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I wouldn't. Especially since you are working full time, you are probably at a high risk for scoring lower, which would be pretty detrimental.
 
A 35 is a very good MCAT. Check out the MSAR.
 
If you are a 'Harvard or bust' student, then sure, break a leg.
 
biol101 said:
Hey folks,
I'm an international student majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota. I have a gpa of 3.87 and have strong extra curriculars. My question is, should I retake a 35? I'm sure if I had say 2 months I could cross 37, but I take the next one (if I go ahead with it ) on July 2nd, and I'd have to study for it while working full time. This will also delay my application as I plan on applying this cycle. What do you guys think? Should I retake it? I'm super confused.

PS. I'm already registered, I can cancel though.
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It takes more than 2 months to improve a 35 with an acceptable risk:benefit ratio, especially if you're working full time. Basically, you want to improve by more than 2 points to make it worth your while, and your risk of your new score actually being lower is much more likely than you breaking 37. Out of curiosity, why do you think you only need 2 months?

Either way, not worth your time. Your GPA is great and a 35 is just about average at all top schools, so there is no need to retake. Only reason I retook my 35 was because I was a reapplicant and needed to seriously make up for my GPA and weak clinical experience.
 
biol101 said:
Hey folks,
I'm an international student majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota. I have a gpa of 3.87 and have strong extra curriculars. My question is, should I retake a 35? I'm sure if I had say 2 months I could cross 37, but I take the next one (if I go ahead with it ) on July 2nd, and I'd have to study for it while working full time. This will also delay my application as I plan on applying this cycle. What do you guys think? Should I retake it? I'm super confused.

PS. I'm already registered, I can cancel though.
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Humble brag. 👎
 
Go ahead and retake it. I'm sure you'll do a lot better. -_-
 
LaCroix09 said:
Humble brag. 👎
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OP's concern is semi-understandable, since the competition is a lot higher for international applicants. If he had been scoring in the 37+ range on practice tests AND had ample time to study for the retake, a few more MCAT points might be beneficial. Still a big risk, though. But since he's working full time and only has 2 months, a possible improvement isn't worth the risk.
 
Ismet said:
OP's concern is semi-understandable, since the competition is a lot higher for international applicants. If he had been scoring in the 37+ range on practice tests AND had ample time to study for the retake, a few more MCAT points might be beneficial. Still a big risk, though. But since he's working full time and only has 2 months, a possible improvement isn't worth the risk.
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Well said. The difference between and a 35 and 37 is guessing right on 2 more questions.
 
Chill out. I have a friend who's international and got into a very well known medical school with a 33 MCAT.
 
Never try to steal home plate man. You're standing on 3rd with that MCAT score, don't mess it up.
 
bfMD1291 said:
Never try to steal home plate man. You're standing on 3rd with that MCAT score, don't mess it up.
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He's standing 2 feet from home and saying, "I think I can run back to third and then steal home."
 
bfMD1291 said:
Never try to steal home plate man. You're standing on 3rd with that MCAT score, don't mess it up.
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Man if he is standing on 3rd with that score my acceptance must have been from a wild pitch from the pitcher, somehow I was up to bat and managed to round all the bases before getting tagged out along the way hahaha
 
I believe that according to AAMC's statistics, the number of people who score worse upon retaking a 35 is somewhere between 80-100%. OP would be a fool to retake that score.
 
OCDOCDOCD said:
I believe that according to AAMC's statistics, the number of people who score worse upon retaking a 35 is somewhere between 80-100%. OP would be a fool to retake that score.
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That depends on the reason the real score is lower than expected. Sure, if you study well and then make a 35, and then decide to study well again and retake it, you have a good chance of scoring lower because you aren't really changing anything. But if you had crippling nerves the day of the exam, and have since been prescribed beta blockers, it might be reasonable to retake a 35 if your AAMC FL average is 40. An extreme example, but there are lots of things that can go wrong the day of the exam that you can prepare for on your retake.
 
biol101 said:
Thanks for the replies, guys! I honestly think I can do better, I just don't know if a 37 is that much better than a 35. I don't think I'll score lower than a 35, but the downside I see here is that I will be losing out on valuable application time. Can anybody give me an idea of how much time the application will take? That would really help me judge if I have the time to devote to studying for another attempt. Again, thanks for your inputs!
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10-30 hours of computer time. Definitely retake. The odds are completely in your favor.
 
I am an International student and I was accepted to three schools with a 35 ( BS 13, PS 12, VR 10), GPA 3.87, sGPA 3.96. I have average clinical, research, altruistic and other experiences. Please do not retake if there is the slightest chance you might score lower or not improve by at least two points.
 
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There is a simple rule in life: if you are above the 90th percentile-- for anything, anything at all-- do not complain.
 
biol101 said:
Hey folks,
I'm an international student majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota. I have a gpa of 3.87 and have strong extra curriculars. My question is, should I retake a 35? I'm sure if I had say 2 months I could cross 37, but I take the next one (if I go ahead with it ) on July 2nd, and I'd have to study for it while working full time. This will also delay my application as I plan on applying this cycle. What do you guys think? Should I retake it? I'm super confused.

PS. I'm already registered, I can cancel though.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not! 35 and 37 are about the same percentiles. The difference is about 1 to 2 questions. A lot of medical schools use the MCAT to decide whether or not they're going to interview you. Once you get your interview your MCAT becomes a non-factor. Not worth it man, just not worth it. Please don't.
 
biol101 said:
Hey folks,
I'm an international student majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota. I have a gpa of 3.87 and have strong extra curriculars. My question is, should I retake a 35? I'm sure if I had say 2 months I could cross 37, but I take the next one (if I go ahead with it ) on July 2nd, and I'd have to study for it while working full time. This will also delay my application as I plan on applying this cycle. What do you guys think? Should I retake it? I'm super confused.

PS. I'm already registered, I can cancel though.
Click to expand...

Not worth it to increase by two points.
 
I'm going to go against the trend here. Retake and retake and retake, and don't be satisfied until you have at least a 42.
 
Benedictus123 said:
I'm going to go against the trend here. Retake and retake and retake, and don't be satisfied until you have at least a 42.
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I'm going to agree with this. Especially since your score is so imbalanced.

Maybe if you had a 13/12/12.. but those 11s just seem so out of place.
 
biol101 said:
I just love the sarcasm! Thanks guys! I'm not retaking it after all.
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I'm just glad there are people in this forum capable of picking up on sarcasm! 👍

Good decision though, best of luck to you. 🙂
 
I've retaken a similar score. How did you study the first time? What factors contributed to your scoring lower than you wanted? Have those factors been resolved? If you are scoring higher on practice tests, and you know you can do better, do it. I'm thinking of signing up for a retake just because I want to break 40. (If only I could get all my highest section scores to come together on the same day.) However, I will say that last time I lost a point in one section and gained a couple in another. It's difficult to get everything to come together for all three sections given the stress of test day. So even if I routinely score 13+, on test day, it might be an 11. There is a huge luck factor when you get to the 35+ range. One question one way or the other can make or break you. Still, I say go for it. Good luck!
 
UCFMD said:
I'm just glad there are people in this forum capable of picking up on sarcasm! 👍

Good decision though, best of luck to you. 🙂
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Whew. Otherwise some troll will misinterpret it as a flaming attempt and hijack the thread into a flame war! :scared::scared:
 
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