Should I continue studying for mcats?

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penicillinman

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I have been out of school since 2010, recently took the mcat with a 508. I have a sGPA of 4.0 and cGPA of 3.92 and have applied for the 2019-2020 cycle. I am a Texas resident and therefore aiming at Texas schools. Applied to all texas schools except Texas tech and ut riogrande. I am also in the process of applying to amcas schools in Texas and beyond mostly as back up. My predicament is (and I know I’m being pessimistic here) that I was quite disappointed with my mcats and feel like if I do study some more, I could probably get at least >510-512. At this point, should I just be studying for a second go around March-May of next year cycle just in case things don’t pan out? If I don’t study, I know I will forget everything that’s still fresh in my mind. Am I thinking too much into this? Should I just be relaxing now and let this cycle play out? Has anyone of you been in a similar situation. As far as other things beyond test and GPA:
- no publications or research experience
- my degree was in pharmacy (pharmd)
- work as an emergency room pharmacist (got solid LOR from a couple of the physicians and previous supervisor). Also serve as a preceptor for students.
- have plenty of community service hours, majority coming from when I was still in school.

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Your MCAT (not "mcats") score is within a reasonable range for Texas schools. What I am more concerned about is your lack of recent volunteering experience, since most of your hours there come from <2010. Also, I'm not sure exactly how you were able to spend your time in the ED dept you worked in (were you in the pharmacy only, or did you consult at the bedside?) so you may need some shadowing hours so you can demonstrate you are aware of the full scope of a physician's role. Perhaps you can also branch out to other specialties as well. Good luck.
 
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As far as my clinical experience go, I think I’m okay. I work in the ER and I’m in the pts rooms and work with the physicians. I have direct pt contact with at least 70% of pts and assist with dosing and preparing meds for strokes, intubations, codes etc etc. The schools in Texas I talked to also did say that my clinical experience should be sufficient. My worry is mostly with the test score, and yes, the dated community service. Might need to start working on that.
 
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Ok, that makes sense. I would do some community service work. I honestly don't think your MCAT is that bad, but retake it if you want to. What was the breakdown?
 
I'd say wait a few months and see. If you dont have any IIs by december, retake in the late spring.

I'm currently retaking the mcat because my old mcat expired and while YMMV, relearning the info comes alot quicker than I had expected.
 
I wouldn't retaking that score. The score breakdown is balanced.
 
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