Retaking imbalanced 33

[BeastfromthEast]

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Just got my MCAT score back. I averaged between 10-11 on my verbal but ended up with an 8. My scores were 11,8,14. (MCAT average is about a 34). How bad would the imbalance look? I never, ever received a verbal as low as an 8 before. Also my writing score was terrible (L), Is an 8 going to get me screened out (thinking about applying to top 30ish schools). I was very pleased with my bio score though, highest on my practices was 11. PS I scored a bout 1.5pts lower than my average. I'm probably not going to retake but I want some second opinions to make sure. My GPA is above 3.9 just FYI so I don't think a retake is necessary, BUT I want to get second opinions. Can a good personal statement makeup for an 8 verbal and L writing? Thanks so much

 

[MDforMee]

Just got my MCAT score back. I averaged between 10-11 on my verbal but ended up with an 8. My scores were 11,8,14. (MCAT average is about a 34). How bad would the imbalance look? I never, ever received a verbal as low as an 8 before. Also my writing score was terrible (L), Is an 8 going to get me screened out (thinking about applying to top 30ish schools). I was very pleased with my bio score though, highest on my practices was 11. PS I scored a bout 1.5pts lower than my average. I'm probably not going to retake but I want some second opinions to make sure. My GPA is above 3.9 just FYI so I don't think a retake is necessary, BUT I want to get second opinions. Can a good personal statement makeup for an 8 verbal and L writing? Thanks so much

I'm reading this post over, for the second time, to make sure that I don't make any mistakes in the response I'm going to provide you, here:

There are quite a few "little" errors, grammatical problems, punctuation issues, and syntax mistakes in your post that I can see leading to a low writing score.

In that way, I suspect that your verbal score might be low because of the way that you structure your thoughts into words, and vice versa; meaning, it seems as though you aren't reading between the lines as well as you could be.

If it were me, and I received the scores that you did, would I retake the MCAT? Yes, and no. Yes, if I know that I'm capable of improving in these areas. No, if I have had lifelong issues with reading/writing. That's the long and short of it.

If you do choose to retake the MCAT, you're going to have to spend a significant amount of time reading and writing. They don't say that the verbal and writing sections of the MCAT are the hardest to improve for nothing. In any case, a friend of mine recommended that I read Atlantic monthly, and other scientific journals, such as JAMA, to prepare for the MCAT.

Sorry that I can't give you a more definitive answer, but, there isn't an easy answer to come to regarding your problem. You should still be happy that you did well. Lots of other people have way worse problems than you.

PS (and no, not physical sciences): what I do to work on my writing skill is what you're reading, here. I regularly post on all sorts of forums, discussion boards, and what have you to increase my ability to articulately express my thoughts in a rational, essay type of format. I've been doing it for years. I can't tell you how much it's benefited me to practice writing, because the results have spoken for themselves. Try it for yourself, and see.

 

[Capltd29]

Definitely agree with the reading. My first Verbal was a 7, on my second take it was an 11. I bought this "Encyclopedic Book of Alcoholism" which was a crazy mundane writing style, but the content interested me. I read a good portion of it, with the intention of paying attention to detail. I also stopped being fixated on how the MCAT was trying to "trick me" and more on just reading the passages and answering the questions.

 

[BeastfromthEast]

I think I didn't make myself clear. The verbal is generally a decent section for me; I've averaged about 10-11 on it on my practice AAMCs. The writing section I just kinda used it to rest and clear my head.

What I'm worried about is the imbalance of my score. I'm afraid it'll get screened, especially at top 20 schools.
Secondly, the score is high enough where I'm hesitant to retake. I think it'll be hard to improve my score by 3 points. My verbal was about 2-3 pts lower than usual, and my PS was about 1.5 points lower than my avergae, but my bio was like 3 points greater than my highest biological I've gotten on the AAMCs.

 

[Moosepig]

If you're aiming for the big leagues, retake. If you just wanna get in somewhere, you're fine.

 

[BeastfromthEast]

So does that 8 verbal really give me no chance a a top 20 school? I was thinking that instead of spending time studying for a retake, I can spend more time to beef up my extracurriculars?

 

[Dianyla]

So does that 8 verbal really give me no chance a a top 20 school? I was thinking that instead of spending time studying for a retake, I can spend more time to beef up my extracurriculars?

Sorry if I missed it, but are you ESL? If so, many schools will cut a considerable amount of slack for a low verbal score. In this case, I wouldn't retake.

If English is your native language, you feel certain that you can do much better, you can prep for a retake without sacrificing the quality of the rest of your application, then go for it! 👍

 

[BeastfromthEast]

If I retake an imbalanced score, do I have to still get about 3 pts higher for it to look good. getting a 36, even with my normal verbal, would be tough..

 

[Dianyla]

If I retake an imbalanced score, do I have to still get about 3 pts higher for it to look good. getting a 36, even with my normal verbal, would be tough..

Ideally a retake should always be higher, but it's not required. Even if you get the same total score, it's worth it to bring verbal up to double-digits if you can. Just don't tank on the other subsections.

 

[Anthrax]

Okay, I was in the very same boat as you last year. I wrote the MCAT last summer and scored a 32 Q (14 PS/ 8VR/ 10BS). So I know exactly how you feel. The imbalance in score bothered me very much also.

What I did was re-take the exam this summer. However, before you make this decision, ask yourself if you have the potential to improve. Ask yourself if you will take this seriously, give yourself time to study (practicing over time is one of the biggest factors impacting verbal performance in my opinion).

So when I was going through this situation, I answered yes to both questions. I knew I can definitely improve and I was willing to put in the time. I took 3 months to study this summer and wrote in early August. However, one thing I ALWAYS and CONSISTENTLY did was keep practicing verbal and use all of the sources. I have taken breaks from PS or BS but never from verbal.

I ended up scoring a 10 finally. I know it's not super good but I will take it. The 2 point increase was worth my time and effort and I'm happy with it.

 

[Nuel]

Be careful, it might be difficult to reproduce a 14. Unless you can score 10+ on VR, and keep at least 11 on the sciences, a retake might be superfluous. Be careful. 8 is ok given your other scores and GPA. I scored a 9 VR, 12 BS, 13 PS (34) and I received some great interviews with a 3.8+ GPA.

 

[BeastfromthEast]

The thing is, though I've always scored in the 10-11 range on my AAMCs, the MCAT broke my confidence and I am afraid this will happen again. The problem is I am not sure whether I can study for the MCAT while doing ECs and taking classes.

At this point, I kinda feel that I should just focus on ECs and try to make myself a more interesting applicant. Or is an 8 really that bad?

 

[Dianyla]

The thing is, though I've always scored in the 10-11 range on my AAMCs, the MCAT broke my confidence and I am afraid this will happen again. The problem is I am not sure whether I can study for the MCAT while doing ECs and taking classes.

At this point, I kinda feel that I should just focus on ECs and try to make myself a more interesting applicant. Or is an 8 really that bad?

While an 8 isn't as comfortable as a solid 10, it's not as awful as many on SDN would make it out to be. From what I've heard, 8 is a sort of "minimum acceptable" kind of score for VR for many schools, and may be an actual screening cut-off point used by many schools. (Kind of like a 3.0 GPA, which I happen to have due to 15 year old Fs, so I do feel your pain). Below 8 (or 3.0) your chances of a successful application drop significantly. You can certainly compensate for an 8 (or 3.0) with stellar ECs and otherwise strong academics, especially if you focus on schools that give applicants a more holistic review and don't just auto-screen by the hard ugly numbers.

It is very difficult to prep for the MCAT on top of everything else. It is very reassuring that you were getting 10-11s on your practice AAMCs, suggesting that this 8 you got is just an unfortunate outlier. If it were earlier in summer I would have encouraged you to sign right back up for a retake in September, but unfortunately the next MCAT isn't til January. You'd have to get reconditioned all over again, on top of other academic/volunteer commitments. It may not be worth the time and money to retake.

Probably your best bet is to continue strengthening on the rest of your application for now. Once it's submitted and you're no longer taking part/full time classes, you'll have some more time to prep for a retake in the event that your first cycle isn't successful. Given that you have great PS and BS section scores, you have a good chance of getting in somewhere if you apply carefully. 👍

 

[BeastfromthEast]

you'll have some more time to prep for a retake in the event that your first cycle isn't successful. Given that you have great PS and BS section scores, you have a good chance of getting in somewhere if you apply carefully. 👍

Not trying to complain or anything (sorry im stressed about this), but even though my gpa is good (>3.9) that 8 might jeopardize my chances of getting into med school? How carefully do I have to apply (of course not all top 20, but I thought 33 MCAT and >3.9 GPA was good enough to easily get somewhere?)

 

[BeastfromthEast]

Will an 8 in verbal seriously hinder my chances of getting into a top 25 med school? I'm trying to decide whether to retake or not thanks!

 

[LadyAlex]

Will an 8 in verbal seriously hinder my chances of getting into a top 25 med school? I'm trying to decide whether to retake or not thanks!

Hi there!
It seems like you are looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear (not judging, I can relate). IMO, a 33 MCAT and a 3.9+ gpa is great. Based on what you said about your practice averages you have a decent chance of scoring lower if you retake. That would be bad.
Are you competitive for top 20 schools? That's too hard for anyone here to say because it depends more on you as a total package but I don't think you will be screened out based solely on your stats.
Hope that helps 🙂

 

[BeastfromthEast]

Hi there!
It seems like you are looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear (not judging, I can relate). IMO, a 33 MCAT and a 3.9+ gpa is great. Based on what you said about your practice averages you have a decent chance of scoring lower if you retake. That would be bad.
Are you competitive for top 20 schools? That's too hard for anyone here to say because it depends more on you as a total package but I don't think you will be screened out based solely on your stats.
Hope that helps 🙂

Thanks! And haha yeah, you're right. I'm hoping people will tell me not to retake because I really don't want to study for the beast again 🙁.