I would like some advice on whether it's a good idea to submit to a few MD schools this cycle. I had taken the MCAT twice in the past (first take Sept 2019: 502[126/122/127/127], second take April 2021: 506 [129/123/128/126]). I took the MCAT for the second time last year while I was doing an SMP. I was really unprepared and crammed in a couple of weeks, but I needed it to apply to the linkage program offered by my SMP and it was the latest date I could take it. I ended up getting waitlisted and never got into the med school through linkage. Basically, the adcom told me it was based on my 2 MCAT attempts with little improvement and consistently low CARS, unexceptional MMI interview (I didn't really unprepared for the interview), and an exceptionally competitive cycle (120+ kids in my SMP, 1 accepted through linkage).
After that, I was really discouraged and thought maybe med school wasn't the best path for me and I took on a full-time consulting job in the summer following my graduation. Throughout the past year of working and recently I started having a lot of regrets about not retaking the MCAT and applying to more schools. Although I had intentions earlier this year in Feb/March to retake the MCAT but I couldn't do it with a demanding job, but now I'm thinking whether I should just give it another shot this cycle and apply with the MCAT score I have instead of waiting another year. I am 26 and I really don't want to postpone matriculation any longer. I would probably apply only to 4~5 schools given time constraints. I have a family vacation planned from July 1-18, so I could submit primary before leaving, then work on secondaries after I come back and plan to submit secondaries maybe 2nd week of August assuming it gets verified in 5-6 weeks. This will give me 2-3 weeks to write my primaries, which I think is feasible with my job if I only apply to a few schools. I already have primary app from last year when I applied to the linkage program, I might make some changes to my PS and activity section but one week should be enough time for me to get it done and submit before July 1.
I don't know if this is too risky with everything so rushed and my MCAT/CARS being pretty low for MD. I will probably plan to retake the MCAT in Jan-March too, but maybe if I get really lucky this cycle I could get an acceptance. Other than the MCAT, I think I have a well-rounded app with an average GPA and decent extracurriculars and the MCAT is really the only thing holding me back. I heard of people who have had success with MD schools with similar MCAT scores so I feel like maybe there is hope. I know starting med school at 27 or 28 doesn't make a huge difference in the long run, but maybe I should just try even if the chance is small, plus I'm also not hopeful that I can CARS drastically on a third attempt.
Some background info about me: ORM from a large state school graduated in 2018 (cGPA 3.62, sGPA 3.72), same school SMP 2020-2021 (GPA 3.75), decent extracurriculars (400hrs ophthalmology tech, 115 hrs medical receptionist, 1050 hrs ER scribe, 120 hrs hospital volunteer, 200 hrs soup kitchen volunteer, 120hrs volunteer abroad, 480hrs undergraduate research, ~250hrs graduate research, no publications but working on a review potentially publishing later this year, 2 semesters residential mentor, 1 year working in pharma cancer therapy post-undergrad and 1 year in management consulting post-SMP also cancer)
After that, I was really discouraged and thought maybe med school wasn't the best path for me and I took on a full-time consulting job in the summer following my graduation. Throughout the past year of working and recently I started having a lot of regrets about not retaking the MCAT and applying to more schools. Although I had intentions earlier this year in Feb/March to retake the MCAT but I couldn't do it with a demanding job, but now I'm thinking whether I should just give it another shot this cycle and apply with the MCAT score I have instead of waiting another year. I am 26 and I really don't want to postpone matriculation any longer. I would probably apply only to 4~5 schools given time constraints. I have a family vacation planned from July 1-18, so I could submit primary before leaving, then work on secondaries after I come back and plan to submit secondaries maybe 2nd week of August assuming it gets verified in 5-6 weeks. This will give me 2-3 weeks to write my primaries, which I think is feasible with my job if I only apply to a few schools. I already have primary app from last year when I applied to the linkage program, I might make some changes to my PS and activity section but one week should be enough time for me to get it done and submit before July 1.
I don't know if this is too risky with everything so rushed and my MCAT/CARS being pretty low for MD. I will probably plan to retake the MCAT in Jan-March too, but maybe if I get really lucky this cycle I could get an acceptance. Other than the MCAT, I think I have a well-rounded app with an average GPA and decent extracurriculars and the MCAT is really the only thing holding me back. I heard of people who have had success with MD schools with similar MCAT scores so I feel like maybe there is hope. I know starting med school at 27 or 28 doesn't make a huge difference in the long run, but maybe I should just try even if the chance is small, plus I'm also not hopeful that I can CARS drastically on a third attempt.
Some background info about me: ORM from a large state school graduated in 2018 (cGPA 3.62, sGPA 3.72), same school SMP 2020-2021 (GPA 3.75), decent extracurriculars (400hrs ophthalmology tech, 115 hrs medical receptionist, 1050 hrs ER scribe, 120 hrs hospital volunteer, 200 hrs soup kitchen volunteer, 120hrs volunteer abroad, 480hrs undergraduate research, ~250hrs graduate research, no publications but working on a review potentially publishing later this year, 2 semesters residential mentor, 1 year working in pharma cancer therapy post-undergrad and 1 year in management consulting post-SMP also cancer)
