MCAT Retake Results 32O --> 34Q

[wacko0500]

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I took my first MCAT may 28th and received a 32O. A good score, but not what I wanted. I felt like if I got a 34 or better with the rest of my app, I would have a shot at top schools. At the same time, I didn't want to risk getting a worse score.

Ultimately, I chose to retake it. I'm making this thread so if anyone is ever in the same boat they can see my story because most people suggest not to retake the test.

My AAMC practice tests ranged from 32-35. I knew I wouldn't drop below a 30 on a retake, and I felt it was possible I could get a 34. I knew even a 30 would still get me into my state school, but without a 34, I wouldn't have a shot at anything in the top tier.

I decided it was worth the risk, I studied harder, changed my verbal strategy, and got my 34Q. Will I get into a top school? Maybe not, but I'm glad I made my decision and gave myself a realistic chance.

If a top tier school is really important to you and you think you can do better, go for it!

 

[MShopes]

I took my first MCAT may 28th and received a 32O. A good score, but not what I wanted. I felt like if I got a 34 or better with the rest of my app, I would have a shot at top schools. At the same time, I didn't want to risk getting a worse score.

Ultimately, I chose to retake it. I'm making this thread so if anyone is ever in the same boat they can see my story because most people suggest not to retake the test.

My AAMC practice tests ranged from 32-35. I knew I wouldn't drop below a 30 on a retake, and I felt it was possible I could get a 34. I knew even a 30 would still get me into my state school, but without a 34, I wouldn't have a shot at anything in the top tier.

I decided it was worth the risk, I studied harder, changed my verbal strategy, and got my 34Q. Will I get into a top school? Maybe not, but I'm glad I made my decision and gave myself a realistic chance.

If a top tier school is really important to you and you think you can do better, go for it!

You could have a 40+ MCAT and not get into top medical school while you could have only a 30 MCAT and get into medical school. MCAT isn't everything; you haven't even told us your GPA, extracurricular activities...etc to be able to say anything to you about it. Honestly, 32 from 34 isn't a big difference right there and they are almost the same to me at least.

 

[PingPongPro]

You could have a 40+ MCAT and not get into top medical school while you could have only a 30 MCAT and get into medical school. MCAT isn't everything; you haven't even told us your GPA, extracurricular activities...etc to be able to say anything to you about it. Honestly, 32 from 34 isn't a big difference right there and they are almost the same to me at least.

I think you completely missed the point of his post.

 

[MShopes]

And I wasn't posting just as a reply to his post or try to go against his ideas. I just wanted to say my point and what I think.

 

[MShopes]

I think you completely missed the point of his post.

And I think you wasted a valuable 1 or 2 minutes of your life replying to my post too....

 

[wacko0500]

You could have a 40+ MCAT and not get into top medical school while you could have only a 30 MCAT and get into medical school. MCAT isn't everything; you haven't even told us your GPA, extracurricular activities...etc to be able to say anything to you about it. Honestly, 32 from 34 isn't a big difference right there and they are almost the same to me at least.

My gpa is a 3.91, and my EC's are unique (started my company, in addition to the usual). Point being, many places won't take a unique student if they don't have the numbers (some might, yes, but not all). As in, I've already been rejected from chicago (from numbers). I suspect my 34, however, will get my considered at a whole lot more places than my 32 ever would have.

It is a significant two points because all of a sudden you go from the 10 percentile in mcat scores for those schools to the 40-50%. With good EC's (as I think I do) my chances are statistically much better.

 

[SN2ed]

Did Chicago tell you that they rejected you strictly on your numbers or is that a guess? If you didn't get in anywhere last time, it most likely wasn't your numbers. There's another problem in your application. Also, saying many schools won't take unique individuals with a low 30s is an overstatement.

 

[wacko0500]

Did Chicago tell you that they rejected you strictly on your numbers or is that a guess? If you didn't get in anywhere last time, it most likely wasn't your numbers. There's another problem in your application. Also, saying many schools won't take unique individuals with a low 30s is an overstatement.

This is my first cycle. And it is potentially an overstatement, but honestly, if you look at the numbers, they don't take many below a 34. You have to be damn unique, and I'm not confident that applies to me.

And chicago took approx one week to make a decision. In addition to me, several people with 35/3.8's were rejected. Maybe they want unique service or something, but I suspect with a school whose median MCAT is a 37, they just screened us out.

 

[deep122]

This is my first cycle. And it is potentially an overstatement, but honestly, if you look at the numbers, they don't take many below a 34. You have to be damn unique, and I'm not confident that applies to me.

And chicago took approx one week to make a decision. In addition to me, several people with 35/3.8's were rejected. Maybe they want unique service or something, but I suspect with a school whose median MCAT is a 37, they just screened us out.

I don't think it was screened. According to MSAR, Chicago accepted students with MCAT scores ranging from 32 to 40.

 

[lerm89]

I was in a similar situation - took the May 26th MCAT and got a 32Q. Wasn't satisfied and knew that didn't reflect my true potential, since my AAMC average was 36. Re-worked my verbal strategy and continued to review the sciences, retook on August 5th and got my 36O.

My advice would be similar to yours - if you hit the low end of your practice exams and are confident that you can improve the second time, then you should definitely retake. When it gets to 34+ though, it mostly comes down to luck as to what score you're going to get.

..and congrats on the improved score 👍 !

 

[deleted329605]

While a 34 and a 32 is huge (its jumping from 85->95 percentile right?), medical schools all have different policies about how they look at retakes. Some will completely forget about the first score, others take the average, others consider both, others consider both but emphasize the second one. There is a list floating around SDN that lists all of the schools and how they deal with the retakes.

Personally I think it terms of what the would be looking for in the MCAT score from there applicants, you are pretty much there regardless of the way admissions committees deal with your retake. The lowest they could possibly interpret it is a 33.

 

[deleted329605]

I guess one more thing to think about when considering your chances to top schools is how the breakdowns changed from the 1st to the 2nd also.