scared_sprinkles4242
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Hello. I’ve just received a devastating MCAT retake score and am super stressed about my chances this cycle now.
I would really appreciate some help coming up with a school list and/or advice on if I need to retake MCAT or do a post bac to improve my chances next cycle.
cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS : cGPA 3.54, sGPA 3.33
MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.: first attempt on 1/26/24: 511 (127/127/128/128) and my second attempt recently on 5/3/25 was 508 (124/127/127/130). This MCAT drop is horrible, especially C/P. I truly don’t know how it happened C/P was my strongest section this time around studying.
State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): NC
Ethnicity and/or race: Asian
Undergraduate institution or category: Tier-1 undergrad
Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
- 1400 total - 450 hrs direct care employee (caregiver for a patient with chronic pain, and 1000 more anticipated), 700 hrs clinical research assistant (my role was more clinical than research), 250 volunteering (+200 anticipated)
Research experience and productivity
- 450 wet lab, 750 hrs clinical research (2000 hours anticipated). 1 poster, and will get published this year (but didn’t say this in my application)
Shadowing experience and specialties represented
- 100 hrs total split among psychiatry, pediatric hospitalist, ICU nephrology, surgical oncology
Non-clinical volunteering
- 190 total - 60 hrs (working with south-side of chicago youth), 130 (tutor, 300 anticipated), 0 (community basketball coach, 300 anticipated)
Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
- 1500 hrs dance team in college (and captain for some of it)
- 250 hrs TA for 2 biology/neuroscience classes
- 500 hrs leadership - Director of dance academy (500 anticipated) , an MME
- 1500 hours independent tutor (since highschool)
Relevant honors or awards: None...
I’m hoping to apply to 30ish schools because I definitely want to get in this cycle. Not sure how to build my school list since my stats are so low (and the lower MCAT retake, especially C/P given my C’s in Ochem are really bad).
I haven’t done any prep to apply for DO schools, so I'm not planning on applying DO this cycle.
My current list includes. I'd ideally want to go to a t-50, but not sure if my chances are good for that right now...
UNC
ECU
Wake Forest
Duke
Rush (idk if i don’t have enough volunteer hours, but this is the type of school that matches my mission and drive for medicine)
Albany
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Rosalind Franklin
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
I would really appreciate some help coming up with a school list and/or advice on if I need to retake MCAT or do a post bac to improve my chances next cycle.
cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS : cGPA 3.54, sGPA 3.33
- Not really an upward trend, but my freshman and senior year gpa were 3.7. I fell sick and was hospitalized my second year, and effects of that lasted into third year (I explain this in my extenuating circumstances). I got three C’s during that time: C in OChem 2, C+ in OChem 3, and C+ in a neuroscience class.
MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.: first attempt on 1/26/24: 511 (127/127/128/128) and my second attempt recently on 5/3/25 was 508 (124/127/127/130). This MCAT drop is horrible, especially C/P. I truly don’t know how it happened C/P was my strongest section this time around studying.
State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): NC
Ethnicity and/or race: Asian
Undergraduate institution or category: Tier-1 undergrad
Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
- 1400 total - 450 hrs direct care employee (caregiver for a patient with chronic pain, and 1000 more anticipated), 700 hrs clinical research assistant (my role was more clinical than research), 250 volunteering (+200 anticipated)
Research experience and productivity
- 450 wet lab, 750 hrs clinical research (2000 hours anticipated). 1 poster, and will get published this year (but didn’t say this in my application)
Shadowing experience and specialties represented
- 100 hrs total split among psychiatry, pediatric hospitalist, ICU nephrology, surgical oncology
Non-clinical volunteering
- 190 total - 60 hrs (working with south-side of chicago youth), 130 (tutor, 300 anticipated), 0 (community basketball coach, 300 anticipated)
Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
- 1500 hrs dance team in college (and captain for some of it)
- 250 hrs TA for 2 biology/neuroscience classes
- 500 hrs leadership - Director of dance academy (500 anticipated) , an MME
- 1500 hours independent tutor (since highschool)
Relevant honors or awards: None...
I’m hoping to apply to 30ish schools because I definitely want to get in this cycle. Not sure how to build my school list since my stats are so low (and the lower MCAT retake, especially C/P given my C’s in Ochem are really bad).
I haven’t done any prep to apply for DO schools, so I'm not planning on applying DO this cycle.
My current list includes. I'd ideally want to go to a t-50, but not sure if my chances are good for that right now...
UNC
ECU
Wake Forest
Duke
Rush (idk if i don’t have enough volunteer hours, but this is the type of school that matches my mission and drive for medicine)
Albany
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Rosalind Franklin
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
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