Retake MCAT?

[nateharps101]

Hey there. So I am almost certain I am not getting in this cycle. I completed my secondaries all over a month after I submitted my primary, and most were done in October. I also applied to not too many "safety" schools.

I have a 3.9 GPA Psychology major, biology minor. 511 MCAT. Was a D1 Track and Field athlete. Have 0 clinical experience. I want to go into psychiatry and for me personally, clinical hours would have been to check off a box rather than pursue my passions. I have a good bit of volunteering. I took a trip to Kenya and taught children. I mentored a young boy with Big Brothers Big Sisters for several years. I had a stellar LOR from my pole vaulting coach. I had a few other E.C.s I am forgetting.

My biggest downside is no shadowing. I know what profession I want to go into and how I want to practice, and I really did not have the time to find a psychiatrist practicing how I wish to that I could shadow while being an athlete. My dad is also a physician so I am not unaware of the medical profession.

If I end up reapplying this cycle, should I retake the MCAT? I am working on some publications currently, so I plan to have 1-2 publications done this cycle. I also look back on my application and see so many ways to improve how I talked about my extracurriculars.

Is it worth it to retake the MCAT? Or do y'all think having a publication or two, completing my application ASAP and having it submitted earlier, submitting my secondaries all within 2 weeks of my primary, and cleaning up my wording/essays will be adequate to have a better chance this next cycle? My secondary essays were garbage. Was finishing them and submitting them first draft mostly.

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[DO2015CA]

Shadowing, research, extra curricular. Shadowing in different specialties. Adcoms don’t necessarily want to see you pigeonhole yourself into one specialty. Even if you are sure you want to be a psychiatrist, play the game

 

[Vivid_Quail]

Hey there. So I am almost certain I am not getting in this cycle. I completed my secondaries all over a month after I submitted my primary, and most were done in October. I also applied to not too many "safety" schools.

I have a 3.9 GPA Psychology major, biology minor. 511 MCAT. Was a D1 Track and Field athlete. Have 0 clinical experience. I want to go into psychiatry and for me personally, clinical hours would have been to check off a box rather than pursue my passions. I have a good bit of volunteering. I took a trip to Kenya and taught children. I mentored a young boy with Big Brothers Big Sisters for several years. I had a stellar LOR from my pole vaulting coach. I had a few other E.C.s I am forgetting.

My biggest downside is no shadowing. I know what profession I want to go into and how I want to practice, and I really did not have the time to find a psychiatrist practicing how I wish to that I could shadow while being an athlete. My dad is also a physician so I am not unaware of the medical profession.

If I end up reapplying this cycle, should I retake the MCAT? I am working on some publications currently, so I plan to have 1-2 publications done this cycle. I also look back on my application and see so many ways to improve how I talked about my extracurriculars.

Is it worth it to retake the MCAT? Or do y'all think having a publication or two, completing my application ASAP and having it submitted earlier, submitting my secondaries all within 2 weeks of my primary, and cleaning up my wording/essays will be adequate to have a better chance this next cycle? My secondary essays were garbage. Was finishing them and submitting them first draft mostly.

I am going to be extremely blunt. What you wrote here screams arrogance and someone who doesn't want to go to medical school to learn from others. I have bolded the particularly bad parts above.

You don't need to get a publication or retake the MCAT; you need a complete 180 in your attitude, at least on paper. A s*** ton of medical school and beyond is checking boxes. How do you "know how I want to practice" when you have never even shadowed in the field you are dead set on?! Adding that your dad is a physician so you know about the medical profession is just the cherry on top of a mountain of privilege and arrogance. I am inclined to say this is a troll post if you honestly think you can get into medical school with ZERO hours of clinical experience or shadowing. Do you realize how competitive applying to medical school is?!

I wouldn't even mention the trip to Kenya if it was shorter than 2-3 months--truly sustainable international volunteer work is almost always closer to a year or longer. Voluntourism is super lame and an app killer in 2021.

 

[theendisnigh]

You have put a lot into your grades with your 3.9, a lot into your sport by maintaining your level as a D1 athlete, and a fair amount of studying for your MCAT to get a 511. You shouldn't be self-sabotaging by having no clinical experience or shadowing whatsoever. These are basic checkmarks that have to be accomplished, oftentimes interview questions will revolve around your clinical experience, such as a patient you remember well or how you have given back to your community in a healthcare setting (volunteering at a free clinic, volunteering at a nursing home or in hospice, etc.). Without meeting each application requirement, you're shooting yourself in the foot for medical schools.

I would work on your clinical experience and do some volunteering in your county instead of mentioning just a trip abroad. These combined with your new pubs should help for next cycle. I would not think about retaking your MCAT unless you have a sub 125 anywhere.

 

[Goro]

Hey there. So I am almost certain I am not getting in this cycle. I completed my secondaries all over a month after I submitted my primary, and most were done in October. I also applied to not too many "safety" schools.

I have a 3.9 GPA Psychology major, biology minor. 511 MCAT. Was a D1 Track and Field athlete. Have 0 clinical experience. I want to go into psychiatry and for me personally, clinical hours would have been to check off a box rather than pursue my passions. I have a good bit of volunteering. I took a trip to Kenya and taught children. I mentored a young boy with Big Brothers Big Sisters for several years. I had a stellar LOR from my pole vaulting coach. I had a few other E.C.s I am forgetting.

My biggest downside is no shadowing. I know what profession I want to go into and how I want to practice, and I really did not have the time to find a psychiatrist practicing how I wish to that I could shadow while being an athlete. My dad is also a physician so I am not unaware of the medical profession.

If I end up reapplying this cycle, should I retake the MCAT? I am working on some publications currently, so I plan to have 1-2 publications done this cycle. I also look back on my application and see so many ways to improve how I talked about my extracurriculars.

Is it worth it to retake the MCAT? Or do y'all think having a publication or two, completing my application ASAP and having it submitted earlier, submitting my secondaries all within 2 weeks of my primary, and cleaning up my wording/essays will be adequate to have a better chance this next cycle? My secondary essays were garbage. Was finishing them and submitting them first draft mostly.

The 511 is a fine score; I can't recommend a retake. Even a 525 score won't save you from the lack of clinical experience. My own student interviewers would eat you alive.

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.