WAMC, and should I retake my MCAT?

[Helloworld1900]

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I just got my MCAT score back, and got a 512 (CP:129, CARS: 124, BB:130, PS:129), and am unsure how to feel about it, as I was scoring a tad bit higher but nothing drastically different. I am also on my first gap year with a prestigious scholarship (think marshal, Rhodes, Fulbright, etc) for a research/masters program meant to teach surgical residents how to do research in a developed western country, with lots of research (3 pubs and 6+ presentations, 2000+ hours). I have TA'd genetics/been a peer mentor (350 hours), significant volunteering (started ESL class/club with 500+ hours), and a high 3.7x gpa with a very strong upward trend (especially for sGPA). Clinical experience is on the lower side (300 hours), but they were very impactful as I served as a French language interpreter in underserved/refugee communities at medical student/resident run health clinics (1.5 years), in addition to volunteering in a pediatric hospital for about 4 months. I have shadowed multiple subspecialties (200+ hours), consisting of Cardiothoracic, ENT, IM, EM, and Nephrology. I don’t know if this is enough for the schools that I want to apply (t20-40). Should I retake my MCAT, or would it be a waste of time/energy? Any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for all the help!

 

[Faha]

You do not need to retake a MCAT of 512. Where is your state of residence?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Please submit a WAMC profile following the template.

 

[Helloworld1900]

Please submit a WAMC profile following the template.

Sure thing!

• Year in school: Graduated 2025
• Country/state of residence: Ohio
• Ethnicity: North African
• Cumulative GPA: 3.77
• Science GPA: 3.7
• MCAT Scores: 512 (CP: 129, CARS: 124, BB: 130, P/S:129)
• Research – include any abstracts/posters/publications and how you were credited (eg. First author, senior author, etc): 2000+ hours, 3 publications (2 3rd and one 6th author), 2 posters at a national conference, 2 co-authored oral presentations at national conferences, and 2 regional conference oral presentations
• Volunteering (clinical) – include hours/sites: 300 hours (200 hours serving as a French interpreter for a free health clinic run by medical/dental/optometry students, where they provided various screenings/healthcare services) (100 hours as a volunteer at a pediatric hospital nephrology unit, where I would emotionally support patients/families and help the healthcare team with any related duties)
• Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: 250 hours (Cardiothoracic surgery, ENT, emergency medicine, internal medicine, nephrology, orthopedics)
• Non-clinical volunteering: 900 hours (350 hours where I created a club/collaboration with a food pantry/health clinic that I volunteered at and created a free ESL course for underprivileged/newly arrived refugees, and created a club at my university to sustain it after I left), (200 hours in a service fraternity, 150 hours volunteering at local high school school teaching biology/tutoring), (200 hours as a peer mentor for the honors program at my university, where I essentially functioned as a teaching assistant to help students acclimate to the university. I facilitated group and graded assignments)
• Extracurricular activities:
• Received a Fulbright open research/study grant in a European country to conduct a translationally focused research project on organ transplantation and perfusion (currently doing this for my 1st gap year). I am simultaneously doing a second year masters program in "surgical sciences and medical innovations" in an attached medical school, where the program is meant to train current surgical residents research methodologies and new translational technologies.
• I also participated in a research/pre-med program attached to a medical school aiming to help students from underrepresented backgrounds gain experience in research, medicine, and healthcare related fields (400 hours). After graduating from this program, I created a new initiative in the program to better adapt the student experience and troubleshoot through laboratory experiments and navigating research in general.
• Employment history: Worked as a teaching assistant for genetics/biology (250 hours), private tutoring (100 hours), worked as a buss boy in a couple of different restaurants (350 hours)
• Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): N
• Specialty of interest: ENT, Cardiothoracic, Pulmonology
• Graduate degrees: Currently pursuing a Masters in "surgical sciences and medical innovations"

 

[Helloworld1900]

You do not need to retake a MCAT of 512. Where is your state of residence?

Ok got it, even if my CARS section is a 124? Would I not be screened out by schools? And I am from Ohio!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You don't need to retake your MCAT, but where in Ohio did you grow up? As an Ohio applicant, you have a lot of options regarding regional MD's and OUHCOM. Xavier (DO) is another DO school in line for preliminary accreditation from COCA (received candidate status in August 2025; pre-accreditation anticipated in the next 2 years).

Canadian schools are more likely to screen out by MCAT subscore.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Toledo
Wright State
NEOMED
West Virginia
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
Ponce (St. Louis)
TCU
Roseman
Alice Walton
Belmont
Methodist
Tulane
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac

 

[Helloworld1900]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Toledo
Wright State
NEOMED
West Virginia
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
Ponce (St. Louis)
TCU
Roseman
Alice Walton
Belmont
Methodist
Tulane
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac

Ok thank you! Do you think that my Fulbright experience would allow me to be competitive at t20-t30 schools, despite my stats being below their median? And if not, would it make sense to retake my MCAT during my Fulbright grant to make me more competitive for such programs (I hope to go to a research heavy institution)?

 

[Faha]

Ok thank you! Do you think that my Fulbright experience would allow me to be competitive at t20-t30 schools, despite my stats being below their median? And if not, would it make sense to retake my MCAT during my Fulbright grant to make me more competitive for such programs (I hope to go to a research heavy institution)?

Fulbright will help a little. Many schools average MCAT scores so you would need to score 516+ to make a difference.