Good Morning All~
I need some advice on how to move forward. I am 31; I got my BA at 22, and after eight years in the Army I decided to try for med school at my state’s MD school. My overall GPA isn’t great at ~3.3, but when you factor out a decade old Bachelors, it’s a 3.83 in post-bac work (77 units) with a 3.77 Science GPA.
My LORs are strong, as is my resume. I have diverse volunteer work and am part of Army Medical as a reservist. I think my interview skills are strong too. I thought the MCAT would go better: I got a 29, with a P9, V7, B13. (Not sure what happened on Verbal, since I was averaging 10 on practice exams.) So, now I’m debating whether to take the MCAT again, and whether it would make a difference.
Thanks in advanced for your thoughts.
Hey there
well, I would simply contact the schools I am interested in. I scored 30 on my first attempt and retook it (had a 6 in VR the first time), and that was definitely not good enough for my top choice. The admission folks told me that 35 was solid enough that it would make a candidate look good. Retook for a 36 (a VR still a bit low, 9).
29 is not a bad score, but will it get you where you want to go?
All in all, your numbers are not bad, although your overall GPA may be below cutoffs at some schools. Again, the best source of info would come from the admissions at the schools you target. The application season is almost over, so around April or so, get in touch with them. They will likely get back to you.
I concur with redo-it-all. If your state school says 29 is good enough, then you probably don’t want to risk getting a lower score.
However, your overall GPA is a little under the average so you may want to make up for that with your MCAT. You have a killer BS score of 13 and a decent PS of 9. Personally, I would take it again if I were in your shoes. If you could bump up the VR to a 10, your score will be a 32 which is slightly above average for allopathic schools, thereby boosting your chances for other MD schools aside from your state school (where you’d have a slight edge).
Good luck.
Thanks for the tips. The 29 knocked the wind out of me; I took 8 full length practice MCATs before test day. My practice average was 30-31, but much more balanced. (Averaged 10 on VR)
Most schools have told me they’d look at my GPA in broad terms. I had a 2.95 GPA graduating from my undergrad in '03, but had a 3.86 in my post-bac time. (2011-2012… here’s to maturity…)
Hey James,
First of all, thank you for your service.
I’m just finishing this application cycle, and definitely in agreement with the other commenters. I know how frustrating it can be to end up with an MCAT score below what you were hoping/seeing on practice exams.
Obviously different strokes for different folks, but if you want I can tell you a little more about how I studied for the verbal section. That score went from my lowest of the three sections at the first practice exam to my highest section score on the actual MCAT. PM me if you’d like to chat further.