Re-write my MCAT for better chances?!?!

[hello123456789]

Hello,

I wrote my MCAT last year in September (2014). I scored a 33 ( 14 BS, 11 PS, 8 VR). I understand that my verbal reasoning score is not very good, and that I may have to write the new 2015 MCAT just to increase that score/ obtain a more balanced MCAT score. My GPA in my school is 3.98, but when converted for AMCAS applications, my GPA will most likely be around 3.95. I have completed my third year, and will enter my 4th year in September.

Is it worth re-writing the MCAT again?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dr.Wink]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...IMKrK5NsnYADMJi1iPsXWvA&bvm=bv.92885102,d.cWc

 

[cloudmurder1]

If you're Canadian, then yes, it's worth re-writing it

 

[Deranged Medic]

For the love of all things awesome, please don't retake a 33.

 

[gettheleadout]

For the love of all things awesome, please don't retake a 33.

It's not that straightforward; a Canadian applicant with an 8 in VR has zero chance of Canadian admission, so considerations have to be made for applying to US schools as an international applicant.

 

[Deranged Medic]

It's not that straightforward; a Canadian applicant with an 8 in VR has zero chance of Canadian admission, so considerations have to be made for applying to US schools as an international applicant.

I saw nothing in the original post speaking of the OP being from Canada.

 

[efle]

Let's not forget the crazy dude who retook a 35 and got a 39. Only OP can answer whether he is likely to show a big improvement

 

[cloudmurder1]

I saw nothing in the original post speaking of the OP being from Canada.

I could extrapolate due to OP's usage of UK English

 

[GrapesofRath]

The statistics on people who retake the MCAT and the chances of them doing considerably better on the Verbal(I'd consider a 10 or the equivalent percentile on the new MCAT which is around ~89% a significant improvement) historically have been poor. The fact is there have been many many people in this same situation: great application outside of the verbal but a poor verbal score on their first MCAT. After taking the MCAT again on average they don't show much improvement on the Verbal. Keep in mind like I said there are many many applicants who are top notch in every other sense with many accomplishments who fall under this category of not showing verbal improvement on the re take.

Is it possible for you to be the minority and show significant improvement on the Verbal? Of course but there has to be legitimate reason for you to believe you'll do better on the MCAT the second time around. If you were getting 7-9's on the old MCAT verbal practice test of yours and now after several months you're getting 11-12(or equivalent on the new scale) on your practice tests then that is the type of thing that can give you legitimately hope that you can improve your MCAT verbal on a retake(again emphasis on hope----far from any kind of guarantee). You have to identify like others have the said what is behind your poor score. Slow reading? Careless mistakes? Not being able to understand the big picture? Not being able to find the details in the passage necessary to support or reject a claim? Improving MCAT Verbal is a long term process. As it is there are numerous people who despite significant effort over the course of months still can't improve their MCAT verbal much on the retake. The chances of making significant improvement on the new one in a number of weeks like you would have to in order to apply this cycle are definitely smaller. Best of luck mate.

 

[GrapesofRath]

To best answer your question more directly there are absolutely people who get in with 8's on verbals with strong GPA's and other parts of their application(I know two from this past cycle). Even with Canadian citizenship, a 3.95 GPA a 33 MCAT and solid work in terms of research/volunteering/other activities gives you a good shot at getting into an MD school in the US despite the 8 verbal. However, if your goal is getting into a higher ranked med school and not just A med school, then it's probably in your best interest to retake the MCAT.

 

[Lawpy]

Let's not forget the crazy dude who retook a 35 and got a 39. Only OP can answer whether he is likely to show a big improvement

A 35 is sadly susceptible to single digit subsection scores like 15/5/15 (that's something right there).

The statistics on people who retake the MCAT and the chances of them doing considerably better on the Verbal(I'd consider a 10 or the equivalent percentile on the new MCAT which is around ~89% a significant improvement) historically have been poor. The fact is there have been many many people in this same situation: great application outside of the verbal but a poor verbal score on their first MCAT. After taking the MCAT again on average they don't show much improvement on the Verbal. Keep in mind like I said there are many many applicants who are top notch in every other sense with many accomplishments who fall under this category of not showing verbal improvement on the re take.

Is it possible for you to be the minority and show significant improvement on the Verbal? Of course but there has to be legitimate reason for you to believe you'll do better on the MCAT the second time around. If you were getting 7-9's on the old MCAT verbal practice test of yours and now after several months you're getting 11-12(or equivalent on the new scale) on your practice tests then that is the type of thing that can give you legitimately hope that you can improve your MCAT verbal on a retake(again emphasis on hope----far from any kind of guarantee). You have to identify like others have the said what is behind your poor score. Slow reading? Careless mistakes? Not being able to understand the big picture? Not being able to find the details in the passage necessary to support or reject a claim? Improving MCAT Verbal is a long term process. As it is there are numerous people who despite significant effort over the course of months still can't improve their MCAT verbal much on the retake. The chances of making significant improvement on the new one in a number of weeks like you would have to in order to apply this cycle are definitely smaller. Best of luck mate.

It is definitely possible to go from a single digit verbal to around a 10 or so. It just requires an effective strategy and focusing what went wrong the first time. In other cases, people scored 11-12 on practice tests but tanked and got a 7 on the real deal due to bad luck/crappy circumstances etc. I read many posts on the MCAT Discussion Forums focusing how someone went from a 6 consistently to an 11, or from an 8 to a 13. Luck plays a part sure, but finding an effective strategy (rather than aimlessly doing practice passages) is the key to do well, so I wouldn't take the statistics too seriously.

 

[efle]

A 35 is sadly susceptible to single digit subsection scores like 15/5/15 (that's something right there).

His was a 11/13/11, which he improved to a 13/13/13. What a ballsy move...I wonder how adcoms will read it.

Here it is if you're curious. I (and most others) told him he was insane but hey, he did make a big improvement

 

[MrLogan13]

Unless you've been steadily working on improving your reading comprehension and critical analysis skills since September of 2014, you're not likely to improve your VR significantly. I wouldn't advise retaking.

 

[GrapesofRath]

It is definitely possible to go from a single digit verbal to around a 10 or so. It just requires an effective strategy and focusing what went wrong the first time. In other cases, people scored 11-12 on practice tests but tanked and got a 7 on the real deal due to bad luck/crappy circumstances etc. I read many posts on the MCAT Discussion Forums focusing how someone went from a 6 consistently to an 11, or from an 8 to a 13. Luck plays a part sure, but finding an effective strategy (rather than aimlessly doing practice passages) is the key to do well, so I wouldn't take the statistics too seriously.[/QUOTE]


I mean there's a difference between AAMC statistics and online anecdotes. In general people who retake the MCAT Verbal don't see a significant difference in their score. There's nothing that can be argued about that, it's simply just the fact of the matter. Obviously there are those who do but to fall in this trap of just assuming because others you've read about on a rather selective sample jumped 4-5 points on the MCAT Verbal on the retake that the OP has a strong chance of isn't reality; especially when the OP needs legitimate advice on whether to retake or not. Strategy is all well and good but everyone has different reading abilities. It's easy for someone who did improve significantly to say anybody can improve through hardwork and to fall into that trap of logic but that's not reality. There are many many people who study all they can for the MCAT Verbal on the retake and just don't do much better on the retake because they just don't have the natural reading comprehension or reading speed ability. It's not just an issue of not working hard enough. The OP definitely should know that more times than not people who retake the MCAT don't do much better on the Verbal and at least be aware of that( no one is saying because of that the OP shouldn't bother considering to retake) before deciding to commit a ton of time and effort to try to retake it.

 

[Lawpy]

His was a 11/13/11, which he improved to a 13/13/13. What a ballsy move...I wonder how adcoms will read it.

Here it is if you're curious. I (and most others) told him he was insane but hey, he did make a big improvement

Adcoms would auto-accept that guy by declaring him the master of standardized tests, whereas the angry premeds who demand him to not retake will suddenly pretend this case never happened

In all seriousness, it's a risky and stupid move to retake a perfectly balanced 35, but hey, more power to him for getting an even better score.

I mean there's a difference between AAMC statistics and online anecdotes. In general people who retake the MCAT Verbal don't see a significant difference in their score. There's nothing that can be argued about that, it's simply just the fact of the matter. Obviously there are those who do but to fall in this trap of just assuming because others you've read about on a rather selective sample jumped 4-5 points on the MCAT Verbal on the retake that the OP has a strong chance of isn't reality; especially when the OP needs legitimate advice on whether to retake or not. Strategy is all well and good but everyone has different reading abilities. It's easy for someone who did improve significantly to say anybody can improve through hardwork and to fall into that trap of logic but that's not reality. There are many many people who study all they can for the MCAT Verbal on the retake and just don't do much better on the retake because they just don't have the natural reading comprehension or reading speed ability. It's not just an issue of not working hard enough. The OP definitely should know that more times than not people who retake the MCAT don't do much better on the Verbal and at least be aware of that( no one is saying because of that the OP shouldn't bother considering to retake) before deciding to commit a ton of time and effort to try to retake it.

Like I said, it's really the matter of find that right strategy to safely score in the 10s region (and not exactly a matter of reading skills, and definitely not reading speed). The people who remained stuck in the 6-8 region sadly couldn't find it (or just had consistently bad luck), and that's what the statistics indicate.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Adcoms would auto-accept that guy by declaring him the master of standardized tests, whereas the angry premeds who demand him to not retake will suddenly pretend this case never happened

In all seriousness, it's a risky and stupid move to retake a perfectly balanced 35, but hey, more power to him for getting an even better score.



Like I said, it's really the matter of find that right strategy to safely score in the 10s region (and not exactly a matter of reading skills, and definitely not reading speed). The people who remained stuck in the 6-8 region sadly couldn't find it (or just had consistently bad luck), and that's what the statistics indicate.

Exactly, the statistics indicate most people a) couldn't find that right strategy b) weren't capable of increasing their score regardless of how they study. That's absolutely worth noting.

 

[Goro]

So help me, if you retake that perfectly good score, I'm going to reach through your computer monitor and smack you upside the head!

Hello,

I wrote my MCAT last year in September (2014). I scored a 33 ( 14 BS, 11 PS, 8 VR). I understand that my verbal reasoning score is not very good, and that I may have to write the new 2015 MCAT just to increase that score/ obtain a more balanced MCAT score. My GPA in my school is 3.98, but when converted for AMCAS applications, my GPA will most likely be around 3.95. I have completed my third year, and will enter my 4th year in September.

Is it worth re-writing the MCAT again?

 

[625233]

Why are Canadians so damn smart??

 

[Lawpy]

So help me, if you retake that perfectly good score, I'm going to reach through your computer monitor and smack you upside the head!

Lol. This is why you're an awesome adcom.

 

[jayceee]

A lot of Canadian schools only look at the verbal section of the MCAT. The ones that do often require a minimum of 10 in that section.

I think people are assuming OP is Canadian because we say "writing an exam" instead of "taking an exam"...

OP, if you want Canada, apply to schools like McGill that don't require MCAT score (optional to submit an MCAT score if I recall), or retake MCAT. Focus on verbal this time. If you can crush BS with a 14, you can beat the verbal section.

Cheers.

 

[efle]

A lot of Canadian schools only look at the verbal section of the MCAT. The ones that do often require a minimum of 10 in that section.

Why would they do this? Both BS and PS correlate better to Step 1 than Verbal does

 

[Vain Brother]

OP should be fine for US DO schools

 

[jayceee]

Why would they do this? Both BS and PS correlate better to Step 1 than Verbal does

Canadian medical students don't have to take the USMLE.

The Canadian schools generally agree that an undergraduate science degree at most of the major Canadian universities are of equal quality, so they rely more on science GPA than MCAT scores to assess their applicants. The University of Ottawa SoM website used to state that they didn't require an MCAT score because their applicants have completed the pre-requisite science classes.

Here's an article that talks about why McGill eliminated their MCAT requirement.
http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/mcgill-eliminates-mcat-requirements/

 

[hello123456789]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all your replies. I really appreciate it!

I apologize for not mentioning earlier, but yes, I am a Canadian student and am trying my best to get accepted into a Canadian medical school. The requirements here are very high, and there are some schools such as Queen's University, which have hard cut-offs for the VR section at 9. So for these schools, I unfortunately will not be able to apply and be competitive at all. I have completed and submitted my AMCAS application, as of June 10th, 2015. I am hoping to apply to several US MD programs which are hopefully near the border, so I am not too far from home. But in general, getting into a Canadian MD program is definitely my first priority.

I will be writing my MCAT on September 12th, 2015. And therefore, have about 3 full months to prepare for VR and practice as much as possible. Does this seem like enough time to improve my score? When I was practicing initially for my first MCAT, I was generally scoring in the 6-10 VR range. So an 8 VR was expected, and this time definitely need to find an effective strategy that works for me.