MCAT Retake and AACOMAS

[AndyQC]

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Quick question for a friend:

He recently received his MCAT score and is planning on retaking it. His score right now is sub-20, but he's confident that he can break 30 on the retake. If he is scheduled to take a late-October MCAT, should he submit his AACOMAS application now with just one school selected or should he wait until late-November when he gets his new score?

Thanks!

 

[AlteredScale]

Quick question for a friend:

He recently received his MCAT score and is planning on retaking it. His score right now is sub-20, but he's confident that he can break 30 on the retake. If he is scheduled to take a late-October MCAT, should he submit his AACOMAS application now with just one school selected or should he wait until late-November when he gets his new score?

Thanks!

How certain is he that he will break 30 on the retake?

Yes, apply to one school now so that his application will get through the process.

 

[Uafl112]

if he is absolute confident he can break a 30, then yea, apply now

 

[AndyQC]

Thanks!

Just to be clear: his best bet is to apply now (with the sub-20 MCAT) and select one school that's not his top choice. After receiving his improved MCAT in late-November, he should then add more schools. Is that correct?

I think his main concern is that schools will just toss his application out without sending a secondary if he submits without an updated MCAT score.

 

[Uafl112]

That sounds good to me

 

[AlteredScale]

Thanks!

Just to be clear: his best bet is to apply now (with the sub-20 MCAT) and select one school that's not his top choice. After receiving his improved MCAT in late-November, he should then add more schools. Is that correct?

I think his main concern is that schools will just toss his application out without sending a secondary if he submits without an updated MCAT score.

That's a very smart decision. Good luck to him and tell him to add an account here on SDN!

 

[nontrad78]

If it were me, I'd be a little more contemplative. A sub 20 score is really, really, unbelievably low. Scores below 20, are under the 20th percentile of all test takers. That's not even considering applicants (about 6% last year had less than a 20). What makes him so confident that after a few months, he'll move into the 80th percentile of test takers (and applicants)? This type of score increase is more than possible, and I wish him all the best in doing so.
The application process is almost a part time job in itself, and could pull his attention away from preparing for the MCAT. That seems like it should be priority 1 right now. Is waiting until next cycle out of the question?

 

[hallowmann]

Thanks!

Just to be clear: his best bet is to apply now (with the sub-20 MCAT) and select one school that's not his top choice. After receiving his improved MCAT in late-November, he should then add more schools. Is that correct?

I think his main concern is that schools will just toss his application out without sending a secondary if he submits without an updated MCAT score.

Yes, submit the app to 1 school (not first choice or even high on the list) now and indicate that you have a retake planned. Schools might throw out his app without an updated MCAT score, that's why he should only apply to 1 school low on his list (minimize risk). The point of applying now is not because you have a chance at getting in to the 1 school now (with a <20 score, no one does), but that it will save you the 4-5wks of verification time after you get the retake score.. That said, it won't be a big deal to wait until right after taking the MCAT, if it will detract from studying. You won't get the score for a month anyways.

<20 to >30 is pretty unlikely unless one is a fluke or there really were some extenuating circumstances during the first exam. That said, even if they could get >25 on the retake, I'd still recommend the same thing.

 

[AndyQC]

Thanks for all your advice! It has been very helpful.

There were extenuating circumstances during the first exam. His practice scores were very good and I believe that he will score 30+ on a retake. I'll encourage him to join SDN as well in case he has any other questions.