AMCAS submitted. MCAT 485! Help

[PigsHaveWings]

I have 3 months to study for a better score.

Review a couple of the practice tests and see what best to do to prepare. Make sure you also take some practice tests before the next MCAT to make sure you are in a better score range. The first 485 has landed you in a bad position, you will need to make sure your practice test score is much better before attempting the mcat again.

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[mkani2020]

What were your practice test scores before this first try? Based on what you've shared here, your low score this time was due only to personal distractions, and you presumably would have done alright otherwise (and so presumably your practice scores were alright, too). But if this actually isn't the case and your practice tests were low after the studying you did for this first test , then what makes you think that this will change in 3 months?

I was getting around 125-126 in Chem, 125 Cars BB 127, Psych 126. This was with distracted studying

 

[mkani2020]

Review a couple of the practice tests and see what best to do to prepare. Make sure you also take some practice tests before the next MCAT to make sure you are in a better score range. The first 485 has landed you in a bad position, you will need to make sure your practice test score is much better before attempting the mcat again.

I will absolutely do that. I will dedicate 3 months to solid prep and practice questions and score consistently in the score range i want before taking it.

 

[Goro]

I aced post bacc

That's not an SMP, which is a back door into the host med school.

 

[Goro]

what a rude and inconsidaerate response

No, it's a comment backed up by data:

 

[mkani2020]

No, it's a comment backed up by data:
View attachment 320570View attachment 320571

48% isn't bad at all nor is the 64%, and mine was with certain circumstances that I received that score so you sending the USMLE pass rate isn't reflective of my true abiity to quote.

 

[deleted314957]

These could have been URMs, legacies, or most likely, people who aced SMPs

With a 485, probably all three!

 

[jmtbekm]

48% isn't bad at all nor is the 64%, and mine was with certain circumstances that I received that score so you sending the USMLE pass rate isn't reflective of my true abiity to quote.

Your practice subscores total up to a 504, which on test day could reasonably translate to a 500-502. That would be ok for DO schools, especially newer ones, but it seems implausible that you can come up even from those scores to the 510+ necessary for MD schools. You would need to be showing practice scores of 515+ inside of 3 months. My only advice to the OP is good luck and get hustling!

 

[mkani2020]

Your practice subscores total up to a 504, which on test day could reasonably translate to a 500-502. That would be ok for DO schools, especially newer ones, but it seems implausible that you can come up even from those scores to the 510+ necessary for MD schools. You would need to be showing practice scores of 515+ inside of 3 months. My only advice to the OP is good luck and get hustling!

What do you mean? People start studying from the MCAT 3 months out and you're saying I already need to have 515+ 3 months out?

 

[jmtbekm]

What do you mean? People start studying from the MCAT 3 months out and you're saying I already need to have 515+ 3 months out?

No, I’m saying you need to have 515+ FL scores in 3 months when you retake the MCAT, in order to be competitive for MD schools.

You stated your practice test subscores as proof that your MCAT score was an anomaly, which I believe it was, and was apparently brought on by the extreme stress you were experiencing.

But I was also pointing out that you wouldn’t have gotten a competitive MCAT score for an MD school even if you had scored within your FL prediction, however you might have been competitive for newer DO schools. Now you are fighting an uphill battle for either one.

 

[candbgirl]

What do you mean? People start studying from the MCAT 3 months out and you're saying I already need to have 515+ 3 months out?

No that’s not what he said. He said you need it within three months. OP your practice scores of 504 last time indicate it’s going to take awhile to get to even 511. Because you didn’t do it last time. Are you aware some schools average multiple MCATS? AMCAS rec. that schools average multiple scores. Some do, some don’t and there really is no way of knowing what a particular school does. Even if a school claims to use the highest, most recent etc, ALL scores are seen by application reviewers and there is no way to remove biases of reviewers. So that 485 is with you from now on. Just do the best you can. Study hard, do practice tests and as people on SDN advise ALWAYS have a backup plan.

 

[ciestar]

some schools havenagreed to wait until january

You keep saying this as if schools are reserving an interview spot for you just in case. It just doesn’t work like that. Even so, by that point, most interviews are probably handed out anyway. Schools without rolling admissions you’d have a better shot at. At schools that do, some classes are filled completely by February.

 

[mkani2020]

No, I’m saying you need to have 515+ FL scores in 3 months when you retake the MCAT, in order to be competitive for MD schools.

You stated your practice test subscores as proof that your MCAT score was an anomaly, which I believe it was, and was apparently brought on by the extreme stress you were experiencing.

But I was also pointing out that you wouldn’t have gotten a competitive MCAT score for an MD school even if you had scored within your FL prediction, however you might have been competitive for newer DO schools. Now you are fighting an uphill battle for either one.

why do you say it's an uphill battle? If i simply need to study and score competitively?

 

[jmtbekm]

why do you say it's an uphill battle? If i simply need to study and score competitively?

Ok...your practice scores were in the 504 range. You would have 3 months to bring them up to the 515+ range in order to be competitive for MD schools. That’s an 11 point jump in 3 months, which is statistically very hard to do, but not impossible.

However, at that point you’re at the end of January or February getting scores back, while thousands of applicants without your red flags have already been accepted to schools. You will face not one, but two uphill battles: 1) raising your score that high, and 2) being extremely late in the cycle getting complete at schools.

Your best bet for this year is to withdraw, work on your MCAT score, improve other areas of you application, and reapply next year with an incredible comeback story. Instead you are engaging in all sorts of magical thinking that schools will wait on your scores and you’ll still be as competitive as other applicants.

 

[KnightDoc]

why do you say it's an uphill battle? If i simply need to study and score competitively?

Because it's not that simple. No one is going to ignore a 485, even if they say they will. 510 the first time is not the same as 510 on a retake after a 485.

Also, while the lower your first score, the more likely your score is to improve on a retake, you are definitely looking at an uphill battle. In the 482-485 range, the median improvement on a retake is a whopping 3 points. The 25%-ile is a zero point improvement, the 10%-ile is a 2 point decrease, the 75%-ile is a 5 point improvement and the 90%-ile is an 8 point improvement. In other words, less than 10% of 2800 people with scores between 482 and 485 improved more than 8 points on a retake, and you are thinking you can improve over 20 points.

The 20 point or more improvement you are seeking would be so off the charts as to be such an outlier that it's crazy to seriously talk about it unless and until it actually happens. And, you'd still have to overcome the fact that many schools average multiple scores, and might never get past such a low first score.

In other words, uphill battle. Seriously. It really sucks that you didn't just void the test. You could have avoided all of these headaches and just focused on studying and scoring competitively. Right now, you really are way past that point and should understand what you are up against.

 

[DNAJB6]

Never take the MCAT until you are consistently scoring at least 510-512 on the MCAT. You mention that you were scoring 502 on practice tests. I would NOT apply with those numbers. Take gap year(s) if needed. Figure out what your problem with data retention or test taking is.

 

[Damson]

OP, despite the way numbers and percentiles are being delivered to you, I think you have every chance of getting in somewhere, especially osteopathic schools. Explain the war situation and how you were able to regroup and score in the 510s the second time around. You will get interviewed and you will get in. Your job now is to withdraw and focus on getting that score.

My friend studied for a month and scored ~518, imagine what you can do with three. He did brief content review then quickly moved on to practice questions and exams. Give that a go.

Once you get that decent score you can dm me, I'd be happy to opine on your app

 

[Hzreio]

These could have been URMs, legacies, or most likely, people who aced SMPs

Could you ever imagine admitting someone with a 486 at your school?

 

[Goro]

Could you ever imagine admitting someone with a 486 at your school?

Only over the dead bodies of the Faculty and the Dean.

Someone who aces our SMP with a score like that still has to retake the MCAT and score >499

 

[Damson]

Only over the dead bodies of the Faculty and the Dean.

Someone who aces our SMP with a score like that still has to retake the MCAT and score >499

man that cat is stunning

 

[Goro]

man that cat is stunning

Don't inflate the cat's ego!