Decided to apply for next cycle. Retake the mcat?

[Adamb83]

---

Members do not see this ad.

My GPA is roughly a 3.5, and I scored a 27N on my first attempt at the mcat (7p/10v/10b). I decided that I will be applying as early as possible for next years cycle. In the mean time, I will try to strengthen my application.

I'm not sure if I should retake the mcat or not. I did slightly better on my practice scores. Usually scoring between a 29-31. I feel I could score at least a 29, and improve on physical sciences and the writing (which i did not prep for), but I also fear I could do worse. Because with the mcat, you just never know.

What would you do in my situation?

 

[WhitJord85]

I think it depends... are you going to have time to devote to studying? If you are going to have to time to study between now and whenever you are planning on taking the MCAT, and you are pretty confident you will do better, then go for it. A higher score wouldn't hurt you. But if you aren't going to have time to study I wouldn't waste the money, I think your MCAT score will not prevent you from gaining acceptances.

 

[BioENG 215]

My GPA is roughly a 3.5, and I scored a 27N on my first attempt at the mcat (7p/10v/10b). I decided that I will be applying as early as possible for next years cycle. In the mean time, I will try to strengthen my application.

I'm not sure if I should retake the mcat or not. I did slightly better on my practice scores. Usually scoring between a 29-31. I feel I could score at least a 29, and improve on physical sciences and the writing (which i did not prep for), but I also fear I could do worse. Because with the mcat, you just never know.

What would you do in my situation?

I scored a 28N and had a 3.54cGPA/3.57sGPA in Biomedical Engineering (B.S.). I completed my primary by mid-August 2009 and was complete at most schools by October 2009. I got into both LECOM and PCOM. Make sure you apply as early as possible. You're physics score could probably increase a little bit. Just remember, at a 27N, you may be just as likely to hurt your score. If you take it again, just make sure you study as if your life depended on it.

Please take this information with a grain of salt because I don't know how the admissions officers rank their candidates. Maybe I just interviewed well.

Good Luck!

 

[scummie]

The MCAT is not like the SAT where when you retake it, your score usually goes up. You have a very good chance of lowering your score the second time around. Get your application in early and spend your time enjoying your ECs. Your stats are pretty good for osteopathic schools. If you retook your MCAT you'd have a good shot for allopathic ones, in my humble opinion.

 

[Melicopter]

I think you should retake it, but improve your score!

I have a friend who took it 3 times. Didn't improve the second, but did the third. She got into just about every school she applied to, so I don't think the retakes hurt much.

The MCAT is its own breed of test - you need to spend time with prep books and practice tests and see why you're missing things. Get a strategy down, and you could probably have a greatly improved application.

 

[Daedra22]

I would go forward with the score, unless you have the time/money to devote to studying super-hard to ensure that you get a higher score the second time. If you have good EC's and other strong parts of your application, I think you'll be alright. I considered re-taking as well but did not have the time/money to do so at that point, so I applied with a 27 and got interviews at 3 out of 4 of the osteopathic schools I applied to.

 

[kopitar]

Sounds like your marks are good, why did you not go through with apps this year? As for the MCAT I would retake it but make sure you leave a few months just for studying. Mysteriously, when I took my MCAT I had a gut feeling that I did bad so immediately after I scheduled another 3 weeks later. Luckily when all the dust settled I had a point higher on the MCAT and a much more amazing essay portion. But all the info was fresh in my mind. In order to get at least a 30 you would need to go through the whole study process again, which is not a bad idea

C/O 2014

My GPA is roughly a 3.5, and I scored a 27N on my first attempt at the mcat (7p/10v/10b). I decided that I will be applying as early as possible for next years cycle. In the mean time, I will try to strengthen my application.

I'm not sure if I should retake the mcat or not. I did slightly better on my practice scores. Usually scoring between a 29-31. I feel I could score at least a 29, and improve on physical sciences and the writing (which i did not prep for), but I also fear I could do worse. Because with the mcat, you just never know.

What would you do in my situation?