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multiple mcat scores
It depends on the school. Some average, some take the highest. AAMC recommends averaging but most top schools claim to take the highest. However, you can never prevent any subconscious biases/impressions that may be left because the schools still see all the scores. A 28, 35 won't be as impressive as a single 35, period.
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This is the same thing as saying it's not a big deal as long as one bats .400 in baseball.
The median MCAT score on the old scale was 31 for MD acceptees.
AMCAS encourages schools to average scores.
The median MCAT score on the old scale was 31 for MD acceptees.
AMCAS encourages schools to average scores.
Most schools average but some will weight the most recent more heavily.
I know of an individual who took it FIVE TIMES. FIVE TIMES!!
Why would anyone subject themselves to that torture? Take it once and be done with it!!!
Why would anyone subject themselves to that torture? Take it once and be done with it!!!
What kind of improvements did they have? I am a multiple MCAT test taker too.
Went down 3 points from a low 20's score, then went up 6 points from there to end with a 25.
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Did they make it in?
I saw 11 tries this year.
My record is 17, iirc...
There is now a lifetime limit of 7.
My record is 17, iirc...
There is now a lifetime limit of 7.
I think the general consensus is to take the MCAT as least times as possible. Unfortunately, some people think that the MCAT is a test in which one can study for in 3 weeks, hence them wasting their first attempt for no reason.
Wouldnt the first one still open doors for top tiers while the second one is stuck at mid~midhigh tiers? (If we were to generalize)
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If the 30 is balanced, you probably eliminated your chances at lower tier MD and DO schools for retaking it. This is because a 30 itself is a good score, and these schools probably felt that you were a bit too ambitious (i.e. "too good for them") to retake a good score, so yield protection takes place.
For top schools, you may have some leeway, but it's still not as good as a 36 by itself.
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i dont understand this way of thinking. why is it so bad to retake a 30 to try and be better? dont we want physicians who strive to be the best version of themselves? why not study again for it and try to beat yourself? i dont see this as being "too ambitious" and I'd hope that adcoms see this in a positive light
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You only get one passing try at USMLE.
Every time you post an MCAT score, you open yourself up to idiosyncratic interpretation.
The best strategy is a single strong score.
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but you go into that exam knowing full well you have one shot. the mcat isnt the same as that
That's why we're telling you that others look at it that way.
You need really concrete evidence (i.e. much higher practice test scores) to decide on retaking a balanced 30 score. Now, if you got a 30 and one (or more!) of your subsections are below an 8, then you should retake and do better.
The same concept applies for the MCAT even though you could retake it again. You really want to do well on the first attempt and not having to deal with the subjectivity involved with multiple scores.
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im just hoping if i am granted an interview that adcoms will be pleased with me retaking a 512 because i wanted to challenge myself and be better. not because im gunning for the best schools
Well if you crush the retake and get a 523+, the top schools may be interested. However, doing the same or slightly decreasing would look bad.
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well i did the same. 512, i turned a 129 to a 130 in biochem and dropped a point in p/s.
im confident in my abilities and if adcoms see this as a negative then thats not an institution i would like to be a part of
im confident in my abilities and if adcoms see this as a negative then thats not an institution i would like to be a part of
Anyone know how this will work with people who took the old and the new? Will the new MCAT be weighed heavier or will it still be the same of just averaging percentiles?
Sadly, the final decision on how these will be interpreted may be dependent on how US Snooze decides to gather their annual "stats."
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Can you explain this for me please? : ) What stats? Why would it be sad?
What passes for methodology in this annual re-hash of the nation's medical schools has nothing to do with the quality of education a student might expect. The self reported "data" is suspect at best. It is sad that schools pay attention to this rag (and that includes those of us who benefit from their conclusions). It is even sadder that students pay attention.
My point is that US Snooze will shortly be asking for our stats. How they plan to use the old vs new MCAT to determine rankings will probably have more influence on the relative value of the two tests than anything else.
Hmm interesting. You would think since the new MCAT is supposed to "reflect changes in medicine" it would be viewed differently than the old. I guess I'll just have to wait and see though haha
Relatively few of the applicants in the current cycle had the new scores, though.
It will be a moot point in a year or so, I guess.
I just went to an info session at SUNY Downstate today, and one of the doctors who I spoke to afterward said she saw an applicant once who took the MCAT TWELVE times. The applicant was pretty much doomed after the 3rd or 4th MCAT with no grade improvement.
17 is my record. She had a single digit total even at the end. Very sad.
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Whats up with this mentality i see plastered on sdn.
1. This is a buyers market, you should be lucky if you even get a choice In med schools
2. Institutions dont have personalities for you to like or dislike, and your there for a degree, not make friends with ideologically similar minded people
How do most schools treat expired scores? I had to retake an expired mid 30s old mcat but got a near perfect score on the new mcat
I wouldn't imagine that this would be an issue. After all, if your score was going to expire, then the retake was necessary. Kudos on the near-perfect retake!
Then that's going to be a s lot of institutions. Hubris and perfectionism are not sought after qualities in applicants.
They are still visible and will be considered in the same way other multiples are seen, except that they do not make one eligible for consideration. You will not be penalized for re-taking an expired MCAT.
Awesome, thanks. Obviously I didn't have a choice, and I'm glad that it won't come across as unnecessarily perfectionist!
What is a "solid" MCAT though?
Is a score like 132/125/130/131 "solid?" How can they look at a score like that and are not aware of why a retake is justified?
Would they not think that "125 CARS? There must be something seriously wrong with this applicant's capacity to think. Why no retake? Were the other scores flukes?"
Let's take an extreme example to raise the question. Suppose an applicant takes the MCAT 3 times with the following scores:
514: 132/132/118/132 (118 in bio)
508: 127/127/127/127
524: 131/131/131/131
How would adcoms interpret these scores? @Goro @gyngyn your thoughts also welcome
Is there a cut off point where you judge it as enough is enough? Like a certain number of MCAT retakes where it does not particularly matter how they scored on their most recent due to having so many retakes. I know a lot will depend on the candidate and time of the retakes, but is there a general rule of thumb for a max amount of takes before rejection?
How much of a "hard and fast" rule is this? Would you dismiss an applicant out of hand if they took it 4 times? What if one of the tests was expired, so a retake was necessary?
Like with many things, putting time between yourself and ****ty parts of your application are very helpful. I would guess that someone who took the mcat 3 times in quick succession and royally screwed it each time, and then put a solid 5 years between themselves and those scores doing premed stuff and interesting jobs, and then took it again ONE time and got a great score, would have a good shot explaining it.
I was asked for a general rule.
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Do you know why the AAMC capped the MCAT attempts to 7? Seems like an odd limit. I could see 5 at max, with past 3 being rejection territory in most cases.
I wouldn't be surprised if in the future, the AAMC made the MCAT a one-shot deal. Of course, that may require eliminating subsection scores and report only in terms of the overall score. This would parallel Steps 1 and 2 well.
I would hope that part of the motivation was to make people get on with their lives. If you have to take the MCAT > 2-3x, Medicine is not the career for you.
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Goro going full savage mode
I agree but choosing 7 as the capping number is odd. What's unique about 7?
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3 would make significantly more sense IMO.
