How bad are MCAT retakes?

[Eddie Chahar]

@Dral Good to hear, thank you!

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[Camerla]

The story of someone taking MCAT, scoring a, say 30, retaking and scoring 30 again (or a 31) and then being offered an interview doesn't sound right. There are probably more things going on than that.

I have a 3.8 GPA (science and cumulative), and scored a 30 two years ago. I felt that I did not perform as well as I could have, and feared that my GPA and MCAT would be "uneven," and decided to retake. After scoring in mid-thirties on practice tests, I received a 28. I had a bad day.

I am not an inherently impulsive person. In fact, I retook the exam after much thought, because I wanted to increase my chances of getting into one of the local med schools (my fiancee is a medical student in the area).

Is there any mercy in this process? Will my app be tossed aside for this? I've tried to stay optimistic about this situation, and I wish I had sought advice on SDN sooner, but alas, I am here asking you all after the fact.

Edit: @Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM , I would really appreciate your advice and honest opinions. Thank you

 

[Dral]

So that average was a 32 for me. I think that's below the average of most of those schools. My only clinical experience was volunteering in a pharmacy department.

I'm not sure how I got in. Oh well, no take-backsies at this point!

 

[Goro]

I don't think you'll get much love at gyngyn's school, as they look down upon retakes with a decent score. Instead of you having a bad day, I would submit that you're right at your plateau. A number of school avg. scores, others take the most recent. Your best best will be to invest in MSAR Online and target schools whose median scores are closest to 29.

Also apply broadly to DO schools. I might give you some flak at an interview about your poor choice making, but you're still viable as a candidate.

Mercy? Not when it's a seller's market, and there's a glut of buyers.

I have a 3.8 GPA (science and cumulative), and scored a 30 two years ago. I felt that I did not perform as well as I could have, and feared that my GPA and MCAT would be "uneven," and decided to retake. After scoring in mid-thirties on practice tests, I received a 28. I had a bad day.

I am not an inherently impulsive person. In fact, I retook the exam after much thought, because I wanted to increase my chances of getting into one of the local med schools (my fiancee is a medical student in the area).

Is there any mercy in this process? Will my app be tossed aside for this? I've tried to stay optimistic about this situation, and I wish I had sought advice on SDN sooner, but alas, I am here asking you all after the fact.

Edit: @Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM , I would really appreciate your advice and honest opinions. Thank you

 

[gyngyn]

I have a 3.8 GPA (science and cumulative), and scored a 30 two years ago. I felt that I did not perform as well as I could have, and feared that my GPA and MCAT would be "uneven," and decided to retake. After scoring in mid-thirties on practice tests, I received a 28. I had a bad day.

I am not an inherently impulsive person. In fact, I retook the exam after much thought, because I wanted to increase my chances of getting into one of the local med schools (my fiancee is a medical student in the area).

Is there any mercy in this process? Will my app be tossed aside for this? I've tried to stay optimistic about this situation, and I wish I had sought advice on SDN sooner, but alas, I am here asking you all after the fact.

Edit: @Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM , I would really appreciate your advice and honest opinions. Thank you

You need to look at schools with a median around 28, maybe 29 as suggested by @Goro.

It is far better to rely on strategy than mercy.

 

[moisne]

If you can score significantly higher - retakes aren't bad. If you get a 24 and this retake and get 25... That's bad.

 

[AspiringERMD]

I don't think you'll get much love at gyngyn's school, as they look down upon retakes with a decent score. Instead of you having a bad day, I would submit that you're right at your plateau. A number of school avg. scores, others take the most recent. Your best best will be to invest in MSAR Online and target schools whose median scores are closest to 29.

Also apply broadly to DO schools. I might give you some flak at an interview about your poor choice making, but you're still viable as a candidate.

Mercy? Not when it's a seller's market, and there's a glut of buyers.

I'm glad to hear you say this. My mom has consistently ragged on me for not retaking a 33 so I could go somewhere "more prestigious." (My AAMC 9-11 practice scores were 36-38.) I refused. While I was upset, I think that would have been more likely to backfire, and in multiple ways. She just doesn't get it.

 

[Goro]

Here's a classic illustration of why it's necessary for SDNers to completely ignore parental pressure in this process.

I'm glad to hear you say this. My mom has consistently ragged on me for not retaking a 33 so I could go somewhere "more prestigious." (My AAMC 9-11 practice scores were 36-38.) I refused. While I was upset, I think that would have been more likely to backfire, and in multiple ways. She just doesn't get it.