Should I retake? [Canadian]

[JohnWall69]

Hello fellow SDNers!!!!

I was checking the pinned thread for retakes, but there seems to be a lack of response in the thread so I thought I'd openly ask here (please don't kill me >.<)!~~~

I took the MCAT in June 2015 and scored: 510 (128/124/128/130)
I am hoping to apply strictly to Canadian schools and as you can tell, my CARS score (124) is very low. My GPA is currently 3.76 and I have a variety of ECs as well. My goal for the next take is to shoot for at least a 128 in CARS. English isn't my strongest subject, but I am willing to work hard to make it happen or at the very least improve my CARS score.

Should I retake?~~~

[I have my next MCAT set for July]

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[NextStepTutor_2]

Hello fellow SDNers!!!!

I was checking the pinned thread for retakes, but there seems to be a lack of response in the thread so I thought I'd openly ask here (please don't kill me >.<)!~~~

I took the MCAT in June 2015 and scored: 510 (128/124/128/130)
I am hoping to apply strictly to Canadian schools and as you can tell, my CARS score (124) is very low. My GPA is currently 3.76 and I have a variety of ECs as well. My goal for the next take is to shoot for at least a 128 in CARS. English isn't my strongest subject, but I am willing to work hard to make it happen or at the very least improve my CARS score.

Should I retake?~~~

[I have my next MCAT set for July]

Hi @JohnWall69 !

You need to contact the Canadian schools and ask them, as it will depend on each school. Your overall MCAT score is very competitive, but your CARS score is a red flag. This tells me, and ADCOMS you are very good at reasoning about science and memorizing material, but not so hot at analyzing or thinking critically about new material or material with which you cannot fall back on outside knowledge. This is a big hurdle for US medical school applications and with Canadian schools, I would imagine they are similarly wary. Try the admissions forum and again, reach out to the schools directly.

As it is, I would say you can apply now, see how they take it.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[t0ny]

Yes. Canadian schools have much higher standards (on average) than american schools, and have hard cutoffs for MCAT. Unfortunately, you will need to rewrite as your CARS score is too low. I'm in the same boat as you, as I got in the 93rd percentile but got a verbal score that was too low, so I am rewriting this summer.

 

[ramifications]

sometime ago, the MCAT was not as important for canadian schools but with it being so competitive, it is increasingly gaining its emphasis. Because Canada is still very much different in regards to admission from US, the MCAT question is a school to school dependent factor. Some schools value the whole score while others may value specific sections and then you will find schools that just prefer the test but do not strictly require it.