Need advice stat!!! Should i retake the mcat???

[teebz64]

Hey,

I am a resident of Florida. I applied to all 6 schools in Florida plus Tulane, Vanderbilt, and Emory. My science GPA is 4.0 and non-science GPA is 4.0. I have taken one MCAT and the break down goes like this: PS= 12, VR= 8, BS=11, Writing= Q. I have lots of shadowing experience from a variety of surgeons, I was in the military, some volunteer work, and 1 year of working in research lab for work-study program but no research yet. I don't particularly care whether I attend a top 20 medical school or not, I just want to get admitted somewhere. I am concerned that my 8 in VR will substantially hurt my chances for acceptance, and I was wondering if I should retake the MCAT or apply to more medical schools or both. Would the August 22 MCAT be too late in the 2010 admissions cycle? Also, are there any medical schools that combine section scores from different test in calculating your final MCAT score, or do all schools go by your most recent score?

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[dapmp91]

apply do more schools, apply to DO and low tier MD, and mid tier MD, your GPA is solid, and MCAT is good.

 

[vandyam]

apply do more schools, apply to DO and low tier MD, and mid tier MD, your GPA is solid, and MCAT is good.

this

 

[LostInStudy]

Absolutely no need to retake unless you think you can do significantly better. If you get over a 30 you should only retake under 3 conditions.

1.) If you have an extremely unbalanced score, like a 7- on any section. (Which you don't.)

2.) Your practice AAMC MCAT averages were much much higher, like 6+ points and not even then because it depends on the schools you are applying to. (You said you don't care about a top 20 and didn't mention your averages so I'm assuming no here also.)

3.) Your score is expiring. (You just took it so no here also.)

-LIS

 

[Longshanks]

Hey,

I am a resident of Florida. I applied to all 6 schools in Florida plus Tulane, Vanderbilt, and Emory. My science GPA is 4.0 and non-science GPA is 4.0. I have taken one MCAT and the break down goes like this: PS= 12, VR= 8, BS=11, Writing= Q. I have lots of shadowing experience from a variety of surgeons, I was in the military, some volunteer work, and 1 year of working in research lab for work-study program but no research yet. I don't particularly care whether I attend a top 20 medical school or not, I just want to get admitted somewhere. I am concerned that my 8 in VR will substantially hurt my chances for acceptance, and I was wondering if I should retake the MCAT or apply to more medical schools or both. Would the August 22 MCAT be too late in the 2010 admissions cycle? Also, are there any medical schools that combine section scores from different test in calculating your final MCAT score, or do all schools go by your most recent score?

Some schools look at your best score, some most recent, some mix and match, some eye ball them all so its a hodgepodge mix. A 31Q and a 4.0 is solid. Will the VR of 8 hurt a bit? Yes, but scoring 90th %tile for PS (I'm on correct with that for a 12?) is beneficial, and the Q shows you're communication skills aren't poor so the 8 may have just been a rough outing. Retaking would be a risk, you may go up 2 in VR only to go down 2 in PS or BS and then you would net the same score. At this stage in the game, IMHO, add some more schools broadly. Look at some OOS friendly state schools and some of the private schools in locations you'd imagine yourself going to school - such GW, Georgetown. Vandy and Emory are some top notch schools, the 6 FL schools are a great choice and being a resident is excellent. That's only 9 schools though, I'd try to get that number up to 12-15 if you can afford it, and I'm confident you'll get interview invites so long as you have a strong personal statement and LORs. You're ECs look great.