retaking Mcat, please advice

[dr.somal]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I took the Mcat 3 times, 1st time 14 0, 2nd time 19 0, 3rd time 19 0, have a
3.7 GPa and 3.50 science GPA, Bio major and english is my second language but started learning when i was 5 yrs, 20 yrs ago. what do you guys think i should do. should i go to the caribean or retake 4th time and see how I do??any thought.... i get all stand alone questions on any sections but passages is another story.

 

[WHR]

I've never taken the computer version of the MCAT but I am guessing passage questions still make up most of the questions - so its not going help much that you are good at stand alone questions.

Have you done better in practice tests? I think you first have to figure out if its your preparation that is at fault or just your performance on the day of the test. What I mean is that if you seem to do well in the practice tests (consistently 30+), you probably have all the knowledge to do well on the test and you need to work on your psychological prep (to prevent freaking out/blanking in the test). However, if you are always doing poorly even in the practice tests - I would say you aren't studying enough or not studying correctly/appropriately.

I think you need to reflect on how you changed/adapted your prep after each MCAT, whether you have worked on your weaknesses and improved your strengths. If you think that 19 is a true reflection on your scholastic ability, I suggest going to the Caribbean. But if you think that you can do better - why not try one more since your GPA seems to be similar to many successful US applicants.

 

[DanErd414]

I personally took the MCATs 4 times. My scores were 24-27-23-32. English is also my second language. The last time I took the MCAT was a CBT. My advice to you is to...NEVER GIVE UP!!!!

My third time I felt that I put way too much pressure on myself and did worse than the 2nd time. I remember spending hours and hours studying but not really absorb what I was learning.

I say relax!! Sit down and make sure you understand all your basic concepts. Don't worry about your score for once. The MCAT tries to confuse you by making passages really complicated but only to test simple basic concepts. For me a review course really helped cause it reminded me to go over simple concepts. Many times you may think a topic is soo easy and not study it, but these are usually the ones tested on the actual test. Also, correct your mistakes. Know why you made a mistake. Was it careless or didyou really not know a concept? Keep a log.

Lastly, does your practice test scores resemble your actual score? Don't take the test until you reach a score you are aiming for during practice.

Also, a good way to study is to tutor other kids. I tutored high school kids in chemistry and it helped me a lot.

Oh FYI, I got a 12 overall the first time I took my practice MCAT.

Good luck!!!

 

[dr.somal]

thanks dan and WHR good infor and advice. I Remember my professor saying that MCAT has nothing to do with being good at sciences and can't be studied out of the text books. Writing this test 3 times I agree to his sentiment partially. DAN chech ur message, I PM you. Thanks guys once again.

 

[silas2642]

I took the Mcat 3 times, 1st time 14 0, 2nd time 19 0, 3rd time 19 0, have a
3.7 GPa and 3.50 science GPA, Bio major and english is my second language but started learning when i was 5 yrs, 20 yrs ago. what do you guys think i should do. should i go to the caribean or retake 4th time and see how I do??any thought.... i get all stand alone questions on any sections but passages is another story.

I think that you need to start thinking about the Caribbean-- chances are that if you haven't even broken 20 after 3 tries, you're not going to suddenly score a 30+ on your fourth try. Good luck, man.

 

[DanErd414]

I feel you should definitely try taking the MCAT test again or improve your test taking skills. Even if you do get accepted to Caribbean schools, you will need to do extremely well on your USMLEs/boards to be matched with a residency program here in the US. Also, in medical school you are constantly taking tests. To do well in medical school, you must develop a good test taking skill.

Why not develop that skill now? And yes, statistics may show 99% of people taking the MCAT may not improve by much after the 3rd try. But you can be in that 1% population who improves tremendously.

If you don't believe in yourself, who will???? How do you expect your future patients to believe in you? If you feel like that you will make a great doctor in the future then do it for your future patients. Don't give up!!!!!!