Retake MCAT this August or next April

[Kelsy05]

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Hi there,

To be honest, I got a low 16 on the April MCAT. The problem is that I did not have time to thorougly review the content; I mainly practiced passages, exams and did some studying a month before the exam. I sort of knew that I had to retake but I didn't expect my score to be that low. Since it's so low that I don't know if I can increase my score tremendously in two months. The rest of my application is almost ready for this year submission; it's the just MCAT that I worry about. Right now I'm studying as if I'm taking the August test, but I'm unsure whether to take it this August or use more time to review and take it in April 2006.
What do you think?? Your advice and suggestions will save me from lots of sleepless nights! Thanks!

 

[ZAZA67401]

Seriously, you should continue to study as if you are taking the MCAT in August but don't take it until next April, but start over and study. Examkrackers is probably the best route and AAMC practice tests. Spend a year working or going to school and set aside the same time (a couple of hour evey other day or something) and study all year. The examkrackers website is www.examkrackers.com and maybe check out www.mcatpearls.com as well, but take the time to really study, it will make your life so much better, I swear to do really well on that test and not just mediocre. You need at least a 28, but more like over a 31 to be competitive for med school or at least a 25 for DO.

Take the time, it may seem like a long time but it goes by real quick and it will save years of more anxiety later on ( worry about getting in with an okay MCAT). You can definetely do it, you just need more time to do it. 😎

 

[ZAZA67401]

bump

 

[Kelsy05]

HI bump (?)

Thanks so much for your insightful suggestion and encouraging words. I'm retaking Kaplan because it's free second time. Also, I plan to take Berkeley Review or Princeton to help me for next April test. Now I need to explore the different options of what I can do during my year off. Do you know where I can start?
Again, thanks for your adivce. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[ZAZA67401]

Seriously,
Unless you do research you have to be proactive. So get an Emt-B or CNA and work in a hospital for the year (you make money this way and get experience) or look at americorp, but I have the same problem finding a place to work. Hopefully you live somewhere cool (unlike me) where you can find a cool, fun, unique, and pays well job.

Also I am not trying to sell you or anything but I took kaplan and it never helped me, even when I retook it, I not trying to mislead you or make it seem like I am really pushing Examkrackers, but they are cheaper materials to buy (cause I dont live near where they have classes, I studied on my own) like 300 in all plus you can find them used on Barnes and noble.com, much cheaper than a class or some other things

So to my point, If i ever made one right decision in this whole process it was using examkrackers and AAMC materials, they are no nonsense, no gimmick, straightforward materials, seriously

 

[RAD11]

I'm in the same situation as you...also did awful on the MCAT....knew had to re-take but didn't think I'd score as low as I did. Anyway, I think my biggest problem was that I had to re-learn everything over again (graduated college in 1999 w/ bio degree). I took Kaplan review last October, but it didn't work for me since I was trying to re-learn the material and learn the strategies at the same time. I think most people who take Kaplan do really well because they already have a good foundation of the material and it is really just a review for them. I'm using Examcrackers right now and following their 10-week study schedule (re-taking it in April, BTW because I don't think I have enough time to pull up my score by August) so when April rolls around I'll be in good shape...because you can repeat the schedule several times over. I'm also going to re-take either Kaplan or Princeton Review around October for a refresher....even thinking about re-taking some prereq classes. Bottom line is that we have to really make MCAT our first priority from now until April 2006 because we do not want to make the same mistake again.

 

[RAD11]

I think you made the right decision in deciding to wait to retake it.

In the meanwhile, if there is something you really really really don't understand, try to review it from your school textbooks as well. That might help rebuild your foundations. Then when you have it down, go back and review the basic concepts from the MCAT book and decide on which test company's strategy you are going to use. Once you've got a good foundation of the material, then focus on strategy, getting used to the test format, getting timing down, etc.

Thanks gujuDoc!

 

[Kelsy05]

Thank you all for your input. I think I'm making a decision to retake the MCAT in April! RAD11, it's great that you decided to go back to school after you graduated a while back. For me in making this decision, timing was a factor too. I just graduated and the whole time I was planning to just take a year off, so the thought of taking the test in April scared me because that means I would have take a total of two years off. That was a blow to me. But now I'm fine with taking another year off.
So, what have you been doing since graduation?

ZAZA67401 ~ What's Emt-B or CNA? So what option did you decide on doing? I live in San Francisco and have been a little bit of research at UCSF. I can go back there, but I want to do a type of research or something else in the health related field. I"m still exploring........ I hope I'll find something I LOVE to do.

 

[Denn]

Hi there,

To be honest, I got a low 16 on the April MCAT. The problem is that I did not have time to thorougly review the content; I mainly practiced passages, exams and did some studying a month before the exam. I sort of knew that I had to retake but I didn't expect my score to be that low. Since it's so low that I don't know if I can increase my score tremendously in two months. The rest of my application is almost ready for this year submission; it's the just MCAT that I worry about. Right now I'm studying as if I'm taking the August test, but I'm unsure whether to take it this August or use more time to review and take it in April 2006.
What do you think?? Your advice and suggestions will save me from lots of sleepless nights! Thanks!

I think that you made a huge mistake taking the MCAT when you knew that you were not prepared enough. I'd never recommend to anyone to give a try to the MCAT if they are not prepared. Retaking is not always very easy and what if you need to take it more than two times. However, I also think if you start studying hard for the next test, you'll be fine. Good luck