How to explain low MCAT at interview???

[whateva07]

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So first time I took the MCAT I got a 26O and then I completely bombed the test I just took last month which was completely below my practice score range...and I know that I got two interviews based on my last yr's score. How do I explain to the interviewers about this last MCAT and how do I put a good spin on it? I am really worried abt this, so any advice would be really helpful. Thanks.

 

[drizzt3117]

What is your second score?

 

[TheRealMD]

Often times interviewers are blind to your score. Therefore, never bring it up unless asked. Don't allude to it either.

For the most part, I've never actually had any interview questions relate to my academics. Unless there is a blatant red flag, there is a good reason they interviewed you in a first place and you should do ok. Don't worry about stuff that will never com to fruition.

 

[Smctbone]

you could always ask your interviewer to ask you a bunch of MCAT-ish questions to prove that youre worthy 😛

 

[Blade28]

How low did your score drop?

If it's a couple of points, I wouldn't worry. I would prepare to discuss what happened if it's a significant drop, however. What's the standard deviation on the MCAT these days, anyway?

 

[whateva07]

well lets just say its in the 20s ....but my practice score was 26-31...and never scored lower than that so it really wasnt representative of how I was doing. How should I explain it to interviewers?

 

[ina1220]

Sure you scored higher on practice tests, but for admission purposes, they just don't count. Did something happen on test day that had such a drastic effect on your score? Did you show up late? noisy guy next to you? panic attack? for your sake, I hope so....cause i can't think of any other reason for you to explain this away.

I would steer clear from trying to justify your score (unless you have a legit excuse). Just accept it and move on. If the interviewer brings it up, I would say something along the lines of, "In light of my first score, the second score is clearly not representative of my abilities." Try to put your better score in the spotlight.

 

[Picklesali]

"I'm the victim of a vicious conspiracy to keep me from achieving my potential as the greatest physician since DeBakey."

"That's not a '26', it's a '46'. Get some glasses, dude."

"I'm not bound by the rules of your society."

"Don't judge me, you a$$."

"They changed the scoring range. 30 is now the highest score you can get."

"What can I say? I pretty much guessed on the whole thing."

"It's not my fault, I was on fire at the time."

HAHA! How about, "I just wanted to prove I wasn't guessing the first time around."

 

[whateva07]

Sure you scored higher on practice tests, but for admission purposes, they just don't count. Did something happen on test day that had such a drastic effect on your score? Did you show up late? noisy guy next to you? panic attack? for your sake, I hope so....cause i can't think of any other reason for you to explain this away.

I would steer clear from trying to justify your score (unless you have a legit excuse). Just accept it and move on. If the interviewer brings it up, I would say something along the lines of, "In light of my first score, the second score is clearly not representative of my abilities." Try to put your better score in the spotlight.

I agree I totally have to take responsibility for what I got, but at the same time I also dont want to them to think that represents my abilities. I really dont know what happened. I felt awful abt that test, but I kept thinking I must be overthinking it. I think i felt awful abt my first section and that carried over to my other sections..and I guess I sorta panicked.

 

[ADeadLois]

I agree I totally have to take responsibility for what I got, but at the same time I also dont want to them to think that represents my abilities. I really dont know what happened. I felt awful abt that test, but I kept thinking I must be overthinking it. I think i felt awful abt my first section and that carried over to my other sections..and I guess I sorta panicked.

Unfortunately, in the context of admissions, your score trumps what you perceive your abilities to be. That's why we have to take a standardized exam. You have to except your score and move on. Making excuses only compounds the problem.

 

[whateva07]

Unfortunately, in the context of admissions, your score trumps what you perceive your abilities to be. That's why we have to take a standardized exam. You have to except your score and move on. Making excuses only compounds the problem.

when they ask me to explain it, then what should I say? ...When people have bad gpas they try to explain but then they also put a positive spin on it.

 

[dd128]

I'm in almost the same boat as you I got a 27 my first time around and went down to a 23! Practice scores were well above both, just got verbal kicked out of me mostly, going from a 10 to a 7. Anyway I've gotten a couple interviews, I think most schools just go with the higher score no matter when it's from, and mcat or gpa never even came up during the interviews. Be positive!

 

[whateva07]

I'm in almost the same boat as you I got a 27 my first time around and went down to a 23! Practice scores were well above both, just got verbal kicked out of me mostly, going from a 10 to a 7. Anyway I've gotten a couple interviews, I think most schools just go with the higher score no matter when it's from, and mcat or gpa never even came up during the interviews. Be positive!

Thanks for the encouragement🙂 Yea I hope they dont focus on it, but I just want to be prepared in case they do ask.

 

[ADeadLois]

when they ask me to explain it, then what should I say? ...When people have bad gpas they try to explain but then they also put a positive spin on it.

You can't put a positive spin on a low score. There's no away around it. Same goes for low GPA. Don't make up excuses. Be honest. Say that you're disappointed in your score, but say that you feel as though you could do better if you tried again. Highlight other aspects of your application that prove that you'll make a successful med student.

 

[whateva07]

You can't put a positive spin on a low score. There's no away around it. Same goes for low GPA. Don't make up excuses. Be honest. Say that you're disappointed in your score, but say that you feel as though you could do better if you tried again. Highlight other aspects of your application that prove that you'll make a successful med student.

Yea I see what you are saying. Thanks!

 

[Cataract]

Hey, just say you came into the test feeling as prepared as you possible could be. You did your best.

 

[Bre]

I feel it would be a good idea to bring it up in your interview instead of pretending it never happened like some people are saying.

Lets say it's a closed file interview and you never mention your low score. After you leave your interviewer sees what you made, now what is he supposed to say to the committee about it? At least if you bring it up in the interview you get a chance to defend yourself: your first score was better, your practice scores were better, etc.

But if you never bring it up you never get a chance to defend yourself and therefore your interviewer can't defend it to the adcom. This is how I am treating my low GPA anyways.

 

[whateva07]

Do most schools just take your best score wheter it was on the first try or second???

 

[deleted36260]

What was the break down?

 

[whateva07]

well I got PS8 V10 BS8

 

[deleted36260]

well I got PS8 V10 BS8

No good way to spin that one. It's a pretty even out score. At least your Verbal was high (counts some places.)

"I was regularly breaking 30's on my practice tests. The test day test was just an extremely challenging version."


That's all you can do.

 

[RPedigo]

So you have an old MCAT score (26), and then you re-took, and got a new score (<26)?

The admissions committee might raise some red flags, because you retook your MCAT with intent on improving your application, but actually scored lower. They'll assume you prepared between sittings, and you didn't improve.

As was previously mentioned, the only way out of this is to just say (a) I had a very difficult test version, and it tested my weakest concepts, or (b) I studied adequately, but for whatever reason I did not perform up to my expected level; if I re-took the exam, I am confident that I would achieve more highly.

Good luck.

 

[whateva07]

That was my better score actually.

I got even lower than that. Physics stayed consistent and everything else dropped. I was taking it to improve my 26 but instead did worse. It was really unfortunate, becasue last 5 or 6 exams I was consistently getting 10s and 11s in physics, my vr I got anywhere from 7 to 10, and bio was scoring between 8 and 10.

 

[whateva07]

So you have an old MCAT score (26), and then you re-took, and got a new score (<26)?

The admissions committee might raise some red flags, because you retook your MCAT with intent on improving your application, but actually scored lower. They'll assume you prepared between sittings, and you didn't improve.

As was previously mentioned, the only way out of this is to just say (a) I had a very difficult test version, and it tested my weakest concepts, or (b) I studied adequately, but for whatever reason I did not perform up to my expected level; if I re-took the exam, I am confident that I would achieve more highly.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice!...and I definately need a lot of luck.

 

[Enthalpy430]

"Apparently my score was good enough to land me an interview. So what's the problem?"

That's the angle I'd take. 😉

 

[whateva07]

"Apparently my score was good enough to land me an interview. So what's the problem?"

That's the angle I'd take. 😉

problem is the schools gave me an interview based on my first score, and then got my horrible score.

 

[whateva07]

haha "what's the problem?" lol.

 

[pazan]

If you can't reveal your score on anonymous forum you have some strong insecurities about it... and I think it'll be hard to talk to an interviewer about your MCAT with those insecurities. There's nothing wrong with that, but it could make you seem regretful or complacent during the interview, when you really want to seem like you learned a lesson from your score.

The best thing you can do is tell your pre-med friends what you got. This will prompt the obligatory, "what happened?!" and force you to generate a solid answer. The more comfortable you are talking about your score, the more comfortable you'll be able to talk about it during an interview. And, I don't think a school would reject you solely on this second MCAT performance, especially when they've already seen enough positive things in your application to offer you an interview. Good luck and stay positive.

 

[whateva07]

If you can't reveal your score on anonymous forum you have some strong insecurities about it... and I think it'll be hard to talk to an interviewer about your MCAT with those insecurities. There's nothing wrong with that, but it could make you seem regretful or complacent during the interview, when you really want to seem like you learned a lesson from your score.

The best thing you can do is tell your pre-med friends what you got. This will prompt the obligatory, "what happened?!" and force you to generate a solid answer. The more comfortable you are talking about your score, the more comfortable you'll be able to talk about it during an interview. And, I don't think a school would reject you solely on this second MCAT performance, especially when they've already seen enough positive things in your application to offer you an interview. Good luck and stay positive.

Ouch. I think thats a really strong judgement to put on me. I didnt bother putting my score, bc I thought whats the point. ....but if you guys think you can help me out by me tellinng my score then I have no problem mentioning it. After all I am here for positive help. I got a 22.

 

[Hatman]

where did u get an interview at whateva? I got a 25 and I have to interview at UVM! I have no idea where to start....I just dont want to be looked down upon right from the get-go....anyone know if UVM has open file? 🙁

 

[KublaiKhan]

Maybe something bad happened that affected your ability to recall information or focus on the day of the test? Something must have been different for your score to go down that significantly from your practice scores, based on the assumption that your practice scores were from actual AAMC administered exams. They say you perform best if you take the test in the same mindset with the same emotion and environment you had while studying for it. 😉

 

[pazan]

Ouch. I think thats a really strong judgement to put on me. I didnt bother putting my score, bc I thought whats the point. ....but if you guys think you can help me out by me tellinng my score then I have no problem mentioning it. After all I am here for positive help. I got a 22.

sorry, i know that was overly cynical, but the more comfortable you are about your score the easier it'll be to talk about it. it's alright to do worse than you expected on a test -- you might even ask your interviewer if they've ever done worse-than-expected on a test (although that's pretty ballsy and will probably backfire). if you answer the question in a confident tone, own up to your score, and highlight your first score, you should be fine.

 

[whateva07]

where did u get an interview at whateva? I got a 25 and I have to interview at UVM! I have no idea where to start....I just dont want to be looked down upon right from the get-go....anyone know if UVM has open file? 🙁

Im a VA resident and got interviews at state schools, EVMS and VCU.

which one is UVM?

 

[whateva07]

sorry, i know that was overly cynical, but the more comfortable you are about your score the easier it'll be to talk about it. it's alright to do worse than you expected on a test -- you might even ask your interviewer if they've ever done worse-than-expected on a test (although that's pretty ballsy and will probably backfire). if you answer the question in a confident tone, own up to your score, and highlight your first score, you should be fine.

Thanks for the advice. Yea I think the key is to take responsiblity but also show that I am positive.

 

[Hatman]

UVM = University of Vermont (and I am an OOS with 3 tries of MCAT to get that 25!)