I retook a 515-520 and got a 515-520 (only 2 points higher) ... how bad does this look?

[dalton_623]

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So I didn't realize adcoms frown on 515+ retakes. I was scoring about 520+ on my FLs and thought I had a bad day the first time I took it. (I thought the CP and BB sections were abnormally difficult).

On my retake, I ended up improving on my CP and BB but went down very slightly on CARS.

I probably should have consulted SDN more before I decided to do the retake...

 

[gyngyn]

Some schools will still look at you. Others see things differently.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Some schools will still look at you. Others see things differently.

Does any school superscore? It didn't hurt my N=1 @KnightDoc

 

[PigsHaveWings]

I dont think it will hurt you, since you scored a little higher. Go ahead and apply as usual.

In general, most people here would advise you to not retake a 515+, unless you are sure of scoring at least 4 points more than your original take. However, You have already done it, scored 2 points higher, so you are no better or worse than before.

I dont think any of the scores will "superscore" looking at individual sections of the MCAT. Some of the them may use the higher MCAT and some the average of the two. The worst case scenario is that they will look at the lower score, which is still a great score for most schools.

Move on, and focus on strengthening other aspects of your application.

 

[gyngyn]

Vandy, GT and MCW superscore, go figure.

 

[KnightDoc]

Again, as in other threads, everyone is missing the point. It doesn't matter whether you score 2 points higher, or 6.

The adcoms don't have a problem with this because the improvement wasn't enough!!!! The issue is the neurosis and perfectionism that retaking 90+%ile scores betrays. And yes, by now I've heard from enough ORMs how they are convinced in their hearts that they need a 520+ to be competitive at top schools. If that's the case, they need to work that out on the front end, and make sure they are in a position to score 520+ before they sit for the exam the first time.

Retaking a 515+ is a red flag that makes the applicant a prime candidate to become a problem the first time they are in the bottom half of something in med school, which is guaranteed to happen to a full 50% of every med school class. This is why, to quote the great @gyngyn "Some schools will still look at you. Others see things differently." Doesn't matter what you score on the retake. Really!!!

 

[Goro]

So I didn't realize adcoms frown on 515+ retakes. I was scoring about 520+ on my FLs and thought I had a bad day the first time I took it. (I thought the CP and BB sections were abnormally difficult).

On my retake, I ended up improving on my CP and BB but went down very slightly on CARS.

I probably should have consulted SDN more before I decided to do the retake...

What's done is done. Apply

 

[dalton_623]

Ok thank you! I'm already applying this cycle and this was more of a momentary panic