First, I'll give some of my stats:
Caucasian female w/ "unique" situation--22-years-old, military husband who deployed to Afghanistan during junior year, overcame highly dysfunctional childhood, etc.
Virginia resident, applying to both in-state and out-of-state MD schools.
3.844 GPA, ~3.85 science GPA, Phi Beta Kappa honors, will graduate with distinction, top 5 public university
2 years research experience w/ acceptance to and completion of competitive research-based program (involving thesis, oral presentation, etc.), but no publications
President of university organization and active student peer advisor
Part-time job w/ distinguished professor doing a project w/ potential for publication
~30 hours shadowing experience, ~100 hours hospital volunteering
Excellent letters of recommendation
Currently searching for healthcare, research, and/or tutoring jobs for gap year
So here's the deal with my MCAT. I received a 30 (10 physical, 9 verbal, 11 bio), which I am not happy with. The girl beside me talked to herself throughout the exam. Because I know this affected my concentration, I filed a test center concern with AAMC and they responded with a letter, acknowledging the situation, for me to submit to medical schools if desired.
So, here are my options, I think:
1. Submit applications in June with/without AAMC test concern letter without scheduling a re-take (not sure if submitting test concern letter will make me sound whiney).
2. Submit applications in June with re-take scheduled for July
I'm hesitant to re-take because I was receiving ~32 on the AAMC practice exams, but I think a good amount of that had to do with my study materials (screw you examkrackers). If I were to re-take (with different study books), I would have ~1.5 months to study with at least 6 hours per day, M-F. Since most of the material is still fresh in my head, I think a 33-34 is attainable.
I know that re-taking and not doing substantially better can do more harm than good for your application, so I don't know if a re-take is worth the risk or stress (not to mention the possibility of re-taking and ending up in a similar situation). But, I also know that my MCAT score is the outlier in my application, and I know I'll be applying to much different schools with a 30 MCAT score vs. with a 33-34 MCAT score.
Can anybody give me advice? So many people are telling me lots of different things and I have no clue what to do :( I really appreciate any advice y'all can offer!!!
Caucasian female w/ "unique" situation--22-years-old, military husband who deployed to Afghanistan during junior year, overcame highly dysfunctional childhood, etc.
Virginia resident, applying to both in-state and out-of-state MD schools.
3.844 GPA, ~3.85 science GPA, Phi Beta Kappa honors, will graduate with distinction, top 5 public university
2 years research experience w/ acceptance to and completion of competitive research-based program (involving thesis, oral presentation, etc.), but no publications
President of university organization and active student peer advisor
Part-time job w/ distinguished professor doing a project w/ potential for publication
~30 hours shadowing experience, ~100 hours hospital volunteering
Excellent letters of recommendation
Currently searching for healthcare, research, and/or tutoring jobs for gap year
So here's the deal with my MCAT. I received a 30 (10 physical, 9 verbal, 11 bio), which I am not happy with. The girl beside me talked to herself throughout the exam. Because I know this affected my concentration, I filed a test center concern with AAMC and they responded with a letter, acknowledging the situation, for me to submit to medical schools if desired.
So, here are my options, I think:
1. Submit applications in June with/without AAMC test concern letter without scheduling a re-take (not sure if submitting test concern letter will make me sound whiney).
2. Submit applications in June with re-take scheduled for July
I'm hesitant to re-take because I was receiving ~32 on the AAMC practice exams, but I think a good amount of that had to do with my study materials (screw you examkrackers). If I were to re-take (with different study books), I would have ~1.5 months to study with at least 6 hours per day, M-F. Since most of the material is still fresh in my head, I think a 33-34 is attainable.
I know that re-taking and not doing substantially better can do more harm than good for your application, so I don't know if a re-take is worth the risk or stress (not to mention the possibility of re-taking and ending up in a similar situation). But, I also know that my MCAT score is the outlier in my application, and I know I'll be applying to much different schools with a 30 MCAT score vs. with a 33-34 MCAT score.
Can anybody give me advice? So many people are telling me lots of different things and I have no clue what to do :( I really appreciate any advice y'all can offer!!!