My friend needs immediate help during this app cycle

[deleted1022805]

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[DrStephennmnm]

So my friend's FL were 501, 507, 513, and then 524. He processed his app thinking he would do well on the exam. I think it was about 10-15 schools. HE got back his results yesterday and got a 500. He is retaking the MCAT on August 8. Should he submit his secondaries before receiving his next score or wait until after? His GPA is 3.7, goes to top 20 school, and from what i have seen from successful applicants pretty amazing extracurriculars.

He is all torn up right now so any advice would be great! Also, he did say taking the new MCAT from 6 pm till 12 am probably was the reason as he had a few headaches throughout the exam. Will adcoms wait for the new score if the old one is already in?

Adcoms will not wait. The timing of the test had nothing to do with his performance. His FL scores seem all over the place (generally you don't see upward trend like that unless there was a large period of time between each one), so I'd wager the last 2 scores were coincidence and not a reflection of his true score. As of now 3.7 gpa and 500 MCAT not looking too good if he only applied MD

 

[deleted1022805]

My question is if he waited until his next score came out to upload his secondaries would that help him in the end?

 

[GreenDuck12]

My question is if he waited until his next score came out to upload his secondaries would that help him in the end?

Yes. Once his file is marked complete when secondaries are submitted, schools are under no obligation to update the file and have no reason to suspect a future score will arrive.

 

[gyngyn]

He needs to not rush the re-take. A series of weak scores is far more damaging than a single one.

 

[GreenDuck12]

On a separate note, your friend should consider sitting out this app cycle. A 500 indicates significant deficits in content knowledge that are unlikely to be adequately addressed in time. One retake is acceptable, two or more is a red flag. As I’ve posted before, the single biggest mistake I see with my students is rushing a retake after a disappointing score.

 

[OchemOficionado]

This is a great example of why students shouldn’t apply to a list of schools WITHOUT a score. Should have simply applied to a throw away school.

As other posters have said, yes he should delay those secondaries if he wants a new score to be considered. Your friend can mark on their app that they plan a retake but the schools are under no obligation to wait.

 

[deleted804295]

So my friend's FL were 501, 507, 513, and then 524. He processed his app thinking he would do well on the exam. I think it was about 10-15 schools. HE got back his results yesterday and got a 500. He is retaking the MCAT on August 8. Should he submit his secondaries before receiving his next score or wait until after? His GPA is 3.7, goes to top 20 school, and from what i have seen from successful applicants pretty amazing extracurriculars.

He is all torn up right now so any advice would be great! Also, he did say taking the new MCAT from 6 pm till 12 am probably was the reason as he had a few headaches throughout the exam. Will adcoms wait for the new score if the old one is already in?

So I have seen some people have a high FL average and bomb the exam but often times I've noticed it's because they weren't taking the FL exams correctly. Has he taken any of the FLs twice? If so, the second score should be discarded. Did he mimic test taking conditions while taking the exams? If not, he needs to do this for the future.

If he takes an August MCAT exam then every school that processes him before September 7th will see his 500 score. If I were him, I really would not have applied to any schools without knowing my score. He really shot himself in his own foot. Idk, at this point maybe withdraw. He's banking on the fact that he'll do well on the August MCAT exam- which he likely won't due to a short turnaround time and stress- and even if he does do well, most schools will have seen his app.

Best case scenario: He does well, is late at every single school he applied at, and he is a two time test taker (many schools will average these scores)

Worst case scenario: He bombs the MCAT, he is a two time test taker with two bad scores, he is still late, and he is rejected everywhere.

 

[deleted804295]

On a separate note, your friend should consider sitting out this app cycle. A 500 indicates significant deficits in content knowledge that are unlikely to be adequately addressed in time. One retake is acceptable, two or more is a red flag. As I’ve posted before, the single biggest mistake I see with my students is rushing a retake after a disappointing score.

I concur. He really should just cancel the August MCAT exam and sit this cycle out. He already made too many mistakes in a single app cycle, I really do not want to see him miss out on his dream because he was rushing too much.

 

[IlDestriero]

What’s the magic number for the MCAT now? When I took it, it was 30. If you had a balanced 30, your odds were good at an acceptance at a US allopathic school.

 

[GreenDuck12]

What’s the magic number for the MCAT now? When I took it, it was 30. If you had a balanced 30, your odds were good at an acceptance at a US allopathic school.

Mean for accepted applicants is just north of 511

 

[Goro]

So my friend's FL were 501, 507, 513, and then 524. He processed his app thinking he would do well on the exam. I think it was about 10-15 schools. HE got back his results yesterday and got a 500. He is retaking the MCAT on August 8. Should he submit his secondaries before receiving his next score or wait until after? His GPA is 3.7, goes to top 20 school, and from what i have seen from successful applicants pretty amazing extracurriculars.

He is all torn up right now so any advice would be great! Also, he did say taking the new MCAT from 6 pm till 12 am probably was the reason as he had a few headaches throughout the exam. Will adcoms wait for the new score if the old one is already in?

Friend should submit only after new scores are in.

 

[lacrossegirl420]

Out of curiosity how did he drop from a 524 (or even 513) to a 500? Did he take the FL's under actual conditions / did something go horribly wrong on test day?

 

[deleted804295]

What’s the magic number for the MCAT now? When I took it, it was 30. If you had a balanced 30, your odds were good at an acceptance at a US allopathic school.

I think that's like a 510? But I might be wrong.

 

[DrStephennmnm]

Out of curiosity how did he drop from a 524 (or even 513) to a 500? Did he take the FL's under actual conditions / did something go horribly wrong on test day?

I'd wager it was simply coincidence, or more likely he did not take the exam under MCAT conditions. It's very very very unlikely you can go from a 524 too 500 without some discrepancy in test-taking technique

 

[jhmmd]

I'd wager it was simply coincidence, or more likely he did not take the exam under MCAT conditions. It's very very very unlikely you can go from a 524 too 500 without some discrepancy in test-taking technique

Yea the way that the exam is scaled (against test-takers who answered each question previously) this is very unlikely

And to answer your other question, no schools won't know unless you update them--why would they assume that you took the MCAT again if that wasn't in your original application?