Retaking MCAT for this application season

[lazygun247]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning on retaking my MCAT. However, I do not want it to affect my application this year. I have a 34S but I know I can get a better score, so I signed up for one in September.
Will AMCAS or schools hold off on reviewing my application if I click that button that says "I will be taking another MCAT ..." ?

Should I just not check that button and update the schools when I complete that the test?


Thanks

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[Ismet]

A 34 is an excellent score. September is too late, the score won't be released until October and by then some schools are already accepting people.

If you indicate that you will be taking a future exam, they will hold off on reviewing your application until the second score comes in.

If you don't indicate that you'll be taking the exam and just apply now, you'll probably have many interviews lined up before you even take the second MCAT, so what's the point?

 

[pachewisc]

Agree with Ismet above. Even if you "know" you can do better (not sure what that means per say, since a 34 is like 94th percentile or something close to that), September is far too late. By the time your score gets out and schools start reviewing your application in mid to late October, they'll probably have already offered interviews to several hundred applicants and maybe even offered their first round or two of acceptances. Maybe see what What Are My Chances has to say if you post your ENTIRE application profile. With the information you've provided, I see almost no advantage to retaking. Mostly only disadvantage.

 

[sbhav]

Is your 34 extremely unbalanced? That is the only reason I would consider taking the MCAT again with a score like that. A 34 is a very good score. You should be proud. I agree with the others. September would be very late anyway. If you are completely set on retaking the MCAT, you would have to push back your application until next cycle to get the best chance. I strongly advise not retaking unless your score is very unbalanced (meaning you got a 7 or 8 in a section).

 

[lazygun247]

WHat I am worried about is that my grades are too low. THis past application season I applied to ~15 or so schools and I only got an interview invite to one school. T_T
Mad depressed. However, I think a big issue was my grade which I did repair (by retaking the same course that I had failed).

However, I am concerned that my GPA isn't good enough, so I kind of want to retake the MCAT.

No the MCAT isn't that unbalanced. I believe it was a 10 VS, 11BS, 13 PS

 

[IncognitoGuy]

WHat I am worried about is that my grades are too low. THis past application season I applied to ~15 or so schools and I only got an interview invite to one school. T_T
Mad depressed. However, I think a big issue was my grade which I did repair (by retaking the same course that I had failed).

However, I am concerned that my GPA isn't good enough, so I kind of want to retake the MCAT.

No the MCAT isn't that unbalanced. I believe it was a 10 VS, 11BS, 13 PS

Don't retake. A 34 is completely fine, esp. with double digits in all subsections.

What is your GPA?

 

[lazygun247]

Don't retake. A 34 is completely fine, esp. with double digits in all subsections.

What is your GPA?

gpa is 3.6. both cumulative and science. Maybe science is lower like 3.5ish but that is the lowest. I remember calculating it before, but don't remember exactly

 

[IncognitoGuy]

gpa is 3.6. both cumulative and science. Maybe science is lower like 3.5ish but that is the lowest. I remember calculating it before, but don't remember exactly

Your stats are similar to mine. I had a 3.5 sGPA when I applied. What kind of schools are you applying to?

The problem with retaking in September is that it will put you at a disadvantage time-wise, as Ismet pointed out. Schools will have already sent out acceptances by the time your application will be looked at (since your MCAT scores will be out in October).

If you are dead-set on retaking, I would recommend not applying this cycle.

 

[rfvbnmju]

Do not retake a 34.

If you somehow get lower, it'll look like your 34 was a fluke. Between 34-40, it might be a difference of only 3-5 extra questions right but that's a lot more stress to take it over.

Many people would be happy with a 30.

Run with what you have.

 

[survivordo]

I just want to echo the others. DO NOT retake your test if you already have a 34. Sure you might go up by a few points, you might stay the same but you COULD do worse. There are NO guarantees. You will surely get in somewhere with a 34 but if you retake and get a 28 for some reason then schools are gonna look at that score as a fluke. Don't risk it!!

Survivor DO