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Old 04-22-2010, 11:35 AM   #1
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Default Is a retake in order? gpa: 3.73 mcat: 29s


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I asked this question in the "Should I retake?" thread however I have yet to receive a reply so I'm hoping I can get some feedback posting here.

I have a 3.73 cumulative gpa and 3.71 science gpa. My extracurriculars are what'd you expect sort of (2 years of hospital volunteering + 1 year of clinical research). I have a 29S PS 9 VR 10 BS 10. I didn't have a good test day, I got so nervous that I didn't sleep the entire night beforehand and didn't feel too well during the test. Retrospectively though, I'm not too sure if that affected me that greatly because I had a 30 average on my practice tests anyways.

I was wondering if I should retake? I am not aiming for an upper tier school, just hoping to get in (maybe NYMC?). Maybe if I got a 31+, it'd solidify my chances. I am a California resident by the way (so I don't really have a back up school).

Also, its been about 2 years since I last took the MCATs (took the summer of my sophmore year and I'm a senior now).

Last edited by NghtSky04; 04-22-2010 at 11:50 AM.
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Old 04-22-2010, 12:30 PM   #2
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your score is at least well balanced. it's really up to you and how you feel about it. if you think you didn't study too hard, or had too much going on at the time, then a retake may be in order. if you think you tried as hard as you could, then the 29 is probably for keeps. despite the sdn 'norm', a 9-10-10 is a pretty good score..
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Old 04-22-2010, 12:31 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NghtSky04 View Post
I asked this question in the "Should I retake?" thread however I have yet to receive a reply so I'm hoping I can get some feedback posting here.

I have a 3.73 cumulative gpa and 3.71 science gpa. My extracurriculars are what'd you expect sort of (2 years of hospital volunteering + 1 year of clinical research). I have a 29S PS 9 VR 10 BS 10. I didn't have a good test day, I got so nervous that I didn't sleep the entire night beforehand and didn't feel too well during the test. Retrospectively though, I'm not too sure if that affected me that greatly because I had a 30 average on my practice tests anyways.

I was wondering if I should retake? I am not aiming for an upper tier school, just hoping to get in (maybe NYMC?). Maybe if I got a 31+, it'd solidify my chances. I am a California resident by the way (so I don't really have a back up school).

Also, its been about 2 years since I last took the MCATs (took the summer of my sophmore year and I'm a senior now).
Hey! Eventhough, I am not an expert unlike many people on SDN but I do believe that you do not need to take a retake. You should apply to few schools that you would like to go rather than studying and get 31. Unless you get a 35 and +, difference between a 29 and 31 is not significant.
My two cents. lol
Hope that helps.
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Old 04-22-2010, 12:34 PM   #4
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tough question, you're at the border. 10, 10, 10 would have made it easier. agreed with below, a 2pt increase does very little. with my 30 I was told by an adcom not to retake unless i could guarantee 4pts higher. this implies that schools understand a single test score is not always accurate, and could give you the benefit of the doubt. but if you get two very similar scores, you are no longer given that benefit. jmo.
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Old 04-22-2010, 02:15 PM   #5
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The adviser at my school insisted my bro retake his 29R (9 in VR, 10 for the rest) so he did because 30 is supposed to be the magic number, I guess. He retook it and improved on the sciences but dropped for verbal, ended up with 29R again. It's even worse the second time because the verbal score was way too low, whereas the 9 wasn't too bad and he might have gotten in to our state school. I'd say get your practice test scores to ~33 and then retake, so that hopefully you'll make a good jump and not have my bro's type of luck.
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Old 04-22-2010, 02:21 PM   #6
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You scored within range, so I wouldn't bother retaking. A 29 is a decent score. Make sure you apply to a large (~15-20) number of schools within your GPA and MCAT range.
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Old 04-22-2010, 03:39 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NghtSky04 View Post
I asked this question in the "Should I retake?" thread however I have yet to receive a reply so I'm hoping I can get some feedback posting here.

I have a 3.73 cumulative gpa and 3.71 science gpa. My extracurriculars are what'd you expect sort of (2 years of hospital volunteering + 1 year of clinical research). I have a 29S PS 9 VR 10 BS 10. I didn't have a good test day, I got so nervous that I didn't sleep the entire night beforehand and didn't feel too well during the test. Retrospectively though, I'm not too sure if that affected me that greatly because I had a 30 average on my practice tests anyways.

I was wondering if I should retake? I am not aiming for an upper tier school, just hoping to get in (maybe NYMC?). Maybe if I got a 31+, it'd solidify my chances. I am a California resident by the way (so I don't really have a back up school).

Also, its been about 2 years since I last took the MCATs (took the summer of my sophmore year and I'm a senior now).

You should be fine!!! Just apply broadly. Now go have a beer! I know people who got 25 on the MCAT in medical school.
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Old 04-22-2010, 04:19 PM   #8
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you should be fine!!! Just apply broadly. Now go have a beer! I know people who got 25 on the mcat in medical school.
hahaha! Dude i have a honda!! ;p
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Old 04-23-2010, 02:12 PM   #9
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yeah you guys are probably right... hopefully i can i squeeze by with this score

it probably isn't worth a retake unless i can guarantee a 3+ point difference (which i'm not sure if i'm at that stage, maybe?)
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Old 04-23-2010, 04:54 PM   #10
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You should be fine!!! Just apply broadly. Now go have a beer! I know people who got 25 on the MCAT in medical school.
My roommate just got into medical school. He had a 3.0 cGPA (not much better in sGPA) and a 22 on his MCAT. Granted he got in on their last rounds of interviews, but still. Oh, and he's not a minority.
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Old 04-23-2010, 05:29 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by seanparsel View Post
My roommate just got into medical school. He had a 3.0 cGPA (not much better in sGPA) and a 22 on his MCAT. Granted he got in on their last rounds of interviews, but still. Oh, and he's not a minority.
Gonna have to clarify and provide some more details.
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Old 04-23-2010, 06:59 PM   #12
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my roommate just got into medical school. He had a 3.0 cgpa (not much better in sgpa) and a 22 on his mcat. Granted he got in on their last rounds of interviews, but still. Oh, and he's not a minority.
i dont believe it!
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Old 04-24-2010, 03:45 AM   #13
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i dont believe it!
lol me neither
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