I retook the MCAT and got a lower score: three questions inside

[pjfunyans]

I originally took the MCAT in September and got a 25. I restudied and was doing a little better on my practice tests, but was stunned when I got a 22 in May (basically, it was just my verbal score that dropped from 8 to 5). My three questions are listed below and you can just list the number of the question you are responding to, unless you have advice on all three.

1.) Do I have to submit both scores or can I just have the 25 sent to AACOMAS?

2.) Is it worth it to spend several more months studying for a retake, or would it be a better use of my time to focus on improving my Spanish and Portuguese? I have average grades (3.4cpga/3.25sgpa), but I talk in my personal statement about how I want to work in South America and speaking the languages is actually useful. I ask because, even if I study hard, I'd only be expecting to go up to a 27 or 28, but I believe that speaking other languages certainly gives me an edge that a lot of applicants don't have.

3.) A lot of admissions advisers say you should mention any weaknesses in you application and then also say not to mention your grades or MCAT score in the personal statement. Since my lowered MCAT score is the only major setback, should I just include a short paragraph explaining that timing has always been an issue for me and that, despite possessing the intellectual faculties necessary to process large amounts of information, I'm simply a slower test taker?

Thanks for the advice.

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[Fluke88]

Ei cara, como foi que voce aprendeu portugues e espanhol? Eu tambem falo os dois.. mas porque voce quer trabalhar na america do sul??

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I would recommend studying again and trying to get that 5 back up to a 8 or higher.

 

[drshark]

you have to submit both but some schools take the higher score, some schools average, and some take the most recent so just find out which schools take the highest and apply there. Although I think a retake would be a better idea.

 

[pjfunyans]

Ei cara, como foi que voce aprendeu portugues e espanhol? Eu tambem falo os dois.. mas porque voce quer trabalhar na america do sul??

Pois, ja falo espanhol (comecei ha nove o dez anos na escola.), mas amanha eu vou viajar pra Colombia por tres semanas y depois a Rio por duas semanas. Depois disso, duas no Peru, y depois disso voltar aos Estados Unidos do Colombia (5 de agosto). Comecei aprender o portugues no otono, porque eu queria viajar pro Brazil este verao e eu acho que e melhor falar as duas lenguas que tomar o teste otra vez. Eu quero trabalhar no america do sul porque eu gosto da gente, as lenguas, e desde que ha muitos que nao querem falar espanhol o portuges, e alguma coisa que eu posso fazer melhorar o mundo. E voce?

 

[darklabel]

I believe AAMC will send both scores no matter what in the official report to AACOMAs so you're stuck with both scores.

I would retake to atleast match your first score (but would be better if you exceeded it).

 

[Mosonik]

You had a good shot at acceptance somewhere with a 25. You are now facing a MAJOR uphill battle to explain a decrease in MCAT retake. Even if a school were to accept the higher score you can guarantee that it will come up in interviews and it will be factor for admission.
I'm not trying to be negative but this is the reality you will face. You may get in somewhere, you may not, but the application cycle is draining mentally and financially so I recommend waiting until you can put your best self forward.
Learn your weaknesses, fix your mistakes and don't repeat them, don't rush the retake but when you do, destroy it!
It's within your reach, now go get it.

 

[sofia200pt]

Tens as notas a volta da media para entrares no curso de medicina osteopatica mas o 22 no exame vai te trazer dores de cabeça ao concorreres pois pode te deixar atras em algumas escolas. E será sempre a primeira pergunta que te vão fazer se chegares ao ponto de entrevistar. O saberes falar três línguas pode ajudar mas não será o ponto que te levara para além dos outros, pois digo eu que falo as três fluentemente e duas mais o suficiente para me desenrascar se fosse necessário. E no grupo da minha entrevista éramos 3 k sabíamos falar mais k duas línguas e no total só éramos 10 a ser entrevistados. Aposta no exame porque esse e o que as escolas usam para decidir se te vai enviar a segunda aplicação ou se te manda dar uma curva. Se precisares de ajuda em traduzir, diz.

 

[SLC]

Retake is your best bet. That 22 casts some doubt on your ability to study hard in med-school and for boards (not that it actually means that, but it will be interpreted as such).

Mas não pare de falar português, é a lingua mais bonita no mundo enteiro! O meu abilidade de falar me deu opportunidades para viajar e fazer servicios antes de escola medicinal que éu acho eram as coisas que me-deixam ser aceito.

 

[pjfunyans]

You had a good shot at acceptance somewhere with a 25. You are now facing a MAJOR uphill battle to explain a decrease in MCAT retake. Even if a school were to accept the higher score you can guarantee that it will come up in interviews and it will be factor for admission.
I'm not trying to be negative but this is the reality you will face. You may get in somewhere, you may not, but the application cycle is draining mentally and financially so I recommend waiting until you can put your best self forward.
Learn your weaknesses, fix your mistakes and don't repeat them, don't rush the retake but when you do, destroy it!
It's within your reach, now go get it.

Tomorrow I'm flying to South America for almost seven weeks, but I'd be getting back home in mid-August. I'm getting ready to go ahead and submit my primary application, secondaries on my trip, and, ideally, would do interviews when I get back. If I don't get any invitations, I'd go ahead and retake it. My personal statement is mainly about my journey to medicine and how my love of languages and volunteer experience abroad has been rather formative of the direction I would like my career to take. As I said, since the MCAT is my major weakness, do you think I should allude to it in my personal statement (slower worker, but I still grind it out), at least briefly? I feel like if I don't at least mention it, I won't even make it to the interview to explain it in person. What are your thoughts? And thanks for the previous advice.

 

[Goro]

You have to submit both; you can't hide a poor performance. Actually if somehow you did, and we accepted you and then found out about it, you would probably be dismissed.


1.) Do I have to submit both scores or can I just have the 25 sent to AACOMAS?


You ave just performed poorly on a career-deciding, high stakes exam, and dropped your avg MCAT score (which my school look at) to a 23.5, which will get you wait-listed or rejected here. If you're NOT an ESL, it brings into question your ability to communciate, or understand communcation. Showing off that you know other languages isn't going to salvage this.

2.) Is it worth it to spend several more months studying for a retake, or would it be a better use of my time to focus on improving my Spanish and Portuguese? I have average grades (3.4cpga/3.25sgpa), but I talk in my personal statement about how I want to work in South America and speaking the languages is actually useful. I ask because, even if I study hard, I'd only be expecting to go up to a 27 or 28, but I believe that speaking other languages certainly gives me an edge that a lot of applicants don't have.


Doing that will get you rejected outright. We're addicted to standardized tests in medical school, and unless you show a valid medical need, or evidence of a a true learning disability, we're not going to accomodate you, and NBOME is even less willing. This one you're going to have to fix, or take on the chin. Test-taking is a skill, and I believe it can be leanred.

Strongly suggest that you reconsider your career options.



3.) A lot of admissions advisers say you should mention any weaknesses in you application and then also say not to mention your grades or MCAT score in the personal statement. Since my lowered MCAT score is the only major setback, should I just include a short paragraph explaining that timing has always been an issue for me and that, despite possessing the intellectual faculties necessary to process large amounts of information, I'm simply a slower test taker?

 

[zdbsy]

More than once I heard people mentioning DO NOT GIVE YOURSELF EXCUSE IN PS because that would make you look like immature. Whereas some others hold opposite ideas.

Personal suggestion is that you better NOT say that.

Goro's advice is straight and painful, but quite solid.

 

[pjfunyans]

Tens as notas a volta da media para entrares no curso de medicina osteopatica mas o 22 no exame vai te trazer dores de cabeça ao concorreres pois pode te deixar atras em algumas escolas. E será sempre a primeira pergunta que te vão fazer se chegares ao ponto de entrevistar. O saberes falar três línguas pode ajudar mas não será o ponto que te levara para além dos outros, pois digo eu que falo as três fluentemente e duas mais o suficiente para me desenrascar se fosse necessário. E no grupo da minha entrevista éramos 3 k sabíamos falar mais k duas línguas e no total só éramos 10 a ser entrevistados. Aposta no exame porque esse e o que as escolas usam para decidir se te vai enviar a segunda aplicação ou se te manda dar uma curva. Se precisares de ajuda em traduzir, diz.

Obrigado, Sofia. Suponho que eu achei que se eu podria falar as lenguas do otro parte do mundo (e eu tambem queria trabalhar la, dado a falta dos medicos), isso me ajudaria muito, desde que a maioria das estudantes provavemente vao ficar nos Estados Unidos.

 

[user3]

Apply broadly anyway and hope for the best.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Sorry to say this, but you blew your chances to medical school this cycle. There simply isn't anything redeeming going on. It isn't as if at least the other scores increased. Instead of wasting your time learning other languages, you should be learning English properly (and this is coming from a guy who speaks Spanish and Italian, so don't think I don't appreciate other languages).

 

[Mosonik]

Tomorrow I'm flying to South America for almost seven weeks, but I'd be getting back home in mid-August. I'm getting ready to go ahead and submit my primary application, secondaries on my trip, and, ideally, would do interviews when I get back. If I don't get any invitations, I'd go ahead and retake it. My personal statement is mainly about my journey to medicine and how my love of languages and volunteer experience abroad has been rather formative of the direction I would like my career to take. As I said, since the MCAT is my major weakness, do you think I should allude to it in my personal statement (slower worker, but I still grind it out), at least briefly? I feel like if I don't at least mention it, I won't even make it to the interview to explain it in person. What are your thoughts? And thanks for the previous advice.

I would recommend not referencing any stats in your PS, it reflects an misunderstanding of what the purpose is for it, which is simply to fill in the picture of who are that the rest of the app doesn't. I can appreciate your intent with trying to explain but frankly it won't achieve what you are hoping and only can be detrimental to you. It may not be what you are hoping to hear but your scores are at the mercy of the initial screeners. Certainly, if offered an interview, you will likely be asked or have the opportunity to discuss your MCAT and unique situation but until you are in that room, it's out of your control.
A 5 in any section is an automatic rejection from most programs. If you insist on applying I recommend you talking to find out which schools this is true of so you don't waste your money. Your best hope is that a program will choose to overlook your 22 but again, because it's your most recent, its a bigger issue.
You said you scored an 8 on it before. That shows you have the ability to do better but it won't count for anything if you don't reassure them in a retake.

 

[pjfunyans]

You have to submit both; you can't hide a poor performance. Actually if somehow you did, and we accepted you and then found out about it, you would probably be dismissed.


1.) Do I have to submit both scores or can I just have the 25 sent to AACOMAS?


You ave just performed poorly on a career-deciding, high stakes exam, and dropped your avg MCAT score (which my school look at) to a 23.5, which will get you wait-listed or rejected here. If you're NOT an ESL, it brings into question your ability to communciate, or understand communcation. Showing off that you know other languages isn't going to salvage this.

2.) Is it worth it to spend several more months studying for a retake, or would it be a better use of my time to focus on improving my Spanish and Portuguese? I have average grades (3.4cpga/3.25sgpa), but I talk in my personal statement about how I want to work in South America and speaking the languages is actually useful. I ask because, even if I study hard, I'd only be expecting to go up to a 27 or 28, but I believe that speaking other languages certainly gives me an edge that a lot of applicants don't have.


Doing that will get you rejected outright. We're addicted to standardized tests in medical school, and unless you show a valid medical need, or evidence of a a true learning disability, we're not going to accomodate you, and NBOME is even less willing. This one you're going to have to fix, or take on the chin. Test-taking is a skill, and I believe it can be leanred.

Strongly suggest that you reconsider your career options.



3.) A lot of admissions advisers say you should mention any weaknesses in you application and then also say not to mention your grades or MCAT score in the personal statement. Since my lowered MCAT score is the only major setback, should I just include a short paragraph explaining that timing has always been an issue for me and that, despite possessing the intellectual faculties necessary to process large amounts of information, I'm simply a slower test taker?

Thanks for the advice, Goro. As I said, if I am not admitted to a school, I will retake the exam. My emphasis on languages was to show my commitment to global medicine ( which the majority of doctors in the U.S. will not be doing, apart from, perhaps, occasional medical mission trips) and to demonstrate that, while some students may have strengths that I do not currently possess, the opposite is also true and, thus, my application should not be immediately disregarded. As I said, should this application cycle not prove fortuitous, I shall retake the exam at a later date. Again, thank you for your thoughts.

 

[Moose A Moose]

It's ridiculous to say not to ever mention a grade-based shortcoming. If you have a legit reason for a slope in something like your GPA- and it stemmed from an event that was prominent in your life at the time- then there's no reason not to talk about it. Especially if it's relevant/interesting and you learned something by it that may overall help shape you to be a better physician in the long run.

 

[scarecrow90]

Sorry to say this, but you blew your chances to medical school this cycle. There simply isn't anything redeeming going on. It isn't as if at least the other scores increased. Instead of wasting your time learning other languages, you should be learning English properly (and this is coming from a guy who speaks Spanish and Italian, so don't think I don't appreciate other languages).

Secondo me, lui parla inglese abbastanza bene... il tuo punto? Ovviamente un voto di 22 è male, e il decremento è proprio orrido... però, pensi davvero che sia meglio d'aspettare di riprovare l'esame?

 

[TriagePreMed]

Secondo me, lui parla inglese abbastanza bene... il tuo punto? Ovviamente un voto di 22 è male, e il decremento è proprio orrido... però, pensi davvero che sia meglio d'aspettare di riprovare l'esame?

You mean he writes well? That's a different skill than reading comprehension for the test. Yes, he should retake before applying instead of wasting 7 weeks abroad.

scusami, scrivo molto male l'italiano

 

[scarecrow90]

You mean he writes well? That's a different skill than reading comprehension for the test. Yes, he should retake before applying instead of wasting 7 weeks abroad.

scusami, scrivo molto male l'italiano

I was assuming that he speaks English well enough that he should be able to perform well on the VR section. And somehow I missed the fact that he was planning to forfeit up a retake for 7 weeks abroad... OP: your Portuguese seems to be already strong. See if you can study abroad later. Retake is more important.

Non ti preoccupare!!! L'importante è che tu parli bene. Scrivere, in particolare qui negli Stati Uniti, non è così importante. Dunque, se vuoi practicare il tuo italiano, mandami un messaggio e ci scriviamo l'italiano insieme! Sono sempre pronto di parlare con qualcuno in italiano. Mi fa tanto piacere!

 

[Mosonik]

I learned some Portuguese Kreol in GB, not sure how much of it translates... it took me as a pretty simplified version

 

[SLC]

I learned some Portuguese Kreol in GB, not sure how much of it translates... it took me as a pretty simplified version

GB=Guinnea Bissau?

I met a few Guinnea's and Cabo Verdeanos in Lisbon, awesome people!

 

[Mosonik]

GB=Guinnea Bissau?

I met a few Guinnea's and Cabo Verdeanos in Lisbon, awesome people!

Yeah, you got it! Definitely warm people... and very social

 

[pjfunyans]

I was assuming that he speaks English well enough that he should be able to perform well on the VR section. And somehow I missed the fact that he was planning to forfeit up a retake for 7 weeks abroad... OP: your Portuguese seems to be already strong. See if you can study abroad later. Retake is more important.

Non ti preoccupare!!! L'importante è che tu parli bene. Scrivere, in particolare qui negli Stati Uniti, non è così importante. Dunque, se vuoi practicare il tuo italiano, mandami un messaggio e ci scriviamo l'italiano insieme! Sono sempre pronto di parlare con qualcuno in italiano. Mi fa tanto piacere!

Sorry, I'd already purchased my airline tickets, anticipating that I would do as well on the exam as I had done on practice tests. Since I've already taken the time to do the paperwork, I'm going to go ahead and apply. If I don't get in, I'll just retake the exam in the fall or winter.

 

[scarecrow90]

Sorry, I'd already purchased my airline tickets, anticipating that I would do as well on the exam as I had done on practice tests. Since I've already taken the time to do the paperwork, I'm going to go ahead and apply. If I don't get in, I'll just retake the exam in the fall or winter.

Ah, well... make the best out of your time there!!! Enjoy it! All will work out regardless.