I did horrible on my MCAT!

[AudreyH]

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I haven't gotten verified yet in the general application because my advisor needs to send the transcripts and letters, but had to wait for one letter to come in (very frustrating...I gave almost a year notice). I received 3 secondary applications already, though (without my MCAT score): New York Medical College, Dartmouth, and Boston University School of Medicine. I only submitted the NYMC one so far since it was easy. I just got my MCAT score today, and it was HORRIBLE! A 24 (9 on verbal, 7 on PS, and 8 on BS)! I was crying so much when I found out. That is lower than my average practice test scores...the individual scores were so low. I didn't think I would do that horrible. I am registered for the MCAT on Sept. 1 because I wasn't sure how I would do. I thought I would study this whole time, but I ended up not studying and now I really regret it. Should I just study really hard, take a couple practice tests, and take it on Sept.1? I don't know if I should submit the other secondaries...I don't want to waste money...

 

[NuttyEngDude]

I thought I would study this whole time, but I ended up not studying and now I really regret it. Should I just study really hard, take a couple practice tests, and take it on Sept.1? I don't know if I should submit the other secondaries...I don't want to waste money...

Sorry to hear it 🙁 I would cancel and get some type of refund. If you want to retake, study properly and knock it out of the park. Good luck.

 

[AudreyH]

I really wanted to apply this cycle, though...now I will have 2 years off before I get to medical school...you don't think I could just study really hard and do it? Or should I just wait? I applied to 20 medical schools, so it would really stink to waste all that money.

 

[Nandrolone]

let's be honest Audrey, if you applied to 20 MD schools, your score isn't remotely competitive for any school. You would need to get it up to at least 30 to show significant improvement. That being said, you probably haven't been studying at all since you last took it. If you take it in September then you would be complete at schools in October at the earliest...which is late in the cycle...so my point is...study and take in January, anything else and you're just wasting money.

 

[Ask]

I am unaware of the exact deadlines for the primaries for the schools in which you are interested however if you really want to do well and apply this year I would take the Sept 11th MCAT to maximize study time. This is the last date offered this year. It is imperative you score at least a 27+ to even be considered at the schools you have mentioned. A 30 will make you competitive.

Also I am unaware of the rest of your application like cumlative/science GPAs and other extracurricular activities.

 

[AudreyH]

I am unaware of the exact deadlines for the primaries for the schools in which you are interested however if you really want to do well and apply this year I would take the Sept 11th MCAT to maximize study time. This is the last date offered this year. It is imperative you score at least a 27+ to even be considered at the schools you have mentioned. A 30 will make you competitive.

Also I am unaware of the rest of your application like cumlative/science GPAs and other extracurricular activities.

Thanks. I'll have to look into the deadlines.

Here is other information about me:

I transferred from a community college to a 4-year school after 2 years. I graduated the community college with a cGPA of 3.99 and my sGPA was 4.0. Both my cGPA and sGPA were 3.8 at the 4-year school.
I took General Biology 1 and 2, Anatomy, Physiology, and General Chemistry 1 at the community college, so I didn't take all of the pre-med science classes there.
I am a Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Zeta National Science and Math Honor Society member. I have volunteered at my local SPCA for a couple years. I have had 3 internships shadowing several doctors and PAs (~135 hours). I have volunteered at a hospital in the ER for 3 hours a week for 2-3 months. I am a coauthor of a scientific journal article. I was on the President's List all 4 semesters at the community college and I've been on the Dean's List all 4 semesters at the 4-year school. I tutored students in General Chemistry and General Biology for one semester at the 4-year school.

 

[AudreyH]

let's be honest Audrey, if you applied to 20 MD schools, your score isn't remotely competitive for any school. You would need to get it up to at least 30 to show significant improvement. That being said, you probably haven't been studying at all since you last took it. If you take it in September then you would be complete at schools in October at the earliest...which is late in the cycle...so my point is...study and take in January, anything else and you're just wasting money.

I already wasted around $1000 +, though. :/

 

[Machine33]

Whats your gpa like? You could still apply DO if you balance out with GPA and ec's. A 24 is low, yes and yes it will hurt your chances for MD. It won't take you out of the game for DO, though.This time next year you could still be starting medical school if every thing else on your app looks good.

 

[Jepstein30]

I already wasted around $1000 +, though. :/

Pretty sure if you withdraw prior to verification they only charge you $140 or something.

 

[AudreyH]

Pretty sure if you withdraw prior to verification they only charge you $140 or something.

Really? That would be cool.

 

[AudreyH]

Whats your gpa like? You could still apply DO if you balance out with GPA and ec's. A 24 is low, yes and yes it will hurt your chances for MD. It won't take you out of the game for DO, though.This time next year you could still be starting medical school if every thing else on your app looks good.

Here is other information about me:

I transferred from a community college to a 4-year school after 2 years. I graduated the community college with a cGPA of 3.99 and my sGPA was 4.0. Both my cGPA and sGPA were 3.8 at the 4-year school.

I took General Biology 1 and 2, Anatomy, Physiology, and General Chemistry 1 at the community college, so I didn't take all of the pre-med science classes there.

I am a Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Zeta National Science and Math Honor Society member. I have volunteered at my local SPCA for a couple years. I have had 3 internships shadowing several doctors and PAs (~135 hours). I have volunteered at a hospital in the ER for 3 hours a week for 2-3 months. I am a coauthor of a scientific journal article. I was on the President's List all 4 semesters at the community college and I've been on the Dean's List all 4 semesters at the 4-year school. I tutored students in General Chemistry and General Biology for one semester at the 4-year school.

 

[Machine33]

Here is other information about me:

I transferred from a community college to a 4-year school after 2 years. I graduated the community college with a cGPA of 3.99 and my sGPA was 4.0. Both my cGPA and sGPA were 3.8 at the 4-year school.

I took General Biology 1 and 2, Anatomy, Physiology, and General Chemistry 1 at the community college, so I didn't take all of the pre-med science classes there.

I am a Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Zeta National Science and Math Honor Society member. I have volunteered at my local SPCA for a couple years. I have had 3 internships shadowing several doctors and PAs (~135 hours). I have volunteered at a hospital in the ER for 3 hours a week for 2-3 months. I am a coauthor of a scientific journal article. I was on the President's List all 4 semesters at the community college and I've been on the Dean's List all 4 semesters at the 4-year school. I tutored students in General Chemistry and General Biology for one semester at the 4-year school.

I can definitely see you getting into a DO school next year (assuming you dont interview like a potato). Im applying with a similar GPA with a 24 MCAT and everyone said I would be okay so I'm assuming it'd be no different for you. You have above average EC's too, so if you don't want to wait than I'd start working on those DO apps.

 

[AudreyH]

I can definitely see you getting into a DO school next year (assuming you dont interview like a potato). Im applying with a similar GPA with a 24 MCAT and everyone said I would be okay so I'm assuming it'd be no different for you. You have above average EC's too, so if you don't want to wait than I'd start working on those DO apps.

Ok, thanks. The only thing is..I don't have a letter from a DO. Oh, and I'm not that great at interviews...I don't think I'm like a potato, though...haha.

 

[Machine33]

I forgot to add:

Some DO schools want a DO letter of recommendation, upper level bio courses (biochem, microbio, physiology, etc) and a couple screen for being under a 25 MCAT. So if this is something you decide to pursue, do a little homework on which schools require certain things just so you don't waste any money like someone I know did... cough cough... lol

 

[Machine33]

Ok, thanks. The only thing is..I don't have a letter from a DO. Oh, and I'm not that great at interviews...I don't think I'm like a potato, though...haha.

A lot of schools only recommend it, some schools require it, others dont care about it. But thats good! The less you are like a potato, the better! 👍

 

[AudreyH]

Haha, ok thanks!

 

[karafox]

a pre-med's worst nightmare. i'm sorry to hear, but don't despair. from the looks of it, you have a good GPA and decent ECs. i would retake if i were you, but keep in mind that this will require you to get a significantly higher mcat score for your app to look good for adcoms.

if you retake, do you think you can score >28? i mean with high confidence. can you make a few guesses to why you received that 24?

 

[tttgo]

You can definitely raise your mcat if you're willing to wait until next year and put in the time to study. I would think carefully before making any decisions. Do you want to go to a DO school? Is it that important to get into a school and not have to wait another year? Although DO is well regarded, is that what you want? Have you shadowed etc. I would say it's a pretty big decision and can impact your life greatly, so make sure you're sure. gl

 

[AudreyH]

a pre-med's worst nightmare. i'm sorry to hear, but don't despair. from the looks of it, you have a good GPA and decent ECs. i would retake if i were you, but keep in mind that this will require you to get a significantly higher mcat score for your app to look good for adcoms.

if you retake, do you think you can score >28? i mean with high confidence. can you make a few guesses to why you received that 24?

Thanks. I'm not sure...I got quite a few 29s on my practice exams, which was my highest score on them. That MCAT was sooo much harder than the practice exams I took..that is the reason why..and I ran out of time on the 2 science sections.

 

[nashaiy]

Personally, I feel as though you should take the MCAT again regardless. Who knows, what if you do great on it? You don't want to regret not taking it and since you already spent all that money on applications and such, you might as well leave the money in for the MCAT (rather than get half back in a refund), study really hard up til that point and try your best. My friend got a 29 on his MCAT and he was going to cancel his applications because he didn't think he'd be competitive enough and then another one of our friends was like "why not just do them? What's the worst that could happen? You don't get in? What's the best that could happen? You get in?" I think that sums it up perfectly (he ended up getting in and is currently in med school). He also described the MCAT as being a "crapshoot" in terms of you might get an exam testing the areas you're really weak in one day and an exam that tests your strengths another. So, what's the worst that could happen if you take it? You get a low score. Oh well, try again next year. What's the best that could happen? You get a way better score. If you don't take it, you really won't know and you might as well just spend the extra month (try and get the September 11 test day) studying. That's just my opinion. I don't see the downside of retaking it other than spending the next few weeks studying. You're losing more money by not taking it since you already spent all that money on applications.

Anywho, hope that helps. I'm also studying to take the MCAT in September so if you do decide to take it, good luck to you!

 

[AudreyH]

You can definitely raise your mcat if you're willing to wait until next year and put in the time to study. I would think carefully before making any decisions. Do you want to go to a DO school? Is it that important to get into a school and not have to wait another year? Although DO is well regarded, is that what you want? Have you shadowed etc. I would say it's a pretty big decision and can impact your life greatly, so make sure you're sure. gl

I'm not sure if I really want to go to a DO school...I was kind of set out for MD.

 

[AudreyH]

Personally, I feel as though you should take the MCAT again regardless. Who knows, what if you do great on it? You don't want to regret not taking it and since you already spent all that money on applications and such, you might as well leave the money in for the MCAT (rather than get half back in a refund), study really hard up til that point and try your best. My friend got a 29 on his MCAT and he was going to cancel his applications because he didn't think he'd be competitive enough and then another one of our friends was like "why not just do them? What's the worst that could happen? You don't get in? What's the best that could happen? You get in?" I think that sums it up perfectly (he ended up getting in and is currently in med school). He also described the MCAT as being a "crapshoot" in terms of you might get an exam testing the areas you're really weak in one day and an exam that tests your strengths another. So, what's the worst that could happen if you take it? You get a low score. Oh well, try again next year. What's the best that could happen? You get a way better score. If you don't take it, you really won't know and you might as well just spend the extra month (try and get the September 11 test day) studying. That's just my opinion. I don't see the downside of retaking it other than spending the next few weeks studying. You're losing more money by not taking it since you already spent all that money on applications.

Anywho, hope that helps. I'm also studying to take the MCAT in September so if you do decide to take it, good luck to you!

Yeah, I guess. I won't be able to get in Sept. 11 because it is full near me...I think I could get in Sept. 6. I actually can get back all the money, except for $160, if I withdraw my primary application before it is verified...so I won't waste much money...I feel like I might waste more if I take it because I wouldn't want my primary application to be verified (I wouldn't be able to withdraw) before I get my scores...but it will be really late by then.

 

[tttgo]

Well if your avg was a 29, and you'll be happy with around a 30, then you have a shot if you take the 9/1 exam (assuming you cram like crazy). other factors to consider are: will that make your app late, does school start, stress of trying to apply this cycle. There's also the risk of scoring the same score again. A few extra months would make it easier to improve, maybe even beyond the low 30's. With your other stats, you could be looking at better schools or choose in vs out of state if it weren't for your mcat.

check to see what's the latest mcat the schools will accept

 

[karafox]

Thanks. I'm not sure...I got quite a few 29s on my practice exams, which was my highest score on them. That MCAT was sooo much harder than the practice exams I took..that is the reason why..and I ran out of time on the 2 science sections.

it could have been a fluke, who knows. only you can properly assess yourself.

this is just my opinion, but i believe the mcat is truly a "how-well-can-you-reason-and-keep-calm-in-a-short-amount-of-time" test. it's bull****, but it gets us into med school. you don't have to know the sciences like the back of your hand (though it helps with timing). so ask yourself, why did you score lower than your practice scores? you say it's harder, but in what ways made it harder? were the passages really "too long" or was that all in your head? was the content unfamiliar (in that case, seriously go over those subjects)? did you just not understand wtf you were reading (nerves or just lost confidence)? did you lose time with long calculations that you were unprepared for?

i mean the list can go on and on...but it's important to really think about these things, so if you do plan on retaking the mcat, you'll understand where you went wrong and it won't happen again. and of course, be honest with yourself. i still think the way in which i study and picture physics is ineffective, which is why my score isn't where i want it to be. i am capable of getting higher, but it's up to me to change my bad habits. 👍

 

[AudreyH]

Well if your avg was a 29, and you'll be happy with around a 30, then you have a shot if you take the 9/1 exam (assuming you cram like crazy). other factors to consider are: will that make your app late, does school start, stress of trying to apply this cycle. There's also the risk of scoring the same score again. A few extra months would make it easier to improve, maybe even beyond the low 30's. With your other stats, you could be looking at better schools or choose in vs out of state if it weren't for your mcat.

check to see what's the latest mcat the schools will accept

My average was not a 29. It was a 27 for the AAMC Practice Exams (I took these after the Kaplan ones) and 25 for the Kaplan Practice Exams (including my diagnostic score of 21). I already graduated from college, so I won't have to worry about school...I'll just have to worry about working, but I don't have a job right now.
I really wanted to do a lot better than I was...I probably could have studied harder earlier on if I wasn't in school.

And I can't seem to find the information about the latest mcat that the schools will take.

 

[AudreyH]

it could have been a fluke, who knows. only you can properly assess yourself.

this is just my opinion, but i believe the mcat is truly a "how-well-can-you-reason-and-keep-calm-in-a-short-amount-of-time" test. it's bull****, but it gets us into med school. you don't have to know the sciences like the back of your hand (though it helps with timing). so ask yourself, why did you score lower than your practice scores? you say it's harder, but in what ways made it harder? were the passages really "too long" or was that all in your head? was the content unfamiliar (in that case, seriously go over those subjects)? did you just not understand wtf you were reading (nerves or just lost confidence)? did you lose time with long calculations that you were unprepared for?

i mean the list can go on and on...but it's important to really think about these things, so if you do plan on retaking the mcat, you'll understand where you went wrong and it won't happen again. and of course, be honest with yourself. i still think the way in which i study and picture physics is ineffective, which is why my score isn't where i want it to be. i am capable of getting higher, but it's up to me to change my bad habits. 👍

Thanks...it was that the passages and questions seemed so different from the practice exams...the wording was more confusing and the content was a little different than what I concentrated on. Some of it...I had no clue..

 

[IlDestriero]

It seems pretty unlikely you will do significantly better with only 2 weeks of studying. I would start looking onto plan B instead. Take a couple months, prepare properly, then reapply when you're ready. You don't need another bad MCAT score on your application. If my practice scores were averaging 27, I wouldn't have taken it the first time either. Don't take it until you're ready, as in >30. You can do it.

 

[AudreyH]

It seems pretty unlikely you will do significantly better with only 2 weeks of studying. I would start looking onto plan B instead. Take a couple months, prepare properly, then reapply when you're ready. You don't need another bad MCAT score on your application. If my practice scores were averaging 27, I wouldn't have taken it the first time either. Don't take it until you're ready, as in >30. You can do it.

Yeah, I'm actually thinking that is a good idea now. I really want to have enough time to really study and improve a lot.

 

[miringains]

argh that is so terrible to hear. How did you feel coming out of the test and during it?

 

[AudreyH]

argh that is so terrible to hear. How did you feel coming out of the test and during it?

I felt horrible...haha...but I thought maybe a miracle would happen...guess not..

 

[smacs10]

9pt jump

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Based on what you have written, I think you have a very nice app. I think if you do not practice your butt off and wait until next year that you would seriously be selling yourself short. You've worked very hard and are almost there, dont stop now. Give it a good honest effort. Good luck!

 

[AudreyH]

Based on what you have written, I think you have a very nice app. I think if you do not practice your butt off and wait until next year that you would seriously be selling yourself short. You've worked very hard and are almost there, dont stop now. Give it a good honest effort. Good luck!

Thanks. Are you saying to wait until next year? Because that is what I have decided to do. I feel like I know so much more now about the application process than I did this time, which will help me also.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

yeah i'm saying to wait. Practice really hard for the mcat then apply next year. i wrote that sort of fast. 😛

 

[AudreyH]

Okay, thanks! Haha. That is what I'm planning to do.

 

[Sakura17]

By taking it 4 times and getting a 31 on the 4th try, did it help you in getting accepted into medical school?

 

[Sakura17]

I re took the MCAT 4 times. I got a 22 on the first 3 exams. But, the 4th time I got a 31. The things I changed was putting myself in a supportive environment ( at home with the parents) and changed the way I did the test ( I skimmed the questions first before the passages). Try switching up the way you do things it may help...

By taking it 4 times and getting a 31 on the 4th try, did it help you in getting accepted into medical school? Just curious b/c in similar situation. Took it twice by got 24 & then 21. 3rd time was a 27. The first 2 scores are expired now and applying with a 27, but anxious about the results of this cycle and may re-take it 4th time if I don't hear anything by Nov-ish.

 

[Mehd School]

Sorry to hear about your score. I can't really give you helpful insight outside of what has already been posted here.

I will say, though, that I wouldn't apply DO if you don't want to be a DO. You'll probably take someone's spot who actually wants to go to that particular school. You sound like you're still young, so another year or so will be trivial in the grand scheme. Your gpa is too sweet to just give up after a bad test day.

Good luck.