Should I retake a 507 MCAT (3.4GPA) and school list help

[bur_covery]

1. Undergrad cGPA: 3.40 (two significant family deaths impacted my GPA, will explain in app)
2. MCAT score(s): 507 (124, 128, 125, 130) -- retake in May, should I?
3. State of residence or country of citizenship: NY
4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category: T30
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer):
   
   • EMT certificate: ~80 hours
   • Paid Medical Assistant: 2000 hours
7. Research experience and productivity
   
   • Undergrad research: no publication: 400 hours
   • Gap year job: 1 pub, will have at least three more ~ 4000 hours (ongoing)
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   • neurology: 50 hours
   • Oncology: 50 hours
9. Non-clinical volunteering:
   
   • English tutor: 300 hours
   • Food bank distributor: 50 hours
10. Leadership/other jobs
    
    • Resident Assistant: 1600 hours
    • Freshman mentor: 320 hours
    • College app mentor: 500 hours
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    • My app strongly emphasizes working with underserved communities and focuses on my upbringing as an immigrant to the US. I'm a good writer, so my writing won't hold me back. I should also have strong LORs (2 science prof, 1 non-science prof, 2 MDs)

I'm signed up to retake on 5/16 and wanted advice on whether I should since I'm very burnt out from studying while working full-time. I may or may not still have it in me to score a 512+, which was my goal initially. I am attaching my very preliminary school list below. I will also apply for DOs, but I haven't researched them yet. Any suggestions/comments are appreciated!

1. Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
2. Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
3. Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
4. State University of New York Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
5. SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
6. Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
7. Drexel University College of Medicine
8. Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
9. Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
10. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
11. Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
12. Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
13. Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
14. Eastern Virginia Medical School
15. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
16. Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
17. West Virginia University School of Medicine
18. Wake Forest University School of Medicine
19. Tulane University School of Medicine
20. Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
21. Medical College of Wisconsin
22. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
23. Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
24. Central Michigan University College of Medicine
25. Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
26. Albert Einstein College of Medicine
27. Albany Medical College
28. New York Medical College

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[Hollow Knight]

Honestly your GPA isn't great anyway. A 507 isn't a bad score at all. That's definitely in the realm of "Will you score lower?" territory. I probably wouldn't retake. If you do retake, you need to have no life whatsoever. Bust your tail.

I don't want to crush your dreams, but you definitely need to apply DO. It's really gonna be OK I promise, Blue Cross isn't going to reimburse you less then me because you're DO and I'm MD.

Now if your heart is set on being a MOHS surgeon, yeah, that'll be harder from a DO school, but honestly, a lot of mid-tier MD students are having trouble matching the really competitive specialties these days. If you can't stomach the thought of doing FM/IM/peds/general surgery, I wouldn't go to medical school.

You still might get into one of your in-state MDs. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to give you realistic advice. I'd probably not retake. Shoot your shot, realize it'll probably be at a solid DO school, and please realize that it's all gonna work out.

Retaking isn't completely crazy, but if you go that route you need to GRIND.

 

[Faha]

Some of the schools on your list admit few non residents with no connection to the state or region. Rush expects far more non clinical hours than you have. Your stats are nowhere near competitive for Einstein. I suggest these schools with your stats:
All 4 SUNYs
Albany
Hackensack
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Drexel
Temple
jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Wake Forest
NOVA MD
Belmont
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Alice Walton (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)
I suggest these DO schools:
Touro-NY
NYITCOM
UNECOM
PCOM (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
CUSOM
MU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
AZCOM
TUNCOM

 

[awood]

Honestly your GPA isn't great anyway. A 507 isn't a bad score at all. That's definitely in the realm of "Will you score lower?" territory. I probably wouldn't retake. If you do retake, you need to have no life whatsoever. Bust your tail.

I don't want to crush your dreams, but you definitely need to apply DO. It's really gonna be OK I promise, Blue Cross isn't going to reimburse you less then me because you're DO and I'm MD.

Now if your heart is set on being a MOHS surgeon, yeah, that'll be harder from a DO school, but honestly, a lot of mid-tier MD students are having trouble matching the really competitive specialties these days. If you can't stomach the thought of doing FM/IM/peds/general surgery, I wouldn't go to medical school.

You still might get into one of your in-state MDs. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to give you realistic advice. I'd probably not retake. Shoot your shot, realize it'll probably be at a solid DO school, and please realize that it's all gonna work out.

Retaking isn't completely crazy, but if you go that route you need to GRIND.

Given your GPA and current MCAT, even with a very compelling explanation, MD admissions will be an uphill battle and your writing, ECs, and interviews will need to be spectacular and better than the average MD applicant for a chance. I definitely agree that you should be open to applying DO as in some cases I feel like the high tier DO schools (Touro-CA, OSU, PCOM, LECOM, Des Moines, KCU, ATSU, etc.) can really compete with the lower tier MD schools (e.g. MD schools with a very rural mission, Cal Northstate, etc.) unless rural medicine is your jam. However, I would actually really recommend retaking a 507 (as long as your practice tests the 2nd time around are going well) as I myself retook a 507, studied relatively hard and really busted by tail the month before my test (6 hours/day 6 days a week) and ended up getting a 522. If you truly feel that your MCAT score was not an accurate reflection of your knowledge/potential, I would go for a retake!

 

[Hollow Knight]

@Faha you always do a good job dude. FWIW. I see you on all these threads

 

[bur_covery]

Honestly your GPA isn't great anyway. A 507 isn't a bad score at all. That's definitely in the realm of "Will you score lower?" territory. I probably wouldn't retake. If you do retake, you need to have no life whatsoever. Bust your tail.

I don't want to crush your dreams, but you definitely need to apply DO. It's really gonna be OK I promise, Blue Cross isn't going to reimburse you less then me because you're DO and I'm MD.

Now if your heart is set on being a MOHS surgeon, yeah, that'll be harder from a DO school, but honestly, a lot of mid-tier MD students are having trouble matching the really competitive specialties these days. If you can't stomach the thought of doing FM/IM/peds/general surgery, I wouldn't go to medical school.

You still might get into one of your in-state MDs. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to give you realistic advice. I'd probably not retake. Shoot your shot, realize it'll probably be at a solid DO school, and please realize that it's all gonna work out.

Retaking isn't completely crazy, but if you go that route you need to GRIND.

I appreciate the honesty and don't think that you are being mean at all! I will start studying again because if I don't and end up not getting accepted anywhere, I will regret so hard that I didn't at least try. As I get closer to the test date, I will evaluate again how confident I feel about my potential to score. Would you say I need at least a 5-point increase (512+) to show a real difference?

 

[bur_covery]

Some of the schools on your list admit few non residents with no connection to the state or region. Rush expects far more non clinical hours than you have. Your stats are nowhere near competitive for Einstein. I suggest these schools with your stats:
All 4 SUNYs
Albany
Hackensack
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Drexel
Temple
jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
Wake Forest
NOVA MD
Belmont
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Alice Walton (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)
I suggest these DO schools:
Touro-NY
NYITCOM
UNECOM
PCOM (all schools)
LECOM (all schools)
CUSOM
MU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
AZCOM
TUNCOM

Thank you so much for the list! It's super helpful, and I'm going to do some research.

A question about Rush: Is it likely that they will screen purely based on non-clinical hours? Although my hours are low, it was a continuous weekly commitment for 3 years, and I listed it as a most important experience. It also fits nicely with the theme of my app

 

[bur_covery]

Given your GPA and current MCAT, even with a very compelling explanation, MD admissions will be an uphill battle and your writing, ECs, and interviews will need to be spectacular and better than the average MD applicant for a chance. I definitely agree that you should be open to applying DO as in some cases I feel like the high tier DO schools (Touro-CA, OSU, PCOM, LECOM, Des Moines, KCU, ATSU, etc.) can really compete with the lower tier MD schools (e.g. MD schools with a very rural mission, Cal Northstate, etc.) unless rural medicine is your jam. However, I would actually really recommend retaking a 507 (as long as your practice tests the 2nd time around are going well) as I myself retook a 507, studied relatively hard and really busted by tail the month before my test (6 hours/day 6 days a week) and ended up getting a 522. If you truly feel that your MCAT score was not an accurate reflection of your knowledge/potential, I would go for a retake!

Thanks for the feedback! I am very open to applying and attending DO, but the only caveat is that I hope to practice internationally one day and I think having an MD will make that slightly easier. So I'm getting ready to put my head down and study my ass off starting this weekend (traveling rn for work). Do you mind sharing some tips on how you study, especially during the last month?

 

[Faha]

Thank you so much for the list! It's super helpful, and I'm going to do some research.

A question about Rush: Is it likely that they will screen purely based on non-clinical hours? Although my hours are low, it was a continuous weekly commitment for 3 years, and I listed it as a most important experience. It also fits nicely with the theme of my app

Rush is looking for non clinical hours such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. .

 

[Mr.Smile12]

A question about Rush: Is it likely that they will screen purely based on non-clinical hours? Although my hours are low, it was a continuous weekly commitment for 3 years, and I listed it as a most important experience. It also fits nicely with the theme of my app

From their website:

Community service orientation
RUSH has a longstanding tradition and mission of community engagement. We strongly value applicants with demonstrated attributes displaying a commitment to community service, including the following:

• The desire to help others
• A sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings
• The desire to alleviate others’ distress
• Recognition of responsibilities to society, locally, nationally and globally

We seek applicants with exposure to community service, whether through employment, volunteering or other activities.

LizzyM shared a recent NYT Op-Ed which also addresses this.

 

[bur_covery]

From their website:

Community service orientation
RUSH has a longstanding tradition and mission of community engagement. We strongly value applicants with demonstrated attributes displaying a commitment to community service, including the following:

• The desire to help others
• A sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings
• The desire to alleviate others’ distress
• Recognition of responsibilities to society, locally, nationally and globally

We seek applicants with exposure to community service, whether through employment, volunteering or other activities.

LizzyM shared a recent NYT Op-Ed which also addresses this.

Thanks for linking that! I happened to see the LizzyM post and was about to read the article.

Although "English tutor" doesn't seem like the type of community service that would fit Rush's description, the more I think about it, the more I think my experience would be: I was a volunteer English tutor for conflict-affected individuals in the Middle East. The program's goal is that through learning English, we can help these individuals gain better job/education opportunities and improve their living circumstances. Many of my students became more confident in their English skills and went on to study in the UK/Europe/US. I taught weekly during school semesters for three years via Skype. Each lesson is only 1 hour, and I spend another 30 mins per week to prep, hence the lower number.

This experience also has significant personal value because I was once a young immigrant to the US who spoke broken English. Without the language help I received, I would not be where I am today, so I wanted to give back my help to vulnerable communities. On top of this, my clinical experience was working with primarily underserved populations/improving my own community, so there is a theme of that in my app.

Please let me know if I'm interpreting things wrong, missing something, or being insensitive. As you can see, my MCAT and GPA are not ideal, so I'm careful to cross out schools from my list.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I appreciate the honesty and don't think that you are being mean at all! I will start studying again because if I don't and end up not getting accepted anywhere, I will regret so hard that I didn't at least try. As I get closer to the test date, I will evaluate again how confident I feel about my potential to score. Would you say I need at least a 5-point increase (512+) to show a real difference?

Nah, any improvement will help, or at least not hurt you. Just don't do worse.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Although "English tutor" doesn't seem like the type of community service that would fit Rush's description, the more I think about it, the more I think my experience would be: I was a volunteer English tutor for conflict-affected individuals in the Middle East. The program's goal is that through learning English, we can help these individuals gain better job/education opportunities and improve their living circumstances.

Do you actually help people get jobs? Navigate social services? That's the impact that we look for.

Believe it or not, teaching ESL is still an academic activity since you are an expert, even a role model. Many premeds teach or tutor ESL, especially to communities similar to their own. You should mention it and other activities that help acclimate refugees in their immediate needs for shelter and humanitarian resources.

You'll be doing a lot of teaching at Rush. But they want to know you can immerse yourself in the experiences of socially marginalized individuals unlike yourself as well.

That said, do you want a program that has clinical opportunities where you work with refugees and asylees? It sounds like you do.

 

[awood]

Thanks for the feedback! I am very open to applying and attending DO, but the only caveat is that I hope to practice internationally one day and I think having an MD will make that slightly easier. So I'm getting ready to put my head down and study my ass off starting this weekend (traveling rn for work). Do you mind sharing some tips on how you study, especially during the last month?

Honestly every student learns differently so what worked for me may be different for you. The biggest thing is that although in terms of proportion I did 1/3 content review and 2/3 practice Qs the 2nd time, timeline-wise I actually integrated the practice questions with when I had just learned the content to make sure it was actively learned.

Active learning practices will be your friend (e.g. Anki, practice Qs, practice exams, and random online quizzes for things like aminos, etc.). Really focus on active learning and prioritize high-yield stuff (don't be afraid to skip around in books as long as you mark which chapters you need to come back to later). And also review your practice exams in-depth the day after you take them to learn why you guessed or got certain Qs wrong (I had a spreadsheet for myself).

Otherwise, it was nothing fancy. My daily routine for that month of winter break would be 1.5 hours of Anki in the morning, followed by ~55 questions of either B/B, P/C, or P/S (grouped like they would be on the exam) on past content learned. Then I'd read like 4 chapters of a Kaplan book (depending on how well I remembered the content) and do another 40-50 Q block on the content I just learned. All this would usually take a good 6ish hours counting the time spent reviewing the practice Qs I got wrong (I was a fan of studying in the local seminary library lol).