Repeat MCAT down, Where to apply?

[Ilikemovies2]

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[Ihateverbal]

why don't you study hard and take it a third time? That really limits your choice of schools.

 

[mms2k7]

^^^^^ yup.. study hard again, you were at a 29 before, no reason you shouldnt be at a 32!. You will have a hard time with a down trend on your MCAT : / gluck

 

[mongrel]

Hello folks,

For the sake of anonymity,

Ha... I'm sorry, isn't SDN already pretty anonymous? 😀

I made this new name. I took the MCAT twice. I did decent the first time (10, 10, 9V, Q = 29Q). Second time, I did bad (PS 8, BS 9, VR 9, R = 26R). GPA is 3.72 Overall, 3.42 Science. Pretty good EC's.

I was stupid and didn't study that hard for the second one, thinking I could just review what I screwed up the first time. Stupid, ignorant and arrogant, I agree. I applied '07 and received two interviews, both ending in low waitlists. Obviously, I don't think those will amount to anything. I'm applying again for '08.

Going off MSAR, I called a bunch of schools and compiled a list of which schools consider only the highest score and thereby, where to apply. I'm an Illinois resident.

George Washington
Miami-Miller
Rush
Tulane
Indiana
Temple
Utah
MCW

Any additions/deletions to this list or advice on what to do? (Also, DO schools)

Thank you

I've heard a lot of schools put the greatest weight on the last score for MCAT retakers. I agree with the above poster, you'll probably want to look at taking a third time. Or check out DO schools if you're into osteopathic medicine.

 

[Ilikemovies2]

One thing that hinders me from retaking it is that I'm traveling with my parents to India for two months and we'll be going all around. I will be back in August and only have one month to study for the September MCAT. I can dedicate all day every day to it, but I wonder if it will be enough to get me ready.

A second view that just clicked is that all these schools only consider my highest score anyway...so would it really matter if I took it again and got the same score?

 

[epr1]

did you take a pen and paper and then computer, maybe you can pin it on that!

just jk, sort of, but a third time might be fun, and a month isn't all that bad, assuming that you didn't forget everything you've learned b4

 

[Ilikemovies2]

did you take a pen and paper and then computer, maybe you can pin it on that!

just jk, sort of, but a third time might be fun, and a month isn't all that bad, assuming that you didn't forget everything you've learned b4

That's actually true, but I don't know if that will work.

 

[Dr2Bee]

You can take your chances with those scores. You're still very competitive for DO schools. But to be safe, you should completely dedicate yourself to studying for the next couple mths and retake the exam. That way you can cover all your bases and not allow adcoms to raise any questions about your app. Getting a 30+ will greatly increase your chances at a lot of schools...and you got an awesome GPA. Good Luck!

 

[Ilikemovies2]

I like uphill fights. I'm pretty sure now that I will retake the Sept 8 MCAT and get the 30+. I know I meet the cutoffs for most schools to get secondaries with my current scores but will the Sept 8. score be in enough time to get them to consider it for interview?

 

[Old ortho]

Hello folks,

For the sake of anonymity, I made this new name. I took the MCAT twice. I did decent the first time (10, 10, 9V, Q = 29Q). Second time, I did bad (PS 8, BS 9, VR 9, R = 26R). GPA is 3.72 Overall, 3.42 Science. Pretty good EC's.

I was stupid and didn't study that hard for the second one, thinking I could just review what I screwed up the first time. Stupid, ignorant and arrogant, I agree. I applied '07 and received two interviews, both ending in low waitlists. Obviously, I don't think those will amount to anything. I'm applying again for '08.

Going off MSAR, I called a bunch of schools and compiled a list of which schools consider only the highest score and thereby, where to apply. I'm an Illinois resident.

George Washington
Miami-Miller
Rush
Tulane
Indiana
Temple
Utah
MCW

Any additions/deletions to this list or advice on what to do? (Also, DO schools)

Thank you

Miami has a cut off for OOS at GPA 3.6 and MCAT 30. Typically, you need MCAT of 30+ as an OOS. 2 things you can do to improve your chances:
1. Study really hard and re-take MCAT
2. Apply to all instate schools and broadly to many OOS esp lower tier private schools. Also to DO schools.

 

[CTtarheel]

I'd take a year off and do an SMP or some other science grad work. Your science GPA isn't really strong enough to offset your MCAT and unless your application has some other changes (besides a lower MCAT) I'd think another round of applications right now wouldn't be all that useful UNLESS, these are schools you didn't apply to first time around. If you're hell bent on trying to get in SOMEWHERE this year, you should at least add a few DO schools to this list. Otherwise, take a year to do some grad work and prove you can handle science classes and try to push your MCAT at least back up to where it was before (and prove that 26 was a fluke).

As for rushing to take the MCAT again, I think you're setting yourself up for failure. You really can't rush this sort of thing, if you're still young I really think you'd be better off taking at least a whole year (maybe 2) to really improve your application instead of just trying to use the brute force method to get in somewhere right now.

my 2c, take it for what it's worth