i am in desperate need of some advice, please read

[shan1997]

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I definaltely need some advice. I recently recived my mcat scores back and they were not what i wanted at all, they were quite low as a matter of fact, i am very disappointed. I am goingt to have to take it again in august. my science gpa is not that high and i was hoping to do well on the mcat. I am not trying to make excuses but the fact of the matter is i think i had a combination of test anxiety and i think i underestimated just how much time needs to go into stuying for a test such as this one.Don't get me wrong i did study but maybe i should have studied months in advance because it is a vast amount of material. Before and during the test I was a bit stressed and nervous ( as i am sure everyone was ) i really wanted to do well because i knew how important it was and i just messed up. Now i know what people mean when they say start studying 6 or 3 months in advance! Anyway! my dilemma is: given i have a very low mcat score, should i go ahead and turn my amcas in ( which is what i planned on doing had i recieved the scores i wanted ) or wait until i re-take the mcat in august ( even though i would be applying late)? I am torn because i part of me wants to turn it in by the end of june and hope they still give me a chance. The only think i fear is that schools i apply to will reject me pre-secondary. I don't want them to see that low mcat score only so the other part of me thinks i should just wait until august's mcats to apply but in this situation i will be applying late and everyone has stressed to me to apply early. So i know my choices are to either submit given the low score, wait until august to submit so at least they can have 2 scores to look at and see an improvement or someone said i should just wait to take it april 2006. There is a part of me that wants to go ahead and submit even with the low mcat score to get the application process over with but i also want to be realistic and do the right thing and i don't know if that right thing is to wait until august when my chances will be decreased because i will be applying so late. I just want to do what is going to be best for me and in my best interests. If i submit in august do you think schools would just put my file aside and wait on new mcat scores or reject on that initial score? If any of you were on admissions committee and came across my file and saw that i had excellent LOR's, personal statement, work experience, shadowing, mission trip and a vast amount of medical experience, what would you do? I am wondering has it ever worked against anyone who went ahead and submitted their application knowing their mcat score was low but that they planned on re-taking in august. I feel as though i am rambling so i will go for now. I really hate that things did not work in my favor.
Thanks in advance.

Shan1997

 

[DrB]

Very long post man! Sorry I didn't finish reading it, but I get the question. One of the biggest reasons why people will take the August MCAT is so that they could retake it in April before applying. Now you are in the situation where you took the April MCAT, didn't do very well, and now you are deciding what to do.

Take a look at the stats for accepted students, they should give you some hope... If they do, then apply now and put your best foot forward. If you find your scores do not match up with at least one accepted person, then I would suggest waiting a year to apply. Take the August MCAT and prepare the best you can for another year. Nobody has a perfect application...

This is just what I would do, good luck.

 

[Lady Tokimi]

LOL....yeah long post. You should look up the average MCAT score for the school that you are plannin to apply to and see how that compares to the one you received, that should give you a rough idea of your chances of gettin an interview. But keep in mind that MCAT scores are not the only factor in determinin your acceptance.

As for what DrB said about people takin the august MCAT and re-takin it in april is not completely true. If you take the August MCAT, you should still have a bit of time to submit your application, of course, depending on the school and it's deadline.

On retakin the August MCAT, if you feel that you can prepare yourself in 2-3 months, than go for it. If not, you should retake it in April. I only give this advice because this is somethin i wish i would have done....more time to study before jumpin right into it again.

 

[jakki]

to answer your question more specifically, i will explain the situation i was in a year ago. i had exactly the same situation: i took the test and didn't do as well as i hoped. my score was lower than anticipated, but not that low that it was below most DO school averages (if you're still not sure about this part, definitely look it up). after thinking about this for a long time, i decided to submit in june. i got all the secondaries (it seemed that very few schools pre-screened if any). i was able to do all my secondaries and get them in while studying for the mcat in august. by the time my august MCAT was released it was at the stage where they either interview me or not. i think personally that this worked really well. the only situation where it didn't was in the case of umdnj because they had filled their class before they interviewed me, so i was waitlisted. i dont know what your current situation is in terms of school or work, but i really appreciated getting all the essay writing done over the summer so that i didn't have to do it while i was in school in the fall. i think the biggest factor in your decision should be whether this score is too low and that you would not apply at all if you didn't do better. otherwise, i would say you should go ahead and submit in order to keep in pace with the others. if you have any other questions or comments, private message me.

and just to relieve your anxiety, even having the august mcat, i still got into every school i applied to except being waitlisted at umdnj.

 

[shan1997]

thanks everyone for the advice because i really needed some guidance after reading the posts ( especially jakki's ) i am leaning on going ahead and submitting and putting my best foot foward in getting the score i want and need for the sugust mcat and at that point either they see the improvement and offer an interview or they do not. In that case i will just apply again, because i am determined and i am not going to let my mcat score get me down. It was good to know that not all schools screen and there is a chance i will get secondaries when i apply instead of being rejected pre-secondary as i feared. Other than the score i think i am a well-rounded candidate and i will just pray for the best.

to answer your question more specifically, i will explain the situation i was in a year ago. i had exactly the same situation: i took the test and didn't do as well as i hoped. my score was lower than anticipated, but not that low that it was below most DO school averages (if you're still not sure about this part, definitely look it up). after thinking about this for a long time, i decided to submit in june. i got all the secondaries (it seemed that very few schools pre-screened if any). i was able to do all my secondaries and get them in while studying for the mcat in august. by the time my august MCAT was released it was at the stage where they either interview me or not. i think personally that this worked really well. the only situation where it didn't was in the case of umdnj because they had filled their class before they interviewed me, so i was waitlisted. i dont know what your current situation is in terms of school or work, but i really appreciated getting all the essay writing done over the summer so that i didn't have to do it while i was in school in the fall. i think the biggest factor in your decision should be whether this score is too low and that you would not apply at all if you didn't do better. otherwise, i would say you should go ahead and submit in order to keep in pace with the others. if you have any other questions or comments, private message me.

and just to relieve your anxiety, even having the august mcat, i still got into every school i applied to except being waitlisted at umdnj.