Taking the MCAT more than 3 times puts you at a disadvantage?

[rubisco88]

I'm not in this situation, but does taking the MCAT more than 3 times put you at a disadvantage? What if you take the MCAT 3 times within the same year with little or no improvement (like a 1 pt improvement or the same score)? Also, do adcoms look unfavorably when someone can't get at least a 30 on the MCAT, but they have a ridiculously high GPA? Anyone have any anecdotal evidence or statistics that any of these scenarios puts you at a disadvantage?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[blub1212]

I'm not in this situation, but does taking the MCAT more than 3 times put you at a disadvantage? What if you take the MCAT 3 times within the same year with little or no improvement (like a 1 pt improvement or the same score)? Also, do adcoms look unfavorably when someone can't get at least a 30 on the MCAT, but they have a ridiculously high GPA? Anyone have any anecdotal evidence or statistics that any of these scenarios puts you at a disadvantage?

If your not in this situation, don't worry about it. Life is gonna suck for you if you are always freaking out about what could happen. Do your best, roll with the punches, and see what happens. You'll live longer and enjoy life a lot more.

 

[notbobtrustme]

According to student adcoms I talked to when I was at Northwestern, high GPA + low MCAT is a red flag because that says the applicant either is a bad test taker or coasted through undergrad.

 

[rubisco88]

According to student adcoms I talked to when I was at Northwestern, high GPA + low MCAT is a red flag because that says the applicant either is a bad test taker or coasted through undergrad.

Yeah makes sense. I have quite a few friends that coasted through UG at an unranked institution with 3.8+s and can't even break a 28 on the third try.

 

[cgk]

I'm not in this situation, but does taking the MCAT more than 3 times put you at a disadvantage? What if you take the MCAT 3 times within the same year with little or no improvement (like a 1 pt improvement or the same score)? Also, do adcoms look unfavorably when someone can't get at least a 30 on the MCAT, but they have a ridiculously high GPA? Anyone have any anecdotal evidence or statistics that any of these scenarios puts you at a disadvantage?

My friend is in this situation, with a 3.6 GPA and an MCAT history of 24, 22, 28. Should he take them a 4th time or just spin the wheel for an allopathic acceptance with his 3rd attempt of 28? Will taking them a 4th time increase his chances if he gets>30, or is taking them 4 times to finally achieve a 30 look bad in of itself? Do the ADCOMS still factor in to some degree his dismal prior scores in the decision making process, or will they ignore them?

 

[WorldChanger36]

My friend is in this situation, with a 3.6 GPA and an MCAT history of 24, 22, 28. Should he take them a 4th time or just spin the wheel for an allopathic acceptance with his 3rd attempt of 28? Will taking them a 4th time increase his chances if he gets>30, or is taking them 4 times to finally achieve a 30 look bad in of itself? Do the ADCOMS still factor in to some degree his dismal prior scores in the decision making process, or will they ignore them?

According to the AAMC with a 3.6 GPA and a 28 MCAT your friend has a 50.8 percent chance of acceptance to an MD school if he applies to at least 15 schools. Your friend could greatly increase their chance by doing the following 1) Applying to DO school ( which that GPA and MCAT are competitive) 2) increasing the amount of applications to 30 3) Combination of both 1 and 2. Lets be honest a 28 MCAT isn't bad but it isn't good. People do succeed with a 28 MCAT. For the most part Adcoms only consider the most recent score but I would not recommend a retake if you can't hit it after 3 attempts it just isn't going to happen, especially because he had a decrease from that first attempt.Unless this friend of your did not study using any of the known test prep strategies we have on SDN, I say spin the wheel and hope for a state school.

 

[armybound]

I think AAMC only lets you take it so many times in a year.

I wouldn't want to keep taking the MCAT. You're either showing them you don't prepare well or you're not capable of doing better, neither of which are things I'd like people to think.

 

[kpcrew]

I think AAMC only lets you take it so many times in a year.

I wouldn't want to keep taking the MCAT. You're either showing them you don't prepare well or you're not capable of doing better, neither of which are things I'd like people to think.

also it costs over 200 dollars and you have to restudy each time

 

[ur2l8]

also it costs over 200 dollars and you have to restudy each time

Seriously, just the time and prep involved would make me hate my life-----especially if all 3 of those MCATs are in the same year. F that.

 

[Davidasaurus]

Given his erratic score history I'd advise taking it a 4th time. A balanced 28 should suffice so long as the rest of his application is fine.

As for retaking the MCAT. Hitting a 30 on your first try certainly looks better than hitting it on your 2nd/3rd/4th/etc. time. Generally speaking, if your scores don't show much improvement, or get worse, chances are you're not studying right or your test taking skills are horrible.

That being said, I have seen some fantastic turnarounds. People scoring <25, studying like there's no tomorrow, and hitting 35+ on a retake, it's all boils down to how bad you want it.

 

[RedSox10]

I think the number of attempts does play a role in how your application is viewed.

As the above poster stated, he/she knows of many people who have had a huge turn-around. I personally know of someone to got a 29, then studied a ton and got a 38. The point is, if someone gets a 28 or 29 on the 1st attempt, it's feasible an onlooker might think, "perhaps this person wasn't prepared for the test but he or she could probably do better with more studying"... However, if someone takes the test 3 or 4 times and always lands a low score, then the onlooker will assume that's the best this person is capable of.

 

[pkwraith]

What "3 times within the same year with little or no improvement (like a 1 pt improvement or the same score" says to me:

1. Lack of foresight, planning, and follow through
2. Lack of self-awareness, identification of weakness and ability to make corrections
3. Erases the plausibility of having one bad test day

 

[johnlee2014]

Low MCAT, High GPA = OK here!
http://www.umbc.edu/premed/pdfs/UMBCPreMedMedicalAcceptedApplicants.pdf

 

[Mad Jack]

Spam necromancy. Great.