Jewish Alliance for Women in Science

I would like to know what affect you feel retaking the MCAT, during the same cycle that you applied, will have on your application if you scored less than you feel will make you a competitive applicant. Also, what effect do strong extracurricular activites, personal statement, and letter of recommendations have when coupled with such an
MCAT score.Thank you!

In my non-professional opinion:

That really depends on when you will get your score back. If it will not return before schools are handing out interviews then it really will not make much of a difference. If it comes back before interview season and you get a higher score it can help you. However if it comes back a lower score it will hurt you. This a risk you need to consider before maknig your decision. You should also find out if schools will hold off on reviewing your application until the score comes back. This may not be something you want - especially at schools with rolling admissions policies.

Your personal statement, extra curriculars and other items that go on your AMCAS and secondary application all help to get your foot in the door. You want to have the best applicatoin that you possibly can. I do not think any one item is weighted over the other, however if something about your application stand out as exceptional it will help you. Your letters of reccomendation are an often over looked item that can really help you. Personal letters are much better than generic ones.

The interview is there to make sure you are a mentally stable, socially competent, responsible person who will not embarass the school. The majority of interviewers are nice but some will give you a hard time. Yet this doesn't seem to have much correlation with acceptance. Just do your best, don't stick your foot in your mouth and try and forget about it while you wait.

Thank you very much, your response was very informative.

bc2010 at 02:55PM on Nov 05, 2009

I would like to know what affect you feel retaking the MCAT, during the same cycle that you applied, will have on your application if you scored less than you feel will make you a competitive applicant. Also, what effect do strong extracurricular activites, personal statement, and letter of recommendations have when coupled with such an
MCAT score.Thank you!

It depends on what you mean by "less than competitive."  At my school, we do not have strict cutoffs for MCAT or GPA.  However, if your MCAT is too low (say, below mid to high 20s), the adcom may have some concern about whether you can handle the academic rigor of medical school and pass the board exams.  We do care a lot about personal attributes and fit, which is why factors like ECs, PS, and LORs are heavily used in our decision process.  However, these things will not in and of themselves make up for an MCAT score that is too low.

In general, medical schools prefer candidates who have scored a 30 or better on the MCAT, which is around the national average for matriculated allopathic students.  Thus, that is a good target score to shoot for.  Hope this helps, and best of luck.