MCAT Score Dropped- Need advice

[an246]

I would first like to thank whoever reads and responds to this post for their time and advice because I am honestly at a loss right now. Before I share the circumstance I am currently in, I'll share some background information about me. I am a recent grad from a great University and graduated with a 3.89 GPA and I also graduated in the very top of my class in High School. I have always put school first throughout my entire life and have been dedicated to fulfilling my dream of becoming a Doctor one day. I have always been the type of person who didn't go out or didn't spend time with friends because I had a test a week away that I had to study for. Throughout my college career, I was always told that I would definitely get into medical school because of my good grades. However, it wasn't until I took the MCAT for the first time that everything went downhill for me. The first time I took it, I had studied for three months and received a 496. I was shattered. Disappointed. Devastated. But, I didn't want to give up. I took the exam again and made a 500. I had applied with these two scores and did not get any interview invitations. I took the exam one more time thinking that this was the one, I was finally going to conquer this exam that has caused me so much stress and pain in my life. I opened up the score report and saw a 497 staring at my face. I was at a loss of words. I finally found a job that I felt I was going to be happy with during my gap year and everything else was slowly falling into place. But this score completely blindsided me. Not only was I scoring around 505's on my practice exams, I had finally received the confidence that I needed to feel as though I conquered the MCAT. But now, I am at at a complete loss. I had learned how to take the exam I have never told anyone my scores because of how embarrassed I am of them and everyone is always expecting such high results from me. I have never been one to give up on my dreams but at this point in my life, I really do not know what to do. I would have never thought I would end up in this situation but the reality is that I am and I just need some advice on what to do right now. Writing a post like this and sharing everything with the community is something I never thought I would find the courage to do but I am completely crushed and I wanted to hear people's opinions regarding this situation.

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[MyOdyssey]

I would first like to thank whoever reads and responds to this post for their time and advice because I am honestly at a loss right now. Before I share the circumstance I am currently in, I'll share some background information about me. I am a recent grad from a great University and graduated with a 3.89 GPA and I also graduated in the very top of my class in High School. I have always put school first throughout my entire life and have been dedicated to fulfilling my dream of becoming a Doctor one day. I have always been the type of person who didn't go out or didn't spend time with friends because I had a test a week away that I had to study for. Throughout my college career, I was always told that I would definitely get into medical school because of my good grades. However, it wasn't until I took the MCAT for the first time that everything went downhill for me. The first time I took it, I had studied for three months and received a 496. I was shattered. Disappointed. Devastated. But, I didn't want to give up. I took the exam again and made a 500. I had applied with these two scores and did not get any interview invitations. I took the exam one more time thinking that this was the one, I was finally going to conquer this exam that has caused me so much stress and pain in my life. I opened up the score report and saw a 497 staring at my face. I was at a loss of words. I finally found a job that I felt I was going to be happy with during my gap year and everything else was slowly falling into place. But this score completely blindsided me. Not only was I scoring around 505's on my practice exams, I had finally received the confidence that I needed to feel as though I conquered the MCAT. But now, I am at at a complete loss. I had learned how to take the exam I have never told anyone my scores because of how embarrassed I am of them and everyone is always expecting such high results from me. I have never been one to give up on my dreams but at this point in my life, I really do not know what to do. I would have never thought I would end up in this situation but the reality is that I am and I just need some advice on what to do right now. Writing a post like this and sharing everything with the community is something I never thought I would find the courage to do but I am completely crushed and I wanted to hear people's opinions regarding this situation.

What did you do (study materials, time commitment, strategies) to prepare for your first 3 MCATs?

What were the breakdowns by section of your 3 MCAT scores?

Did you apply DO and MD in your first cycle?

 

[an246]

What did you do (study materials, time commitment, strategies) to prepare for your first 3 MCATs?

What were the breakdowns by section of your 3 MCAT scores?

Did you apply DO and MD in your first cycle?

I used the Kaplan books for content and used the AAMC question banks and practice exams for practice.
1st MCAT: 124/122/124/126
2nd MCAT: 125/126/125/124
3rd MCAT: 127/122/124/124

I applied only MD my first cycle but because my second MCAT was taken in September, I heard that also played a role in not getting an interview.

 

[MyOdyssey]

500 is too low for MD programs. It's also on the low side for DO programs unless you have special factors working in your favor (URM, military, really special ECs). Having 3 sections scored at less than the 50% mark (125 per section) may get you automatically screened out. Your MCAT scores might work for podiatry school, however, if you choose not to retake.

I recall reading threads on this forum discussing how many MCAT retakes would be allowed. That's something you should investigate before you retake the MCAT again. I don't think you're allowed to keep retaking the MCAT without limitation.

How much time did you spend preparing for your second and third retakings? In my opinion, there are much better materials for MCAT content review than what you've listed. Your score suggests you need to start with that before you retake. Consider using Berkeley Review for content review of B/B and C/P, the 300 page Khan Academy outline (available for free on reddit) for content review of P/S and Testing Solutions' CARS strategy and/or CARS bootcamp.

Only using KA + AAMC for content review/practice

I just looked into the resources available on KA. I was under the impression that KA is great for P/S and for clearing up confusing topics in other areas. I went over to their MCAT content and they've got pretty much every topic covered! I also have access to all the AAMC materials. My question...

forums.studentdoctor.net

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/testing-solutions-30-day-guide-to-mcat-cars-success.1131850/

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

I think a 498 with your GPA would make you decently competitive for mid-tier DO schools as long as the rest of your application checks the typical boxes. With that being said, can you elaborate on how you studied on previous attempts? Did you complete all of the AAMC materials? When you did practice exams and problems, how did you review them? What other materials did you use to prepare, such as other question banks or practice exams? If you can give me a detailed breakdown of how you studied, I think I can give you some information on where you can improve while studying for a retake. I really empathize with your situation and it breaks my heart when I see someone work so hard to achieve a goal and then not being able to reach it. I would love to help you as much as I possibly can, so please ask any questions that you have at all and I will do my best to help you! Try your best to not get discouraged (as impossible as it may seem). You are attempting to do something extremely difficult and you are eventually going to make it past this hurdle! Keep your head up and I will do my best to help you get to that finish line!

 

[an246]

I think a 498 with your GPA would make you decently competitive for mid-tier DO schools as long as the rest of your application checks the typical boxes. With that being said, can you elaborate on how you studied on previous attempts? Did you complete all of the AAMC materials? When you did practice exams and problems, how did you review them? What other materials did you use to prepare, such as other question banks or practice exams? If you can give me a detailed breakdown of how you studied, I think I can give you some information on where you can improve while studying for a retake. I really empathize with your situation and it breaks my heart when I see someone work so hard to achieve a goal and then not being able to reach it. I would love to help you as much as I possibly can, so please ask any questions that you have at all and I will do my best to help you! Try your best to not get discouraged (as impossible as it may seem). You are attempting to do something extremely difficult and you are eventually going to make it past this hurdle! Keep your head up and I will do my best to help you get to that finish line!

I studied the Kaplan books the first two times and then used the aamc question banks and took all three practice exams. For my last exam, I used Uworld for the first two months and stuck to a strict AAMC schedule for the last month. Thank you so much for your kind words! I am definitely trying to get past this but it is so hard especially since I was scoring around 505 on my practice exams and getting a 497 on my last attempt was a huge shock to me (and to be honest, I am having such a difficult time coming to terms with that being the score I earned because I thought I killed the P/S section). Also, I submitted my applications to MD schools in May and my MCAT score was the last thing that was needed to complete my application, so after receiving this score, I honestly lost hope and am trying very hard to regain it.

 

[ThrowawayShmoaway]

Hey @an246 sorry you’re going through a tough time. I think the most important thing to remember right now is that you’re not defined by these MCAT scores, and you should keep your head up.

With that being said, I think your chances for MD schools are now over. With 3 MCAT attempts, and only one actually hitting 500, it is very unlikely that any MD school will take a chance on you. At this point, you should save your money and NOT submit any MD secondaries that you have received and not yet completed. You should also save your money and hold off on investing any money on another MCAT retake right now. With your GPA, your 500 may be enough for a solid DO school (assuming their MCAT policy is to consider the highest score and not the most recent). I would say only if you apply this cycle to DO and don’t get any acceptances that you should then look into a possible fourth retake.

 

[ppushpak]

DO is your only option. It is not worth applying MD

 

[Calizboosted76]

Go DO. It’s not worth putting all your chickens in the same basket when both DO and MD do the exact same thing. I will tell you that a friend of mine got multiple interviews and acceptances to DO schools with a 3.7 cGPA 3.89sGPA, a 496 1st MCAT and a 501 retake.

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

I studied the Kaplan books the first two times and then used the aamc question banks and took all three practice exams. For my last exam, I used Uworld for the first two months and stuck to a strict AAMC schedule for the last month. Thank you so much for your kind words! I am definitely trying to get past this but it is so hard especially since I was scoring around 505 on my practice exams and getting a 497 on my last attempt was a huge shock to me (and to be honest, I am having such a difficult time coming to terms with that being the score I earned because I thought I killed the P/S section). Also, I submitted my applications to MD schools in May and my MCAT score was the last thing that was needed to complete my application, so after receiving this score, I honestly lost hope and am trying very hard to regain it.

I completely get how frustrating it is. Some users in here are suggesting maybe just applying to DO schools. I won't comment too much on that since admissions isn't my area of expertise. However, if you do decide you want to give the MCAT another try, please reach out and I'll do whatever I can to help! Good luck with everything in the future!

 

[Medical_Dream]

I would first like to thank whoever reads and responds to this post for their time and advice because I am honestly at a loss right now. Before I share the circumstance I am currently in, I'll share some background information about me. I am a recent grad from a great University and graduated with a 3.89 GPA and I also graduated in the very top of my class in High School. I have always put school first throughout my entire life and have been dedicated to fulfilling my dream of becoming a Doctor one day. I have always been the type of person who didn't go out or didn't spend time with friends because I had a test a week away that I had to study for. Throughout my college career, I was always told that I would definitely get into medical school because of my good grades. However, it wasn't until I took the MCAT for the first time that everything went downhill for me. The first time I took it, I had studied for three months and received a 496. I was shattered. Disappointed. Devastated. But, I didn't want to give up. I took the exam again and made a 500. I had applied with these two scores and did not get any interview invitations. I took the exam one more time thinking that this was the one, I was finally going to conquer this exam that has caused me so much stress and pain in my life. I opened up the score report and saw a 497 staring at my face. I was at a loss of words. I finally found a job that I felt I was going to be happy with during my gap year and everything else was slowly falling into place. But this score completely blindsided me. Not only was I scoring around 505's on my practice exams, I had finally received the confidence that I needed to feel as though I conquered the MCAT. But now, I am at at a complete loss. I had learned how to take the exam I have never told anyone my scores because of how embarrassed I am of them and everyone is always expecting such high results from me. I have never been one to give up on my dreams but at this point in my life, I really do not know what to do. I would have never thought I would end up in this situation but the reality is that I am and I just need some advice on what to do right now. Writing a post like this and sharing everything with the community is something I never thought I would find the courage to do but I am completely crushed and I wanted to hear people's opinions regarding this situation.

Hi there. I know this is an old post, but I couldn't help but relate so much to your story that I had to give it a try reaching out. I'm in a very similar boat as you right now... I did really well in high school and was even in an Associates's Degree program, which got me to transfer these credits and graduate undergrad 1.5 yrs early at a 3.9 GPA as well! Things were going great for me academically and experience-wise until I took the MCAT. The first score I got was a 493. Second was a 492. And what should've been my most recent score was a 496 at my highest, but then I did the worst decision possible... This past fall semester, I was doing well in an SMP I was in (to avoid the MCAT even though my undergrad GPA was fine), but just needed a 498 MCAT to meet benchmarks. I thought it was doable to gain 2 pts with one month of studying in winter break. Mind you, the last time I took the MCAT was in 2019, so I was rusty. After barely a month of studying, I took the MCAT for the fourth time this January and I got the absolute worst score I've gotten of all: a 488! I was in shambles that I just lost my chances entirely... from a 496 to a 488 as my most recent score?! And now, I have to battle it out to finish this SMP well with no guaranteed acceptance anymore because I blew it with my score. It also doesn't help that I am struggling academically for the first time in this SMP, which will impact my good previous GPA even more. So did I just make my chances of getting into med school more impossible? I am so upset with myself and have been crying here and there these past two weeks. My goal now after I graduate from this SMP is to start studying for the MCAT one last time from scratch this summer. Somehow get a 508+ to make up for these recent mistakes. I've seen it be done and I hope/pray that will be me soon. Note: I have graduated college early since 2017 but look at me now... still in my gap years bc of this MCAT! Any words of encouragement that it's NOT over would be appreciated. I hope the OP here has found their happy place since the last time he/she posted. Thank you all for whoever took the time to read through. May this 5th attempt knock all of the other scores out of the park!

 

[gyngyn]

Hi there. I know this is an old post, but I couldn't help but relate so much to your story that I had to give it a try reaching out. I'm in a very similar boat as you right now... I did really well in high school and was even in an Associates's Degree program, which got me to transfer these credits and graduate undergrad 1.5 yrs early at a 3.9 GPA as well! Things were going great for me academically and experience-wise until I took the MCAT. The first score I got was a 493. Second was a 492. And what should've been my most recent score was a 496 at my highest, but then I did the worst decision possible... This past fall semester, I was doing well in an SMP I was in (to avoid the MCAT even though my undergrad GPA was fine), but just needed a 498 MCAT to meet benchmarks. I thought it was doable to gain 2 pts with one month of studying in winter break. Mind you, the last time I took the MCAT was in 2019, so I was rusty. After barely a month of studying, I took the MCAT for the fourth time this January and I got the absolute worst score I've gotten of all: a 488! I was in shambles that I just lost my chances entirely... from a 496 to a 488 as my most recent score?! And now, I have to battle it out to finish this SMP well with no guaranteed acceptance anymore because I blew it with my score. It also doesn't help that I am struggling academically for the first time in this SMP, which will impact my good previous GPA even more. So did I just make my chances of getting into med school more impossible? I am so upset with myself and have been crying here and there these past two weeks. My goal now after I graduate from this SMP is to start studying for the MCAT one last time from scratch this summer. Somehow get a 508+ to make up for these recent mistakes. I've seen it be done and I hope/pray that will be me soon. Note: I have graduated college early since 2017 but look at me now... still in my gap years bc of this MCAT! Any words of encouragement that it's NOT over would be appreciated. I hope the OP here has found their happy place since the last time he/she posted. Thank you all for whoever took the time to read through. May this 5th attempt knock all of the other scores out of the park!

OP hasn't been back since 2019.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Hi there. I know this is an old post, but I couldn't help but relate so much to your story that I had to give it a try reaching out. I'm in a very similar boat as you right now... I did really well in high school and was even in an Associates's Degree program, which got me to transfer these credits and graduate undergrad 1.5 yrs early at a 3.9 GPA as well! Things were going great for me academically and experience-wise until I took the MCAT. The first score I got was a 493. Second was a 492. And what should've been my most recent score was a 496 at my highest, but then I did the worst decision possible... This past fall semester, I was doing well in an SMP I was in (to avoid the MCAT even though my undergrad GPA was fine), but just needed a 498 MCAT to meet benchmarks. I thought it was doable to gain 2 pts with one month of studying in winter break. Mind you, the last time I took the MCAT was in 2019, so I was rusty. After barely a month of studying, I took the MCAT for the fourth time this January and I got the absolute worst score I've gotten of all: a 488! I was in shambles that I just lost my chances entirely... from a 496 to a 488 as my most recent score?! And now, I have to battle it out to finish this SMP well with no guaranteed acceptance anymore because I blew it with my score. It also doesn't help that I am struggling academically for the first time in this SMP, which will impact my good previous GPA even more. So did I just make my chances of getting into med school more impossible? I am so upset with myself and have been crying here and there these past two weeks. My goal now after I graduate from this SMP is to start studying for the MCAT one last time from scratch this summer. Somehow get a 508+ to make up for these recent mistakes. I've seen it be done and I hope/pray that will be me soon. Note: I have graduated college early since 2017 but look at me now... still in my gap years bc of this MCAT! Any words of encouragement that it's NOT over would be appreciated. I hope the OP here has found their happy place since the last time he/she posted. Thank you all for whoever took the time to read through. May this 5th attempt knock all of the other scores out of the park!

Not the OP but I highly recommend taking your time with this next attempt. Don't take until you've taken tons of practice exams that are similar to the AAMC. I've heard Blueprint makes good exams.

 

[homunculusus]

@DoctoringDream A high GPA didn't mean much without context - knowing some people cherry picking classes or taking one hard science at a time. With COVID and online classes, everybody and their grandma is getting a 4.0. My alma mater had a RECORD of 4.0s when everything went online for COVID (some professors even made their tests open note open book).

Anyways, you need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself what happened. Test anxiety? Didn't study properly? In cases where I've seen 3.9+ applicants score <500 is usually test anxiety. If its something you can fix then it may be worthwhile. You also need to ask yourself if you want to proceed with a career where tests don't stop. The last thing you want to do is fail COMLEX multiple times and become ineligible for a state license. I would take time off to decompress and seek professional advise from blueprint or similar people.

Another mistake is doing an SMP without having the required MCAT score first. SMPS DO NOT teach you to do well on the MCAT, they're an audition for medical school. It makes sense to get a good MCAT score FIRST because that will help you develop discipline and study habits (needed to do well in an SMP). Anyways, I did have SMP Classmates who share your experience and got multiple 487-494 scores then one >500 and managed to get into a DO school - but it's not a guarantee. Many schools find it a liability to accept someone with 5 attempts especially given your good undergrad GPA

 

[Medical_Dream]

@DoctoringDream A high GPA didn't mean much without context - knowing some people cherry picking classes or taking one hard science at a time. With COVID and online classes, everybody and their grandma is getting a 4.0. My alma mater had a RECORD of 4.0s when everything went online for COVID (some professors even made their tests open note open book).

Anyways, you need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself what happened. Test anxiety? Didn't study properly? In cases where I've seen 3.9+ applicants score <500 is usually test anxiety. If its something you can fix then it may be worthwhile. You also need to ask yourself if you want to proceed with a career where tests don't stop. The last thing you want to do is fail COMLEX multiple times and become ineligible for a state license. I would take time off to decompress and seek professional advise from blueprint or similar people.

Another mistake is doing an SMP without having the required MCAT score first. SMPS DO NOT teach you to do well on the MCAT, they're an audition for medical school. It makes sense to get a good MCAT score FIRST because that will help you develop discipline and study habits (needed to do well in an SMP). Anyways, I did have SMP Classmates who share your experience and got multiple 487-494 scores then one >500 and managed to get into a DO school - but it's not a guarantee. Many schools find it a liability to accept someone with 5 attempts especially given your good undergrad GPA

Thank you to you and everyone who has responded! It certainly has been a tough time with self-reflections. I have always thought of myself as someone who can do well in school as long as I worked hard. This stemmed from as far as middle school up to college. So to see this bump in the road with this MCAT and now an unwise decision to do an SMP when I didn't need to really just hurts. I've been dreaming of being a physician since I was young and enjoyed my healthcare experiences with patients, but as I look into my potential future, you're right... I am terrified of standardized exams. I can do rather well in the classroom, but these big boards make me wary and uncertain. I have heard of success stories of ppl getting past the MCAT and doing well in med school major exams, but I am often wondering will that be me? Am I cut out for this? I don't like to feel doubtful or that I'm giving up... it's not an easy path, and I'm glad you brought up these facts to me. After my SMP, I do plan to take one last shot at the MCAT. I know now that I have been rushing to prepare and take practice problems. This final time, I will study from the beginning of the content books. In my heart, I want to try again before leaving this dream behind and looking into other options. I am also gonna start trying to gain additional PA-related hrs to apply for that too. I appreciate you all for your time reading my posts! Hopefully in due time, things will work out!

 

[homunculusus]

@DoctoringDream I don't like to make assumptions but do you come from a SE family? The vibe that I'm getting is that becoming a physician is a way for you to please your parents. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Medical_Dream]

@DoctoringDream I don't like to make assumptions but do you come from a SE family? The vibe that I'm getting is that becoming a physician is a way for you to please your parents. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lol is it that obvious even virtually here? Haha you're right, I am Vietnamese to be exact. But the thing is, I chose this route on my own. My parents even told me to stop if it's becoming too much and they care about my mental health and well-being. I guess deep down... I am doing this for myself? I do enjoy caring for patients, but maybe this is a sign to look elsewhere? I feel like I'm having a mid-life crisis haha