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Boost your MCAT score by 12 points or more.
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noah_fence

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People say not to retake a 516 for good reason. That score is not holding you back from most schools, and I know you say you're shooting for T10 but is there a reason for that besides ego? The only reason I'd reconsider a retake is if your FL average was like a 524, otherwise it's too big of a risk. 300 clinical is also probably on the low end for T10 if you're looking for a place to improve.
 
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ese2 said:
People say not to retake a 516 for good reason. That score is not holding you back from most schools, and I know you say you're shooting for T10 but is there a reason for that besides ego? The only reason I'd reconsider a retake is if your FL average was like a 524, otherwise it's too big of a risk. 300 clinical is also probably on the low end for T10 if you're looking for a place to improve.
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Wouldn't a better MCAT help more than the 100 extra clinical hours I could do instead? Plus I'll also have a couple hundred projected hours on top of the 300 anyways.
 
I agree with what was said above, and I'll add that increasing your clinical experience would be a much more productive use of your time. Many of the top medical schools prefer to see 500+ clinical hours.
 
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If your 516 is a 120 and three 132s, then yes, repeat to get your 120 up. But outside of that scenario you are sending a horrible message repeating what amounts to the 98th percentile. Would you repeat four classes you got an A in to get them up to A+s? Would you repeat two A- classes to get an A? I assume (and deeply hope) the answer is no.

Padding your resume with another 100 hours is also fruitless in many ways, because after a certain point, your clinical hour total is irrelevant. If you are under 200 clinic hours right now, then adding more is not a bad idea. But what you likely need more than anything else, is a way to stand out. You do that by finding where your passion and your premed activities overlap. Do something that makes your eyes light up when you talk about it. That something is not going to be formulaic, and your something is different than other people's something.

Learn sign language, read to the blind, drive food and/or meds to people who can't leave home, build houses, save a local business, volunteer in a disaster relief effort, help a complete stranger get back on their feet. Be the person you would want to be surrounded by in medical school.

Numbers matter, but being special stands out. The vast majority of my students who went on to prestigious schools had something wonderful on their resume that made them stand out beyond just their good numbers.
 
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BerkReviewTeach said:
If your 516 is a 120 and three 132s, then yes, repeat to get your 120 up. But outside of that scenario you are sending a horrible message repeating what amounts to the 98th percentile. Would you repeat four classes you got an A in to get them up to A+s? Would you repeat two A- classes to get an A? I assume (and deeply hope) the answer is no.

Padding your resume with another 100 hours is also fruitless in many ways, because after a certain point, your clinical hour total is irrelevant. If you are under 200 clinic hours right now, then adding more is not a bad idea. But what you likely need more than anything else, is a way to stand out. You do that by finding where your passion and your premed activities overlap. Do something that makes your eyes light up when you talk about it. That something is not going to be formulaic, and your something is different than other people's something.

Learn sign language, read to the blind, drive food and/or meds to people who can't leave home, build houses, save a local business, volunteer in a disaster relief effort, help a complete stranger get back on their feet. Be the person you would want to be surrounded by in medical school.

Numbers matter, but being special stands out. The vast majority of my students who went on to prestigious schools had something wonderful on their resume that made them stand out beyond just their good numbers.
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I agree that I should have something to talk about and to help me stand out, but I have been working on health policy and homelessness-related activities throughout undergrad and I am sure my passion for these topics will be clear when I talk about it an interview. But with a 10th percentile score for the schools I'm applying to, it will be hard no matter what I have to say.
 
Let's say you retake this 516 score (which is nuts to me) and get lower than your original score (hopefully not) then what.. what will you do?

I say listen to the advice above, the risk outweighs the benefit.
 
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Why do you specifically want to matriculate to T10s vs T40s, for example?
 
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My Name is Blakeeee said:
Let's say you retake this 516 score (which is nuts to me) and get lower than your original score (hopefully not) then what.. what will you do?

I say listen to the advice above, the risk outweighs the benefit.
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I’ll just have to settle for what school will take me then. Plus I’m Canadian-US dual citizen so I have the option of any Canadian school as long as my CARS at the very least is decent
 
noah_fence said:
I agree, but 516 is far below the median for a lot of T10 schools which have 520+ medians
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The MCAT is as much about judgement as knowledge.
Retaking a 516 tells us more about you than any score you may get.
 
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noah_fence said:
I’ll just have to settle for what school will take me then. Plus I’m Canadian-US dual citizen so I have the option of any Canadian school as long as my CARS at the very least is decent
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So you haven't taken the test yet?
 
gyngyn said:
The MCAT is as much about judgement as knowledge.
Retaking a 516 tells us more about you than any score you may get.
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It means I want to go to a T10…

Also I’ve taken it already, I was just responding to your hypothetical that if I don’t do well the second time, even if just my cars is similar I’ll be okay.
 
noah_fence said:
It means I want to go to a T10…

Also I’ve taken it already, I was just responding to your hypothetical that if I don’t do well the second time, even if just my cars is similar I’ll be okay.
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Keep in mind, if you don’t improve by at least 2+ points, you will technically have same score because of the confidence interval it falls within. That means you have to get 519 or more to have a statistically significant score that is better. Would not recommend but go chase after the breadcrumbs.
 
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Goro said:
50% of the class at those schools will be below the median. The question is more: is it above the 25th %ile????
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517 and 518 are the 25th percentile at Harvard and yale. At hopkins and penn I'm below the 10th percentile. I might have a chance at Stanford as their 25th is 516, but still pretty low chance.
 
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noah_fence said:
517 and 518 are the 25th percentile at Harvard and yale. At hopkins and penn I'm below the 10th percentile. I might have a chance at Stanford as their 25th is 516, but still pretty low chance.
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It is clear that no matter how many seasoned medical school application process veterans are giving you their insights gleaned over years of observing how the process works, you are looking to repeat the MCAT. Just do it and stop asking. Good luck beating your 516.
 
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You never answered why you are so hard set on T10. To me this sounds like an ego thing.
 
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noah_fence said:
More research opportunities and connections. But also a lot of the top schools happen to give good financial aid
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You can easily get that at a T40. In fact, I would say you're more likely to get scholarships at T40s vs T10s.
 
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Even if you did apply to T10s with an MCAT score higher than a 516 there's no guarantee you're getting in. Plenty of people have scores like that and don't get in: stats aren't the only story.
 
OP go to a DO school and be number 1 in your class! That’s the way
 
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