WAMC - please help esp my retake.....

[doggloverr9]

i dont want to apply if my retake will be perceived negatively, id rather do a prep course and really prove i can get a 510+ but if we think its fine then do i send it?

Demographics:


CA ORM
SES: Food stamps, Pell grant, scholarship
Undergrad: UC
2 Gap years
========================
Stats:

• sGPA 3.74
• cGPA 3.8 —> 4.0 junior and senior year upward trend
• MCAT 506 (126/124/127/129) —> 506 (127/123/130/126) **** lol

Clinical:
Scribe (2,000 hrs + future)

Clinical Volunteering:
ER Volunteer (50 hrs)

Shadowing:
General Surgery (60 hrs + future)
Radiology (15 hrs + future)
Ortho (10 hrs)

Non-Clinical Volunteering:
High School Chemistry tutor for low income (50 hrs)
meals for those with chronic illnesses, many low SES (100 hrs + future)

Research:
Bioinformatics Maternal-Fetal (1,500 hrs)
Bioinformatics Allergy (1,500 + futur)
1 poster/pres, 1 abstract

Leadership:

• Director of External Affairs of Alzheimer’s Club (400 hours)
• Club Volleyball team captain (500 hours)
• Lead Host training new hosts + managing the floor (1,150 hrs)
• Lead Scribe training new scribes (200 hours)

1. Stanford (my throwaway school)
2. UCSF
3. UCSD
4. UCI
5. USC
6. Dartmouth
7. U Illinois
8. U Vermont
9. Western Michigan
10. Nova
11. Quinnipiac
12. Penn State
13. TCU
14. Wake Forest
15. Ohio State
16. Rosalind Franklin
17. Virginia Tech
18. Drexel
19. Eastern Virginia
20. Albany
21. Temple
22. George Washington
23. West Virginia
24. Oakland
25. Jefferson
26. Carle (did math reqs)
27. Virginia Commonwealth
28. New York Medical College
29. Medical College of Wisconsin
30. Creighton
31. Arizona Tuscon
32. Geisinger
33. Wayne State
34. Pitt
35. Wisconsin
36. Indiana
37. Loyola
38. Las vegas? ties ish?
39. Louisville? ties ish?
40. FIU?

Would like to know of any schools to add or remove

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[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

You need to strongly consider DO with a double 506 from CA. Another retake is pointless unless you improve significantly, like 10+ points.

 

[doggloverr9]

You need to strongly consider DO with a double 506 from CA. Another retake is pointless unless you improve significantly, like 10+ points.

theres no way i get a 516 tbh, so did that destroy me completely?

 

[Goro]

I can't recommend another MCAT retake because I believe that you have plateaued. Below is my suggested School list, I have removed all the donations. You will need to write a very good essay on the fact that you have a compelling story.

[*]UCSF
[*]UCI
[*]U Vermont
[*]Nova
[*]Quinnipiac
[*]Penn State
[*]Rosalind Franklin
[*]Drexel
[*]Eastern Virginia
[*]Albany
[*]Temple
[*]George Washington
[*]Oakland
[*]Carle
[*]Virginia Commonwealth
[*]New York Medical College
[*]Medical College of Wisconsin
[*]Creighton
[*]Loyola
UCLA

Any DO school, except the brand new ones that haven't graduated to class or the for-profit schools.

I suggest
TUCOM.CA
WESTERN
PAC.NW
TUNCOM
UIW
SAM HOUSTON
TCOM
KCU
DMU
KCOM
AZCOM
MUCOM
ACOM
WCU
CUSOM
PCOM
NYITCOM.AR
ARCOM

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

DO still stands for Doctor. 🤷‍♂️

You can potentially get into a MD but less than 50% chance with that MCAT unfortunately.

 

[doggloverr9]

DO still stands for Doctor. 🤷‍♂️

You can potentially get into a MD but less than 50% chance with that MCAT unfortunately.

the AAMC chart says 52% w a 3.8 but still not great

 

[chilly_md]

Moved to WAMC.

What that chart doesn’t show is that many students with a 506 who got into an MD school were from a lesser populated state with a state med school such as New Mexico, Mississippi etc or a very mission-driven school. California does not typically have this aside from Loma Linda and UCR if you are religious or from the Inland Empire, respectively.

 

[doggloverr9]

Moved to WAMC.

What that chart doesn’t show is that many students with a 506 who got into an MD school were from a lesser populated state with a state med school such as New Mexico, Mississippi etc or a very mission-driven school. California does not typically have this aside from Loma Linda and UCR if you are religious or from the Inland Empire, respectively.

good point, do u think i should still apply or retake?

 

[chilly_md]

good point, do u think i should still apply or retake?

I agree with Goro. There is nothing that suggests you can get a significant jump in your score.

You can add Belmont and any new MD school that opens (eg Alice Walton)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

OP: If your goal is to be in medical school by this time next year, I strongly suggest staying DO and in-state MD, maybe MD in neighboring states only (and the ones suggested above). I don't get a strong sense of your mission fit to suggest more schools.

If you believe you can pull a +10 on your MCAT, focus on a reapp and put everything in on your MCAT. We have no sense of what you may have done differently and yet finish with the same result.

 

[doggloverr9]

OP: If your goal is to be in medical school by this time next year, I strongly suggest staying DO and in-state MD, maybe MD in neighboring states only (and the ones suggested above). I don't get a strong sense of your mission fit to suggest more schools.

If you believe you can pull a +10 on your MCAT, focus on a reapp and put everything in on your MCAT. We have no sense of what you may have done differently and yet finish with the same result.

I prioritized cp and bb more since they were lower and i improved but then PS just felt wayyy harder than my initial test. The only way I see a +10 is somehow paying for a prep course bc clearly self studying doesn’t work. Additionally it’s challenging to work full time so I don’t know if schools put any weight to that

 

[chilly_md]

I prioritized cp and bb more since they were lower and i improved but then PS just felt wayyy harder than my initial test. The only way I see a +10 is somehow paying for a prep course bc clearly self studying doesn’t work. Additionally it’s challenging to work full time so I don’t know if schools put any weight to that

If you took practice tests beforehand and got within the same range on the real one, there likely is not much you can do.

 

[doggloverr9]

If you took practice tests beforehand and got within the same range on the real one, there likely is not much you can do.

My av was 513

 

[chilly_md]

My av was 513

A prep course is not going to help if content is not the issue. Some people have a harder time knowing it is a real exam and not practice.
CARS has made no progress. Some people who self-study utilize the approach taught in the books they buy. The prep course likely will restate those same methods.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My av was 513

FWIW, If I took your best score in each section over the two exams (superscore), your MCAT result would be 510, which is 4 points better. That is just outside the variability most re-testers have when it comes to increasing or decreasing their score (+/- 3).

 

[doggloverr9]

FWIW, If I took your best score in each section over the two exams (superscore), your MCAT result would be 510, which is 4 points better. That is just outside the variability most re-testers have when it comes to increasing or decreasing their score (+/- 3).

so i should retake? i feel like i know i can get a 510, maybe even 511 or 512

 

[doggloverr9]

A prep course is not going to help if content is not the issue. Some people have a harder time knowing it is a real exam and not practice.
CARS has made no progress. Some people who self-study utilize the approach taught in the books they buy. The prep course likely will restate those same methods.

i feel like i need help with strategy, timing, critical thinking, and test taking strategies. i heard the JW course might help with those things or a tutor?

 

[KaiBuzz]

I prioritized cp and bb more since they were lower and i improved but then PS just felt wayyy harder than my initial test. The only way I see a +10 is somehow paying for a prep course bc clearly self studying doesn’t work. Additionally it’s challenging to work full time so I don’t know if schools put any weight to that

I took a Princeton Review course with evening classes while I worked full time. Got a 515+. Was scoring near you on my practice tests before the course.

 

[chilly_md]

i feel like i need help with strategy, timing, critical thinking, and test taking strategies. i heard the JW course might help with those things or a tutor?

You simulate many of those things with the full length practice tests. If you did not use AAMC materials under similar conditions as the real test (start at 8 AM, same time allotment and scheduled breaks etc), then those skills weren't developed as well.

 

[doggloverr9]

You simulate many of those things with the full length practice tests. If you did not use AAMC materials under similar conditions as the real test (start at 8 AM, same time allotment and scheduled breaks etc), then those skills weren't developed as well.

I feel like you might disagree but i genuinely feel like CP has been harder and different on both real tests than the practice. The only thing that sort of helped was altius but I didn’t have time to do all 10 tests. Bio and psych felt same for AAMC. So I’m wondering how I can feel more comfortable with CP