retake MCAT or apply next year

[armynontrad]

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I want to go to MD school. Any chance, or just retake MCAT, or apply next year? Thank you!

sGPA (in US): 3.96
MCAT (took on 5/5/2018): 492/125/122/124/121...

Studied berkley review books myself for 3 months after work

2016-2018 1) finished prerequisites + genetics + biochemistry while working full-time as Senior Applications Developer and Army Reservist Combat Medic
2) Also 100 hours+ volunteering

2008-2010 M.S. software engineering in U.S.
2004-2008 B.S. software engineering, foreign degree

 

[Shotapp]

I want to go to MD school. Any chance, or just retake MCAT, or apply next year? Thank you!

sGPA (in US): 3.96
MCAT (took on 5/5/2018): 492/125/122/124/121...

Studied berkley review books myself for 3 months after work

2016-2018 1) finished prerequisites + genetics + biochemistry while working full-time as Senior Applications Developer and Army Reservist Combat Medic
2) Also 100 hours+ volunteering

2008-2010 M.S. software engineering in U.S.
2004-2008 B.S. software engineering, foreign degree

Retake and apply next year. Your retake needs to be a 513+. Some MD schools avg MCAT scores.

 

[gyngyn]

Do not apply this cycle.
Do not re-take the MCAT until you are confident of a score consistent with success.
Multiple weak scores are much more damaging than one. AMCAS recommends that we average scores.
Take all the time you need.

 

[armynontrad]

Retake and apply next year. Your retake needs to be a 513+. Some MD schools avg MCAT scores.

No chance with this score at all?

 

[armynontrad]

Do not apply this cycle.
Do not re-take the MCAT until you are confident of a score consistent with success.
Multiple weak scores are much more damaging than one. AMCAS recommends that we average scores.
Take all the time you need.

does unsuccessful application hurt next cycle? Thank you.

 

[gyngyn]

does unsuccessful application hurt next cycle? Thank you.

The best strategy is always a strong first application.
Applying with a 492 MCAT would not be evidence of good judgement.
We are looking for such evidence.

 

[Medicine016]

I recommend retaking the MCAT. Aim for a 500 or higher if you can.

 

[Goro]

I want to go to MD school. Any chance, or just retake MCAT, or apply next year? Thank you!

sGPA (in US): 3.96
MCAT (took on 5/5/2018): 492/125/122/124/121...

Studied berkley review books myself for 3 months after work

2016-2018 1) finished prerequisites + genetics + biochemistry while working full-time as Senior Applications Developer and Army Reservist Combat Medic
2) Also 100 hours+ volunteering

2008-2010 M.S. software engineering in U.S.
2004-2008 B.S. software engineering, foreign degree

We love veterans, but no med school is doing you any favors when you're in the red zone (with that MCAT score) for failing out/and or failing boards. So retake, but only when you're 100% ready. Med schools aren't going anywhere.

 

[DSM_302.0]

I recommend you treat MCAT prep as a full-time job. This exam will determine the future course of your career. It has to be an absolute priority. Currently, the acceptance rate for your MCAT with your gpa (assuming your sGPA equals your cumulative GPA, which it might not) is near 0:
https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf

As the wise admissions committee member mentioned above, you'll need to retake. Are you studying AAMC official materials? Just doing content review isn't enough. You need to learn how to take the test. Their official practice pack is absolute gold:

Prepare for the MCAT Exam

Focus your studies there, under timed conditions. Questions Packs and Section Banks are your best bet. Once you finish a set of questions, go back and figure out why you got things right and why you got things wrong. Taking practice questions as they are phrased and tested by the AAMC is the greatest way you ensure success. If you find you're consistently stuck on a certain topic, then go back to other sources to beef up your knowledge in those areas. I used Exam Krakers, Khan Academy, and Kaplan for this.

There are also official practice exams for sale in the above link. Treat these as a precious commodity. Taking a practice exam under timed conditions will tell you what you would have gotten if you had sat for the exam that day. It's quite accurate and is a great measure of your progress. There are only 3 I think, so wait until you've studied a bunch before taking one. Then, use the test as another set of practice questions. Review them all deeply: why did you get something right? Why did you get something wrong? Only when your practice exams are at a level where you need them should you take the MCAT officially for a second time. After my 1st practice full length exam, I was a few points shy of where I wanted to be (was aiming for a 515), so I postponed work another month, giving myself two months of dedicated, full-time study.

I also utilized Exam Krackers full length exams. Their scoring is not as accurate, so don't pay too much attention to what you get. Use it as another opportunity to train yourself to sit focused on this exam for so many goddamn hours, and as another opportunity to review what you got right and wrong, and why (though the phrasing and style of their questions isn't quite like the AAMC. Nothing is though).

I hope my advice and experience was helpful to you. Good luck!

 

[armynontrad]

We love veterans, but no med school is doing you any favors when you're in the red zone (with that MCAT score) for failing out/and or failing boards. So retake, but only when you're 100% ready. Med schools aren't going anywhere.

Thank you... I only used Berkeley Review materials and one NextStep Social/Psych textbook...

Didn't do mock test...or practice exam....

This first MCAT test is sort of my Mock Test. I will take it more serious.

I believe I will improve a lot.

 

[armynontrad]

Thanks for your helpful advice.

I don't think I was ready for my first MCAT test. In addition, English is my second language.

Like I replied to Goro, I didn't use official materials. Just finished content review of materials below....
Should I ditch these materials and purchase AAMC official materials and newer version of ExamKrackers/Kaplan?

SN2ed method
The Berkeley Review
Physics Part I and II
Biology I and II
General Chemistry I and II
Organic Chemistry I and II

Exam Krackers
Biology
1001 Series:
General Chemistry
Physics

I recommend you treat MCAT prep as a full-time job. This exam will determine the future course of your career. It has to be an absolute priority. Currently, the acceptance rate for your MCAT with your gpa (assuming your sGPA equals your cumulative GPA, which it might not) is near 0:
https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/factstablea23.pdf

As the wise admissions committee member mentioned above, you'll need to retake. Are you studying AAMC official materials? Just doing content review isn't enough. You need to learn how to take the test. Their official practice pack is absolute gold:

Prepare for the MCAT Exam

Focus your studies there, under timed conditions. Questions Packs and Section Banks are your best bet. Once you finish a set of questions, go back and figure out why you got things right and why you got things wrong. Taking practice questions as they are phrased and tested by the AAMC is the greatest way you ensure success. If you find you're consistently stuck on a certain topic, then go back to other sources to beef up your knowledge in those areas. I used Exam Krakers, Khan Academy, and Kaplan for this.

There are also official practice exams for sale in the above link. Treat these as a precious commodity. Taking a practice exam under timed conditions will tell you what you would have gotten if you had sat for the exam that day. It's quite accurate and is a great measure of your progress. There are only 3 I think, so wait until you've studied a bunch before taking one. Then, use the test as another set of practice questions. Review them all deeply: why did you get something right? Why did you get something wrong? Only when your practice exams are at a level where you need them should you take the MCAT officially for a second time. After my 1st practice full length exam, I was a few points shy of where I wanted to be (was aiming for a 515), so I postponed work another month, giving myself two months of dedicated, full-time study.

I also utilized Exam Krackers full length exams. Their scoring is not as accurate, so don't pay too much attention to what you get. Use it as another opportunity to train yourself to sit focused on this exam for so many goddamn hours, and as another opportunity to review what you got right and wrong, and why (though the phrasing and style of their questions isn't quite like the AAMC. Nothing is though).

I hope my advice and experience was helpful to you. Good luck!

 

[DSM_302.0]

Thanks for your helpful advice.

I don't think I was ready for my first MCAT test. In addition, English is my second language.

Like I replied to Goro, I didn't use official materials. Just finished content review of materials below....
Should I ditch these materials and purchase AAMC official materials and newer version of ExamKrackers/Kaplan?

SN2ed method
The Berkeley Review
Physics Part I and II
Biology I and II
General Chemistry I and II
Organic Chemistry I and II

Exam Krackers
Biology
1001 Series:
General Chemistry
Physics

Which materials you should use are kind of an art in itself, specific to you knowing enough about your learning style and what each offers.

Berkeley Review goes into a tonnn of detail. Since you already used them, I would move on. AAMC materials should be your primary source. Worth every penny. Get the whole set. I'd also get the main EK set. I used a few of their supplemental question banks too. Start with AAMC and see what works best for you when filling in knowledge gaps.

There's a ton of great discussion on MCAT prep strategy in it's own forum and on Reddit, but I believe the rough outline I provided above won't steer you wrong.

Good luck!

Good luck!

 

[DSM_302.0]

I would just like to add: take your time! Better to delay another year and crush the MCAT than to rush and not do your absolute best possible this second time around.

 

[24GaugeEJ]

A huge mistake I saw friends make: take practice test after practice test without studying in between. People always say that, “...it’s about learning to take the test.” That’s true to a limited extent, but the mcat most definitely is a test of knowledge. You need to know the concepts and have outright memorized formulas and definitions to do well. Treat preparation like a full time job, particularly in light of your first score. You must study actively. You should never be passively reading and hoping that things stick. Work to learn!

I used the Kaplan multibook set, with my textbooks as supplemental materials. Memorize it all. I took the three tests that come with Kaplan and studied harder on the topics I missed based upon the score breakdown. Only after I took those and had studied for more than a month, did I take a couple of the aamc tests. I believe I studied about 40 hours per week for 3ish months (in addition to work and home responsibilities) and even delayed my test date to make sure that I was ready. Definitely not advocating one test prep company over another, more recommending that you actually know the material in a given subject. Be active in your review of the subject matter!

Spend more time on biology, biochemistry, and social sciences, as those topics each have their own section on the test. AAMC does provide a complete breakdown on the exam in their test prep materials. Know your enemy. Memorizing the concepts and definitions in social science will be very high yield - I got a perfect in that section. Same with biology and biochemistry - high scores as the problems all were on familiar topics and seemed to be drawn directly from study materials. Don’t spend as much time with organic chemistry as there are typically only 4 or 5 questions on the whole test about that subject. Knowing equations cold from general chemistry and physics will be very helpful as well (and obviously, know how to use them).

I really can’t tell you how to do well on the cars section. With English being your second language, I assume this will be difficult for you (even though you write extremely well). This is the one section where just taking practice tests under timed conditions helped me somewhat. You need to read thoroughly but quickly. Understand what the author is trying to say. Time yourself so that you know how long it takes you to read a passage and comprehend it, then do whatever you can to speed things up.

Good luck to you! You seem like an awesome, hardworking person. Turn that effort on this test and blow it out of the water next time.

 

[etp123]

100% use AAMC practice questions and exams. Knowing content is only part of the battle. The thing that will help you most, in my opinion, is getting familiar with the way the AAMC tests (their style of writing questions, how they want you to think about the answers, how to read the passages, other test taking strategies, etc). There's lots of kids who get A's in their prereqs showing that they know the content but still do badly on the MCAT, which I think speaks to the idea that the MCAT is more of a critical thinking exam above all else.

 

[24GaugeEJ]

100% use AAMC practice questions and exams. Knowing content is only part of the battle. The thing that will help you most, in my opinion, is getting familiar with the way the AAMC tests (their style of writing questions, how they want you to think about the answers, how to read the passages, other test taking strategies, etc). There's lots of kids who get A's in their prereqs showing that they know the content but still do badly on the MCAT, which I think speaks to the idea that the MCAT is more of a critical thinking exam above all else.

Except that the breadth of knowledge required for the mcat is greater than that required for an introductory biology class. Most of those classes are also not designed to produce a normal distribution of scores; in other words, they’re easy. Attaining an A by scoring a 93% in a class where the grade is obtained by doing homework assignments and taking a couple tests is not enormously challenging, and probably does not require mastery of the material. With the MCAT, you’re competing against other applicants.

I wholly agree that you need to take a good handful of practice tests to become familiar with the format of the exam. What I was trying to say is that taking practice test after test, hoping for improvement in scores without thoroughly reviewing all of the material you miss, is a fool’s errand. I’m really not trying to start a pissing match here (as everybody will get wet), just trying to help the OP based upon his reported score and my experience and success with the test.

Hopefully you studied hard during prereqs, and most of this is a true review for you. But, based upon how low that first attempt was, you really need to put in a lot of work making sure that you actually know what you’re going to be tested on. Refer to the AAMC document that describes the content of the MCAT and choose your study materials from there. Definitely take a lot of practice tests like @etp123 said — it is inarguably necessary — but make sure you’re working actively to improve your deficiencies.

 

[armynontrad]

Except that the breadth of knowledge required for the mcat is greater than that required for an introductory biology class. Most of those classes are also not designed to produce a normal distribution of scores; in other words, they’re easy. Attaining an A by scoring a 93% in a class where the grade is obtained by doing homework assignments and taking a couple tests is not enormously challenging, and probably does not require mastery of the material. With the MCAT, you’re competing against other applicants.

I wholly agree that you need to take a good handful of practice tests to become familiar with the format of the exam. What I was trying to say is that taking practice test after test, hoping for improvement in scores without thoroughly reviewing all of the material you miss, is a fool’s errand. I’m really not trying to start a pissing match here (as everybody will get wet), just trying to help the OP based upon his reported score and my experience and success with the test.

Hopefully you studied hard during prereqs, and most of this is a true review for you. But, based upon how low that first attempt was, you really need to put in a lot of work making sure that you actually know what you’re going to be tested on. Refer to the AAMC document that describes the content of the MCAT and choose your study materials from there. Definitely take a lot of practice tests like @etp123 said — it is inarguably necessary — but make sure you’re working actively to improve your deficiencies.

Thanks for your valuable advice.

I can not say I studied hard ( less than 30 hours a week for 3 months)... took 12 credits a semester while working full-time as a programmer ... it’s hard to retain all prerequisite knowledge as they are all new vocabulary to me...

And I definitely wasn’t ready, used a wrong strategy and didn’t put enough efforts on it.

I will take time to study and know materials cold, do enough tests.