Accepted to one DO school, still registered to retake 9/10 MCAT...

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Doctor_Strange

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Hi All,

Very unsure of what to do. I was accepted to BCOM last week, and I am waiting to hear back from LECOM-SH in early October. As it stands, I scored a 497 on my 05/06 MCAT test date, but my AAMC scored and unscored was a 504 and approx 507 respectively. I felt that I underperformed hard. I am scheduled to take a Sept 10th exam and am I unsure if I should or need to take it again.

I studied around 300 hours for the May exam and since then I have put in around 35 hours for the new one. Part of me felt that my issue was not the quantity of studying, but the quality. In those 35 hours I have done a mix of passages and concept relearning, but I personally feel I have not put in enough. I think I convinced myself that I had the knowledge, I just needed to do more passages/learn better test taking strategies.

Anyways, some questions I have:

1) If I take the exam, could BCOM rescind my acceptance even after I put down the deposit (which I will do)?
2) I applied to WVSOM, PCOM-GA, LMU, VCOMs, WCU, LUCOM, LECOM-B, UIWSOM, and ACOM (told I was not priority atm). I know my PS and LORs are strong, so I really believe I can expect at least one more II from the above listed, especially PCOM-GA (I am from northern FL). Does retaking the MCAT and scoring one point lower or one point higher mean anything? Should I only retake and score it if I know I can go above 500?
  • When I took the exam the first time I felt I scored a 502, but did worse. I don't think my feelings correlate well with the actual outcome, so on test day if I felt I did great and score it and end up with like a 496 that would--in my opinion--decrease the chances of any more IIs.
I know students out there have not even had IIs let alone an acceptance and I am grateful for where I am, but I think my pride is telling me to take the exam. Otherwise, I am planning on traveling and leaving the country as soon as this Tuesday (would miss the MCAT then). This MCAT dilemma has literally been bugging me for the past several days....

Thanks for any thoughts/advice...

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Don't need to retake your Mcat. Toss your ego aside. You are going to become a doctor. Congratulation on your accomplishment!
 
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Don't need to retake your Mcat. Toss your ego aside. You are going to become a doctor. Congratulation on your accomplishment!

Thanks for the advice--really. I think I needed to hear that. My brother--who is much smarter then me lol--rationalized that I paid for it, I might as well sit for it, and see how it goes. I suppose that argument appeals to me in the sense that maybe the exam is really easy, i.e. little physics. But I recognize my ego is playing a part.
 
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hmmmm I'm no professional or anything, but i personally think if it's bothering you that much and you KNOW you could score better, i would retake it as long as it doesn't interfere with BCOM's acceptance... which i don't think it should, right?

But then again it's up to you!
 
I wouldn't take it! You have an acceptance at a school that, while new, seems really strong and promising! Take that acceptance and go, imo. Why waste the stress on another exam? You should finally start some much needed relaxing time before your school starts up!!

Congratulations!!
 
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I wouldn't take the MCAT if I were you.

This story reminds me of my friend who was 100% going to fail her class. She would have had to get over a 100 on an exam to pass it; that just wasn't happening. For whatever reason, she forced herself to try to study for the final and actually went to it. Many nights of tears ensued. When she got there, she said she sat there for 10-15 minutes, realized this was a bad decision, and then left.
 
If you liked BCOM take the acceptance and run! To me it seems like it will be a great school in the upcoming years.

I personally wouldn't retake it, that's so much unneeded stress.

However if you know you'd do much better and you're aiming for a different school then go for it!

I think you're in a safe position regardless. Congrats on the acceptance btw!


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There's no downside to retaking the exam other than the time and money sink -- which has pretty much already been sunk.

But what would be the benefit? If you haven't already applied MD, it will be far too late when your new score comes back. And if you have already applied, it'll probably take a pretty significant score increase (>10 pts) for an AdCom that initially said "No" or "Not sure" to change their minds and reevaluate.

How many MD schools fall into that "Applied but haven't heard back from yet" category? And of those, how many of those would be receptive to an update letter with a fantastic new score and a bit of grovelling? If you decide not to retake, the decision is yours and the outcome is under your control. Retake, and the outcome is highly likely to be the same, just out of your control...
 
OK, so something everyone is stating/implying that I am mature enough to concede: I don't know if I would score better. I haven't taken a full practice exam yet, but have done passages. I feel strong apathy while I study. I think the ego for me is that I know I am much better than a 497, but I need to check my ego. Perhaps I will funnel this energy and determination towards my COMLEX/USMLEs.

Gonna book my ticket now instead lol.

Thanks for everyone's insights!
 
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My question is who told you that you were not "top priority"?
 
My question is who told you that you were not "top priority"?

This is not to disparage ACOM in any way, and as far as I know this is public knowledge, that they base interview invites on a combination of GPAs and MCAT. So I barely missed the cutoff to be included in priority 1 (that's what others on SDN refer to it as) and instead am likely on priority 2. That's fine I guess--each COM does it differently.
 
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This is not to disparage ACOM in any way, and as far as I know this is public knowledge, that they base interview invites on a combination of GPAs and MCAT. So I barely missed the cutoff to be included in priority 1 (that's what others on SDN refer to it as) and instead am likely on priority. That's fine I guess--each COM does it differently.

I can confirm this. Their interview invites are based on MCAT and GPA, which I missed by a smidge.
 
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Congratulations!!
Enjoy BCOM's fresh new campus :)
I wish I could be there by 2019 or 2020.
 
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Wow! First of all, congrats. You're very lucky to get in with that MCAT!

Second of all, if you want to go somewhere else, you'll have to retake. But this is a unique opportunity. You are one of the few people ever to be able to take the MCAT without having to worry about it. If you rock it, you might get in somewhere else. If you don't, nothing changes. The worst case scenario is that you're still a doctor.


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Wow! First of all, congrats. You're very lucky to get in with that MCAT!

Second of all, if you want to go somewhere else, you'll have to retake. But this is a unique opportunity. You are one of the few people ever to be able to take the MCAT without having to worry about it. If you rock it, you might get in somewhere else. If you don't, nothing changes. The worst case scenario is that you're still a doctor.


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Well, I bought my ticket yesterday to travel so I am definitely not taking it again. However, and this is only anecdotal, but I have corresponded with at least a dozen SDN individuals with below 500 MCAT scores who were accepted to various DO schools. The point is, I feel confident I can get one more II. But yes, you are right it is an uphill battle no matter what. I am holding out hope for PCOM-GA which IIRC has an MCAT average of a 501.

edit: also, I am not gonna go into too much detail, but I think the rest of my app is above average
 
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I wouldn't retake. You have no idea what is going to happen, plus you have an acceptance. Congratulations. I have a family friend at BCOM and have heard great things about it. In fact, it was one of the schools higher up on my list. Unfortunately, I was just informed today that I would not be considered because they can't take international students right now.
 
hmmmm I'm no professional or anything, but i personally think if it's bothering you that much and you KNOW you could score better, i would retake it as long as it doesn't interfere with BCOM's acceptance... which i don't think it should, right?

But then again it's up to you!
An if the score comes back actually lower????? Could bite you. Take your acceptance. Trust me there are tons more exams in your future.
 
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Is it possible that BCOM could take your acceptance away if you do horribly on the retake? If so, then don't take the exam.

However, if this is not the case, you have nothing to lose by retaking the exam. You could end up doing better, and get into a better school. If you do worse, who cares; you still get to go to BCOM.
 
Well, I already left the US. I agree, if I do better than of course that would great, but honestly I have not put that much into it.

Anyways, I will see how the cycle plays out.
 
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Well, I already left the US. I agree, if I do better than of course that would great, but honestly I have not put that much into it.

Anyways, I will see how the cycle plays out.
Yeah! Just enjoy your break, you've earned it.
I'm jealous of your admission to BCOM!
It's a new campus and they will have that supportive environment as they are trying to make their early years as successful as possible.
Well, don't look at MCAT anymore or any other schools now, focus on having fun! Take enough break before entering the exhaustive Med school!
 
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Well, I already left the US. I agree, if I do better than of course that would great, but honestly I have not put that much into it.

Anyways, I will see how the cycle plays out.

Congrats A :)
 
sit down and take a legit practice test simulating test conditions, wait a few days, take another 1; if both are high go take the mcat IMO
 
So ive got an odd question. So OP has the acceptance from BCOM right? But lets say he takes the 9/10 MCAT and does worse - is the BCOM adcom allowed to take away his acceptance? Just curious... Hopefully it doesn't come to that but it's also a good thing to know IMO. @Goro @Doctor_Strange @AnatomyGrey12
 
So ive got an odd question. So OP has the acceptance from BCOM right? But lets say he takes the 9/10 MCAT and does worse - is the BCOM adcom allowed to take away his acceptance? Just curious... Hopefully it doesn't come to that but it's also a good thing to know IMO. @Goro @Doctor_Strange @AnatomyGrey12

I plan on paying my deposit though, so if I were to take it again--which I am not--I don't believe they could rescinded their offer.
 
So ive got an odd question. So OP has the acceptance from BCOM right? But lets say he takes the 9/10 MCAT and does worse - is the BCOM adcom allowed to take away his acceptance? Just curious... Hopefully it doesn't come to that but it's also a good thing to know IMO. @Goro @Doctor_Strange @AnatomyGrey12

Remember in the acceptance condition did say: adcom has the right to rescind any acceptance with any reason deemed sufficient.

So I would not take a risk and retake
 
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Hi All,

Very unsure of what to do. I was accepted to BCOM last week, and I am waiting to hear back from LECOM-SH in early October. As it stands, I scored a 497 on my 05/06 MCAT test date, but my AAMC scored and unscored was a 504 and approx 507 respectively. I felt that I underperformed hard. I am scheduled to take a Sept 10th exam and am I unsure if I should or need to take it again.

I studied around 300 hours for the May exam and since then I have put in around 35 hours for the new one. Part of me felt that my issue was not the quantity of studying, but the quality. In those 35 hours I have done a mix of passages and concept relearning, but I personally feel I have not put in enough. I think I convinced myself that I had the knowledge, I just needed to do more passages/learn better test taking strategies.

Anyways, some questions I have:

1) If I take the exam, could BCOM rescind my acceptance even after I put down the deposit (which I will do)?
2) I applied to WVSOM, PCOM-GA, LMU, VCOMs, WCU, LUCOM, LECOM-B, UIWSOM, and ACOM (told I was not priority atm). I know my PS and LORs are strong, so I really believe I can expect at least one more II from the above listed, especially PCOM-GA (I am from northern FL). Does retaking the MCAT and scoring one point lower or one point higher mean anything? Should I only retake and score it if I know I can go above 500?
  • When I took the exam the first time I felt I scored a 502, but did worse. I don't think my feelings correlate well with the actual outcome, so on test day if I felt I did great and score it and end up with like a 496 that would--in my opinion--decrease the chances of any more IIs.
I know students out there have not even had IIs let alone an acceptance and I am grateful for where I am, but I think my pride is telling me to take the exam. Otherwise, I am planning on traveling and leaving the country as soon as this Tuesday (would miss the MCAT then). This MCAT dilemma has literally been bugging me for the past several days....

Thanks for any thoughts/advice...

Pay the deposit and take that MCAT. At the end of the day, you want to have options instead of having the thought that you have to settle for a place. The MCAT preparation is a joke in comparison to the workload in medical school.
 
Pay the deposit and take that MCAT. At the end of the day, you want to have options instead of having the thought that you have to settle for a place. The MCAT preparation is a joke in comparison to the workload in medical school.
Lol, I know it's a long thread, but I already decided I am not taking it. I'm enjoying myself right now relaxing outside the US!
 
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If you'd actually strongly consider PCOM-GA over the school you've already gotten into I'd recommend you send them an email letting them know you've decided to cancel your MCAT retake because you were accepted at another DO school but are still very interested in their school and would be thrilled to interview there. That way they won't be waiting for your MCAT retake that you probably indicated on the app. Also you have nothing to lose at this point and everything to gain.


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If you'd actually strongly consider PCOM-GA over the school you've already gotten into I'd recommend you send them an email letting them know you've decided to cancel your MCAT retake because you were accepted at another DO school but are still very interested in their school and would be thrilled to interview there. That way they won't be waiting for your MCAT retake that you probably indicated on the app. Also you have nothing to lose at this point and everything to gain.


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@Goro , can you clarify this? I signed up for the MCAT after I submitted my application for verification, etc. I was told that my retake will not be shown on my app until, or if, I actually scored it by another SDN user.

Two weeks ago I contacted an admissions officer at ACOM about my status, and she asked if I was taking the MCAT again (which would suggest to me that just being signed up for the MCAT does not show up on my app...) and I told her I was likely not going to take it again.
 
@Goro , can you clarify this? I signed up for the MCAT after I submitted my application for verification, etc. I was told that my retake will not be shown on my app until, or if, I actually scored it by another SDN user.

Two weeks ago I contacted an admissions officer at ACOM about my status, and she asked if I was taking the MCAT again (which would suggest to me that just being signed up for the MCAT does not show up on my app...) and I told her I was likely not going to take it again.
I am pretty sure the only place a pending MCAT retake would show up is on the spot on AACOMAS directly asking. If you signed up after you submitted AACOMAS, the only ways schools will know is if you contact them directly and tell them.
 
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I am pretty sure the only place a pending MCAT retake would show up is on the spot on AACOMAS directly asking. If you signed up after you submitted AACOMAS, the only ways schools will know is if you contact them directly and tell them.

Adding onto this, some schools asked on their secondary.
 
If you don't take, nothing happens.

@Goro , can you clarify this? I signed up for the MCAT after I submitted my application for verification, etc. I was told that my retake will not be shown on my app until, or if, I actually scored it by another SDN user.

Two weeks ago I contacted an admissions officer at ACOM about my status, and she asked if I was taking the MCAT again (which would suggest to me that just being signed up for the MCAT does not show up on my app...) and I told her I was likely not going to take it again.
 
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