WAMC- Looking for guidance 510, 3.85 CA resident

[beckyclog]

Hi guys, so I got my MCAT back today and was slightly disappointed with my results. I am looking for some guidance if I should take an extra gap year to build my ECs more since my score was not quite what I was hoping.

CA ORM, from UC school, from central valley
GPA: 3.85, science GPA will be about the same I haven't exactly calculated it yet
MCAT: 510 (126/126/126/132) I am disappointed in myself, was consistently getting 130/131 on C/P and B/B during practice tests, but I am not sure if it's unwise to retake it

ECs:
150 hours volunteering in NST ICU at a hospital
120 hours volunteering at food bank and assisting in food distribution events
20 hours volunteering for baseball league for young kids on the spectrum (one season long)
50 hours shadowing so far, two different specialties (electrophysiologist and critical care/pulm)
1000 hours in a cancer research lab (1 mid tier author publication in review and will be presenting a poster in may)
1000 hours non clinical paid work, a lot of leadership aspects of my jobs (head of scheduling, training lead, supervisor positions)
200ish hours involved in a recreation leadership group that acts as a voice for the student body on campus and aims to increase the greater campus involvement through recreation, worked to help create a referendum for increased recreation space
100 hours undergraduate TA for human physiology
2 scholarships: 1 for being a student recreation worker and 1for being a woman in STEM (both were awarded through an application process)

Hobbies:
motorcycle riding, got involved through my parents and have made many connections over the years with people at the places I work who also ride
cooking and baking
hiking, backpacking, camping, rock climbing

With my recent score release, I am wondering if with my current stats if it would be best to just take another gap year to grow my ECs because I plan to apply only MD for now. This summer, I am getting my CNA certification and plan to be work in a hospital as a CNA or PCT for the year. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! I can post my potential school list as well if that would be helpful. I am applying open and broadly, probably around 30-35 schools. I can also elaborate more on some of my ECs if need be. Thanks

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[ClashRoyaleKing]

You don't need to retake a 510 unless you were getting 520+ consistently on FL and felt that test day performance was not you. You should apply broadly, include DO's if you want to 100% get in next cycle . Keep accumulating experience at the food bank.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As you probably already know, you need to list programs that favor you as an applicant such as Home . Your MCAT may be low for UC medical schools but if you are driven to serve patients in the Central Valley, you should make sure you know what those schools offers you.

 

[bigfoot36487]

I’m in the exact same boat- I got my 510 score back today and I have no idea if I should retake or not.

 

[bigfoot36487]

You don't need to retake a 510 unless you were getting 520+ consistently on FL and felt that test day performance was not you. You should apply broadly, include DO's if you want to 100% get in next cycle . Keep accumulating experience at the food bank.

I don’t know how to make a new post but Thoughts on retaking a 510 Mcat? This is lower than the average at my in-state school (514) which is my best chance of getting accepted and I am not in their 25-75% range. I am not planning on applying to top schools - I will broadly apply to mid tier MD and DO schools. I’ve heard a lot of conflicting advice on whether to retake or not. My average on the practice tests was around 511/512 so I don’t know how much better I can do. I also want to apply this year so I would have to retake soon. Thoughts ?

 

[whichbreath]

I don’t know how to make a new post but Thoughts on retaking a 510 Mcat? This is lower than the average at my in-state school (514) which is my best chance of getting accepted and I am not in their 25-75% range. I am not planning on applying to top schools - I will broadly apply to mid tier MD and DO schools. I’ve heard a lot of conflicting advice on whether to retake or not. My average on the practice tests was around 511/512 so I don’t know how much better I can do. I also want to apply this year so I would have to retake soon. Thoughts ?

If you recently took it, you are probably considering retaking it. Heck, it's been almost a year since I took it and I am still considering retaking the same score. I'd say if you're ready to apply to schools this cycle, apply to some DO's and mid-tier MD's. My other thread has a school list, in case you are interested (if you want to chime in that would be welcome too ^^)

 

[bigfoot36487]

If you recently took it, you are probably considering retaking it. Heck, it's been almost a year since I took it and I am still considering retaking the same score. I'd say if you're ready to apply to schools this cycle, apply to some DO's and mid-tier MD's. My other thread has a school list, in case you are interested (if you want to chime in that would be welcome too ^^)

I just got my score back today haha! Will check it out your thread. I just have to make a decision soon if I want to apply this June

 

[AJS59]

I'd say if you can clear 150 at the food bank you should be in an okay enough position should you apply broadly, but if you really want to make it stronger the extra gap year doesn't hurt if you can accumulate more clinical and non-clinical

 

[beckyclog]

I'd say if you can clear 150 at the food bank you should be in an okay enough position should you apply broadly, but if you really want to make it stronger the extra gap year doesn't hurt if you can accumulate more clinical and non-clinical

Hey, thanks for the info! Do you know which MD schools screen for 150 hours or is it just a general number to hit?

 

[AJS59]

Hey, thanks for the info! Do you know which MD schools screen for 150 hours or is it just a general number to hit?

Just a general number, based on experiences of the forum experts