mcat score went down second time

[dr johnny bravo]

Did I blow my chance at MD programs away?

first time august 2012: 31: 12ps/11bs/8vr . tried to study really hard to improve the vr but ended up not doing so hot..

second time april 2013: 29: 12ps/10bs/7vr - i was pretty disappointed since i scored so much lower than my practice test scores

my gpa is 3.99 and i have a good list of ec's.

any thoughts, advice please.

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[EnginrTheFuture]

State of residence?

Honestly, whoever told you to retake a 31 with a 3.99 gpa made a terrible lapse in judgement.

 

[plumhill]

Did I blow my chance at MD programs away?

first time august 2012: 31: 12ps/11bs/8vr . tried to study really hard to improve the vr but ended up not doing so hot..

second time april 2013: 29: 12ps/10bs/7vr - i was pretty disappointed since i scored so much lower than my practice test scores

my gpa is 3.99 and i have a good list of ec's.

any thoughts, advice please.

That's rough

Well, you only have a couple of options. You can can take a huge risk and re-take a third time in hopes that your 3rd score is substantially higher, or you can just leave it as and hope that schools will be nice and give more consideration to your higher score.

 

[ericksonj15]

.

 

[dr johnny bravo]

yea..tell me about it.

i'm from nj. i was looking into schools in the tri state area.

 

[Dires]

Your numbers won't keep you from getting into a USMD.

Your MCAT is not high enough for a top school (this I assume is why you retook the test).

At this point focus on strengthening the other parts of your application

 

[DocGodfather]

I think you still have a great shot with the 31, but not sure what schools will think with a lower scored retake. You're PS looks great, so maybe work on verbal for two months and retake it a third time.

 

[Narmerguy]

State of residence?

Honestly, whoever told you to retake a 31 with a 3.99 gpa made a terrible lapse in judgement.

+1

+2

I think you still have a great shot with the 31, but not sure what schools will think with a lower scored retake. You're PS looks great, so maybe work on verbal for two months and retake it a third time.

I would not take it again unless you're incredibly confident you're going to get at least a 34.

 

[sinombre]

I wish a series of threads like this were stickied as a sort of PSA.

Sorry OP

 

[DavetheMD]

Don't bother with a retake. You only took a two point hit. Check what school's minimum scores are in each section and apply broadly.

 

[sector9]

Moving to "What are my chances"

 

[Espadaleader]

This thread should be a lesson. Never retake a MCAT over 30 if all section scores are above 8. EVER. With a 3.9 and 31 you are a good candidate for most MD schools and may have a shot at a top 20 school depending on ECs. Now with a 7 in verbal, some schools have auto reject with scores under 8.

People are going nuts with this "I have 34 should I retake" stuff

You should look on AAMC and research the retake data.

 

[nabilesmail]

Ehh not sure if thats true, Good/great EC's would not be enough at a top 20 with a 31, isn't that below their 10th percentiles?

 

[stargate16]

Can I ask what you did differently in terms of studying the second time? Each time I read a post like this I am thinking to cancel my retake..

 

[Temperature101]

State of residence?

Honestly, whoever told you to retake a 31 with a 3.99 gpa made a terrible lapse in judgement.

Even if GOD tells you to retake a 31 mcat when you have a virtually 4.0 GPA, you shouldn't unless you were scoring 35+ in your practice test...

 

[Noggin]

I don't know why you retook the 31 mcat. Yeah the verbal was a tad bit low but your 7 in verbal the second time around is going to sting. If I were you I would apply. Do not retake the mcat again because if you score the same or even lower you would be done for. You are capable of scoring in the 30's based on your first mcat. Make sure you apply to the schools that look at your "best set of scores" and not just the ones that look at the "most recent set of scores." You have a great GPA. Do not loose hope.

 

[UniBoy4]

I'm not sure about this so help me out here. Do the majority of medical schools consider all your MCAT scores or do the majority consider only your better one?

 

[Noggin]

I believe that the majority do not simply "average" your mcat scores. The majority will either take the "best set of scores" or the "most recent set of scores." This is not information that you can get from the MSAR. You will need to go to each school's individual website to find this information out. If it is not listed on the website, you will need to call them each individually. The thread below is from 2004 so it is most likely not completely accurate. However, it should give you a place to start when doing research on your own.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=119179

 

[DoctorDachshund]

Temple.