I've come to a fork in the road in deciding whether or not to retake the MCAT and I'm looking for advice. For some background, I applied this cycle for the first time to a limited number of schools (mostly instate or nearby schools) and failed to receive any interview invites (still waiting on one but time is dwindling). I'm set to graduate pharmacy school this spring with strong grades (3.8), solid research, extensive volunteering/leadership work, and an abundant amount of general healthcare exposure; however, I have a very sub-par undergrad gpa (3.0) and mediocre MCAT (28; PS 10, V 9, BS 9). Since the time I originally applied, I have had the opportunity to talk to a couple schools about my application post-rejection. The biggest issue pointed out was the modest amount of physician shadowing experience that I had (2 MD's w/ different specialties a few times a month over the course of 5-6 months, not overlapping; approx. 1 yr of shadowing); since this I have spent a great deal of time shadowing different physicians. When my MCAT score was discussed it was typically talked about as a 2nd or 3rd issue I could consider fixing before reapplying, but it was one of those lingering issues that I did not receive any definitive input on whether to retake or not. My question is, do I focus my time/energy on taking the new 2015 MCAT (previously averaged 31 on all AAMC practice test, but no efficient way of gauging potential score w/ new test) or hold strong with my score and focus on other areas of my application? Also, other things that will be addressed in the next cycle will be an earlier submission date for primary app (previously submitted primary late July) as well as applying to a greater breadth of schools.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
