Retaking MCAT. App Timeline?

[AbsoluteIdealist]

My application was submitted for verification on June 24. Given this, it is likely that schools will be obtaining my app around 28 days later or so, i.e. July 22 I received an MCAT score of 507 (126/130/125/126) because I was way too busy and sick at the time of preparing for the MCAT to do well by the time my pre-med committee needed for me to sit the test. I had not even had the time to take any practice tests prior to sitting the actual MCAT.

At the recommendation of my pre-med advisor, and given that I felt I could make huge improvements on the MCAT with just a few weeks of studying, I am slated to retake the MCAT again on July 29. This means my MCAT score release date would be August 30. On the one practice test I have taken recently, I am scoring generally much better, i.e. 126/130/128/128.

I am writing this post because I am concerned that my application will suffer simply due to the timeline. The rest of my application is quite strong, and I anticipate that my second MCAT score will be good. GPA 3.9, ScGPA 3.85, >1000 hours clinical and research experience, grad degree w pub thesis. However, schools will only see that I did well on the MCAT after the scores are uploaded on August 30.

I am applying to about 15 MD schools that I will be competitive for with my current MCAT score of 507. These schools will receive the application around July 22, as noted. Should I note when applying to these schools that I plan to retake the MCAT?

I would strongly prefer to attend other MD schools that are closer to my region of the US (northeast, I live in NH...), but these schools have higher MCAT averages. My application will be competitive for these schools when I get my second MCAT back, but I am concerned it will be too late for me to be competitive for these schools. How can I maximize my chances at these schools? Should I apply to these schools on July 22 as well, but note that I am retaking the MCAT? Or, should I just apply to these schools after my new MCAT score is uploaded on August 30?

Thank you so much for your guidance and for your time. I greatly appreciate any insights that may be useful in determining how best to proceed.




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Schools I am planning to apply to July 22 with WARS score of 72:
Central Michigan
Wright State
UVM
Rush
Albany
Penn State
UConn
Quinniapac
MC Wisconsin
Oakland
ULouisville
Tulane
Tufts

Very tentative list of schools I may to apply to August 30 with WARS score of 77 (This is very tentative as I have not had the time yet to identify schools I'd like to apply to, but recommendations are appreciated):
Dartmouth
Tufts (may just apply after second score comes in because I would love to attend here due to location and want to maximize chances)
UMass
NYMC
Oregon HC
SUNY schools prob
TJ
Wake Forest
Rochester
Brown
Cornell
Drexel
Rosalind
Temple
etc

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[candbgirl]

Schools are under no obligation to wait to receive your new score before they review your application.
And for be aware, some schools average multiple MCAT scores.
Why on earth did you take the MCAT totally unprepared?
Are you URM, AA? More house and Meharry focus on students of color or those that have a deep history of service to that community.

 

[AbsoluteIdealist]

Schools are under no obligation to wait to receive your new score before they review your application.
And for be aware, some schools average multiple MCAT scores.
Why on earth did you take the MCAT totally unprepared?
Are you URM, AA? More house and Meharry focus on students of color or those that have a deep history of service to that community.

Okay, that information supports what I have read elsewhere regarding how schools may review the application.

My above post only briefly mentions my reason for taking the MCAT unprepared, so I should explain further; that reason is basically a lack of time due to taking Orgo II and Biochem for the first time this spring while also having volunteering and personal health responsibilities to fulfill. I am a non-trad applicant. I have not had the luxury of following the clear-cut path that most pre-meds have had, nor have I had the good health that most applicants have had. Were I to specify details that I can't share online, I am not sure I would sound irresponsible by having taken it unprepared; might it perhaps actually have been the most rational course of action given some devastating circumstances in my personal life? I did what I could given the time that I had over spring semester, and I did work quite hard. I was required to take the MCAT by the end of May and this meant that I could not prepare for such a comprehensive test while dealing with many other duties.

 

[candbgirl]

Okay, that information supports what I have read elsewhere regarding how schools may review the application.

My above post only briefly mentions my reason for taking the MCAT unprepared, so I should explain further; that reason is basically a lack of time due to taking Orgo II and Biochem for the first time this spring while also having volunteering and personal health responsibilities to fulfill. I am a non-trad applicant. I have not had the luxury of following the clear-cut path that most pre-meds have had, nor have I had the good health that most applicants have had. Were I to specify details that I can't share online, I am not sure I would sound irresponsible by having taken it unprepared; might it perhaps actually have been the most rational course of action given some devastating circumstances in my personal life? I did what I could given the time that I had over spring semester, and I did work quite hard. I was required to take the MCAT by the end of May and this meant that I could not prepare for such a comprehensive test while dealing with many other duties.

Life intervenes all of the time. I’m sorry you’ve been sick and your school set up roadblocks. But again life frequently punches you in the face. One thing you have to do is take care of your physical health and mental health. That is most important . Med school is very tough and can break anyone. What’s done is done but you need to start making better choices. Even if it means putting off applying for another year. Don’t retake the MCAT until you are 💯 % ready. Another mediocre score won’t be good.
As many of the wonderful ADCOMS remind people everyday, med schools aren’t going anywhere. When you have the best possible application ready, apply.

I hope your health stays stable and you continue to get stronger.

 

[KnightDoc]

Life intervenes all of the time. I’m sorry you’ve been sick and your school set up roadblocks. But again life frequently punches you in the face. One thing you have to do is take care of your physical health and mental health. That is most important . Med school is very tough and can break anyone. What’s done is done but you need to start making better choices. Even if it means putting off applying for another year. Don’t retake the MCAT until you are 💯 % ready. Another mediocre score won’t be good.
As many of the wonderful ADCOMS remind people everyday, med schools aren’t going anywhere. When you have the best possible application ready, apply.

I hope your health stays stable and you continue to get thronged.

THIS^^^^^. As @candbgirl said, your first mistake was taking test when you were not adequately prepared, in order to meet an artificial deadline set by your committee. You now have to deal with whatever letter they are going to write for you with a 507.

On top of this, you are asking about applying in September after a (hopefully) better score is available on 8/30, and whether this will hurt you. Of course it will, especially coming after a 507. As @candbgirl also said, many schools, or individual adcoms at schools, will average your scores.

This totally sucks, and isn't what you want to hear, but the answer to "how can I maximize my chances at these schools?" is to wait until next year, so you can be complete well before Labor Day. This will give you all the time in the world to prepare for your retake, rather than rushing it with "just a few weeks of studying."

You really have to ask yourself what is more important, having the opportunity to go to a school next summer, or having the best chance possible to go where you really want? You simply cannot have both this cycle with a 507 and a 7/29 retake.

It is honestly not going to matter whether you apply to your preferred schools on 7/22 and ask them to wait, or not apply until 8/30. Either they will review you based on your 507, which is not going to be helpful to you, or they will do nothing with your application until at least September, which is also not going to be helpful to you. You absolutely have a non-zero chance of being successful applying "late," but this is not a strategy to "maximize your chances," which is what you are asking about.

I'd bail on this cycle based on the above, plus the fact that it was your committee that drove the timing here. That tells me that they care about your score and are going to use it to influence the quality of your letter. Assuming that is the case, don't you also want them to have access to your new, improved score before writing that letter?

If so, you want to wait. I'd also be afraid that the letter they are going to submit right now is going to hurt you to the point that an improved MCAT might not overcome it at the schools you are targeting. Good luck, whatever you decide.

 

[AbsoluteIdealist]

Life intervenes all of the time. I’m sorry you’ve been sick and your school set up roadblocks. But again life frequently punches you in the face. One thing you have to do is take care of your physical health and mental health. That is most important . Med school is very tough and can break anyone. What’s done is done but you need to start making better choices. Even if it means putting off applying for another year. Don’t retake the MCAT until you are 💯 % ready. Another mediocre score won’t be good.
As many of the wonderful ADCOMS remind people everyday, med schools aren’t going anywhere. When you have the best possible application ready, apply.

I hope your health stays stable and you continue to get stronger.

THIS^^^^^. As @candbgirl said, your first mistake was taking test when you were not adequately prepared, in order to meet an artificial deadline set by your committee. You now have to deal with whatever letter they are going to write for you with a 507.

On top of this, you are asking about applying in September after a (hopefully) better score is available on 8/30, and whether this will hurt you. Of course it will, especially coming after a 507. As @candbgirl also said, many schools, or individual adcoms at schools, will average your scores.

This totally sucks, and isn't what you want to hear, but the answer to "how can I maximize my chances at these schools?" is to wait until next year, so you can be complete well before Labor Day. This will give you all the time in the world to prepare for your retake, rather than rushing it with "just a few weeks of studying."

You really have to ask yourself what is more important, having the opportunity to go to a school next summer, or having the best chance possible to go where you really want? You simply cannot have both this cycle with a 507 and a 7/29 retake.

It is honestly not going to matter whether you apply to your preferred schools on 7/22 and ask them to wait, or not apply until 8/30. Either they will review you based on your 507, which is not going to be helpful to you, or they will do nothing with your application until after September, which is also not going to be helpful to you. You absolutely have a non-zero chance of being successful applying "late," but this is not a strategy to "maximize your chances," which is what you are asking about.

I'd bail on this cycle based on the above, plus the fact that it was your committee that drove the timing here. That tells me that they care about your score and are going to use it to influence the quality of your letter. Assuming that is the case, don't you also want them to have access to your new, improved score before writing that letter?

If so, you want to wait. I'd also be afraid that the letter they are going to submit right now is going to hurt you to the point that an improved MCAT might not overcome it at the schools you are targeting. Good luck, whatever you decide.

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to an involved post. I am very grateful to receive your suggestions.

Yes, my original mistake was taking the test when I was not adequately prepared. This was a difficult situation. I own this decision and persevere with greater attention to prudence concerning the particulars of the timeline.

I am now strongly considering just waiting until next year to apply, especially because, from what I understand, re-applying after a cycle of rejection is worse than waiting a year to apply.

I think I would be very happy to go to most of the schools that I said I would be applying to on 7/22. A 507 does not necessarily discount the rest of my application at such schools. My primary concern about applying to just these schools, however, is the risk of being rejected and then forced to reapply next year. The other concern is that I likely would not be very competitive for even these lower-MCAT schools because I would be applying a bit late on 7/22.

If the goal changed from "maximizing my chances to go to target schools" to "gaining an acceptance at any of the schools listed above", would it make reasonable sense to apply this cycle? Or would it most likely result in all rejections and regret, similar to taking the MCAT unprepared?

The other definitive set of questions I need to explore and come to own includes the questions, what is involved in reapplying, and to what degree would it be worse to reapply versus postpone an app to next year? What would my plans for the coming year look like, were I to reapply versus postpone an app? I am very happy with my personal statement, my letters of rec, my work/activities resume, my academic records, and everything else. Its just the MCAT. I worked very hard to prepare these materials, and don't believe that I should be changing them because collectively they represent my sincere response to the question of why I should be accepted to medical school. This answer will not change in the next year; the narrative describing how I decided I wanted to become a doctor will not substantially modify by working in yet another job, because no man ever crosses the same river twice. Were I to postpone until next year, could I preserve and use these materials? What changes should I make were I to apply next year with them? To what degree would I have to explain waiting a year in the PS/Work activites? How would this change if I were to reapply? Wouldn't reapplying require that I give a powerful explanation for why I should be accepted despite previously being rejected from many medical schools? It seems I would only have to substantially reinvent my PS/work activites/LOR if I were to reapply, but is that correct? I ask these questions knowing there is an amazing opportunity to do something unrelated to medicine over the next year, so I may not be "resume building" over the next year and think it may make the most sense for me to just apply next year without needing to modify my application materials to fit in a whole new year full of new stuff to be included in a reinvented application.

Again, thank you so much for your full responses. I would be most interested and grateful to learn what may be best for me to do in light of these specifics I have just described. Thank you so much.

 

[eigen]

FWIW, I wouldn’t see a 507 as a “low” score. It’s not high and might rule out so,e top programs, but it’s not likely to be a factor that rules you out of consideration if the rest of your packet is strong.

As for retakes, I’m not sure your second practice score is “much” better. It’s better, but not astronomically so.

Personally, I’d recommend focusing on other parts of your application, continuing the cycle, and seeing where you end up. Maybe you need to take it again in the Spring and go another cycle. Maybe you don’t.

 

[AbsoluteIdealist]

FWIW, I wouldn’t see a 507 as a “low” score. It’s not high and might rule out so,e top programs, but it’s not likely to be a factor that rules you out of consideration if the rest of your packet is strong.

As for retakes, I’m not sure your second practice score is “much” better. It’s better, but not astronomically so.

Personally, I’d recommend focusing on other parts of your application, continuing the cycle, and seeing where you end up. Maybe you need to take it again in the Spring and go another cycle. Maybe you don’t.

This is so encouraging! I am relieved to hear your response, and I am grateful for your suggestion. Thank you!

 

[KnightDoc]

This is so encouraging! I am relieved to hear your response, and I am grateful for your suggestion. Thank you!

I agree. If you change your goal from "maximizing my chances to go to target schools" to "gaining an acceptance at any of the schools listed above," you are definitely viable with the 507. In fact, if you are willing to throw DO schools into the mix, you will be a very strong candidate to be accepted this cycle with the 507.

While 7/22 is not "early," don't allow yourself to get sucked into the SDN myth that anything after the first submission date at the end of June is "late." If you are complete by Labor Day, you are fine as far as timing goes.

I also agree that it might be a waste to rush a MCAT retake now, and that it might make sense, if necessary, to do it next spring. Then, if you are a reapplicant, you will have an improved score in addition to whatever you do over the next 2 years to enhance your reapplication.

 

[candbgirl]

I think you are seeing things more clearly now. Although thousands of students reapply immediately after a failed cycle, many schools actually recommend skipping a cycle. (@gonnif has specific quotes from several med schools advocating this very thing.) so by waiting to apply until next cycle you won’t have that issue.(FYI, if you decide not to follow through on completing this cycle don’t forget to withdraw before your primary is verified. If it gets verified and then you withdraw you will considered a reapplicant.)
I think putting off the retake is a great idea. From the little you’ve shared you have had a physically draining year. A little rest will be good for your body and mind before you start the process again.
And everything that @KnightDoc told you is great advice . You have options. Use them wisely and always take care of yourself.
Let us know what you decide.,