Retake a 518?

[calipremed5768]

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If I don’t get in this cycle should I retake? Got a low PS score that I think I could raise a lot with khan

 

[GoBlue2019]

Yes

 

[LizzyM]

What were your 4 subscores?

 

[PA_dud3]

Need subscores to advise.

 

[gyngyn]

Examinees whose initial scores were between 518 and 528 raised their scores an average of zero points.

https://www.aamc.org/download/498250/data/usingmcatdatain2020medstudentselection.pdf

They also convinced evaluators of a particular personality quality that is anathema to the practice of medicine.

 

[calipremed5768]

130/132/132/124

 

[907914]

130/132/132/124

That shouldn’t screen you out of many places, I would think.

 

[PA_dud3]

Take it and run with it. Check with an adcom to make sure you are not applying to places which would likely screen you out for that subscore.

 

[Goro]

If I don’t get in this cycle should I retake? Got a low PS score that I think I could raise a lot with khan

Have some DO schools on your list. End of problem

 

[907914]

Have some DO schools on your list. End of problem

Do you think OP should apply 60/40 MD/DO or more MD or more DO?

 

[PA_dud3]

Do you think OP should apply 60/40 MD/DO or more MD or more DO?

0/100 MD/DO
Okay maybe that's not for everyone...

 

[Goro]

Do you think OP should apply 60/40 MD/DO or more MD or more DO?

After looking through MSAR, I suggest DO > MD.A 124 in PS just isn't seen > 10th %ile

 

[907914]

0/100 MD/DO
Okay maybe that's not for everyone...

Lol I don't think a 124 PS is THAT bad TBH.

 

[907914]

After looking through MSAR, I suggest DO > MD.A 124 in PS just isn't seen > 10th %ile

Thank you for the correction. OK, OP - I retract my advice. Some MD, mostly DO.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for the correction. OK, OP - I retract my advice. Some MD, mostly DO.

Chances for MD will be with OP's state schools.

 

[PA_dud3]

Lol I don't think a 124 PS is THAT bad TBH.

I hope to apply mostly DO my first time around (90/10 with my state MD schools). No shame in wanting to be a DO, imo

 

[907914]

I hope to apply mostly DO my first time around (90/10 with my state MD schools). No shame in wanting to be a DO, imo

By all means - DO is an excellent career path for those who choose that direction.

 

[deleted804295]

Can adcoms please stop taking this guy seriously? It's harsh but we're getting these neurotic threads Every Single Day. I'm sure if he gets the typical harsh SDN advice he'll learn his lesson and make neurotic threads maybe once per week.

 

[deleted804295]

Chances for MD will be with OP's state schools.

I didn't realize one bad subscore was that lethal. RIP

 

[710118]

Dont listen to everybody here. I would definitely retake. PS is the easiest section to boost by far. Getting a 124 to 130 could take a few weeks. Applying with a 524 with good balanced section scores is definitely better than a 518 very unbalanced. Sure, some adcoms will think you are neurotic but I would take my chances. If your gunning for top 20 I would retake. The only way I wouldnt is if you were aiming for your state schools

 

[gyngyn]

Sure, some adcoms will think you are neurotic but I would take my chances.

I know a bunch of 'em...at more than 7 schools...in CA.

 

[710118]

I know a bunch of 'em.

A 124 would likely be a big flag I would think. Especially considering how easy that can be brought up to a 129/130. Its like 2-3 weeks of reviewing terms.

Put it this way, if he retook, and brought up his score to 523 with a 129 PS and loss of a point somewhere else, you don't think that would overcome the hesitation that would create in some adcoms heads? I would think it would at some schools

 

[gyngyn]

A 124 would likely be a big flag I would think. Especially considering how easy that can be brought up to a 129/130. Its like 2-3 weeks of reviewing terms.

It is not a problem for someone with a 132 CARS and a 518 total score.
It is a problem for someone with a below average total.

 

[gyngyn]

Put it this way, if he retook, and brought up his score to 523 with a 129 PS and loss of a point somewhere else, you don't think that would overcome the hesitation that would create in some adcoms heads? I would think it would at some schools

Nope. Any school that requires that type of score can already fill with applicants who got it on try #1.

 

[Kardio]

OP I’m honestly amazed that you scored in the top like 5% of test taker for everything except the unquestionably easiest section.

Fortunately for you, it’s also probably the least relevant. My intuition tells me that you are good for middle-of-the-pack MD.

 

[dr_kateb]

OP I’m honestly amazed that you scored in the top like 5% of test taker for everything except the unquestionably easiest section.

Fortunately for you, it’s also probably the least relevant. My intuition tells me that you are good for middle-of-the-pack MD.

Could be fatigue. I didn’t sleep that well the night before so when I got to P/S I wanted to die.

 

[Kardio]

Could be fatigue. I didn’t sleep that well the night before so when I got to P/S I wanted to die.

I didn’t sleep the night before my own exam and was just as fatigued as one could possibly be taking the MCAT. And I hadn’t taken Psych/Soc for 5 years prior to my test day. I legitimately ran out of time and guessed on one P/S passage because I almost fell asleep.

You heard me right - I actually ran out of time on P/S.

I still scrounged an acceptable subscore. OP had to have put almost no effort in preparing for that subsection.

 

[AnMDtoB]

OP I’m honestly amazed that you scored in the top like 5% of test taker for everything except the unquestionably easiest section.

No need to be rude - everyone has their own strengths

 

[Kardio]

No need to be rude - everyone has their own strengths

I apologize to the OP if I am coming across as rude. It was not my intention and OP is clearly a very bright person.

OP’s 99%ile subsections are evidence to me that he is completely capable of doing much better on P/S and, for some reason, decided not to prepare.

 

[Kardio]

The SDN Jury is out to get you I'm sure haha. On here, retaking anything more than like a 513 is heresy, the mere thought would get you burned at the stake. But if you feel you can do better, why not?
I'm retaking a 517-- granted, I'm in Canada and I'm retaking for CARS which is massively more important than any other section here, but the statement stands: if you're confident you can do better, I don't see why not.

The risk is that it will be interpreted as hubris.

“Oh, I only beat out 97% of people? I bet I can beat them all out”

 

[ciestar]

Dont listen to everybody here. I would definitely retake. PS is the easiest section to boost by far. Getting a 124 to 130 could take a few weeks. Applying with a 524 with good balanced section scores is definitely better than a 518 very unbalanced. Sure, some adcoms will think you are neurotic but I would take my chances. If your gunning for top 20 I would retake. The only way I wouldnt is if you were aiming for your state schools

You’re making the assumption that the rest of OP’s scores stay where they are. If OP retook for the sake of P/S and have drops every where else for a score close to 518, it looks... bad.

 

[chlorocruorin]

Well I’ll talk about the elephant in the room...what do your PS and EC’s look like. Scoring a 518 and not getting in likely means deficiencies in other sections of your app. If you didn’t get one interview then the rest of your app is not good. If you got interviews your interviewing skills may be a problem

 

[710118]

You’re making the assumption that the rest of OP’s scores stay where they are. If OP retook for the sake of P/S and have drops every where else for a score close to 518, it looks... bad.

Highly unlikely that bio and chem will drop much. Maybe Cars is more of a crapshoot. In general, if you can hit 132 on bio or chem, you will not get less than a 130 on test day. For Cars, the lowest I could see him drop to is a 128. Still, with PS, it is easy to boost that to a 130+ in just a few weeks.

 

[Kardio]

Highly unlikely that bio and chem will drop much. Maybe Cars is more of a crapshoot. In general, if you can hit 132 on bio or chem, you will not get less than a 130 on test day. For Cars, the lowest I could see him drop to is a 128. Still, with PS, it is easy to boost that to a 130+ in just a few weeks.

The difference between a 131 and 132 night be two questions. It’s very easy to lose points when you’re dancing in the 99%ile range. Like was pointed out earlier in this thread the average score change for people with OPs total is zero.

 

[710118]

The difference between a 131 and 132 night be two questions. It’s very easy to lose points when you’re dancing in the 99%ile range. Like was pointed out earlier in this thread the average score change for people with OPs total is zero.

Bio and chem are much more stable. Yes you might not hit a 132 again but its unlikely you will drop below a 130. Its not like Cars where you can get a 132 on one test and a 127 on another (I got a 131 on cars FL1 and a 127 on the real deal)

 

[deleted804295]

The SDN Jury is out to get you I'm sure haha. On here, retaking anything more than like a 513 is heresy, the mere thought would get you burned at the stake. But if you feel you can do better, why not?
I'm retaking a 517-- granted, I'm in Canada and I'm retaking for CARS which is massively more important than any other section here, but the statement stands: if you're confident you can do better, I don't see why not.

We're not Canadian. Our scores are not dependent on a single section. They're dependent on 4 sections.

 

[Kardio]

Well I’ll talk about the elephant in the room...what do your PS and EC’s look like. Scoring a 518 and not getting in likely means deficiencies in other sections of your app. If you didn’t get one interview then the rest of your app is not good. If you got interviews your interviewing skills may be a problem

I think this is OPs first time applying.

I remember suggesting he do an WAMC when he first posted his "I have a 3.9/518 why haven't I gotten a secondary from this one specific low-tier MD yet?"

@calipremed5768 again, a full-blown WAMC would benefit you more than threads like this. Dump everything you can think of in one go and ask people to blow apart your app. Or ask your advisor. Or hire a consultant. You will get a lot more out of any of those options than what you're trying right now.

 

[rdyotz]

Busting out straight psych for 3 weeks will not guarantee any raise in score. Sure, based on other sections, a 3-4 point increase could occur, but you could just as easily drop a point in each of the other sections and end with the same score. Not worth it. 518 is good enough to get in as long as they don't auto reject for a subsection score.

 

[chlorocruorin]

I think this is OPs first time applying.

I remember suggesting he do an WAMC when he first posted his "I have a 3.9/518 why haven't I gotten a secondary from this one specific low-tier MD yet?"

@calipremed5768 again, a full-blown WAMC would benefit you more than threads like this. Dump everything you can think of in one go and ask people to blow apart your app. Or ask your advisor. Or hire a consultant. You will get a lot more out of any of those options than what you're trying right now.

I really need to learn how to read. Sorry OP. If u don’t get get in look at my advice but you should get in this cycle lol

 

[710118]

Busting out straight psych for 3 weeks will not guarantee any raise in score. Sure, based on other sections, a 3-4 point increase could occur, but you could just as easily drop a point in each of the other sections and end with the same score. Not worth it. 518 is good enough to get in as long as they don't auto reject for a subsection score.

Yes it will. I promise you if he goes through Uworld and the khan 300pg thing and thoroughly reviews all of it he won't score less than a 130. I did this and got a 132 on it.

 

[Kardio]

@calipremed5768 You got me good here bro - and in the last thread about Tulane. Very well executed. Posting a high score, asking about a retake, holding back on the easiest subsection being below 50%, and then dropping the bomb - and sending me and the rest of SDN down the rabbit hole. I'd bet $50 the MCAT score you made up hasn't been scored in real life by anybody.

9/10.

*EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PREPARATION TIP* (important)

Okay so a lot of people give advice like “practice with a friend or schedule interviews with schools you’re less excited about first to get practice.” These are okay and all but the best thing to do is start sending your resume to management consulting and finance firms (possibly tech also)...

forums.studentdoctor.net

I used MSAR but aimed for schools where my stats were high because I didn’t know “yield protection” was a thing. Thought that was for undergrad admissions. I hoped high stats would make up for bad interview. I have 3000 volunteer hours but nothing extraordinary.

True but charisma is largely genetic. Of course you can improve but everybody has a ceiling. If somebody is naturally awkward/uncharismatic then it’s better to have 10 chances to get lucky than 1.

I don’t want roommates though. I’m actually a pretty easygoing person but the whole roommates thing doesn’t work for some reason even if it’s a friend let alone some dude from Craigslist. I applaude the people who can do it.

I mean I like it too and someday if I get a high paying job I would probably move there it’s just unappealing to be a student in a city dominated by high finance

So let’s say you have been poor your entire life but now that your are in medical school you’re pretty much guaranteed a high paying job in the somewhat near future. Say you want to rent a upper scale apartment and lease a Range Rover while in med school but don’t have income (besides a private college admissions consulting business I will continue in med school). Will lenders give you credit despite minimal income based on future predicted outcome?

I don’t plan on retiring. Seems boring. Why study for so long just to stop practicing to spend time doing nothing.

 

[rdyotz]

Yes it will. I promise you if he goes through Uworld and the khan 300pg thing and thoroughly reviews all of it he won't score less than a 130. I did this and got a 132 on it.

For every person that scores that high, there are 30 others that won't score that high. Don't assume since you scored high that everyone else will - that's impossible due to it being scaled/percentiles.

 

[MyOdyssey]

@calipremed5768 You got me good here bro - and in the last thread about Tulane. Very well executed. Posting a high score, asking about a retake, holding back on the easiest subsection being below 50%, and then dropping the bomb - and sending me and the rest of SDN down the rabbit hole. I'd bet $50 the MCAT score you made up hasn't been scored in real life by anybody.

9/10.

*EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PREPARATION TIP* (important)

Okay so a lot of people give advice like “practice with a friend or schedule interviews with schools you’re less excited about first to get practice.” These are okay and all but the best thing to do is start sending your resume to management consulting and finance firms (possibly tech also)...

forums.studentdoctor.net

You forgot the posts about (1) OP attending Stanford, MIT or U Chicago and (2) where OP claimed to have time to initiate multiple posts a day because of recovery from dental surgery.

But why invest so much to troll so elaborately if that’s the case?

 

[RJ McReady]

You forgot the posts about (1) OP attending Stanford, MIT or U Chicago and (2) where OP claimed to have time to initiate multiple posts a day because of recovery from dental surgery.

But why invest so much to troll so elaborately if that’s the case?

Because that’s what trolls do. They wait under bridges and reel in unsuspecting passers by...

 

[LizzyM]

I didn’t sleep the night before my own exam and was just as fatigued as one could possibly be taking the MCAT. And I hadn’t taken Psych/Soc for 5 years prior to my test day. I legitimately ran out of time and guessed on one P/S passage because I almost fell asleep.

You heard me right - I actually ran out of time on P/S.

I still scrounged an acceptable subscore. OP had to have put almost no effort in preparing for that subsection.

Kardio, you may be on to something.
Maybe OP is a troll but if not, I looked at the subscores and immediately saw someone who ran out of gas at the end of the exam. It is not unusual to have a dip at the end (although CARS being the lowest scores is not unusual either) but this is an extreme, if true. It would give me pause because stamina is an important attribute for medical students and physicians and we can't have someone who is going to fade like a day lily.

 

[Kardio]

Kardio, you may be on to something.
Maybe OP is a troll but if not, I looked at the subscores and immediately saw someone who ran out of gas at the end of the exam. It is not unusual to have a dip at the end (although CARS being the lowest scores is not unusual either) but this is an extreme, if true. It would give me pause because stamina is an important attribute for medical students and physicians and we can't have someone who is going to fade like a day lily.

I don’t know how you would differentiate someone who was unprepared for P/S from someone who ran out of steam. I suppose either are red flags, for their own respective reasons.

I always thought that they saved the glorified vocabulary test that is P/S for last because it’s not too hard to skate by if you prepared, even if exhausted.

 

[deleted804295]

I don’t know how you would differentiate someone who was unprepared for P/S from someone who ran out of steam. I suppose either are red flags, for their own respective reasons.

I always thought that they saved the glorified vocabulary test that is P/S for last because it’s not too hard to skate by if you prepared, even if exhausted.

P/S is no longer a memorization based test. They've slowly moved to more experimentation based passages.

I agree however that stamina has very little affect on P/S scores.

 

[Kardio]

P/S is no longer a memorization based test. They've slowly moved to more experimentation based passages.

I agree however that stamina has very little affect on P/S scores.

As a recent test-taker, I would say that it required (by far) the least critical thinking of all subsections. If they had saved C/P for last, I think that I would have bombed it.

 

[LizzyM]

P/S is no longer a memorization based test. They've slowly moved to more experimentation based passages.

I agree however that stamina has very little affect on P/S scores.

So rather than lack of stamina, it may be hubris on the part of someone who thought it was so easy that reviewing the material and doing practice passages would be unnecessary.

 

[rdyotz]

So rather than lack of stamina, it may be hubris on the part of someone who thought it was so easy that reviewing the material and doing practice passages would be unnecessary.

Not necessarily hubris. My MCAT had a P/S section unlike any practice material available. Granted, everyone felt the same way (including psych majors) and the scale reflected that to the point where practice scores reflected the real thing for most people.