Still apply with a SUPER low score?

[frany584]

hey everyone, ive been kind of lurking around and quite a few ppl are in the same boat as me, which is scoring super low on the MCAT (i.e. below a 20). so my question is should i still submit my AAMCA's and will i be able to get secondaries if i say im goin to take the test in august? i have a decent GPA ~3.6 along with plenty of ec's and research experience (which will result in a publication), but i feel this mcat was not indicative of my practice scores, but i dont want people to laugh at me either when theyre lookin at my application!

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[Law2Doc]

hey everyone, ive been kind of lurking around and quite a few ppl are in the same boat as me, which is scoring super low on the MCAT (i.e. below a 20). so my question is should i still submit my AAMCA's and will i be able to get secondaries if i say im goin to take the test in august? i have a decent GPA ~3.6 along with plenty of ec's and research experience (which will result in a publication), but i feel this mcat was not indicative of my practice scores, but i dont want people to laugh at me either when theyre lookin at my application!

I don't know what the consensus is (and defer to anyone with actual experience with this), but I personally think I would sit tight and not apply until I had a higher retake score to accompany that sub-20 score. Otherwise you risk getting rejected pre-secondary by places that might be receptive to a subsequent higher score.

 

[echinoderm]

i agree.. don't waste your time applying if you don't know for sure that your score will be AT LEAST a 25... applying is not fun.. and having to reapply is 10X worst. PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[Jezzielin]

But applying and saying you are retaking it is ok though right? Because that is what I was planning on doing...

 

[MoosePilot]

But applying and saying you are retaking it is ok though right? Because that is what I was planning on doing...

What kind of plan do you have for change? Realistically you have to improve at least 6 points overall to even be a longshot for most medical schools (assuming 19 improving to 25). Really you would want an 11 point improvement. Not to be a nay-sayer, but trying to be realistic, unless you have something really incredible in your application, it's very tough to get in with such a low MCAT and very tough to improve by that many points. Not impossible, but you better have a plan and less than 3 months is a tight timetable.

 

[frany584]

GujuDoc:
I agree with this sentiment. I went from an 18 to 24, but it wasn't in the span of 10 weeks. It was in the span of a few months and proper planning.

what happens if your practice scores were higher and the actual test wasnt reflective of that? when studyin i began with a low score and i had increased to the mid-high 20s and i felt comfortable with taking the test. is it possible to pick up where i left off?

 

[frany584]

GujuDoc, I just wanted to say that you're great. You are always willing to give advice to everyone on the forum and you're always positive. Thanks!

 

[Camillekc]

You could try some canadian schools like mcmaster, which don't require the mcat. On the other hand, they have pretty high gpa cutoffs (that's right, cutoffs), and they list them for previous years. I'm in the same gpa range as you, and i don't think i'll make it for many schools, but try looking into it if the rest of your application is great and you really want to go. (It's also incredibly cheaper if your canadian-- i'm not sure if you're american)

 

[RAD11]

I got a very low score also this past April MCAT. After seriously thinking about re-taking the test this August, I have decided to postpone it until next April because statistically speaking my score would probably not go up to a competitive score for US allopathic schools (it might go up enough to be okay for Carribean schools....but I don't want to go there for my first try). This gives me ample time to really re-assess on what my weaknesses are and attack the MCAT from a different perspective.