trying to figure out what to do next

[thedarklord786786]

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I recently got my MCAT score of 493. I am currently going to get my Masters in Health Policy and Economics. I wanted to apply this cycle but with this score I am not confident. 3.6gpa 3.4sgpa. Should I retake the MCAT and apply next cycle, or should I apply this cycle and give it my best shot. Looking to go into DO.

 

[chilly_md]

A 493 is not competitive at any US medical school. You will need to take the time to find out what is holding you back (likely content knowledge gaps) and study for a retake.

 

[LindaAccepted]

I recently got my MCAT score of 493. I am currently going to get my Masters in Health Policy and Economics. I wanted to apply this cycle but with this score I am not confident. 3.6gpa 3.4sgpa. Should I retake the MCAT and apply next cycle, or should I apply this cycle and give it my best shot. Looking to go into DO.

That is not a competitive score. Were you doing better on practice tests?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Score breakdown?

In my experience, ease of improvement is as follows

-Psych/soc
-biology
-physical sciences
-cars

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If you are serious about medical school, do NOT apply. If you want to be a healthcare professional, do research on other professions that would consider taking your 490+ score (podiatry) and prepare in that direction.

 

[Goro]

I recently got my MCAT score of 493. I am currently going to get my Masters in Health Policy and Economics. I wanted to apply this cycle but with this score I am not confident. 3.6gpa 3.4sgpa. Should I retake the MCAT and apply next cycle, or should I apply this cycle and give it my best shot. Looking to go into DO.

Unfortunately, that MCAT score is lethal for any medical school. You will have to retake it and do better than 500 for DO, and 510 for MD.

A 3.4 sGPA is not good for MD. Did you have a rising GPA trend?

 

[Med Ed]

I recently got my MCAT score of 493. I am currently going to get my Masters in Health Policy and Economics. I wanted to apply this cycle but with this score I am not confident. 3.6gpa 3.4sgpa. Should I retake the MCAT and apply next cycle, or should I apply this cycle and give it my best shot. Looking to go into DO.

Hope is not a strategy.

Don't even think about applying until you have a decent MCAT score in hand.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Can't apply this year, period. You need to seriously consider whether your current gap year strategy will allow you the time you need to properly study for a retake, which seemingly will require wholesale changes to your studying plan.

 

[cincincyreds]

I recently got my MCAT score of 493. I am currently going to get my Masters in Health Policy and Economics. I wanted to apply this cycle but with this score I am not confident. 3.6gpa 3.4sgpa. Should I retake the MCAT and apply next cycle, or should I apply this cycle and give it my best shot. Looking to go into DO.

Unfortunately you need to accept the fact US MD schools are looking for at least a 510 in order to get in, and that's for people with a first attempt. It's a little lower with DO. MCAT scores are a good prognosis of how students will fare in medical school.

 

[inwantstobeadoctor]

I recently got my MCAT score of 493. I am currently going to get my Masters in Health Policy and Economics. I wanted to apply this cycle but with this score I am not confident. 3.6gpa 3.4sgpa. Should I retake the MCAT and apply next cycle, or should I apply this cycle and give it my best shot. Looking to go into DO.

Definitely retake it! Nothing wrong with taking the MCAT multiple times to get that ideal competitive score. It's not an easy test! You'll just need to figure out a study plan and what will work for you, i.e. doing a prep course (Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc.) or self study. Just be extremely honest with yourself when applying!

 

[thedarklord786786]

That is not a competitive score. Were you doing better on practice tests?

I was scoring low 500s on Practice Tests

 

[thedarklord786786]

Unfortunately, that MCAT score is lethal for any medical school. You will have to retake it and do better than 500 for DO, and 510 for MD.

A 3.4 sGPA is not good for MD. Did you have a rising GPA trend?

Yes I did have a rising trend!

 

[LindaAccepted]

I was scoring low 500s on Practice Tests

If you were scoring 10 points higher on practice exams you have reason to be optimistic about a retake. Prepare again and retake. try to figure out what went wrong the last time and fix it for this time. Then aim for DO.

 

[LunaOri]

I was scoring low 500s on Practice Tests

This should have been a sign that you were not ready. Don’t take the MCAT again until you are scoring much higher on your practice tests.

 

[thedarklord786786]

Hello all just to update I have delayed applying this cycle and will restart prep and take the Exam when I hit my target score on the AAMC FLs thank you all for your guidance and advice it was much appreciated 🙂

 

[eigen]

Unfortunately you need to accept the fact US MD schools are looking for at least a 510 in order to get in, and that's for people with a first attempt. It's a little lower with DO. MCAT scores are a good prognosis of how students will fare in medical school.

Just to counter this... as an advisor that sees lots of students go through my office and apply each year, I see consistent success with students in sub 510 range. I see around 505 as the lowest where I consistently see success with students.

Granted, a student in that 505-510 range needs other strengths in their application to balance out a low-end MCAT score and it depends where you're applying / what state you're a resident in, but I wouldn't say you "need at least a 510" by any stretch. As to correlation with how students fair in medical school, it really only correlates up to about the median last I looked at the data (a couple of years ago). A below median score correlated with lower success rates, but higher scores didn't consistently have a linear improvement.

Certainly will boost your chances to have a higher score, I don't disagree.