reapplying; should i tell schools that i'm retaking the mcat august?

[ghm]

hi guys,

i will be reapplying to med school this june. i am planning on retaking the august mcat. however, i'm not sure if i should indicate these plans on the AMCAS application.

should i just check the "no" box so that if for some reason, i don't get a better score, i may not have to update my file with the new scores?

also, another reason why i didn't want to mark "yes" is because i'm afraid that schools will be more likely to look at my file later since they may reason that there's no point in looking at my file until they have "all" my info.

what do you guys think?

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[Doctora Foxy]

If you don't indicate you plan to take in in August and your score now needs improvement, they could theoretically reject you before your new improved score even comes in.

If you tell them you're gonna take it, they won't reject you, but they will wait for your new score, making your application late.

Your call--there are drawbacks to both.

 

[none]

You've got to check the yes box, otherwise don't take the MCAT again, there'd be no point.

 

[deva]

Will they even look at the new scores if you checked the "no" box?

 

[sandflea]

you can't lie about taking the MCAT, so taking the MCAT and not checking the 'yes' box is not even an option. you can't hide any MCAT scores--they're all reported, because the AAMC, who handles the AMCAS app, also handles MCAT scores. don't dig yourself into that hole. like foxy said, it's a judgment call, because you can potentially lose out either way.

are your MCAT scores the real problem with your application? if your scores are already decent, simply improving your score a few points isn't going to make any difference--generally, adcoms want to see a drastically different application from a reapplicant, not just a new MCAT score. and applying early makes a huge difference for most applicants. if i were you, and your MCAT score is really the *only* problem with your app, i would take a year off during which you take the MCAT again and boost your app even more by bringing up your GPA even more, getting some interesting volunteer experiences under your belt, etc, etc.