Retake a 516?

[little_giant]

Hey guys, so I got a 516, which I'm fine with even though I'm a little dissapointed that the top 10 MD schools are basically out of range for me now, being an ORM with a very average GPA (both cGPA and BPCM). I go to a top 10 undergrad.

My issue though is that my score is unbalanced: I got a 132/130/127/127. I'm a molecular bio major so it's my 127 on the B/B section thats hurting me right now.

Will being a bio major and taking those challenging upper level and grad school bio courses with biology research sort of cancel out this lowish B/B score?

Or does being a bio major with a 127 reflect poorly on me?

I honestly dont know what happened.. I've been getting 130+ on all my practice exams.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

Hey guys, so I got a 516, which I'm fine with even though I'm a little dissapointed that the top 10 MD schools are basically out of range for me now, being an ORM with a very average GPA (both cGPA and BPCM). I go to a top 10 undergrad.

My issue though is that my score is unbalanced: I got a 132/130/127/127. I'm a molecular bio major so it's my 127 on the B/B section thats hurting me right now.

Will being a bio major and taking those challenging upper level and grad school bio courses with biology research sort of cancel out this lowish B/B score?

Or does being a bio major with a 127 reflect poorly on me?

I honestly dont know what happened.. I've been getting 130+ on all my practice exams.

A 127 in Bio/Biochem is not the best, especially as a molecular bio major. But, with a 516 I feel like the risk of retaking outways the potential benefits, especially with a 132 in C/P and a 130 in CARS (would be difficult to duplicate). Med school is med school, being accepted to a top 10 school means nothing lol. A doctor is a doctor. Just apply and you should get interviews with many schools if your extracurriculars are fine.

 

[little_giant]

A 127 in Bio/Biochem is not the best, especially as a molecular bio major. But, with a 516 I feel like the risk of retaking outways the potential benefits, especially with a 132 in C/P and a 130 in CARS (would be difficult to duplicate). Med school is med school, being accepted to a top 10 school means nothing lol. A doctor is a doctor. Just apply and you should get interviews with many schools if your extracurriculars are fine.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[BabyDaddy]

Hey guys, so I got a 516, which I'm fine with even though I'm a little dissapointed that the top 10 MD schools are basically out of range for me now, being an ORM with a very average GPA (both cGPA and BPCM). I go to a top 10 undergrad.

My issue though is that my score is unbalanced: I got a 132/130/127/127. I'm a molecular bio major so it's my 127 on the B/B section thats hurting me right now.

Will being a bio major and taking those challenging upper level and grad school bio courses with biology research sort of cancel out this lowish B/B score?

Or does being a bio major with a 127 reflect poorly on me?

I honestly don't know what happened.. I've been getting 130+ on all my practice exams.

Don't retake it. I agree that Med school is Med school, for the most part. As long as you go to a moderately competitive school that offers plenty of clinical opportunities, your academic performance in Med school is 95% up to you anyways. Google Step 1 performance and note that many of the top performing schools are still within your reach. That's what really matters now. As long as you go to a school that will prepare you well for the next stage (which is almost any school within your reach), you will be fine. It's all about personal effort, not where you went to school.

-BabyDaddy

 

[workaholic181]

I go to a mid tier allo so I'll disagree somewhat that tiers don't matter.. Top 20 schools have better match lists than we do. Period. However, med school is med school and any MD school will likely keep all your options open. Honestly if you have average GPAs you probably were fighting an uphill battle at top ten schools anyway. 127 is definitely not going to hold you back. I'd take that 516 and never look back. Good luck applying next year.

 

[little_giant]

Don't retake it. I agree that Med school is Med school, for the most part. As long as you go to a moderately competitive school that offers plenty of clinical opportunities, your academic performance in Med school is 95% up to you anyways. Google Step 1 performance and note that many of the top performing schools are still within your reach. That's what really matters now. As long as you go to a school that will prepare you well for the next stage (which is almost any school within your reach), you will be fine. It's all about personal effort, not where you went to school.

-BabyDaddy

Thank you this really helps I think it's just the fact that the big certificate that goes up on the office that patients care about tends to be the Medical School diploma thats worrying me

 

[little_giant]

I go to a mid tier allo so I'll disagree somewhat that tiers don't matter.. Top 20 schools have better match lists than we do. Period. However, med school is med school and any MD school will likely keep all your options open. Honestly if you have average GPAs you probably were fighting an uphill battle at top ten schools anyway. 127 is definitely not going to hold you back. I'd take that 516 and never look back. Good luck applying next year.

Thank you so much!

 

[Zenabi90]

Thank you this really helps I think it's just the fact that the big certificate that goes up on the office that patients care about tends to be the Medical School diploma thats worrying me

Just my opinion:

1. Unless you're doing your consults in your actual office, your patients will never see the name of the school that stamped your diploma. Especially if you're not in private practice. For most, just having the title of Dr. is good enough for them.

2. Tiers of schools matter if you're aiming for more competitive specialties or locations down the road. Personally, I'm looking more at rotation sites and hospital affiliations during M3/M4 for the LORs for your residency applications later on. Secondly, I'd be looking at other requirements (my school has both scholarly project and community service requirements), and thirdly, at in-house vs NBME (retired Step 1 questions) exams (my school is pure NBME).

3. Whatever ground you might make up in B/B could be offset by a possible drop in C/P and CARS. It's a lot easier to go down from a 132 -> 129 than it is to go up from a 127 -> 129.

Bottom line is once you get into a US medical school, nearly all students will make graduate, and nearly all will match (if you're realistic about your options at that point aka don't try to match derm with an average step score).

Also, remember that MCAT and GPA will get your foot in the door, nothing more. The rest of the application is what really matters after that.

 

[Nucleophile1]

I go to a mid tier allo so I'll disagree somewhat that tiers don't matter.. Top 20 schools have better match lists than we do. Period. However, med school is med school and any MD school will likely keep all your options open. Honestly if you have average GPAs you probably were fighting an uphill battle at top ten schools anyway. 127 is definitely not going to hold you back. I'd take that 516 and never look back. Good luck applying next year.

I agree with this. As someone who does not go to a top tier medical school but knows people who do go to a top tier medical school, students at top tier schools often have more resources and connections especially when it comes to competitive specialities and research.

To OP: With that being said, I wouldn't recommend retaking a 516. There's too great of a chance for your score to drop. If you apply broadly with your 516 and the rest of your application looks good, you should get in to a good school.

 

[little_giant]

Just my opinion:

1. Unless you're doing your consults in your actual office, your patients will never see the name of the school that stamped your diploma. Especially if you're not in private practice. For most, just having the title of Dr. is good enough for them.

2. Tiers of schools matter if you're aiming for more competitive specialties or locations down the road. Personally, I'm looking more at rotation sites and hospital affiliations during M3/M4 for the LORs for your residency applications later on. Secondly, I'd be looking at other requirements (my school has both scholarly project and community service requirements), and thirdly, at in-house vs NBME (retired Step 1 questions) exams (my school is pure NBME).

3. Whatever ground you might make up in B/B could be offset by a possible drop in C/P and CARS. It's a lot easier to go down from a 132 -> 129 than it is to go up from a 127 -> 129.

Bottom line is once you get into a US medical school, nearly all students will make graduate, and nearly all will match (if you're realistic about your options at that point aka don't try to match derm with an average step score).

Also, remember that MCAT and GPA will get your foot in the door, nothing more. The rest of the application is what really matters after that.

Thank you so much! I am considering derm, but from what you said, the step score may be more important than the med school I'm coming from. This really makes me feel a lot better. I guess sometimes we should just focus on why we want to be doctors and not the rankings and comparing ourselves haha

 

[Zenabi90]

sometimes we should just focus on why we want to be doctors and not the rankings and comparing ourselves haha

Honestly, comparing to each other along with FOMO is one of the biggest sources of distress for medical students. This is a very important lesson if you can internalize it early. Getting into med school means you deserve to be in med school, and just because you're not doing as well as others or not doing the same things as others doesn't make you a worse person or student. We learn in different ways, and adjust at different rates and in the end, you know what they call the person who graduates from medical school at the bottom of their class? A doctor. Corny, and maybe not so applicable to someone aiming for a competitive specialty, but it's still the truth.

Good luck with apps!

 

[little_giant]

Honestly, comparing to each other along with FOMO is one of the biggest sources of distress for medical students. This is a very important lesson if you can internalize it early. Getting into med school means you deserve to be in med school, and just because you're not doing as well as others or not doing the same things as others doesn't make you a worse person or student. We learn in different ways, and adjust at different rates and in the end, you know what they call the person who graduates from medical school at the bottom of their class? A doctor. Corny, and maybe not so applicable to someone aiming for a competitive specialty, but it's still the truth.

Good luck with apps!

True that! Sad to hear it continues in med school, but I guess that's just the reality of life. Not thinking about it probably is the way to grow up!

 

[little_giant]

What materials did you use to help you out?

Just kaplan and practice exams

 

[raiderette]

Very happy at a top 20. Don't retake. This is not the test that matters. Kill Step 1.

 

[Doc_Ock]

If you retake a 516 I will personally find you and smack you boi.

 

[little_giant]

If you retake a 516 I will personally find you and smack you boi.