Planning to Void 9/9 MCAT, Considering Withdrawing but Primary Application Already Verified for Both TMDSAS and AACOMAS

[Lunargravity]

So given my AAMC full length scores I will more than likely not get a score at or above 500 on my MCAT and will be voiding it to retake in January. Currently sitting at around 489-491 from my practice exams which I know just won't cut it. I kept pushing back my mcat date since June and was only left with a month to actually study with a busy full-time night shift schedule as mental health tech(will be dropping hours and not work overtime), on top of being unmedicated for my ADHD for nearly two months worsening my procrastination habits. In addition to this, I was verified early August and received secondaries at most of the TMDSAS (Applied to all) and 20 DO schools i'm applying to and submitted a couple so far, which will make me a re-applicant if I withdraw but if I do get my potentially horrible mcat scored i'd most likely have a failed cycle this go around anyway. I was overconfident and spread myself too thin trying to cram applications, work, and studying for the mcat. In hindsight, if i knew about the "applying blind strategy" of just selecting one school for verification I probably wouldn't be in this predicament but what's done is done. The MCAT is a major part of my application that I was banking on as I am a urm texas resident with a 3.4 cgpa and a 3.1 sgpa with an upward trend from DIY post-bacc courses.

I'm just upset with myself for taking a gamble that put has now put me in a bind that has my stress and anxiety through the roof and just want some thoughts on the best course of action at this point. I also think I got a bit ahead of myself and wanted to just apply as I'm 25 with 3 gap years now and seeing college friends and coworkers from my scribe job move on to dental, med, PA, nursing, etc and I'm still here trying to built myself up. Add on supportive parents who mean well and don't care what career path I take, but point out how they want me to get a move on with my life and point out the things I could have done in my gap years (Masters degree, BSN, etc) as a back up. However, I was fortunate to meet with a current fourth year med student who's willing to help me with my applications and interview prep when the time comes and got a letter of recommendation from my former pediatrician (MD) that's known me my whole like and shadowed some time ago. I guess I'd also have to l update my letter writers so they can write new letters.

I'm down to two choices. One, I take the loss and withdraw then reapply next cycle after getting a better MCAT score and would that be an adequate explanation for why I'm reapplying after withdrawing? Two, just take the risk get it scored and proceed with my cycle, since I already spent the money for primaries and secondaries and worst case I get rejected and retake the January MCAT. Not very comfortable with the ladder option since I'd most likely be a re-applicant either way if I can't break 500 or worse score in the <490s which is hard to come back rather than getting a better score after a void.

Sorry for the long post and rambling at some points, but again any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated on where to go from here and if anyone has been in my situation before that can help me out I'm all ears.

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[Hello9753]

Take the loss. Relax or take things slow for a month. You need it before you burnout. Also go hiking or travel for a week. Feeling refreshed makes everything easier. Also go consult someone regarding your MCAT prep. There are some content gap

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Take the loss, get back on your meds, and create a proper MCAT study plan/schedule. We have the MCAT study schedule through SDN, and others have posted their study schedules in the forums. Do it right the first time. It's better to have only one solid score than to have a track record of multiple subpar scores. Did you already qualify for the FAP? Take advantage of the help you have been offered, and we have additional help here (as you already know).

 

[Lunargravity]

Take the loss. Relax or take things slow for a month. You need it before you burnout. Also go hiking or travel for a week. Feeling refreshed makes everything easier. Also go consult someone regarding your MCAT prep. There are some content gap

Yeah I think I may look into getting an mcat tutor and getting some pointers on passage based questions as my mind goes blank and feel like i'm guessing more often than not as well as retaining and applying content to the questions.

Take the loss, get back on your meds, and create a proper MCAT study plan/schedule. We have the MCAT study schedule through SDN, and others have posted their study schedules in the forums. Do it right the first time. It's better to have only one solid score than to have a track record of multiple subpar scores. Did you already qualify for the FAP? Take advantage of the help you have been offered, and we have additional help here (as you already know).

I'm back on my meds since then thankfully. Primary doc was on vacation at the same time I needed to make an in person appointment for my refill but earliest was a month later and all good now. I haven't considered FAP but will look into it. I'm definitely weakest at biochemistry and chem/physics so my plan was to hit those weak spots hard first. Maybe do uworld alongside content books for practice instead of just reading and anki for the first half of my studies.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If you qualify for FAP, you will get a ton of free resources to prepare for the MCAT from the AAMC if you have not already used them. You also get a cost reduction in taking the MCAT. It should also give you a good reason to hit the pause button now and get yourself better prepared for an application. (It won't work retroactively.)

 

[Lunargravity]

@Goro

 

[Goro]

@Goro

Don't fall for the sunk cost fallacy. You clearly are not ready to take the mcat, and the great risk is that on exam day you will think that you're doing pretty well and score the test. Events like these usually have bad outcomes.

The MCAT is a career deciding, high stakes exam. But you know this. Make good choices and do not take the exam, and take it next cycle when you are 100% ready. Med schools aren't going anywhere

 

[wysdoc]

I truly don't know if it matters whether you withdraw your TMDSAS application or just let it be incomplete because you don't have an MCAT score. I advise on the side of withdrawing because:
1. The last test date you could use for the 2022-2023 TMDSAS application cycle is September 2022
2. It sounds like you have only submitted a couple of the TMDSAS secondaries
3. You need to approach the MCAT studying from a place of calmness, not panic

I know your parents mean well and are trying to come up with suggestions, but getting other masters degrees & stuff will not move your application to med school forward and will only detract from the time you need to study for the MCAT.
I also hope you can cut your work hours somewhat?

 

[Lunargravity]

Don't fall for the sunk cost fallacy. You clearly are not ready to take the mcat, and the great risk is that on exam day you will think that you're doing pretty well and score the test. Events like these usually have bad outcomes.

The MCAT is a career deciding, high stakes exam. But you know this. Make good choices and do not take the exam, and take it next cycle when you are 100% ready. Med schools aren't going anywhere

So how will being a re-applicant to AACOMAS be viewed by DO schools and would my explanation for being a re-applicant (if I even have to give one) be that I took more time for a quality mcat score to be a better overall applicant. Am I overthinking this? I still plan to work my mental health tech job where I have over 2300 clinical hours working my hospital's substance abuse detox program ran by a non-profit. Idk about taking any more post-bacc courses at this point. Is there a way of withdrawing AACOMAS or do i just let my app sit as is and not do anything else?

 

[Goro]

So how will being a re-applicant to AACOMAS be viewed by DO schools and would my explanation for being a re-applicant (if I even have to give one) be that I took more time for a quality mcat score to be a better overall applicant. Am I overthinking this? I still plan to work my mental health tech job where I have over 2300 clinical hours working my hospital's substance abuse detox program ran by a non-profit. Idk about taking any more post-bacc courses at this point. Is there a way of withdrawing AACOMAS or do i just let my app sit as is and not do anything else?

Yes, you're overthinking this big time.

Nobody cares if you're a reapplicant in the DO world, other than what have you done to improve since the previous cycle.

The same holds true for most of the MD schools as well. Reapplication gets a bad rap on SDN and it's time to stop that.

 

[Lunargravity]

I truly don't know if it matters whether you withdraw your TMDSAS application or just let it be incomplete because you don't have an MCAT score. I advise on the side of withdrawing because:
1. The last test date you could use for the 2022-2023 TMDSAS application cycle is September 2022
2. It sounds like you have only submitted a couple of the TMDSAS secondaries
3. You need to approach the MCAT studying from a place of calmness, not panic

I know your parents mean well and are trying to come up with suggestions, but getting other masters degrees & stuff will not move your application to med school forward and will only detract from the time you need to study for the MCAT.
I also hope you can cut your work hours somewhat?

Yeah thankfully I work full-time 3x12-hours night shifts and I'm gonna try to avoid doing much overtime so I can focus on other things like this exam. I haven't submitted any secondaries for TMDSAS but I was already verified since I submitted to all schools July 1st only. gonna take a little break and look at some study schedules on here for a foundation to restart effectively and efficiently.

 

[Lunargravity]

Yes, you're overthinking this big time.

Nobody cares if you're a reapplicant in the DO world, other than what have you done to improve since the previous cycle.

The same holds true for most of the MD schools as well. Reapplication gets a bad rap on SDN and it's time to stop that.

Okay thank you I appreciate it.

gonna take some time to recuperate and prepare for a retake from the group up due to my obvious content gaps.