I have taken the MCAT 3 times. Should I bother retaking?

[Girlinthewindow]

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My MCAT scores:
5/2010 3V,5P,5B,oW: 13O
7/2011 7V,7P,3B,pW; 17P
4/2012 8V,7P,6B,qW: 21Q

5/2010: I was a dumb 19 yo undergrad taking 17 credits the same semester I took the MCAT along with a Princeton Review course. Literally studied VERY little outside of the MCAT class thinking it'd be easy. All of this along with family issues with parents getting divorce, etc.

7/2011: This was after graduating with a chem degree 2 months prior. Decided that I should maybe take this **** a bit more seriously. Studied for a month and half and still did super ****ty. Mind you I was a chem major with no background in bio outside of general bio.

4/2012: studied for 4 months, took time off from work, no classes. Still no formal bio background and got the 21Q.

Fall 2012-Summer 2013 I took anatomy, 2 physiology courses, micro course, micro lab, and some health courses. Everyone of those course I earned something between a 3.5 and a 4, with the exception of anatomy which I earned a 3. Haven't taken the MCAT after that because I got into the grad program I am in.

Right now I am EXTREMELY fearful of retaking the MCAT and potentially wasting another 4 months of my life and not sure if I would even be taken seriously in the event that I score a 27.

Everything else is pretty solid though. Had a 3.0 in my chem degree, currently have a 3.8 in a MPH degree, 7+ years of clinical experience as a nurse aide. Chem research as an undergrad, and mental health research right now with 2 expected publications by the end of this coming year as the first and second authors, respectively, also some health related volunteering where I tutored elementary school kids on heart diseases and such as a part of a local medical school research team. Also English is my second language, as I came to the US at the age of 12 and I am now 24 years old.

 

[DrknoSDN]

Try taking a practice AAMC test. Or possibly a gold standard exam and see how you score. Some schools will consider you based on merit and most recent MCAT score. Other schools will average all MCAT scores but it really depends on where you are applying.
Also how each school evaluates MCAT scores is not shared with the public so you would have no way of knowing unless you score well, apply, and actually get to the interview.

 

[Alucard6]

You should only retake if you can confidently score around 28 at least. If you are getting below 10s in PS and BS (which you are), it means you do not have sufficient content review, it is not because of tricky questions.

You can buckle down for a month, study and take practice exams on AAMC to see where you stand. At a 21, I am sure you can simply look at the types of questions you are getting wrong and instantly realize what to fix. Just make sure you can consistently get around a 28 if you want to be competitive.

 

[IlDestriero]

There's no sense taking the exam before you are ready, as your previous (multiple) attempts show.
It is not clear if you took all the prerequisite classes prior to the MCAT. You imply that you did not in the OP. I'm not sure how you could possibly think you would do even OK without taking the proper classes first. Taking the review course should have clearly brought this to your attention.
Your MCAT score is very low, your undergrad GPA is way below that of the average accepted student and your history of multiple very poor performances on your MCAT will make it extremely hard to get into any US medical school.
I think your only hope is grade replacement for DO school in combination with a Herculean effort to get your MCAT to 30. Or hit the beach in the Caribbean and take your chances. I don't think the new MCAT will do you any favors either.
Nothing in your application suggests that you would be successful in medical school. It is a pressure cooker that requires high intelligence or a serious work ethic to get through the material. I've seen both succeed in medical school and residency. A combination of the two works fine as well.
Do what you need to do, and start working on plan B as well. You don't want to devote a couple more years to medical school only to fail and be at the starting line for a career in nursing, research, etc.

 

[Girlinthewindow]

There's no sense taking the exam before you are ready, as your previous (multiple) attempts show.
It is not clear if you took all the prerequisite classes prior to the MCAT. You imply that you did not in the OP. I'm not sure how you could possibly think you would do even OK without taking the proper classes first. Taking the review course should have clearly brought this to your attention.
Your MCAT score is very low, your undergrad GPA is way below that of the average accepted student and your history of multiple very poor performances on your MCAT will make it extremely hard to get into any US medical school.
I think your only hope is grade replacement for DO school in combination with a Herculean effort to get your MCAT to 30. Or hit the beach in the Caribbean and take your chances. I don't think the new MCAT will do you any favors either.
Nothing in your application suggests that you would be successful in medical school. It is a pressure cooker that requires high intelligence or a serious work ethic to get through the material. I've seen both succeed in medical school and residency. A combination of the two works fine as well.
Do what you need to do, and start working on plan B as well. You don't want to devote a couple more years to medical school only to fail and be at the starting line for a career in nursing, research, etc.

Yes I am doing a plan B at the moment with the MPH, and thinking about PA and pharmacy schools, problem with PA is that they're as strict/more strict than med school on your GPA and many do not consider grad school GPA, mainly because there is no MCAT, just the GRE (which I did pretty well in). Pharmacy might work out because I enjoyed my chem undergrad and I could still do research with it and my MPH along with clinical work.

Just feeling down, and wish I didn't slack off when I was younger and had more guidance and such.