Retake: Should I cancel?

[CJhooper123]

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I wanted to get people's opinion on my current situation. It's really frustrating and any comments/advice would really be appreciative. Not sure what to do here.

I scored the MCAT on 1/28/17 with a 504 (126, 122, 127, 129). Prior to this, I took AAMC FL 1 and 2 scoring 507 (123 CARS) and 506 (121 CARS) respectively. I had also completed Jack Westin's CARS course fall 2016.

As a result of my CARS score (and the fact I underachieved on CP/BS), I decided to retake the MCAT. I am currently scheduled for May 19th, 2017 and have studied over the past 1.5 months. All-in-all, I have probably completed close to 25 practice tests. The highest CARS score that I had gotten was 124, until about 2 weeks ago - I got 126 on NS 1 and NS6 afterward. I finally thought that I was making improvement in my CARS score (as I have taken a daily CARS test x 14 days straight) until today - I retook AAMC FL 2. I scored 511 overall (130, 123, 131, 127). My CARS score was only 2 points higher than what it was when I took it January 2017 before my first MCAT. As this was a retake... I question whether I even improved in CARS at all.

Should I take the MCAT again in 11 days, or cancel and wait until March 2018. I don't plan on applying for med school until spring 2018. I feel like I can kill 75% of this test... just CARS man.

I have a low GPA (3.1 strong upward) from a top 20 liberal arts school. Will be starting PB classes which will take me until January 2018. Extracurriculars are holding my application up (3000+ clinical hours, scribe, M&M secretary,....etc). My best option is likely DO, but will be tough, as I am a Massachusetts resident.

Any thoughts would be really helpful

 

[Spr1ngrolls]

In all truths, CARS is extremely difficult to gauge sometimes. It's the only section where there's no material and you've got to consistently build up for it. IMO, you're doing amazing on all the other sections and after 1.5 months of additional studying to focus on your CARS and you still aren't seeing drastic and consistent improvement, perhaps it's time to just take the test and make sure you ROCK the other three sections to compensate. I myself REALLY struggle with CARS as well and am not consistent whatsoever.

You've done well and you've worked hard, i'm sure you will do just fine! My opinion is for you to just take it again and get it over with.

 

[880cylon]

If you take CARs untimed, do you still get a low score? If true then its more of an issue of not knowing how to answer questions than actually understanding the passages. It seems like you have put in a lot of hours studying. You might get lucky and get like a 125 on test day and have your other sections carry you. I would probably take it if you feel confident in your other sections. It sucks having this test be on the back of your mind.

 

[CJhooper123]

In all truths, CARS is extremely difficult to gauge sometimes. It's the only section where there's no material and you've got to consistently build up for it. IMO, you're doing amazing on all the other sections and after 1.5 months of additional studying to focus on your CARS and you still aren't seeing drastic and consistent improvement, perhaps it's time to just take the test and make sure you ROCK the other three sections to compensate. I myself REALLY struggle with CARS as well and am not consistent whatsoever.

You've done well and you've worked hard, i'm sure you will do just fine! My opinion is for you to just take it again and get it over with.

Thanks for the response... I really appreciate it.

The CARS grind is a serious struggle. If I retake and get a 122 or 123 in CARS it would be devastating for me (as that would be my 2nd MCAT with a poor CARS score). Given my low GPA, I feel like I really have to make up for it with my MCAT. CARS is holding my score back tremendously. If I pushed the test back, I wouldn't be able to retake it until March 2018 - as my PB is starting in 2 weeks. I am concerned that my science content will not be at the same level. Also, I am still unsure how to actually improve with CARS. I don't know what additional actions I can take to improve this in the long run...

Edit: Also I don't know if this really matters... the first time I took the AAMC FL2 I got a 121 in CARS which was 51%. This time was a 123 at 64%. I feel like curve is brutal for CARS.

 

[CJhooper123]

If you take CARs untimed, do you still get a low score? If true then its more of an issue of not knowing how to answer questions than actually understanding the passages. It seems like you have put in a lot of hours studying. You might get lucky and get like a 125 on test day and have your other sections carry you. I would probably take it if you feel confident in your other sections. It sucks having this test be on the back of your mind.

It does suck having this thing on your back... If I could squeeze out a 125 (or maybe even a 124) on CARS I think I would be ok with it. I think that would suffice for DO school.

My issue is answering the AAMC questions. I have no problem comprehending what I am reading... it is simply answering the Q's and finding the right answers. If I take the section "untimed" I will only get 4-5 more answers right, which isn't substantial.

I have until Wednesday night to decide whether I should cancel or not. I would rather not have to void.

Edit: Also I don't know if this really matters... the first time I took the AAMC FL2 I got a 121 in CARS which was 51%. This time was a 123 at 64%. I feel like curve is brutal for CARS.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Hmm, this is tricky. I'm kind of split on my opinion on this. On the one hand, I feel like if you've done so much studying, you might have just plateaued with CARS-- if you haven't gotten it by now, I doubt anything will change from now and Spring 2018. Like people have mentioned, it's not really a subject you can improve on by memorizing facts, but more of an inherent skill that can be fine-tuned to a certain point with practice. I think you might have reached that point.

On the other hand, you said you aren't planning to apply this cycle, so technically there's no rush. However, my concern is that if you put your retake off until next spring, your scores in the other 3 sections will drop. I think I'm gonna go with suggesting you just take it now, kill it on the other sections, and see what happens. Your science scores will (in my opinion) compensate for a low CARS, and if you're scoring 511 you will definitely get into a handful of DO schools.

 

[CJhooper123]

Hmm, this is tricky. I'm kind of split on my opinion on this. On the one hand, I feel like if you've done so much studying, you might have just plateaued with CARS-- if you haven't gotten it by now, I doubt anything will change from now and Spring 2018. Like people have mentioned, it's not really a subject you can improve on by memorizing facts, but more of an inherent skill that can be fine-tuned to a certain point with practice. I think you might have reached that point.

On the other hand, you said you aren't planning to apply this cycle, so technically there's no rush. However, my concern is that if you put your retake off until next spring, your scores in the other 3 sections will drop. I think I'm gonna go with suggesting you just take it now, kill it on the other sections, and see what happens. Your science scores will (in my opinion) compensate for a low CARS, and if you're scoring 511 you will definitely get into a handful of DO schools.

Thank you for the response/insight.

It's a weird situation. I really really really don't want to take the MCAT 3 times. I feel like that would be a huge red flag for my application. If I get a 123 next week, that would likely require another retake. Also - that 511 is real solid, but I can't state that this is the "most accurate" place where my score is. I took the same test ~4 months ago and scored a 506. I feel like the 511 might be at least 2-3 points over what my actual score is. I took NS 6 ~2 weeks ago and only score a 505 (126 in CARS) - even though NS 6 is considered the hardest NS test.

If I were to wait until March... I don't know what else I would do for CARS. I have seen the most improvement over the past 2-3 weeks since starting daily tests... maybe I would go back to this. But it's tough... because AAMC CARS material is so different than any other prep companies' material.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Thank you for the response/insight.

It's a weird situation. I really really really don't want to take the MCAT 3 times. I feel like that would be a huge red flag for my application. If I get a 123 next week, that would likely require another retake. Also - that 511 is real solid, but I can't state that this is the "most accurate" place where my score is. I took the same test ~4 months ago and scored a 506. I feel like the 511 might be at least 2-3 points over what my actual score is. I took NS 6 ~2 weeks ago and only score a 505 (126 in CARS) - even though NS 6 is considered the hardest NS test.

If I were to wait until March... I don't know what else I would do for CARS. I have seen the most improvement over the past 2-3 weeks since starting daily tests... maybe I would go back to this. But it's tough... because AAMC CARS material is so different than any other prep companies' material.

Like you said, I just think at this point you've exhausted all the options and done everything you can do. I can't see how more time will help you increase your score. If you take the test this time and get a 123, I think you will just have to accept it and not retake.