Retaking an Exam before knowing your score

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Silence in ER

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Hey everyone.

So I took my first mcat in April, I studied a little, but went in mostly cold.

Score: PS/verbal/BS
7/12/10 for a 29.

Since I only really answered the gen chem questions and guessed on all the PS questions,barely prepped for the bio, and guessed on all the orgo I knew I could do better.

Went back home and studied PS and did some heavy content review with TPR and Kaplan.

Practice tests were:
PS/verbal/Bio
AAMC 5: 30 7/11/12
AAMC 7: 31 10/11/10
AAMC 8: 30 10/10/10
AAMC 9: 32 11/11/10
AAMC 10: 33 8/11/14
AAMC 11: 28 8/10/10


On the exam, I felt punished by the PS, had no time to go over my questions, had a lot of algebraic manipulation and I guessed on questions from at least 3 passages, with the stupid errors I make on chem, that could easily make me fall to an 8.
Verbal was ok, but the passages were boring to me and stupidly technical. I hate technical.
Bio passages were fine, but I had a bunch of orgo stuff that I had not prepped for and I know of at least 7 questions I missed for sure. I felt awful leaving the testing center. I felt like voiding my exam,
So basically, I want to retake before the new exam comes out. I am hoping I could get some seats for jan 23, because I live in a really rural area.


Can anyone comment on whether this is a good idea, adcoms tell me whether they would hate to see it?

I really really need the help. I can't get another 28.


Thanks.

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Retaking without reflecting on past mistakes or taking time for real improvement shows immaturity and poor decision making.

Start prepping for the new MCAT
 
You didn't say when you took your test.

I am assuming it was a January date?

Your AAMC average as posted is 30.66. Your first test score was reasonable with that average I believe. Everyone feels bad coming out of the exam.

I personally would not, no matter how tempting. If you retake and do poorly, but find out your January test was solid? That will look foolish I imagine. If you retake and do better, I guess no one would know the difference. It's definitely a gamble in my mind - but in the end that call is up to you, and not what random people online think.
 
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i don't know, i was going to call the aamc tomorrow and ask........

i mean i feel pretty royally screwed, if I get below a 30 or lower than a 9 on my PS, I'll be shut out of every allopathic med school. My next option from tat is to take the 2014 mcat, which I don't want to do.

If i take 2015,I'll be in school and have little time to study and it will be a new test playing to my weaknesses with biochem, psych and social science (which I hate).

It's a ****ty situation.
 
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Unless something went seriously wrong on your recent exam (serious panic attack, accidentally skipped a section, fire in your test center, etc.) I doubt you'd get a much better score in a week. You probably did much better than you expect! Seems like everyone feels pretty miserable right after taking it and they still usually do just fine.
 
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Thanks everyone.

Overall the total consensus says to not try to do it.

I even got a pm that warned against it.

I looked at the 2015 stuff and I kind of don't like the new psych and socioeconomic stuff.
But the truth is it's just another test.

I am taking biochem this semester, so I figure I'll just buy a biochem mcat book for 2015 and review as I go.
I've seen most of the psych they want and I know I do pretty well on the psych though I hate it.

I can't say I feel good, but I know that i tend to be very high strung. So I just need to deal, if the 2015 is in my future, gotta accept it with equanimity.
 
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The likelihood that you obtain a Jan. 23rd test date at this time is very low - though you might get lucky depending on how far you'd want to travel. Also, if you went into the MCAT "cold" and received a 28 then you're doing something right and perhaps the time you took to study was not enough or not reinforcing your strengths and building up your weaknesses. Don't take the test for a 3rd (and final) time without knowing you just received. If worst comes to worst, hunker down and study your butt off for the new test.
 
The likelihood that you obtain a Jan. 23rd test date at this time is very low - though you might get lucky depending on how far you'd want to travel. Also, if you went into the MCAT "cold" and received a 28 then you're doing something right and perhaps the time you took to study was not enough or not reinforcing your strengths and building up your weaknesses. Don't take the test for a 3rd (and final) time without knowing you just received. If worst comes to worst, hunker down and study your butt off for the new test.
yeah, I was disappointed with the 29, but then again, considering how little work i put in and how chill I was with the test, I'm kinda surprised I got even that.

I think I'm going to buy the biochem book, I'm taking biochem this year anyway and register for the april test. I can always cancel if I need to, and I want to be prepared just in case because I'm applying this year.
 
I was doing research/working full time and couldn't study the way I wanted to. and i needed to know how I would do.
It didn't sink in that failure was even possible until i took my first mcat.
 
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