Talk me off (or over) the ledge: retake a 511 with a <3.4 cGPA

[antipeptide]

Listen I know a 511 is an okay score, and lots of people are shooting for it. It's like 80th percentile, and around the national average for admitted students.

It's also too high to be an obvious retake (depending on my person maybe) and too low to be a comfortable score for MD. So I've been agonizing about retaking since I got the score in October.

My GPA is a little funny because I have a sub 3.0 bachelors, a 4.0 associates degree, and a 24 credit post bacc I'm finishing now with a 3.9 (2018, 2022, and 2024 respectively). This totals a cGPA of around 3.35 or so (bad)

My current school list is mostly low tier MD and some select DO.
Dream schools are ones like UVM Larner, Albany, Quinnipiac, Oakland Beaumont, Temple, etc. with median MCAT's around my score.
Delusional schools are ones like Tufts, Dartmouth, Hackensack, Colorado, etc.

My first MCAT I took the FL's and they averaged to a 511, which is what I got, and my highest FL was a 513. Actual breakdown was a 128 126 129 128 day of. I frankly do not know how realistic a 515+ would be for me.

Assuming I can sink another few hundred hours of Anki, Uworld, and FL exams in this spring, and assuming I do get a 515, how much better of an applicant would I be?

According to The Grid my odds in this GPA division would go from 41% to about 48%
If I really managed to ball out and get >517 it's a 56% which is better than average but still basically a coin toss, although at a certain point these numbers stop being useful when talking about application chances. It feel like I'm at the point of diminishing returns, especially considering all the other projects, work, and volunteering I'm planning to do this spring that I would have to cut back on to restudy for the MCAT again.

I just need someone in the know to give me a hard, harsh, final answer so I can stop perseverating about this score and either move on, or buckle up for more. As long as I have a good shot at ANY MD program I am perfectly happy. If this score will keep me out MD for sure, I should retake.
If retaking to a 514 - 517 will only add 10 new schools that are frankly still a reach, it can't be worth it right? Would Tufts ignore me with a 511 and hand me an A with a 515? I truly don't know.

Your insights are very helpful guys, thank you in advance.

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[gyngyn]

From one cat to another, your problem is the GPA. Hopefully, the trend will be appreciated.
A second MCAT that is a few points higher (and remember, it could also be lower) will have little benefit.

 

[antipeptide]

Thank you, thank you. It's true my GPA is rough and at this point basically not changing, so I've made my peace with that. Though I don't like that the bad GPA might overshadow a good MCAT, it's kind of reassuring that there might not be much more benefit to retaking.

 

[GoSpursGo]

my highest FL was a 513. Actual breakdown was a 128 126 129 128 day of. I frankly do not know how realistic a 515+ would be for me.

Frankly, there are a LOT of reasons not to retake the MCAT, but this is the most important reason--if not even YOU are sure you could pull a 515+, then it is not worth the risk of doing worse. Remember, even if you get a 515 on the retake it's not the same as if you got it the first time--you didn't get a 515, you got a 515 AND a 511. Since you would be spending hundreds of hours to try to gain a nominal advantage without any assurance that you actually would succeed in improving your score by the amount necessary to have a benefit, I feel there must be a better expenditure of your time. Either add another semester of post bacc courses to solidify that trend (30 hours tends to be a nice round number to equal about a year of courses) to tackle that GPA issue head on, or maximize the other parts of your application.

 

[eigen]

It's rough guidance, but the things I remind my students with re-takes:

1) MCAT scores aren't good for discriminating single-point differences. They're usually (and best) interpreted in confidence bands of ~ 3 points.

2) You should assume that while it might not be a strict average that both scores are going to be examined in concert, and might be functionally averaged.

So, that means if you can only raise your score ~3 points, then your average scores are still going to be in roughly the same confidence band. I typically talk to my students about how likely they think it is that they can raise their score by 5-6 points. If that's not likely, and the score is in the low-but-not-deadly range, then I typically think they're better off working around that MCAT score by strengthening other parts of their application rather than bringing up the score. As pointed out, you're talking about hundreds of hours that could be more clinical experience, more community service, or more research depending on your profile.

 

[Hollow Knight]

One more little bird here on your shoulder chirping "Don't do it bro!"

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My comments stand from your WAMC post: What am I missing or lacking in before I apply?

 

[Goro]

Listen I know a 511 is an okay score, and lots of people are shooting for it. It's like 80th percentile, and around the national average for admitted students.

It's also too high to be an obvious retake (depending on my person maybe) and too low to be a comfortable score for MD. So I've been agonizing about retaking since I got the score in October.

My GPA is a little funny because I have a sub 3.0 bachelors, a 4.0 associates degree, and a 24 credit post bacc I'm finishing now with a 3.9 (2018, 2022, and 2024 respectively). This totals a cGPA of around 3.35 or so (bad)

My current school list is mostly low tier MD and some select DO.
Dream schools are ones like UVM Larner, Albany, Quinnipiac, Oakland Beaumont, Temple, etc. with median MCAT's around my score.
Delusional schools are ones like Tufts, Dartmouth, Hackensack, Colorado, etc.

My first MCAT I took the FL's and they averaged to a 511, which is what I got, and my highest FL was a 513. Actual breakdown was a 128 126 129 128 day of. I frankly do not know how realistic a 515+ would be for me.

Assuming I can sink another few hundred hours of Anki, Uworld, and FL exams in this spring, and assuming I do get a 515, how much better of an applicant would I be?

According to The Grid my odds in this GPA division would go from 41% to about 48%
If I really managed to ball out and get >517 it's a 56% which is better than average but still basically a coin toss, although at a certain point these numbers stop being useful when talking about application chances. It feel like I'm at the point of diminishing returns, especially considering all the other projects, work, and volunteering I'm planning to do this spring that I would have to cut back on to restudy for the MCAT again.

I just need someone in the know to give me a hard, harsh, final answer so I can stop perseverating about this score and either move on, or buckle up for more. As long as I have a good shot at ANY MD program I am perfectly happy. If this score will keep me out MD for sure, I should retake.
If retaking to a 514 - 517 will only add 10 new schools that are frankly still a reach, it can't be worth it right? Would Tufts ignore me with a 511 and hand me an A with a 515? I truly don't know.

Your insights are very helpful guys, thank you in advance.

A high MCAT score doesn't remediate a weak GPA. In fact, it accentuates the discrepancy between the two.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I just need someone in the know to give me a hard, harsh, final answer so I can stop perseverating about this score and either move on, or buckle up for more. As long as I have a good shot at ANY MD program I am perfectly happy.

Why don't you ask admissions professionals at the schools on your list? Your mission fit is just as important as your metrics. Stop accepting a (artificial) mindset that cedes your outlook about becoming a health professional. Don't just rely on us.

Admissions committees are advised and AAMC pushes the fact that a cutoff score comes with a confidence band. You at least scored within the confidence band of your practice exams (+/- 2 points, I think). Trying to get a score that is marginally higher than the confidence band of your 511 makes little sense. (I always say you must score +10.)

Even so, many have posted here over the years with your MCAT score, and probably also your GPA. But they did the work to the point that admissions committees acknowledged their preparation and fit for their program.

 

[candbgirl]

It’s not your MCAT score alone that will keep you out of MD schools. With your low GPA you might have already out performed on the MCAT. Are your GPAs self figured or did AMCAS figure them? What is your sGPA? What is the rest of your application like? Activities, shadowing, volunteering etc. Stellar candidates stats wise without stellar ECs don’t get admitted to medical schools. You need the whole package and we don’t know if you have that.
If you don’t get accepted at a MD school will you not attend medical school and give up your dreams?

 

[future.docc]

Listen I know a 511 is an okay score, and lots of people are shooting for it. It's like 80th percentile, and around the national average for admitted students.

It's also too high to be an obvious retake (depending on my person maybe) and too low to be a comfortable score for MD. So I've been agonizing about retaking since I got the score in October.

My GPA is a little funny because I have a sub 3.0 bachelors, a 4.0 associates degree, and a 24 credit post bacc I'm finishing now with a 3.9 (2018, 2022, and 2024 respectively). This totals a cGPA of around 3.35 or so (bad)

My current school list is mostly low tier MD and some select DO.
Dream schools are ones like UVM Larner, Albany, Quinnipiac, Oakland Beaumont, Temple, etc. with median MCAT's around my score.
Delusional schools are ones like Tufts, Dartmouth, Hackensack, Colorado, etc.

My first MCAT I took the FL's and they averaged to a 511, which is what I got, and my highest FL was a 513. Actual breakdown was a 128 126 129 128 day of. I frankly do not know how realistic a 515+ would be for me.

Assuming I can sink another few hundred hours of Anki, Uworld, and FL exams in this spring, and assuming I do get a 515, how much better of an applicant would I be?

According to The Grid my odds in this GPA division would go from 41% to about 48%
If I really managed to ball out and get >517 it's a 56% which is better than average but still basically a coin toss, although at a certain point these numbers stop being useful when talking about application chances. It feel like I'm at the point of diminishing returns, especially considering all the other projects, work, and volunteering I'm planning to do this spring that I would have to cut back on to restudy for the MCAT again.

I just need someone in the know to give me a hard, harsh, final answer so I can stop perseverating about this score and either move on, or buckle up for more. As long as I have a good shot at ANY MD program I am perfectly happy. If this score will keep me out MD for sure, I should retake.
If retaking to a 514 - 517 will only add 10 new schools that are frankly still a reach, it can't be worth it right? Would Tufts ignore me with a 511 and hand me an A with a 515? I truly don't know.

Your insights are very helpful guys, thank you in advance.

Don’t do it lmaooo 511 is fine!!!