 is usually the "no significant difference" even for those who study and retake, but if you average a 35 on the AAMC tests, sure, retake.