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[lovepickles]

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[Allosteopath]

Don't bring up anything that you feel would be immediately pointing out your flaws. If for some unlikely reason it is brought up, just answer it like a normal person, don't try to say "my practice tests were higher" that just comes off as pretentious.

 

[lovepickles]

Don't bring up anything that you feel would be immediately pointing out your flaws. If for some unlikely reason it is brought up, just answer it like a normal person, don't try to say "my practice tests were higher" that just comes off as pretentious.

Thank you! What would be a good reason?

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you! What would be a good reason?

Do you have any interviews yet? If not, it's too early to worry about this. NEVER bring up a negative unprovoked. If you happen to get interviews (your grades are obviously great, and your overall MCAT is very decent, but a lot of schools will screen out any subsection below 125, so your ability to get IIs will really depend on whether your schools screen for this), you can rest assured you got them in spite of the 124, and they are well aware of it, so no need to bring it up.

If they ask, it will be to see how you perform under stress. I wouldn't play woulda, coulda, shoulda by talking about practice tests that you didn't replicate when it counted. Anything you say will sound like the excuse that it will be. Just own it. JMHO.

 

[KatsuCurry]

Thank you! What would be a good reason?

Not an adcom, but I'd say a "good reason" is less about why it happened (i.e. an excuse) and more about what've you've done about it. A better answer than "I had a bad test day" is one that owns the fact that you didn't do so hot on CARS: "I realize that my verbal reasoning could be improved, and have been trying to read more for leisure in my spare time." If you insist on defending that it was a one-time thing, I'd point to something concrete like strong grades in English or other reading/writing-intensive courses over practice test scores that cant be verified.

I also think that it's unlikely (although definitely still possible) that an adcom flat out asks you "Why did you get a 124 on CARS". Much more likely to be something along the lines of, "Do you consider your verbal reasoning skills as something that need to be improved?"

Just my 2 cents.

 

[lovepickles]

Do you have any interviews yet? If not, it's too early to worry about this. NEVER bring up a negative unprovoked. If you happen to get interviews (your grades are obviously great, and your overall MCAT is very decent, but a lot of schools will screen out any subsection below 125, so your ability to get IIs will really depend on whether your schools screen for this), you can rest assured you got them in spite of the 124, and they are well aware of it, so no need to bring it up.

If they ask, it will be to see how you perform under stress. I wouldn't play woulda, coulda, shoulda by talking about practice tests that you didn't replicate when it counted. Anything you say will sound like the excuse that it will be. Just own it. JMHO.

Not an adcom, but I'd say a "good reason" is less about why it happened (i.e. an excuse) and more about what've you've done about it. A better answer than "I had a bad test day" is one that owns the fact that you didn't do so hot on CARS: "I realize that my verbal reasoning could be improved, and have been trying to read more for leisure in my spare time." If you insist on defending that it was a one-time thing, I'd point to something concrete like strong grades in English or other reading/writing-intensive courses over practice test scores that cant be verified.

I also think that it's unlikely (although definitely still possible) that an adcom flat out asks you "Why did you get a 124 on CARS". Much more likely to be something along the lines of, "Do you consider your verbal reasoning skills as something that need to be improved?"

Just my 2 cents.

Thank you both so much!! this really helped!

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone!
I had a question about interviews. Should I bring up my lows CARS score? And if so, how should I explain it? These are my stats: 4.0 GPA, 515 MCAT (130, 124, 130, 131). My CARS score is 124. Honestly, I feel like it was just a bad test day for me, as all my practice tests had higher CARS scores, but I don't know if I should even bring it up if asked or how to explain it. Thank you so much in advance!

Good way to get rejected.

Keep your mouth shut about negatives unless specifically asked.

And if asked, just tell the truth.

 

[lovepickles]

Good way to get rejected.

Keep your mouth shut about negatives unless specifically asked.

And if asked, just tell the truth.

Thank you very much!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

When I was interviewing, I was asked if there was anything I would want them to bring up to the committee on my behalf. I had a few Fs and a bunch of Ws. I gave a brief explanation of why it wasn’t reflective of my performance and ability, and was told that since I was being interviewed, the committee was probably okay with whatever negatives I had on my record. But she passed it along, and I got in like two weeks later.

So I would say don’t bring it up unless asked. If you are asked if you would like to share anything with the committee, if you can express that you don’t feel it reflects your potential and can back it up with grades and the rest of your mcat, you can mention it, but it’s probably not necessary.

 

[lovepickles]

When I was interviewing, I was asked if there was anything I would want them to bring up to the committee on my behalf. I had a few Fs and a bunch of Ws. I gave a brief explanation of why it wasn’t reflective of my performance and ability, and was told that since I was being interviewed, the committee was probably okay with whatever negatives I had on my record. But she passed it along, and I got in like two weeks later.

So I would say don’t bring it up unless asked. If you are asked if you would like to share anything with the committee, if you can express that you don’t feel it reflects your potential and can back it up with grades and the rest of your mcat, you can mention it, but it’s probably not necessary.

thank you so much! so you suggest not bringing it up even if they ask me if there's anything I want to bring up to the committee?

 

[Prehealth1011]

Never bring up your flaws unless asked.

 

[LizzyM]

This is what I call a zit. If you were on a blind date, and you had a zit, would you feel the need to point to it and explain it to someone you've just met and who you are trying to impress?

I didn't think you would.

Treat your CARS score like a zit. If you get asked about it, explain what you think happened but don't go out of your way to draw attention to it. Unless the interviewer really thinks that it is a problem, it won't be a topic of conversation.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

thank you so much! so you suggest not bringing it up even if they ask me if there's anything I want to bring up to the committee?

I would say if the rest of your application is strong and you don’t have a very good reason for the lower CARS score, then it’s probably not worth bringing it up.

 

[Goro]

This is what I call a zit. If you were on a blind date, and you had a zit, would you feel the need to point to it and explain it to someone you've just met and who you are trying to impress?

I didn't think you would.

Treat your CARS score like a zit. If you get asked about it, explain what you think happened but don't go out of your way to draw attention to it. Unless the interviewer really thinks that it is a problem, it won't be a topic of conversation.

I'm so stealing this.!

Not singling you out OP, but I am amazed at how many SDNers treat minor academic shortcomings not merely as personal failures, but as some type of character flaw.

Your stats do not define you as a person, nor ID you as somehow flawed.

 

[LizzyM]

thank you so much! so you suggest not bringing it up even if they ask me if there's anything I want to bring up to the committee?

Bring up something you want the committee to remember about you. Something that will impress them and set you apart. Don't bring up something you'd prefer that they ignore.