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Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Retake and do well, not much else to it. Take more practice exams. A score below 500 tells me you were severely lacking in some major content areas. I’m sure you’re aware of what those might be from your score. Revise but focus on practice, practice, practice and don’t retake unless you’re confident you can beat 510
 
Not saying this is what you should do; just to reassure you that you didn't screw yourself permanently:

Even if it's true that most schools average scores (not sure whether or not this is true), if you're ok with waiting and taking several gap years, remember that MCAT scores expire after a while. For people with high MCAT scores worried about having to reapply, this is a cause for concern. In your case, it works to your advantage. I think it's only fair that if medical schools don't take an expired 52X into consideration, they also shouldn't take an expired 491 into consideration.
 
I don't know about "most". I think that, with a solid next MCAT (509+) that you should still me fine at many, many schools.

There's a big list somewhere on SDN that shows which schools average, which schools give heavier weight to more recent, and which simply take your best score.

Here is that list (third post in this thread): how do you know which medical schools average MCAT scores or which take highest?

It is from several years ago but likely still at least somewhat accurate today.

*Disclaimer: As some people may take care to point out, that list does not take into account that an individual reviewer can see your first score and ding you for it regardless of a school's published policy.
 
Isoval said:
I

*Disclaimer: As some people may take care to point out, that list does not take into account that an individual reviewer can see your first score and ding you for it regardless of a school's published policy.
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I have had a handful of Adcom colleagues who thought like this and would outright reject people for poor choice making.

Then they would get overruled when the Adcom met, and we'd take the student.

Multiple MCAT attempts where you're unprepared, or sick, or grieving, would lead me to be more harsh.
 
I was in the same situation! I took the MCAT the first time totally unprepared and got a 494. I retook it, did much better, and currently sitting on a California MD acceptance. Just retake it and make sure you're prepared this time and you'll be fine 🙂 P.S: I had a lower GPA than you too!
 
"My GPA is around a 3.7-3.8, so obviously there's a huge imbalance with my first score and my gpa"

GPA does not correlate to MCAT....thats kinda why AMCAS has the MCAT.

Med schools want to see your ability to perform well on standardized tests. You've already shown them once that there's a chance you could fail your boards....make sure your next score convinces them otherwise.
 
Yeah I think 510+ on the second try would be good enough for a lot of schools to overlook that first score IMO, given the solid GPA and that the extracurriculars are in order.
 
Hey just wanted to say do not get wrapped up in schools averaging your MCAT scores. I have two drastically different MCATs and have top 20 acceptances. I think they may be more likely to average them if they are close together like if you got a 505 and then a 509. At some point with a huge score jump they focus on the second score. I was also never asked about my MCAT. Be prepared for it but most places I interviewed had GPA and MCAT blind interviews. Focus now on creating a strategy to do great on the MCAT. Good luck!!
 
Think about “averaging MCAT scores” from the adcom perspective. If you score 518 on your second score, do you really think it would be good for them to pass on someone well qualified because of a dumb algorithm?

A score that’s a true WOW score will not be overlooked because of a previous bad score. It will beget some questions, but it won’t be averaged away into obscurity.
 
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