Unbalanced MCAT High Overall

[OutrageousBaller67]

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I am very happy with my 519 overall MCAT (131/125/131/132), even though it was ~4 pts below my FL avg. Not gonna retake it, but looking at that CARS score, it looks like a red flag. I was originally going to apply pretty top-heavy, but now I'm not sure if I should even consider T20s with this low of a CARS score. I will apply a bit more broadly now. One of my rec letters is from my English professor, and they were already going to talk about my good critical reading skills in it, not sure if that has any sway or puts the score into context. Do I still have a shot at T20s, or should I not even bother? I checked MSAR; my composite falls > 25th percentile for most of them, but CARS is 1-2 points below the 10th percentile (not sure if that's because of a cutoff or because ppl with high scores generally don't have that low of a CARS, and maybe it doesn't matter as much as I make it out to be). I have the time (and money) to apply to most of the T20s, but really not sure if it is worth it. The rest of my app is pretty solid (4.0 from Ivy, no gap year, ORM, 1500 research, 800 clinical, 700 non-clinical volunteering, among other things). Has anyone had a similar experience? How did the applications go? Some guidance would be appreciated 🙂

 

[premedlightyagami]

Unless you're in Canada, it won't matter.

 

[wysdoc]

I am very happy with my 519 overall MCAT (131/125/131/132), even though it was ~4 pts below my FL avg. Not gonna retake it, but looking at that CARS score, it looks like a red flag. I was originally going to apply pretty top-heavy, but now I'm not sure if I should even consider T20s with this low of a CARS score. I will apply a bit more broadly now. One of my rec letters is from my English professor, and they were already going to talk about my good critical reading skills in it, not sure if that has any sway or puts the score into context. Do I still have a shot at T20s, or should I not even bother? I checked MSAR; my composite falls > 25th percentile for most of them, but CARS is 1-2 points below the 10th percentile (not sure if that's because of a cutoff or because ppl with high scores generally don't have that low of a CARS, and maybe it doesn't matter as much as I make it out to be). I have the time (and money) to apply to most of the T20s, but really not sure if it is worth it. The rest of my app is pretty solid (4.0 from Ivy, no gap year, ORM, 1500 research, 800 clinical, 700 non-clinical volunteering, among other things). Has anyone had a similar experience? How did the applications go? Some guidance would be appreciated 🙂

Don’t give it another thought!

 

[OutrageousBaller67]

Don’t give it another thought!

I can't stop 🙁

 

[wysdoc]

I can't stop 🙁

Think about the 519 part
I have heard that some schools want all subscores at 125 or better. You have that
So work on your esssys and school list

 

[Goro]

If you can't get into medical school, it won't be due to your MCAT score.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Have you ASKED admissions recruiters at the top schools on your list if they would be discouraged with your CARS result? From my perspective, the Canadian medical schools are more picky with MCAT subscores compared to US schools.

 

[Lakers$]

I’ll pay you 100k for that mcat

 

[Lakers$]

I’ll pay you 100k for that mcat

Lol jk but you should good. Make sure app is good and be ready for those acceptance

 

[LizzyM]

If there are extenuating circumstances such as English as a second (third or fourth) language and, in particular, if you did not learn to read English until you were age 12 or older, then find a way to make sure that reviewers see that in your application (may be obvious based on where you were born, other languages spoken, etc). I've seen adcoms cut some slack to applicants in those circumstances but in any case, a 125 is "average" and combined with other subscores well above average, you should be fine.