Some advice on low mcat score

[Lonebush]

I just received my mcat today and was disappointed with a 497. I know I am capable of doing better, I had a very rough test day with not finishing the test and being psyched out. I plan on retaking sometime before may of 2019. I was wondering what are my chances if I actually applied with the 497, my current gpa is a 3.55 (I am a senior and the plan is to get it up to the mid 3.6 range by the time I graduate). 400+ hours of research and working on my publication. I also have about 90 hours of shadowing a cardiothoracic surgeon and a DO physician. I just want to look at my options and chances as if I don't end up retaking my mcat. I know I most likely won't be getting into any MD schools with my MCAT, but my overall goal is to practice medicine regardless of MD or DO, so I was wondering what are my chances with DO schools. I am also not a URM (asian male)

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[lumya]

I would say retake.

Looking originally at your experience and stats I was thinking there might be some DO schools you could swing. But as an ORM, your chances with it was pretty low. Unless the doctors you shadow have some major pull, you’re probably best off retaking.

 

[snowcrawler85]

First off, I’m sorry.. I know you must be feeling really defeated. I would say retake, just because of limited extracurriculars.. do you have any clinical experience?

 

[Lonebush]

I would say retake.

Looking originally at your experience and stats I was thinking there might be some DO schools you could swing. But as an ORM, your chances with it was pretty low. Unless the doctors you shadow have some major pull, you’re probably best off retaking.

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I know realistically I must retake, just I have a lot going on so I was trying to see all my options. Also as for stats and experience go I forgot to mention I was a organic chemistry ta for both orgo 1 and 2, and currently a biochem ta. Also a new york state resident.

 

[Lonebush]

First off, I’m sorry.. I know you must be feeling really defeated. I would say retake, just because of limited extracurriculars.. do you have any clinical experience?

Yes I definitely feel pretty defeated, but I've come to the conclusion that I want to continue to push for my dream so this is just a minor speed bump. I really appreciate your sympathy though since I am not really good at very standardized testing and have tendency of psyching myself out. I noted some of my extracurriculars above with TA'ing orgo and biochem, and I also forgot to mention (theres quite a lot that I am forgetting, sorry) I am very involved with camp kesem (it's a long time passion of mine to help underprivileged children with family dealing with cancer as I have dealt with it growing up).

As for clinical experience I currently only have shadowing experiences with a surgeon and a DO. I am thinking of doing a EMT program with my gap year and also volunteering at my hospital more.

 

[lumya]

I think you have a really great chance of getting in once you improve your MCAT scores. Best of luck! The journey to medical school is unfortunately not very straightforward.

 

[lumya]

I’m also very bad at standardized testing so the advice I have for you going forward is to do as many practice tests as you can. I started doing a practice test every other week about four months before my test date. The six weeks before my test day I did one every Saturday. It really, really sucked, but by the time my test date rolled around, I just got out of bed and did the exact same routine I had been doing for weeks. I didn’t feel very nervous because it felt really familiar and I knew better how to time myself.

Sign up for a proctored practice test too. Both Kaplan and Princeton Review offer free proctored tests and those help you get a better sense of testing with other people in the room.

 

[Goro]

I just received my mcat today and was disappointed with a 497. I know I am capable of doing better, I had a very rough test day with not finishing the test and being psyched out. I plan on retaking sometime before may of 2019. I was wondering what are my chances if I actually applied with the 497, my current gpa is a 3.55 (I am a senior and the plan is to get it up to the mid 3.6 range by the time I graduate). 400+ hours of research and working on my publication. I also have about 90 hours of shadowing a cardiothoracic surgeon and a DO physician. I just want to look at my options and chances as if I don't end up retaking my mcat. I know I most likely won't be getting into any MD schools with my MCAT, but my overall goal is to practice medicine regardless of MD or DO, so I was wondering what are my chances with DO schools. I am also not a URM (asian male)

DOA at my school and a number of others:
LUCOM
BCOM
CUSOM
KCU
the Touros
PCOM
Western
CCOM
AZCOM

Strongly suggest a retake, skip applying this year, and most importantly, fix the deficits that led you to do so poorly. If the MCAT "psyched you out", Step I will kill you.

 

[smurfin57]

I just received my mcat today and was disappointed with a 497. I know I am capable of doing better, I had a very rough test day with not finishing the test and being psyched out. I plan on retaking sometime before may of 2019. I was wondering what are my chances if I actually applied with the 497, my current gpa is a 3.55 (I am a senior and the plan is to get it up to the mid 3.6 range by the time I graduate). 400+ hours of research and working on my publication. I also have about 90 hours of shadowing a cardiothoracic surgeon and a DO physician. I just want to look at my options and chances as if I don't end up retaking my mcat. I know I most likely won't be getting into any MD schools with my MCAT, but my overall goal is to practice medicine regardless of MD or DO, so I was wondering what are my chances with DO schools. I am also not a URM (asian male)

You need to retake. Especially this late in the cycle, you would honestly just be wasting your time. I had a 501 my first time around and I wasted so much money applying. I didn't get an interview the first time I applied with a 501. I had similar stats as you otherwise. I was well rounded, lots of leadership positions. Anyway, study HARD for your MCAT retake and retake it within a few months. Don't drag your feet as you will lose what you've studied up to this point if you wait a long time. Take loads of FULL LENGTH practice exams and really evaluate what you need to study. Identify what your weaknesses are and master that material. This is just something you will have to get used to if you want to be a medical student. It's all about how you test from here on out. Best of luck. DM me if you have questions.

 

[gensurghopeful]

Retake def the move.

That being said, I had a friend that interviewed at ARCOM weeks ago with a 495 and similiar GPA as yours. Also, a decent chunk of my classmates have sub 500 MCAT's.

Don't rush it. Good luck.

 

[workaholic181]

I definitely know DO students now at Pcom, rowan, and wvsom who had sub 500s. That said you're best served with applying the first time with your strongest app. If you feel you can do better, retske the mcat next spring and apply early for next cycle.