Should I retake the MCAT?

[kodiak0237]

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Hi all,

I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to retake the MCAT on the new format. I applied for entry in 2015 and received no interviews. Applying June 2016, possibly taking MCAT in May 2016. Here's some background info:

Ugrad: WashU, major: chemical engineering, 2 minors: environmental engineering, energy engineering

cGPA: 3.1; sGPA: 3.3; June 2014 MCAT: 32 (11,11,10)​

ECs: 2 sport varsity athlete, course director in student led class, tutor in school of engineering, member of a fraternity, ~20 hours of shadowing (I've bumped this up and it will be 50-75 by application time), volunteering through my fraternity (I made the mistake of not separating this from my fraternity hours on my app and honestly don't know total hours, somewhere around 50 at time of first application and will be ~100 by application time this year), research job last year with 2 publications as 2nd author and an abstract i presented at a national conference as first author
SMP: 3.6 GPA in medical school courses (a high pass in all classes), so far a 4.0 in graduate school courses, should receive the Masters in Medical Physiology degree with ~3.7-3.8.

I decided medical school pretty late in ugrad and with the sports really struggled to get good ECs in but have since brought those numbers up.

My question is should I retake the MCAT? I know my uGPA is low and my ECs were lacking last time I applied, but I've been told a good MCAT2015 (better than a 32 equivalent) can garner a closer look at my application at a wider range of schools. But I know there is a real risk in retaking a 32. Any advice?

 

[ifnotnowwren]

I'm not an expert so I can't speak to this topic, however it may be helpful if you post a list of the schools you applied to, and the list of schools you are considering applying to this next cycle, as that could have contributed to your lack of interviews.

 

[kodiak0237]

I'm not an expert so I can't speak to this topic, however it may be helpful if you post a list of the schools you applied to, and the list of schools you are considering applying to this next cycle, as that could have contributed to your lack of interviews.

Sorry, should have included that. I'm also a WI resident. I wasnt an early applicant, but not late either. I probably took a little too long on secondaries.

Schools:
Creighton University School of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
George Washington University
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Loyola University Chicago Stritch
Mayo Medical School
Medical College of Wisconsin
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Rosalind Franklin
Rush Medical College
Temple University School of Medicine
Commonwealth Medical College
The University of Miami School of Medicine
The University of Toledo College of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis/Duluth
University of Virginia School of Medicine
University of Wisconsin
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Tech Carilion
Wake Forest
WashU

 

[ifnotnowwren]

I think your time spent volunteering may be a little low for the Jesuit schools, Loyola especially, due to their "person for others" secondary prompt, unless the work you were doing showed a very significant commitment to underserved populations.

With respect to Rush, I remember reading on this thread that Rush has a 150 hour service requirement.

I nominate Rush for not telling applicants that they have a 150 service hour requirement, and then waiting until December to reject all the applicants who didn't meet that secret requirement. What a scam, that information needs to be made clear before people pay to apply to a school they have no chance at.

 

[candbgirl]

The MCAT isn't your problem. Your GPAs are pretty low for any MD school. Was the SMP linked to a specific med school? Are you now working on a different Masters degree? Do you have any clinical experience and I don't mean shadowing? I wouldn't retake the MCAT as long as your current one is valid. I'm confused by your ECs but it still seems like they are still pretty skimpy-except for your research.

And the Jesuit schools are very service oriented. I don't see any of that focus at all.


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