How DO schools view multiple MCAT scores

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This question has been asked a few times and I think it would help out if we made a list for some people. For example.

first take PS 6 VR 8 BS 9 = 23
Second take PS 9 VR 7 BS 9 = 25
Best Overall - PS 9 VR 8 BS 9 = 26

I am sure this has happened to a few people and some are wondering how certain schools view these multiple takes and if they will take the highest from each subsection. If schools take the highest from each section that means that you are now at a prettier 26, not great but almost average and hey, better than a 25. So, despite the brutal phone bill I will inevitably recieve. I have done some research and decided to start a thread.

This is what I have found so far, and I am going to keep calling. Its not looking good but some schools do look at it this way.

How they view MCAT retakes
KCUMB – best set of scores(called admissions)
ATSU-KCOM - most recent score (called admissions)
ATSU-SOMA-Im assuming it would be the same
NSU COM - best set of scores (on there website)
RVU COM - most recent set of scores (on their website)
UMDNJ SOM - most recent set of scores (called admissions)
DMU COM - all scores taken into consideration.
PCOM – best section from each take (called admissions)
PCOM GEORGIA - im assuming its the same
PNWU - best section from each take (read on sdn)
OUCOM - best section from each take (read on sdn)
NYCOM - best section from each take (read on sdn)
LMU DCOM – best set of scores (called admissions)
UNECOM – highest TOTAL score within the last two years. (called admissions)
CCOM – highest most recent(called admissions)
AZCOM – highest most recent (called admissions)
VCOM - left a message
VCOM SC -
WVSOM – most recent(via Annette in admissions)
TOURO NV – left a message
TOURO NY –
TOURO CA –
WESTERN POMONA –best set of scores
WESTERN LEBANON –assume its the same
WCUCOM –
LECOM ERIE –best set of scores
LECOM BRADENTON – best set of scores
OSU COM –
MSU COM –
PCSOM -


if anybody is willing to contribute you can post on this thread or PM me.

PCOM is a unique situation. They have an 8 for a cutoff. They take all your scores into account however, for the example i have used, they would take the 8 from the first verbal to make their cutoff. this was found out via admissions.

are you serious about kcumb? when i contacted them last year they said they looked at the most recent score !

i believe western pomona takes highest score from multiple sittings

Originally Posted by Dr Yiot

PCOM is a unique situation. They have an 8 for a cutoff.

Well, crap.

Originally Posted by mauve

are you serious about kcumb? when i contacted them last year they said they looked at the most recent score !

i believe western pomona takes highest score from multiple sittings

That was straight from the horses mouth. From what I understand from speaking to different schools, they do frequently change policy.
Where did u find out about western pomona? I would love to apply there but I heard they have a regional preference and since I'm from nj, I don't think I would be considered

Originally Posted by n3xa

Well, crap.

If u have achieved over an 8 on every section from all of your sittings combined u should be fine. For instance if you retook and improved ur score but u dropped below an eight on one section of your retake, then they consider your as above an eight on every section and you make the cutoff. However I was told they do have a cutoff of an eight.

Originally Posted by Dr Yiot

If u have achieved over an 8 on every section from all of your sittings combined u should be fine. For instance if you retook and improved ur score but u dropped below an eight on one section of your retake, then they consider your as above an eight on every section and you make the cutoff. However I was told they do have a cutoff of an eight.

Yeah, I got that part. Still, my mcat is unbalanced and I have a 7 in verbal and hence the

Out of all the DO schools I had a lot of good things to say about why it seemed like a great fit, at least on paper.

Originally Posted by Dr Yiot

That was straight from the horses mouth. From what I understand from speaking to different schools, they do frequently change policy.
Where did u find out about western pomona? I would love to apply there but I heard they have a regional preference and since I'm from nj, I don't think I would be considered

i either emailed them or called them before sending my app in
i don't think they have a regional pref because I know 3 Canadians who are either attending, interviewed, or will be attending in the Fall. Call to confirm about the regional pref
They do screen your stats before sending a secondary.

All LECOM's take the best set. They do not mix and match from different test dates. Thats quoted from the dean!

Figuered id bump my thread to help anyone applying soon. Good luck everyone and let me know if you need anything. Ill be starting lecom in a few weeks.

Originally Posted by Dr Yiot

Figuered id bump my thread to help anyone applying soon. Good luck everyone and let me know if you need anything. Ill be starting lecom in a few weeks.

A few weeks? It's not even June yet! End of July is more than a few weeks buddy

Bumping for everyone applying right now. I was looking for this thread for about an hour so I thought I'd save other people the trouble.

Does PCOM still have an 8 cutoff?

I've heard they do, in theory, but that they can be more lenient than the term "cut off" implies.

I don't know about the rest of the schools, but NSU is still only considering your highest score. It's in their interview day packet.

Usually most recent. The 7 isn't ideal, but I don't think it is a total deal breaker.

At our school we look at the number of retakes and then the avg. You are in no trouble, but someone who has, say, a 19, 20 and 24 will be. Our Dean takes the MCAT very seriously, even though there's NO correlation between performance in our school, or in COMLEX with MCAT score.

Originally Posted by Goro

At our school we look at the number of retakes and then the avg. You are in no trouble, but someone who has, say, a 19, 20 and 24 will be. Our Dean takes the MCAT very seriously, even though there's NO correlation between performance in our school, or in COMLEX with MCAT score.

Can you disclose what school this is? You basically just described me lol

What I'm curious about is, what if a student has a higher overall score, but had a much lower score in one section for their second take? Do the schools that take the best score look at the highest overall or the most balanced?

Originally Posted by Machine33

Can you disclose what school this is? You basically just described me lol

I think Goro is at KCOM. I don't know for sure though.

Originally Posted by ModernAlchemist

What I'm curious about is, what if a student has a higher overall score, but had a much lower score in one section for their second take? Do the schools that take the best score look at the highest overall or the most balanced?

Depends on the school. I would do more research and find out, but it doesn't matter for me since my highest score is also my highest composite over my two attempts.

Didn't know about PCOM's 8 in each section requirement.
Would you get screened out?

edit: looked up the criteria on the PCOM website...it says subscores of 8 are recommended so not required.

Originally Posted by psychgirrrl

Didn't know about PCOM's 8 in each section requirement.
Would you get screened out?

edit: looked up the criteria on the PCOM website...it says subscores of 8 are recommended so not required.

So what they really mean is "We'll let you apply with less than 8 so we can have your money, but really, who are we kidding? We only accept 8+."

Originally Posted by DrWily

So what they really mean is "We'll let you apply with less than 8 so we can have your money, but really, who are we kidding? We only accept 8+."

Yup. "Recommend" is shorthand for exactly that.

Originally Posted by MedPR

Yup. "Recommend" is shorthand for exactly that.

Maybe that's what KCUMB did to me and what PCOM is about to do.

Oh well, I guess I should of read the website more closely before I applied. Now I gotta wait and see.

Let's just say somewhere west of St Louis.

Originally Posted by Machine33

Can you disclose what school this is? You basically just described me lol

Originally Posted by Goro

Let's just say somewhere west of St Louis.

Yea, I saw that underneathe your name, lol.

So are you saying I would basically be out of the running at your school if those were my mcat scores with a 3.77 gpa and a lot of really good EC's(college basketball, fed homeless people, volunteered in the ER, Vice president of health club, lots of random volunteer work), DO LOR, work as lab assistant/physical therapy tech/ anatomy demonstrator, and shadowing exp? Or is all that not enough to outweigh a low average?

Originally Posted by Machine33

Yea, I saw that underneathe your name, lol.

So are you saying I would basically be out of the running at your school if those were my mcat scores with a 3.77 gpa and a lot of really good EC's(college basketball, fed homeless people, volunteered in the ER, Vice president of health club, lots of random volunteer work), DO LOR, work as lab assistant/physical therapy tech/ anatomy demonstrator, and shadowing exp? Or is all that not enough to outweigh a low average?

None of that matters cuz of your low MCAT score. Means you're dumb yo!


Joking of course.

Originally Posted by Machine33

Yea, I saw that underneathe your name, lol.

So are you saying I would basically be out of the running at your school if those were my mcat scores with a 3.77 gpa and a lot of really good EC's(college basketball, fed homeless people, volunteered in the ER, Vice president of health club, lots of random volunteer work), DO LOR, work as lab assistant/physical therapy tech/ anatomy demonstrator, and shadowing exp? Or is all that not enough to outweigh a low average?

A 21 is way too low to be outweighed by anything so for schools who consider our average MCAT score, you pretty much have no shot at. Lucky for you, most schools consider your highest or most recent score.

Originally Posted by DrWily

None of that matters cuz of your low MCAT score. Means you're dumb yo!


Joking of course.

yea, anyone below a 37 is legally mentally retarded.

Originally Posted by modernalchemist

what i'm curious about is, what if a student has a higher overall score, but had a much lower score in one section for their second take? Do the schools that take the best score look at the highest overall or the most balanced?

+1

for anyone curios about pcoms requirment. i applied two years in a row with a 7 in verbal. never heard a peep BOTH years from them

Thanks. Dr. Yiot. It is good to now.

If you're below our minimum of 23, then a GPA of 4.0 wouldn't save you here, alas.

Originally Posted by Machine33

Yea, I saw that underneathe your name, lol.

So are you saying I would basically be out of the running at your school if those were my mcat scores with a 3.77 gpa and a lot of really good EC's(college basketball, fed homeless people, volunteered in the ER, Vice president of health club, lots of random volunteer work), DO LOR, work as lab assistant/physical therapy tech/ anatomy demonstrator, and shadowing exp? Or is all that not enough to outweigh a low average?

Originally Posted by Dr Yiot

for anyone curios about pcoms requirment. i applied two years in a row with a 7 in verbal. never heard a peep BOTH years from them

And yet if you read through last year's thread, lots of people with 24's and 27's got in, even if they had 6's or 7's in a section. I think PCOM looks at more than just your stats, but with 6500+ apps a year, they have to draw the line somewhere.

.

I'm new here, but I'm one of those people who did well in a couple sections and below average in one. What do you mean by best "set"? That basically means the 25 in your example, correct?

Does anyone have an updated list?

This was only a few years ago, I doubt the policy would change regularly.

As a side note, I think people should realize that by a school saying they do or don't take the "highest MCAT" of multiple attempts really only indicates how it influences their matriculating classes average. Almost every school I interacted with, whether they are explicit about it or not, take the scores in context, noting both trends (i.e. up or down) and amount of improvement or backsliding.
Just thought I'd throw that out there since those who take the MCAT multiple times should expect this to be a factor, particularly in interviews

This is good stuff ty.

What is the diff between best set of scores vs highest most recent vs highest in each section of each exam?

Originally Posted by Melomare17

What is the diff between best set of scores vs highest most recent vs highest in each section of each exam?

The terminology can be confusing and necessitates a school clarifying what each means. Generally there are three ways they interpret:

1. combine highest of each section for a "new" total from all exams taken
2. highest score overall- determined/taken per exam date
3. most recent mcat- doesn't matter which was the highest, they take the most recent score*

*I don't think this is as common at DO schools