do I void

[aiminghigher1]

if im not prepared for the mcat tomorrow and do not like my practice scores, should I take it and void it? I plan on taking it again in June anyway but I'm not sure whether I should still take it and keep the score. If I keep the score and somehow do well awesome but I don't really know what doing well will mean given the new exam. if I were to cancel I'd have to take the June exam anyway which is why I just kept my registration for tomorrow so at least I can take it for the experience. is there any advantage to voiding vs taking it again and hopefully improving?

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[DrHart]

if im not prepared for the mcat tomorrow and do not like my practice scores, should I take it and void it? I plan on taking it again in June anyway but I'm not sure whether I should still take it and keep the score. If I keep the score and somehow do well awesome but I don't really know what doing well will mean given the new exam. if I were to cancel I'd have to take the June exam anyway which is why I just kept my registration for tomorrow so at least I can take it for the experience. is there any advantage to voiding vs taking it again and hopefully improving?

how poor do you feel like your practice scores are? and are you using AAMC or Kap/TPR? Because we've talked about Kap/TPR practice test limitations on various threads pretty extensively. Don't let a poor Kap/TPR score scare you. If you're talking about the AAMC practice test its a different situation. Although, seeing as there is only one practice exam, I don't know how accurate/predictive it would be of your actual score.

As scary as it seems, I wouldn't go into the test tomorrow with your mind made up. As you go through the test, make a mental note to yourself. How many questions are you guessing on? How many do you have absolutely no idea? If it seems that every other question is giving you trouble and you seem certain that you didn't do well - voiding the test is better than receiving a very low score. But if you think there is some chance you scored well, I would keep it. This test is not something I would want to take more than once. But at the end of the day its entirely your choice.

 

[aiminghigher1]

Without studying on kaplan i got 496 and improved to 499s over the course of 5 more practice tests. I took the AAMC yesterday and got 65% chem phys 89% cars 71% bio/biochem and 71% psych. I feel like I could do a whole lot better like this doesn't reflect my potential because unfortunately due to a heavy course load I wasnt able to study as much as I would have liked these past few months. so in your opinion Is getting a poor score and retaking and getting a good score worse than voiding and taking it again and getting the same good score? 1/2 of me thinks it's obviously better if I take it again after voiding because the only score I'll have will be a good one (hopefully) but another half of me thinks what's the big difference between that and showing a major improvement (also with the possible chance of receiving an acceptable score the first time and not having to retake at all). Either way if I retake in June it would be the last feasible time to apply at a good time for this year's cycle.

 

[DrHart]

Without studying on kaplan i got 496 and improved to 499s over the course of 5 more practice tests. I took the AAMC yesterday and got 65% chem phys 89% cars 71% bio/biochem and 71% psych. I feel like I could do a whole lot better like this doesn't reflect my potential because unfortunately due to a heavy course load I wasnt able to study as much as I would have liked these past few months. so in your opinion Is getting a poor score and retaking and getting a good score worse than voiding and taking it again and getting the same good score? 1/2 of me thinks it's obviously better if I take it again after voiding because the only score I'll have will be a good one (hopefully) but another half of me thinks what's the big difference between that and showing a major improvement (also with the possible chance of receiving an acceptable score the first time and not having to retake at all). Either way if I retake in June it would be the last feasible time to apply at a good time for this year's cycle.

While improving your score (getting a low score, retaking and scoring higher) sounds nice , I think it isn't as strong as showing adcoms only one score (voiding one test, retaking and scoring high). I will say this, most of the med students I've talked to have said that drastically improving your score is rare - it certainly can be done, but there is always the chance that even taking the test a month or two later does not significantly change the outcome.
I'll also add - your scores are not bad! The actual test may be better or worse than what your only one (true) practice test shows. If your goal is 85%+ in each section and you think that's a realistic possibility with more studying, I see where you're coming from. But all it takes is a passage or two that you bomb to bring your score back down.
Like I said, wait to see how you feel after you actually take the test to decide if you want to void or not. Theres no point in screwing up your mindset before actually trying!

 

[Doug Underhill]

Back in the old days, the AAMC practice tests were very similar to the real thing in terms of score distribution. 66% of test takers on SDN scored within two points of their AAMC average.

 

[DrHart]

Back in the old days, the AAMC practice tests were very similar to the real thing in terms of score distribution. 66% of test takers on SDN scored within two points of their AAMC average.

I'd feel better about the predictive power of AAMC's FL if there were at least 4 or 5 other tests to get an average. Just one test could be flukey.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

There's no real answer to this except just trust your gut and your AAMC averages. Then again, many folks score way below their averages and there are a few who will score way above their averages. It happens. Test day can throw people off. With this new test, I feel for you guys. People are pretty much going in blind but who knows? Could be a more lenient scale?

 

[mikil100]

Without studying on kaplan i got 496 and improved to 499s over the course of 5 more practice tests. I took the AAMC yesterday and got 65% chem phys 89% cars 71% bio/biochem and 71% psych. I feel like I could do a whole lot better like this doesn't reflect my potential because unfortunately due to a heavy course load I wasnt able to study as much as I would have liked these past few months. so in your opinion Is getting a poor score and retaking and getting a good score worse than voiding and taking it again and getting the same good score? 1/2 of me thinks it's obviously better if I take it again after voiding because the only score I'll have will be a good one (hopefully) but another half of me thinks what's the big difference between that and showing a major improvement (also with the possible chance of receiving an acceptable score the first time and not having to retake at all). Either way if I retake in June it would be the last feasible time to apply at a good time for this year's cycle.

Those scores seem pretty average....

If you are questioning it at this point I would probably say don't score it unless you feel as though you did really well, and just take it as good practice.

Sorry, I don't mean to be the negative one but it's much better to have one good score than a average score and a good score.

The test can wait.

 

[justadream]

I'd feel better about the predictive power of AAMC's FL if there were at least 4 or 5 other tests to get an average. Just one test could be flukey.

Eh somewhat disagree.

The point of a standardized test is to measure your ability in one instance. Assuming you do no preparation in between, your score on any given instance of taking the test will be very close to your average score of taking of 100 times in a row.

In other words, it's not that flukey. If it were super flukey, it would have little weight to med schools.

 

[DrHart]

Eh somewhat disagree.

The point of a standardized test is to measure your ability in one instance. Assuming you do no preparation in between, your score on any given instance of taking the test will be very close to your average score of taking of 100 times in a row.

In other words, it's not that flukey. If it were super flukey, it would have little weight to med schools.

Cmon now basic science. More samples --> more reliable result.
I'm talking about the practice/sample test for the new exam. Your score could most definitely fluctuate - and I guess when I say flukey, I mean 10-15%. You could get a couple of passages that you're really uncomfortable with on one exam, and then a couple passages you're an expert at for another exam. What was a 71% in Bio/BC on one exam - could easily be a 60% or and 85% on another exam. The benefit of the old practice exams was that you had several of them and could average your score. This means that in a combination of exams (some with passages you were very knowledgable about and others that you bombed) you can find a more reliable average of where you score. One practice test is not reliable to a tee.

 

[aiminghigher1]

So long story short, what I've gathered is that I should take the test tomorrow and if I feel after that I did well keep the score but if I even think I'll need to take it again for whatever reason I should void it because an average score followed by a good score is much worse than just a good score? Is taking the exam twice really that bad? Even when everything else on your profile is adequate?

 

[DrHart]

not enormously worse, but not as good as if you only show them one good score

 

[aiminghigher1]

At my school they don't let you apply unless you have an MCAT completed on file, so is it worth waiting until July when I would get back my June score to start applying?

 

[justadream]

Cmon now basic science. More samples --> more reliable result.
I'm talking about the practice/sample test for the new exam. Your score could most definitely fluctuate - and I guess when I say flukey, I mean 10-15%. You could get a couple of passages that you're really uncomfortable with on one exam, and then a couple passages you're an expert at for another exam. What was a 71% in Bio/BC on one exam - could easily be a 60% or and 85% on another exam. The benefit of the old practice exams was that you had several of them and could average your score. This means that in a combination of exams (some with passages you were very knowledgable about and others that you bombed) you can find a more reliable average of where you score. One practice test is not reliable to a tee.

Yeah well I definitely agree that as n ==> infinity, you will get closer to the true "mean" via the Law of Large Numbers.

My point, however, was that people taking the MCAT should not expect huge fluctuations and that even 1 score from 1 AAMC FL is already highly predictive of your score on the real thing. So for example, if you scored 33 on a practice AAMC FL, you should definitely not be expecting to score like 36 or 30. It's because of this ability to predict one's ability with just 1 test that adcoms put faith in the MCAT (otherwise, maybe students should be forced t take the MCAT 10 times to get a better estimate of one's true ability).

 

[aiminghigher1]

for the new test though i feel like there are other factors confounding your score though which will add to the deviation from the AAMC FL

 

[DrHart]

for the new test though i feel like there are other factors confounding your score though which will add to the deviation from the AAMC FL

Like what?

 

[aiminghigher1]

the whole "going in blind" with less resources available than for the older mcat means you aren't as familiar with the style as people preparing for the older exam were so even if you do well on one practice and go in to the new mcat the level of preparation is different than if you if you did well on one practice going into the old mcat. I have no idea if that made sense

 

[umgoblue2008]

the variable that i am interested in between old/new MCAT is the addition of psych/soc section, increasing testing time by another 95 minutes. I wonder if that will make any difference, keeping a good blood sugar level will help tremendously with concentration.

 

[purplecricket]

OP, I'm in the exact same position as you. I don't feel ready to take it tomorrow and I also don't like my practice scores. The only difference is that I have a previous MCAT from a couple years ago (28). Nothing much to add that previous posters didn't say. I'm going into it with the idea that if in my gut I'm guessing/don't know a significant number I'm going to void.

 

[Mad Jack]

While improving your score (getting a low score, retaking and scoring higher) sounds nice , I think it isn't as strong as showing adcoms only one score (voiding one test, retaking and scoring high). I will say this, most of the med students I've talked to have said that drastically improving your score is rare - it certainly can be done, but there is always the chance that even taking the test a month or two later does not significantly change the outcome.
I'll also add - your scores are not bad! The actual test may be better or worse than what your only one (true) practice test shows. If your goal is 85%+ in each section and you think that's a realistic possibility with more studying, I see where you're coming from. But all it takes is a passage or two that you bomb to bring your score back down.
Like I said, wait to see how you feel after you actually take the test to decide if you want to void or not. Theres no point in screwing up your mindset before actually trying!

There's a page out there that actually shows the vast majority of those that retake end up with better scores. The AAMC published it a while back.

 

[DrHart]

There's a page out there that actually shows the vast majority of those that retake end up with better scores. The AAMC published it a while back.

heres one graphic by AAMC. there might be others this was just the first I found. You're right (scores tended to increase by 1-2 points), but I don't see this as a super dramatic increase. I'm still unsure how big a difference 2 months of studying would make. Guess it varies person to person

 

[wholeheartedly]

Yeah well I definitely agree that as n ==> infinity, you will get closer to the true "mean" via the Law of Large Numbers.

My point, however, was that people taking the MCAT should not expect huge fluctuations and that even 1 score from 1 AAMC FL is already highly predictive of your score on the real thing. So for example, if you scored 33 on a practice AAMC FL, you should definitely not be expecting to score like 36 or 30. It's because of this ability to predict one's ability with just 1 test that adcoms put faith in the MCAT (otherwise, maybe students should be forced t take the MCAT 10 times to get a better estimate of one's true ability).

This is true, but assumes that the person in question was adequately prepared the first time taking it. If they've studied well and have leveled off on improvements in practice scores etc. they are probably in the range they are going to stay.

If they didn't do thorough enough content review or enough practice problems and are making good gains when they do more review and practice, then an MCAT at this time point might not be predictive.

 

[newbeginnings]

Remember that VOIDING = an ATTEMPT, which you only get 3 times a year. This happened to me last year.. make sure you read the mcat guide.

 

[Dreamstoo]

I voided my MCAT first time taking it. I regretted it... my practice scores were slipping at the end of my prep and I didn't have a great experience at my testing center. Someone was sick in the room and someone else was taking an exam that required a lot of typing.

Took me a few hours later that night to realize the PS wasn't too bad, the BS was straight forward for me, and the VR was moderately hard yet I thought I did OK on it. Go in with the mentality, that you are not voiding it. Decide in those 5 minutes what you predict you got, then decide if you are going to void or not.