some honest advice

[sjordan]

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Hi Everyone,

I am in a bit of a dilemma and was wondering if someone could give me their honest opinion.

Basically. I had a 3.37 undergraduate science gpa (from a pretty prestigious school) and a 31 MCAT (8V,11P,12B). I have had extensive research work, tutoring, and some clinical experience.

Then...I didn't get in last year. So, since then I've taken 5 post bac undergraduate science classes (and received all A's) and will be taken 3 more in the spring.
I continued tutoring and will start doing some clinical work this month. Long story short--would you retake your MCAT if you were me...due to my crappy science gpa... any suggestions are really really appreciated

 

[SouthernGirl]

I don't see a reason to retake. If you didn't get in, it's not because of your MCAT score, ya know? Unless you are set on going to a top school, a 31 is a very solid score. The only negative I see is the 8 in verbal, which still isn't awful by any means. Just apply to a good number of low- and middle-tier schools. Good luck!

 

[Ramoray]

hey there, i wouldnt take the MCAT due to your crappy science GPA, i think regardless of what you had as a GPA your 8 verbal hurt you so yes id retake for hte verbal.., as i can speak from experience as i had an 8 verbal, with similar scores on the sciences as you and i feel my 8 hurt me this time around. Im yet to see if i get in but i think alot of schools dont give applicatoins with 8 verbal much consideratoin .. i dont know why. Like you for example a 12 Bio. i mean pls, that should be enough to get u into med ya know, im not sure why verbal is sooo important but anyway, i decided to retake and just really focus on verbal. I tel you the sciences come back SOO fast, its really not that tough i have been finding, but make sure you really pound those journals and practice verbal and make sure you bring it up. .i bet youll bein a ton of places if you can pull that to a 10.. that is what im hoping for. And all yoru As will help tons too. You are gonna be totally fine, but IMO id go for the retake and just nail the verbal. Good luck!

 

[LetMeInPlease]

I agree that you should take the MCAT again. You need to get your verbal score up, I think. I think schools like to see good verbal scores because if you do well in verbal that means you are good at comprehending new things. Your science scores show that you know basic science,which is great, but it doesn't show the school that you can learn and comprehend new things quickly. 8 isn't bad, but I think it definitely hurts a bit.

 

[tBw]

agreed - it is the verbal not the GPA which is hurting you. You do not *have* to retake the MCAT but I would recommend preparing to do so - and making sure you do better by doing practice exams and if you are not increasing your score seek private tutoring or whatever it takes to get that score higher. If you want to go to a top rated score, you pretty much do have to retake.

 

[tBw]

did you contact any of the schools post-rejection last year to get feedback on how you ranked and what went wrong? some schools will give you pointers about what areas of the app need strengthening. This can often be more informative than our guesswork (eg you might have had a horrible PS which none of us would know about or something...)

 

[Iffy premed]

If English is your secondary language, then 8 on verbal can slide. But I would suggest retaking it. It couldn't hurt. If you feel that you might get the same score or worse, then don't release it. But sometimes it makes a world of difference when you get a 9 instead of 8.

 

[Samoa]

You should only retake if a school tells you it was the verbal score that concerned them. So you should definitely ask. Otherwise a 31 is fine, and retaking with a score like that is completely unnecessary and can even be counterproductive.

 

[sjordan]

Thank you for all of your suggestions! I am really grateful for people who take the time out to help other pre-meds 🙂

to answer "boy wonder" and others:
I have only contacted one school regarding my application (i know, that was pretty irresponsible of me...) and they stated that retaking wouldn't necesarily be the best thing to do since I haven't taken the exam in two years and may end up doing worse in the science sections....But, I don't want to base my decision on one school.

Next week, I will definitely be calling up a great deal of schools to get a better sense of things and decide from there. Thank you all for your time!

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by sjordan
Thank you for all of your suggestions! I am really grateful for people who take the time out to help other pre-meds 🙂

to answer "boy wonder" and others:
I have only contacted one school regarding my application (i know, that was pretty irresponsible of me...) and they stated that retaking wouldn't necesarily be the best thing to do since I haven't taken the exam in two years and may end up doing worse in the science sections....But, I don't want to base my decision on one school.

Next week, I will definitely be calling up a great deal of schools to get a better sense of things and decide from there. Thank you all for your time!

well, it sounds like you're going about things methodically and logically - good luck, and let us know how things go 😉

 

[dynx]

I am not sure about the rest of your application but your numbers are about the same as mine except for the 8 verbal. In fact your GPA is a little higher than mine and I got accepted to a UC school. So I would suggest that perhaps you are not making the cuttoff point at which your application gets serious consideration due to the 8V. So I would suggest that if possible you retake the exam if you feel you are not given at least a good look by schools in this application period. But be sure to study like hell. I would hate for you to retake it and do worse. Good luck!

 

[Jiten]

I dont think that MCAT is the problem...my friend with similar score, 8, 12, 11, M got into 10 schools!! ANd he is still wating to hear from 6 more schools where he interviewed. Apply early!! And u said u have done better in recent classes...i think..make rest of ur application strong...if i wanna go to schools like Harvard, only then i would retake the MCAt...but thats just me.
Good Luck!!

 

[Silvertip]

How do you think your interviews went? This may be an area that you can improve without risking low MCAT science scores on a retake. Mock interviews with professors asking "real" interview questions might help- maybe you've tried this..? Your numbers look very good and are better than mine (about same for MCAT), and I was accepted to two schools last year and was moving up on many waiting lists. Best of luck, and do not give up on this- you've done the work!

 

[canadagirl]

When asking schools, I'd be sure to specify that you want to know from them why they didn't accept you - not their advice about what you want to do. I just mean that you need to know whether your MCATs were a liability in your application - you don't need to know from schools whether they think you can improve, cause you know that WAY better than they do.

 

[ScreamingTreesRule]

A couple of questions:

Is English your first language?

Your MCAT is fine if you don't expect to get into Harvard. So my next question is, "Where did you apply?"

I'm guessing since you didn't get in with your stats, that you are not a URM. But still, even if you aren't, you should be able to get into a "safety school" if you apply to enough of them.

Originally posted by sjordan
Hi Everyone,

I am in a bit of a dilemma and was wondering if someone could give me their honest opinion.

Basically. I had a 3.37 undergraduate science gpa (from a pretty prestigious school) and a 31 MCAT (8V,11P,12B). I have had extensive research work, tutoring, and some clinical experience.

Then...I didn't get in last year. So, since then I've taken 5 post bac undergraduate science classes (and received all A's) and will be taken 3 more in the spring.
I continued tutoring and will start doing some clinical work this month. Long story short--would you retake your MCAT if you were me...due to my crappy science gpa... any suggestions are really really appreciated

 

[tryingagain]

I have similar stats and received interviews. Don't retake the Mcat unless your time runs out. Apply to a bunch of lower and middle tier and a few dream schools. You'll get in somewhere. Sometimes its just a lucky crapshoot.

 

[thealbino]

I agree with the others. Don't retake the MCAT because there's a greater chance that you'll do worse, especially if it's been a few years since you took it. People have gotten in with worse gpa's.

Just apply again, but to more schools.

Originally posted by sjordan
Hi Everyone,

I am in a bit of a dilemma and was wondering if someone could give me their honest opinion.

Basically. I had a 3.37 undergraduate science gpa (from a pretty prestigious school) and a 31 MCAT (8V,11P,12B). I have had extensive research work, tutoring, and some clinical experience.

Then...I didn't get in last year. So, since then I've taken 5 post bac undergraduate science classes (and received all A's) and will be taken 3 more in the spring.
I continued tutoring and will start doing some clinical work this month. Long story short--would you retake your MCAT if you were me...due to my crappy science gpa... any suggestions are really really appreciated

 

[sjordan]

Thanks to all of you who have provided their opinions.
To answer some questions:

1) Yes, English is my first language
2) No, I am not a URM but did apply as "disadvantaged" the first time I applied which I may not do this time

3) And, finally, the first time I applied I definitely did not apply to enough "safety" schools. Whether or not I do retake the MCAT I will definitely be applying to a much broader range of schools.

Thanks again for everyone's help

 

[yodi]

Hello sjordan,

Several people on this post have raised the question of your approach to the application procedure (interview practice, range of schools you applied to), and to continue that line of thought --- for applicants whose gpa isn't on the strong side, it's definitely advantageous to apply early on, like in June (July at the latest)...so I'd highly recommend that for next time around if that wasn't the case for you last year.

You are getting A's on your post-bac courses -- that's terrific--keep it up! They'll show the adcoms that you are capable of handling the rigor of science courses, and give them more confidence in your ability to succeed in med school. And I think this is a better bet than retaking the MCAT, which is debatedly risky and unnecessary, like others have already said on this post.

So, take confidence in the fact that you have already been improving your application by getting these A's. Be sure you send that message to the adcom relatively early, though! (ie apply early!)

best of luck!

yodi