Should I do a Post-Bac?

[Almidan]

Hi everyone,
I am taking a gap year and I was certain I was going to do a PostBac/Special Master's but now I am not sure after receiving my new MCAT score.

Stats: MCAT twice, 26 first time, 514 second
GPA=3.6 sGPA=3.45

When schools say they only look at the newest MCAT score, do they not have the old one on file?

Strong EC's and will have good LORs.
I only want to apply MD!

Thanks!

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[y123]

Apply broadly you should be fine.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Do well this year in school and you won't need any post-bacc(and definitely not an SMP). As is, your cGPA is fine and while your sGPA is on the lower side, it's really not all that bad especially if you have a recent upward trend. All in all, just focus on doing well this year and you'll be fine.

 

[Jennyfishy]

Unless you have a particular program or school you're trying to get into, a post-grad program to boost your GPA won't have a significant effect on your chances at an MD school. Apply to a large range of schools.

At my school, we look at all the MCATs you have taken and weigh significant improvement more; it only looks bad if your retake score was lower than your previous score. If they are within range of each other (e.g. 27 then 29), we will take the average. Schools that say they look at the newest score can still see all your previous MCATs, but may just weigh the newest one more heavily.

 

[Ssha]

Hi everyone,
I am taking a gap year and I was certain I was going to do a PostBac/Special Master's but now I am not sure after receiving my new MCAT score.

Stats: MCAT twice, 26 first time, 514 second
GPA=3.6 sGPA=3.45

When schools say they only look at the newest MCAT score, do they not have the old one on file?

Strong EC's and will have good LORs.
I only want to apply MD!

Thanks!

Sorry this is off topic, but how did you prepare for the new MCAT? How long did you study and what did you do differently?

Thank you in advance!

 

[sfkniner81]

similar situation as OP - wonder what others think... but it seems applying broadly should be okay?