3.9/510 MCAT.. any advice appreciated!

[bigfoot36487]

Hi,

I am a student from an average in state college. Here are my extracurriculars… please be as harsh as you need to be because I’m looking for any advice. I also am wondering if I should retake the MCAT? I plan on applying broadly to DO/MD but if there is more of one type of school I should be applying to please let me know.


1) cGPA: 3.9 (biomedical sciences major), sGPA: 3.75
2) 510 MCAT (128/127/127/128)
3) Iowa, USA
4) Asian
5) University of Iowa
6) hospital volunteer and a volunteer mentor (200 hours), scribe for free medical clinic for underserved (50 hours), Psych inpatient unit education helper working with kids with psychiatric disorders and eating disorders- helped a lot with schoolwork and general supervision (240 hours), medical childcare assistant working with kids with severe disabilities (projected around 350 hours)

7) clinical neuropsych research lab- 600+ hours (no pubs, undergraduate research conference, starting independent project this semester, won research grant)

8) shadowing- 150 hours (have shadowed ophthalmology, peds, radiology, FM, plastic surgery, gastroenterology and also shadowed in another country)

9) English tutor -100 hours (help practice English with immigrant and refugees in Iowa city, created a summer English group class program and volunteer one on one to practice)

10) Dancer on cultural dance team- 600+ hours (won a few awards and an out of state competition), Secretary for health org- (0 hours, haven’t started), executive board for a cultural student org- 100 hours (had some average leadership positions here)

11) just 2 scholarships through the university and deans list

12) hobbies with crocheting and my instrument

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[Mr.Smile12]

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[wysdoc]

Hi,

I am a student from an average in state college. Here are my extracurriculars… please be as harsh as you need to be because I’m looking for any advice. I also am wondering if I should retake the MCAT? I plan on applying broadly to DO/MD but if there is more of one type of school I should be applying to please let me know.

I have no gap years.

1) clinical neuropsych research lab- 600+ hours (no pubs, undergraduate research conference, starting independent project this semester, won research grant)

2) hospital volunteer and a volunteer mentor for new volunteers- 200 hours

3) shadowing- 150 hours (have shadowed many specialities and also shadowed in another country)

4) Dancer on cultural dance team- 600+ hours (won a few awards and an out of state competition)

5) English tutor -100 hours (help practice English with immigrant and refugees in Iowa city, created a summer English group class program and volunteer one on one to practice)

6) Psych inpatient unit education helper-240 hours (work with kids with psychiatric disorders and eating disorders- helped a lot with schoolwork and general supervision)

7) Scribe for free medical clinic- 50 hours

8) Medical childcare assistant - haven’t started yet but will probably get around 360 hours (this job works with kids with severe disabilities)

9) Secretary for student org- 0 hours, haven’t started

10) Executive board for a cultural student org- 100 hours (had some average leadership positions here)

11) instrument - just a hobby!

12) crocheting- hobby !

You did a great list of your activities- to get help on school list & MCAT please add your state of residence, GPA, and MCAT score/scores
Thanks

 

[bigfoot36487]

You did a great list of your activities- to get help on school list & MCAT please add your state of residence, GPA, and MCAT score/scores
Thanks

Updated my original post!

State- iowa
MCAT- 128/127/127/128

 

[awood]

Hi,

I am a student from an average in state college. Here are my extracurriculars… please be as harsh as you need to be because I’m looking for any advice. I also am wondering if I should retake the MCAT? I plan on applying broadly to DO/MD but if there is more of one type of school I should be applying to please let me know.


1) cGPA: 3.9 (biomedical sciences major), sGPA: 3.75
2) 510 MCAT (128/127/127/128)
3) Iowa, USA
4) Asian
5) University of Iowa
6) hospital volunteer and a volunteer mentor (200 hours), scribe for free medical clinic for underserved (50 hours), Psych inpatient unit education helper working with kids with psychiatric disorders and eating disorders- helped a lot with schoolwork and general supervision (240 hours), medical childcare assistant working with kids with severe disabilities (projected around 350 hours)

7) clinical neuropsych research lab- 600+ hours (no pubs, undergraduate research conference, starting independent project this semester, won research grant)

8) shadowing- 150 hours (have shadowed ophthalmology, peds, radiology, FM, plastic surgery, gastroenterology and also shadowed in another country)

9) English tutor -100 hours (help practice English with immigrant and refugees in Iowa city, created a summer English group class program and volunteer one on one to practice)

10) Dancer on cultural dance team- 600+ hours (won a few awards and an out of state competition), Secretary for health org- (0 hours, haven’t started), executive board for a cultural student org- 100 hours (had some average leadership positions here)

11) just 2 scholarships through the university and deans list

12) hobbies with crocheting and my instrument

Sidenote, and take into mind I'm just another future applicant to medical school, but the overwhelming advice I've seen always suggests getting involved in volunteering outside of teaching/tutoring/mentoring and clinical experience, so maybe look into getting involved in volunteering in an area that interests you (e.g. soup kitchen, playing music at senior center, shelter work, etc).

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Iowa
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Creighton
TCU
Tulane
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Hackensack
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Alice Walton (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)

 

[bigfoot36487]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Iowa
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Creighton
TCU
Tulane
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Hackensack
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Alice Walton (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)

Wow thanks! Do you have any DO programs in mind?

 

[bigfoot36487]

Sidenote, and take into mind I'm just another future applicant to medical school, but the overwhelming advice I've seen always suggests getting involved in volunteering outside of teaching/tutoring/mentoring and clinical experience, so maybe look into getting involved in volunteering in an area that interests you (e.g. soup kitchen, playing music at senior center, shelter work, etc).

Great advice thank you

 

[Faha]

Wow thanks! Do you have any DO programs in mind?

For DO schools you could try any of these:
DMU-COM
CCOM
MU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
CUSOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY

 

[awood]

Great advice thank you

No problem I saw that your instrument is your hobby, so maybe looking into non-teaching volunteer activities around music and people seemed like a good path for you. I know senior centers and Palliative care centers frequently have opportunities to play music for residents, and I'm sure there are other options as well, but it might be a good way to engage your hobby and give back to the community. From what I've seen, just make sure the volunteering has to do with helping other people (e.g. fostering animals/volunteering at animal shelters or for environmental cleanup are great, but are pretty neutral for an application whereas volunteering for other people is a net positive). Obviously do it because you want to and are passionate about it as well, hence involving things like your hobby for music.

 

[bigfoot36487]

No problem I saw that your instrument is your hobby, so maybe looking into non-teaching volunteer activities around music and people seemed like a good path for you. I know senior centers and Palliative care centers frequently have opportunities to play music for residents, and I'm sure there are other options as well, but it might be a good way to engage your hobby and give back to the community. From what I've seen, just make sure the volunteering has to do with helping other people (e.g. fostering animals/volunteering at animal shelters or for environmental cleanup are great, but are pretty neutral for an application whereas volunteering for other people is a net positive). Obviously do it because you want to and are passionate about it as well, hence involving things like your hobby for music.

These are such great helpful ideas. How many hours should I try to get (in your opinion)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

These are such great helpful ideas. How many hours should I try to get (in your opinion)

I would suggest getting at least 50 hours (performances at senior centers). If humanities and medicine are a sincere interest, that should be part of your own filtering process when drafting a school list. If you are working at a hospice or a shelter, ask if you are able to do this, which should be in addition to the main job responsibilities.

You should still seek hands-on experiences such as listed above: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation.

 

[bigfoot36487]

Hello,

Just need some advice about my current situation. I was told by someone at my state school admissions to retake my MCAT because it is lower than the average and I could increase my chances by even raising it by 2-3 points. I wanted to apply this cycle so I was thinking of intensively studying for these next 5-6 weeks and then taking it mid-June. I will submit my primary application the first week to get verified on time. By the time I get my scores back it will be July 15-22 and I plan to have a school list and pre written secondaries by this time. Will this hold me back in terms of rolling admissions ?

If so …. Since 510 is a fairly okay score would I be able to submit the MCAT I do have done with my primary application but also indicate that I am retaking ? Would appreciate any advice on this.

 

[AJS59]

I'm not sure about the mechanics of AMCAS in how you'd indicate a retake; you might need to explore that more.

Anyways, it's hard to say how necessary, if at all an MCAT retake is. Do you really think you can raise your score by 6 points in 5 weeks? A score near (or below) your prior score could hurt you significantly. In your shoes, if you've accumulated a good GPA and the other key elements of a good app, I'd just laser in on my app and apply broadly, including DO schools as necessary.

By filling out a WAMC you might be able to see just how necessary a retake would be.

 

[bigfoot36487]

Thanks for the response! I don’t plan to (or expect to) raise my score by 6 points- just 2-3. I did not plan to retake at all until the admissions guy told me this.

I did post in WAMC but here’s a rundown if that helps.

-gpa:3.9
- hospital volunteer and a volunteer mentor (200 hours)
-scribe for free medical clinic (50 hours)
- Psych inpatient unit education helper - (240 hours)
- medical childcare assistant working with kids with severe disabilities (projected around 350 hours)
- clinical neuropsych research lab- 600+ hours (no pubs, undergraduate research conference, starting independent project this semester, won research grant)
- shadowing- 150 hours
- English tutor -100 hours
-Dancer on dance team- 600+ hours (won a few awards and an out of state competition)
- Secretary for health org- (0 hours, haven’t started)
- executive board for a cultural student org- 100 hours

 

[wysdoc]

Hey @bigfoot36487 I merged 2 of your threads.
It's helpful to keep asking your questions in your own WAMC thread and then you don't have to repeat yourself, and people who have already given advice can know it's the same SDN member.
As long as I'm here I'll add my 2cents: I don't think you need to retake that MCAT, and @Faha has given you a great list to work from that fits your stats.