MD & DO Death in family day before MCAT

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Hey guys, I took my MCAT on April 28th and while I can't go into any details about the test I can honestly say I struggled with it more than any of the AAMC practice tests. I really dont have a clue on what my final score will be. On my practice tests I was ranging from 28-31. My grandfather had been battling Parkinson's and Diabetes for about 7 years and the battle become too much on April 26th. His passing took me out of focus. I was wondering if you guys think I should mention his passing in my personal statement as a possible reason for a lower MCAT score? I don't want to sound cliche or seem to be making excuses.

I'm from Texas and plan to apply to all the MD schools as well as a few DO schools around the country. cGPA - 3.56, sGPA - 3.67.

Thank you for any advice you may have.

is it too late to sign up for a retake? While you're waiting for scores to be released, reserve a spot now in case you need to retake. There's no reason to settle for a lower score when you know you can score higher. Who knows though, I found it difficult to gauge how well I did.

As for mentioning in your PS, I'm not so sure, because you could have voided at the end of the test, but you chose to take the gamble. and sorry to hear about your circumstances, best of luck.

Originally Posted by CjOz

Hey guys, I took my MCAT on April 28th and while I can't go into any details about the test I can honestly say I struggled with it more than any of the AAMC practice tests. I really dont have a clue on what my final score will be. On my practice tests I was ranging from 28-31. My grandfather had been battling Parkinson's and Diabetes for about 7 years and the battle become too much on April 26th. His passing took me out of focus. I was wondering if you guys think I should mention his passing in my personal statement as a possible reason for a lower MCAT score? I don't want to sound cliche or seem to be making excuses.

I'm from Texas and plan to apply to all the MD schools as well as a few DO schools around the country. cGPA - 3.56, sGPA - 3.67.

Thank you for any advice you may have.

Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately it is too late now, but you should have voided your exam when given that option at the end of the test, knowing you were not focusing properly. As far as mentioning a lower score is due to a death in the family, they will only give you leeway in that regard if you re-take and do better the second time. They have no way to know if you really performed at your best, or well below your abilities, and won't just assume you would have had a much higher score if your grandfather hadn't died right then. You can either plan to re-take so you have time to prep before the applications season is in full swing, or you can take your chance with your score, but a PS about your grandfather dying being the reason you did poorly on the MCAT (assuming you did, you may have done better than you think) will be unlikely to significantly bump up your chances over what your stats would suggest. Sorry.

I'm sorry for your loss. I think it might be worth mentioning about your situation with your grandfather being ill in your personal statement. I've always heard that it's important to explain a drop in grades in your personal statement, so I think it's worth doing. Try to find a way to mention also what you have learned from the situation and how it will make you a better doctor. But I'm just another student like you, as are most of the posters here, so also ask other people that you know (such as mentors, especially if any of them are doctors, or advisors) to get another perspective.

In the meantime, it might not be a bad idea to register for another MCAT test at a later date. Obviously, give yourself plenty of time between whenever you find out your score and the date you register for. That way, in the worst case scenario that you didn't do well on the test, you have enough time to study/practice again. If you think you can do much better than however you did in April, then it's worth a shot to retake. If your score is already good and you could only boost it by a few points, then it's probably not worth retaking.

I wouldn't stress about it too much until you get your score back. I was averaging 30-33 on my practice tests and though I went to be early the night before my test I didn't sleep longer than 2 hours. The entire test I felt like I wasn't at 100% and there was so much Ochem which I had studied the least. I literally sat in front of the computer for about 10 minutes contemplating if I should just void my scores. I didn't and I stressed for the next month until my scores came in but I got a 36R with a 13ps 10vr 13bs breakdown. I'm not saying that you are going to do amazing but don't condemn yourself until you get your scores back.

Thanks everybody for the advice, I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to register for another test some time in the summer just incase.

Originally Posted by CjOz

Thanks everybody for the advice, I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to register for another test some time in the summer just incase.

Register now because seats get filled up rather quickly.
Best case scenario, you don't need a retake, and you lose some money. Better this than a delayed retake. Best of luck