Applying while retaking MCAT in august

[RSasdf]

Hi all,
I have taken the April MCAT and received my scores already. I guess my score was decent (31), but not up to my expectations.
I was wondering if I send in my app now along with the april MCAT score, and put a note that I'll be re-taking the MCATs in August, will med schools go ahead and proccess my app if they think I'm already good enough and they don't need to see my August score? Or will they leave my app aside and wait till my August score comes out even though they see a 31 already?
Thanks!

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[DrBuro]

How much better could you possibly do if you take the MCAT again? A 31 is fine to get into med school. If you take it and get even lower, you will only hurt yourself. Some people would kill for a 31. Look to the sky and thank the heavens that you got what you got, not everyone is so lucky. You don't have to go to an ivy to become a prestigious doctor. I think applying early would be more of a benefit than a slightly higher MCAT score anyway. That is, of course, if you just want to go to school and don't "have to" go to a top tier.

 

[RSasdf]

thanks for your advice... I am grateful for what I got, but Ithink I can do better. Besides, I'm hoping to apply to schools with an MCAt avg of 33. I know it's an average.. but I really rather be on the higher end of the applicant pool than the lower end... also, I have a low verbal and writing score... so I think maybe I could retake it in august but still apply early...

 

[xSTALLiONx]

thanks for your advice... I am grateful for what I got, but Ithink I can do better. Besides, I'm hoping to apply to schools with an MCAt avg of 33. I know it's an average.. but I really rather be on the higher end of the applicant pool than the lower end... also, I have a low verbal and writing score... so I think maybe I could retake it in august but still apply early...

if you click on august mcat.. your app won't be complete until august scores are in.. they will send you a secondary.. but won't look at your app til everything is in.. but with a 31.. you can risk it.. especially if you get a 33-36.. you'll be a pretty good late choice..

 

[dhoonlee]

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[fateema368]

SO your hoping to improve atleast 4 points, did you make some mistake the first time, one that would justify the drama or have caused a score much lower than what you were expecting? I really wouldn't, I think I would/you should spend the time improving/perfecting the application, but it's your life....

 

[gujuDoc]

If the average is 33, that means there were bound to be some people with a few points higher and some people with a few points lower that got in.

For instance, I think someone said NYU has a 33 average. However, I know people that got interviews with as low as a 29 and someone accepted with your exact score.

Don't be silly. If your gpa is good and your extracurriculars and remaining parts of your application are good, you are good to go to get in a good school.

You are not out of league for schools like BU, NYU, Pritzker, possibly even Vandy and UPitt. So I wouldnt retake.

 

[ajt2003]

I did this EXACT same thing last year - compared to the OP, I had a slightly lower first MCAT score and then retook in August. I checked the box on AMCAS that said I was doing this, and in the end, it was totally fine.

My AMCAS was processed by late June, I had received all of my secondaries by mid-August, had them all back by September (did a lot of them while studying for the MCAT), and got my first interviews two days after the MCATs were released in October. So, it did seem like some schools (NYU, BU) were waiting on my second scores before they interviewed me - but that my file was right at the top.

There is a caveat: in my opinion, your MCAT will look much stronger if you 1) stay the same or do better in every section and 2) increase your score by 3-4 points. For me, it was clear to the adcoms that I didn't come close to my potential the first time I took the test - someone at Yale even said as much during my interview.

So, in short, if you feel like you can do significantly better, I think you should go for it. But only go for it if you can knock it out of the park - going from a 31 to a 33, while good for the ego, might not be practical for this process. And as some other posters said, this would slow down the processing of your overall application.

 

[RSasdf]

Thanks to all SDNers! I really appreciated your respones! So it seems like no matter what I do I'll be in a disadvantageous situation-- If I turn in my app now with a 31 MCAT, I'll be at the lower end of the app pool. If I wait till August, I'll be late in the app process...
sigh... either way is bad...
But thanks to all your posts, it helped me consider things I haven't thuoght of before.

 

[Surg Path]

This is an interesting debate for those who didnt get a 31. If you got a high 20's and are pretty sure you could break 30 in August, is the consensus to submit the AMCAS now and retake in August?

 

[Medinsane]

This is an interesting debate for those who didnt get a 31. If you got a high 20's and are pretty sure you could break 30 in August, is the consensus to submit the AMCAS now and retake in August?

Same question here! Well I got mid 20's, but will study my booty off the next 8 wks on PS section.

 

[boyz of 4d]

to the OP, I opted to retake a 31 on my first exam (11p/12v/8bio) so I retook due to bio and ended up busting my ass onlyto have a poor verbal day and getting a 30 (11p/8v/11b) (I was getting 35+ on all my practi with 12 on verbal almost every time). I still ended up getting plenty of interviews (13) and multiple acceps (5) but really no interviews to any school where my mcat was 1 or 2 points lower. I was a little bit curious to why this happened (because I thought I was a decent aplicant) and had called some of the schools (such as einstein). The general resonse was, if you had applied early with your mcat you most likely would have got an interview, but late it hurts because there are only a few spots left. Looking back on it, if i had the chance i would not retake unless i was SURE i could do 3 - 4 points better (even though i was getting 35's on all the practices), if you have any specific questions you can send me a PM.