What are my chances in Texas????

[Mx300]

So heres my story (Texas resident)

3.8 cGPA
3.7 sGPA

Took the MCAT 4 times and have applied twice (this is my third cycle)
25, 25, 27, 29 (8p, 9v, 12 b)

I was able to get all new LOR's this cycle, one from a DO, an updated one from a professor in undergrad, one from a science professor at a CC from a genetics course I took in the spring, and one from my place of work. Plus a committee letter.

I have research, shadowing both DO and MD, worked as a scribe for a bit, some volunteering ( ~200 hrs) in both hospitals, and with the red cross. Im currently in the Med sci SMP at UNTHSC, Im doing decent. Ive never received any interviews in the past and Im just wondering what peoples opinion are my chances at the Texas schools? I am also applying to out of state DO schools. I would really like to attend TCOM but I am not ruling out other texas med schools.

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[Afford]

I think you have a good chance at Tcom.

 

[chemguy79]

A few questions ...

At which schools are you a reapplicant?
What have you done, aside from retaking the MCAT and new LORs, to bolster your application?
If you haven't received interviews previously, that bodes poorly unless you made notable improvements to your application?

 

[Mx300]

A few questions ...

At which schools are you a reapplicant?
What have you done, aside from retaking the MCAT and new LORs, to bolster your application?
If you haven't received interviews previously, that bodes poorly unless you made notable improvements to your application?

Im a reapplicant to all the texas schools, and this is my first time applying OOS DO. The way it went down my first year I was applying in Texas with a 25, and I was disheartened with my score so I didnt really complete secondaries. So I technically only applied to 3-4 schools. The second cycle I half-assed it due to personal issues and I didnt really do anything other than raise my MCAT to a 27, I applied with old LORs as well. This cycle I tried to do everything I could think of lol. I shadowed a DO physician and received an LOR, I doubled my volunteer hours by volunteering at the Red Cross, and a Hospital. I worked part time as a Martial Arts Instructor. I took a genetics course at a CC, and rewrote all my PS essays. I then enrolled in the Med Sci program which I am doing now, and retook my MCAT and received a 29 (which came in last week).

I just wish I could get an interview because I've had quite a few mock interviews during my attempts in the past at my undergrad plus I received one here at this program and all of them have commented on the fact that I am a good interviewer.

 

[gyngyn]

Im a reapplicant to all the texas schools, and this is my first time applying OOS DO. The way it went down my first year I was applying in Texas with a 25, and I was disheartened with my score so I didnt really complete secondaries. So I technically only applied to 3-4 schools. The second cycle I half-assed it due to personal issues and I didnt really do anything other than raise my MCAT to a 27, I applied with old LORs as well. This cycle I tried to do everything I could think of lol. I shadowed a DO physician and received an LOR, I doubled my volunteer hours by volunteering at the Red Cross, and a Hospital. I worked part time as a Martial Arts Instructor. I took a genetics course at a CC, and rewrote all my PS essays. I then enrolled in the Med Sci program which I am doing now, and retook my MCAT and received a 29 (which came in last week).

I just wish I could get an interview because I've had quite a few mock interviews during my attempts in the past at my undergrad plus I received one here at this program and all of them have commented on the fact that I am a good interviewer.

A long low slope of MCAT scores is not a plus. You may get lucky at a state school, but it was wise to start applying to OOS DO.

 

[Mx300]

A long low slope of MCAT scores is not a plus. You may get lucky at a state school, but it was wise to start applying to OOS DO.

Whats interesting is that Texas MD schools actually dont care how many times you take the MCAT. We had a few ADCOM member's from some schools here in texas come and speak with us in this program Im in. I spoke with them later personally as well and they said pretty firmly that they do not hold multiple attempts of the MCAT against the applicant. They use the most recent score, and their only warning was not to do worse. This is coming from Southwesterns ADCOM which was very surprising to me. TCOM is more lenient and they take your highest score. I doubt that this is MD schools attitude OOS. Which is why Im saving my money and applying it to OOS DO schools. Its just that Texas does things differently with its residents and Im just really confused because it seems so variable. I dont know where I stand and I was hoping ppl from Texas could give me ideas, especially since I purchased the MSAR and the numbers are waaay higher than I expected, and Im wondering if this is skewed from the OOS applicants, who have insane numbers.
Ive seen persoanlly a lot of people getting into A&M and UTMB with 27's who are not URM and pretty normal EC's and it makes me wonder if it wasnt my MCAT that kept me out last cycle. I guess Im just stressing..

 

[gyngyn]

Whats interesting is that Texas MD schools actually dont care how many times you take the MCAT. We had a few ADCOM member's from some schools here in texas come and speak with us in this program Im in. I spoke with them later personally as well and they said pretty firmly that they do not hold multiple attempts of the MCAT against the applicant. They use the most recent score, and their only warning was not to do worse. This is coming from Southwesterns ADCOM which was very surprising to me. TCOM is more lenient and they take your highest score. I doubt that this is MD schools attitude OOS. Which is why Im saving my money and applying it to OOS DO schools. Its just that Texas does things differently with its residents and Im just really confused because it seems so variable. I dont know where I stand and I was hoping ppl from Texas could give me ideas, especially since I purchased the MSAR and the numbers are waaay higher than I expected, and Im wondering if this is skewed from the OOS applicants, who have insane numbers.
Ive seen persoanlly a lot of people getting into A&M and UTMB with 27's who are not URM and pretty normal EC's and it makes me wonder if it wasnt my MCAT that kept me out last cycle. I guess Im just stressing..

If this is true, it would run counter to the rest of us, for sure. It's hard to believe that an applicant who has seen, and had the opportunity to study for 4 versions of the test would be viewed the same as someone who received the same score on the first try. Whatever happens be sure to let us know so that we can identify this type of regional difference.

 

[Mx300]

If this is true, it would run counter to the rest of us, for sure. It's hard to believe that an applicant who has seen, and had the opportunity to study for 4 versions of the test would be viewed the same as someone who received the same score on the first try. Whatever happens be sure to let us know so that we can identify this type of regional difference.

Yeah it was a surprise to me too. This program Im in actually forced me to take the MCAT again because of their policy that anyone with a score lower than 28 must retake. I spoke with the head of the program and voiced my concern that I maxed out at 27 and another 4th attempt would be futile, and I was concerned about scoring lower. She told me not to worry about the number of attempts, and I later was told by an ADCOM here at TCOM not to worry about scoring lower because to them I had a 27 which is acceptable. I will update this thread in the future because I am also really curious how my cycle will play out. I know from anecdotal evidence that a 29 is MD territory here in Texas but how accurate this is idk, I guess I will have to wait and see.

 

[TCU1990]

Yeah it was a surprise to me too. This program Im in actually forced me to take the MCAT again because of their policy that anyone with a score lower than 28 must retake. I spoke with the head of the program and voiced my concern that I maxed out at 27 and another 4th attempt would be futile, and I was concerned about scoring lower. She told me not to worry about the number of attempts, and I later was told by an ADCOM here at TCOM not to worry about scoring lower because to them I had a 27 which is acceptable. I will update this thread in the future because I am also really curious how my cycle will play out. I know from anecdotal evidence that a 29 is MD territory here in Texas but how accurate this is idk, I guess I will have to wait and see.

I can't speak on how multiple MCAT's are viewed by various adcoms in Texas, however just to give you some perspective on if your stats are "MD territory" as you said:

my stats: 26 MCAT, 3.9 cGPA/sGPA
5 interviews in Texas (4 MD + TCOM)

Nobody can definitively predict your chances, but applying early and strong EC's with a 29 MCAT seems to be acceptance worthy based on my experiences so far. Good luck!

 

[Afford]

What program forces you to take an MCAT four times? I think the MSAR numbers are overinflated because most people apply to all the Texas schools, so some people get are accepted to all the schools.

 

[Mx300]

What program forces you to take an MCAT four times? I think the MSAR numbers are overinflated because most people apply to all the Texas schools, so some people get are accepted to all the schools.

I had already taken the MCAT 3 times before entering the program. I didnt meet the minimum requirement of a 28 to forgo a retake. I took an intensive MCAT prep program over the summer along with a grad class and other program requirements. Their logic was that most students improve after taking the course. It turned out to be true, even though I only improved by 2 points I think it was a good improvement. Mainly because I had a 7 in a subsection on my third retake and the director of my premed department at my undergrad told me that Texas schools usually have an 8 as their regularly accepted minimum. She told me that the 7 could give me trouble.

It seems to me, which is purely a personal observation, that the Texas schools dont really put alot of weight on the physical science section. I know of a few people who were prematched at places like UT houston and UTMB with an 8. I havent heard the same about the bio and verbal sections. I hope this is true..