Chances with MCAT.. should I retake?

[mdlovin]

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I have taken the MCAT twice.
First time I had a 29Q. 11 BS, 9 PS, 9 VR.
Second time 30M. 10 BS, 11 PS, 9 VR.

I was doing really well on the practice exams (AAMC), mid 30s many times. But *unfortunately* something happened in my family and I couldn't focus. And ended up with a lower than expected MCAT on the second attempt.

Should I retake the MCAT? What do you guys think? If I were to take a year off I can work on it. I wonder how adcoms would look at taking it 3 times..

 

[NotAndrew]

You should not retake, in general you should not retake anything higher than a 28. Something other than your MCAT is holding you back.

 

[drizzt3117]

I have taken the MCAT twice.
First time I had a 29Q. 11 BS, 9 PS, 9 VR.
Second time 30M. 10 BS, 11 PS, 9 VR.

I was doing really well on the practice exams (AAMC), mid 30s many times. But *unfortunately* something happened in my family and I couldn't focus. And ended up with a lower than expected MCAT on the second attempt.

Should I retake the MCAT? What do you guys think?

I would retake it if your practice tests are much higher than what you scored. I would make sure you are focused before taking the test though.

 

[253728]

Retake the MCAT. Stay focused... and remember that (as a last resort) if you know something went wrong while taking the MCAT, you can tell AAMC to void/cancel your grade.

But definitely study hard and get the score you deserve!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Retake the MCAT. Stay focused... and remember that (as a last resort) if you know something went wrong while taking the MCAT, you can tell AAMC to void/cancel your grade.

But definitely study hard and get the score you deserve!

In general, leave this for "my computer crashed" scenarios, not simply "I feel this didn't go well," as if you think the test was hard so does probably everyone.

If you have reason to believe you can do better, by all means do so; it's probably one of the quickest ways to boost your app. But obviously do the studying in your spare time and do something else as your primary thing during your year off.

 

[flip26]

I have taken the MCAT twice.
First time I had a 29Q. 11 BS, 9 PS, 9 VR.
Second time 30M. 10 BS, 11 PS, 9 VR.

I was doing really well on the practice exams (AAMC), mid 30s many times. But *unfortunately* something happened in my family and I couldn't focus. And ended up with a lower than expected MCAT on the second attempt.

Should I retake the MCAT? What do you guys think? If I were to take a year off I can work on it. I wonder how adcoms would look at taking it 3 times..

What do you mean by "mid 30s many times?" What are you calling "mid 30s" and what was the range of practice scores?

Lots of people get some higher scores, and then they are disappointed when they don't hit the high end of their practice range on test day. Unless you scored below the low end of your practice range, you really have no reason to expect that you could do better than you have already done.

 

[mdlovin]

What do you mean by "mid 30s many times?" What are you calling "mid 30s" and what was the range of practice scores?

Lots of people get some higher scores, and then they are disappointed when they don't hit the high end of their practice range on test day. Unless you scored below the low end of your practice range, you really have no reason to expect that you could do better than you have already done.

THANKS EVERYONE

My first diagnostic was actually a 29 or 30. And I was getting 35s and one time I also got a 36 on AAMC practice exams.

The biggest dilemma that I have is that how would med schools look at taking the MCAT 3 times..

 

[Conky]

In general, leave this for "my computer crashed" scenarios, not simply "I feel this didn't go well," as if you think the test was hard so does probably everyone.

If you have reason to believe you can do better, by all means do so; it's probably one of the quickest ways to boost your app. But obviously do the studying in your spare time and do something else as your primary thing during your year off.

That said, if you think you really did do badly on a section you should cancel imo. I don't think I would be in school right now if I didn't cancel my first mcat. I was just B-slapped by the PS section the first time. I'm sure I would have gotten a 7 or an 8 if I had kept it. They offer this thing often enough. Register for may and give it your best shot, but if you're not ready, you'll know it.

I wouldn't retake, I agree with whoever said that something else is holding you back. The mean of matriculants is about 30.

 

[flip26]

THANKS EVERYONE

My first diagnostic was actually a 29 or 30. And I was getting 35s and one time I also got a 36 on AAMC practice exams.

The biggest dilemma that I have is that how would med schools look at taking the MCAT 3 times..

No, your biggest dilemma is taking it a 3rd time and not significantly improving your scores - if your score goes down, that could be disastrous.

Some schools will toss your app simply for taking it 3 times, others will just look at all your scores - some taking the highest section scores, and some will just look at your last test. So I don't think the 3rd test is the dilemma in and of itself as much as the score you receive on it.

My diagnostic was a 27, and then I scored 33-39, avg around 35 or so, on AAMC and Kaplans...on the real deal, I got a 33 - disappoiinted? Yes, but it was within my range, and I concluded it was too risky to retake in the hopes of getting 2 more points to hit my "average" practice scores.

How much time between your 1st and 2nd test? What did you do prep wise for the first test? What did you do differently or additionally for the 2nd test? I have seen lots of examples where people don't get the score they expected, then they sign up and retake it right away and either do what you did (up one point) or they even go down...

 

[mdlovin]

Some schools will toss your app simply for taking it 3 times

I have never heard that one before. What schools that you specifically know do that? How did you find out?

 

[flip26]

I have never heard that one before. What schools that you specifically know do that? How did you find out?

I think NJBMD who serves in some capacity as an adcom at one of her "schools" said something like that, so I assume others do, too.

I also recall reading on some school websites the strongly worded "advice" to not take the MCAT multiple times...

You simply have to assume that someone at some school is not going to like it, but again, you are focusing on the wrong dilemma - your dilemma is that if you retake again, you really need to move the score northward significantly, and if you go down, it could devastate your chances.

 

[mdlovin]

you are focusing on the wrong dilemma

Not really, I won't take the test again unless I can do 3+ point improvement, which I could figure out by my performance on the mock tests. Really, I couldn't even study at all for Orgo when I took the exam. Bad decision, should have just delayed taking it.

So before I even think about taking it again, I am trying to see if med schools would even look at it favorably, if I were to improve my score.

Thanks for the feedback though, I def need to keep in mind the point about score.

 

[drizzt3117]

Not really, I won't take the test again unless I can do 3+ point improvement, which I could figure out by my performance on the mock tests. Really, I couldn't even study at all for Orgo when I took the exam. Bad decision, should have just delayed taking it.

So before I even think about taking it again, I am trying to see if med schools would even look at it favorably, if I were to improve my score.

Thanks for the feedback though, I def need to keep in mind the point about score.

If you improved your score by 3 or more points, I think it would be beneficial to you.