Medical Second cycle with little luck, should I retake the MCAT?

[TheBoneDoctah]

I've worked very hard throughout undergrad and none of it is paying off. Absolutely nothing. Earned a solid 3.9 GPA and a 512 MCAT (129/126/129/128), and have solid clinical/research/volunteering/leadership, and had my app critiqued by several individuals. My PS was also vetted by multiple eyeballs. I have no red flags. When I applied last cycle for the first time (I'm an Asian FL student btw), I received a last-minute late March II from USF Morsani. I was stoked since it was my top choice. However, everyone who interviews after January at that school pretty much gets waitlisted so I got waitlisted too, and unfortunately got the ax in July. Now again this cycle, I have 0 MD IIs ( Applied to 13 schools with 1 R so far) but was lucky to get an II from KCU, a solid DO school. I just don't understand why I can't get into one of my FL MD schools. It's especially frustrating to see peers with far lower scores get into schools like FIU that I really want to go to.

Last year, I called Iowa CCOM for post-II feedback. They told me to retake the MCAT. I thought they were crazy, especially since I was over their 25th percentile for accepted students, but now I'm considering it, especially since the average matriculant MCAT for Asian Males is nearing a 514 now. I know I'm capable of doing much better than a 512, so I'm considering to start studying soon and take it around May. If I get an acceptance this cycle then I guess I'm a lucky man. If not, then I'll (hopefully) have better numbers to work with for a 3rd cycle. My current MCAT will also expire in 2022

What are your ECs? What did you do and how many hours? Shadowing? What was your school list?

I would not retake your MCAT as that is not the issue here. Retaking would look bad and show bad judgement on your part.

The reason you aren’t getting interviews is likely one of the five reasons below:

1. School list too heavy
2. Bad secondaries
3. Bad LOR
4. Low hours for clinical experiences
5. Low hours for non-clinical volunteering

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[AlteredScale]

Agree with above that you should look into your list and see where else you can improve because scores are not the only thing that get you interviews. Also consider what you wrote in your PS. What's the "story" of your application? If it doesn't make sense (stating you are dedicated to primary care but then have little exposure to it shadowing, not very strong ECs working with the community and underserved) then you won't get much love.

KCU is a good school if you get accepted I would go. They have rotation spots in FL as well so you can go back if need be.

 

[Goro]

CCOM is indeed crazy for suggesting an MCAT retake.

I suggest that there might been a red flag in your app that they didn't want to admit.

OR, it's just been a very competitive cycle!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Yeah I am dubious how useful the post-cycle feedback people get from these schools are. I feel like they feel obligated to say SOMETHING was wrong but don’t want to really delve into the details, so they pick one of the stats since it’s obvious that higher stats=better.

I also agree, I don’t think the MCAT is the problem. Without seeing the specific hours you have I suspect that you are underestimating the number of hours you need in ECs. The other possibility is that as @AlteredScale said there is no “story” to your app, and thus if it feels like all your experiences were meaningless or just checking off boxes, that can also be seen negatively.

Your stats are good, but not so amazing that you’re a shoo-in over applicants with lesser stats but a more coherent story. You’ve got to show that you’re really passionate about pursuing this path with your ECs, or you’re going to keep getting passed over for applicants with lower stats but who are able to better convey how they have prepared themselves for Med school with appropriate exposure.