should I retake mcat 4th time??

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Should I retake the exam 4th time? my profile is below so any advice would be helpful.

2010 - 30 (12,6,12,Q)
28 (10,7,11 R)
2012 march - 31 (10,8,13,R) - suffering from cold, and irritated throat

2012 practice averaged from 36-39 but in PS i ran out of time so i had to guess on a passage at the end and for VR, my lowest in practice was 9.

GPA 3.95 (science 4.0)

3 year research assistant in ecology (paid)
summer research in immunology
volunteer at food bank for 50 hours
volunteer at local library 50 hours
4 shadowing MD (80 hours)+1 more will do soon
have been working in hospital lab for 3 years (doing blood tests)
will start to volunteer at hospital for 4 hours per week
Home state - NJ, rutgers new bruinswick


I really want to get into the MD program at RWJMS since it is close to my home. Should I retake?

Your scores are fairly consistent and on your first re-take you scored lower than on your first attempt. You're unlikely to make significant gains on a fourth attempt. You should apply with your current score and avoid the high probability of a lower score on your final re-take.

Re-taking a score that's below at 30 is generally not recommended, unless your scores expire or you've done some SERIOUS prep work the second time around. There's no point saying this now, but to other SDNers, in the future, if you're not feeling "up to it" on the day of the test, void your scores and take it again later, when you're ABSOLUTELY ready.

With your GPA you should be good at your in-state options. Apply widely if you're worried

Originally Posted by wblack

Should I retake the exam 4th time? my profile is below so any advice would be helpful.

2010 - 30 (12,6,12,Q)
28 (10,7,11 R)
2012 march - 31 (10,8,13,R) - suffering from cold, and irritated throat

2012 practice averaged from 36-39 but in PS i ran out of time so i had to guess on a passage at the end and for VR, my lowest in practice was 9.

GPA 3.95 (science 4.0)

3 year research assistant in ecology (paid)
summer research in immunology
volunteer at food bank for 50 hours
volunteer at local library 50 hours
4 shadowing MD (80 hours)+1 more will do soon
have been working in hospital lab for 3 years (doing blood tests)
will start to volunteer at hospital for 4 hours per week
Home state - NJ, rutgers new bruinswick


I really want to get into the MD program at RWJMS since it is close to my home. Should I retake?

I don't see a good chance of significant improvement. You'd essentially be retaking to likely get, at most, 1 additional point in VR, and maybe 1 in PS. And you may sacrifice a point in BS to do it, given your history on that section. Not worth it IMO.

A 31 is competitive enough for most schools besides the Ivys, and your extracurriculars are great.

Don't take it again.