Need help about accommodations for MCAT

[firebreathing_taco]

Greetings from Arkansas, I want to ask 2 questions: 1. Should I take the extra time on the MCAT? and 2. Does taking an MCAT with accommodations affect my chances of getting accepted into medical school? Feel free to answer either one question or both of them.

I am planning to take my first MCAT exam this May with accommodations for extra time. I was diagnosed with progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in 2001 and developed progressive vision loss a little later on. My intent for getting these accommodations is to get 1.5-2 hours extra time on the MCAT. My first language was spanish and ever since I started pre-school I struggled to communicate with and understand my peers and hear them. I eventually learned to write and speak English very slowly over time with speech therapy, however my reading comprehension and cognitive abilities are very delayed and still are to this day. I had taken my extra time accommodations through grade school, high school, the ACT, and college classes and find them to be extremely beneficial for my success. My concentration during an important exam can suddenly plateau because of weird sentence structure with complicated words that I can't comprehend which requires me to read it over and over again and delays my ability to critically analyze the questions. I have read several similar threads about extra time and found that some of these people who successfully had these accommodations never really needed the extra time. I'm not feeling confident about my abilities, but I can find out when I take my first full-length practice exam. I am not sure if I should go ahead and continue to request the accommodations or choose to not request them. Any advice?

My second question is will taking the MCAT with accommodations affect my chances of getting into medical school? I understand that the MCAT is a very rigorous exam that demands your best ability and potential, and getting accommodations from the AAMC can be stingy. I am concerned about medical school admission committees potentially looking down on MCAT results with tools like extra time. Is this true or am I just being overanxious?

Again, feel free to answer either one question or both, thanks!

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[JimKimSlim]

1. I think that question is up to you and not us to decide for you. Based on what you said, you want to take the extra time, and the real question is how can you get accommodation on the MCAT.
2. No.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Accommodations are not reported with your MCAT score, to my knowledge. From a schools perspective, I do not see how they would know you had accommodations. Remember, accommodations are for documented medical conditions and or disabilities - do not conflate English being your second language as a reason to request accommodations as you will be denied. Sadly there is no accommodation for language proficiency. The process of getting approved for accommodations is long and will require a lot of documentation from medical providers. If your conditions would prevent you from performing to your best ability on the MCAT then yes you should pursue accommodated testing. It’s best to get started on that process sooner rather than later to prevent delays.

 

[non-trad67]

Hey there, first-year medical student here.
Medical schools absolutely do NOT know about MCAT accommodations. They won't know about any documented disability unless you disclose this in your application.
If you think you need accommodations, I would 100% recommend applying. I applied and received extended time for a documented visual disability, in addition to a few other accommodations. If you need advice on the application process, please PM me- I would be happy to help. My number 1 piece of advice would be that your medical evaluation is of the utmost importance.