WAMC/MCAT Release, not sure what to do.

[phytomed17]

Hey all, I just got my MCAT (1st take) score released yesterday, and it was definitely not where I wanted it to be. I am debating if I should retake, but I wanted to reach out and see if you all had any other points of advice or schools to suggest.

Personal: Texas Resident, not URM (but Jewish and L(G)BT+), no previous doctors in the family
Undergrad: BA, Linguistics, Magna Cum Laude, Emory University (class of 2022)
Current: MSc in Medical Ethnobotany in the United Kingdom, to be completed in Sept 2023 (being abroad is what is making me unsure about retesting, and how the logistics would work before 2023’s cycle)
cGPA: 3.80
sGPA: 3.65
Honor Societies: Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa (scholarship recipient), Phi Sigma Iota (International Foreign Language Honor Society)
MCAT (trouble area): 506 (129/123/127/127) — I was scoring in the 80th percentile in CARS FLs since I have my background in linguistics, idk what happened.
Research: (2000+ hours)
- one year in pharmaceutial phytoremediation research for water purification
- two years in phytochemistry research (Quave Research Group) working in antibiotic drug discovery using plants (focus on skin infections)
- undergraduate thesis on Syntactic Theory and Animal Communication
- now working as a Graduate Phytochemistry Research Assistant at Kew Gardens (in London) as part of the Natural Product team for medicinal plant research and drug discovery (focus on skin infections and hair health).
Clinical: (1000+ hours, but weaker part of my application)
- one summer in plastic surgery office on paid internship
- one year working with an organization that works to provide free healthcare to indigenous Guatemalans (10 day clinical trip)
- integrative medicine intern (unpaid) for a summer.
Special Experiences: Three months in the Amazon Rainforest, studying under Shamans in an indigenous Kichwa community to learn more about medicinal plant use and Shamanism.
Publications: None, but am in the process of co-publishing a Chapter on Rastafari Entheogenic Healing. Plan to publish in Phytochemistry within the next year during my MSc.
Jobs: Certified Personal Trainer for two years (transferable skills to clinical experience as part of the Allied Healthcare community)
Leadership: (1000+ hours)
- President of Emory Botanical Society
- President of Emory Yoga Society
- President of Phi Eta Sigma
- Interfaith Chair for Jewish Student Organization
- Tour Guide and Student Ambassador
- President of Phi Sigma Iota
Volunteer: (1000+ hours) Horticulture assistant at community garden, HELPS Guatemala organization
Goals: I would love to apply MD, with a desire to eventually work in Dermatology and Integrative Medicine (will also apply DO, but have reservations about program locations, as well as the unfortunate disadvantage for Derm residency placement).

Do you all think I am still competitive for an MD program (like UTSW, which has been a goal as a Texas Resident, but I do recognize it is top-tier), or should I pretty much consider retaking the MCAT as imperative? I was really hoping for schools with an Osher Center (UCSF, UW, Harvard, UMiami, Northwestern, Utah, Vermont, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt), but Georgetown also has a Program in Integrative Medicine, so I am also interested in their MD program to see if I can get involved in its IM initiatives. Would I have a better chance there?

Thanks,
A hopeful premed.

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[Faha]

You could receive interviews at your Texas MD schools since they like high GPAs. You should also apply broadly to DO schools. For AMCAS MD schools include TCU-UNT and Tulane.