Advice please

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Serac

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Hello everyone,
I am new around here and had a quick question or two about the old and new tests... I posted this in the MD/PhD forum but haven't had my questions answered yet. My hope is to end up in an MD/PhD program somewhere, although it doesn't have to MSTP. Brief bit about myself: I am a non-trad student (senior) at a middle-of-the-road state school, but did my first two years a CC. I have a couple years of research, and my GPA is slightly above the national matriculation average for 2013. It does have an upward trend. I have around 1000 hours in a hospital thanks to work, plenty of volunteering as well.

Here is my situation... I have had to work for my entire UG career, and my boss finally let me take a month off to finish my classes and study for the MCAT. I started studying in early December and I am sitting for the MCAT on the 15th of this month. I have taken all of the AAMC full-length's except 10, which I will take on Tuesday. My average is right at the national matriculation average for MD/PhD programs, including all three of the past FL's I have taken. While this sounds okay, I am older than most applicants and this is fairly frowned upon in the MD/PhD world, and so I really don't need another reason to be turned down. At this point, I worry about walking out with a score slightly below the average, and I feel that I need some more time to cover the material. I did not have physiology in anyway (not even in gen bio) and have found this has taken a lot of my study time (I am taking it this spring though). I genuinely think I can hit a better score but I'm unsure of how the new exam will work out both on my end and on the admissions end.

Ultimately, my questions are:
1) What do you think my chances are of being able to improve my situation by the April or May test enough to warrant taking a new exam given that I won't have more than 15 hours a week to study for it? (I have had all relevant courses except statistics, taking physiology this semester).

2) Lets say I end up scoring in about the same percentile on the new test that I am now on the old one, is this better or worse when it comes to admissions (I ask this because I fell like there is a bit of an excuse to flounder on the new test, given its... so new).

3) Lastly, how might I best prep for the new test given I have just reviewed for the old one so much?

Thanks for your time and help, any additional advice is always welcome!
-Serac

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1. There's no question that you should take it now. If you're consistently scoring the average score for matriculation then you're doing well and should expect a similar score. Apply broadly.

2. You answered your own question here. If you're scoring in the same percentile then you're scoring in the same percentile. It's already relative. So this isn't a reason to take the new test - especially considering how much work you'll have to do from now until your test date when already you're in a good position to take the current test!

3. Your focus should be on the old test right now - the one you're taking in 3 days! If that score isn't up to snuff then you can start to plan your attack on the new one. Focus, and good luck!
 
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