Retook the MCAT and went from a 506 to a 507.

[coldbrew1129]

Hey all. I took the MCAT in April and got a 506. I just retook it in January and got a 507. I am super confused because I took 13 practice exams, used Anki and was scoring around a 514 on the FLs prior to my test date. I have around a 3.8 average GPA, hundreds of shadowing/clinical and volunteering hours. I also have a year and half of research under my belt and for my second gap year I will be working full time as an RA at a great university. I really do not feel like retaking the exam due to monetary and time consuming barriers. I also do not want to risk doing worse. My question is....should I still apply at all, DO and MD included? How will this look from the perspective of an admissions committee? I am totally fine with going the DO route however I want to know if an MD is even possible at this point. If anyone has advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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[SpoiledMilk]

What were the distributions of both MCATs? What state are you a resident of?

 

[coldbrew1129]

What were the distributions of both MCATs? What state are you a resident of?

First MCAT: 127, 125, 125, 129
Second MCAT: 128, 125, 125, 129
Virginia

 

[SpoiledMilk]

You don't have any below 125 which is a plus. I would not reconsider taking it again unless you apply and are not successful. Since you are a new member, you might not know about the WAMC thread. Make a posting there following the template and admissions experts will give you a list of schools you are competitive for.

What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

Improve your medical school application with advice and suggestions from fellow members and experts.

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[LindaAccepted]

If there were no circumstances that you can change about your MCAT prep or the test-taking environment and you don't want to retake, then apply this year, but focus on MD programs with lower average MCAT scores at matriculation and on DO programs.

 

[Faha]

You are competitive for all DO schools with your stats and could receive MD interviews also.
I suggest these MD schools:
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
West Virginia
George Washington
Wake Forest
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Seton Hall
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Loyola
Creighton
TCU-UNT
For DO schools I suggest these:
VCOM (all schools except Monroe)
CUSOM
WVSOM
ACOM
PCOM
MU-COM
DMU-COM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY

 

[candbgirl]

What are these hundreds of hours of shadowing and volunteering?
Thev13 practice exams you used , were they new ones or had you used them before?
I wouldn’t take another MCAT. This is probably a good reflection of your score chances.

 

[coldbrew1129]

What are these hundreds of hours of shadowing and volunteering?
Thev13 practice exams you used , were they new ones or had you used them before?
I wouldn’t take another MCAT. This is probably a good reflection of your score chances.

Shadowing: Two dermatologists, one orthopedic surgeon, general medicine internship, primary care physician, also worked as an MA and scribe for 7 mo post undergrad before MCAT #2 etc
Volunteering: Member of a service fraternity 3/4 years in college, intro bio peer teacher, elementary school tutor etc

4/13 were the AAMC ones reused from the other MCAT, others were Blueprint

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Following @LindaAccepted , what did you change in your preparation for the MCAT? Who helped you determine your study schedule and strategy?

 

[coldbrew1129]

Following @LindaAccepted , what did you change in your preparation for the MCAT? Who helped you determine your study schedule and strategy?

I quite my full time job to study for 3 mo straight instead of also taking classes at the same time. I used Anki the second time around. And the first time I only took 4 practice tests (all AAMC) and this time I took 13.

 

[chilly_md]

Shadowing: Two dermatologists, one orthopedic surgeon, general medicine internship, primary care physician, also worked as an MA and scribe for 7 mo post undergrad before MCAT #2 etc
Volunteering: Member of a service fraternity 3/4 years in college, intro bio peer teacher, elementary school tutor etc

4/13 were the AAMC ones reused from the other MCAT, others were Blueprint

Please post an approximate number of hours for research, shadowing and volunteering as well as a break down of the hours for your fraternity, tutoring etc.

 

[coldbrew1129]

Please post an approximate number of hours for research, shadowing and volunteering as well as a break down of the hours for your fraternity, tutoring etc.

Research: 350
Shadowing: 160, plus working as an MA/scribe for 7 mo (40+ hrs per week for 28 weeks)
Non service fraternity volunteering: 150
Service fraternity volunteering: 250+ (this is honestly a hard one to estimate because it occurred intermittently with different organizations across the span of 3 years)

 

[chilly_md]

Research: 350
Shadowing: 160, plus working as an MA/scribe for 7 mo (40+ hrs per week for 28 weeks)
Non service fraternity volunteering: 150
Service fraternity volunteering: 250+ (this is honestly a hard one to estimate because it occurred intermittently with different organizations across the span of 3 years)

Chances are good for DO, see Faha's great suggestions for that. I advise against service-oriented MD schools such as Loyola, Creighton, Wayne State and Oakland Beaumont as they value experience in helping the underserved such as volunteering for soup kitchens, homeless shelters, organizations that help the disabled etc. You may have some of that through your fraternity volunteering, but it may be light if your time was spread out through many places and done intermittently. If they are fundraising for specific causes, that does not quite fit that.

VCU, EVMS and West Virginia are probably your best chances for MD out of the rest of them. Obtain additional volunteering if you can.