Is an August MCAT retake too late for MD?

[ksudee]

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Hi everyone,

I just received my MCAT score yesterday. It is competitive for DO, but not for MD. Ideally I would need to come up 5 points. I can retake in about 3.5 weeks, receive score and submit primary around Sept 23.

Is this worth my time? I already have my application complete and IIs prewritten. My top choice of school is a new MD program without a graduating class yet, so it's not super-duper competitive. Otherwise, I would probably accept my losses here.

I guess I am mostly crushed I can't get a shot at my top school due to my unexpected MCAT score.

Other details include that I scored 6 points below my FL average. I feel, and have received feedback, that my writing and ECs are excellent.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Pile O' Nephritis]

In general, you need to improve by 5 points or more in order for the retake to impress ADCOMs. Anything less than that and it's not worth it. So, you're betting that you'll score above the confidence interval established by your official test result, which, without more recent improvements, is statistically unlikely by definition.

Do you have evidence that you would get this result? Do you have recent full-length exam scores at (or above) that 5-point mark?

 

[eigen]

I just received my MCAT score yesterday. It is competitive for DO, but not for MD. Ideally I would need to come up 5 points. I can retake in about 3.5 weeks, receive score and submit primary around Sept 23.

You don't have to share your score, but I find students often over-estimate the score they need for MD programs (at least where my students are applying). Given that you say you have excellent ECs and writing (and I assume, by extension, a strong narrative for why you want to be a physician) and you're not aiming for exclusively high rank/prestige places, you likely fall into this group.

Additionally, what you need on a re-take is usually substantially higher than the score you would have wanted to begin with. Officially or unofficially, a lot of schools will consider the average of multiple scores. So, for example, if you have a 505 and think you need a 510, I would say you probably need to score in the 512-515 range for a committee to see your "average" as 510.

Fast re-takes are usually not a great idea: 3.5 weeks isn't a lot of time to study enough to substantially improve your score.

::edit to add:: Submitting a primary at the end of September is late: that's also going to negatively impact your chances. If you were going to be complete by September 23, that might be a bit different, but submitting on Sept 23 means you won't be complete until sometime in October, more than likely.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

AAMC has data that shows that test-takers who take MORE TIME (they wait until next cycle) to prepare are more likely to see an increase in their MCAT score. In other words, a quick retake does not usually result in a huge shift up in score under similar conditions. Thus it is generally considered a big risk to retest twice within months of the attempts during the same cycle.

Most scores move up or down 3 points when it comes to re-takes. Thus, my own advice is to make sure your re-take results in +10 movement of your overall MCAT score.

ADDED (Using MCAT Data in 2026 Medical Student Selection, AAMC). Go to page 16 for graph.
"As shown in Figure 8, our research indicates that, on average, retesters who advance their formal education (e.g., progressing an academic year during college, completing a postbaccalaureate program beyond college, or obtaining an advanced degree) between MCAT exam attempts exhibit greater score gains than do retesters who reported no advancement in formal education between attempts. Further, retesters who reported educational advancement beyond the next sequential academic year/level show the greatest score gains on average. These trends on retester score gains shed light on the necessity to triangulate any score changes with information in the applicant’s transcripts and other information in the application when interpreting retest scores.

"It is also important to acknowledge the variability in the data: while retesters with formal educational advancement as a group demonstrate greater score gains on average, some gained more while others did not. Similarly, some retesters without advancement in formal education between attempts achieved greater score gains. Students may prepare for the MCAT exam by taking certain relevant courses or studying on their own without a formal advancement in education. Data not shown in Figure 8 suggest that average score gains on the second attempt are greater with more time between the first and second attempts, which may not always be associated with any formal educational advancement. Ultimately, applicants from a wide range of educational paths and advancement trajectories successfully prepare for medical school academically."
(p.17)

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone,

I just received my MCAT score yesterday. It is competitive for DO, but not for MD. Ideally I would need to come up 5 points. I can retake in about 3.5 weeks, receive score and submit primary around Sept 23.

Is this worth my time? I already have my application complete and IIs prewritten. My top choice of school is a new MD program without a graduating class yet, so it's not super-duper competitive. Otherwise, I would probably accept my losses here.

I guess I am mostly crushed I can't get a shot at my top school due to my unexpected MCAT score.

Other details include that I scored 6 points below my FL average. I feel, and have received feedback, that my writing and ECs are excellent.

Thank you for your time.

Do NOT retake a high-stakes, career deciding exam until you are 100% ready for it.

Will 3.5 weeks be enough time?

MD schools aren't going anywhere.

Do NOT apply DO unless you are truly willing to attend. Remember, your attending salary as a DO will be the same as your MD colleagues in the same field.

 

[ksudee]

Thank you guys for the advice. I really appreciate it. I have read all of your replies in detail.

I spoke with an admissions advisor at my #1 choice and they were very helpful. Their priority was whether or not I could actually improve significantly on my retake. The representative did not seem concerned about the timeline I am as long as I go ahead and submit primary and IIs (granted that I receive an invitation to submit). I recognize that this has a high chance of making me a reapplicant. I'm okay with this.

My plan as of right now is to reflect on all input I have received and consider if I can actually improve significantly. I recognize that most MD schools are out of the picture, but I may have a shot at some with a significant boost in score. I also have applied DO as of yesterday.

Thanks again!

 

[eigen]

I spoke with an admissions advisor at my #1 choice and they were very helpful. Their priority was whether or not I could actually improve significantly on my retake. The representative did not seem concerned about the timeline I am as long as I go ahead and submit primary and IIs (granted that I receive an invitation to submit). I recognize that this has a high chance of making me a reapplicant. I'm okay with this.

I worry that you're focusing a bit too much on your #1 choice, especially given your comment that they haven't graduated a class yet.

 

[ksudee]

I worry that you're focusing a bit too much on your #1 choice, especially given your comment that they haven't graduated a class yet.

That's totally fair. It's my #1 because I love the city, close to home, and my values are genuinely aligned with theirs. But yeah I will also consider this too!

 

[Med Ed]

Don't do it. I've seen this a thousand times. First MCAT = bad score. A month later, second MCAT = bad score. Great, now you have two bad scores with hard evidence of poor judgment. And the hole gets deeper.