Should I retake or am I OK?

[Latfaz]

Hey I was wondering if could get some feedback on my situation. I am currently attending (I transfered from CC) UC Berkley and I'm starting to get ready to start the long application process of applying to med-schools. My overall GPA is 3.76 and my science GPA is 3.8,(MCAT: VR 11,PS 12, BS 11, P). Anyways, I am a bit worried about a few flaws on my application. First of all, my freshman year in college I got a "C" in general chemistry lab (I had the lab instructor from Hell), its only 2 credit hours but I am still worried and I was thinking maybe I should retake the course. Second, I went to a CC, all I have heard are horror storied about good students not getting into med-schools just because they went to a comunity college. And lastly I only have 2 years of in hospital experience but I still have 4 really strong letters of recomendation. Is there anything extra that I should do to get prepared? Should I retake the stupid lab course? And should I be worried about going to CC? Any feedback would be great and any extra comments would be much appreciated.
Thanks

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[IceMan0824]

Hey I was wondering if could get some feedback on my situation. I am currently attending (I transfered from CC) UC Berkley and I'm starting to get ready to start the long application process of applying to med-schools. My overall GPA is 3.76 and my science GPA is 3.8,(MCAT: VR 11,PS 12, BS 11, P). Anyways, I am a bit worried about a few flaws on my application. First of all, my freshman year in college I got a "C" in general chemistry lab (I had the lab instructor from Hell), its only 2 credit hours but I am still worried and I was thinking maybe I should retake the course. Second, I went to a CC, all I have heard are horror storied about good students not getting into med-schools just because they went to a comunity college. And lastly I only have 2 years of in hospital experience but I still have 4 really strong letters of recomendation. Is there anything extra that I should do to get prepared? Should I retake the stupid lab course? And should I be worried about going to CC? Any feedback would be great and any extra comments would be much appreciated.
Thanks

You'll be fine...at least, you will be fine to get past the screening round.

 

[badasshairday]

Your MCAT is SOLID. Don't worry about any stigma from being from a CC. I would only worry if you had a low MCAT coupled with that.

 

[nsxracingy2k]

With your stats, you should be fine. I got a bunch of interviews and some acceptances even though I went to a CC. Your GPA at UCB (and CC) is pretty darn good. I know how difficult and competitive UCB is. Good luck.

 

[prettymonkey]

don't retake the lab course. your 12 in physical science on the mcat shows that you understand general chemistry.

 

[LostLost]

don't retake... your MCAT is solid and so is ur GPA. Although you went to CC, you also have a very good UG program at UC Berkley so no adcomm will doubt your academic capability... the only time when you have a problem with a CC student is when they do extremely well in CC and slump off in 4 year institution....and bomb their MCAT...none of these descriptions fit you so you be fine.... you will get in for sure ...so don't retake

 

[MDRus]

this guy posted the exact same story a few weeks ago!!!

go away!!

 

[mimivirus]

yea! i know someone who transferred from a cc to a UC with the same very strong gpa as you--and an mcat just higher by one point and that person is doing awesome this application round...

also i have the same mcat as you and wanted to retake it cuz my academic record is not that strong and was told it was the best way to improve my quant score--this caused me to apply later (studying for june..so my amcas wasnt submitted until much later after my mcat was done) and my score didnt increase by all that much--prob not enough to compensate for my later apps--i think youre fine and can rest assured to work on strengthening other parts of ur app. gluck!

 

[87138]

The poster "badasshairday" I believe went to a CC and then transferred to Berkeley (and went from a 3.5 or 3.6 GPA at the CC to a 3.9 at Berkeley) and has at least once acceptance so far.

I took several of the prereqs at a CC after graduating (it was a money issue . . . I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket for the classes/labs I still needed, and was pretty much sans financial aide as a post-bacc/transient student). It never actually came up at any of my interviews (except for my committee LOR interview, in which it was simply mentioned by my advisor to help him get a better idea of my entire path towards medicine since mine was a bit nontraditional). I so far have 2 acceptances.

I post about my own experience certainly not to brag (because I am very humbled by this process and ridiculously grateful to have even one acceptance) but rather to give you some hope since I know that I was worried about any possible stigma with a CC on my transcript.

I think you'll do very well in the application cycle, providing you have some good LORs and your PS/essays are good too.

 

[DescentFan]

IMHO, your GPA and MCAT scores are fine; at least you'll pass muster. I think the difference now comes down now to strengthening your extracurriculars. If you do the latter, I'm sure your application will be stellar.

I actually have friends w/ similar stats and they're now attending Harvard Med and JHMI (Hopkins Med)! Don't lose hope!!

 

[Rotinaj]

You have great stats. With a good personality and some background you're good to get into almost any school in the country.

 

[midn]

You are more likely to score lower on the MCAT if you take it again. AAMC released some pamphlet of people retaking the MCAT and how many of them actually scored higher or lower.

Also, your GPA/MCAT is fine. I believe an MCAT of 34-36 gets about the same attention. The higher the scores get, the fewer questions yield you a higher score. One ore two points at this level doesn't mean as much as one or two points for lower scores.