please help

[nanad]

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I have a huge problem

I took the MCAT twice, scores 18 first time (7P, 4V, 7B) and 21 second time (7P, 5V, 9B).

I plan to get a private tutor and study my *** offffff and retake for the LAST time June 13th.

My question is, do DO schools look down on 3rd time re-takers? (considering I do much better 3rd and last time around?)

thanks a lot guys

 

[JaggerPlate]

I have a huge problem

I took the MCAT twice, scores 18 first time (7P, 4V, 7B) and 21 second time (7P, 5V, 9B).

I plan to get a private tutor and study my *** offffff and retake for the LAST time June 13th.

My question is, do DO schools look down on 3rd time re-takers? (considering I do much better 3rd and last time around?)

thanks a lot guys

I've heard rumors that schools don't like you to take the test 3x ... but I think anything you hear on SDN (aside from maybe an adcom) is just conjecture. I think it could get brought up in interviews like why you took it three times, why the big difference the 3rd time etc.

 

[Concubine]

I have a huge problem

I took the MCAT twice, scores 18 first time (7P, 4V, 7B) and 21 second time (7P, 5V, 9B).

I plan to get a private tutor and study my *** offffff and retake for the LAST time June 13th.

My question is, do DO schools look down on 3rd time re-takers? (considering I do much better 3rd and last time around?)

thanks a lot guys

Retake and kill the MCAT. I'm not kidding, you will need above a 25 (perhaps even much more) to be competitive. Even with your two scores, you're going to have at least some explaining to do. However, it's not the end of the world. If you kill the MCAT this next time, then you may be alright.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Some DO schools may look down on it, but they're all going to look down on your current scores, so if you can nail it this time around, you'll at least give yourself a chance.

Not that you have no chance right now, but there have been a few people on here with scores like that who have had a hell of a time. Good luck. Make the 3rd time the charm.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Also, why do you struggle with the verbal so much? Are you ESL? If not, some good practice can make a big difference in a hurry.

 

[t-funk]

I definitely think you should retake the MCAT no matter what. But also, what is your GPA, ECs, etc? Are they in good shape?

 

[nanad]

hey thank you all for responding

I will for sure retake, I HAVE TO obviously

I have no idea why I do so bad in verbal but I think this time around I should do verbal every day from EK 101.

My GPA is 3.33 overall and 3.12 science

what do you guys think?

Also, do you think re-taking on June 13th is a good date? That gives me 15 months to study a 3RD TIME..KILLER

 

[nanad]

also, how much time per day /per wk would you guys recommend I take out to study ? I am taking classes full-time also but I have 3 days off a wk

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I went from getting a 6 on my first diagnostic for verbal to an 11 on the real MCAT in a couple months. I just started practicing. I did a full-length verbal section about 4x/week (or more). I'd do it timed, to best simulate test conditions. I started getting fast, and I got better at focusing during the VR passages. That would be my suggestion to you.

What I didn't do enough of was full-length practice MCATs. I did the ones they gave us at TPR, and a few others, but I should have been doing them like every weekend for 4 months.

It may not be as big of a deal, now that the test is so much shorter, but when I took my MCAT, I was worn out by the end. I think more practice would have helped me.

 

[t-funk]

If you get a private tutor, you should ask him/her how much to study. If I had to study again, I would probably limit myself to only a couple of months several hours (2-4) a day to avoid burnout, but you should ask your tutor what he/she suggests. I agree that bringing up verbal should be able to boost your score significantly and should probably be a major focus of your studying.

 

[t-funk]

It may not be as big of a deal, now that the test is so much shorter, but when I took my MCAT, I was worn out by the end. I think more practice would have helped me.

I took the CBT and was totally worn out after the test. I went home and slept.

I'm still mad about verbal. I got an 11 on every single AAMC test with the exception of one 12 and ended up with a 10 on the real thing. I still don't know how that happened. Verbal is so hard to study for. I think the AAMCs are the best preparation for it though. Actually, I think you could improve your score a lot by totally studying the AAMCs only and knowing each test back and forth. That is probably what I would do if I took it over again. It's probably best if you figure out what is right for you though and work on that with the help of your tutor.

 

[Esperanza]

Hi All 🙂 I have all of my secondaries submitted but am waiting to hear back for interviews. How long does it take for them to get back? They received all my secondary info in January. The two schools I am really interested in are UNECOM and VCOM. I also just recently got a position at the Red Cross and work with a Pain Management DO. Should I update the schools to say I am at the Red Cross? Is there anything I can do at this point to impress the schools to check my application again? Like send an e-mail or call them? Thanks!!

 

[kimmi]

I took the MCAT 4 times--yes, I know--4 times. I used Kaplan, Princeton and Examkrakers (and was frustrated and even did some crying along the way) but:

1. I have rarely been asked about the scores in the interviews
2. If asked, I have used to to show the I am not a quitter--I am going to succeed
3. I did score at least a 25 twice--my verbal was at least a 10 with bio a close 2nd--it was physics that killed me. I did get a respectable writing score also.
4. My GPA was pretty good--overall 3.6 and science 3.8
5. Most important, I have several acceptances now in which to choose from.

So the moral is--don't give up!!! You can do it!!!

 

[Parfee]

I got a 6 on verbal the first time I took it (paper version).

Then I talked to some med students and asked how they studied for it. And one of them told me that the important part is the "Reasoning", because they want to see if you can use the information given and fully understand the logic to answer their questions. So you need to treat it like a science passage and not just read through it.

The second time I at a 11 (CBT).

I did all the 101 passages, Berkeley Review's verbal book, and the Gold Standard Online practice tests. Practice on every passage possible and read the explanations for ALL the questions, even on the ones you got right so you know why did you get them correctly.


As for the sciences, I think the examkracker book set along with the 1001 questions should cover the basis.

Good luck! 👍

 

[Jpc984]

Reading the wall street journal (and other journals/ newspapers) will help.

 

[DrMidlife]

Reading the wall street journal (and other journals/ newspapers) will help.

I agree, but in general, read something beyond your comfort zone. For me it's the Economist, which gives me a headache. If you're conservative, read something liberal and vice versa. And for goodness' sake if you haven't read a scholarly biomedical journal yet, that's a must do.

Also, there's very little you can do to get feedback on the writing sample. What I wish I'd done was find an old retired English professor and had him/her review a stack of timed essays. You don't want some young punk who just discovered the word "inchoate" and gets aroused by semi-colons.

 

[Flushot]

I took the MCAT 4 times--yes, I know--4 times. I used Kaplan, Princeton and Examkrakers (and was frustrated and even did some crying along the way) but:

1. I have rarely been asked about the scores in the interviews
2. If asked, I have used to to show the I am not a quitter--I am going to succeed
3. I did score at least a 25 twice--my verbal was at least a 10 with bio a close 2nd--it was physics that killed me. I did get a respectable writing score also.
4. My GPA was pretty good--overall 3.6 and science 3.8
5. Most important, I have several acceptances now in which to choose from.

So the moral is--don't give up!!! You can do it!!!

I too took it 4 times. Ironically I also scored a similar score (24) twice. We're fated o_o

But, like Jagger says, it might just be conjecture. I'm almost certain I'll get asked about the 4 times and I'll pretty much tell them "You do what you gotta do".

 

[scdocusc]

I took the MCAT three times. The best advice I can give you is to study the processes and not the information in all sections. That's what I didnt do. With your GPA it's going to be hard but retake the MCAT and see how you do. DONT GIVE UP. If your MCAT does not improve a lot on the third try then bring your GPA up in a SMP program. I only had one school ask me about taking the MCAT three times and oddly enough.. it was VCOM. A school that touts that they "dont weigh the MCAT heavily". For that school it was just BS spouted by the admissions office. If they do ask you why you took it so many times, spin it to the positive by saying you are persistant.

 

[slim78]

This is going to sound silly but I'll offer it up anyway.


I took the MCAT once and got a 12 in VR and I think it was due largely to a small lifestyle change that allowed me to do more critical thinking.

When I was studying for the MCAT I was looking for ways to keep my mind sharp and to think analytically. I ended up adding NPR to my radio station favorites and spent most of my radio time listening to that instead of the normal rock/pop stuff I did before.

I think this type of thing really helps (especially for the verbal section).

I would recommend doing a lot of reading on current-event type stuff where arguments are presented and defended.

Couldn't hurt.