is retaking with a 31q reasonable?

[philios]

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Scores from the June 13 test came out yesterday and i had a 31q (12PS, 11BS, 8VR). Needless to say I was disappointed by my verbal score, as I had received 10's-11's in all my practice tests. I am in desperate need of advice, and was wondering if retaking the test Aug22 was a reasonable idea? Also how will this affect my AMCAS primary, as I have already submitted it (June 26)? Thanks for the help in advance.

btw. i believe if i started studying now I could make an improvement on the VR score and keep the BS/PS about the same.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I would think very carefully about this. What if your score does not improve? That won't look very good to the adcoms right when they're making their interview invite decisions.

A 31Q is not a bad score, but if you're very confident you can do 2 or 3 points better overall, then it might be a good idea. I don't think it would be worth the risk if you'll only improve 1 point or stay the same with a better distribution.

 

[J ROD]

31 is a good score!! That is my target.

If you retake it, you better "KNOW" you did better if you grade the new one.

Personally, my balls are not that grande.

 

[HeyGirlHey]

hey, im in a similar situation. i got a 30S (10/10/10) and im pretty bummed too... i know i can score higher on verbal and especially bio. but ive decided against retaking (for now) because i weighed getting a score maybe 2-3 points higher vs. doing the same or worse, and getting my applications in in september, which to me, is late especially with my average stats.

but i hear you though, a 32 wouldve made me much happier and a 28 wouldve been better bc then id know for sure id be retaking! let me know what you decide!

 

[J ROD]

hey, im in a similar situation. i got a 30S (10/10/10) and im pretty bummed too... i know i can score higher on verbal and especially bio. but ive decided against retaking (for now) because i weighed getting a score maybe 2-3 points higher vs. doing the same or worse, and getting my applications in in september, which to me, is late especially with my average stats.

but i hear you though, a 32 wouldve made me much happier and a 28 wouldve been better bc then id know for sure id be retaking! let me know what you decide!

Hey, but I bet you would be happiest as a MD student. Smart choice for now!! Only retake if you do not get in and admins tell you the MCAT score is why.

 

[SN2ed]

A 31Q is a solid score and I wouldn't suggest retaking (unless you're dead set on a top 10 school which isn't wise in the first place). That score shouldn't hold you back at many places. I think it would be better to build up other aspects of your application. If you do decide to retake, make sure you improve because it will look bad if you don't.

Do you have any specific schools in mind? Also, what was your GPA?

 

[Barfalamule]

I retook the MCAT on a 30M. I think it is a good idea as long as you have a competent plan on improving your verbal score while maintaining your performance on the other sections. I walked out of the first MCAT knowing I could have done better and I knew exactly how to go about tackling the MCAT if I needed another go. I got straight 11s on the retake so my score was more balanced and improved, 33O. I throttled back on the physics/chem and ramped up verbal and bio(mainly with advanced courses).
Also there was a year gap, so I had some time to flush everything out and get a fresh look coming back to it. Be sure to read the AMCAS paper on MCAT retakes to look at the statistics of retakes. It might help you make this decision.
Good luck!

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Hello, I'm a reapplicant and have spoken with many, many schools about this due to my lopsided mcat last year.

The issue for all but 1 school I spoke with of the 15+ adcoms was NOT the overall score, (31 would be fine for most schools) but rather the section score. The schools I spoke with have have minimum section scores.

For most schools, an 8 in 1 section would be pushing it, but probably OK. 1 school said "we interview very few candidates with an 8", one said that an 8 indicated "room for concern". Many schools excluded anyone with a score below an 8. I believe only two schools (state schools for OOS applicants) had an absolute cutoff above an 8.

So it depends on the school; if you're confident you could improve that 8, I'd redo the MCAT, although that'll push your app back pretty late this year. From what the schools said, they tend to look more at a minimum section scores rather than how high the total is; better to have balanced 30 than unbalanced 32..If everything else is very strong, I'd likely NOT redo the mcat.

 

[IvyLeagueThug]

Hello, I'm a reapplicant and have spoken with many, many schools about this due to my lopsided mcat last year.

The issue for all but 1 school I spoke with of the 15+ adcoms was NOT the overall score, (31 would be fine for most schools) but rather the section score. The schools I spoke with have have minimum section scores.

For most schools, an 8 in 1 section would be pushing it, but probably OK. 1 school said "we interview very few candidates with an 8", one said that an 8 indicated "room for concern". Many schools excluded anyone with a score below an 8. I believe only two schools (state schools for OOS applicants) had an absolute cutoff above an 8.

This advice is why I am not retaking my 29Q. It broke 11V 9PS 9BS. I'm bent as hell that the score isn't the magic 30.

Still, after reading a lot of advice like nontrdgsbuiucmd's, I'm starting to think that I am better off with the 29 with the highest score in the arguably most important section and nothing below a 9 than a 30-32 with a 7 or 8. My GPA is good (3.85 non-sci and 3.95 sci). Plus, I have a graduate degree in a technical field (MS in computer info systems w/ 4.0 GPA/1st in my class).

The number not starting with a 3 does bother the hell out of me. Still, when working full-time and taking two lab sciences (one being orgo), I had to make the call of rusing w/o full-time study focus and taking in June to apply early, or studying for two months and taking in August. Although I would feel a lot better with a 10 in bio for a 30, I'm just going to apply very broadly and hope for the best.

 

[philios]

well i've decided to bite the bullet (read: waste the rest of my summer studying), and retake on Aug 22 in Worcestah, MA. The thing that bothered me the most about my score wasn't the 31Q overall it was that 8 which just seemed to stand out on the score report. I figure i can add at least a point or two since i hardly studied for the verbal section the first time around since i thought i would be fine with the 10's and 11's I was scoring on practice tests. Btw i asked the UMASS adcom about this and here was their response.

"The verbal 8 score you received is low and I encourage you take the MCAT to see if you score better. This would place your application in a more competitive position."

...hope this helps anybody else in my position.

 

[philios]

in reply to one post, my gpa is around a 3.7 (cumulative and sci), i have 50 hours volunteer experience in an emergency dept. and 50 in a surgical dept, class president 2 years, class treasurer 1, studied abroad 1 semester, as well as a couple other various ec's

 

[Kaustikos]

well i've decided to bite the bullet (read: waste the rest of my summer studying), and retake on Aug 22 in Worcestah, MA. The thing that bothered me the most about my score wasn't the 31Q overall it was that 8 which just seemed to stand out on the score report. I figure i can add at least a point or two since i hardly studied for the verbal section the first time around since i thought i would be fine with the 10's and 11's I was scoring on practice tests. Btw i asked the UMASS adcom about this and here was their response.

"The verbal 8 score you received is low and I encourage you take the MCAT to see if you score better. This would place your application in a more competitive position."

...hope this helps anybody else in my position.

If you're confident that you can score better and feel that you had not prepared well for the last MCAT, then I would encourage you to retake it as well. Jumping from a 32 to a 34 would make a huge difference and going by what you're saying, you seem pretty comfortable with the PS/BS to not have to worry about a dip in that score. ALTHOUGH - I am only saying this as a reminder - don't forget those two sections when you study. Goodluck! 👍

 

[bluemonkey]

in reply to one post, my gpa is around a 3.7 (cumulative and sci), i have 50 hours volunteer experience in an emergency dept. and 50 in a surgical dept, class president 2 years, class treasurer 1, studied abroad 1 semester, as well as a couple other various ec's

Your stats are all average for matriculants, but as you said, your VR is on the low side. Keep in mind that some schools might wait to process your application until you retake which could put you rather far behind on the timeline. Take a few more practice tests and see if you really can raise your verbal and keep your other sections at least as high as the 6/13 admin.

 

[crazynative]

I retook the MCAT on a 30M. I think it is a good idea as long as you have a competent plan on improving your verbal score while maintaining your performance on the other sections. I walked out of the first MCAT knowing I could have done better and I knew exactly how to go about tackling the MCAT if I needed another go. I got straight 11s on the retake so my score was more balanced and improved, 33O. I throttled back on the physics/chem and ramped up verbal and bio(mainly with advanced courses).
Also there was a year gap, so I had some time to flush everything out and get a fresh look coming back to it. Be sure to read the AMCAS paper on MCAT retakes to look at the statistics of retakes. It might help you make this decision.
Good luck!

I am actually in the same scenario as you (same exact overall and in writting section, but my spread was 12 PS 10 BS and 8 VR). I've decided not to retake it as I've exhausted most of my material (I have only one practice test I didn't do), I hope I'm not digging myself a hole here. Anyways, philios, unless you have a plan on how your going to retake it, and you are confident you can do better, then do it (I guess you made that decision already). Good Luck!

 

[philios]

I am actually in the same scenario as you (same exact overall and in writting section, but my spread was 12 PS 10 BS and 8 VR). I've decided not to retake it as I've exhausted most of my material (I have only one practice test I didn't do), I hope I'm not digging myself a hole here. Anyways, philios, unless you have a plan on how your going to retake it, and you are confident you can do better, then do it (I guess you made that decision already). Good Luck!

thanks. i guess i just tweaked out when i got an email from UMASS admissions saying that they would view my 8 in VR as a weak spot on my application. Honestly I didnt really even study for the verbal section the first time around because like i said, i was getting 10's and 11's on the practice tests and I wasnt too concerned about these scores. The 8 was definitely a kick in the pants, so now im wasting the rest of my summer studying all over again. fun. best of luck to you with all your applications!