Should I retake the MCAT for these schools with a 3.37 GPA?

[GoPenguinsGo]

I got a 503 on the Aug 31 test this year (128 chem/phys, 123 CARS, 125 Bio, 127 Psych/Soc). I'm an Ohio resident who applied to all of the following schools

MD:
-Wright State
-Northeastern
-Toledo
-Rosalind Franklin (Illinois)
-Loyola (llinois)

DO:
-Ohio U
-Chicago Midwestern
-Lake Erie

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[I'mJustCurious]

Some of the schools you applied to favor a high MCAT score. I'm not sure you can do anything about it now since the next exam date is in Jan.

 

[toedrag]

Did you mean Northwestern? That'd be a huge reach. As the above poster said, there are no MCAT dates left for 18'. You could get some love from your state schools but I would add a few more DO schools. CCOM likes high MCATs

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Did you mean Northwestern? That'd be a huge reach. As the above poster said, there are no MCAT dates left for 18'. You could get some love from your state schools but I would add a few more DO schools. CCOM likes high MCATs

No, Northwestern requires like a 520 MCAT and that's pretty crazy. Chicago-Midwestern is an Osteopathic medical school in Chicago.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Alright so I'm 95% sure I'm going to retake the MCAT. I used soley Kaplan books to prepare myself but I never did any practice tests before my actual MCAT. Does anyone recommend any brands in particular (like Princeton Review for example) for content? Also, where can I get practice passages? Those completely caught me off guard on test-day.

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

That GPA is low enough that you're probably looking at DO no matter what. I'd add some more DO schools this cycle (like a ton) then consider a retake this spring if you don't get in

 

[Reverb]

You honestly don't have to retake for DO schools. Apply to more though. That's a pretty short list for your stats. You should post in the WAMC thread for more insightful advice.

 

[toedrag]

No, Northwestern requires like a 520 MCAT and that's pretty crazy. Chicago-Midwestern is an Osteopathic medical school in Chicago.

Northeastern doesn't have a medical school. Personally, I thought Khan Academy was one of the most useful resources during my prep

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

You honestly don't have to retake for DO schools. Apply to more though. That's a pretty short list for your stats. You should post in the WAMC thread for more insightful advice.

Good advice. I’d only look at retaking if you don’t get into a DO school this year. I don’t really think you’d have a good shot at MD until like 512+. That’s arbitrary, but you’d need to crush it as a reapplicant with an already iffy score and low GPA. And CARS is hard to improve

 

[Altius Premier Tutor]

Your issue is that you combine a borderline GPA with a below-borderline MCAT. You have a chance at those DO schools, but I'd say less than 50/50, unless other aspects of your app are super-human. If you didn't do many practice passages the first time, you DEFINITELY need to get better resources this time around...I'd say the single most challenging aspect of the new MCAT is the dense scientific passages. Learning to be comfortable reading those experimental passages and answering questions about them is the crux of getting a great score. All that said, it sounds like you could have done a lot more to prepare the first time, so you're actually quite likely to improve that MCAT score a lot on a retake. Ideally, you want to be 515+ to balance out the lower GPA.
Good luck. PM me if you'd like specific help.