Retaking MCAT for 3rd time before reapplying?

[11thour]

Hi all,

I'm a 2016 grad/California resident who got a 508 on my MCAT the first time. Two months later in June 2017, I got a second score of 513 (Chem/Phys 129, CARS 128, Bio 129, Psych 127). I applied to 29 schools - all the UC's and private schools out of state. I didn't apply to DO programs or out-of-state public schools, aside from SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. I got 4 interview invites from Boston U, UC Irvine, SUNY Downstate, and St. Louis University. They all waitlisted me and I didn't manage to get off any of them.

My GPA as a Bio and Music major/public health minor was 3.914. I felt confident in my extracurriculars/clinical experiences as I've been scribing, shadowing, working in biotech. I participated in Loyola's ASPIRE program last year, where they helped me tailor my personal statement. 2 questions:

1) Should I retake the MCAT for a 3rd time? I was surprised I didn't get interview invites from schools with lower MCAT scores than the ones I interviewed at. My interviewer at SUNY Downstate also gave me a hard time on my MCAT scores.

2) When I reapply next year, should I apply to public schools out of state? My impression was that they favored in-state students and only selected the cream of the crop from those out of state. But a lot of my friends with lower stats got into such schools.

Would greatly appreciate any advice you may have!

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[candbgirl]

You had 4 interviews with your current application. I don’t think the issue is your MCAT. How are your interview skills?

 

[BabyDaddy]

You had 4 interviews with your current application. I don’t think the issue is your MCAT. How are your interview skills?

I would tend to agree. 4 interviews should have given you a decent chance at acceptance. That said, I don't think you need to retake the MCAT. Not only is your score fine (it's good enough to get you interviews), most people don't improve the 1st time they retake the MCAT. Trying to improve twice in a row might be tempting fate.
Apply to Texas programs! TMDSAS gives you 10+ MD schools, + 1 DO school, and most of their avg MCATs are lower than yours. They certainly accept out-of-state applicants with your stats.

 

[11thour]

You had 4 interviews with your current application. I don’t think the issue is your MCAT. How are your interview skills?

Thanks for the feedback. My interview skills certainly have room for improvement. I knew that going in, so I went through 2 sessions with an interview coach who's a Stanford med student and practiced a lot. The schools I interviewed at all had traditional one-on-one interviews, and I felt comfortable for the most part, aside from Irvine's short MMI portion.

 

[11thour]

I would tend to agree. 4 interviews should have given you a decent chance at acceptance. That said, I don't think you need to retake the MCAT. Not only is your score fine (it's good enough to get you interviews), most people don't improve the 1st time they retake the MCAT. Trying to improve twice in a row might be tempting fate.
Apply to Texas programs! TMDSAS gives you 10+ MD schools, + 1 DO school, and most of their avg MCATs are lower than yours. They certainly accept out-of-state applicants with your stats.

Thank you! I will definitely look into the Texas programs this time around.

 

[Goro]

Thank you! I will definitely look into the Texas programs this time around.

Are you aware that 90% of TX seats are reserved for Teand, and that the OOSers who get tend to be either superstars, or meet spe ific missions???

They don't need the donations, and a third MCAT will bring your judge.ent into question.

Your MCAT is NOT what's keeping you out of med school.,

 

[BabyDaddy]

Are you aware that 90% of TX seats are reserved for Teand, and that the OOSers who get tend to be either superstars, or meet spe ific missions???

They don't need the donations, and a third MCAT will bring your judge.ent into question.

Your MCAT is NOT what's keeping you out of med school.,

Goro, they really aren't just for superstars, but it is only 10%. That said, it is 10% of a LOT of spots (12 schools and counting in Texas). OPs scores would be competitive for those spots.

 

[BabyDaddy]

Thanks for the feedback. My interview skills certainly have room for improvement. I knew that going in, so I went through 2 sessions with an interview coach who's a Stanford med student and practiced a lot. The schools I interviewed at all had traditional one-on-one interviews, and I felt comfortable for the most part, aside from Irvine's short MMI portion.

That's great and all, but it didn't seem to help you get into med school. Have you tried getting faculty to interview you? I was able to talk several MDs (one of whom interviewed students himself each year) in my research lab into doing mock interviews with me. It helped a ton!

 

[Goro]

Goro, they really aren't just for superstars, but it is only 10%. That said, it is 10% of a LOT of spots (12 schools and counting in Texas). OPs scores would be competitive for those spots.

No, unless s/he has significant experience with Hispanic communities (UTRG likes this). UTSA seems to like nontrads