Urgent advice needed about application timing

[DrBTS]

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Hi. i am a sub 3.0 ugpa, and cumulative, from a top 50 research school in a rough major. Went to hard science grad school from a tier 1 school, got a high gpa. Advice given to me was apply early and broadly. MCAT is scheduled to be taken in May 23rd. Now I'm looking at my TPR scores and its hovering at low 20s, and my AAMC tests are only a bit better. I was always banking on getting a 30+ and I know that with just a bit more practice I can routinely get this score. My questions is if I reschedule to July 2nd, would that be too late?? I wouldnt get my scores back till august 6th. I'm assuming I can fill out and have the aacoma complete with mcat pending but schools wont begin reviewing the application till my mcat is in. Basically is having an August 2nd application complete going to significantly reduce the probability I get accepted? Given that I can probably garner a 5 point increase what should i do? Please help!

 

[Elevencents]

You're much better off delaying than submitting early with a poor score.

 

[gmcguitar4]

First of all, your grad GPA doesn't mean squat. Second, your uGPA is below 3.0. Many DO schools will screen you out automatically because of this. It happened to me the second time I tried applying. If you can, take 1-2 courses this summer and try to replace a couple of science courses you did poorly in. 3rd, if I were you and I knew I could get a big increase in my MCAT from delaying it a little bit, I would. Guess what? I did the same exact thing and it was 100% worth it. I didn't submit my app until end of august.

Getting your uGPA above 3.0 should be a huge priority for you right now. Also study your ASS off for the MCAT. The DO app cycle tends to be a lot more drawn out than for MD schools, so don't worry about the July MCAT.

 

[pdiddy7405]

First of all, your grad GPA doesn't mean squat. Second, your uGPA is below 3.0. Many DO schools will screen you out automatically because of this. It happened to me the second time I tried applying. If you can, take 1-2 courses this summer and try to replace a couple of science courses you did poorly in. 3rd, if I were you and I knew I could get a big increase in my MCAT from delaying it a little bit, I would. Guess what? I did the same exact thing and it was 100% worth it. I didn't submit my app until end of august.

Getting your uGPA above 3.0 should be a huge priority for you right now. Also study your ASS off for the MCAT. The DO app cycle tends to be a lot more drawn out than for MD schools, so don't worry about the July MCAT.

I would have to disagree that grad GPA doesn't mean "squat." As someone who has a 2.88 uGPA but a 3.98 science/research based masters GPA, it definintely helps. Without that grad school work on my application I certainly would not have even gotten a second glance at many DO schools.

OP - I would reschedule your MCAT. July 2nd is not too late. If you are only scoring in the low 20s on practice tests now, you need more time to study.