what to do if score goes down the second time...

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luckyducky87

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what would be the most advisable if the score goes down the second time you take the mcat? this hasn't quite happened, but i'm not very confident with my second score anymore (i just took it 2 days ago).

i really want to avoid taking it the third time because i really felt like i did my best in prepping this time around, and although i felt that i could have done better had i managed my time better (especially in the BS), if the score is bad, then well, maybe my scientific intuition was worse than i thought. i highly doubt that i can manage another round of prepping with my job OR do any better than how i did 2 days ago.

the reason i re-took it was to improve my previous 9 in my PS. i really think that i have at least a 10 on the PS this time around, which is great. however, i'm not so confident that my VR didn't go down this time (or perhaps even my BS). how does it look if i improve my 9 in one section, but then the other sections go down just the same and my overall score stays the same?! arghhhh

i have grad school as a close second on my "future plans" and i was gonna see how the mcat turned out, but now that im not too hopeful about the score, it's not so easy to say "ok, woo hoo grad school here i come."
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You took the MCAT to go to med school right? Then go to med school! Why settle for less if it's not what you want?

I knew a guy who took 4 years worth of application rounds to finally get in. He wanted it bad. I applaud him for that. This is one exam. You have four years of medical school that I doubt will be any easier or less nerve wrecking. So if you want it bad, go for it. If you don't think you got what it takes, find another fork in the road. No shame in that. But don't let one exam be your deciding factor on what you want to do with your life.
 
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First off, if you retook a good 30+ score just to boost your PS by one point, that was a horrible decision. Secondly, it will hurt your application. By how much depends on your previous score. If your score was 30+ and your score dropped significantly, it's very bad. However, if you already had a low score and did slightly worse, it won't hurt nearly as much.

If your second score is 30+, and you don't have any 7s (hopefully no 8s too), then you should stop taking the MCAT. If your second score is rather low and you dropped, then you have to retake.

Regardless, I wouldn't worry about this situation until you get your score. You just took the MCAT, get off SDN. Come back once you've given yourself a break.
 
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SN2ed said:
Regardless, I wouldn't worry about this situation until you get your score. You just took the MCAT, get off SDN. Come back once you've given yourself a break.
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LOL. All the 3/27ers are on SDN far more than before, now that we have the free time to obsess about it.
 
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SN2ed said:
Regardless, I wouldn't worry about this situation until you get your score. You just took the MCAT, get off SDN. Come back once you've given yourself a break.
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Excellent advice. Relax, you just worked really hard so give yourself a break. Worrying about what score you *may* get will do you no good. Plus, it's very common for people to think they did worse than they actually did once they walk out of the MCAT.
 
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Pwahaha, yeah, but as MDminded said, I honestly avoided SDN for most of Jan and Feb, and definitely a couple of days before 3/27 as to not psych myself out... but now that the exam is over, I'm here so, so much. Way too much.

Anyway, yeah, I just need to calm down and wait for the score. But the more days pass by, the lower my expectation gets, as I recall more and more questions I got wrong... if only my memory was this good prior to the exam!
 
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Most of the time when people lurk here after taking the MCAT they get into a very negative mindset. Take a break from everything MCAT related until your score is up. Staying here will only make you go crazy.
 
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hey S2Ned... do you mind giving me advice on what i you think i should do? you seem really knowledgable.

august 2009: 9v, 10p, 11b q studied during the summer
april 2010: 7v, 11p, 11b p studied all semester (A LOT- almost full time)

my averages for the aamc tests were around 33 first time around (and 37ish second time around, obviously a bit skewed)
i took ALL the aamc, princeton review, and kaplan tests

i freaked out during the april exam- up until the last second my heart was pumping. but yea... i definitely coulda been muchh calmer and focused. i dunno how to explain my scores..i've definitely overstudied for the mcat- can't really study any more than i have.

3.8 gpa
top 20 school
great ecs
good to great recs

was planning on submitting my primary early june... should i take the test over on the june 17th? scores for that date come out july 20th


7 in verbal is 30th percentile :( i'm just concerned if i can get into any middle tiered schools with that
my averages were usually 10-12 :/
 
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